Good day today (pics)

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Started out the day doing a composite repair on an F-18...After that, I welded some caps to make plugs for hydraulic lines...welded together a type of spanner wrench the machine shop milled out that was designed for another shop...Last edited by Jake Maestas; 11-21-2014 at 04:38 AM.
Reply:Finished out the day working on my re certification plates for aluminum. I'm required to butt weld .063" 6061 aluminum in 2G and 3G position.  All the welds have to pass xray.  None of these pass visual so far, but im on the right track to getting some good ones....This one fails visual because of the lack of penetration in the spot pictured below...
Reply:looks like interesting work.i.u.o.e. # 15queens, ny and sunny fla
Reply:Even if the pilots have lost training hours, looks like you stay busy. Thanks for your service.30+ yrs Army Infantry & Field Artillery, 25 yrs agoMiller 350LX Tig Runner TA 210, spool gunLincoln 250/250 IdealArcESAB PCM 500i PlasmaKazoo 30"  vert BSKazoo 9x16 horiz BSClausing 12x24 lathe20T Air Press
Reply:Nice work!
Reply:That should be a panty dropper job. Think about it most of us go out meet women and we get "so what do you do for a living ?" Us "oh I'm a welder"  nothing special to them but then op goes in same question and he gets to say oh well I work on f-18 fighter jets for the military and then I assume panties drop because who the hell doesn't like jets!!
Reply:Good thing you removed all the bombs from under the wing before weldingJeff
Reply:Originally Posted by 7A749They don't sweat you for taking pix of that stuff do they?
Reply:Originally Posted by FORTEALLOYSame question.....Also, do they have to disconnect all the electronics before you start? Would imagine dozens of very sensitive / high tech electronic boxes onboard the Hornet.
Reply:Originally Posted by Jake Maestas  We don't do much welding on the aircraft itself.  And thanks for all of the compliments.  I love the type of work that I do.
Reply:Originally Posted by drussell0104That should be a panty dropper job. Think about it most of us go out meet women and we get "so what do you do for a living ?" Us "oh I'm a welder"  nothing special to them but then op goes in same question and he gets to say oh well I work on f-18 fighter jets for the military and then I assume panties drop because who the hell doesn't like jets!!
Reply:Originally Posted by MikeGyvergirls don't give 2 sh|ts about military jets lol
Reply:There is a lot of stuff that is not secretive that you can't take pictures or drawings of. I am not even allowed to talk about a lot of the stuff I have done..... those are my own rules though.Good stuff. I Always enjoy interesting photos.
Reply:Originally Posted by snowbirdSo i assume you do some, is there an extensive procedure to follow regarding the onboard electronics ?Ford recommend  to tear in pieces their non flying F-150 before welding, what's like on an F-18 ?
Reply:I see alot of  trails with smoke rings from jets almost everyday but hardly ever see a jet. Some trails criss cross and recently saw 2 in  parallel . Sometimes at 3am I hear low flying jets wizzing by. I think the smoke ring trails are from an engine that doesnt exist but it does  A pulsed jet I think?  Anyone else see  jet trails with smoke rings?Jake Maestas, thanks for sharing the pics. Also question; what do you ground the F 18 with and to? Welding type cable to ground rod?Last edited by Insaneride; 11-21-2014 at 10:02 PM.
Reply:Originally Posted by snowbirdLooks like you have an experience to share...
Reply:The smoke rings  in these pics are not the best example but this is what Im talking about Attached Images
Reply:I see military jets around here all the time. These are the ones with EIGHT jet engines on them. Care to guess what they are? Hint, they carry a BIG CAN OF WHOOP A$$.
Reply:Originally Posted by BistineauI see military jets around here all the time. These are the ones with EIGHT jet engines on them. Care to guess what they are? Hint, they carry a BIG CAN OF WHOOP A$$.
Reply:Originally Posted by InsanerideI see alot of  trails with smoke rings from jets almost everyday but hardly ever see a jet. Some trails criss cross and recently saw 2 in  parallel . Sometimes at 3am I hear low flying jets wizzing by. I think the smoke ring trails are from an engine that doesnt exist but it does  A pulsed jet I think?  Anyone else see  jet trails with smoke rings?Jake Maestas, thanks for sharing the pics. Also question; what do you ground the F 18 with and to? Welding type cable to ground rod?
Reply:Originally Posted by GravelB-52. They live near you.
Reply:Originally Posted by BistineauA-10s
Reply:OH the joy of a B52 arc light strike , the ground shakes like an earth quake and we were 8 miles away. Watched one from an OH6-A in the air , when the shock wave hit us we could see it coming toward us , it almost turned us upside down. But real adrenaline  rush!!
Reply:Originally Posted by BrooklynBravestQuite possibly the greatest military machine ever made. Nothing could possibly instill fear into the enemy more than a 20' long gatling gun....Sorry off topic
Reply:Originally Posted by BrooklynBravest Nothing could possibly instill fear into the enemy more than a 20' long gatling gun....Sorry off topicOriginally Posted by InsanerideI see alot of  trails with smoke rings from jets almost everyday but hardly ever see a jet. Some trails criss cross and recently saw 2 in  parallel . Sometimes at 3am I hear low flying jets wizzing by. I think the smoke ring trails are from an engine that doesnt exist but it does  A pulsed jet I think?  Anyone else see  jet trails with smoke rings?Jake Maestas, thanks for sharing the pics. Also question; what do you ground the F 18 with and to? Welding type cable to ground rod?
Reply:Originally Posted by farmersammI think the last pulse jet to fly was the V-1 Flying Bomb
Reply:Originally Posted by BistineauA 16" naval gun firing in your direction comes to mind. It is only one round at a time, but it is a REALLY BIG round. I wouldn't want to be anywhere near where one of those rounds is going to land.
Reply:Originally Posted by InsanerideI see alot of  trails with smoke rings from jets almost everyday but hardly ever see a jet. Some trails criss cross and recently saw 2 in  parallel . Sometimes at 3am I hear low flying jets wizzing by. I think the smoke ring trails are from an engine that doesnt exist but it does  A pulsed jet I think?  Anyone else see  jet trails with smoke rings?
Reply:Originally Posted by ILikeFlyinPulse jet and pulse detonation engines do exist, but they are not practical for commercial/manned use.  They produce too much noise and vibration.  They do make the 'donut on a string' vapor trail.  They are used for drones and other heating type applications.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulsejethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulse_detonation_engine
Reply:Originally Posted by InsanerideDoes this exist?http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_%28aircraft%29-
Reply:Originally Posted by ILikeFlyinI've seen that a time or two.  Looks a lot like the XB-70 Valkyrie, which did exist for a short time.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_A...XB-70_Valkyrie
Reply:Originally Posted by InsanerideSecretary_of_defense cancelled the project but I do think they exist.  Area 51 is about 300 miles from here Edwards AF base is about the same and then theres Tonapah. Strangest thing is theres a NAVY_ base about 50 miles east of me and its the middle of the desert.  I see weird contrails nearly daily. Sometimes the trails change heading in the middle of sky. I know passenger jets just dont do that on a regular basis.
Reply:Originally Posted by BistineauA 16" naval gun firing in your direction comes to mind. It is only one round at a time, but it is a REALLY BIG round. I wouldn't want to be anywhere near where one of those rounds is going to land.