General Discussion

question for real AF dudes rotc is bustin my balls and i think that if rotc is an accurate sample of the real AF then i am pissed-between the article 17s and the gay mandatory briefings-75 percent of my classmates are anti social non fun seeking douche nozzles-love the mission-what happened to the good ol days ive heard about-is there hope for a good time ahead-do flyers still love to party?

I lieu of the Comair crash in Kentucky, it got me thinking about the experience level of the pilots who fly for regional airlines. I am not commenting on the crew of this tragedy, since I don't know what their experience level was...but rather the requirements of the regional airlines and the lax interview requirements they grant to some of the Part 141 schools out there. Several of these Part 141 school grads get promised interviews at some regionals with significantly lower flight hours (~750 hrs TT) than a person who takes the traditional Part 61-to-CFI/II route. Not to knock the Part 141 fast-track civilian training route, but has/could this lower level of expe…

https://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123028524 Air Force leaders to discuss new 'Cyber Command' by Staff Sgt. C. Todd Lopez Air Force Print News 10/5/2006 - WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- Air Force leaders are gathering in early November to discuss plans for creation of a new command, one chartered with flying and fighting in cyber space. Cyberspace became an official Air Force domain, like air and space, on Dec. 7, 2005, when Secretary of the Air Force Michael W. Wynne and Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. T. Michael Moseley introduced a new mission statement. In a letter to Airmen, they said the new mission was to "deliver sovereign options for the defense…

Put this into the “I can’t believe it column”. This week I was coming back from Souda Bay when at FL410 and just entering Swiss airspace, I noticed an aircraft approaching us from the opposite direction, slightly higher and offset to the left of our track. I took a quick glance at the TCAS which showed no traffic. I looked back up to see that the “traffic” was going to pass pretty darn close. The old adage if it does not appear to be moving it is very close and about to hit you came to play, when I realized I was looking at a weather balloon. It was about 4 feet in diameter and had a cord maybe 15 feet long with an instrument package attached to it. It passed approx…

Looking for some insight on flying ops on the African continent. Maybe some C21 guys out of ETAR have something or anyone else. PM me.

Recently, I have been considering the option of joining the Air Force. I will be joining a ROTC and hope to service my country in a way that only the military can, put my life on the line. In my search for more information, I have come to believe that it is harder to leave the military than it is to get in. My question is this, if I graduate ROTC and pursue a pilot career, how many years will I be committing? The minimum 6 years of service? Does the military have its ways of trapping a pilot in active duty or do most people just continue because they love the life? Thanks, Augustine

Hi all, I'm a C-17 pilot at McChord, and have recently authored a piece of software that lets military pilots load airspace, waypoints and PFPS routes into Google Earth. The software is free--I have written it purely for the benefit of my fellow pilots who may wish to use Google Earth to help with mission planning. If you're interested, I invite you to vist www.googleearthpilot.com. The software is available for download, as well as a quick PowerPoint that showcases what the product can do. The software is a beta release. I've done extensive testing myself, but I'm eager to get the product into pilots' hands for hands-on testing and feedback. Enjoy! If you d…

Interesting link: https://www.otbeach.com/news/airlines-and-a...world--418.html

alright i have limited experience here. but why is it that anyone "in the know" or anyone that has the power to change things (read: most 0-6s and up) will never give you a straight answer. theres always just the song and dance with the eventual ending of stating the company line. why is that there is now no one in leadership (big leadership) that still has the balls to question big blue. hell the af came from a guy who questioned all the way down to his career grave. i just want for once someone to admit that the air force has an identity crisis of cold war guys leading us who dont know how they af currently fits in. that the way we are producing officers is borderli…

Some people get "medals" and then real people get real medals. https://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123139145 3/11/2009 - POPE AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. (AFNS) -- Tears stood in Sue Rhyner's eyes as she talked about her son, who, in a ceremony March 10 here received the Air Force Cross, the highest military decoration awarded by the service, and a Purple Heart. Staff Sgt. Zachary Rhyner of the 21st Special Tactics Squadron from Pope Air Force Base, N.C., received the medal for uncommon valor during Operation Enduring Freedom before a crowd of hundreds dotted with combat controllers' red berets. The decoration is second only to the Medal of Honor, and is awarde…

Does anyone fly with an automatic (mechanical) watch? Specifically in a high-g airframe? Did the timing get thrown off? Usually I fly with a quartz watch but it’s in for servicing and looking to fly with a Bremont instead. First world problems...

Anything against building up an absurd amount of negative balance on your GTC account (by constantly overpaying it with voucher disbursement’s) and then using the ATM to withdraw $300 or over on a regular basis to do whatever you want with while TDY and away from the family? asking for a friend i know there are cash advance limits, but this isn’t really a cash advance as much as it’s using the GTC to hold money that belongs to you, and taking it out at your leisure.

All of the talk in the PRF/promotion thread about MyVector, etc, made me start wondering about jobs at the O-4/O-5 level. I’m getting nearer to my switch over to the AF and I’m trying to get some clarity on what I can expect as I don’t have access to anything in MyVector, etc. For SA, I’m switching over to fly the 135, and my first set of orders will have me with a squadron flying like normal. After that, what options exist? For comparison, in the Navy after a senior O-4 tour with a squadron, if you don’t make squadron command there’s an almost zero percent chance of ever flyingp again. From what I understand, there’s a higher likelihood of flying in the Air Fo…

What's the best earplugs for the pilot and shooter?

It's official, there is no longer a height requirement for flight school. Do they get extra pillows, if so, do they come in different sizes?

Hey all, I searched around for this question but couldn't find a good answer. I just had my first checkride outside of AETC in the MAF, and I feel like I knocked it out of the park. I got "commendables" on a few items from my EP. I've never heard of this. Is it just a "good for you no one cares" kind of thing or will it help highlight me in a positive manner, look good on boards, etc. Are they very common or is it a rarity?

What's something you've experienced recently from the Air Force that's been positive? Doesn't matter if it's something the Air Force officially is doing, did for you, or something good you got from it. Let's get some enlightening posts shared around here!

After reading over the several AFI’s that cover officer promotions, I still cannot figure out what would happen if you would fail to make major twice. Does anyone have any experience or stories with a situation like this?

So I'm kinda alone and (un)afraid in the job I'm in. None of my leadership are aircrew. I am in a flying air advisor position. When I ask for flight gear (like boots) they want me to provide justification as to why I need them. I had to explain how AFE 11-301 reg talks about unit procuring items like boots and other flight gear. But they want me to provide additional justification, as the 11-301 gives examples but no list of such approved items. For example, Apple pencils and watches have been issued to me at previous bases, but the 11-301 does not cover that stuff. Then, when I provide justification, they look at it through their ground officer lens, and make their…

It was time to put away the homemade wine as I was about to enter crew rest for what would be the most memorable flight of my career. This was the third mission of the war for us. A snippet from this book https://www.amazon.com/Ghostriders-1976-1995-William-Walter-ebook/dp/B09VQWY5RP/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid&sr&fbclid=IwAR1vELr1aoqfQjbqO5BywaXVt7DDWvGiBeBh9ZuJL-V4stML3whaaGOFpAY On the evening of January 21, mission planners began tasking AC-130s identically as they did for fighters as two AC-130s were assigned to 30x30 nautical mile “kill boxes.” On this night, weather was good and both crews were advised there would be a fighte…

what was or is your effective way of studying (while in college, UPT, aviation career)? everyone seems to have their own distinct study habits, for example, ive heard of someone who watched breaking bad while studying in UPT which helped him retain information better. idk how that works but to each their own. I haven't quite figured out my effective way of studying. as of right now it's just to try and go for as long as I can without breaks (trying to work on that). A lot of people say to take breaks in between, but I seem to contradict that and attempt to read through the lines with my eyes shutting. a more specific question: when you guys enter the fire…

I was wondering about how logging sim time towards your total time works and if we’re able to do it for military sim training. I’m currently at JMATS in Little Rock, training in their full motion C-130J simulators. I’m a guard guy so after seasoning I’ll be back out on the streets and have to find a full time civilian flying job (hopefully), and I’m trying to plan ahead. With the market as it is, I want to count as many hours as I’m able to towards my total time and hopefully go straight to a regional, or at least a fractional ownership company like Netjets. Does any C-130J pilot out there know if the C-130J sims are FAA certified so that we are able to count them towards…

Surprised this hasn't been discussed yet... Nice (fake) pic!

I’m curious to know how the “community” or “brotherhood” of pilots compares in Active Duty to ANG/AFR. I’ve heard that the pilots in AD fighter squadrons are a very close knit community, and I am wondering if the same is true for reservists / part timers? I have some buddies who are SEALs or Marines and they treat each other like family. Is this also a trend in the pilot community? Sent from my iPad using Baseops Network mobile app

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6739797/Women-register-draft-federal-judge-Texas-declares-male-unconstitutional.html “A federal judge in Texas has declared the all-male military draft to be unconstitutional ruling that 'the time has passed' for a debate on whether women belong in the military.”