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donkey

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Everything posted by donkey

  1. This might help: https://bogidope.com/article/flying-opportunities-air-force-reserve
  2. I'd recommend the following: Knowing all your ground info before you start your training. You can use the FAA PHAK as a free source Flying as often as possible (5+ times a week if you can) Some (most?) FBO's will give you ~5-10% discount if you prepay Good luck!
  3. Investigation Update Of note, the report initially said the following: and was changed to:
  4. donkey

    Gun Talk

    I don't have any experience with Stealthgear/Aliengear, but look at a Vedder LightTuck, I really like mine (have multiple) and everyone else seems to only have great things to say about them.
  5. @Patrick_Krueger This thread has some contact info. BogiDope also shows the squadrons phone number. Hope this helps!
  6. Anyone know if Fresno has sent out invites? I would assume so if they're sticking with the March 3rd interview date.
  7. @OnlyInCleveland Hey, appreciate the perspective and kind words. I think the best course of action at this point is to study for a retake while I wait to get word back from a few more units. At that point I can re-evaluate whether to push forward with the retake or not. Yeah, I'll definitely be/am banking on the "older, but experienced" pitch. If you find a time machine though, let me know!
  8. @n730 Hey, thanks for the reply. Yeah, unfortunately my age most likely is playing a big role. Only received the generic feedback that was a part of the mass rejection email: increase scores, hours, community involvement, improve LOR's - that kind of stuff. Understandable, they don't have the time to reply to everyone, and that all applies to me anyway. I'm already studying for a AFOQT retake. The way I look at it, if I'm not confident I can study well and ace a retake, how can I prove to a board I can handle all the studying that's a part of UPT and squadron life? Especially since I've got the age stink on me, I can't just coast on a good pilot score, I'll need every advantage I can get. Appreciate the response.
  9. Hey all, Looks like I missed the cut on getting an interview with Oregon. So, I figured it's time to post one of these to try and get a better idea of my weaknesses and areas I can improve on. Of all the upcoming (fighter) boards this year, I figured this was one of my better shots of at least getting an interview, so looks like I have a lot of work to do. Any feedback is much appreciated! Scores AFOQT: 98 / 76 / 82 / 65 / 90 PCSM: 98 (will max once I reach 61 hours) Flight Experience PPL (49.5 hours total / earned at 40) FAA 1st Class Medical; No Limitations Aerobatic Experience: MiG-15, L-39, Yak-52, Citabria Work Experience Currently: Fire Protection Engineer at a national laboratory (~ 4 years). Part of the lab's fire marshal team and assigned to overseeing the lab's Plutonium Facility (plutonium science/manufacturing facility which supports our national stockpile). Responsible for the fire protection oversight of ~1,000 people and ~$2 billion in lab assets. Previously: FPE consultant (~ 1 year). Coordinated the fire protection needs on multi-disciplined engineering teams. Developed system designs/calculations for new projects. Prior to graduating, I worked the following seasonal/summer jobs: Jamba Juice, Beer Distributing Warehouse (), and at an industrial park doing building maintenance/grounds upkeep. Volunteer Experience Local Civil Air Patrol squadron (~ 4 years). Serve as Admin Officer, conduct monthly PT testing for cadets, and assist with monthly cadet aerospace education. Emergency Operations Center at current job. Responsible for compiling and distributing incident reports/documentation to the EOC team during emergency situations. Veterans Memorial Museum Docent (6 years - during college). Led guided tours for visitors, mentored junior docents on operations/knowledge, and helped with veterans assistance fairs. TONS more volunteer/leadership activities, mostly during college, but the above is what I have/am including on my resume. Noteworthy Achievements Highest employee performance rating at current job (top 10 percent) - 3 years Professional Engineering License 1,400+ volunteer hours (mostly military / aviation related) Summa Cum Laude (MS Degree) / Multiple Deans List Education Master of Science - Fire Protection Engineering - 3.85 / 4.00 Bachelor of Science - Civil Engineering - 3.01 / 4.00 LOR's Previous lab Group Leader (high level boss, retired) of 3 years. Worked with me daily, spoke very highly of my work ethic and performance, etc. - 32 years of military service. Current job engineering Technical Lead and Civil Air Patrol SQ/CC. Talked about my work performance, volunteer involvement, and overall character. Civil Air Patrol Vice Wing Commander and former SQ/CC. Talked about my volunteer involvement and overall character. I believe my biggest areas of weakness right now are: Age (28, will be 29 in May - Not much I can do about this. Goal: Get an interview to show units why I'm worth a waiver) AFOQT Scores (Goal: Study hard and hit all 90's, even if Pilot score decreases) Low hours/lack of advanced ratings (Goal: Increase hours short term / earn IR ticket medium term) Didn't mesh well during visits?? (I wouldn't have thought this was the case but obviously a possibility) I'm sure there are others that I'm overlooking though. I used Bogidope to really polish my cover letter and resume and I rushed multiple times. I know I'm fighting an uphill battle, just want to make sure I'm giving myself the best chance I can! Thanks again for your time everyone, I really do appreciate any and all advice you can give, even if it's some tough love.
  10. And in the wise words of Rainman, "never talk to the media!"
  11. @SocialD Appreciate the advice, and I definitely agree with you on following each and every instruction no matter how small. I was planning on following the advice of one of the posters further up: simple (nice) folder and paperclip, no fancy binding (assuming direction from the posting or POC doesn't specify) such that it's easy to take out, thumb through, and make copies. I just wasn't sure about the paper situation but seems like keeping it simple and uniform is the way to go. Much appreciated!
  12. Hey all, For hard copy applications, should I use the nice printer paper for the whole application, or am I over thinking it and just use the nice stuff for the cover letter/resume? I have a bunch of the nice stuff but not sure if I should overuse it. Thanks!
  13. @mtys999 Hey, I have a similar Pilot score to you (98) but more hours. Backing my score off the typical 4 point jump to get to your bracket would give me an 82. So assuming you did similar to me on the TBAS, I'd say maybe somewhere around there. Good luck!
  14. @A779R PM me some more info. Are you able to open the game (planes are moving, you just can't move the reticle(s) at all or they are incorrect inputs)? @gatsby PM me some more info as well. Does one input control both at the same time? I'm guessing you already tried hitting the switch input button? Lets have both of you guys download the following file: Detection Test Same thing as the TBAS file, download it, extract it with 7zip, and run the file. Should look like this: Open it and plug in your joystick and rudder, one at a time. For the joystick move it left and right and then up and down and record the axis numbers. For example, mine are 0 for left and right and 1 for up and down (joystick) and 2 for rudder petals (left or right). Then navigate to where you extracted the TBAS source files and open the "project" file (type is GODOT file). First off, at the top right hit the play button (or F5). The game window should pop up. See if you're still having issues inside this. If so, on the bottom left hand side there should be a "scripts" section. Expand that and open the "bottomReticle.gd" and then the "reticle.gd" sections. BottomReticle is the rudder and reticle is the joystick. At the top of each there should be a line "joystick = JOY_AXIS_X". In my case for the rudder, the input is 2 (i.e., JOY_AXIS_2). See below: The numbers you got from the detection program are what your computer is recognizing as the inputs for those hardware devices. See if the numbers in the two reticle files are the same as what you got from the detection program. If not, we'll need to change them to what you got from the joydetect program. So for example, my rudder was axis 2. The toe brakes on it were axis 0 and 1 (for each, respectively). If I edit the JOY_AXIS from 2 to 1, then save it [control button and s on keyboard at same time, then hit the play button on the top right (or F5)], then my toe brake controls the horizontal movement of the reticle. Try this and let me know how it goes. When you save the changes, you may need to hit the "switch inputs" button. If you notice in the two reticle files, joyPort is 1 and 0 for the two devices (joystick and rudder). This is basically going to depend on how your computer recognizes the devices. You may need to "swap" them by hitting that switch inputs button in case your PC recognizes them differently. Hopefully this helps you guys along, PM me if you're still having issues, we'll try to work through them!
  15. Gotcha. Was just curious if you guys moved that threshold up a little bit to give some wiggle room and account for younger people learning better in your selection process or if you followed the (semi) typical thought process of if you're 28 or younger at the time of the board you "should" be good, at least wrt a potential ETP. Thanks!
  16. @EvilEagle Thanks for sharing that info and perspective. Out of curiosity, what's your typical cutoff/threshold for assuming a person will need an age waiver vs not needing one? Thanks!
  17. I doubt you'd be able to update your application during that window, although someone with experience can correct me if I'm wrong. But for sure you could mention it during the interview if you completed your PPL, got an additional rating, doubled your flying hours etc. EDIT: Looks like I was wrong (not surprising hah). Good to know.
  18. In case anyone runs across the same questions in the future, I got the following direction from one POC / Wing Recruiter: To: Leave Blank Specialty: 11FX (or as appropriate for the specific squadrons air-frame) Page 4 Item 1 & 2: Leave Blank Hope this helps!
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