General Discussion

I just discovered the trailer for the Korean film R2B (English title "Soar Into the Sun") on the Aviationist. It looks like pure cheese, and it's drawing the inevitable comparisons to Top Gun: https://www.latimes.c...,0,303239.story And speaking of "Top Gun," has anybody seen the 1990 Japanese Top Gun knockoff "Best Guy?" My JASDF buddies were telling me about it; apparently JASDF F-15s were heavily involved in the filming. It tanked at the Japanese box office.

I'm putting the final touches on a novel and would appreciate help with the following re: C-130s. 1. The antagonist, an arms dealer, owns both a C-130, and a small island in the Gulf of Thialand. Bearing in mind that 1. artistic license is acceptable but still must be believable, 2. his pilots are "down-and-dirty" former GRU Spetsnaz, 3. it's an island! it can't have a long runway, what would be the minimum runway length? 1700 feet feasible? Less? I'm aware of the record landings and TOs on the Forrestal. Maybe I could put that in the book. 2. does the Herk have the ability to start without external generator? (can't remember the equipment name - been a few years …

I have UTFSF but haven't been able to pull up an old thread with any good info. I'm seeking some help from fellow Exec types, former Exec types, or casual UPT types that might be able to give a little input. I'm trying to find good/somewhat recent examples of Duty Titles that have been used for junior CGOs who are on casual for an extended period. We have several 2d Lts, 1st Lts, and a couple Capts that have been doing an administrative assistant type role and we also have a couple who have been assigned as the lead casual. I'm curious about what Duty Titles folks have had in the past or know of. Any input is much appreciated.

Interesting exchange (one-way mostly) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGGaIZXZmAM

Holy crap...as far as I can tell, this is actually a pretty damn good idea. Base gyms to be open 24/7 Summary: On commander approval, gyms will stay open 24/7, with access via CAC and security cameras in place. Surely, something or somebody will f*** this up.

https://www.stripes.com/news/juicy-bars-air-force-puts-squeeze-on-businesses-linked-to-human-trafficking-1.238446

Anyone know the correlation between transiting an IRS approved CZTE area and logging AFTO 781 combat or combat support time? I recently overflew the Red Sea but didn't land in any of the usual AOR locales. Do I get to log this? I asked the SARM folks but they fed me a line about having to takeoff or land at an airfield in the combat zone. They also said there was a list of approved ICAOs but couldn't produce the list when I asked for it (big surprise!). I know their takeoff/landing line is bullshit since I've logged tons of combat time while overflying Iraq on the way from ETAR to OTBH or vice versa.

Elders, Our class's drop sheet came out this past Friday and today we were snooping around AF Portal and came across AMS. We found that when we put in 2LT and C-17 with "All" as the base selected, the bases that showed up exactly correlated to what was on our drop sheet except there was a number next to how many slots were available. The same held true for other planes we typed from our drop sheet. Was this coincidental, or did we stumble upon a way to find out how many of each plane/base we dropped?

Report 1 dead 1 Serious injury

Trying to decipher DoD regs regarding Time-in-Grade (Lt Col) and retirement. Lets say I have 20 years, been an 05 for two years, and I put in paperwork to retire. Lt Col TIG requires 3 years to retire as a Lt Col...what does that mean? I understand that I can't wear a retired Lt Col hat to the BX but does it drastically effect benefits? Or...can I not even apply to retire until I hit 3-years TIG? As I read it, under the high-3 retirement, they average out your highest 36 months of service...so if you have 1-year of 04 pay and 2-years of 05 pay...thats the average, right? Not quite as much money as getting 3-years TIG...but better than never having been paye…

From the weird side of aviation... According to the web site, the idea of an Amphibious C-130 was considered back in the early 70's... or is it fake? Can't tell these days... Anyway its an interesting diversion. https://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/a-c-130-hercules-amphibian-makes-too-much-sense-to-be-t-1716610531

Curious what the most popular choices are these days? When I did mine 5-7 yrs ago it was Touro/Trident, AMU, and some others. So if you wouldnt mind, who are you or your co-workers using these days?

https://www.pcmag.com/news/345702/ai-program-wins-dogfight-agains-usaf-fighter-pilot So basically strap a Raspberry Pi in an F-35 and we're all out of a job...

Hello Everyone! I'm an ex navy pilot in the process of swapping from gold to silver wings. I remember when I graduated from navy SERE, the guy who handed me my graduation certificate told me to place a copy in a safety deposit box. Despite the fact I have all my SERE documentation in order, I was recently told I will have to attend air force SERE and would like to see if anyone has made the gold to silver transition without attending air force SERE. Or, if you haven't made the transition, do you know anyone else I can reach out to for clarification? I'll name my firstborn grandchild in your honor if you can help me get out of this. Thanks everyone!

What are those numbers forward of the horizontal stabilizer in the B-52 for?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VU-hJ9r7fGg&feature=player_embedded IMHO, looks like he lost control in slow flight (whether mechanical or pilot error), rolled right, and couldn't recover. Punching out was a good call. Hope you get better soon buddy!

Air Force Times Link Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta will be the first living Medal of Honor recipient since the Vietnam War. On Thursday, President Obama spoke with Giunta, who is assigned to 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, in Vicenza, Italy, to inform him that he will be awarded the nation’s highest valor award, according to the White House. Giunta, 25, will be honored for his actions during a fierce firefight Oct. 25, 2007, in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley. According to the White House announcement, when an insurgent force ambush split Giunta’s squad into two groups, he exposed himself to enemy fire to pull a comrade …

From the iTunes Store:

Sounds like a massive storm/tornado went through Sun 'N Fun a few hours ago. Here are some pictures of the destruction from the EAA facebook site. https://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=192081688622&aid=358039&closeTheater=1

Does the AF only use time in the AOR to determine the amount of reconstitution leave or do they use all time spent away from your home of record? I am deployed as guest help with another unit. I will have over 90 days deployed and will get another week of reconstitution if they consider time spent at the other unit (which is out of my State) as well as travel time getting to the AOR and back. Our Log Plans guy back home is telling me that they only use time in the AOR to calculate the leave while the unit I am with says they count all time away from home. Which is it and can someone point me to a specific reg?

Report: Jamming Device Forces Emergency Landing of U.S. Military Plane in Pacific Exercise

Pretty neat bird! https://www.flickr.com/photos/usnavy/6836386475/sizes/o/in/photostream/

I am unfortunately in the process of being medically disqualified from flying related duties. I finished three months of training but had to be removed because of my medical problem. I am currently preparing my reclassification package and was wondering if anyone with experience can tell me the proper protocol to ask someone for a letter of recommendation when you are no longer in their chain of command? Most of the people going to the board commissioned through ROTC and received really good LORs from their leadership at ROTC. I am prior service that commissioned through OTS so that avenue is not available for me. I am hoping to get LORs from my past leadership but mo…

https://www.aviationweek.com/Blogs.aspx?plckBlogId=Blog:27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7&plckPostId=Blog%3a27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7Post%3afd132b93-a775-4e88-bcd8-8a8067cafc0a And will be relying on us for gas.

I'm not too sure here but it seems like there is more to this... I have a couple theories but both are about as stupid as this whole story. https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/viewart/20130103/NEWS02/301030015/Mom-Boy-didn-t-steal-plane-crash JASPER — A teen pilot killed along with two friends in an Alabama plane crash had his own key to the aircraft and had flown it many times, his mother said Wednesday, denying authorities’ assertion that the plane had been taken without permission. Sherrie Smith said her 17-year-old son Jordan Smith was the one flying the plane that went down in the Alabama woods Tuesday night. The Federal Aviation Administration …