General Discussion

THE COST OF BEING A PILOT.. But then what? Once you pass the check ride and get the license, what comes next? Often it is the desire to get an Instrument Rating. But then how do you justify another $6000 - $8000 in expenses to get there? How do you get past the almost $9000 in expenses to get that Private Pilots License. Most people answer the good old fashioned way, save up or get two jobs. We do a great job promoting General Aviation to get to the Private Pilot level..but then what? How many of you have had that pilot as an Instructor or Check Airman with 4 or 5,000 hours and they are in their 60’s. So this is why I am writing about this topic. Those pilots, t…

In a couple past threads, the subject of wives' opinions on their (pilot) husbands work issues was brought up. Some people (who I believe to be non-flyers) seem to think we (flyers( disregard our wives opinions; nothing could be further from the truth. I value my wife's thoughts 110% and feel that on many issues she has more rationale and insight than I do. However, I absolutely cannot stand when I hear a wife "talk shop" with regards to the details of her husbands work. Why? Because the wives are not in the squadron 12 hours a day to see the details of what goes on and experience the soap-opera BS of AF politics. All they get is what they hear second hand from thei…

Breaking News: Shooting in Wichita Falls Don't know how valid this is, but my friend said some of the people gunned down were service members. If you have any friends or relatives over there, might as well be safe and check on them...

Good news, especially for you AETC folks in Texas and Vance: The Million Air FBO's at Hobby and Fayetteville Arkansas just got the military servicing/fueling contract. Although EFD is close by, swing into HOU next time you're in Houston. We went through Hobby back in Feb, and it is top shelf: good flight planning, professional line crew, free snacks/drinks,... even the crew car is a BMW 5 series. FYV probably has the same, as this is a Million Air standard. The movie theatre is impressive too. The tower guys at Hobby are great, and give you whatever they can. Hobby has 7600', and Fayetteville's 6000' of runway. You T-38 pilots are out of luck at FYV, but HOU…

Good Day, A few of my co workers had a visual passage of two F-22's and a Tanker near Edmonton Alberta (YEG). I'm curious if this is a common practice when transiting foreign airspace instead of a fuel stop due to the sensitivity of the aircraft? Will this experience likely happen again over Alberta with traffic moving to Elmendorf? I would love to have seen it. Thanks Barry

Anyone know her?

Just saw this on CNN: A military training jet crashed in a north Georgia forest on Monday, killing at least one person aboard and setting several acres of woodland ablaze, local and federal authorities said. FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said the crash of the twin-engine T-39 trainer caused no injuries on the ground, and it wasn't clear how many people were aboard. It went down just north of Morganton, Georgia, about 80 miles north of Atlanta, Fanning County Sheriff's Maj. Keith Bosen said. The mountainous area is ringed by national forest land, and the the crash caused a fire that was estimated at as much as 10 acres, Bosen said. The T-39, a military version o…

anyone know if Big Blue will approve ADDS for wx products?? the FAA released an AC certifying the web site as an approved wx source. I might as well answer my own question though and say we'll be 10 yrs behind everyone though. sigh

Prayers for the crew and family. Fox Link

It looks like there's a new member in the Muammar-Qaddafi-Batshit-Crazy-Muslim Club: Karzai to lawmakers: "I might join the Taliban" If this isn't a journalistic misquote, I think we need to have a Pred pilot earn a DFC for this idiot.

I read a report recently in which an officer wrote that he graduated ENJJPT in the early 1990s and was designated a 'banked pilot'. He then did seven months of school cross-training to Intel. I don't know if he returned to the cockpit. Can anyone say whether such a categorisation was either common or permanent? Seems odd to spend so much money training someone who then ends up doing a completely different job.

This very bird (Tucano #7) crashed this afternoon in Brazil during an airshow, with the loss of the pilot... https://www.airliners.net/photo/Brazil---Air/Embraer-T-27-Tucano/1669582/L/

ive heard that you only get three chances to pass either a check ride or written test at UNT/Randolph, the whole time, and it is very realistic that one may drop out. on the flip side ive heard that you get like forty tries in UPT and you are basically forced through the program. how do the two compare with regards to attrtion and tolerance? [ 01. August 2006, 19:25: Message edited by: Toro ]

I doubt that it is possible, but can you take personal photos while flying combat missions? I've read that it's ok to take a digital camera while flying other types of sorties, but I'm curios about combat. Can anyone shed some light on when and when not you can take photos while flying.

Now, browse these with caution. Not work/wife/mother friendly at all, but still cool. I love chicks with guns. Hot military chicks

My jaw is on the floor. These are crazy. Anyone know the artist by chance? I want some prints! I mean seriously...damn! I just can't find a signature or any background on the pictures.

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 …

Don't vote in a poll that was posted 6-9 years ago when you add nothing substantial to the thread. All it does is bump it to the top!! Choke yourself before you consider doing this in the future. And to make this thread slightly better than useless...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Pentagon is seeking to speed deployment of an ultra-large "bunker-buster" bomb on the most advanced U.S. bomber as soon as July 2010, the Air Force said on Sunday, amid concerns over perceived nuclear threats from North Korea and Iran. The non-nuclear, 30,000-pound Massive Ordnance Penetrator, or MOP, which is still being tested, is designed to destroy deeply buried bunkers beyond the reach of existing bombs. If Congress agrees to shift enough funds to the program, Northrop Grumman Corp's radar-evading B-2 bomber "would be capable of carrying the bomb by July 2010," said Andy Bourland, an Air Force spokesman. "The Air Force and Departme…

I've done a lot of reading on the what goes on after you make it into UPT and what happens from there on. I liked how Baseops had some personal journals for people, it really gives you an idea of how the whole process works. However, I noticed that most of the journals I saw were for people doing heavies . Is there any reason for this trend? Is it just that personal character required to come onto a website and post your personal story is restricted to people who choose heavies? I believe only one of the journals was a T-38 track and it was a B-1 drop. What are the statistics on track selects and drops? If all goes well with Phase I and Phase II, are you likely to get…

Hey, I was just wondering what you all think about the pilot selection between Air Force and the Navy. I know the Navy has more planes then the air force, and they Navy gives "extra points" to people with technical degrees. I also know that the air force acceptance rate is around 55%. What are all of your thoughts on which branch it is easier to fly for?

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

LtGen AP Clark, instrumental in the Stalag Luft III breakout that inspired The Great Escape, and former Supt of USAFA, has died at age 96. He helped set up the POW archive at the USAFA library, and used to speak to cadets in History 330 pretty regularly. A Supt who Steve McQueen tried to be like. Here's a toast.

I'll be crossing the pond soon and was wondering if any Herk guys had some good gouge on crossing the Atlantic. Thanks!

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