Tiger Cruise Recap HOBBS 2098.5 hrs

Finally getting around to posting about the Tiger Cruise I went on back in April (if you don't know what a Tiger Cruise is, go back in my posts for an explanation). If you read my posts when I returned, you will know it was the 'trip of a lifetime' for me.

Rarely does something in life that you build up in your mind actually live up to that billing in reality. This trip, for me, actually exceeded my lofty expectations--which is quite amazing in of itself. It was nothing short of incredible to be part of, I am fortunate for the experience. I came away with a whole new respect for not only the Navy, but also the men and women that make 'er go.

Here is a small sample of the almost 1000 pics I took during the adventure with narration...be sure to check the end for the many thank you's that made this all happen.

Our game plan consisted of flying Chuck Spaur's wonderful RV10 from Denver to San Diego. This would be my longest cross country flight in a GA aircraft...ever, either as pilot or passenger. I could've easily just done this flight and been a happy camper. I flight planned it as if I was flying my RV7 just for practice and then compared it to what the more experienced pilots came up with...mostly it was to get a feel for the best way to cross the big rocks (the good ol' Rocky mountains).

The RV10, with four good size guys, needed one refueling stop since we took off with less than full tanks...but we still made it out there in about 5 hrs. My RV7 with the aux tanks and higher speed would do it non-stop in a shorter time. Very cool.

The flight out was smooth as silk with severe clear all the way to SD...the Rockies were glorious with a fresh blanket of snow. Above is a pic from our trip down to Mission beach in San Diego once we checked into the hotel. Left to right, Jerry Knievel (RV6A), Gary Zilik (RV6A) and Chuck Spaur (RV6, RV10). 

From San Diego, we hopped a commercial flight into Honolulu...our departure point for the cruise. Of course, we had to spend a couple nights at Waikiki for a little added fun. Here is a pic from our first afternoon...my beer sampler platter...this is a great (and popular) bar right on the beach called Dukes.

Da boyz soaking up some Hawaiian charm, this was a fun afternoon tossing back Mai Tai's...life is good! Again, left to right, Gary Zilik, Me, Jerry Knievel, Scott Mills (RV9A) and Chuck Spaur.

Meeting the GunBoss for a few drinks....

On board the Carrier, getting ready to get under way from Pearl. Scott, Gary and Chuck joke with our sponsor, the GunBoss, Kevin Dowd.

Manning the rails...

The USS Missouri, now a floating museum. This is the ship where the Japanese surrendered at the end of WWII. I've been on her many times as a boy, she used to reside at the Puget Sound Naval Ship yard in Bremerton where my Dad worked.

A moment of silence passing the Arizona Memorial...a powerful tribute to the men and women who lost their lives there.

Dress whites...do not remember the officer on the left's name, but Kevin Dowd and Doug Kesterson round out the threesome.

And the motley crew...

Sailing past Waikiki...this is way cool, as we get underway! We clipped along at about 27-28 knots for pretty much the entire trip, which was pretty wild to see a ship that size going that fast. Thats 30+ mph, 'ski boat' fast!

Great photo op that the boys take advantage of...a vantage point not many get to see looking back at Waikiki from a Nuclear powered aircraft carrier.

We pretty much had free run of the ship and we took full advantage. On the bridge in the 'gator's (navigator) chair. Scott and Gary practice their best Star Trek "engage" command. We were up here several more times during the five day cruise.

Pics on the bridge with the CO

Good ol' John Regelbrugge, a 'throwback' career sailor and a colorful guy, gives us the rundown on ship ops. We really never stopped going during our time aboard the Stennis...one tour after another, there really was not much 'downtime' for this group. We were very active....I was exhausted each and every night when I finally hit my rack.

A private tour of the SeaHawk (Navy version of the BlackHawk) helicopter with the squadron's CO...

View from the bridge...lots of nice hardware eh?

The men and women that make the Carrier go...flight ops. I was pretty fascinated watching them do their work and photographing them, it was impressive to see.

Photo pass...there is a photographer shooting photos of the Hornet.

Look at the color of that water being churned up behind the ship, just gorgeous.

We were treated to two airshows at sea...one a rehearsal and then the real deal the next day. Watching flight ops from "Vulture's row" was freaking amazing! Here are a couple shots as they come in for their "trap".

Everyone on the flight deck wear's a different colored vest that corresponds to their job responsibility.

Here is a shot of "vultures row" (can you guess how it got that name?) and the Eagle's nest...I was up here each and every time they did flight ops. This photo was taken during the airshow...I was on the flight deck when I snapped this.

A super hornet being used as a tanker....I never knew they did this, interesting to see. This, believe it or not, is part of spending cutbacks. Instead of replacing the retired tankers with new ones....they now just use the super hornet instead.

Approaching the "boom"...

One of the cool things they did during the airshow was supersonic fly-by's right on the deck and about a half mile from the ship. The sonic boom sounded like a very large stick of dynamite going off...what can I say, this was nothing short of amazing to witness. Let me tell you trying to snap pics of a supersonic fly-by was a tad challenging to say the least...here are a couple of my feeble attempts.

You don't see this kind of display at your local airshow...some serious firepower in this formation. You wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of this party.

The flight deck was absolutely huge standing on it...I don't suppose the pilots landing on it would agree however.

Helicopter drills...

Last minute checks before launch complete...clear!

Thumbs up...all clear on the right wing!

These prowler's were incredibly loud during cat shots...they shook like thunder!

Oh, did I mention, they dropped live ordinance during the airshow?? Again, not something you will see stateside. Here they deploy anti-missile flares.

1000 lb bombs...

Rocket launch...

And the "wall of water"...500 lb-ers

VFA-41 squadron (one of four fighter squadrons on board) flying F/A-18's, the Black Aces, ready room. These guys were the coolest squadron of the four. This private tour, set up by Doug, was another highlight of the trip for me. I bought their deployment video too...which has some sweet flying footage in it.

Our tour guide, Lex "Snooki", yes, this was his actual callsign, as he was a jersey boy. Of course, we had to ask how he got that particular callsign...which was a funny story. He started flying F-16's in the Air Force and then moved to the Navy and was a "Wizzo" in the F/A-18. Not a bad life eh? This guy was great, funnier 'n shit to listen to as he told us colorful stories about flying over Afghanistan...a real hoot.

First time ever sitting in a fighter jet cockpit...pinch me, I'm in heaven...now give me the keys damnit!...I could get used to this! Unfortunately, only in my dreams...

Full afterburner cat shot! These events were so loud it actually made my teeth rattle on vultures row. The power of these engines, being this close to them, is incredible. Hearing protection is not an option...its a necessity.

Capturing the "salute" just before launch...I love this photo

And one last "hang loose" Hawaiian style before launching this sucker from 0-160mph in 2.5 seconds!! Its a spectacle to see this incredible acceleration in person...videos just don't do it justice.

During a private gathering with the Admiral and the dept heads (HOD's) on the Eagle's Nest...watching the sunset, looking down at about a billion dollars worth of Naval aviation hardware on the flight deck, smoking a cigar and drinking non-alcoholic Coors (no alcohol allowed on board).

Wow, is this really happening? Scott Mills thought this picture of me was deserving of a caption from the "Most Interesting Man in the World" commercials. I got a kick out of it!

It got even better...the CO from our helicopter tour brought up two of his flight helmets with night vision goggles (NVG) so we could play around with them. Here, Chuck and I  and Gary and Scott pose pics. He was pretty careful with these puppies and I figured I knew why. I asked him what they would cost to replace and he said about $10,000! Don't drop 'em!!...good thing it was non-alcoholic beer!

A funny pic during one of our tours...that's a "WTF" look in case you were wondering. Kind of ironic the callsign, "Mouth" below.

Touring "Pri-Fly" the AirBoss (primary flight) bridge as the sun gets ready to set. Scott and I just wandered in here during one of our many exploration trips and asked if we could come in. She said "sure, but I need to limit how long you stay." She was a very nice young lady sailor. When I asked her if I could get a picture with her, she said somewhat surprised, "with me?" haha! I said, "Of course!" When she saw our red (HOD sponsor) badge and found out we were with the GunBoss, she changed her tune and said stay as long as you'd like. Nice to have friends in high places.

Of course, Scott and I had to snap some pics in the Air Boss chair. This wouldn't be a bad gig eh? Has kind of a nice ring to it too...don't ya think?

With the Carrier fun over...we jumped back into the RV10 for our flight home. Our refueling stop was in Cortez, CO on the the way back. The RV10 was a nice chariot to deliver us back safely to Denver, another smooth flight.

In summary, as you can gather from my gushing description, it was just an amazing trip all around. If it weren't for Chuck Spaur, I would've never even had this opportunity. I cant thank him enough for letting me tag along! The guys I was with are all great guys too, a wonderful group to travel with...and yes, every single one of them I met through this wonderful passion/hobby of RV aviation. Not bad eh? 

The hospitality of the Navy and crew aboard the USS John C. Stennis was something to behold, from the Admiral on down. All taxpayers should know, from my firsthand knowledge, their money is being well spent on that ship. As much of an "intrusion" we (the tigers) were to the crew aboard the Stennis, never once were they not gracious and patient when we got lost...asked them silly questions...got in their way...or just bumped into them countless times in the passageways.

Every officer we encountered were top notch, career sailors. I got the sense, every last one of them, was very proud of what they did and took great pride in their job and serving their country. They were knowledgeable, courteous, respectful and friendly. Officers and gentlemen, one and all.

Special thanks to Doug Kesterson and John Regelbrugge, who were with us all week and were a great complement to Kevin, getting us special tours by calling in favors over and over again.

Lastly, our sponsor, GunBoss Kevin Dowd, a career Navy man (and a proud "Mustang") was unbelievable with us. The private tours and special treatment he went out of his way to deliver were beyond words, it was much appreciated.

We were invited to listen to Kevin deliver an awards/recognition ceremony for the end of deployment (8 long months at sea supporting our troops in Afghanistan) for his 200+ men and women in the ordinance dept. I will tell you, as someone who is in graduate Management school and knows a thing or two about what makes a good speech, Kevin is a great public speaker. The speech he delivered (remember these men and women were coming back from war) would have made Vince Lombardi proud...hell, it even got me fired up! Kevin is a good man, and a great leader, and I told him so when I shook his hand after he finished. I was quite impressed.

How's this for a great group pic with the Admiral?? And no, that bikini-clad woman was not on the cruise...that was some creative photoshop editing for our 8x10 framed gift to the GunBoss.

Thanks to him and all the men and women that serve our country so well! After this trip...you can definitely put me in the category of being a huge fan of the Navy...mission accomplished with the tiger cruise concept, I'm now drinking the kool-aid in big gulps! Carry on.