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JarheadBoom

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Posts posted by JarheadBoom

  1. Caveat: I am by no means a SME on this.

    - If you're being discharged from the AF for mental health issues (presumably, this also means you were medically grounded by the AF medical machine), you're going to have a difficult time getting an FAA 2nd or 1st Class medical.  Not necessarily impossible, but difficult... especially if you are prescribed antidepressants.  I highly recommend you investigate the FAA's requirements for 2nd and 1st Class medicals, to see if a waiver is a possibility.

    - Operating locations

    - Straight from the AIA page's "Do You Qualify?" section:

    Quote

    Must have 1500 hours total flight time, with 100 flight hours within the last 12 months, including 250 Pilot-in-Command and 75 hours instrument and 75 night hours (emphasis is theirs, not mine)

    The way I'm reading CBP's site, AIAs are the pilots, and AEAs are the crewmembers, door kickers, and shooters.

  2. To be fair (and serious), there are young adults out there who have never seen or touched a condom in real life.

    In the other service, I had a Lance Corporal who, literally, didn't know what condoms were.  We took action to educate him after he announced his wife's 3rd pregnancy in as many years...

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  3. Cockpit video from Race 1 "Hot Stuff" (Thom Richard, of "Precious Metal" fame) of the Formula 1 race takeoff incident.

    *Edit*  Read the video description for Thom's own words about the incident.  Incredible.

     

    0:27...  Holy. Shit.

     

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  4. I knew France had a dozen-ish C-135FRs, but I didn't realize they were boom-equipped... which is odd, because all their receiver-capable aircraft are drogue receivers.  I don't remember if the French -135s are advertised within NATO as boom & drogue tankers, or drogue-only (BDA?  MPRS?  Both?) - my brief web search didn't answer the question, but someone with ATP-56 access could.  France is buying A330 MRTTs to replace the -135s starting ~2018; in another brief search I couldn't find any purchase details (boom & drogue vs. drogue-only, specifically).

    Looks like my NATO tanker operation idea was previously thought of, and already had contracts signed with Airbus for the A330 MRTT in July of this year.  Poland apparently backed out of the NATO tanker deal 3 days before contract signing with EADS, which I find interesting considering they've got some well-equipped Vipers in their fleet.

  5. 5 hours ago, Clark Griswold said:

    On tanker capability, I don't know of any NATO defined requirements for it as a total force but putting the Europeans feet to the fire and developing a requirement has got to happen, unless we want to commit to more KC-46s and ideally a KC-777 - actual numbers are not for this forum - but defining a requirement that they have to meet us half-way, that is they have to provide at least part of the tanker bridge if things go loud in Europe and they need the US to deploy in force there.  

    Thinking sustain 4-5 AR orbits offset the NAT tracks at some point (probably just West of Iceland) for X number of 4 ships / or a T-tailer needing a plug.

    Agree that the European NATO nations ought to be contributing a hell of a lot more, if they want us to come riding to their defense if things go to shit in their backyards.  A few AR orbits for the airbridge is a good start.

    Off the top of my head, the Dutch and the Italians are the only Europeans flying boom-equipped tankers; all the other Euro tankers are drogue-only.  Works out for the USN/USMC, not so much for the USAF.

    Maybe a full-court press on the bigger Euro customers to buy a couple/few dozen KC-46s among them (maybe a "lite" version for the export market?), and shave a couple bills off the per-unit cost for all customers.  Or, they could push Airbus to figure out how to not break the boom off their A330, for the Euro nations that don't want to buy American.  Some of the smaller Euro NATO nations could go in on a few tails together, similar to the NATO C-17 operation at Papa (I have no idea whether that operation is working out or if it's a shit-show; it's just a thought).

  6. 17 hours ago, chizz said:

    Way back when I was an LT someone in our lunch push group produced a reg that said it was ok to have up to two drinks during your duty day at lunch or something.  Anyone know of such a thing?  

    I heard the same thing from several people, several times, over the course of 6-9 years of UTA weekend lunches.  No one was ever able to provide a reference.

    My personal rule was: If the person saying it was OK was a section chief, CC/DO/ADO, or my AC, and was present, it was OK.  Otherwise, not worth the potential asspain.

  7. On ‎9‎/‎13‎/‎2016 at 5:32 AM, Inertia17 said:

    If they don't ask about it, and there isn't a question about it on a form (which I don't recall there being), probably not an issue.

    If they should ask you, don't lie about it (or withhold info).  If they don't ask the question, don't volunteer the info.

  8. 2 hours ago, brickhistory said:

    Another gun I didn't need, but another one I'm not sorry I have.

    I always enjoy reading your reviews.  Thanks for taking the time to write them; I like hearing fresh perspectives on older guns.

  9. 9 hours ago, viper154 said:

    ...got the lower entirely put together except for the pistol grip, the screw to hold to grip was going in really tight so I backed the screw and the hole tapped in the lower is to small, and the screw I started was enough to start its own grooves in the aluminum. What do y'all recommend, getting a tap and tapping it myself or trying to find a machine shop to do it for me? I've never tapped a hole (sts) and I would rather not f**k my $120 lower up. I'm in Cannon so my local business options are limited. 

    1/4-28 x 3/4" (fine thread, or NF) is the correct screw size for an AR-15 pistol grip.

    Before doing anything further to the lower, I suggest you drop by your local hardware/home improvement store and pick up a known 1/4-28 screw, to verify whether the lower or the supplied screw is the problem.  I'd be much more inclined to believe the grip screw supplied with your LPK is wrong, before I believe that a CNC-machined, batch-produced, AR-15 lower receiver forging was drilled & tapped incorrectly by the machine (which would also mean that every lower in that run would be drilled & tapped incorrectly as well).

    If the lower actually is threaded incorrectly, it's not difficult to tap an already-drilled hole.  What could be problematic is if the existing hole was drilled & tapped to, say, 1/4-20 (coarse thread, or NC).  That hole can be re-tapped to 1/4-28, but the resulting fine threads will be incomplete and significantly weaker, due to all the material the coarse tap removed from the original hole diameter.  In this situation, you could get lucky if PSA doesn't thread the grip screw hole full-depth (not all manufacturers do; I don't know whether PSA is one or not).  If the hole isn't tapped full-length, you can run a 1/4-28 tap all the way through the hole, use a 1/4-28 x 1" screw, and have 1/4" of fully-formed threads in the hole for the longer screw to grab.

    If the lower is drilled to a significantly smaller diameter than 0.257" (correct drill size for 1/4-28 tap), it will need to be re-drilled before tapping.

    As already noted, be damn careful and proceed slowly, with lots of lube, if you decide to tap it yourself.  A broken tap is a much bigger problem.

  10. On ‎8‎/‎13‎/‎2016 at 3:21 AM, zrooster99 said:

    1) Besides controller, trade-a-plan, and platinum fighters, does anyone have a good resource for finding said aircraft?

    ..........................

     

    Incidentally, you can pick up a complete (in pieces) T-28 for $35k or a whole bunch for $300k...  Seems like a deal if your convieniantly aligned...

    If you're on Facebook, the group "Round Engines Forever!" has a lot of knowledgeable folks on board, who currently own/operate radials for both work and pleasure.  It's a private group and they actively weed out idiots, so the signal/noise ratio is favorable; you might find some resources there.

    That lot of T-28s on Platinum has apparently been for sale for at least a decade (I learned this from the above-referenced FB group).  I don't recall seeing an explanation for why they haven't sold, but there's got to be a good reason why no one in the warbird resto business has snapped this lot up, if for nothing else than salvageable parts and engine/prop cores.

  11. Logged in to BODN to post that same link.

    It was good to read that the chip lights turned out to be normal new engine/new gearbox behavior (I'm used to this in the helicopter world, but wasn't sure if that same behavior was prevalent in the round engine realm as well).

    I also read at warbirdinformationexchange.com that one of the biggest challenges to getting Doc flying regularly is a lack of qualified flight engineers.  Part of Doc's Operating Limitations from the FAA is that she is required to have an FAA-certificated FE on board for all flights... and as of mid-'16 (I think) when the post was written, there were only TWO B-29 - qualified, FAA-certificated FEs in the world.  FIFI's Ops Limits are apparently different; she is not required to have an FAA-certificated FE, just a FE-trained and designated crewmember.

     

    If I had an FE ticket, I'd be figuring out how to fit crewing Doc into my life...

  12. 12 hours ago, dream big said:

    Any guard/reserve bubbas on here that can speak to how WOs are utilized in their units? I understand it may vary by airframe.

    I never saw one in the KC-10 world, Active or Reserve.  8 years in the jet as a Reservist.

    Disclaimer: I don't know if there's a tanker WIC/KC-10 WIC.

  13. Somebody with deep pockets definitely needs to step up to the plate.  A (relatively) small charity just doesn't have the long-term fundraising horsepower to maintain a complex aircraft with four round motors, even when things are running smoothly.

    Kermit Weeks is definitely out - he's already stated in his FB feed that despite his involvement with getting Hawaii Mars to OSH this year, he's not in a financial position to buy and operate it, so Doc would be out of the running as well.

    Maybe the Collings Foundation would be interested.

     

    OR, a large corporate sponsor.  I abhor the idea of Doc being done over in, for example, Red Bull's colors (the thought of it makes me vomit internally), but if the alternative is being parked forever after a handful of flights, after all that work to get her airworthy... maybe it's not quite as unpalatable.

  14. I keep reading rumors (not from CAF or Doc's Friends) about a chip light during the flight, which apparently was originally scheduled for 40-45min.  I have no idea whether this is true or not, but if it is, it's a potentially huge setback.

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