General Discussion

I've been browsing these forums for a few years now and I've seen several pilots talking about the "military way of flying". I've seen posts about how people with a lot of civilian aviation time can potentially be at a disadvantage because the "military way of flying" is very different. I've seen other posts of young guys heading to UPT without any flight time asking whether they should go out and get some hours and being told not to because they will be taught the "military way of flying" and not get mixed up with civilian training. I've been recently hired and still working on getting through MEPS. I have about 150 hours TT and working on getting my instrument rating. I…

Didn't see a similar thread for Iranian Tomfoolery. Besides them being in the news recently for trying to steal US Navy Saildrone Explorer USV's (new acronym to me: unmanned surface vessels)...looks like they just put in an order for 24 Su-35's that were originally tagged for Egypt. https://bulgarianmilitary.com/2022/09/04/iran-buys-24-sukhoi-su-35-flanker-e-fighters-produced-for-egypt/?fbclid=IwAR3BeYvM_22ZO2vRPgDaftw7WYRFZVJ9_q3Jljh4gv04-YjOI89sfuxbxxI

My daughter just started on AD, 2Lt, USAF. My retirement option was far simpler. All I really know now is there is a thing called TSP which can be a traditional 401k type vehicle or a Roth 401k. Anyone have some basic gouge I can pass along on how to get started and what might be the best option at her stage? She already has a personal Roth IRA that she has regularly contributed to since she was in high school. Thanks.

Conservative Group Urges Senators to Vote ‘No’ on Gen. CQ Brown for Joint Chiefs Chairman https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/07/25/conservative-group-urges-senators-to-vote-no-on-gen-cq-brown-for-joint-chiefs-chairman/ From my knowledge of him prior to the last year or so, he (Brown) seemed fairly benign and reasonable but I despise anything woke so I have doubts now What does this forum think? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Saw a trailer for this movie this morning. It's apparently getting people pretty riled up. We had just watched "Leave the World Behind" a couple nights ago. There were some thought-provoking concepts, but the movie sucked ass. Dystopian and disaster flicks are nothing new, but it's unsettling to see these plots and storylines using current events, then pulling on what seems to be a short thread. The movie plans to fill people's heads with this stuff next Spring as the election heats up. Just curious as to others thoughts. Think it'll be good?

Good video from Ward Carrol about the projected retirement of the A-10 and its effects on pilot training and GFM.

Has anyone ever heard of pilots switching to Active duty from Reserve during UPT? Especially is such a thing possible if the dude is over age 30 and got a waiver to get to UPT? As Active Duty doesn’t do age waivers, potentially older dudes can finally end up in Active Duty if such a thing as joining the Reserve/Guard first and then transferring over is possible..

I just finished UPT, I'm AD and we really enjoy and are currently investing in our local community (buying a house and opening a business). I just arrived at my first duty station and would like to know if there is a way to extend my time here as long as possible? Thanks folks Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Baseops Network mobile app

Can general aviation peeps file an 1801?

Did a quick search with no success. I figured I’d start a new one rather than add to the silly political COVID-19 thread that already exists. Anyone else affected by this? Had a 1 June PDD to DC. This could be the place everyone puts what they know about the stop movement going forward. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

https://www.defenseone.com/business/2020/07/us-may-need-nationalize-military-aircraft-industry-usaf-says/166894/ Interesting proposal, or more so, the problem set. The F-15EX was highly argued for on grounds to keep Boeing in the fighter game but what happens if they drop out an LM becomes the only supplier?

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/12/politics/fbi-investigating-air-force-helicopter-shooting/index.html Discuss....

Been listening here. At least one parachutist. "Two victims". Hoping for the best. https://www.broadcastify.com/listen/feed/13160 EDIT: Police saying it's an E-2 and the "crew do not want to be treated."

Happy Memorial Day As I saw all the social media posts about fallen military members, I was struck by the number of suicides mentioned. It’s such a sad thing and always surprising that people don’t seek help. It reminded me of a time a few years back when I was talking to a bro going through some bad times and I suggested he seek out some mental health services and replied that he didn’t want to do that because he would be DNIF’d and “flying is the only thing that makes me happy.” He ended up fine and got through it with a combination of booze and flying a ton. What’s the opinion of this esteemed body about aviators using mental health services? I hate…

Wondering if there is time on the weekends during UPT to fly my own plane? I would prefer it not sit in storage for a whole year so trying to figure out what to do with it. Also would flying General Aviation at the same time hinder training in any way?

Hey everyone. I’ve looked everywhere online and done multiple searches on this forum to find the answer to this question but haven’t been able to find anything concrete. Do pilots commonly switch aircraft within their types (cargo, tankers, afsoc aircraft, fighters) or do they stay on the same airframe for their entire career? For example, do C17 pilots commonly switch to the C5 or C130 in their career or do they stay with the C17? Thanks in advance!

We’re gonna see a lot of news from this office in the next few weeks.

I have been watching this development over the last few days with many European News outlets calling these drones over airports “attacks” since they are disrupting critical airspace. It’s hard to judge the size but they appear to be much larger than the typical quadcopter size of hobby drones! https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g96gvql99o.amp

You have the Knights collision, the bombing, and then the hydro plant explosion. What next? https://www.comcast.net/articles/news-world-europe/20090816/EU.Russia.Jets.Collide/ https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8204670.stm https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=abTSuT2fsxR4

https://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6917297.ece A little more backup down the tubes "She didn't believe me" She said "If you are really the Base Commander take that blue reflector belt off and wrap it around your weasel and wave it at me" "So, what'd you do Sir?" " well Sarge, all I had was red"

First of all, I searched for a similar post and found none, which is why I started this one. This being my first post here, I'm trying to abide by the rules. Now for the hard question. Are former military aviators required to disclose their involvement in military aviation accidents/incidents to potential civilian employers? If so, how much can/should they disclose? Informed opinions, guidance, and recommendations would be greatly appreciated...

Can anyone provide a brief overview of how the Air Force mitigates against low-level bird strikes? I seem to recall from a trip to Seymour Johnson that there was a service which highlighted low-level routes where birds might be more prevalent at a given time of the year. I also believe that there was a grading system for risk. Are these systems still in effect, and are they integrated into Falcon View or similar? Is it down to the discretion of the mission commander to avoid these, or are the AFIs that mandate flagged areas be avoided? TIA

Here's the link: https://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35678731/ns/politics/ It seems the reliable numbers are hard to find, but it seems unlikely that we'll get as many F-35s as we need to replace the F-16, F-18 AND A-10 if the cost is really that high. I wonder how the "partner nations" are taking the news. I wish defense contractors and the government could build more realistic cost growth estimates into the acquisitions process so that we don't keep paying 2x as much for a system as we originally were told. It makes the whole bidding system just seem dishonest when you know contractors like Lockheed have been building weapons systems for hundreds of projects and know …

The story below explains the plans for the Reserves to take over the Legacy FTU at LRF. The big question is how are they going to find the people? Are there AD Pilot's, Nav's, FE's and LM's excited about becoming Air Reserve Technicians in the FTU? Even if they know the legacy herks will draw down with the AMP and J's coming on? Just wondering, H2Nav LRF FTU story

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/07/05/nasa-chief-frontier-better-relations-muslims/ NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said in a recent interview that his "foremost" mission as the head of America's space exploration agency is to improve relations with the Muslim world. Though international diplomacy would seem well outside NASA's orbit, Bolden said in an interview with Al Jazeera that strengthening those ties was among the top tasks President Obama assigned him. He said better interaction with the Muslim world would ultimately advance space travel. "When I became the NASA administrator -- or before I became the NASA administrator -- he charged me with thr…