General Discussion

I was just wondering about what percentage of combat pilots see combat through the course of their career. It seems like we have such a large military that many never do, is this true?

Just finished UPT and C-130 school. Waiting for my shipment of HHG's back to my home unit right now, in fact. My UTM / finance is saying I do not qualify for DLA moving back to home station because it's considered a "separation PCS." Can anyone chime in on this? Seems insane to deny almost $3k worth of DLA. Moving is effing expensive, especially with a wife, 2 kids and a dog... Just want to make sure I'm asking the right questions and not overlooking anything. Thanks in advance!

Question. If someone were out on a weekend cross country in a white jet and actually overflying home station when a generator fails, and that pilot elects to land at the airfield even though it is closed and uncontrolled for the weekend, is that a Q3’able event? Anyone see anything right or wrong with this? (It’s something that actually happened at a training base recently to a reservist by an OG) Withholding my thoughts

I've been wondering when I would hit the triggers for my command wings and higher aviator pay. A simple google search showed that the wings come at at 15 years as a rated pilot and the pay at more than 14 years since my first flight. Simple enough. However, I was DNIF for 14 months and seperated for 21 months before joining the guard. ARMS is telling me that the non-flying months due to my DNIF and seperation don't count towards the gates and I am not elibile for the pay and wings for a while longer. Everything I've read reinforces the gates I've listed above and don't mention non-flying months counting against me. I've never heard of a non-flying staff tour delayi…

here's a hypothetical situation: crew aircraft with winglets. part of before taxi checklist is to check the area outside the jet for obstacles before taxiing. CP (from seat) scans, "all clear" P scans (from seat), "all clear" LM scans (from in front of the jet, on the ground outside), "all clear" LM hops aboard, closes door, yadda yadda yadda, crew taxis. [sound of something metal scraping] P "what the heck was that?" LM deplanes - sees fire bottle nudged by nose gear. P and LM subsequently get commander directed Q3s. thoughts? objections? comments? i'll start. i think it's crap that the P got Q3d. sure they're responsible for everything, but cra…

Can someone please explain what military cap and flying cap is? Thanks.

Just me or are there a lot of commanders getting axed this year? 375th WG/CC fired https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2017/12/12/wing-commander-at-scott-air-force-base-fired-after-5-months-on-the-job/ WS/CC fired https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2017/09/26/air-force-squadron-commander-was-fired-after-allegedly-drinking-on-duty/ This dude was screwing around with an E-4... on the surface it seems he deserved it. https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2017/05/02/squadron-commander-at-moron-air-base-relieved-of-duty/ Thunderbirds https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2017/11/29/air…

I'm skeptical this will happen or if there is really a need but there is a good bit of research going into this... https://www.bbc.com/future/story/20161220-the-aerial-tankers-that-helped-shrink-the-globe https://www.google.com/patents/US20030136874 https://www.range-unlimited.com/ https://theconversation.com/in-flight-refuelling-for-airliners-will-see-non-stop-services-shrink-the-globe-39931 Reading this and thinking about my own time flying the mighty 135, the only way I could see this happening and being profitable/logistically sensible is if you could synchronize the tankers and receivers by a reciprocative schedule/flight plan or rendezvous .…

I've been looking on the net for a frame for my commissioning certificate. I wan't something simple with a mat and an Air Force seal, nothing extravagant, to hang next to my diploma in the home office. I've found lots of things in the 8x10 and 11x14 sizes, but nothing for the odd shape (10x14) of the commissioning certificate. Just wondering what any of you guys did with yours (I'm guessing that a lot of you guys have them in stuffed in a drawer somewhere) and if you know anybody that makes a frame specifically for the commissioning certificate. I seem to remember getting a pamphlet when I graduated OTS that had similar products, but I can't remember the name of the c…

This may have been discussed already but I didn't see anything: https://www.airforcet...110_usaf_helos/ Air Force nears UH-60 deal with Army By Michael Hoffman - Staff writer Posted : Monday Nov 1, 2010 13:32:48 EDT The Air Force is close to finalizing a sole-source deal to buy up to 93 UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters from the U.S. Army, according to defense industry sources. Air Force officials launched the effort to replace the service's Vietnam War-vintage UH-1N Hueys with commercially available helicopters last year. From the beginning, the Air Force said it would make performance tradeoffs to keep costs down for what is called the Common Vertical L…

Question for you airliner guys. I will be starting work at an airline(big 3) as a ground guy and will need to start commuting to the east coast from the Midwest and was wondering how travel time is looked at? Based off schedules for a regular weekend drill, I would have to leave Friday afternoon and won’t be able to fly back until Monday morning non reving. Would both fri and mon count as mil leave days or do I need to take vacation? In addition, I would assume non reving would be kosher even though I’m not technically working for the military those two days? I would ask my new boss but he has already been a douche and I would like to know some background if he tries to p…

I am currently in AFROTC commissioning in May and heading to UPT at some point after that. (Hoping for quick EADs) I have been trying to get into the right mindset for UPT. I, like many guys going to UPT have been wanting to fly fighters for the AF for as long as I can remember. So my question is this: What is the best way to approach the competitive aspect of UPT? I am going there determined to achieve my goals, and will give 110% to get there but I don't want to be that guy who steps on the other studs to get what I want. I have heard that it is an intense competition and it's dog eat dog, but also that you need to help each other out and pass on all the valuable i…

Haven't seen this discussed. Article was found the the Salisbury News 06 March 2009. Interesting read if you have the time. Bet that guys feels about 2inches tall.

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?

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. …

Ok, I am 16 and going into my second year of high school. I wanna bring my life to the highest ground. I wanna become a pilot for airlines, but i am confuse on which path to take. I have no knowlegde or experience on flying or planes, but i am so desparte and eager to learn. The paths i have trouble choosing is if i should goto the Air Force and get some training there and going to their academy (Air Force Academy) Or going into colleges that have Aviation programs.

Gentlemen (and Ladies) I am about to select a subject for my dissertation for my English Language and Linguistics degree, and am considering a linguistic analysis of spoken discourse in Aviation English (i.e. the words and phrases that are used everyday on the radios). At the moment, I am trying to establish whether or not there are areas that I could look more closely at with a view to researching them in detail. If I get lots of shoulder shrugs to these ideas, I'll have to start again! I wondered if anyone had any observations they could share about problems, issues or general observations related to following: The choice of words used to communicate certain…

About time too - lots of questions about this mission... https://thehill.com/homenews/house/313039-congress-to-probe-lethal-seal-crash

I’d like to know more about it. I’m a C-17 pilot, and I just learned about CRWs. Sounds like a cool gig, even though it takes you out of the jet for a tour. Anyone have experience in a CRW and able to give a rundown on what I’d be doing day to day, ops tempo, is it worth it, etc?

Random thought I just had before my morning coffee kicks in. As the KC-46 line gets up some steam, with Airbus tankers in an off the shelf status, wondering if there's opportunity for a private venture to acquire and employ a dozen or so tankers over the next several years. DoD has found itself woefully unable to support it's training needs in both A2A and A2G, leading to the rise of Blue Air, Drakken, and ATAC, among others. Likewise, for years Omega has been filling the gaps in DoD's probe and drogue coverage, and the premium on those assets is going nowhere but up as the numbers of grey tails goes down. Seems to me that a handful of tankers available on a …

If TDY, and lodging issues you a contract quarters slip for a certain hotel, are you required to stay at that hotel?

@HuggyU2 gear up for a blue suit job. The USAF will provide Government Owned Contractor Operated (GOCO) T-6As and T-38Cs. No toners. This is just a RFI and not an RFP but it's just a matter of time. https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=4f69cd28bca0a8c07e21486897f2f83e&tab=core&_cview=1 Of note it looks like they want a desirable location. So the AF knows that they need a good location to attract retired/separated mil IPs

I see that Washington D.C. is allocated CONUS COLA for 2021. Any of you smart people know if this applies to the Pentagon? It is physically located in Arlington, VA but has Washington D.C. addresses. I suspect the answer is Virginia, since that will cost the government less $$, but thought I’d ask the question.

We've told war stories. We've discussed the same 10 topics at least 69 times or more. We've measured johnsons. How about some pictures to back all the bullsh1t up? I'm always in search of cool aviation pictures, so I thought it would be interesting if the peanut gallery posted some "So there I was..." pictures. Let's try to keep it to photos you're either in or took yourself. Any weenie can surf the internet to post someone else's pictures. For those who are internet challenged, go to Tiny Pic to host your pictures. Upload it, then cut-n-paste the "IMG" line at the bottom into your message on here. Toro...that's not you, is it? Somewhere over Oklah…

https://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?channel=i_video&clip=/media/2005/01/12/video666546&sec=3420&vidId=3420&title=C-130$@$The$@$Flying$@$Truck&hitboxMLC=evening news://https://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_v...C=evening news://https://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_v...ening news Interesting video. Additional commentary removed so people stop hatin'. ;) :D [ 17. January 2005, 00:17: Message edited by: wannaairlift ]