Specky wrote:New underpants anyone...
KC135 in-flight refueller (short fuselage 707) out of Westover Mass on a Xmas flight to Torrejon (Madrid) Spain -- early 70s.
The refuelling tank had been removed but not the boom and it was full of Xmas goodies and some PAX passengers sitting in web seating along the sides.
Runway was cleared of snow but icy. No 1 engine blew at full throttle as the plane was rotating (nose wheel off). Pilot dumped it back down, reversed everything he had left, and waited to use the brakes. Cool as you like.
Stopped it 30 yds from the landing light towers at the end of the runway. They had a bus and a followme truck towing some stairs there in 10 minutes. They had a new engine on a trolley there before the bus and were working on No1 as we decanted from the plane. Caught a nurse on the steps as she paased out after looking right at the end of the runway. They didn't shift the plane from the runway but fixed it right where it was. Took them 90 minutes. Took the taxiway back round and took off.
All the PAX passengers had to be in uniform but only one put an Artic survival coat over top of the uniform -- went all the way down to your knees. Cargo had to be kept cold so the coat got passed around -- 15 mins at a go.
The 60 day wonder, butter bar 2nd lieut nurses learned a lot that flight. Pity I was out of Torrejon 30 mins after landing, on a Hercules that had been held for 90 mins, but that's how it goes.