General Discussion

1. Since when was it called Joint Base Balad? Does this mean the AF runs it or the Army? Guessing AF, since it would probably be called JLSA Anaconda if the Army was in charge... 2. How the fvck did they get 5 53s in the air at the same time? Those must be the last 5 waiting to go to DM...

Does anyone know where I can find contact info for a RAPCON? I'd like to talk to a local controller (ABQ) regarding some recent SIAP changes...my google-foo does not appear to be strong tonight, however. Don't think the ARTCC (ZAB Center) guys are the ones to talk to - since the ABQ Class C isn't in their "lane"...if anyone can help, I'd much appreciate it!

So the other day I was talking to this guy, he's one of those guys who reads wikipedia in his basement all day, and he said that the importance of air power is a myth. I completely disagreed with him, but due to my lacking knowledge of war in terms of air power, I couldn't really give him any concrete evidence against his view. This is the link to the thread where he's arguing with some people about it. I was just wondering if anyone has anything to throw into the discussion. *Edit* His name on that forum is uebernerd.

China urges U.S. to halt surveillance near its shores By Lucy Hornby BEIJING (Reuters) - China called on the United States to reduce and eventually halt air and sea military surveillance close to its shores after a series of territorial disputes this year. The request was made during a special session on maritime safety between the two countries' militaries on Wednesday and Thursday, Xinhua news agency said on Thursday, citing China's Defense Ministry. Five times this year, Chinese vessels have confronted U.S. surveillance ships in Asian waters, the U.S. Defense Department said in May. China said the U.S. vessels had intruded its territory. There has since be…

as an airlift pilot, i was under the impression that "pacer-craig" of the kc135 variety was actually an acronym for something. i was just reading a regulation that had "pacer-craig" spelled out, which i thought was wrong. can a tanker pilot please enlighten me? thanks ps - what percentage of AD 135s have this mod? pps - did you [tanker pilots] know that we [c17 pilots] don't need to know your squawk? i can't speak for c5s, but i chuckle when tanker pilots pass us their squawk. [ 26. May 2005, 12:59: Message edited by: spar91 ]

The only remaining example of the N-9M, of which Northrop only ever built four, has crashed in a prison yard in California. The plane was destroyed and the pilot, the sole occupant, did not survive... https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/27594/rare-and-historic-northrop-flying-wing-crashes-into-prison-yard-in-california

Hello everyone, I have considered starting a podcast related to aviation, however I am coming to this forum for advice as to whether or not it would be a good idea before even securing any sort of military pilot slot. I would aim for my podcast to be somewhat informational and entertaining, but I don't want it to come across or be perceived that I am doing the podcast to show my ownself, rather the aviation professionals I would be interviewing. The absolute last thing I want to do is create a podcast, broadcast my face and make it to where, even if get past the commissioning phase, that I am viewed as some know-it-all asshole, even if I do my best to not portray b…

I'll be starting in the T-1 in a couple of weeks and I've noticed that most everyone has some sort of Nav bag they carry with them. I've been looking at the Jeppesen Navigator bag as an option. I just want to see what you guys have used (or seen used) and what works the best. The bags are pretty expensive and I don't want to end up buying something that sucks. Thanks

I'm a few weeks away from receiving my UPT assignment and have found out we have the opportunity to put down a preference for our FTU location after IFF. I've been unable to find anyone at my squadron who's spent any time at the Guard FTU in Klamath Falls, and was hoping I could get some first hand information from some of the guys on this board. Is that part of Oregon a nice place to live for the 6-9 months you'll be there? How does it compare to the "Redneck Riviera" that is Panama City? Appreciate the info.

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…

Does anybody know anything about flying this aircraft?It seems to get a bad rap.I know Holloman is not the greatest.But there TDY rate is low.

Terrorists claimed to be holding an American Soldier hostage after a fierce firefight. POW Captured After a closer look... Really? Looks Familiar Seriously though, I hope all our troops make it home safely.

Are all AF aircraft equipped for MLS approaches? I've seen several KC-135's practice the MLS approach into Boise, but never any F-15s or 16s from Mountain Home or the A-10s and C130s out of BOI. Most of the time they will just practice the ILS with a low approach. I don't know of too many MLS systems out there. So is it just from an equipment standpoint, tactical, or what?

Heard about this through the grapevine, but didn't find anything about it on this forum. Looks like a FAC-A, but with a wescam MX-15Di FMV camera, similar to the MC-12. Anyone know more about this? https://www.airforce-technology.com/project...b-light-attack/

My wife has a job opportunity that is too good to pass up back in the city we moved to our current base from. I posed the Tricare question to my local office and they were, let's just say, less than convincing they knew much about the benefits. My wife and I have no children. Does anyone have experience with Tricare when your spouse lives 2000 miles away from you? Are there any "gotcha's" with her coverage since she wouldn't reside with me? I plan to relocate back to said city when my ADSC expires in 18 months (hoping for the Reserves).

So my unit is taking a jet to the Travis airshow and figured this would be a good opportunity to try and help out our morale fund/booster club and sell some swag. Anyone have any advice on what actually sells? Zaps, patches, tshirts, water bottles, etc? Any big differences between civilian airshows and ones on military bases? Thanks.

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.

Does anybody have any details about the CAS Integration Group being stood up at Nellis? https://www.airforcemag.com/DRArchive/Pages/2015/March 2015/March 09 2015/CAS-Integration-Group-to-Stand-up-at-Nellis.aspx

Look at this guys https://www.sky.com/skynews/picture_gallery...10748-1,00.html You'd think these guys would watch wear they are going over in England

Did anyone on here look into flying for the Coast Guard prior to going in the Air Force? I'm not saying that have it better by any means, but it seems they are doing 'real' missions more often b/c there is always somebody that needs help in the ocean. Does anyone know of a Coastie aviator that I could talk to? Thanks. Thought about posting this in pilot selection, so sorry if it's on the wrong forum...not trying to open a can of worms either on this one...

If you know anyone who flew the T-38 and their GRANDFATHER flew the T-38, please drop me a msg. I'm looking for 2 or 3 generations of pilots in the aircraft. Sluf

Just wondering if there's a potential VSP in 2012; any word out there???

Here we go again... Cheers! M2

I wish I was making this up. From the Newport News, VA Daily Press newspaper, the following in the Letters to the Editor. Man, people don't know how good they've got it. This partly infuriates me, but putting it in perspective more makes me laugh. --------------------------------- Disrespect for victims At noon on April 20, when people all across the state were gathered for a time of remembrance and memorial for the victims of the Virginia Tech shootings, aircraft from Langley Air Force Base were flying extremely noisy exercises. The loud noise significantly disrupted the solemn ceremony that NASA Langley Research Center was trying to conduct. The person or …

Some crazy shenanigans been going on within the last few days... STORY --- PK...