Hornet Jungle Fever

El pasado 14 de noviembre, ROH estuvo en Ontario, Canadá y realizando su debut en la empresa, Xtranger Hornet, el luchador de las Islas Fiji.  Hornet demostró  sus habilidades luchisticas aunque fue derrotado en un encuentro de parejas donde Rip Impact logro vencer a su pareja Pee Wee.  Hornet estuvo realizando campaña en México para IWRG, XLAW y para Dragonmanía.

También ha estado en Puerto Rico, Irlanda, Inglaterra  y por ultimo para la empresa nipona Dragon Gate. En México perteneció a la facción llamada Los Xtrangers en el grupo revolución.

During my visit to the USS Nimitz in the Indian Ocean last month, I had the opportunity to see the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets in action. The Super Hornet is a 4.5+ generation naval multirole aircraft that was delivered to the US Navy in 1999 to replace the F-14, the S-3 and, in the long term, the F/A-18C and D Hornet.
Even if the “Rhino” (as the aircraft has been dubbed to distinguish it from the “legacy Hornet”) is the most advanced aircraft in the USN inventory, its replacement is already flying and undertaking flight testing: on Nov. 15, the first Lockheed F-35B Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) landed at Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River, Md. The test aircraft, known as BF-1, after departing from Lockheed facility in Fort Worth, landed at Pax River after a stop in Dobbins Air Force Base, Ga.
BF-1 is the first of five test F-35B STOVL (Short Take-Off Vertical Landing) variants to be assigned to the air station. BF-2 is expected to arrive by the end of this year and BF-3 will follow shortly behind that, Lockheed spokesman John Kent said. The air station also will be home to three Navy carrier test variants. Before the aircraft can complete its first vertical landing, it must go through a transition phase. When regular airplanes fly, lift is created from the wing. But for hovering jets such as the F-35B, it is created from the jet itself. The transition phase is expected to include a series of flights, during which the aircraft will practice slowing down and transitioning lift from the wing to the jet — a critical step before an actual STOVL flight. Additional testing will include flying with different weight loads and ordnance payloads, according to a Marine release. “I’m anxious to have our engineers, our test pilots and our operators get their hands on this jet, and then see what we can do to turn test points and sorties at a rapid rate during the coming months,” said Lt. Gen. George J. Trautman, the deputy commandant for aviation, in a release. Eventually the Joint Strike Fighter will replace the F/A-18 Hornet, AV-8B Harrier, and the EA-6B Prowler. Marine Fighter/Attack Training Squadron-501, the first squadron that will train Marine JSF pilots and maintainers, is expected to stand up at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., in April 2010 as part of the Joint Integrated Training Center. The first operational squadron will stand up in 2012. Even the Marina Militare (Italian Navy) is expeceted to receive 22 naval JSF that will replace the AV-8B+ Harrier and will operate from the new Italian aircraft carrier Cavour (that can accomodate 8 – 10 F-35B).

An F/A-18F of the VFA-41 and an E of the VFA-14 overflying USS Nimitz (courtesy USS Nimitz)

The BF-1 arrives at Patuxent River (Lockheed)

The BF-1 arrives at Patuxent River (Lockheed)

This post refers to a wonderful hike that I did, with guides fortunately, earlier this year in the month of May.   This weekend trip up to the Turrialba volcano and then down to the Caribbean was absolutely fantastic.  The weather was cloudy but dry and my wife, Ches, took me up calle Vargas a few kilometers out of Santa Cruz as far as the intersection with the road that goes to Las Virtudes.  Las Virtudes, by the way, is also said to have resident quetzals.  The Ford Ranger is just a two-wheel drive and to try to go much further would have been pointless in any case.  However, the 15 minute trip in the truck from San Antonio saved me a lengthy walk through areas that I already know quite well.  As soon as my wife dropped me off, I got my first-ever look at the Spangle-cheeked tanager.  It´s a common enough highland species, endemic to Costa Rica and western Panama, but it was a life bird for me at the time.

I wandered uphill for only a little while with forest remnants now replacing the Santa Cruz dairy farms, but I was lucky to catch a ride with a local family.  German and Xiomara were taking their five-year-old son up to their weekend cabin close to my overnight destination of Los Bajos del Volcán, which is pretty much the last community when you head uphill on this side of the volcano.  We didn´t know each other then but are now fast friends.  Local people bend over backwards to help you around here.   German told me that there were quetzals in the cloud forest in that general area although not near their cabin.  After the little dairy community of Las Abras the cloud forest pretty much begins.  I wasn´t able to do any birding, however, until we got to the point in the road where German and Xiomara had to leave their truck and walk forty minutes or so to their cabin, at a virtually uninhabited place called La Lorena.  They invited me to spend the night with them, since my intention was to spend the night at Los Bajos and then walk down to the Caribbean lowlands the next day with guides.

I was amazed, first of all, by the length of the walk to the cabin because they had the child plus lots of stuff to carry.  Also, we had to pick up big buckets of water about a half kilometer from the cabin and carry that in so that the toilet would function.  I was amazed, secondly, by the very rustic nature of the cabin.  We ate well once German got the stove going, swilling it down with the typical black coffee that everyone drinks here.

I spent the rest of the day birding around the cabin, partly in the company of German, but it was now very cloudy and a fine mist was falling.  The only neighbour is an  old guy who has lived there for forty years in another cabin several hundred meters lower down the slope.  I got several typical highland bird species close by the cabin, including the Ochraceous pewee, another first for me.  But when we told the old fellow that I was hoping to see quetzals for the first time in my life, presumably at Los Bajos the next day, he  showed us a quetzal nest that turned out to be just a hundred yards from German`s cabin.  German was as astonished as I was.  It was misty and getting dark, but I managed to get a not very satisfactory glimpse of two females.  The first one popped out of the nest when our friend banged on the base of the tree, a 100 foot high stump, with a stick.

We had a cozy night in the cabin sleeping right bang next to each other, the five-year-old son in the bed with his parents.

The next morning I went alone stumbling at first through the semi-dark back to the dirt road, and then down to Los Bajos.  Here I had no time for breakfast because I had almost mistimed my arrival, so I immediately  joined a group of four to walk to the Caribbean town of Suerre.  The other hikers were nice guys from San Jose but were not birders.  The two guides were just young kids from Suerre.

It took eight hours to complete what was, for me,  a tough but sensational hike.  Fifteen minutes down the path we had ten quetzals doing ridiculous aerial displays in bright sunshine and in the open, alongside the river.  The guides said they had never seen anything like it before, because the quetzals are usually found in much smaller numbers.   The other hikers took many photographs, but unfortunately they never did contact me again with the promised copies.   The guides, though very young, were very knowledgeable about both birds and plant and animal life.  One of them  got bitten badly by a hornet and his face swelled up.  The rest of us were lucky to escape.

The first part of the hike was like a beautiful walk in the park with huge scattered cedros along the Río Guácimo.  I was thinking that it had been needless to hire guides, but the second part, introduced by a really pretty lake with Least grebe, and then by white-faced monkeys, was a real test of stamina.  After the lake everything was pretty much thick rain-forest, with several encounters with howler monkeys.  Bird highlights were a beautiful Golden-browed chlorophonia, glistening green in bright sunshine, and the constant eerie but melodic whistles of the Black-faced solitaires.  I hear this bird every day in my garden because Adriana and Hasdrubal, our close neighbours, have one in a cage, as do many locals.

Now in the lowlands, we stopped briefly at a cabin that is in even more dilapidated condition than German´s.  It is  equipped, however, with bunk beds for those who do the trip in two days.  I would definitely recommend a two-day trip, because it was almost impossible for me to do any real birding owing to the pace of the walk.  Only one group per month takes the path.  When the afternoon rainstorm came in, the birding was over, unfortunately, and the path, such as it was, became, literally, a stream.  I think I fell at least five times, ending up sitting in water up to my waist several times.  When we came out at the bottom we crossed a very rickety bridge over a chasm with foaming white water and then we were 10 km from Suerre.  Here there is a dirt road, and an SUV, belonging to the folks from San Jose, was waiting for us.  At the bridge, we heard the call of a Rufous motmot but couldn’t catch a glimpse.
The guides had hiked up the path the day before in nine hours.  I don’t know how the hell they did it, uphill, but they had to check that it was passable.  I had wanted to do the hike alone so as to be able to bird-watch freely, but I really could not recommend doing it alone.  I’m sure I would have got lost.  We cleaned up at the house of one of the guides and then ate in a very nice restaurant in Suerre, which is just off the main road between San José and Limón.  My wife picked me up there.  For their labour, the two guides, who were very well informed about birds, animals, plants etc., demanded 5000 colones, that’s about $9, from each of the three of us.  I felt obliged to give a tip, despite my Yorkshire heritage, because it seemed shameful to pay so little.  Perhaps if everybody had been a foreign tourist they might have charged more.  I don’t know.  Helberth Chavarria Madrigal at helberthchamo@yahoo.es is the guy to contact in Suerre.  His phone number in Costa Rica (cellular) is 8 334 28 61.

I actually only got about 50 some bird species (most quite common, but several life birds for me) because of the rain and not being able to stop at will, but, according to the guides, a group of ornithologists last year got 250 species in two days doing the same hike.  I was surprised how easy it is, however, to get to where the quetzals are.  They are only about 10 km from where I live in San Antonio.

Here´s the list of species.

1.  Great tinamou (voice only)

2.  Least grebe

3.  Black guan

4.  Cattle egret

5.  Black vulture

6.  Turkey vulture

7.  Red-billed pigeon

8.  White-crowned parrot

9.  Bare-shanked screech-owl (voice at La Lorena)

10. White-collared swift

11. Fiery-throated hummingbird

12. Rufous-tailed hummingbird

13. Black-bellied hummingbird

14. Purple-throated mountain-gem

15. Resplendent quetzal

16. Rufous motmot (voice only)

17. Emerald toucanet

18. Chestnut-mandibled toucan

19. Keel-billed toucan

20. Hairy woodpecker

21. Woodcreeper (sp., small and lower down, probably Spot-crowned)

22. Yellow-bellied elaenia

23. Common tody-flycatcher

24. Ochraceous pewee

25. Great kiskadee

26. Social flycatcher

27. Brown jay

28. Blue-and-white swallow

29. Black-billed nightingale-thrush

30. Ruddy-capped nightingale-thrush

31. Black-faced solitaire

32. Clay-coloured robin

33. Mountain robin

34. Long-tailed silky-flycatcher

35. Black-and-yellow silky-flycatcher

36. Flame-throated warbler (the throat/breast is more yellow-orange than red and does not look like the illustration in Garrigues & Dean)

37. Wilson’s warbler

38. Collared redstart

39. Slate-throated redstart

40. Common bush-tanager

41. Sooty-capped bush-tanager

42. Passerini’s tanager

43. Spangle-cheeked tanager

44. Blue-grey tanager

45. Palm tanager

46. Variable seed-eater

47. Yellow-faced grassquit

48. Slaty flower-piercer

49. Yellow-thighed finch

50. Rufous-collared sparrow

51. Buff-throated saltator

52. Great-tailed grackle

53. Chestnut-headed oropendola

54. Montezuma oropendola

55. Golden-browed chlorophonia

The first generation of the Honda Hornet, the CB600F, was introduced in 1998. It is a sport-oriented bike which provides the best comfort and handling. The next generation came in 2000 which had changes in wheel and offered increased stability. Honda then took this Hornet to United States and Canadian market in 2006 which was called the Honda 599. The latest model is the CBR600RR which gives a maximum output power. It has a 500 cc liquid cooled inline four-cylinder engine with a maximum power output of 102 bhp at 12000 rpm. The bike has a six-speed transmission with improved front suspension forms the previous models. The 2009 CB600f Hornet is a perfect machine from Honda which has a perfect performance, braking and handling. This bike certainly gives you a dream appeal with perfect reliability.

And now to apply them to InDesign until awesome.

Again, Boris Aguilar provided the description of the flight gear worn by CVW-11 during my visit to USS Nimitz:

Pilot and NFO in the cockpit of this F-18F from VFA-41 Black Aces. They are equipped with different helmet setups, the pilot wearing a JHMCS helmet with an MBU-16/P oxygen mask, and the NFO possibly an HGU-68/P helmet with an MBU-23/ P oxygen mask. The mounting bracket used to connect the NVG (night vision goggles) to the helmet, can be seen just above the corner of the black leather panel of the helmet worn by the NFO.

Nay, I’m not in the mood to discuss on who’s who in the new state cabinet line-up…

I just want to show you some of the photos taken by my friend last night, captured using his NOKIA™ N95 cell phone. Thanks to him and my other friends for not inviting me to their wWw.WiLd_PaRty@Sa(L)vageGarden last night, for they had organized another final blow on Tora Bora… L.O.L.!!!

By the way, I just passed by that Tora Bora and I can see a pair of hornets hovering around their ruined nest(s)!

Do enjoy the photos as shown below. If you have doubts on what’s this and that; click:

1. here;
2. here;
3. here;
4. here;
5. here;
6. here;
7. here;
8. here;
9. here;

10.  here; and

11.  here for details…

L.O.L.!!!

The priceless trophies – the ruined, clustered hornet nests and its damned, future inhabitants – looted from that Tora Bora cavern...

The black brownish, dead pupae (or pupas) that were trapped inside the burnt clustered nests during first, second, third and fourth Ops Bunker...

Other priceless, looted trophies... Do I see gold over there? L.O.L.!!!

Yup, this is the priceless, “golden” hornet larva...

My friends really “enjoyed” themselves last night @ Sa(L)vage Garden BBQ Party, where they had grilled/roasted some hornet larvas over a fire! It’s edible, anyway; another source of “not-so-easy-to-get” supplement of wild protein (duh!), just like honey bee larvas. But... nay, I would prefer either smoke or fried sago weevil larvas for dinner, lah! Why?! That hornet larvas were collected after been “flamethrown” with insecticide aerosols, what...?!, even though the larvas were well protected inside its sacs... Aiya! I’m such a lucky guy, though... Kuuuuurrrrr s’mangat!

]]> http://cencio4.wordpress.com/2009/11/10/usn-flight-gear/ Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:05:32 +0000 David Cenciotti http://cencio4.wordpress.com/2009/11/10/usn-flight-gear/

After publishing some images I took on board the USS Nimitz, Boris Aguilar, a flight clothing collector and expert living in Australia, sent me the detailed description of the  flight gear worn by the CVW-11 pilots.

VF-14 Tophatters pilot wearing a JHMCS helmet and MBU-23 mask. Note that the helmet is taped, and front section called relay optics mount assembly, a composite shell that houses all electronic and optical components of the display units, is left in its original grey colour.

Both pilot and Naval Flight Officer in the cockpit of this F-18F from VFA-41 are both wearing JHMCS helmets. The MBU-23 mask and LPU-36 life peserver can be seen in the photo. Also note the AIM-9X air-to-air missile fitted to the right wing’s wingtip launcher.

Pilot wearing current US Navy flightgear including tan CWU-27 flight suit, CMU-33 type I survival vest, torso harness, LPU-36 life preserver, CSU-15/p g-suit, helmet bag and brown boots. Note the two officers wear different coloured boots. The one on the top left wears a pair of Belleville M790 in tan. The housing for the upper helmet vehicle interface appears as a bump at the back of the JHMCS.

November 5, 2009 (1625 hours)…

On my way home after plucking some Midin (Fiddlehead ferns) (Stenochlaena palustris) to be cooked for dinner, I had been chased by this single, “killer lady”. I struggled and fought hard with it, but in the end, that “killer lady” won!

How nice!, as I got stung in the head – stung for the second time – by the same, “lone killer lady”. A “killer lady”?, as some of you might get your brains boggling… Well, think of a phrase “killer whale”; so, “killer lady” is totally different from “lady killer”, lah!

I knew that I’ve encroached into its territory while looking for that tasty, edible ferns. Yup, I passed by the nest(s) – located inside the hollow, abandoned log(s). I quickly threw my cigarette, knowing that the killer ladies are sensitive to smoke, odour (any kind of mineral-based odour – either from fuel, perfume, etc.), including any bright color (T-)shirts. About the smoke; I’ve experienced it when I first got stung in the wrist while puffing a cigarette after lunch – and that was happened on September 13, 2006! Yup, it has been a looong three years…

The venom – whenever it enters into the body – is akin to a knife slicing our own skin and it was very painful. I took two tablets of Panadol™ to reduce the pain, but it wasn’t effective. I called my friends to give me some traditional medicine – in the form of a bark. This bark was made known by the Penans; they called it “Penan Selungo”, but unfortunately, the scientific name that could refer to this bark or of that particular tree species remained unknown. The Penans use that bark to treat stomach ache and most importantly, to reduce the pain caused by snake venom… However, whenever there’s a need to use this bark, it must be done in a secret manner; meaning that one shouldn’t boast about it. Just do it nice and easy, i.e. by chewing a bit of the bark and swallow it down. Otherwise, it won’t be effective!

Yup, I did chew some of the bark and made it into a drink – mixed with BOH™ tea. The time was already in the evening and I felt relaxed and prepared my dinner. After dinner, I called my mom and told her on what had happened to me in the afternoon. She told me that the insects are known – loosely translated as the “Pig’s Tongue”. The Malay called it “Tebuan” or “Tebuan Tanah”; in Iban?! Hmmm, I only knew its name as “Indu Utai” (abbreviated as “IU”) – loosely translated as “Lady of something”; in English, it is known as “hornet(s)” or could it specifically refers to “Asian Giant Hornet(s) (AGH)”? The National Geographic (or NatGeo) also has its own online reference materials about these AGH, here.

Around 2100 hours, the pain in my head was very sharp; I couldn’t stand it anymore. I took another two Panadol™ tablets, still it wasn’t effective. I kept on thinking (on what to do next), until I got another idea! A-ha! I grabbed my cell phone and called my kampong mate, who works as an AMO (Assistant Medical Officer) in a nearby town. So, here is our conversation on that night:

Seconds later…

I was in doubt actually! How come a cough syrup can be used to reduce such pain? Anyway, I took a gulp of it – around 2115 hours. Moments later, I logged on to the internet and Googled-search the keyword “histamine”. Yeah, I found it! Most of the following information was found in Wikipedia: Histamine, Anti-Histamine (this is where I’ve found that Diphenhydramine Hydrochloride can be used to treat bee/hornet sting, including other allergens (e.g. Rengas latex)), Chlorphenamine Maleate, Promethazine Hydrochloride, etc.

Moments later, I rang my AMO friend again…

I slept around 2245 hours; still got pain in my head! Around 0215 hours, I woke up to ease myself. Wah… I felt a little bit better – after I took a gulp of that cough syrup earlier. I then took another gulp, and went on sleeping…

A locally manufactured NILCO (Cough) Syrup 90 ml. My AMO friend gave it to me early this year; believe it or not, most people usually got flu whenever a new year begins!

Shown in the label: Diphenhydramine Hydrochloride 14 mg...

The next morning, I woke up late – at 0740 hours! I was late for work, aiya! This was due to the effect of the drug that caused drowsiness… Anyway, everything was fine, as the pain in my head was 99.9% gone; except that my face was still swollen… There’s no doubt that Panadol™ didn’t help much in relieve the pain, as Paracetamol is not anti-histamine!

A sketch (redrawn from a digital photograph) of my not-so-handsome, swollen face due to a fiery, painful venom injected by that speedy and bloody “killer lady” on November 5, 2009! My wild guess was this: apart from cigarette odour, the other reason for the attack was due to long hair that I’m keeping! I remembered that I’ve poured some baby oil on my hair on that day – in order to make it smooth and shiny, lah! Yeah, it could be that the lone killer lady thought (if any!) that such a nice and sweet smelling long hair could be another good place for nesting... L.O.L.!!!

That morning, with my swollen head and face, I had faced my colleagues (both males and females) with an opened eyelid, as I hardly opened the other eyelid. And during our morning coffee meeting, I knew it from them that the Ibans called those insects, collectively known as “Indu Gamang” or loosely translated as “Lady Gamang”; hence, the name “killer lady(ies)” was born (and known – internationally!)…

If you read that Wikipedia article (on Asian Giant Hornet(s)), you might wondering whether the Italians have named their famous scooters – “Vespa” – based on the genus name of that species, right?! Exactly! Well, it could be true, based on hornets’ humming sound and their flying speed up to 40 km/h! Phew…! Read about Vespa scooters here.

These hornets – whenever they are “kamikazéing” in a group – could cause fatal injury(ies) to the victim(s). Barely a month ago, a sister and her brother died due to hornets’ attack; an act of negligence from the authorities concerned! Read the following links:

1. Dua maut diserang tebuan (Utusan Borneo, 5 Oktober 2009); and
2. Penduduk dakwa aduan tidak dapat respons (Utusan Borneo, 6 Oktober 2009). And more recent and old local news about such attacks are available here!

Our demolition team – led by my boss – has destroyed the hornets’ clustered nests – partially – in a cleansing operation, code named Operation Bunker around 2130 hours on November 7, 2009. They made a huge fire next to the clustered nests (using a worn out rubber tube, old newspaper and few litres of diesel fuel), as these hornets were attracted to light. These clustered nests were located inside hollow logs and it does resemble that infamous Tora Bora! Additional items used in the operation were insecticide aerosols and lighters – used as improvised flamethrowers!

According to my boss, hornets couldn’t fly at night due to darkness. So, whenever they fly into the fire, some might be dead and some might get burnt and wingless (and some could still be alive!). So, in case that some of the hornets are alive after the “baptism of fire”, they’ll crawl on the ground like ants (if any!)… Are you daring enough to stamp these wingless creatures with your foot?! Of course, yes you can!, providing that you wear either a long rubber boots or safety boots!

I managed to get few photos during the cleansing operation, which are shown below:

One of my colleagues is shown here doing flamethrowing using an insecticide aerosol...

Three of the fallen comrades...

A survived, wingless hornet shown in a yellow circle...

Wow! This cleansing operation was akin to military operations in Tora Bora cave complex...

A close-up view of some dead hornets in their “cavern” after the flamethrowing process...

This hornet was still alive when I took this photograph; later it was executed by my boss with a parang...

A close-up view of some of the collected specimens...

The above photo reminds me of the good old days when I took a general study on insects -- Entomology 101. I’ve divided the specimens into two general sections: adults and juveniles (including some larvae nested inside the nest). A ruler is a must to determine the scale (length and width) of any insect.

In this photo, the adults’ length was more than an inch; note that dangerous stingers. Here it is shown that these hornets were black or brownish in color with an orange stripe...

Another Gen-X, juvenile hornet...

Based on the available dead specimens, the hornet species wasn’t Vespa mandarinia or Vespa soror. I’ve checked the internet and I can be sure that the destroyed species belongs to Vespa affinis, commonly known as “Lesser Banded Hornet”. Click here, here and here for details.

At the time of finishing this article (around 0845 hours on November 8, 2009), I’m happy to jot down that my swollen face has shrunk up to 69.9% lah… Hopefully it will be fully recovered within a day or two! However, I can still see some of the hornets are hovering around this morning. Well, I’m not sure whether there will be any subsequent Ops Bunker to follow suit…

To conclude, there are four things to be learnt:

1. Try to avoid any contact (whatsoever) with these deadliest creatures (and don’t try to play-play, uh!); unless if you are daring enough and determined to destroy its nest(s) – to be done only during night time;
2. Stockpile your First Aid kit(s) – either with cough or flu syrup that contained anti-histamine such as Diphenhydramine Hydrochloride (Chlorphenamine Maleate a.k.a. Piriton or Promethazine Hydrochloride a.k.a. Phenergan are mostly preferred); whenever and wherever you go (especially to the farm, jungle, recreational park(s), etc.); this also includes an insect repellent spray – to be sprayed upon the “attacked spot(s)” on the body (a tip given by my cousin, who is a staff nurse at SGH);
3. In case of being attack by hornet(s), drink plenty of plain water (after taking the medicine) to help in “neutralizing” the venom and to ease in flushing out the waste water (containing neutralized venom); and
4. The ICT (Information and Communication Technology) plays a vital role in getting first-hand and hands-on information, lah…

Acknowledgements

My heartfelt thanks to:

1. Some of the killer ladies, who had died in the cause of justice; for they had fought a good fight; may they rest in peace…
2. All my friends, who have contributed their ideas and directed their energies in making this cleansing program a foundation of success…

Otherwise, this article will not even exist!

Following the post about the patches I took on board the USS Nimitz during my visit on Oct. 18 and 19 (http://cencio4.wordpress.com/2009/10/31/cvw-11-patches/) some readers and visitors of this site requested me to upload some pictures of the flight helmets and flight gear worn by the crews of the CVW-11.

In the previous post “Compressor stall…in the worst case scenario” I explained what a compressor stall (or surge) basing on a picture I took aboard USS Nimitz. I uploaded an image within that post that I created by merging two pictures I took one after the other. Since that picture provided a view of the last few seconds of the catapult launch by a VFA-86 F-18C, I thought it could be interesting to publish the whole take off sequence that you can find here below.

Between Oct. 19 and 20, I had the possibility to spend some 25 hours on board the USS Nimitz nuclear supercarrier. I went to Manama, Bahrain, and after a long flight in a C-2 of the VRC-30 “Providers” I trapped on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier that was sailing “somewhere” in the Indian Ocean. The purpose of my visit was to prepare a report that will be published in the next months on RID (Rivista Italiana Difesa). The following pictures are just a preview of all the images I took during my stay on the ship along with Giovanni Maduli. I will soon publish more images, reports, video and will answer some of the most frequent questions dealing with an aircraft carrier.

“A compressor stall is a situation of abnormal airflow resulting from a stall of the aerofoils within the compressor. Stall is found in dynamic compressors, particularly axial compressors, as used in jet engines and turbochargers for reciprocating engines. Compressor stalls result in a loss of compressor performance, which can vary in severity from a momentary engine power drop (occurring so quickly it is barely registered on engine instruments) to a complete loss of compression (compressor surge) necessitating a reduction in the fuel flow to the engine” (Wiki).
A particular kind of stall is the so-called compressor surge is a complete breakdown in compression that occurs when compressor’s blades stall (airfoils) just like an airplane wing stalls, because the flow is disrupted or the angle of attack gets too high, forward flow through the compressor can no longer be maintained, air piles up in the rear stages of the compressor without being compressed and a momentary reversal of flow causes a violent expulsion of previously compressed air out (sometimes) through the intakes too. The excess air can cause a loud bang a flames (because of the high temperatures).
The compressor will usually recover to normal flow once the engine pressure ratio reduces to a level at which the compressor is capable of sustaining stable airflow. Some engines have automatic recover functions even if pilots experiencing the surge can be compelled to act on the throttle or, in some cases, relight the engine.
Needless to say, compressor stalls could be very dangerous especially when occurring in critical phases of the flight: departure, initial climb, landing. Look at the following image I created basing on a sequence of pictures I took “somewhere” in the Indian Ocean aboard USS Nimitz (CVN-68) on Oct. 19, 2009. It shows an F-18C (BuNo 165205 Modex 405) belonging to the VFA-86 “Sidewinders” experiencing a compressor stall during the catapult launch from CAT number 4. The aircraft is fully loaded with fuel and it is carrying weapons too, since it is taking off to support Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Fortunately, the aircraft was able to depart in spite of the loud bang and flames coming out from the port engine exhaust that in the second image seems to be operating without the afterburner.
Please note the image is watermarked since all rights are reserved

F18 Hornet Oyunları Oyna

Posted on February 28, 2009 by haloboyy1928 |  

armament: machine guns and lock on rockets, passengers can use their weapons but cannot dual wield

crew: 3

1 driver, and 2 passengers

good for: assualting heavy vehicles and banshees air transport and deployment.

weak battling: missle pods and heavy vehicles

Transport Hornets have no rockets, they are found on the map Avalanche and can be forged in on Sandbox

As we are called from being little children to that of young men who are strong, who know the word and have overcome, we pass from the outer court into the inner court. The primary thing that we notice is that at first, we cannot see very well. Although there is plenty of light in the inner court, none of it comes from a natural source. The light in the inner court is coming from the golden candlestick. From now on, we are called to see with our spiritual eyes and speak with a spiritual tongue. This means the Spirit of the Lord will increasingly lead us.

Prov 20:27

27 The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly.

Rom 8:14

14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

KJV

In this inner court, everything about us must change. Our mind must be renewed, our will trained and turned toward the purposes of God, and our emotions taught to be obedient to our mind and will. We truly are being called to become strong. Our prayers become Kingdom-minded prayers.

1 John 2:14-17

14 I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.

15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

KJV

In the outer court, our body was the focus of God. Now He turns to our soul. Even as our body needed to be sanctified for His purposes now our soul must be as well. The word sanctify has two primary meanings. One is to cleanse and separate; the other is to set aside for a specific purpose. We are not fully sanctified until we fully know God’s will for our lives and are walking in it, no matter how clean we have sought to be. In the inner court, we discover our purpose and gain the strength to fulfill it.

There is a call that comes to every one of us. It is the call that Jesus gave to His disciples when He said, “Follow me”. To follow Jesus is to come to know the Father in every part of our being-body, soul and spirit. The end result will be that we will be made into “fishers of men”. For it is the will of our Father that none should be lost.

Once, while seeking God about the Church and its lack of maturity and anointing, I was given this dream.

I was on my property, and we were getting on a school bus. As I looked back, I realized we were a wrestling team, and I was the coach. The team had been well conditioned; their bodies were in excellent shape and had fine looking uniforms. We pulled away from the property, and I assumed we were headed to a wrestling meet. The bus, however, began to go in very large circles. They were so large that, at first, we did not realize we were just “going in circles”.

Yet, I watched as we passed by the same place we started from several times. About the fourth time around, I saw an F-18 fighter jet being brought out of a hanger. It was complete in every detail except that there was no aluminum skin on it yet. Much to my horror the bus just drove right over the top of the plane. As I looked back, however, the plane was not damaged. We just ignored its existence and drove over the top of it. I awoke.

After awakening, I sought the Lord for the interpretation. I knew that when seeking to interpret a dream from the Lord, we begin with Scripture. I look to see if there is any scripture that relates to the symbolism of the dream. In this case, it was quite easy to know which Scriptures fit this dream. I was immediately reminded of this one:

Eph 6:12

12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

KJV

I immediately realized this dream was about “spiritual warfare”, and that the Lord was saying that although the Church has been trained and equipped to do spiritual warfare, she is just driving in circles. When God makes a weapon available to us because we are not spiritual enough, we do not even recognize it. The F-18 fighter jet is known as the “Hornet”, and the later model as the “Super Hornet”. The interesting thing about this aircraft is its assortment of weapons. It cannot only take on anything in the air but also take out anything on the ground. If we look into the Word of God once again, we will find these Scriptures.

Deut 7:20-21

20 Moreover the Lord thy God will send the hornet among them, until they that are left, and hide themselves from thee, be destroyed.

21 Thou shalt not be affrighted at them: for the Lord thy God is among you, a mighty God and terrible.

KJV

Josh 24:12-13

12 I sent the hornet before you

which drove them out from before you, also the two kings of the Amorites, but not with your sword or with your bow. 13 I have given you a land for which you did not labor, and cities which you did not build, and you dwell in them; you eat of the vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’

NKJV

I received great strength and encouragement because of this dream. I could not have interpreted it, however, from the light in the outer court, the natural light. No, I needed the light of the inner court for this, the light that comes from the golden candlestick. This dream could only be interpreted from a renewed mind, a mind that trusts God’s word implicitly.

What I love about the “hornet” is this. The “hornet” will find wherever the enemy is hiding and drive him out! Oh, how exciting is that? Later, I was watching a special on the finding and detection of illegal drugs being smuggled through the airports. Do you know what they were using to detect them? No, not dogs, but hornets. They discovered hornets are far more sensitive to “smelling things out” than dogs.

Still, there is more to learn from this dream concerning spiritual warfare. The airplane in my dream did not have any skin on it. I used to work on planes and repair damages to both the structural as well as the skin of the plane. So I knew exactly what needed to be done to get this plane ready for combat. The plane that I saw was complete except for the outside metal skin. Do you know of any Scripture that talks about an army that needs skin on it? Of course you do. It is found in the book of Ezekiel the 37^th chapter.

Ezek 37:6-8

6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.

8 And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above

KJV (emphasis mine)

The point the Lord was making was two-fold. First, the Hornet in the dream needed work. It needed skin. Years ago, the Lord spoke to my heart saying it is the teaching ministry that puts muscle and sinew on the Body of Christ. If the Church is weak, it is because we have not valued or developed anointed teachers. Second, although the Church has been taught in recent years about spiritual warfare, she is unwilling to engage in it.

Not only that, but she does not recognize the weapons, even though she has prayed for them. We have learned that our God works progressively in the earth. One of the ways He does this is through prayer. Prayer is primarily for the discovery of the will of God and for bringing His kingdom to earth. As we pray, the Lord gives us revelation of how to do this. Once this revelation is given, we are to move from the prayer mode to the “prophesying mode”. The only way to get the plane in my dream ready for battle was for the “wrestling team” to get off the bus and go to work “prophesying” to the Hornet! As Ezekiel said, “So I prophesied as I was commanded”.

The truth is that we are ourselves the “Hornets” the Lord wants to use. He sends us into every kind of situation where the enemy hides and uses the “spirit of truth” to uncover him and drive him out. Yet, He tells us to put on our skin first.

Eph 6:12-18

12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

KJV

Are you ready to get off the bus? Are you ready to join with me in spiritual praying and prophesying? Well let’s go – declare these words with me. “Jesus, you are the helmet of salvation.

Through grace, I put on the helmet of salvation that gives me a renewed mind. A renewed mind comes from a knowledge of the Word of God and Jesus is the Word. Therefore, I put on Jesus and have a renewed mind. Jesus, you are my righteousness. I put on the breastplate of righteousness and have great boldness. Jesus, you are truth, and I put on truth as the belt that binds together all spiritual things. I put on the shoes of the preparation of the gospel of peace. Jesus, you are the Prince of Peace. I therefore have the peace of God that passes all understanding. I now take up the shield of faith up and am able to quench all the fiery darts of the enemy. My faith is founded in Jesus Christ; therefore, Jesus is my shield and buckler. Jesus, you are the Word of God. I therefore take the sword of the spirit and am skillful in using your word. I am now clothed in the full amour of God and ready for battle”.

Do you know what you just did? You entered into spiritual warfare; you prophesied over yourself. You are now ready to stand up with the rest of the army of God. You see, prophesying goes beyond “asking”. Prophesying believes that God has answered your prayer and has clothed you and anointed you to “prophesy” to the wind. You have now moved from asking to commanding. I know that is difficult for some of us to take hold of this. If may sound arrogant. No, do not let arrogance have any part of this. Walk in humility but do it with the boldness of God, even as Jesus did. You see, prophesying is speaking for God. It is discovering the will of God through humble prayer and then standing and speaking for God with bold anointing.

Ezek 37:9-10

9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.

10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.

KJV

Remember, when we are prophesying, we are only doing what we have been commanded to do. The word “say” in Ezekiel 37:9 is a powerful word and means:

OT:559

say

‘amar

KJV – , appoint,, call, certify, challenge, charge, command, declare, demand, desire, determine,

Will it not take strong young men to do this? This is not outer court praying but inner court prophesying. It will require a renewed mind, will and spirit to enter into this warfare. When Jesus said, “All authority is given unto me, go ye therefore”, He was enduing us with that authority. Our problem is that we want to get all pumped up with pride and then start commanding, when the Lord is wanting us to be filled with humility and command only because we are only obeying our Lord. To obey is to walk in humility with power. Remember, the almonds bowls on the lamp stand represent the fruit of the Spirit as well as the gifts.

Blessings,

Apostle Robert Rogers

Go to the www.oakcrestministries.org/eagles to register for the upcoming Soaring with Eagles Conference. You can register & pay online or register online and pay at the door. REMEMBER - there is a $10. Discount per person or couple for groups of 10 or more. In addition, it is ONLY $5. (Optional donation) per family for all day childcare on Sat. Any questions? Call the office at 231-773-1220.

What is it that gets into a Hornet.  The rest of the buzzy,  stingy brigade do the decent thing and go home when the sun goes down, to recoup their resources for another day of hostilities when the sun reappears.

Not the Hornet!

Oh no!

The hornet is made of much sterner stuff.

Just when I thought it was safe to open the kitchen window to let out the smoke from my burnt supper, they launched a night-time raid and zoomed in with all guns blazing and a rage to match any worn out 4 year old who is in need of his bed.

Why do  they need to be so cross – and so tenacious –  it’s beyond me

And no doubt with this Global Warming thing now – they’ll be a lot more of them.  You have been warned – or should that be Warmed!!

Seth Rogen and Jay Chou as The Green Hornet and Kato.

Green Hornet fans have been waiting ten years for the movie to come to the big screen, and Seth Rogan has gone through a major makeover to make that happen, including losing 30 pounds.

Source:
http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2009/09/exclusive-photos-seth-rogan-green-hornet

We stopped off in Burgundy on the way south for a well earned break over half term, and blundered into a lovely wine tasting at Pernand-Vergelesses.

Hornet on Ivy, Pernand-Vergelesses