can you put a fancy clicker on it that alternates between pencil and pen? and maybe have it play mp3s 
-
Please take a moment and update your account profile. If you have an updated account profile with basic information on why you are on Air Warriors it will help other people respond to your posts. How do you update your profile you ask?
Go here:
Edit Account Details and Profile
Roger Ball, good and not-so-good questions about the world of "Paddles"
- Thread starter TheDrakester
- Start date
Why don't you re-create a replica for your Man-Cave? They don't look that difficult to make:
My favorite part of the last picture is the one in the lower right.....some things never change.
-ea6bflyr
Most of the 'old guys' made their own ... I'm not certain that a FSN was ever issued. If it was, I was unaware of it.
The early guys started out w/ ping-pong paddles (literally) and improved on the design to suit their individual tastes ... lighted suits/paddles for night came later.
When I waved the boys on the beach @ CUBI ... just for sport ... I wanted to use real, no-shit PADDLES, for a variety of reasons. I went down to the metalsmith shop w/ some drawings, a couple of washed-out sacrificial T-shirts, and a case of beer ...
PRESTO: I had my PADDLES in a couple of days.
They looked exactly like these ... so did my flight deck hat.
The Gospel According to St. Fresnel of the Miraculous Lens
Cleaning out my dear departed Dad's computer and came across this. He was a Korean War era Naval Aviator.
Chapter One, Versus One through Five
In the Beginning, God created the heavens, and the Aircraft Carrier, and the seas upon which to float it; and yet there was complete Darkness upon the face of the earth.
And, as we traveled there came to us, as a voice out of the darkness, an angel of the Lord, saying, "On centerline, on Glideslope, three quarters of a mile, call the ball."
I reflected upon these words, for I was still yet engulfed in complete darkness. With deep feeling and doubt overwhelming my countenance, I glanceth towards my companion at my right hand and saith, "What seeth thou, trusted friend?", and there was a great silence.
Gazing in a searching manner and seeing naught, I raised my voice saying, "Clara..."
And God spoke to me, and He said, "You're low..power". As the Lord saith, so shall it be, and I added power; and lo, the ball riseth up onto the bottom of the mirror. But it was a tainted red glow, and surely indicateth Satan's own influence.
And God spoke to me again saying, "Power.Power..Power!!!!....fly the ball." And lo, the ball riseth up and off the top of the lens,and the great darkness was upon me.
And the voice of the Angel came to me again, saying, "When comfortable, twelve hundred feet, turn downwind."
Whereupon I wandered in the darkness, without direction, for surely the ships radar was beset by demons, and there was great confusion cast upon CATCC, and there was a great silence in which there was no comfort to be found.
Even my TACAN needle spinneth..and lo, there was chaos; my trusted companion weepeth quietly unto himself. There was a great turmoil within my cockpit for a multitude of serpents had crept therein.
And though we wandered, as if by Providence I found myself within that Holy Corridor, and at twelve hundred feet, among my brethren
seeking refuge; and the voice of the Angel of the Lord came to me again, asking of me my needles, and I raised my voice saying, "Up and centered", and the voice answered, "Roger, fly your needles.."
I reflected upon these words, and I raised my voice in prayer, for though my gyro indicateth it not so, surely my aircraft hath been turned upside down. Verily, as Beelzebub surely wrestled with me, a voice, that of my trusted companion, saith to me calmly, "Friend...fly thy needles, and find comfort in the Lord."
And lo, with deep trembling in my heart, I did, and He guideth me to centered glideslope and centerline, though I know not how it came to be.
And out of the great darkness, God spoke to me again saying, "Roger ball" for now I had faith. And though the ball began to rise at the in close position, my left hand was full of the Spirit, and it squeeketh off power and as in a great miracle my plane stoppeth upon the flight deck, for it hath caught the four wire which God in his infinite wisdom hath placed thirty feet further down the flight deck than the three wire.
And thus bathed in a golden radiance from above, our pilgrimage was at an end, and my spirit was truly reborn. And as I basked in the rapture, God spoketh to me one final time, and He saith, "Lights out on deck.."
Cleaning out my dear departed Dad's computer and came across this. He was a Korean War era Naval Aviator.
Chapter One, Versus One through Five
In the Beginning, God created the heavens, and the Aircraft Carrier, and the seas upon which to float it; and yet there was complete Darkness upon the face of the earth.
And, as we traveled there came to us, as a voice out of the darkness, an angel of the Lord, saying, "On centerline, on Glideslope, three quarters of a mile, call the ball."
I reflected upon these words, for I was still yet engulfed in complete darkness. With deep feeling and doubt overwhelming my countenance, I glanceth towards my companion at my right hand and saith, "What seeth thou, trusted friend?", and there was a great silence.
Gazing in a searching manner and seeing naught, I raised my voice saying, "Clara..."
And God spoke to me, and He said, "You're low..power". As the Lord saith, so shall it be, and I added power; and lo, the ball riseth up onto the bottom of the mirror. But it was a tainted red glow, and surely indicateth Satan's own influence.
And God spoke to me again saying, "Power.Power..Power!!!!....fly the ball." And lo, the ball riseth up and off the top of the lens,and the great darkness was upon me.
And the voice of the Angel came to me again, saying, "When comfortable, twelve hundred feet, turn downwind."
Whereupon I wandered in the darkness, without direction, for surely the ships radar was beset by demons, and there was great confusion cast upon CATCC, and there was a great silence in which there was no comfort to be found.
Even my TACAN needle spinneth..and lo, there was chaos; my trusted companion weepeth quietly unto himself. There was a great turmoil within my cockpit for a multitude of serpents had crept therein.
And though we wandered, as if by Providence I found myself within that Holy Corridor, and at twelve hundred feet, among my brethren
seeking refuge; and the voice of the Angel of the Lord came to me again, asking of me my needles, and I raised my voice saying, "Up and centered", and the voice answered, "Roger, fly your needles.."
I reflected upon these words, and I raised my voice in prayer, for though my gyro indicateth it not so, surely my aircraft hath been turned upside down. Verily, as Beelzebub surely wrestled with me, a voice, that of my trusted companion, saith to me calmly, "Friend...fly thy needles, and find comfort in the Lord."
And lo, with deep trembling in my heart, I did, and He guideth me to centered glideslope and centerline, though I know not how it came to be.
And out of the great darkness, God spoke to me again saying, "Roger ball" for now I had faith. And though the ball began to rise at the in close position, my left hand was full of the Spirit, and it squeeketh off power and as in a great miracle my plane stoppeth upon the flight deck, for it hath caught the four wire which God in his infinite wisdom hath placed thirty feet further down the flight deck than the three wire.
And thus bathed in a golden radiance from above, our pilgrimage was at an end, and my spirit was truly reborn. And as I basked in the rapture, God spoketh to me one final time, and He saith, "Lights out on deck.."
110206-N-0074G-015 MEDITERRANEAN SEA (Feb. 6, 2011) Landing signal officers aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65) guide an F/A-18C Hornet assigned to the Thunderbolts of Marine Strike Fighter Squadron (VMFA) 251 to an arrested landing. Enterprise is deployed as part of Enterprise Carrier Strike Group, supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet areas of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Jesse L. Gonzalez/Released)
For $85 +/- ???
Suggestion: save your $85 +/- for booze on the beach.
Opinion --- based on 100's of hours on the PLATFORM: you don't need this super-duper 'pen' on the PLATFORM. Use a flashlight, if you must -- but in any case, there's PLENTY of light coming off the island to see/write book.
True, especially today.
But my 1st boat was darker than the proverbial well digger's deep submerged arse. Tough to either see to land, or to write in a book. (Any light might have made our boat a target, I guess. Airwing be damned. )
They didn't even turn on the red floods above very low except for re-spot. It was really a f*ck'n dark black-ass boat, the likes of which I never saw on any other boat then or later, ever! ... And it pitched and wallowed like a beaten witch too!
(At least it wasn't a 27-C, or I'd be long dead.
)
I'm assumin' that was MIDWAY ???....But my 1st boat was darker than the proverbial well digger's deep submerged arse....(At least it wasn't a 27-C, or I'd be long dead.
My first (night) BOAT was the 27-C TICO (many a SCREAM in the groove @ night !!!) ... now, we're talkin' DARK & SMALL !!!
Thanks to all the paddles -I bagged # 499 & 500 yesterday!
Midway
You're right, MIDWAY? had a kind of rolling wallow that I never experienced on any other Carrier. She was top heavy at birth, having been built at the end of WWII on a Battleship hull. Then in a 4-year modernization, she was given a "Super Carrier" flight deck, being recommissioned in 1970. I was on the recommissioning crew, and when we got underway for sea trials, there was a lot of concern about what could happen in her sea trials on the first max speed/full rudder turn?!? :bigeyes_1
Flew the ship's C-1A COD for 2 cruises. In heavy seas, approaches were hard enough in the slooowww C-1, must have been really tough for the Air Wing. Cat, A4s?
On the plus side, she was old and had only 2 Cats, but somehow she managed to launch major strikes.. keeping up with the "big boy's" 4 Cats!:icon_mi_6
BzB
*USS MIDWAY, underway from Hunters Point on Sea Trials, approaching the Golden Gate - March 1970
They didn't even turn on the red floods above very low except for re-spot. It was really a f*ck'n dark black-ass boat, the likes of which I never saw on any other boat then or later, ever! ... And it pitched and wallowed like a beaten witch too!
(At least it wasn't a 27-C, or I'd be long dead.
You're right, MIDWAY? had a kind of rolling wallow that I never experienced on any other Carrier. She was top heavy at birth, having been built at the end of WWII on a Battleship hull. Then in a 4-year modernization, she was given a "Super Carrier" flight deck, being recommissioned in 1970. I was on the recommissioning crew, and when we got underway for sea trials, there was a lot of concern about what could happen in her sea trials on the first max speed/full rudder turn?!? :bigeyes_1
Flew the ship's C-1A COD for 2 cruises. In heavy seas, approaches were hard enough in the slooowww C-1, must have been really tough for the Air Wing. Cat, A4s?
On the plus side, she was old and had only 2 Cats, but somehow she managed to launch major strikes.. keeping up with the "big boy's" 4 Cats!:icon_mi_6
BzB
*USS MIDWAY, underway from Hunters Point on Sea Trials, approaching the Golden Gate - March 1970
Attachments
Yes, Midway.
Older than dirt and top heavy, she (too) often did pick up the slack for much newer/larger carriers. Thus one of the reasons for her nicname, "Midway Magic." Of course that 'magic' usually meant longer periods at-sea while we picked up somebody else's slack.
*****************
A4s - Outside of the Training Command, I never saw a 27-C and never wanted to.
But my hat is off to all those that did!
Attachments
So nowadays, that means what... qualed on a rhino AND hornet? Wow, talk about diversification.