JarheadBoom

Subtract ~12in for the boom in the stowed position; doesn't leave much "wiggle room" at rotation for hamfisted O-2s/O-6+s... KC-46 boom under construction

-300F wing and gear allows for higher gross weight; -300F cargo door and floor is self-explanatory. -200ER fuselage is shorter than the -300 and -400 to accommodate the boom (longer fuselage would have caused issues at rotation - possible boom/tail strikes). -400 flight deck has the most up-to-date avionics of the 767 line. AFAIK, the C-17 avionics are .mil only, and were designed with those capes in mind. The 767 avionics were definitely not. Integrating .mil capabilities into .civ avionics is a challenge on multiple levels, of both hardware and software.

1. It's not a standard configuration, standard dash number 767 airframe that Boeing's been rolling off the line for decades. -200ER fuselage, -300F wing, gear, cargo door and floor, -400ER digital flight deck and flaps, different engines (hence the "Frankentanker" nickname). Hasn't been done before. 2. The whole triple redundancy thing REALLY complicates the avionics/electrical installation. 3. .mil-specific systems that need to be integrated into the standard flight deck and tested. I worked the S-92 completion center for some of my time at Sikorsky. While I was there, we built a block of four SAR-configured S-92s that took several months just to run all the wiring for the mission systems. I remember multiple engineering meetings held in the cabin of the first one, with engineers looking at drawings, actual aircraft parts, wiring bundles, etc. and not comprehending that the open spaces that CATIA told them were available to shove another wiring bundle into, did not exist on the actual aircraft. Another example - at my current employer, we're wrapping up installation of a FLIR Star SAFIRE 380-HDc (replacing a previously-installed FLIR 7500) that is integrated with a previously-installed Aerocomputers mapping system and a Spectrolab SX-5 searchlight, in a Bell 407 helicopter. To date, our avi team has used almost 1600ft of wire, in addition to the prebuilt harnesses from FLIR. I can't speak to KC-46 capes - out of my lane and above my paygrade.

And a USMC/USN Combat Action Ribbon. A 100% correct and up-to-date ribbon rack is probably around #69 on his "Things I give a shit about" list...

A chronometer is not the same as a regular watch; there is a difference. [thread drift] My issued Suunto Vector (which, in theory, should keep better time than a $6.90 Casio from the BX or Wallyworld) drifts several seconds a month, even with a fresh battery. Verified repeatedly from GPS time in the jet. [/drift]

If there is one, it'll be USB 1.0, and you won't be able to plug anything into it anyway for fear of corrupting the avionics/introducing a virus.

Dunno how (if at all) this affects the ANG, but AFRC, in their quest to become AD-Lite, has fully embraced 6-month full-unit deployments.

Damn... Rough week for private commercial spaceflight. EDIT: correction

I thought that myself. Hell, I expected the crater to be bigger (you can see it in the photo, to the left of the flame trench that points out to sea). I'm sure there's a shit-ton of damage that we're just not seeing...

High-res (3000 x 2000) NASA photo of the pad, and the damage/debris left behind:

Yes. We were briefed by a reputable source, on G-series orders, that USERRA protection for AFRC deployment volunteers is on the chopping block. The brief was short on explanations. Needless to say, the feedback was immediate and negative (the basic sentiment was, "You want me? Mobilize me. Otherwise, GFY."). Whether that feedback makes a difference, or if it's a done deal already, remains to be seen.

Incredible video from NASA TV. Full-screen, speakers on, and skip to 2:50 for the actual launch (Gravedigger, don't skip. ). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdFu40_aL7w From this perspective, it didn't appear that anyone hit the red "blow shit up" button, nor did I hear the word "terminate" in the audio. [speculation] To me, it looked more like the engines lost power; maybe LOX flow stopped or turbopumps shit the bed. At 3:07 there was a small burst of some sort, the exhaust plume got very dirty yellow, and the stack descended back to ground, exploding on impact. [/speculation]

Unless you're China. Turn your speakers down for the first :45, the noise is horrible. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBJ9ue6GKek The backstory... Edit: format

We were just briefed (literally, briefly - the questions [with no good answers] that followed lasted far longer than the initial announcement) about these changes this past weekend. The new AEF construct plays into this as well. Big Blue and Uncle Sugar are in for a rude awakening if they think they're gonna get the same level of AFRC/ANG volunteerism for 6-month deployments, if there's no USERRA protection for volunteers. I can't think of many people who would willingly throw away their civilian jobs/careers in order to deploy to JATWISH for 6 months.

I'm still running this same setup, going on 6 years now. The red Microlight has been replaced once (the switch failed - I use it far more than the others), and I've replaced the batteries in both the Microlights several times. The XO3 is still on the original CR123 batteries; they are on their last legs, but still put out usable light. With the proliferation of CR123-powered lights in .mil use these days, as long as you're not using the hell out of it (which I know some folks do, due to the nature of their jobs) an LED light running CR123s isn't IMO much of a liability these days. At my .civ job, I'm running a Streamlight Stinger DS LED as my primary work light. Not terribly practical for aircrew use, unless you can mount & power a charging base in your aircraft (we actually service a couple law enforcement agencies with Streamlight bases hard-mounted and hard-wired into their aircraft), but great for ground duties. EDIT: spelin

"Ballin Leader Prioritizzles" I actually laughed out loud at that...

NIH*. Can't have COTS gear or the Navy's gear being worn by Air Force crews... it's not Air Force-y enough. (Not Invented Here) Edit: I knew I saw something else about uniforms earlier today... Yet another 36-29chowmyhog update coming soon

At least 30 of those 42 were merely flying for currency - US currency. Most of them would tell you with a straight face that they were just there for "spare change", and to continue padding their retirement points.

God no, that's too much like work. Therefore, it was pushed off on the Booms. To a lot of them, the snack bar magically restocked itself with no monetary input from them, perpetuating the "cheap bastard airline pilot" stereotype. At that time, there were less than a dozen Lts, Capts, and Majors (total) to offset the LtCols... and no popcorn machine. Roughly half those LtCols punched the "Retire" button when our mobilization was made official, but before it actually started. Several others were close enough to sanctuary that they mobilized, dropped their sanctuary letters during their mobilization period, and finished their time with the AD, and now collect an AD retirement. Only a handful of those 42 still remain, flying the bare minimum for currency. When I was in the other service, squadrons had one, or maybe two LtCols - the CO and maybe the XO. [/end thread derail] edit: spelin is tuff

At one point a few years back, my SQ had 42 LtCols. That's not a typo.

USN identifies pilot

A couple guys from my crew did the "high-speed" FRS Algeciras-Tangier ferry a few years back. 30min late departure from Algeciras, 2+hrs late departure from Tangier. We had close to 72hrs off in Moron, so we had plenty of time to work with. Not sure if I'd want to take my chances with the ferries with only 30hrs planned off...

That was painful to read.

That's news to me. Even with as fucked up as we are ourselves... sometimes it pays to be a Reservist at WRI.