General Discussion

Hi, Did a search but I couldn't find anything on the topic. I'm an ROTC cadet and I'm curious about how a B-2 pilot would get moved around because I know they're only stationed in MO. Are you at Whiteman for most of your career besides the occassional TDY? Thanks in advance

I have just finished reading Not A Good Day To Die, which recounts Operation Anaconda principally from a ground pounder perspective. While the book makes clear that both pre-planned and on-call CAS was crucial to the operation from the get-go, and concedes that the Air Force was only vaguely involved in the planning of the operation, it does little to analyse the eventual failures of fixed wing CAS (both the pre-planned and the on-call) that it says occurred. Several things from the book struck me as curious: 1) That AF planners at the CAOC seemed so inflexible when an expanded list of targets was created in the build-up to the operation, despite seemingly having…

I think I'm Jinxed. I was down in SC a couple of weeks ago for the Blue Angel crash. Now I'm home in Montana and was up at the airport this afternoon meeting my Brother and watching the Snow Birds taking off for practice for this weekend's airshow. I was driving down the hill into town and saw smoke. The first thing I thought was I hope they didn't crash. Unfortunately I was right the #2 jet went in at Malmstrom AFB. I'll give more details as I get them. Man, I hate to see anybody lose their life in an airplane. From what I'm hearing on the local news the pilot didn't make it out.

Help - I need confirmation of a rumor I just heard. I heard (indirectly from the current Fall class at ACSC) that the ACSC syllabus is changing soon. The course will be more involved and include writing of papers, etc. (and take more time) -- BUT, if you take it by correspondence (in the future), you WILL GET CREDIT FOR YOUR MASTERS too! Anyone have any details and/or facts to add to this? I just came back TDY and you can be sure I will be calling down to Maxwell to find out more...

Does anyone have first-hand knowledge of any Aircrew people being issued Glock 19's? I have a buddy (retired Sec. Forces CATM) that heard that aircrew people were being issued Glocks, instead of the usual POS M-9's. Both of us thought that sounded strange (knowing how much drama is involved in getting people qualified normally, let alone on a whole new weapon), just wondering if anyone else had heard of such a thing.

So I've been reading baseops forum for a while, and a number of other websites, about every AF career under the sun. I'm waiting on my PCSM right now, and I'm leaning towards applying to OTS as a Pilot. On to my question: What do pilots do in addition to their flying duties?

i know, picture doesn't really tell much (other than TR violation - guns inside 1000') ... still amuses me though. anybody know the details behind this pic? i've seen it floating around the net over the last week, if it's been posted here, i'll move along ...

Does anyone have any stories of buds they know being a single parent going through UPT? Please provide details on what the flight commander's thought, tactics they used to be approved for it, etc. I know that some may say it is going to be impossible, but I think it would be much harder if my wife leaves me and takes my daughter away from me. I hope this is not too personal...I am just desperate for information regarding this. Money is not an option and I would be willing to pay for the best of the best as far as a Nanny is concerned. If anyone can do this, it is me. I appreciate all of the advice I can get, I know it is bad timing expecially since I am supposed t…

Looks like the pilot is playing a DB Cooper....lol https://www.kolotv.com/home/headlines/3754767.html

Ok so about four of us were in uniform at Jimmy Johns in Madison, WI, and as we were eating, some regular looking guy was at the counter, staring at us. Typically when they do this, you expect questions like "Do you know Jim Jimson, he's in the Air Force," or "what jets do you fly?" etc. Instead: Weird Dude: "Did you know your jets cause memory loss in children?" Us: "What?" Weird Dude: "Your low passes over the neighborhoods cause memory loss in children. My children look up at the jets and get a blank face for about 4 seconds (then proceeded to have a dumb blank look for four seconds to show us what he means)." I start laughing so hard I almost cry. …

I ran a search and didn't find quite what I was looking for. I'll be entering UPT soon, and while I know that it's not entirely up to me what I end up flying, I've been giving the various options a lot of thought. Unlike some, who are "definitely gonna go fighters", I have been looking for other options that might also provide an exciting and rewarding career. I keep being drawn back to the aircraft of the special ops community, mainly helos and the specops herc's. I'm getting married in a few months and am also concerned about keeping a happy and funcitonal family life. Is it true what they say about Special Ops pilots NEVER being home, or having to leave in t…

Anyone know the training time length at altus for C17s and KC135s?

Was anybody on the ground for the fly-bys tonight? I was wondering how it looked from a spectator's point of view.

I'm a recent pilot-select waiting on a class date. I know I have a while before I even set foot into a UPT classroom but I'd like to get ahead if possible. From what I have read on here, the biggest obstacle to UPT studs is formation flying (correct me if I'm wrong). I have access to a couple T-28s and have the opportunity to do some practice formation work. Do you guys think this will benefit me in the long run? Is there anything I should do that would alleviate some of the newness of UPT flying? I'm not asking for any info that shouldn't be disclosed, just some tips or pointers on a way I can familiarize myself with the AF way of flying. Thanks.

I don't ever use AF Portal, but I recently heard that there is a way to add HARM to your workspace. That way you can see all of your AFORMS stuff (ground/flying events/hours). Does anyone know if this is true or not? If so, how do you add it to your portal workspace? Thanks, Techsan

Hello, I'm interested in becoming a PJ and I'm curious about how they are regarded within the USAF. I've read quite a bit of interesting things in the forums about SP's, but can you guys tell me about your experiences working with PJ's and what you think of them. I know that they're pretty much considered aircrew in the Rescue Squadrons. I know this isn't really about flying but I'm curious to hear some opinions from aircrew and non aircrew members. I've been on the special tactics forums but I would kind of like to hear some outsider perspectives on their community. Thanks

Just curious... How many of you participated in sports (specifically college). I've been reading a couple biographies about pilots. What I’ve noticed is that most great pilots have participated in a college sport. More specifically, the fighter pilots that I have read about, all played a college sport. Do you think being involved with a college sport helped them get where they are? It was just an observation; wanted to see what you guys thought. I thought maybe the level of competition helped them develop a mindset of always being a winner and hating to lose.

All right... I'm searching for the rule which allows distribution/possession/consumption on USAF Contract Commercial Aircraft. Example, a unit is deploying to location X - flying American Airlines Flt XX from a military base. Can we open a flask/bottle in the back? Folks are telling me we can...I need proof.

Does anyone know what the requirements are for shipping personal firearms to AK? I'm on my first PCS and have a bolt action rifle I want to take with me. Am I supposed to have TMO move it, or do I keep it on me and just put it in check baggage on the plane? I also considered having some family FedEX it to me once I find a permanent residence. I have a TDY enroute so I don't know if that will make a difference or not. The main point is: I'm not driving and want to know what's the proper way to move my rifle. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Recently, I have been considering the option of joining the Air Force. I will be joining a ROTC and hope to service my country in a way that only the military can, put my life on the line. In my search for more information, I have come to believe that it is harder to leave the military than it is to get in. My question is this, if I graduate ROTC and pursue a pilot career, how many years will I be committing? The minimum 6 years of service? Does the military have its ways of trapping a pilot in active duty or do most people just continue because they love the life? Thanks, Augustine

The post about the B-1 mishap made me think about this paper I recently wrote. Maybe there's some things in here that other pilots will find valuable. Feel free to steal and plagarize as desired. Some Things I’ve Learned Till Now I’ve been fortunate to be able to fly the A-10 for a long time. I started out on active duty, then spent time in the Air National Guard, and now fly full-time for the Air Force Reserves. I’m not yet ancient, but I am old enough to have witnessed some major changes in the way we view the world and the way we fly airplanes in the fighter/attack community. Around long enough to see some devastating mishaps, I’ve lost squadron mates, c…

So I was on a xc the other day, and the direct route of my flight put me through an MOA. While enroute, I was notified by center that the MOA was active with two aircraft(turned out to be 2 B-1's). So I said copy that, we'll keep an eye out. For me to avoid this MOA it would have been about a 20-25 minute detour to the west or a 15 minute detour around a restricted area to the east, so I figure what the hell, these planes are the sh!t and I'm sure the pilots are profficient enough not to care about a littel POS 172 passing through(perfectly legal) So I decide to keep flying through with eyes open. We see the two B-1's from quite a distance and had them in sight for a…

I was recently updating an article I wrote on pointy nose weaponeering a few years back. I interviewed the RAF equivalent of a FWIC IWSO for the article, and he talked in some depth about teaching his studs to manually calculate fusing, impact angles, penetration depths, impact speed etc. Of course, theere are also computers that can do all this stuff, but I suppose that the RAF wants to make sure that its FWIC studs don't forget how to do it the old fashioned way. Anyway, it got me to thinking about some stuff I was told about the mission planning software used by USAF strike pilots and WSOs. I was told that you could input, say, a command bunker into the computer,…

I've been searching online for a week now on some of the new aviator glasses I saw a pilot down at tyndall wearing. THey were more sleek than the normal round lense aviators. Anyone know what I'm talking about and how to get some?

In several threads I've noticed pilots mentioning a "fear of flying" and "controlling the fear". Could you guys elaborate on what you mean by that? Is it fear of the ability to control the jet at it's limits, fear of the enemy, both? Just curious, thanks.