General Discussion

Nickel on the grass for "Pitbull" McDowell and "Lag" Gramith. They both leave behind wives, and Lag leaves behind twin 7 month old girls. The Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association (River Rats) are setting up 529 accounts for Lag's daughters. I expect donation info in the next day or two, and I will post here when I get the details. Cheers, Cap-10

https://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,533700,00.html

linkage Published: Saturday, July 11, 2009 Skillfull pilot may have saved Obama plane Associated Press WASHINGTON -- Skillful piloting may have prevented a disaster for President Barack Obama and his campaign last summer, a former federal safety official said Friday. A report released by the National Transportation Safety Board indicates an inflated slide may have pressed against critical control cables, forcing the emergency landing of Obama's campaign plane on July 7, 2008. The slide inflated inside the tail cone of the campaign's Boeing MD-81 shortly after takeoff from Chicago's Midway International Airport, the report said. Investigators found evi…

Back in the day, there was this term BAI (battlefield air interdiction)...but in doing a little Googling, I can't seem to find it...or at least can't find a reference that says the term is still in USAF doctrine. You folks who have been thru PME recently...can you help on this question? TIA.

Haven't seen this discussed. Article was found the the Salisbury News 06 March 2009. Interesting read if you have the time. Bet that guys feels about 2inches tall.

Hey gang...new to the forum. Our base is looking for a manufacturer of lighted Follow Me signs that can be installed in the back of standard pick-up trucks. Ours were locally made years ago and are becoming their own FOD hazard. I thought we would find some manufacturers out there with a web search of ground support equipment, but no joy. Appreciate any leads you all may have.

All, I have been feverishly working on standing up a new (more modern, feature-rich) site to post all of the aviation jobs. Voila! GuardReserveJobs.com was born in April and the doors finally were opened last night. All of the previous (200+) baseops aviation jobs have moved over to this new site. Why the new site? The old site, although functional, was cumbersome and lacked functionality. The new site (guardreservejobs.com) looks like a monster.com and shares many of those features - database driven so you can search by crew position, geo-location, keyword, etc. Users can create accounts, post resumes, etc. Employers (units) have full control over their own J…

USAF teaching Iraqi's to fly airstrike missions. Iraqi crews ‘ready to go’ on mission Part of slow transition from Air Force reliance By Bruce Rolfsen - Staff writer Posted : Sunday Jul 12, 2009 9:42:57 EDT Airmen deployed to Iraq are teaching their Iraqi counterparts to fly airstrike missions. Today, after fewer than a dozen training flights, two Iraqi aircrews — a pilot and a mission-sensor operator make up an aircrew — are qualified to fire Hellfire missiles from AC-208B Caravans, a military version of the single-engine turboprop Cessna Grand Caravan utility airplane. A third aircrew is in training. “They are ready to go,” said Lt. Col. Christopher Spi…

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 ?

Just looking for some information on flying C-37s in Belgium. How big the unit is, how much flying, where most live near Chievres, etc. I might have an opportunity to go out there, but have never lived in Europe. I haven't heard too many people say they hated their time overseas in Europe, but just want to make sure the fam is happy there. Thanks! Techsan

This rocks! For those of you who don't know MG Gorenc, he is one of the nicest and most personable guys you will ever meet. I had the pleasure of working with him at SHAPE, and I am extremely glad to see he continues to do well. He is currently ACC Director of Air and Space Operations, and those of you working for 3AF will have one of the best as your new NAF commander! Cheers! M2

My Dad recently told me that it was tradition to to turn you squadron patch upside down the week you leave for a PCS, PCA, etc. He never could tell me where or why this got started just that it was "What was done". (Much like party suits) I have seen it done in a couple of places, but was wondering if anyone knew where this tradition got started and what the significance of it is? Maybe some of the old-heads on here can help me out so I can justify bringing it back. Anyone else out there do this the last week? Edit: Spell'in

I was reading about some of the Thud pilots in Vietnam having specialized "party suits" and wondered where they all went? I saw this post but I have not really seen any pilot wear one. Has the PC-Shoe influence caused the party suits to fall by the wayside? Seems like it would be a good way to show that bit of rebellion in the AOR while still maintaining that "professional" appearance.

From the BBC

I heard there was a huey crash at Rucker today...any info?

If there was ever a left wing nutcase it's Al Franken. How anyone in their right mind could vote for him I have no idea, but of course Minnesota voters are about as weird as they come based on past results. I believe this guy is the dictionary definition of a total dick.

For the F-15 A/C I have read that the wing loading is lower than the F-16 under most circumstances. I have also read that the F-15 has a higher thrust-to-weight ratio under most circumstances. The body and control surfaces of an F-15 are larger, allowing airflow to be diverted for a higher turn rate. The overall surface of the bottom of the F-15 should allow it to fly at slower speeds, and the higher thrust to-weight ratio should allow a lower loss of altitude during a turn-battle in a dog-fight. How is it that I have read about and seen videos of F-16s winning dog fights against F-15s? Obviously don't violate OPSEC.

In reference to my SURF, I don't know what this acronym stands for, or what it is for. Any ideas?

I'm wondering what kind of holster people use for concealed carry while wearing a flight suit. The squadron issued me a cheap nylon shoulder holster but it's not comfortable in any way. I noticed a lot of guys have bought their own shoulder holsters to wear under the bag. I've looked at the Galco Jackass system, which I like because its modular, so I can get different holster components for my personal pistols and swap them out. So what do you guys use? What features should I look for?

We had a TH-67 go down in Ft. Rucker today. 1 pilot is confirmed dead and the other was taken to the hospital with non life-threatening injuries. There are no further details as of now.

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Final T-37 Checkrides are today at Sheppard. After this class graduates, there will be about one more month and then July 30th they will fly the last of the jets to the "Boneyard" (AMARG at DM). Large number of you all flew the Tweet, thought you'd want to know...

Miranda Rights for Non-American terrorists Weekly Std. Article "Miranda Rights apply to terrorists, says Obama" So... I guess the question is who is really going to be paying for their lawyers if they have a right to one?

If it's a repost feel free to delete, but saw this on AF news and figured it deserved it's own topic. Source Twice-a-year PT tests will start in January Guess we'll all be having fun busting our a$$ twice per year now. Plus, couldn't they have called the new assessment guys something other than FACs??