Leaderboard

We did it fine before without issues. And the C-130 is a tactical airlifter, it sucks st strat. We fly 2 tac locals a week to get good at it because we really exist for the front line resupply efforts to get as close as possible to the action within reason. if you are going to make us an airland only C-17, then why do we exist? Just get rid of us. Save some money. Landing a C-130 isn’t hard. Landing a C-130 with half the pilot training time, a nine month wait on the flight line at the school house, then a multi month wait at your first unit as a new Lt is hard. And now you’ll barely do it as a copilot, get upgraded to AC and then have to do it for real with limited reps and a copilot that’s never done it.

If only there was a program in South Texas that explicitly trained low level navigation, basic herbivore formation, drop zone and crew coordination, and instrument flying in a multi-engine turboprop. Man that'd be perfect.

I can’t remember what the S in AFSOC is for

The use of the term "immersion tour" made me throw up in my mouth a little.

11-2MC-130J Vol 3 6.5.5.2: MC and FPs will not perform takeoffs or landings from the right seat under the following conditions: 6.5.5.2: During maximum effort or substandard airfield operations. FPs (MCs really since the MC-130 doesn’t really do traditional FP) finish the sim phase and don’t sit left seat again until AC upgrade or AC prep (current AC upgrade min hours is 600) therefore there’s little to no benefit to qual them in max efforts. I have not seen this be an issue during my time in the community, to include 2 schoolhouse tours and now current FTU CI. Edit to add: It's not that I haven't seen AC upgrade studs struggle with MEs; I have. It's just that by the end of the AC upgrade syllabus the average student gets it. Additionally, all the information in the MC-J HUD takes some of the art out of ME landings (power pull aside). I've seen far more ACUGs struggle with getting on/staying on the tanker, acting as the formation commander, and running a crew.

Gay

CPs in MC-130s are PM only for assaults and always have been until AC upgrade or AC prep. That model hasn’t been an issue for the community. The bigger issue is the lack of an actual Phase 3 trainer (T-1 sim only or T-6 only students). The AF is really fucking these guys and girls over. I’ve had several students over the last 6 months that seriously struggled to land the aircraft (in the sim) normally on a 13,000x150ft wide runway in day VFR conditions. A lot of these students are behind in overall SA, comms, basic aircraft handling, and GK.