General Discussion

Can anyone say with any authority how much having a type rating helps when interviewing for an airline? Before I drop 6-9 thousand on a B737 or A320 when there is a good chance I may not be assigned to said type, does it really add that much to my military background in Strike Eagles?

Air Force awards $2.4B contract for new helicopters to guard nukes https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/24/politics/air-force-helicopter-contract-nukes/index.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+CNN+-+Top+Stories%29

OK, I admit it, I work in the AMC Fuel Efficiency Office (FEO) and I was responsible for the whole Mission Index Flying (MIF) project. For a little background, I am a reservist flying for a major airline and took the job in FEO to get away from the airline for a bit in January of 2009. Originally I signed on for 9 months, but it lasted 2 yrs and 9 months...it's the military. As a commercial airline pilot I was appalled that the MAF did not use cost index algorithms in our flight planning system or in the aircraft. I was more appalled (and disappointed) when I learned that it would cost about $40-$50 Million dollars to put it into EACH fleet. No way we had the money f…

Interesting take on the use of the word hero- https://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-j-astore/why-its-wrong-to-equate-m_b_655611.html

Is there any kind of pre-test available to study before taking the tests? I'm working on the first class right now and so much of it is "this person you've never heard of said this, but oh yeah this other person you've never heard of said this". I'm afraid the test is going to be a bunch of questions about the first commander's opinion of an unheard of AETC wing on critical thinking...just stuff that no one really cares about.

https://medium.com/war-is-boring/the-air-force-wants-to-junk-half-of-its-best-jamming-planes-3f16d164cac1 Thoughts? I personally think it's a big mistake. Does anybody else in the CAF care? Does the Air Force really understand what EW can bring to the fight?

A question to the old hats, especially the fighter dudes and former FAIPs: Does flying ever become fun again?

Looks like the Red Arrows has an accident near Bournemouth today. https://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3764622/Red-Arrow-crash-at-air-show.html

https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2010/02/airforce_f16_crash_osan_022610w/ Pilot safe after F-16C bailout over S. Korea By Bruce Rolfsen - Staff writer Posted : Friday Feb 26, 2010 12:54:50 EST An Air Force pilot safely ejected from his F-16C Fighting Falcon on Thursday as he tried to land the jet at Osan Air Base, South Korea, according to Air Force reports. The unidentified pilot from Osan’s 36th Fighter Squadron suffered minor injuries. The jet was heavily damaged and crashed within Osan’s boundaries. The F-16C had been the lead jet for a three-plane formation, a report said. While preparing to land at Osan at 12:34 p.m., the 22-year-old plane becam…

I heard some rumors at the KMC sports bar that two C-5M's collided during taxi and another C-17 landed short at Dover. There might have been some beers consumed by various crew members at said bar so I don't know how true either of these incidents are.

Word just now flowing on CNN. No details on which base (Eglin or Tyndall).

Open question to any and all units that have an active SOF program and those that work as a SOF or have worked as a SOF. What if/any relationship exists between the SOF and the Command Post with regard to command and control of assets? Please don't reply to this topic but PM me so I can provide a .mil email address. I'm using this as a tool to reach out, not violate OPSEC. Thanks!

Was there really no approval process for this one beforehand? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-18032968

I am wondering if this is just a local thing or is there an airforce wide movement among leadership in the flying community wearing abu's to "blend" with the rest of the troops ?

In order to not derail a classic thread, but continue a rather good discussion, I'll pose this question here. What is so "dangerous" about a high speed abort on a long runway? I hear people brief over and over that they would rather continue the takeoff for "x" than do a high speed abort. Here is my take on it (keep in mind, all my experience is in the C-130 and we routinely take off and land with about 8,000' more than we actually need.) Say you're taking off full length on Runway 25 at LRF. You have 12,000' of runway in front of you. Say you get an abort call just before rotating, we'll call it 110 KIAS. Definitely a high speed abort. But you also have about…

https://www.fool.com/...s-to-india.aspx

Air France Boeing 777 suffers control problems on approach to Paris

I recently got tasked to go to Balad for 120 days. I've never been to The Sandbox before, although I have wanted to for some time. I leave some time in March. I just wondered if any of you guys/gals who have had the experience could tell me anything about their trips.

Speaking of bullshit media headlines... First Lady Onboard Plane That Reportedly Just Misses Military Jet Really? Just misses? I love the quote burried in there "The FAA is investigating the incident. The Boeing 737 landed safely after executing the go around. The aircraft were never in any danger." Is it really that big of a deal? Obviously making the first lady's plane go around is not ideal but c'mon, this shit happens every day at multiple US airports. I guess it's sensational news when you've got other stories out there of controllers falling asleep. edit: sprrelling

I know AFI 36-2903 leaves the wearing of scarves up to MAJCOM. By why are they no more? I think It was back in 2008 AETC brought the hammer down but I can't find any other restrictions that apply to ground duties?!

Just wanted to let you guys know that the American Fighter Pilot series is now being widely advertised for a March 22nd 7-episode DVD release. Sweet. [ 16. March 2005, 14:11: Message edited by: GooneyBird ]

Although this link is to a story about AF issues with innovation (I will not attempt to comment on its validity or the author since there are many experts here on both), this is something we talk about across the services. Is being a “free thinker” a personality liability? We all have personal biases and want the way in which makes our living to be the most relevant, but are we going to lose our military edge because we cannot look for answers that may not support theses biases? What are your thoughts? https://omnifeed.com/article/ricks.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2014/12/03/a_pilot_speaks_the_usaf_is_harder_on_internal_ideas_than_it_is_on_evil_insurgents_ac_130#./a_pi…

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I thought there was a general TDY thread but I can't find it (if it exists). Has anyone used Turo on a TDY instead of going through a traditional rental car company? If so, have you gotten reimbursed? If I can find a nice car on Turo for the same price as the shitbox Hertz is going to give me, why can't I use Turo instead? For those of you unfamiliar with Turo, it's basically AirBnB for cars.

We seem to have extras...any takers? https://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/australia-looks-overseas-for-defence-staff-20111227-1par2.html The Australian Defence Force is trying to recruit laid-off soldiers, sailors and air crew from Britain, the US and other western countries in order to fill recruitment quotas. Australia is reportedly looking for defence specialists, such as fighter pilots, submarine crews and officers and are offering fast-tracked citizenship as an incentive, The Australian reported on Tuesday. According to the newspaper the Royal Australian Navy has sent a delegation to Britain to discover how many retrenched sailors, particularly en…