BlackLion213 Posted March 18, 2017 Posted March 18, 2017 (edited) Good evening, Neptunus Lex was a F/A-18 pilot and outstanding blogger who posted regularly from ~2004 until 2012. He was one of the first new F/A-18 pilots who started his fleet career in the mid-80s. He was an excellent writer who discussed all aspect of naval aviation, his stuff was both fun to read and granted excellent insight. I learned a ton from reading his posts. Though he retired from the USN, he missed the world of aviation and returned to the cockpit as a pilot for the private firm Airborne Tactical Advantage Company in F-21s for DACT at NAS Fallon. https://www.wired.com/2012/03/blogger-crash/ He crashed on landing in poor weather in 2012 and his blog was taken down by family. I thought his works had been lost, but a fellow reader archived some 70% of his posts. These archives have been compiled with additional works by other pilots and posted here: https://thelexicans.wordpress.com/ If you enjoy Naval aviation, I highly recommend this site. It mostly relates to the Hornet though he does frequently discuss the Tomcat - both in good and bad ways (through the eye of a Hornet pilot). Here is a quick F-14 story courtesy of a former A-6 driver: https://thelexicans.wordpress.com/2013/02/07/we-meet-the-f-14/ These posts are from Lex concerning operations in the Arabian Sea and off Oman in the late 1980s: https://thelexicans.wordpress.com/2016/03/30/night-in-the-barrel-part-ii/ https://thelexicans.wordpress.com/2017/01/15/air-strike/ There are tons of stories contained on the site and a search feature. I hope you enjoy the read and I'm looking forward to reading these stories again. I missed them. -Nick Edited March 18, 2017 by BlackLion213 2
Cibit Posted March 18, 2017 Posted March 18, 2017 Thanks for the links I will enjoy reading them:) i5 8600k@5.2Ghz, Asus Prime A Z370, 32Gb DDR4 3000, GTX1080 SC, Oculus Rift CV1, Modded TM Warthog Modded X52 Collective, Jetseat, W10 Pro 64 [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Adding JTAC Guide //My Vid's//229th AHB
lunaticfringe Posted March 18, 2017 Posted March 18, 2017 (edited) Yeah, it's been a horrible five years. Also, the blog wasn't taken down. The URL is paid for, but no one in the family knew his passwords, so the hosting died. A number of us tried to get the hosting service to accept payment as a donation without access, but they refused. The Naval Institute Press is still interested in his book, so there may be one more round in the chamber. There have been a lot of tributes over time, over and above the tail at Fallon, between challenge coins, a scholarship, various memorials, and the like. Personally, I authored a simulation training extension named after him. And about a month back, a commissioned print in his honor based on one of his writings was delivered to the Fallon O-Club, and the base XO used to fly with him so it'll find a place of distinction. In other, more happy news, Lex's co-blogger Whisper had his change of command at sea to become CO of VFA-34 last week, so the spirit lives on. Edited March 18, 2017 by lunaticfringe
captain_dalan Posted March 19, 2017 Posted March 19, 2017 That was a very good read mate. Thanks again! Modules: FC3, Mirage 2000C, Harrier AV-8B NA, F-5, AJS-37 Viggen, F-14B, F-14A, Combined Arms, F/A-18C, F-16C, MiG-19P, F-86, MiG-15, FW-190A, Spitfire Mk IX, UH-1 Huey, Su-25, P-51PD, Caucasus map, Nevada map, Persian Gulf map, Marianas map, Syria Map, Super Carrier, Sinai map, Mosquito, P-51, AH-64 Apache, F4U Corsair, WWII Assets Pack
Grundar Posted March 19, 2017 Posted March 19, 2017 Can never seem to give Blacklion enough reputation, pretty much every post he brings to this forum deserves one.. ..unless of course I diagree! :P ;) Interesting stuff.
Dino Might Posted April 14, 2017 Posted April 14, 2017 Great reading. I shared with my midshipmen. Hope some lessons hit home.
scaflight Posted April 17, 2017 Posted April 17, 2017 Thanks for bringing these links. :) Unfortunately I've now consumed all his flying-related posts, so :c
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