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flynhigh

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    Depressive Disorder Waiver?

    in Aviation Medicine

    Posted · Edited by flynhigh

    An 18 year old high school graduate is interested in enlisting in the Air National Guard.  Recruiter says that since he answered that he has seen a mental health counselor for depression, that he is ineligible for service until 3 years since seeing the counselor.  

    Reviewing the Air Force Waiver Guide, I'm finding different information than what the recruiter conveyed.  Additionally, I'm not sure what the appropriate "Flying Class" is for this particular individual.  Page 567 shows Table 1: Waiver potential for mood disorders.  Said individual's goal is to be a Crew Chief.  My main point of confusion is these two notes under the table;

    Quote

     

    † For FC I/IA and untrained FC II/III individuals waiver considered after depression is completely resolved and medications and psychotherapy have been discontinued for a minimum of 2 years.

    * For trained personnel, a waiver is considered after depression is completely resolved and medications and psychotherapy have been discontinued for 6 months

     

     

    The first of these two states 2 years is required since completion of psychotherapy, while the second states 6 months.  Aside from the difference between these and what the recruiter stated, this is significant as it has been more than 6 months since this individual completed psychotherapy.  

    So, my question is, can anyone shed some light on which of these applies to an enlisted airman trying to get in as a crew chief?  Is he eligibile now to apply for a waiver to enlist?

    Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

    P-51D Crash in Fredericksburg, TX

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Passenger identified as Vincent Losada, 93, of San Antonio.  Mr. Losada, a B-17 bombardier, lost his right arm after being hit by flak while returning from his 25th mission in the European Theater.  

    93 year old San Antonio man identified as 2nd victim in fatal Fredericksburg plane crash

    1st Lt Vincent Losada, 839th Bomb Squadron, 487th Bomb Group.

    VincentLosada.jpg

    Vincent Losada

    1st Lt Losada, second from right in front row, with the rest of the crew of "The Big Drip Jr".

    TeareCrew2.jpg

    Teare Crew

    Another shot of the crew of "The Big Drip Jr", 1st Lt Vincent Losada third from left in back row.

    TeareCrew.jpg

    Teare Crew

    BigDripJr.jpg

    The Big Drip Jr

    ?format=1000w

    Two Purple Hearts

    • Like 5
    • Sad 1

    Sweeper FODs half a Wing

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Oshkosh sweeper was added to the Duluth Airport Authority's inventory of snow removal equipment this year. Shedding bristles from the sweeper did some damage at the 148th.

    photo.JPG

    http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/3672002-bristles-force-guard-ground-12-f-16s

    Twelve F-16 fighter jets have been temporarily downed by an unlikely cause — broom bristles.

    The 148th Air National Guard Fighter Wing grounded the aircraft this weekend, when it came to light that a mechanical sweeper used to clear the tarmac at Duluth International Airport had been losing excessive bristles on the job.


    The metal and poly bristles were sucked into the powerful turbine engines of the jets, prompting the Air National Guard to deem them unfit for service.

    “We take FOD — foreign object damage — extremely seriously, whether it be birds in the air or sand on the runway. There are a lot of things that can cause jet engines to malfunction,” said Capt. Jodi Kiminski of the 148th.

    Kiminski said mechanics have been working around the clock to return the jets to service for a military exercise scheduled this weekend, but Duluth’s skies have been abnormally quiet as training sorties have been placed on hold in the meantime.

    The 148th boasts a total squadron of 22 F-16s, but at any time some of the jets are out of service for repairs. The temporary idling of 12 F-16s will effectively keep the unit’s pilots on the ground all this week, Kiminski predicted.

    None of the aircraft’s engines have been irreparably damaged, but Kiminski said: “We have been putting in a ton of hours.”

    Kiminski said she couldn’t attach a dollar value to the repairs. Yet she doesn’t expect the unit will seek to collect any damages from the Duluth Airport Authority, which is responsible for keeping its runways clear.

    “In terms of any financial fallout, that will have to be worked out at another time,” said Thomas Werner, executive director of the Duluth Airport Authority.

    “I can only tell you that right now we are solely focused on making sure that everybody, including those F-16s, can fly in and out of here reliably, and that’s what we’re working towards,” he said.

    Sweepers with larger rotating heads have been used to maintain local runways for more than a decade, according to Werner.

    “This particular piece of equipment that had the bristle issue is new to the fleet, but I don’t think that, in and of itself, is cause for concern,” he said.

    “We’ve been in contact with both the manufacturer of this particular piece of heavy equipment, as well as with the manufacturer of the bristle cartridge, which is separate,” Werner said. “They both have been very good to work with to help us to solve the problem. That investigation is still active and ongoing, in terms of finding the root cause.”

    Air National Guard staff noticed the bristles late last week, and the extent of the problem became evident upon further inspection of the unit’s F-16s during the weekend.

    “This airport has an impeccable safety record, and any time that we have something that may pose a problem, we take it offline right away, and this was no different. As soon as we got word that there may have been an issue with some of the 148th’s jets, the equipment was immediately removed,” said Werner, noting that the sweeper remains sidelined.

    The offending bristles were only a few inches long and were not immediately noticeable on the pavement, Kiminski said.

    She explained that flight protocol involves careful inspection, saying: “We have crew members that go out before and after every flight to make sure that there’s nothing out there in the way of the jets.”

    As Werner continues to dig into the issue, he said the leading theory right now is that the airport may have received a defective bristle cartridge.

    “But until I have more data, I’m hesitant to say it much stronger,” Werner said.

    Kiminski referred to the airport authority as a good partner and said: “We are continuing to meet with their professionals to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

    While the stray bristles caused headaches for fighter jets, Werner said they posed no threat to other airport traffic, both commercial and general aviation.

    He noted that the air intake for the F-16 is below the fuselage.

    “Because they’re so much closer to the ground and because their turbines are so powerful, they are susceptible to much, much smaller debris than anything else that flies in and out of Duluth,” he said.

    Werner noted that the runway standards for F-16 operations are significantly more stringent than for other aircraft and asserted that the airport was never out of compliance with safety guidelines for other types of air traffic.

    “At no time has the general public that flies in and out of here been at risk,” he said.

    Virgin Galactic reports loss of Spaceship 2

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Talk about the stars aligning. Amazing. Here's to a full recovery. :beer:

    SpaceShipTwo Pilot Speaks Through Dad

    The pilot who survived the in-flight breakup of SpaceShipTwo in late October told his father he was unconscious for about half of his parachute descent from 50,000 feet but he managed a thumbs-up for the occupants of a chase plane that circled him on the way down. The Mail quoted Peter Siebold's physician father Klaus as saying his son is in "good spirits" 10 days after the spacecraft broke apart on a test flight. The other pilot on the spacecraft, Michael Alsbury, didn't survive. "I must have lost consciousness at first. I can't remember anything about what happened but I must have come to during the fall. I remember waving to the chase plane and giving them the thumbs-up to tell them I was OK. I know it's a miracle I survived," the Mail quoted Dr. Siebold as saying his son told him.

    The NTSB has determined the re-entry system of the vehicle deployed prematurely and caused SpaceShipTwo to break up but has not determined a cause. There were no ejection seats aboard but Siebold told his father, who told the Mail, that he suffered a broken shoulder but was back at home in Tehachapi, California, three days after the accident. His father lives in Seattle and visited his son at home last week. Siebold has yet to speak to investigators but apparently laid out the sequence to his dad. "He doesn't remember anything from the actual crash. He came to during the descent. He must have woken up about halfway down," Dr. Siebold told the Mail. "When he was on the way down the chase plane was circling him and he was waving and giving the thumbs-up to indicate he was all right while he was dangling from the parachute. He's recovering at home. He broke the head of the humerus bone that sits in the right shoulder. He's got a rib and lung contusion and there is an issue with his eyes because of the cold. It was around minus 60 degrees up there."

    Virgin Galactic reports loss of Spaceship 2

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    NTSB: SpaceShipTwo's Tail Boom Deployed Early

    http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/NTSB-SpaceShip-Twos-Tail-Boom-Deployed-Early223043-1.html

    It'll be interesting to find out if this was the cause. The unique nature of flight test instrumentation on-board likely means that a cause will be determined much quicker than the typical NTSB investigation. I imagine there's a hell of a lot of stress on that airframe when the rocket is burning. If the tail boom did go into feather mode during the burn, then an in-flight break-up wouldn't be an unreasonable response.

    Two Planes Collide Over Wi. Everybody made it out.

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by flynhigh

    NBC evening news just aired video from multiple go-pros the skydivers were wearing.

    It was pretty damn amazing. They said more would be aired on the Today show Tuesday.

    Rumor mill today (at a certain airplane factory up Nort') was that they had GoPro footage, but were holding out until they had enough 0's in the purchase price. I guess this confirms that! N

    Edited to add that link below now contains video as well.

    Some stills here;

    http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/04/21308806-exclusive-images-show-skydivers-terrifying-collision-and-chaotic-plunge?lite

    A Toast in Remembrance of the Fallen...

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    It's tough to lose any of The Greatest Generation, but Joe Gomer was a proud Duluthian, and Duluth was proud to have him. He was Minnesota's last surviving Tuskegee Airmen, and was a very humble person. I recall the first time I met him, at a Cirrus company picnic sitting quietly in his wheelchair watching Tora Tora Tora perform their practice airshow for the upcoming Duluth Airshow. He was a genuine man, and held no bitterness towards America's past;

    "
    We’re all Americans. That’s why we chose to fight. I’m as American as anybody. My black ancestors were brought over against their will to help build America. My German ancestors came over to build a new life. And my Cherokee ancestors were here to greet all the boats."
    -Joe Gomer

    rather was ready to make the ultimate sacrifice for it.

    RIP Major Gomer. :salut:

    http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/280290/group/News/

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