stingray

Hey guys, I'm gonna be an AS 200 this fall and I just found out my girlfriend has chlamydia, which means that there's a pretty good chance I have it too. I want to be a pilot, I've already got my dodmerb done and my 3rd class medical, and I was just wondering if this is gonna DQ me for anything. Thanks, Stingray

The knowledge test has these little codes somewhere on the form that tells the examiner the subjects of the questions you got wrong, so make sure that you understand those areas pretty well because they'll probably ask you a lot about them. Also just make sure not to dig yourself into a hole on any of the questions by answering more than they asked (ex. Q: What causes a stall? A: The wing exceeding the critical angle of attack (good). Don't go into a lengthy discussion about theoretical aerodynamics).

Hey guys, I'm a 100 in AFROTC right now. I need some advice on what to do in my situation Back when I was 14 or 15 I pretended to smoke marijuana a couple times because my friends were giving me crap about not smoking it. I really really hate to sound like Bill Clinton but I put it up to my mouth and didn't breathe in at all, and it was cold enough that I just blew out the air in my lungs and the water vapor made it look like smoke. During the in-processing to ROTC I wrote that I never smoked marijuana because I figured that it was the truth and that I never got in trouble for it or anything. Now that I'm reading about security clearances and stuff I don't know what I should do. The way I figure it I have three options. 1. Go to the NCOs/Cadre at my DET and tell them about it and see what they say I should do. 2. Keep saying no on my security clearance forms, and when I have my interview tell the guy that I technically didn't use marijuana but I did pretend to. 3. Go see if my friends even remember it (it was a long time ago and they were both high), and if they don't, just drop it. I guess give me any input you guys have, I would prefer to be upfront with the security clearance guys (even though I technically wouldn't be lying) as much as possible, but I hope that they won't think that I smoked it and am trying to lie. Thanks for all your time.

Haha that's a good point. ROTC orientation is tomorrow so I'll see what they say. Thanks for the advice guys.

Not to derail the thread but I just moved into my college dorm and I got a mini-fridge and I told my roommate that he could put stuff in it if he wanted and i came home and there were 2 bottles of vodka in it. I don't have a moral problem with alcohol, I'll party every once in a while but we're not supposed to have alcohol in the dorms. Do you think that if we got written up for having it in the dorms by the college, not by the cops, that they would kick me out of ROTC even if I didn't own the alcohol and never drank it? I remember reading something about a Det/CC getting mad at a cadet for just allowing underage drinking in his dorm, but I don't want to be a douche to my roommate. Gannon

Thanks, I looked for a long time for it in the proficient pilot section on the online archives and I couldn't find it but I found some interesting stuff. I have to go to sleep but I'll keep looking tomorrow and post a link once i find it. Gannon

Thanks for the advice guys, I guess after thinking about it there are some more variables in planes than in gliders, I think I might go up with an IP to pull the engine at different phases and see what it's like. In gliders pre-solo you get in the glider and the IP pulls the tow release at 200 feet AGL, and you pitch way the hell down and do a 180, it's really fun. Gannon (edited for clarity)

What do you guys do to decide what to do when you lose power/have an engine failure on/shortly after takeoff? I fly GA and gliders and in gliders there's a set procedure based on altitudes agl for what to do if the rope breaks and I can never get a definite answer like that when it comes to flying planes. Like I said I fly GA but feel free to talk about what you guys would do in jets too. Thanks in advance, Gannon

One time (Post 9/11 too) I got on a plane with a bunch of firecrackers in my backpack that I forgot I had. They were pretty big firecrackers too!

I guess now that you mention it I was really thirsty when we got back.

I was flying a decathlon today (a lot like a citabria) for my tailwheel endorsement. It's pretty akro capable and we were doing some steep turns with 90 degrees bank and we were pulling 3 gs according to the accelerometer. It was really weird but I felt like it was kind of hard to think, kind of like getting up after you've been laying down for a really long time. I used to have it happen to me really bad when i stood up but ever since i've started lifting weights it's gotten way better. Anyway, I tried the g-straining maneuver which as far as I understand is just kind of flexing your abs and it helped a little but what do you guys do, and can i get better? I go to the gym 3x a week and work on lifting weights, running, squats and crunches, is there anything else I should be doing? Gannon P.S. The tailwheel stuff is some of the most fun flying I've done, too bad they seem to be getting more and more unpopular.

Do you guys think I should wear a suit for the interview, or would that be too overboard.

haha alright thanks guys, you helped me chill out a lot!

Thanks for all the replies guys, I'll be cutting my hair short soon, I hope my girlfriend will like it. The general opinion i get is that I should just do what speaks to me as far as jobs around the DET go and talk to the cadre, but not kiss ass. I don't plan on taking any scholarship, at least until I've done ROTC enough to know that I can commit to it, and I'm gonna major in physics because it's one of my favorite classes in high school. There's just one more question I can think of, and it was more or less answered in the beginning but I don't think it can be that simple for me maybe just because I'm nervous. From what I've read it seems that there are a lot of different evaluations in ROTC of things like leadership ability etc... How do you deal with the pressure of being constantly evaluated? I know that if it's something that I can't deal with I should probably find a dream other than military aviation but I was just wondering what's going through your head when you have different performance checks, and how you deal with the fear of messing up even if you know it's something you're good at. I've been through a checkride before on the civilian side of flying but I'd had a month to prepare for it and know exactly what to expect, and I have the feeling that ROTC might be a little more rushed. Again thanks for all of your time, I really appreciate it. Gannon

Alright thanks for the replies everyone. I know ROTC probably won't turn me away but I still want to make a good impression. When it comes to doing stuff in the DET should I volunteer for everything that's available or only things that I actually want to do, because I don't think that I'll be enthusiastic about doing stuff like drill team, but everyone says to be active in the DET. Gannon