General Discussion

I didn't know this guy personally but I've heard tales... https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2018/05/16/dyess-air-force-base-wing-commander-removed-over-toxic-environment/

The DoD is the one place that is allowed to discriminate! Bad vision, flat feet, obese, health issues, too old, etc... sorry, can’t be in the US military. https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2018/05/30/the-pentagon-is-being-sued-for-allegedly-discriminating-against-people-living-with-hiv/?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=Socialflow&utm_medium=social

According to this report both ejected safely. Stay safe out there. https://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/05/23/air-force-training-jet-crashes-in-mississippi-pilots-ejected-safely.html

With Russia's $650 billion rearmament plan, the bear sharpens its teeth The graying bear is getting a make-over. Russia's military is launching its biggest rearmament effort since Soviet times, including a $650 billion program to procure 1,000 new helicopters, 600 combat planes, 100 warships, and 8 nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines...

Who would give the AF grenades to begin with..WTF? Brilliant idea when most people from what I recall misplaced their weapons a lot in Iraq and Afghanistan. We had personnel receiving paperwork for it. So who do you think will get fired for #lostgrenades? https://gizmodo.com/the-air-force-would-appreciate-some-help-finding-a-box-1826056964

They are looking for military statics for this AirFest. Small ramp area, so can't bring in the big aircraft. T-6, any fighter, or some of that AFSOC stuff that is different and cool. One-day show, 4 Nov, sponsored by Hangar 24 Craft Beer. Concert on ramp after the show. Non-towered airport, 8001x100 runway, FBO has contract fuel. Arrive Friday, or come in Saturday morning. Show doesn't start until ~1300. Ping me for details if you think you might want to show up.

Just how bad is it?

This event continues to grow, and is a two-day event this year. 19-20 May, in Redlands, CA... about 1 hour west of Palm Springs. This not your father's airshow: it's a beer festival, concert, with an airshow component. And there is more craft beer at AirFest than at any airshow in the US. The Canadians are bringing the CF-18 Demo Team for one of their very few US performances, including a twilight performance on Saturday evening. F-16 Demo will be there too. The civilian performers are stellar. FYI: the Sunday show is going to be different. The planes will fly, but about half of the show will not be announced. Instead, the bands will pla…

100 T-45 IPs are apparently refusing to fly because of fears over the safety of the jet's OBOGS. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/04/navy-instructor-pilots-refusing-to-fly-over-safety-concerns-pences-son-affected.html I am curious to know, is there something about the effects of this OBOGS issue that somehow makes it different to the Raptor's OBOGS issue? While I appreciate that one is a training asset, the other a front-line operational asset, it just strikes me that response from the two communities is startlingly different. In one case, an entire community refuses to fly, prompting a 3-star Admiral to publicly state that there is no policy of 'F…

I had the honor to give a WWII fighter pilot his final send off today and hand the flag off to his family. if you are at your squadron bar tonight, throw up some shots for 1LT William Brown. Blue skies and strong tail winds https://obittree.com/obituary/us/indiana/knightstown/heritage-funeral-care/william-brown/3503869/

Bibi lays out a pretty damning case. I'd say it will be hard for President Trump to recertify the JCPOA, and once that happens, I expect things to escalate rather quickly. https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-april-30-2018/

When you have killed Bin Laden and wasted most of the top leaders of the Taliban, what else is there to do? https://news.usni.org/2018/05/03/10-seals-set-separated-service-failing-drug-tests-investigation-underway

Anyone heard of this? https://www.airforcemag.com/DRArchive/Pages/2014/August%202014/August%2026%202014/Moody-Selected-as-Afghan-A-29-Training-Site.aspx

I have no sympathy for Emirates. $46M per month... I'll bet they could pay their pilots a lot more, and still come in under that figure. It's a good time to be a commercial pilot. Article below: A couple of weeks ago, James wrote about how Emirates is reducing some flights due to a pilot shortage. In the past we’ve seen Emirates sometimes store planes briefly due to decreased seasonal demand. While parking planes isn’t cheap, it’s certainly more expensive to fly them at a significant loss, so it’s the best option in those cases. Emirates’ unprecedented pilot shortage Emirates is currently dealing with an issue in unprecedented numbers. Specifically, Emirat…

Another article from War on the Rocks contributor Mike Pietrucha on CAS in a high threat environment. BLUF: We aren't / can't really do it (sts) https://warontherocks.com/2016/06/the-myth-of-high-threat-close-air-support/ Right, wrong, not relevant? Discuss..

Hello, I was just wondering what a CSO would maybe major in. I am currently a Senior in High School and have received an AFROTC Scholarship. A CSO interests me and I’d really just like to know more about it. Any information or personal preference would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

I recently volunteered for a UPT assignment after receiving an email from group leadership saying they were looking for volunteers. I told my Sq/CC I was thinking about it. Before volunteering, I emailed my functional to ask some questions about the assignment (timing, ADSC obligation, etc.). The functional asked how interested I was. I said I was, and would think about it. She said to let her know if I wanted the assignment. I emailed her back a couple days later, saying that I was volunteering, and that she should hear about it through my chain of command soon. I emailed my Sq/CC and let him know I wanted to volunteer. He said ok. Well, today he pulls me aside…

"According to the United States Air Force, an F-16C aircraft assigned to the 56th Fighter Wing at Luke Air Force Base in Glendale, Arizona diverted and attempted to land at the Lake Havasu Airport around 10:30 a.m. Officials say the aircraft departed the prepared surface and the pilot ejected. The pilot is in good condition and expected to be OK." Link to Article

Just saw this. Implications could be huge, if Japan is willing to pay the tooling/restart cost for an F-22A while we bring online an upgraded F-22 as a result. The question is, will Congress/CSAF/DoD ever be able to tear their eyes away from the F-35 to seize the opportunity? Lockheed Should Restart the Raptor Line If Japan Wants An F-22-F-35 Hybrid Geopolitical trends, security concerns, and industrial and combat aircraft capability needs, could give birth to an American-Japanese Raptor 2.0. By Tyler Rogoway Osakabe Yasuo Reuters has published a report that came as little surprise to us at The War Zone regarding Tokyo's intere…

Anyone have any quick math equations they use in the cockpit like the ones below? 1) Degrees off nose + 20 = crosswing percentage Example: 40kt wind 30deg off nose = 20kt crosswind component 2) Ground Speed / 2, add a zero = 3 degree descent rate Example: 120kt / 2 = 600 fpm vsi 3) 50% of wind gust = Addition to final approach speed Example: Winds gusting 20 = add 10kts to final speed 4) Add 2 subtract 2 rule for reciprocal headings and runways Example: 327 recip = 147. If add 2 to first number, subtract 2 to second number. 1st number is always opposite 2nd number. Third number is unchanged.

SEOUL, South Korea — Search crews recovered the body of one of two pilots of a South Korean fighter jet that slammed into a mountain Thursday while flying home from a mission. https://www.stripes.com/news/pacific/s-korean-f-15-crashes-body-of-pilot-recovered-search-for-co-pilot-to-continue-1.520517 Fly safe - this spike of incidents is troubling.

The British are way worse. OUCH!

Heard through the grapevine about this just now. Allegedly an Iraqi pilot in training, no word if it was dual or solo though. Hoping everyone is alright...

I plan on earning my PPL over the next couple of months so I can apply to AFR units by Fall. Likely C-130 units considering my location (Eastern OH). It seems worth it to purchase a headset in the long run, but wanted you guys to weigh in. Is it worth me spending the big bucks on an A20 or Lightspeed, or go for a mid-priced DC? I don't know if pilots ever use their own headset during training / in the reserve. Might be silly to buy a nice one then be gone for ~2-3 years OTS/UPT/whatever follows before I touch it again, not to mention depreciation. I did see another thread about getting a nice used pair of DC and just replacing parts as needed. I could also just work with …

Ok so I still have a laptop that uses Windows 7 with Internet Explorer 11, Mozilla, AND Google Chrome. I'm doing ACSC by Correspondence, and apparently, not only can I NOT access my base email from home, but I can't access Air Force Portal, AND Air University. This just started happening literally this week. However, my wife's laptop has Windows 10, and I have zero problems accessing Air Force Portal. Apparently, the warnings I'm receiving from Google Chrome is that Air Force Portal lost it's Security Certificate on MY laptop. Is anybody else having this problem as well? Did a memo come out stating that Air Force Portal and all other Air Force sites requite Wind…