Jump to content

donkey

Supreme User
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    272

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    2

 Content Type 

Posts posted by donkey

    Atlas 767 (Amazon livery) Down

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Investigation Update

    Of note, the report initially said the following:

    Quote

    Shortly after, when the airplane’s indicated airspeed was steady about 230 knots, the engines increased to maximum thrust, and the airplane pitch increased to about 4° nose up and then rapidly pitched nose down to about 49° in response to column input. The stall warning (stick shaker) did not activate.

    and was changed to:

    Quote

    Shortly after, when the airplane’s indicated airspeed was steady about 230 knots, the engines increased to maximum thrust, and the airplane pitch increased to about 4° nose up. The airplane then pitched nose down over the next 18 seconds to about 49° in response to nose-down elevator deflection. The stall warning (stick shaker) did not activate.

     

    Gun Talk

    in Squadron Bar

    Posted · Edited by donkey

    12 minutes ago, Spicoli said:

    Just picked up a Sig P365. Looking for holster recommendations! I have a glock 19 with a crossbreed holster but I never really carry it because it’s bulky and hard to conceal.

    Looking at the Stealthgear Mini Ventcore And also the Aliengear Shapeshifter kit. I’ve heard stealthgear is higher quality but I like the idea of 4 holsters for $100 with Aliengear, that way I can try out different things to figure out what works.

    Also interested in appendix carry. Any recommendations or resources re: holsters or just carrying in general would be much appreciated! I’m trying to avoid spending hundreds of dollars to find something that works.

    cheers!

    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.

    Time To Ask - Give Me Your Opinion Please!

    in What Are My Chances?

    Posted · Edited by donkey

    @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!

    Time To Ask - Give Me Your Opinion Please!

    in What Are My Chances?

    Posted

    @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.

    Time To Ask - Give Me Your Opinion Please!

    in What Are My Chances?

    Posted · Edited by donkey

    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 (:beer:), 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.

     

     

    Commanders are dropping like flies this year

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by donkey

    1 hour ago, JeremiahWeed said:

    "Pictures are bad." 

    I learned that one on about day two of fighter pilot school.  If the wrong flag officer gets spun up over this fiasco, I think it's entirely possible Maestro could be back in the frag pattern over that video.  This is a great opportunity to give your kids or anyone from the "I'll share anything with the world on the internet" generation a prime example of why you keep your shit private.

    And in the wise words of Rainman, "never talk to the media!"

    • Like 1
    • Upvote 5

    UPT Package- Bind or Not?

    in Air National Guard / Air Force Reserves

    Posted

    @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!

    TBAS Airplane/Horizontal Tracking Simulator

    in Pilot Selection Process

    Posted · Edited by donkey

    @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:

    Untitled.png.86297fedba7a320f87c8978ca1f4facc.png

    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).

    483758675_Untitled3.thumb.png.6c6ccdc01e755b75e3d65f6bbefce1f4.png

    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:

    1201513874_Untitled2.thumb.png.c75ea528d3712b798e67bd91020de2d7.png

    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!

    • Thanks 1

    Age Waivers

    in Air National Guard / Air Force Reserves

    Posted

    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!

    Upcoming Boards

    in Air National Guard / Air Force Reserves

    Posted · Edited by donkey

    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.

    Form 24

    in Air National Guard / Air Force Reserves

    Posted

    On 12/14/2018 at 8:31 AM, donkey said:

    Hi all, couple of quick questions:

    1) Am I supposed to leave section 1 and 2 ("To" and "Specialty") blank? The one sample I found online said to do this but just wanted to make sure.

    2) Some older info online makes it seem like I should "N/A" Item 1 on page 4 ("I have read and understand HQ USAFRS FS") and initial the other three items (A, B, and C) under Item 2, Short Notice Orders. Is this what everyone else has done?

    Much appreciated!

    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!

    • Upvote 3
×
×
  • Create New...