General Discussion

Just finished at Laughlin. My wife was there with me, and we don't have any kids yet. In my experience, it seemed each class had only one or two families with kids. Our class had only 7 of 28 that were married. The wives got along for the most part, although from what I hear from other classes (and ours at times) there is a bit of soap opera drama to be had - who's doing what, how well so-and-so is doing, etc. Guess it will depend on your particular class. As for family life...here was a typical day for me. This schedule is fairly close for at least 5 days a week - refused to study on Friday night or at all on Saturday - and probably went like this for every…

What do most guys do for computers at UPT? Is it advisable to grab a good laptop that you can take with you to class, or just stick to a desktop in your quarters?

On "The wingman" track, the dude talks about 2 getting the lead on the right, and tag lead...what does that stuff mean?

I have never seen a military aircraft enter a slip on landing. Can you perform a safe one in a fighter? Just curious if this is something you would only do in a GA aircraft or not. I know it wouldnt be a good idea in a big aircraft, and the airlines dont like it. stupid question, but I guess thats what this site is for, questions mate.

Has anybody seen this show? Its on the discovery times channel. Its a documentary of the Arkansas National Guard. It is very eye opening. These guys dont seem very educated, and they seemed to believe the "one weekend a month, 2 weeks a year" deal and really made it clear.. They dont really have any idea why they're being called up for iraq. Some of them seem to be under the impression that Iraq attacked us on 9/11. These guys dont seem like they've been trained as well as they should have, they pretty much got on a bus, went and shot a gun a few times to see if they could, did a little test battle, and off they went. they got to kuwait, I think, and were given a bunch of…

Has anyone used this and can you say how it works? Any helo guys out there who have used it? I have a .MIL email address if you aren't comfortable discussing here, I was just asked about it and am trying to track down some info for a bud... Cheers! M2

What does it take to become an AF instructor pilot? Do you go to instructor training directly after UPT or do you have to complete some time in a different airplane first? Also, what does it take to be a test pilot? I've already got the Aerospace Engineering degree.

I don't know if this was staged or not but it's funny none the less....future O'Club regular?? Academy Boogie

How much does it usually cost to have bikes shipped? Or is it free?

Well finally got my EAD orders and I'm off to Nav training I have not done NIFT yet and was told I would do that down there. So my question is can anyone give me a little heads up on what to expect when I get there. Give me some pointers or something. I am prior service Army so I know abit but being Air Force and an Officer I feel I'm in a whole diffrent ball game . Thanks Guys and Girls

At bases with more than one operational squadron of the same jet, how often, and what kind of interaction happens? Aviano and SJ come to mind...

Dos Gringos new (first) CD is out now and avialable to you. The CD is titled "Live From The Sandbox". This is a great CD for all the military pilots out there, makes a great present for all your military pilot friends too. Get your copies now by replying on this post or emailing me. My email should be listed at the bottom. Anyone who has heard the Cd lets hear what you think. Dos Gringos rules.

Does the DG status take into account all phases of UPT(1-3) or just the last phase? I keep hearing different takes on this. Anybody know how they formulate class rankings for this? Guppyguy

I realize that the number of T-38 spots depends on what the AF sends down the pipline, and there are no guarantees, but what about this situation? A student shows the work ethic, drive, and good attitude to make it through 38's, but there were only 1 or 2 38's dropped in the class. Are the IP's able to get him in a 38 one way or another (assuming he finishes high enough in the class where he would get a 38 in an average drop)? Could they send him through 38's with the following class or trade with another base (although I guess most other classes/bases would not want to give up a 38 spot). How often does this happen? Thanks PG

Any space geeks out there? We (my family) are thinking of buying an telescope, but don't know much about them. I'm doing my research now, but for any of you that own one=, any advice what to look for, stay away from, etc? Thanks

hey i was just watching the history channel or something and they had a show about pilots doing the g chamber. i'm wondering, in what phase do u do the g testing?

Alright... this might be a litte out in left field but i thought i would throw it out there anyway... so here it is. I got an email from this guy from the company we organized our spring break trip through. everything was paid for about 2 months ago, then i got this email today.... "Many of you have already received a few emails from StudentCity.com with mentions of a fuel surcharge. I am sending out this email to help explain this charge if it is to happen. Many people are under the assumption that this last minute charge is something the company does to squeeze extra money out of our travelers before they leave. That, by far, is not true. This small charge is not …

Does anyone have some funny Pattern/Area Buffoonery stories to share from UPT Phase II? I love hearing that I'm not the only one acting like a moron. :confused:

Terrorists claimed to be holding an American Soldier hostage after a fierce firefight. POW Captured After a closer look... Really? Looks Familiar Seriously though, I hope all our troops make it home safely.

Went to the altitude chamber today at Fairchild, and when I had the mask on (12/P), after about 5 minutes, the mask really started putting some hurt on the bridge of the ol' schnoz. Is this normal? If so, does it go away, or do you just learn to deal with it? I had a good seal, but I'm thinking, and hoping, that it might have been too small. Any thoughts?

I was just wondering what are the various Phase I academics and groundschool instruction pubs called and where can I find these? Thanks!

For the USAFE guys (or anyone who knows) - where'd this name come from?

Does anyone else find it "curious" that the [acting] Secretary of the AF's last job was President and COO of Lockheed Martin?

I was talking to a friend of mine who has recently completed UPT and we got to talking about how us guard guys usually take a fair amount of crap (all in good fun, as an enlisted guard person I understand this and was introduced to this in tech school) and one thing that came up was an active guy having some hard feelings toward a guard fighter guy because he “stole” his 38 spot. So this leads me to my question. I was wondering about class drops in reference to guard pilots. Lets say there is a guard fighter guy in the class so he needs a T-38 slot, does that take away from the 38 slots for the active guys or does AFPC just add another 38 slot? Also is it done this w…

I don't know if anyone out there is thinking on doing the same, but any advice or insight on my situation would be greatly appreciated. After UPT and "seasonal training" I plan on getting on with a regional airline (if they're hiring). Correct me if I'm wrong, but a fighter guy might come out of "home station training" with around 400-500 total hours right? Therefore, someone in my situation might need to get 500 or more hours on the civilian side so that he can apply with a regional airline once he/she is through with active orders. I think most regionals want around 1,000-1,500 total hours don't they? Now, I know I'm getting way ahead of myself here, but I'm just tr…