) 1983 Thru The Eyes Of The Corps.By Marc "Devil Dog Of The Web" Iseli / Updated Dec. 2025 The hush house at MCAS El Toro was where jet engines went to scream their lungs out without getting the cops called on us by the fine folks of Irvine. Picture a bunker built to keep the General Electric J79’s banshee wail from rattling the windows of every yuppie subdivision popping up in the 80s. Thanks to this concrete cocoon, we could light the afterburners and run engines full tilt without the mayor showing up with a noise complaint and a pitchfork. This was the only place you could do a "hot" run without getting chewed out by the brass or the neighbors. We’d fire up the engines, hunt for leaks, chase down mystery rattles, and see if the Phantom wanted to shake itself apart—all while the bird was either strapped down or bolted to a test stand. The place had walls thick enough to survive a direct hit from a disgruntled sergeant major, and the augmenter tube looked like something NASA left behind. Its job? Suck in. If you were a plane captain or power plant wrench monkey on the RF-4B, the hush house was your last stop before you could slap the bird on the tail and call it "full mission capable." This place ran 24/7, rain or shine, which, in SoCal, meant you might actually see rain once a year. Lighting up a Phantom in there was like standing inside a washing machine full of bricks: the J79’s "Thud-Thud" rattled your fillings, and the afterburner made the floor vibrate like a cheap motel bed. For us in VMFP-3, if your jet survived the hush house, it was ready to break something important. The soundproofing. For those in the VMFP-3, it was the final hurdle before an aircraft was released back to the flight line for missions.
 FlashForward 1999 Visit My Photo Album Photos of abandoned Hush House today.
Alright, you glorious Rat Phixers and Phlyers, if we ever survived a TAD, a Det, or a BOHICA, who haven't, and you didn’t think I was the biggest gaff off in the squadron. Got a sea story, or some grainy photos your ex didn’t set on fire, and they’re only slightly illegal? Send ‘em by email, snail mail, or safety wire it to a carrier pigeon. I collect ‘em all, just nothing that would incriminate me. 80svmfp3@gmail.com Return To The Home Page  |
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