Jump to content

Bergman

Moderator
  • Posts

    1,111
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    17

Posts posted by Bergman

  1. I don’t think you can go wrong with either.

     

    My point of view as a biased career tanker guy: The KC-135 is truly from a different era when it comes to hand flying it.  It’s 1950s vintage through-and-through, so you actually have to FLY THE AIRPLANE.  Or it will fly you, I promise.  Perhaps not the most exciting missions some days, but flying a 60 year old airplane that has trim tabs, cable flight controls, and a shitload of power takes skill and constant attention.  Not much fancy automation, hydraulic flight controls, auto-trim and HUDs to make everyone look like a hero.  Never boring to flying that jet.

     

    • Like 4
    • Upvote 2
  2. 3 hours ago, SocialD said:

    From what I read, the lawsuit has nothing to do with hiring but rather stuff that happened to currently employed pilots that still serve in the ARC.  I go on all our deployments, almost every squadron TDY and occasionally drop a trip for mloa, and I haven't felt at all targeted or discriminated against.  Then again, I did not get hired and immediately drop multiple years of orders...I actually enjoy the hell out of this gig and being a true part-timer.  

    I know one of the plaintiffs from the lawsuit, and he is possibly the biggest A-hole I’ve ever met.  He was deliberately abusing the USERRA rules to his own benefit and got caught.

    He also go fired as an ART in not only the ANG but also AFRC, several years apart, as a point of reference about his character.

    • Like 1
    • Upvote 2
  3. 36 minutes ago, Bigred said:

    I’m pretty sure I know the answer, but could this Rhat dude take someone busting his balls? I’ve met some pretty big assholes in my day and they seem to soften up when you throw shade back at them. 

    Of course, this dude does seem to be on a whole different level.

    I love giving people grief but Rhat was an entire extra level of petty and vindictive.  The old adage “we only make fun of people we like” is pretty true with him IMHO.  

    7E2CEEAC-9020-4465-B0FC-88812256EA31.jpeg

  4. Just now, BashiChuni said:

    i'm loving this more stories please!!! UFB

    We need Azimuth to pipe up here, as he was actually stationed there.

     

    I remember drinking beers at Manas and the Deid with Fairchild crews, listening to the stories, and being utterly amazed.  Things like openly threatening to cancel join spouse assignments if someone didn’t cover a TDY.  Then he turned up at OTBH as the OG a couple years later when I was on staff and it was as bad as his reputation.

  5. He Q-3d a crew for flying a night visual despite having signed the FCIF saying they weren’t allowed any more, one of 69 they signed off during theater Indoc? Also decertified the tower controllers who cleared them as well as the SOF.  Their home guard base just shredded the paperwork; never made it to their FEFs (airline guys).

    There was also the time he called a crew on the carpet for safety cancelling a Deid sortie, after stepping to their 4th un-airconditioned KC-135 in August heat over a span of nearly 5 hours.  Bonus coward points for the Sq/CC who refused to go with the guys to defend them.

    Also, there’s this:

    https://www.jqpublicblog.com/another-one-bites-dust-amateur-hour-continues-amc-continuous-unexplained-firings/

     

    and this saga:

    https://www.jqpublicblog.com/raging-white-jettisoning-lt-col-blair-kaiser-air-forces-ethics-problem/

     

    The stories are endless and each more sad than the previous.  What a terrible commander.

     

  6. 2 hours ago, brabus said:

    Wing CC: "Why would you not sign this bonus, you're leaving $35K on the table!"

    Pilot: "I grossed $35K last month in my other job"

    Wing CC: "....fuck"

    Other airline bubba: “Oh damn dude, you must have only worked 16-19 days last month!”

    • Like 1
  7. On 4/13/2019 at 8:52 AM, waveshaper said:

    That unit has been a clown show for many, many years.  About time someone got them back on track.

     

    Alert Double-Dipping

    • Like 1
  8. From another forum:

    “I received this today. Obviously I don’t know how accurate especially with no final NTSB report. I share only as something to think about especially with an emphasis on upset recovery. There may be flaws in the possible scenario below but again maybe it can happen to one of us out there so I’m sharing.

    Sent to me from someone else....

    Subject: Houston Amazon 767 Crash

    Just FYI… we’ve heard the full cockpit audio and seen the data.  Here’s what really happened (name redacted please to protect the innocent!):

    During the approach, at about 6,000 FT (being flown by the first officer), the Captain reached around the throttle quadrant to extend the flaps to the next position after being called to do so by the first officer (pilot flying)… very normal.  

    In many aircraft including the 767, that’s a very odd/difficult repositioning of your hand (from the left seat, all the way around to the right side of the center console), and requires intimate familiarity and slow deliberate motion to do successfully.

    Well in any case, it was not done so this time.  The captain accidently hit the “go around” switch while bringing his hand around for the flaps, which brought both engines up to full power.  In the landing configuration, as this aircraft was transitioning into, that obviously causes a vast increase in lift… and the first officer (pilot flying) used everything he had to force the nose back down.  

    Still not sure why that occurred, as the crew should have just “gone around” and tried it again when properly configured… but they did not.  And that started in motion a chain of events that lead to tragedy.

    As the First Officer over-rotated downward, again with the engines at full power, the aircraft quickly accelerated and approached something we’re all trained to handle (at least in good training environments)… an “upset recovery”, countered by NON-AUTOMATION and basic “stick and rudder skills”.  

    This captain however, in turn, grabbed the controls without using positive command (“I’ve got”, “My aircraft”, or anything normally done), and countered the F/O’s control input by completely hauling his control column full aft… remember, while the F/O is pushing full forward.

    In the process of doing that, he broke the “shear pin” on his control column (a device/mechanical safety interlock used to separate a control column from the “innards” of the control architecture in the event one control column is doing something it should not)… and that occurred here.

    The captain, a few seconds later, now accelerating downward out of the control envelope of the 767 (remember, all of this started at 6000 FT and probably took less time to get to the fatal point than it did to read this far), recognizes the has no control column and then asks the F/O to pull up, get the nose up, or something to that affect.  It isn’t 100% clear what he says.

    The F/O then tries to pull aft on his column (going from full forward to full aft), but isn’t getting the response he needs, because the aircraft is out of the envelope of controllability and the controls are “air-loaded” in position.

    At about 2000 FT, eventually the trim motors are able to start overcoming the air-load, and the aircraft begins to attempt to arrest its rate of descent… but alas it’s far too little, far too late, and the aircraft impacts about 30-40 degrees nose down, with what is believed to be about 4-5000 FT / minute rate of descent.

    All during this time the throttles aren’t touched until somewhere during that last few seconds of flight… which is believed to be what enabled the trim motors to start working.  Unclear who does it, and no audio indicates who it was.

    Just FYI… we’ve attempted in our 767 simulators to recover from the event with the exact same setup, and thus far we’ve only had success when starting at 8000’ or higher… meaning we are fully established in the “out of control” position at 8000’, recognize it by then, and initiate recovery starting at 8000’.  

    These guys started the whole thing at 6000’ and were much lower when a true recovery attempt was initiated.  No chance, and just shows you how quickly you can get “out of the envelope” when you don’t follow procedure, try some completely erroneous recovery technique, and don’t have a clue what you’re doing.

    So many things went wrong with crew coordination, basic flying skills, aircraft envelope awareness, basic procedures, and such… that this will likely go down as one of the absolute worst “pilot error” events ever.  

    It needs to have serious impact throughout the Amazon flying circus (and associated partnerships), and show people that Jeff Bezos’ attempt to push the envelope at lower cost, all things else be damned, doesn’t apply to aviation.  

    This accident no doubt was absolutely horrible, and three people lost their lives…one of them (the jumpseater) through absolutely no fault of his own. But making an approach into Houston, TX, it could have been so much worse.  In another few miles, they would have been over major population centers and who knows what would have happened then.

    Know your aircraft.  Know your procedures.  And for God sakes, just FLY!  It’s not a video game!”

  9. 7 hours ago, Duck said:

    Quick question guys. She has been pretty agreeable on working through splitting the assets. I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fact that I have video of her and her boyfriend having sex in vehicle in a public parking lot in broad daylight but I digress.

    She wants to stay in the home which is under my VA home loan. I am fine giving it to her, but with her chosen career there is no way that she is going to be able to keep up with the payments. I also want to free up my VA loan so that I can have a place to settle down.

    Any advice? I know that if she keeps the home and assumes the VA Loan (she’s not a vet) that I am still responsible if she defaults, which she most likely will. We don’t have a heck of a lot of equity although I did put 10% down on it about a year and a half ago. Not sure what it would cost for her to refinance into an ARM or conventional.

    Any ideas?


    Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network mobile app

    As has been said already, but I’m saying it again for emphasis, do NOT under ANY circumstance keep a mortgage or any other financial asset with her.  The horror stories I’ve heard would water your eyes.

    I let my Ex stay in our house in lieu of alimony for over a year and even that was a mild disaster.  The condition of the house wasn’t good when I finally got it back and some utilities had gone unpaid (that were in my name).   The one thing I wish I had done differently is to have sold the house.  I let her stay, and then moved myself back in, with the thought that it would provide stability for my kids but that hasn’t really been the case.  They’re doing better with it now but the first 6 months of my being back in there were rough.  Should have sold it and started fresh.

    also, steer clear of any language in the decree about who pays for college.  It’s a whole can of worms that you want nothing to do with.  They’ll be 18 by then anyway so figure it out later and don’t have it in writing.

    • Like 1
  10. 10 hours ago, brabus said:

    WG/CC said take the “last option” or you can retire to one of them, and the same except here’s a shit sandwich 365 to the other (he separated at 18 years).

    This sort of thing has been standard for a decade or longer.  And management wonders why people are bailing to the airlines in droves...and those that stay (or can’t leave yet) are stuck working for the dregs that are left.  

    This may be my new rule for an air force career:  RUN!  Fucking run!!  Management doesn’t deserve your sacrifice.

    (the old rules being:

    1. Timing is Everything

    2. Life isn’t fair

    3. There is no justice)

    • Upvote 2
  11. 3 hours ago, LJDRVR said:

    Sorry to hear that, Brother.

    Wrap your brain around the concept that she will get half of everything you ever earned while you were together. If you're able to come out better, then it's all gravy.

    Do everything you can to remain civil and professional with her. Never let your kids hear you say anything bad about her. Ever. Not once. As strange as this sounds, moving forward your relationship with her, and it's failure are none of their business. No matter how badly she may behave, she's their Mom. If you can sit down at the kitchen table with her and put it all on a legal pad, you'll save yourself a lot of angst and attorney fees. If you can "give in" to certain things she wants in order to facilitate a quick agreement in return for certain things you want, it's worth every penny. People will give you advice like:

    "Roll in on that cunt and fight her tooth and nail!"

    Ask those people to compare what they think they "won" in court financially to what it cost to litigate it. It isn't worth it.

    Moving forward, your relationship with her is going to be jointly parenting your kids. That relationship will be healthier for the kids if the two of you can agree to act like adults ad settle as amicably and quickly as possible.

    Now;

    You.

    You're a pro. Compartmentalize like a MF and work your way through indoc and IOE. When you get a chance, take some time for yourself. Nonrev to Hawaii and put it all out of your mind for a few days. Exercise is your friend - the more the better. At some point in all of this process, you'll have come far enough and gotten past the anger enough to look at what happened a little more objectively. When that happens, the single most important thing you can do is forgive her and yourself for what happened. Let it fucking go.

    You're also about to re-learn who your real friends are. Lean on those folks. Bigtime.

    Don't medicate with booze or food.

    That's it. The day you have to tell your children is the worst day of your life. Everyday after that will be just a little bit better.

    Good luck, chum. Those of us who've been through this are rooting for you. Hell, you can at least call yourself a real airline pilot now!

    BTDT and couldn’t have said it any better.

    LASER FOCUS!  The divorce is just business at this point.

  12. 3 hours 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.

    Sadly, you’re right.  Hope the PC zealots aren’t that bad after this many years.  He had to have suspected it would come up when news of this came out.  

  13. 13 minutes ago, jrizzell said:

    Two weeks...most “leaders” are still trying to play catch up to their new responsibilities at two weeks. Something is really fishy, especially considering how big a deal it was for her to lead the demo team. 

    Agreed.

     

    At what point do the demo pilots certify on the routine?  What would happen if they couldn’t get it down and/or the General wouldn’t sign off on it?

    I suspect that isn’t the case here; just wondering out loud.  Either way, really sucks for her.

  14. 12 hours ago, pelexecute said:

    As I was reading this 3 new 365’s came on my email for O-5’s.  All next summer to an undesired location. 

    May the odds be ever in your favor.

     

    Meanwhile, the quiche-eating airline guys are busy working 12, maybe 15, days a month for double the money.  The low point...being gone for 3 nights in a row! 😂

    Love ya Big Blue, but the madness has to stop.  Run!  Fucking Run fellas!!

     

    • Upvote 1
  15. 3 hours ago, okawner said:

    United FO schedules posted on the 17th for the following bid period which starts on the 1st +/- (usually -) 1- 3 days so not alot of advance notice

    True but the bid closes around the 10-11th, right?  If you have enough seniority you’ll have a good idea of what days you’ll get off (sts) before the schedule is released.

    • Like 1
  16. 1 hour ago, M2 said:

    My memory isn't that great, but I believe it was due to whoever started the thread deleted their account.

    No meme, just a great pair and a nice car!

    Image may contain: 1 person, smiling, car and outdoor

    Ha!  That place is just down the road from me.  Gotta love their marketing strategy.  More of a Chevy man myself.   The brunette can stay though.

    3BE91E1B-E907-456F-B702-4CDE395142EC.png

  17. On 7/15/2018 at 4:45 PM, Homestar said:

    If we wanted to be tactical we all would have done better in UPT. 

    Meh.  I know where I, and about 75% of the other dudes in my guard squadron, finished in our UPT classes.

    • Like 1
  18. 10 hours ago, HU&W said:

    Official propo on the current status of the aircrew crisis.  

    http://airman.dodlive.mil/2018/06/27/finding-answers/

    Okay.  I’ve read that entire article 3 times today hoping my conclusion would change.  It hasn’t.  “What fucking planet are you on, dude?!”  I want to drive to his house with a 12 pack and invite myself in. “My man!  We need to talk!”  Because clearly NO ONE he has talked to has given him the straight scoop.

    He might as well have said, “Well, based on my two 15 day deployments in the last 20 years, THIS is what the rated force means”.  YGBSM. 

    • Upvote 4
×
×
  • Create New...