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Seat: good plane: old leadership: failure

@HuggyU2 I'm glad you are happy with the Northrop seat, I've flown the A, the C legacy and the C PMP all with the old seat, then I flew the T-6 on a MB seat and now the C PMP with the MB seat. My family and I much prefer the latter. The recent DLF fatality doesn't go against the seat, and like it was hinted at, you need to go read the safety outbrief in order to find out the reason why. That fatality occurred in my host squadron and was a co-worker, so hits close to home. I've flown the tail in question as well. I understand you don't feel the expense is worth it. I agree with you in the aggregate point regarding the procurement of the T-X could have been afforded easily by not wasting it patching the T-38. You're 100% right: the piece meal procurement of life extensions programs on the T-38 has been wasteful. But you're also old enough to recognize the jobs program nature to our rent-seeking DOD contractor funnel business (ie the DOD), so that falls under the wish on one hand shit on the other axiom. So as far as Congress is concerned, said waste is the goal and thus a political success. On a personal level, I disagree with you on the merits of improvement of the MB seat versus the old one. Btw I also flew that old seat in the BUFF (same seat, different firing handles), and several components of that and the 38 seat alike were on the fly to fail component list. So please excuse if I part company with you and find peace of mind in doing this job while strapping to the MB seat, just as I did in the T-6. RCP Visibility is horrid now during no-flaps, but I'm quite content with that opportunity cost. Let's not create false dichotomies here. The procurement wastefulness argument (and you're 100% correct, the RNAV implementation on the -38 for instance is embarrassing and a human factors nightmare I'm surprised hasn't killed anyone yet) can be had without having to shit on the objective improvements made on personnel recovery (for once, the meat in the seat is valued above zero) via this particular seat upgrade.

Surprised this didn't make it to the forums. This happened on May 1 and initial reports were vague https://www.reporternews.com/story/news/local/2018/05/01/abilene-based-b-1-bomber-makes-emergency-landing-midland/570523002/ Yesterday however Task and Purpose had this pretty interesting article. https://taskandpurpose.com/b-1b-lancer-emergency-landing/ Granted this is hearsay and rumor at this point, but damn, if this is true helluva job by that crew Breaking News: Hero B-1 Instructor Pilot and crew land B-1B after in flight emergency (IFE). On May 1st, 2018 a two ship out of Dyess Air Force Basedealt with a situation that no pilot wants to ever encounter. The incident involved a Rockwell B-1B Lancer 86-0109/DY named "Spectre", which was built back in 1986. During flight they encountered an over wing fairing (OWF) fire indication on fire warning panel climbing out of low level, followed by #3 engine fire indications. Crew then executed checklist for both, including fire bottles, but OWF light did not go out. The aircraft commander then called for manual ejection. Auto means that if anyone in the front station punches everyone goes regardless if seat is safed or pinned. Manual means that an individual physically has to pull their handle. The offensive system officer (OSO) was the first to pull, that’s why the missing hatch seat retracted and the hatch departed. When the seat did not go up the rails the crew were left with two options at that point. Continue manual ejection for the other crew which means the OSO would ride the jet into the dirt or take the jet as far as they could while maintaining aircraft control and try to save the OSO, which is why the crew elected to land at Midland Airport. That type of Emergency Procedure (EP) has never been successfully recovered in the B-1. The IFE occurred towards the end of the sortie coming off Instrument Route 178 which is a level route along the Texas and Mexico border. After the failed ejection, there was approximately 15 or more minutes of flight before landing. It is assumed the crew had helmets with masks attached for oxygen. The hatch that blew off has yet to be recovered. The photo of the B-1 in the hangar shows burn marks in the OWF, which appears to be caused by the fire that that crew observed in flight. Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) was on scene after the landing due to the seat shielded mild detonation cords (SMDC). There is no guidance for failed ejection in the Technical Orders (TO). The OSO would have died for sure and there was potential to loose the entire crew racing to Midland trying to save the OSO. Instead the crew made the choice to stay with the OSO and luckily the IP stayed calm and acted to save the life of the crew and B-1B. For that, we believe the IP and crew should all be recognized for their heroic actions that day, which brought credit upon themselves and the United States Air Force.

Skeptical about any of this. There's basically two Air Forces, the operation itself, and the bureacracy that exists to perpetuate itself first (and support the operation second). I can't imagine the bureacracy willingly giving up even a tiny slice of power in favor of improving the operation. I mean, the operation is literally in danger of failing due to a labor shortage because the bureaucracy is that powerful and unwilling to change. No way this plan sticks.

Still not Hillary, and that matters, a lot.

Absolutely, and it's happening more now that the 38 side of the UPT IP landscape has been stacked with heavy drivers. Numerical necessity has created pressure on the ol' "airframe ethnocentric" apartheid of Air Force pilot tracks. It's still statistically insignificant, but more examples are becoming a reality, which is a good thing considering the barn doors are already wide open and the horses have largely left the barn in this airline hiring wave. Yup, we had an C-17 (38 UPT tracked) guy finish his 38 white jet and go straight to IFF enroute to Strikes.

So let me add another review on Trident Home Loans. When Marty says they are here to serve, they truly mean it. My wife, decided we should purchase a new home being built on our same street. My son gets to stay with his friends, my wife gets the house and options she wants and I get...the payment (happy wife, happy life). I contacted Marty and he linked me up with his ace closer Jennifer. Throughout the entire process (and it is a process), Jennifer was there at every turn...weekends, late nights, she is truly dedicated. We decided to use my VA and put down enough to keep the loan under the Jumbo threshold. Expect to provide a LOT of paperwork, not a knock against Trident, just a fact of the VA and the Underwriters given the housing crash in 2007. There were a few nit-noid items that were requested that were somewhat off the wall (for some stocks and FUNDS I own the underwriter requested a detailed prospectus and K-1s...hard to get K-1s when you own .001% of a giant fund), Marty stepped in to inject some common sense back into the process. Everything was on track until the builder missed the planned completion date by over three weeks and put my rate lock in jeopardy. My wife was so fed up with the builder she was ready to walk away from the deal, Marty and Jennifer kept the train moving. If you folks don't know, extending a rate lock can be expensive and Marty did it out of pocket even though the delay was caused by the builder. To complicate matters even more, the day before closing my wife became very ill and had to have emergency surgery, which again put the entire process in jeopardy. not only did Marty and Jennifer help keep the process moving, the wife of a retired vet works in Marty's office and she reached out to provide meals and any help while my wife was recovering. Luckily my wife made a fast recovery and we were able to close on the house a few days later. From top to bottom, Trident is a class act full of people who get the military and will go the extra mile for you.

Opinion columns do not equal journalism. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and let's unpack what she has to offer us: 8 signs pointing to a counterintelligence operation deployed against Trump's campaign 1. They had a code name--what? 2. Lots of claims of surveillance against Trump people - buried lede...all were either under surveillance for Russian contacts and/or crimes being committed. 3. References national security letter abuse...from 11 years ago--somehow that shows laws were broken against Trump??? 4. Unmasking--gov't officials used the system lawfully to intercept communications with monitored foreign individuals...again buried lede...you don't just say "i want to unmask all trump associated convos"...you say "this sounds nefarious...who is discussing X with Y?". What were those conversations about? Can you judge the unmasking without understanding the intent behind it? You assume nefarious intent of the requester, but in reality you should be assuming nefarious intent of the people in conversation. 5. Unmasking again! It's on the list twice...that makes it super bad! 6. Media deep state! 7. LEAKS! The administration leaking to the media is the media's fault! They are trying to destroy trump! Also confounding claims the dossier was "leaked" like it was a gov't secret. 8. The FBI uses informants, so they can't be trusted! No facts to support the conspiracy theory there was a CI op against Trump. He was warned against Russian motives early on, ignored the advice and the Ruskies continued courting just about every aspect of the campaign and everyone lied about it. The FBI kept a close eye on it, and as it turned out everyone had their hands in the honey pot, and now people are mad they got caught. Why should someone go to jail for a crime someone else noticed?

1. I don't know the real reason they went with the MB seat, but as with any multi-million dollar contract, there were certainly more than a couple of reasons. Personally, I don't believe it was money well spent. And if the people involved in "upgrading" to the C-model were involved... well, that's a whole different story. There was a much better cockpit offered and they went with the lowest bidder... which ended up costing the most and being less capable. But I digress... 2. I've never heard the official cost for the seat upgrade, but simple math means it was big. When the first jets were going to get upgraded at DLF, MB looked at the parts of the system that the AF was responsible for (IIRC, it was the rails) and wouldn't touch it until the corrosion situation was improved. I cannot verify this, but DLF folks told me there was at least 1 MB person at DLF doing very little for over a year while the problem was addressed. 3. Had the AF saved the money for the C-model, PMP mod, and ejection seat... and had a comprehensive plan earlier on for acquiring the T-X, the money and horsepower spent on those individual projects would have gone a long way in getting the T-X procured by now. Yes, I'm sure those with PEM/staff experience will state "that's not how it works"... but maybe it should. Piecemealing improvements to the T-38 during that ~10 year window cost a ton of money, and I don't believe it was money well spent. 4. I did not realize that there were successful ejections on the MB seat that would have been fatal on the Northrop seat. Glad to hear that. But how many were there? Divide the cost of the program by that number and ask yourself if that was worth the expense. I'm not a believer in "if one life was saved, it was worth it". It's a silly justification, and we cannot afford it. 5. You state the MB seat upgrade saved a person/people... but I believe there is one person that died in an MB seat that would have survived had the Northrop seat been the seat he was flying on. 6. As a side note, the T-38 I'm flying now has the original seat. A few of the owners (of private T-38's and F-5's) have asked about going to an MB seat. I believe the huge cost to do so erased that idea, and I'm pretty sure all of them will stick with the old seat... even the ones that could afford it. Going to a cold seat isn't an option like it is on an L-39 and other jet warbirds: I'm happy to fly an L-39 with cold seats (and I do)... but not a T-38 or F-5.

4000 hrs, the hard way! Back when flying was dangerous and sex was safe! No hate on the Northrop seat, it is what it is and it’s worked as advertised for many many years, but...the MB is more capable and has saved lives where the old seat wouldn’t. There’s a reason AETC upgraded, and for the cost of some budget dust it’d be nice to see the A models get the same treatment.

I'm going to say you're wrong on this one, matmacwc. Certainly not 1000... but I think it might get some traction with those retired for under 12 months. Because not everyone retired because of the BS. Because... for those that just retired and went to the airlines recently... they now have a seniority number that is accruing longevity.

Making sure the money gets spent. That's it.

What does a Reaper pilot "step" to? The conex?

I'll take the opposite tack: Every flying squadron should have a mascot, and dogs would be serviceable. I argued for keeping a dog in the SOC at my first Reaper Squadron that could bark at Lieutenants when they stepped, but was told no because "it might poop inside". Then one of the Lt's did exactly that.

Oh, someone is getting bomb-ass cash from the GTC stranglehold, just not you or me.

The above statement is exactly how I feel about the Russian collusion narrative. A year of hardcore investigation by a special council filled with partisan democrats has produced zero evidence the Trump campaign colluded or conspired with Russia to win the election. How much longer should the nation endure the Mueller probe?

Here's what I think just went down. AF: "We have this massive problem! We can't fix it!" Mattis: "Of course you can, it's called leadership. Get some." AF: "But it's a bigger problem than that! <insert AF talking points b.s.>" Mattis/Trump: "Okay, if it's such a critical problem, here's a tool that can fix it overnight. Recall 1,000 pilots, voluntary or not." AF: "But we can't do that!" Mattis/Trump: "Then I guess it's not such a big f**king problem then. STFU and do your jobs."

Girl tried that after she decided RPAs weren’t for her, I think there is more back story/motive that I really don’t care to remember, but the story ends with the AF saying ok sweet, here’s your Global Hawk, no killing there, here’s your sweet PCS to the frozen tundra, here’s a waiver making you non deployble. Thanks for your next 6 years of service.

That is an animated gif not a meme you n00b.

Haha. Cool man. Glad you’re a pilot. Cheers.