Right Seat Driver

I think living on base is a better option. You can get hammered at Charlies and walk back to your room, and if you get hammered off base there is a free drunk bus that goes to Trader Tom's and Scoots to get everyone back on. Plus, early morning sims are less painful when you live right across the street. Another bonus is the newer dorms have a kitchen and you don't have to worry about a heroin addict breaking into your truck for $0.69 to get their next fix.

Damn, that is the funniest shit I have read in a long time!

Not to mention continuity in the crew force and the fact that while AC upgrade is formal training and you should focus on that only, we know that if you do it in-house you are going to get tagged to do some admin stuff outside of upgrade. Sending guys TDY to LTS for formal training accomplished both, dudes will be more focused throughout the whole process.

The A model -1 states during any critical phase of flight the crew will wear helmets and parachutes. Good times.

It would be nice to get PUP back. While we may never get back to having PUP, I think that is going to be some pretty substantial changes done to the MPD Program/Process.

Standby for No-Notice Sim checks.

Hah, about time. I never went to ASBC but visited my wife when she went through. I ran into a Maj/Lt Col type that told me I would never make Major unless I was a "graduate" of ASBC. I guess the new Lts that will never go to ASBC are screwed too.

2. Taken was much, much better. Has anyone seen The Adjustment Bureau?

Not my point, I love the engines. Just simply pointing out the time-line of recapitalization that impacts nearly every AF MWS in the inventory.

Buyers can get the choice of GE, Pratts, or Rolls on the 76s. But GE has plenty of business from Big Blue, including a slightly possible purchase of new CFM-56s to replace the "new" CFMs on the -135s. Remember, the early 1980's re-engining is new in -135 terms.

"2" on that! My last deployment I log onto USAA and see charges made to Xbox-Live. Hmmm, the wife playing Xbox. Yeah right. She calls and after a five minutes it is settled. Hassle free, and very concerned about the customer. You can't get that anywhere else nowadays.

RIP Major Winters, may you find the peace you so bravely fought for...

:beer: Godspeed

That would make sense...

Bergman, I think guys pissing and moaning about Guard/Reserve help are going to change their tune very quickly. I love getting Guard/Reserve help and never understood why some other AD guys out there would turn it away and/or complain about it. Give me a f*cking break. About a year or so ago some AD Tanker types wanted to start turning away help from you guys and let AD pick up the rest of the lines. People instantly started pushing against that, and I, along with others made the argument that once your burn that bridge you are screwed. People need to also look at the experience factor, there are part-time guys out there with more time in the -135 than I have living. To deny that experience level to share with the younger AD crews is detrimental. It is true that the Guard and Reserve get some good deals? I guess, but I always looked at it this way. How can AD guys cover TDYs to Guam, Puerto Rico, insert nice location here when the majority of AD crews are in the sandbox? If I am not in the sandbox I am TDY. So, when push comes to shove, share the wealth with the Guard and Reserve bubbas and let me drink a beer other than during my PMCR and having to turn directly into another trip. Bottom-line, being on the road is being on the road. I love the Tanker and the mission, it is a lot of fun and I wouldn't want to do anything else in the world. However, it is easy to get tired. I say share the wealth with whoever wants a piece of it. But that requires different pots of money...

Lincoln used to fly Es but converted over to the R. I believe they were separate airframes and that all of the Es were sent to the Boneyard.

Thanks, I am glad you were able to find it. The wifi at my current location is problematic to say the least.

The oldest R-model would be a 57-XXXX, a 56 would probably be an E, and they have all been retired. The R-model engines are awesome, and I am pretty sure they have saved many crews that would have otherwise augured in if it were an A-model (one of the booms I know has a great Altus PIQ story where he knows the R-model engines saved the jet). While the R-model engines are "new" in regards to a -135 timeline, they are being worked to death. MTOW for the Wx conditions in the sandbox light up the EGT lights all the time. I can't find the article, but the oldest engine in continuous service was pulled off a McConnell tanker earlier this year with 13.5k hours or so on it. The engine was installed around '83 and it ironically was still hanging on the first R-model tanker for its entire service life.

Yes, the majority of BUFF tails were pre-1960. The majority of pre-1960ish tails were G's which have all since been retired and/or chopped. The H models, which are the only BUFFs flying since the mid-1990s are original builds and rolled off the line around 60ish. G's and H's were the same basic airframe (chopped tail, wet wing) among other things. The G retained the water burning J-57s while the H's had, and still do, rock out some of the best engines built in their day...the TF-33.

WTFO!!! Go figure, the only place that makes money and they are working to close it down. What about all of the heritage in that place? We all know how the Air Force feels about "heritage."

"2" on all of the above. When you have the same last name as three other dudes on base, it is nice to be able to look back at your logbook and catch the missing flights when you do your records review. I had 30ish hours missing during my last records review, showed the SARM guys my logbook, and they put the flight time in. The dates and tails also help because they can sometimes pull the mission number and back up your word. But like brabus said, they took my word as an officer.

Or being 18 DME out with a P-3/C-130 in front of you. EDITED: For Clarity

I sure as hell hope not, although I have been hearing that they have been trying to get rid of it for some time now. Hello 13 mile ILS, it has been a long time.

Yes! Buy it now! I just got my HRA Special Grade that was made in 1955. It looks like no more than 100 rounds or so have been shot through it. A word of caution with M1s. I wouldn't recommend shooting a round greater than 180 grains as the operating rod can get damaged.

I would not be surprised if headlamps became mandatory for further enhanced visibility because 360 degrees is not enough!