General Discussion

Can someone point me to a good source showing numbers of pilots that were downed in a combat theatre and subsequently rescued/returned to service in the same theatre? Any data or sources would be appreciated.

The FAA is looking at a major revamp of Part 61 of the FARs. They listed those changes via an NPRM, and the public comment period ended on 8 May. Of interest to us here is that they want to change the process for military instructor pilots to get their CFI certificate. In summary, it will simplify the process to basically a mil competency test, and a few other minor hoops to jump through. The FAA guy running this hopes to have it published by the end of the year. I spoke to the folks at NAFI, and they said their was a lot of support for this in the comment period, and that they expect it will go through. It's not a done deal, but looks very promising. I've st…

New thread for the sidebar topic in Track Select and Assignment night threads... Dual qualification, is it time for the USAF to try it with either some test wings with platforms / qualification levels that could support this for operational needs, manning retention/morale, crew force development (varied experience, technical proficiency, expanded talent pool) and efficiency? I put efficiency last as I think that it is probably the last factor that should be considered for a strategy for implementing dual qualification as a semi-general rule than an a seldom or unique policy. Considering what it takes to make and maintain an aviator - aero rating, qualifi…

Well, I guess we now know where the airframes are coming from for the VC-25A replacement. https://www.defenseone.com/business/2017/08/russian-air-force-one-boeing-trump-747/139872/

Good grief! It seems to be nearly impossible to find a decent place to rent (I'm in the process of buying), anyone have suggestions? I'd like to stay within a 30 min drive of base. murph

Here is a bit of information for those of you who plan on making the USAF a career. A quick bit of background to place this post in context for all. At several times during a officers career you will compete to attend Professional Military Education (PME) in residence. Some of you have heard of Squadron Officer School, which is for captains, but this post is really focused on what the USAF calls Intermediate Developmental Education (IDE), usually Air Command and Staff College (ACSC), or similar programs. And Senior Developmental Education (SDE), usually Air War College (AWC), or similar programs. You will compete for IDE and SDE at your Major and LtCol promot…

Hey everyone, I recently became aware of an "issue" that has been making the rounds on Facebook and which is also the subject of a recent JQP post. My response to his article was "detected as spam." So I'm re-posting this here with a desire to see what the BO rank and file thinks of this latest spear from JQ. As follows: JQP, much like the previous article on the Thunderbird mishap, you are way off base. "But things have gotten sideways. The question now on the table is what happens to those who lock in early only to find that the bonus increases in value significantly following year. This year’s ARP package is offering pilots in some career families…

Where can one find details about this?

I've searched to no avail, and not sure if Finance Guy is still around but here is my question since the JTR isn't very clear (go figure). Scenario 1: Let's say that I'm on a 179-day TDY in country A living off base, that turns into 183 days TDY (not including travel days). So under the flat rate per diem rules, I would receive 55% of the full rate for country A. I get that. Scenario 2: Now let's say that at the beginning of this TDY I arrive in country A, spend 10 days there, then go TDY to country B for 2 days before returning to location A for the remainder of the 171 days. For this scenario, my understanding is that I would be paid full per diem for the 10 da…

Since starting UPT I've noticed a pretty steady berating of the airline industry by the staff. Just about every briefing I attended as an APT'er or now while in Phase 1 has included shots fired at the airlines--specifically, the pilots themselves. Everyone from my flight commander on up has said something at some point: airline pilots are "puppets" or "bus drivers", military pilots are "much better trained in all aspects of flying" and if you wanted to fly for the airlines, "you wouldn't have come here". We have a lot of guard/reserve guys in our class and most, if not all of them, have said they're planning to head to the airlines when eligible. But none of them have bee…

Are any of you flying in there in a military aircraft for static display?

Anyone know somebody who has done this? I'm really leaning towards trying to get one of these slots when i'm done with my tour here in England. Wife will have to get citizenship but that's just a trip to the states and back. I'll also be in for a long bit of training (up to 1 year depending on language). The job really sounds interesting and definitely very few do it. Anybody have any info. I have already emailed the Europe Defense Attache program dude and he has gotten back to me but it was pretty much a canned answer to some of my questions.

I'm curious if in the near future the Air National Guard will get the F15E. I saw an article (3 years old however) that mentioned the 124th Fighter Wing might get it to replace their A10s but it looks like it hasn't happened yet or will happen. https://www.idaho.ang.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123403682

Anyone know where / when the CAF assignments are going to be published for the fall VML? The porch used to post their state of the community .pdf file on the COP along with the expected assignments for that VML. With the COP going away, it just says to look for it on AFPC - yea, good luck. Historically it would have been out by now. Anyone have some info? Edit: I can never post again - this makes 69.

For those of you recently retired or remember, does it really take a month before anything shows up? I retired 28 June and just today my pay shows my "Separated Reserve Pay" account which just shows my last AD paycheck, when can I expect it to say something along the lines of "Retiree Pay"? Yes, its an AD retirement.

The climatic lab seems to be ground zero for this explosion and fire. I'm not sure if any aircraft were in the barn at the time of this explosion/fire? No casualty reports at this point. https://weartv.com/news/local/fire-at-eglin-air-force-base

Can any of you direct me to the engine out procedures for a cessna 172-P ???

Good Morning, I have been lurking here for a while. I am your typical stars in your eyes pilot select getting ready for OTS. Looking forward to flying. I am an accountant and have been in the professional world about 6 years, and no work is a 4 letter word just like Sh**. I read through the discussions here and read about some of the things you guys are going through. As someone who has a pie in the sky view of what flying would be it is a dose of reality about the lifestyle and that is healthy. Would you recommend for others to join the AF and fly? Would you do it all over again? What are some of the pitfalls that I will face as a young officer and how would you nav…

I used the search function and came up empty handed The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is probably the most popular personality test in use, and I've heard that they used to give it to pilots in the navy. I wouldn't be surprised if many of the guys on here have heard of it. The test indicates how you use your mind based on 4 scales: Favorite world: Do you prefer to focus on the outer world or on your own inner world? This is called Extraversion (E) or Introversion (I). Information: Do you prefer to focus on the basic information you take in or do you prefer to interpret and add meaning? This is called Sensing (S) or Intuition (N). …

https://www.f-16.net/f-16-news-article5076.html

I always thought the Air Force was the one place where equality and fairness actually meant something. Boy was I wrong. I knew this all along after I sat in on my first court martial. I thought if the kid who was being court martialed had a REAL lawyer he would walk free. If your defense counsel breaks out a PowerPoint presentation you should fire him/her or expect to be found guilty period. I told the Lt Col for JAG I will not be apart of another court martial due to the AF being just as biased as the civilian court system. He told me the WG/CC really wanted me on the board. I told my CC it's biased to his face too. The proof is in the pudding: https://www…

Does anyone else feel stabbed in the back by this? Instead of fixing the problems that make people want to get out, he wants to make it harder for his pilots to get hired by the airlines? What a low blow...or am I reading this wrong?

why is the t-38 so hard to land? I heard thats the reason most students drop out of 38s.

Does anyone know if there's any opportunities for civilian flying around Kunsan Air Base? I'd like to get some hours when I'm over there.

Saw this originally on Reddit's aviation sub (r/aviation) Mudhen - 1 Drone - 0 Reddit Link Sent from my SM-N920T using Baseops Network Forums mobile app