CPE1704TKS

KA, I'd look into the Gold Bar Recruiter Program. With your family hardship, you may be able to find a way to spend a considerable amount of time back home at your local recruiting office or ROTC detachment instead of bumming around the UPT student squadron for 6+ months. Research it and arm yourself with a plan, even if the regs don't necessarily say it's doable. Good leadership will pick up the phone and start making calls on your behalf, especially if it makes sense.

Here's my perspective as someone who entered UPT with few hundred GA hours (CPL w/instrument rating) and currently a T-6 IP. For starters, ground ops (walking out to the jet, the preflight, getting the aircraft started and taxied) sound benign but in reality, the AF wants them done quickly and accurately. You won't have time to sit under the canopy in the heat or cold and go through the checklist item by item, especially when you're in a formation and you have a VHF check-in time. You'll need to create flows to make sure everything is in order and it helps to do things the same time, every time, so something will hopefully seem off to you if it's forgotten. The struggle between speed and accuracy is what some students struggle with, to include those with previous flying experience. One large difference in UPT is the vastly different traffic pattern. In the GA world, you're used to a single rectangular box pattern. In UPT, you have several different patterns (overhead, straight-in, low pattern, high pattern, breakout/reentry, etc.) controlled by the RSU within the Class-D and things happen fast. You'll have close to a dozen other T-6s moving at 200 knots at its busiest, and you have to listen on the radios for every little detail while precisely maneuvering the aircraft. It's not uncommon to routinely pull several Gs in the pattern to follow the precise ground tracks. It takes several flights to build your SA bubble enough to be comfortable to solo... this is something you can't really prepare for in the GA world. It's also a blast once used to it. The formation phase is obviously entirely new to most. As someone who occasionally flew formation with buddies in the GA world before UPT, it was nothing like military formation. For most with prior hours I'd say, this is where the playing field is generally leveled. I was a strong student in contact and instruments, but perfectly average in the formation phase and it was similar to learning to fly all over again in some ways. How so? Like in the pattern, things happen fast and you're maneuvering in relation to someone else while keeping up with precise, timely, and correct comms. As lead, you need to make the appropriate decisions for the formation and you're constantly under pressure to do so. But again, it's also a blast once used to it. Also, unlike on a GA training flight where you just fill the fuel tanks and typically don't have to worry about fuel, you will always have a set amount of time/fuel to accomplish each sortie in UPT. You simply won't have the time/gas to mess around. You need to be quick to accomplish your profile within these constraints, whether single ship or for the formation. It's added pressure. Those are just a few specific examples and I'm sure others will chime in with more. What helped me the most in UPT was having good stick and rudder skills from GA flying and my instrument rating. This allowed me to fly/trim the aircraft so I could focus more on what was going on outside and build an SA bubble. Previous flight time will set a foundation in terms of some basic general knowledge and hopefully some stick/rudder skills, but you will have to much to learn in terms of AF procedures and applying them while inverted/under moderate G/potentially being yelled at by the IP. Did I mention that it's a blast?

Is anyone able to give a KC-10 update? 1. Ops tempo/schedules 2. Deployments 3. Yearly average for hours flown 4. Manning. Copilot/AC/IP heavy in the community? Typical upgrade times? 5. KC-46 transition timeline/factors to consider Thanks in advance!

Bump. Also wondering as well.

Are there multiple papers required in ACSC DL 7.0 (non-masters degree option)? The wording in the catalog only mentions a national security paper, but someone above posted asking for paper topics for a leadership course. Trying to avoid paper writing, as I’m already masters complete.

You are being lied to. Why do you have an OTS class date for anything other than pilot, if that's what you want to be? What is your AFSC/job slated to be? The whole beauty of OTS is the fact that you can apply repeatedly for the job you want until you get it, before accepting a commission. It sounds like you should get out of whatever OTS slot you currently have, and ask to see a reference for whatever rules this recruiter seems to be making up. Recruiters can be some of the least trustworthy people in the military. Respectfully ask for references, and make it clear that you want to be a pilot and nothing else.

Plenty of regional pilots kick ass and take names in UPT. I personally know two who graduated at the very top of their class, and another who finished in the top third. As a UPT IP, I've seen students with regional backgrounds excel far more than they tend to struggle and they're usually the ones leading study sessions and teaching their peers how to make sense of instrument flying. Those with "vast hours" who struggle do so because of their attitude, and are in the definite minority. I'd say your analysis, while true in some extreme cases, is inaccurate.

If you don't want to fly helos, I would recommend focusing on the ANG, AFRES, and active duty USAF. A significant percentage of student naval aviators track to helos (this includes USN and USMC), whereas in the Air Force, a student typically has to request them specifically and there may/may not be a slot available. In the Air Force, your options are plentiful. This is nice as a T-6 student when you realize that either A.) the rigors of high performance flying is awesome and you want to take it to the next step in the T-38, or B.) you realize that throttling back a bit and flying a heavy around the world with a crew is your cup of tea. Both are great lifestyles, and the Air Force is going to let you stay in the cockpit the longest (probably for most of your career, if you want it that way). From talking to USN/USMC bros, it's far more difficult to stay in flying assignments as your career progresses. Good luck!

Out of genuine curiosity, why would you ask this, and what would be a "good," reason for this dude to give you? He's absolutely crushing it in every other aspect, at age 19 nonetheless. I submit that the AFOQT verbal score is potentially the weakest possible metric to predict success at UPT and general officership. For the record, my verbal score was 27 and I DG'd UPT.

https://www.amazon.com/KORE-AVIATION-P1-Aviation-Headset/dp/B01CBJ29C4/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1523414589&sr=1-4&keywords=aviation+headset https://www.amazon.com/KORE-AVIATION-Silicone-Replacement-Aviation/dp/B017ZMU20I/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1523415547&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=ORE+AVIATION+Ultra+Plush+Silicone+Gel+Ear+Seal+Replacement+for+Pilot+Aviation+Headset If you'd like to minimize what you spend on a headset that will easily get you through your PPL and beyond, consider this one from Kore. I have two of these for when I take passengers and have never had any complaints, and the price is hard to beat given the quality and reputation Kore continues to build. The Amazon reviews speak for themselves. The ear cups that come with them are okay, but I'd recommend the gel cups in the link above. With that said, I've worn the same set of DC H10-20s since 2003 and probably do about 30-40 hrs of GA flying each year and they're still going strong. They're comfortable and for GA flying, I actually prefer NOT having noise cancelling due to the fact I can hear subtle changes in power better. In my opinion, spending money on something along the lines of the A20 is overkill, unless you can afford it/think you'll use this headset for a long time or professionally down the road. I don't know what Herk guys fly with, but I believe KC-135 guys are issued A20s. C-17s still fly with DCs but hopefully they'll eventually get A20s down the road, so depending on if/when you get hired with a unit, you may get a pair anyway that you can buy the civilian adapter for.

Are USAF T-6 IPs at Whiting, as well as the USAF T-6 IPs teaching CSOs at Pensacola eligible to teach at PIT as an assignment later on? Thanks.

Alright, here's a question about B-2 aerodynamics. If you watch the above video, you'll notice that on takeoff (and in landing videos, too) the B-2's extreme outboard control surfaces are deployed to some extent - both the upper and lower segments... sort of like an A-10's aileron/speed brake system. Does anyone know why? It seems like it would just be adding drag. My only guess would be that this could provide some sort of yaw stability at lower airspeeds by creating an equal amount of drag at the tips of each wing. I did come across this Popular Science article from 1989 which says that the said control surfaces ("drag rudders," labeled 1 in the article) are indeed deployed on approach and takeoff, but it doesn't seem to explain why. Thanks!

Coming to an Iranian Air Force near you... in Blue Angels colors.

One more bump, and a question: For the PPP on active duty, do they pay for medical school, and do you still keep your rank and pay/allowances/time in service? Or are you actually separated from the Air Force while at medical school, with the intent to return? Thanks.

Agreed - probably just like the 727 that landed at Meigs Field.