EvilEagle

Took me about 2 mins to change it out. Two phillips-noggin screws and you're golden.

You can also just talk directly to Bose and they'll send you the entire mic and plug assembly for the GA (if you bought Mil) or Mil if you have GA. Cost me about $195 or so.

Good write-up. I did the same thing at Mobile Downtown. 2 flights then the checkride. Cost me right at $1000 as well. I didn't have to do the sim IMC approach though. (Evaluator said I didn't have to do it since I had already demo'd in another aircraft). And my ground eval was maybe 30 mins. Other than that - painless process. The aircraft I had was a POS, but it was cheap-ish - $220/hour.

Ok, two things - 1 - nope, don't know him. Seems like this was a shameless attempt for $$$. Not what I'd do, and if I do ever run across him I'll flip him shit for it. 2 - C'mon Toro! "why do C model dudes have to put themselves in the spotlight" You know enough of us, yes there are a few bad apples that make us look like jack-wagons (new commercial cracks me up) but every community has it's bad actors. We've gone through the community bashing time and time again on this board. As much as we are all getting kicked in the nuts with assignments and base closures, none of us are exactly in the spotlight.

Stan/Eval is the appropriate channel if you want to do it officially. Most wings in ACC are not approved for about 1/2 the callsigns they fly with... Oh well.

Thanks fellas. It was pretty short notice. We had a by-name hire for my wife to go to Tyndall (WSEP) but then she got Pensacola instead. (commander issues) Anyway, we had already done 12 months (of the 13 we'd been married) apart, so we didn't want to do another 2 years. The drive is about 3 hours (when it's not spring break traffic) so we couldn't even live in the middle. Buying a small plane was just the best thing (and coolest) that we could come up with. I'm lucky that Tyndall has an aeroclub onbase, so it's easy to get permission to land if you are an aeroclub member. It's been working out pretty good, been commuting for about 9 months now. Went with the Glasair because it's 150 knots at about 7.5 gph. It's NOT roomy though. We're happy - first plane so it's a learning experience. Brabus: I take that as a compliment!

I've got a Glasair, but that's not as aerobatic as the Citabria. It is cheap to fly - which is why I bought it. I commute about 96 miles one way to work everyday in it. 7 gph and 150 knots doesn't suck.

I heard that they are letting 2-3 dudes go together and get a house on base instead of having to live in dorms or whatever. Might be a better option if it's available (and you are stuck onbase).

- oh yeah, the program that is currently being approved for anyone that has zero months or less left on their ADSC. Right now big blue is keeping us all till the last possible moment.

I can help you get settled when you get here, shoot me a PM.

My wife and I were both at Mtn Home, then I got an assignment to Tyndall. We got a by-name hire for her to go to TY as well (at the WEG) and her Mtn Home CC/AFPC would not support it. So, now she's at Pensacola, I'm at Tyndall. There are worse assignments, but there is NO reason she should be at Tydall. Big Blue just doesn't care about families that are both rated.

And how long have you been on Active Duty to know enough to judge those getting out after their 10? If you're closing in on your first 10 years in the military, you are entitled to that opinion, if not, STFU. I'm about 11 in and I know people getting out at 16, it all depends on the fit for the family and the USAF. Big Blue isn't taking care of it's people like it used to, I can't blame guys for getting out.

Sorry you didn't get a pilot slot. Keep applying, you never know what will happen. Many of the aeroclubs are going away, but the ones I've seen usually have civilians running the show. I have no doubt that if they need another instructor, you could work there. The club at Tyndall just doesn't have enough business to warrant two instructors. They have a few guys who will instruct there occasionally, but not full time. The aeroclubs I've seen are light twin's only. Good luck!

Steve, there may be new knee-jerk reactions coming down the pipe (STS) from big blue about the time between the G ex and high G maneuvers. I totally agree with Beerman that it doesn't make a hill of beans difference, but a recent high-G "incident" with an experienced Eagle guy has some non-fighter dudes raising eyebrows that it was about 40 mins between the G ex and the G incident. Hopefully we'll get no additional guidance but skulls up - it could be a new "safety" requirement...

Alarm Red - one of us is clearly getting the wrong message. I'm wondering if that load out is the Day one configuration (fully LO, no external pylons). If so, I can't imagine all that fitting in a fighter. I hear you about the strikes needing lots of gas. I didn't put Hogs in the mix because - everyone knows there's no replacement for a Hog. If you are doing a lot of CAS (I'm asking here) - wouldn't you rather have a 2 ship of strikes (with lots more iron) than a 2 ship of vipers? Yes, it costs more gas, but the amount of iron is a big difference.

SNAP talk abounds these days! If you've been gone, have family duties or are just worn out - don't show up on Friday. However, it is part of your job to spread camaraderie with your brothers in arms. If you skip out on part of your job, you have to pay a fine. If any USAF member on flight pay can't afford the $1 fine, you've got bigger issues. SUCK IT UP and pay the money, it helps keep the bar running for those in your squadron that care about traditions. Consider it your tax for being in a flying squadron and not keeping up the heritage! My first squadron charged $5 if you weren't there, but noone bitched because that's part of the job. Like someone else said, stay for one beer/coke/story/whatever - but show some support.

I think it depends on which kool-aid you are drinking. I've been to the factory, seen the "timeline" they are on - and the problems they are dealing with. The capabilities as they stand right now are just not all that great - and seeing all the problems we are having keeping Raptors in the air doesn't give a lot of positive feedback to look at the future of the F-35. From what I've seen/heard/talked to people about, we haven't learned enough from the mistakes made on the 22 design. Hopefully I'm wrong and the F-35 is the best thing in the sky, but somehow I doubt it.

If you haven't gotten the gouge yet - the F-35 is shaping up to be quite the POS. It will be able to carry less than a Viper - that alone should tell you it can't replace the strike pig. The Strike Eagle has legs longer than most fighters - def longer than other fighters carrying bombs. AND the gas it carries doesn't mess with it's ability to carry lots of iron (in most cases). Strikes are not all that old, I flew a C model back from Langley to LN in 2004 with 2 brand-new strikes - they had less than 5 hours on them. The Panthers got 15 or so new jets in 04. The F-15SG line is still open, so we could actually buy more if the money was there.

Still unknown. We were told a 6 month slip, then a 90 day slip, then "well, uh... we don't know". So we are still standing by to standby. The 2FS is supposed to close in Apr (original plan) and the 95 in the fall. No for sure words yet, no jets leaving for the boneyard or anywhere else yet. We are just flying what we've got and doing lots of RDS right now.

Have you even been there? Mountain Home was hands down my favorite assignment in my 10 years in the AF. Don't believe the hype, it's not that bad.

And she's dating an F-15C WIC IP... Good on ya Tonka!

We just got told to expect at least a 6 month slip in our closing, I think we'll see more Eagle drops.

We got the message today that officially the wing is planning on at least a 6 month slip to the closing timeline. There was a congressional policy letter that got forwarded to us a few weeks ago. It proposed a new study or something that would add 6 months onto the timeline for the closure. We still don't have any official word either way, but I wouldn't mind if we got extended for a bit!

Also, Jon "Jughead" Counsell - he punched as a student in the C model after a GLOC. He ejected at 1.14m. Took him 2 years to learn to walk, but I flew Eagles with him a few years ago. See his story (and many others) here: http://www.ejection-history.org.uk/Aircraft_by_Type/f-15.htm

Has anyone flown it with all the external stores? I know that the basic airframe is very capable, but I still wonder what the survivability is of a low, slow (relatively) single engine aircraft carrying all that stuff that you need to get fairly close to your work. Again, I hope it's the right airframe for it, the mission sounds like a blast and something I'd be interested in since I'm on my last tour in the Eagle. I just hope that we actually test the combat version (in it's final form) in an area that is similar to what we are buying it for. (current AORs) Anyone know of any plans to do that?