My scariest repair happened in the summer of 1963 - I was a new high
school grad, working for the California Institute of Technology's Owens
Valley Radio Observatory near Big Pine, CA. We had turned one of the
largest radio telescopes vertical to do some maintenance on a MASER
receiver at the focal point of the scope.
While standing atop the focal point platform at about 120 feet above
ground level - no safety belts of any kind - a USAF F-4 Phantom from
Edwards AFB flew by at about the same level I was at. The jet blast was
so strong that it rocked the telescope - and me - and I had to grab
something solid to hang onto - I can still smell the JP4 jet fuel. Sure
wish I could have gotten the tail number on that F-4.
Lesson learned - use a safety belt when climbing - you never know when
you'll be visited by one of the USAF's fastest and finest. ;-)
73,
Joe, Colonel, USAF (Ret)
WDØM
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