Toro
-
Posts
1,711 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
36
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Gallery
Blogs
Downloads
Wiki
Posts posted by Toro
-
-
Under your primary duty you'll have a generic bullet listing your duties and responsibilities as an aviator. Your additional duties will be listed at the end.
In the bullet section you'll have items listed with aviation accomplishments generally first followed by job accomplishments.
-
Welcome to the Air Force - you're going to be competing against guys in your squadron for the rest of your career. Do you think that when you get to your first Ops Squadron you can relax and do nothing? Try that and I guarantee that you'll end up with an ALO or AETC IP tour next.Originally posted by Bergman:IMHO the "no follow-on" policy has got to be the #1 reason to NOT be a FAIP....<snip>... You get to work like a dog, in competition with all of your friends and peers, for an entire year at pilot training. Hell, you could get your last choice of assignment without busting your ass for 3 years.
YGBSM! You've obviously never been in an operational squadron.(seems to me that UPT IPs work WAAYY harder (STS) and longer days than your average line-squadron aviator).
Smoke/sunshine. I've seen FAIPs coming up on their follow on assignments who couldn't fly their way out of a paper bag. Three extra years in a trainer doesn't mean $hit if you're retarded to begin with. A FAIP who went through IFF with me hooked 3 rides and barely made it through FTU. But like Bergman said, you don't compete against UPT stud - you compete against other FAIPs.Originally posted by flyingjunky:This is the line of reasoning given to new UPT studs. Is this flawed reasoning and/or smoke/sunshine?
[ 14 February 2004, 18:18: Message edited by: Toro ]
-
No way, you'll get a new one.Originally posted by ENJJPT stud:does the callsign you get as a FAIP stay the same when you get to an operation squadron in your follow-on a/c?
-
Unless they do it differently than active duty (I don't see why they would) your unit won't give you a call sign prior to UPT. You don't get your call sign until you complete your mission qualification in the jet.
-
Ditto what C17 Driver said for the fighter guys. I know guys in the E model who were previous A-10 and C model flyers (though I don't know of any Viper guys).
-
I remember the worst standup I ever saw: 99-12 if memory serves me. We went through the entire class on an EP the instructors knew was difficult, but not that tough. Antonius...sit down. Antuna...sit down. Harrison...sit down. Penewit...sit down. Haskin...sit down. If I remember correctly, it was Eaglin who finally pulled through. Sound familiar?Originally posted by Hacker:Jeez, just hook the guy and get it done with...or did the entire class suck (sts)?
-
1
-
-
According to AF regs, we're all supposed to fly IFR "to the max extent possible," and only fly VFR when mission essential. For the meat of the fighter missions, we need to fly VFR (BFM, ACM, low fly). But we'll fly VFR as much as possible going to and coming from the MOAs. If it's a nice day out, you're hardly ever going to see a fighter jet on the ILS.Originally posted by x-wing:How about fighters what methods do they usually use? I imagine vfr i mean they need to see the target right?
[ 08 February 2004, 03:20: Message edited by: Toro ]
-
T-38s are pretty much the same as T-37s. Only thing to add is that sometimes a dude would get stopped and sat down part way through the EP. He may have screwed it up, he may not have. The IP giving the EP (USEM) would call and somebody else and tell them to pick it up where the first guy left off, or go back and change anything he wanted. That's a little stressful if you're not sure exactly what the dude screwed up - especially if he did everything right and you go back and change something for the worse.
-
"FNG?" That seems pretty tame. Step into our squadron and you are a "Shit pants" until you are CMR and named.
[ 05 February 2004, 14:21: Message edited by: Toro ]
-
IAW AFI 11-202, a HUD can't be used as a Primary Flight Reference unless unless it has "full-time display of attitude, altitude, and airspeed information and the capability to recognize, confirm, and recover from unusual attitudes."
In every Instrument Refresher Course I've had since I started flying the Strike Eagle, they've foot-stomped the fact that our HUD is not certified as a PFR, along with the fact that the Viper is the only HUD that is...that's where that ASS-umption came from.
The C-17 HUD lacks a full-time attitude reference, which seems to directly conflict with 11-202 - maybe I'm missing something.
-
George Costanza from Seinfield. He gets all bent out of shape when somebody makes fun of him in front of a group of people, so he goes home and comes up with that response. When he presents it later on, it just isn't funny any more and nobody cares.Originally posted by Clearedhot:Great insult, did you get that from a Steve Martin movie?
[ 31 January 2004, 00:52: Message edited by: Toro ]
-
WTF? I wasn't telling anybody their HUD wasn't certified, I said I thought the F-16 was the only aircraft with a certified HUD, and that it definitely is the only fighter.Originally posted by Clearedhot:Now he tells them their HUD is not certified… please share some other nuggets from the mountain.
As far as the rest of your snips from the MWS discussion - way to show up with guns blazing to a fire that's not even smoldering any more. "The jerk stored called...and they're out of you!"
-
I'm pretty sure the HUD is only certified (as a primary instrument) in the F-16. I know for a fact that it's the only fighter that has a certified HUD.What kind of information is displayed on the HUD? I wasn't aware of their certification for aerial combat! -
Concur with Embry Riddle. I've taken four or five classes in residence and am taking one right now on line. Couple advantages for you-
1) They offer tuition reimbursement. For a $690 course, I only end up paying about $169. In addition to that, there are several scholarships you can apply for to pay for the remaining portion of the bill and books.
2) You've got a while to finish it. Obviously things may get busy while you're running around TDY and trying to get things done. I've had to drop two classes already, but should be done far before their deadline of (I believe) seven years.
3) They're all over the place. They've got offices at just about base on the planet. At my last class, the teacher was talking about organizing a class at Al Udeid for guys deployed to OIF and OEF.
4) Their courses are also offered online. Not my preference, but if you're having trouble attending the courses in residence, or know you're going to be TDY for a while and have access to a computer, this is a good option.
[ 19 January 2004, 23:22: Message edited by: Toro ]
-
Straight from AFI 36-2903, Table 2.6
Eyeglasses and Sunglasses - Free of ornamentation on frames and lenses. Conservative, clear, slightly tinted or photosensitive lenses indoors or in formation. Conservative lenses and frames outdoors (faddish styles and mirrored lenses prohibited). No sunglasses in formation. Not worn around the neck.
-
You also can't use any sort of pins to bound your hair up.
Every female I've seen in UPT (and in fighters) had hair that stopped at about mid-neck. A couple of them had chopped it from a lengthier state (one had it well past her shoulders). They weren't fond of it, but they ended up not minding too much. Realize this is an issue with the helmet; the girl who had it past her shoulders ended up going C-130s and now has it long again.
-
Flying scores are more important than test scores. Somebody who has seen the layout more recently than me can give specific percentages, but it was something like 40% checkride, 30% daily ride, 20% commanders ranking, 10% test scores.Originally posted by iFlyTexans:How big of an impact do your test scores in phase I have on your track select?
-
1
-
-
Because the highest rank scores come from daily and check rides, the people at the top were generally the best pilots and the people at the bottom were...not.Originally posted by Dan Foster:What put the top people in the top, and the bottom in the bottom? Were the top people just naturally good pilots? Did the bottom folks just have bad work ethics or attitudes?
That being said, a $hit-hot pilot with a crappy attitude (negative or arrogant) can find himself knocked down from that top spot by flight commander ranking and thrashing for one of the middle spots. Conversely, I've seen guys who really weren't great sticks, but they made it up into the top half because they had great attitude and determination and/or they displayed lots of team attitude and helped out their classmates when they themselves may have been struggling.
-
Having sat on both sides of this, I can give a little perspective from the instructors.
As Ryan said, your flight commander should give you a mid-mass rank where he ranks you as top, middle, or bottom third. I don't believe it's mandatory, though, because we skipped it several times just due to being so busy. On the final ranking, he should give you your actual position in the class (if not, it will go on your 1122 as Ryan said).
And like PAB and Bergman mentioned, the top and bottom are usually obvious with the middle being the difficult ones to decide. The rankings usually involve all the instructors in the flight and start with the easy choices - picking the top one or two, then picking the bottom one or two. On occassion, we'd argue for over an hour trying to rank order the last four or five guys. This is where your attittude and 'officership' comes into play. Neal and Bob may be running neck and neck until IP #1 says, "Yeah, well what about when Neal aced his formation checkride and didn't pass the info to any of his buds, and somebody hooked for the same EP." Wham, Neal goes to the bottom. Also, IPs are very aware of things you may not realize - I couldn't stand dudes who brown nosed us, then were dicks to their classmates. Straight to the bottom of the pile.
Also, we've ranked people in that middle portion based on what type of aircraft it would get them. If a guy was good enough to graduate, but we really didn't think he belonged in a fighter, we'd rank him so he'd get a bomber.
-
1
-
-
I've got 1400+ hours since I graduated UPT in '97, but about 1000 of that is T-38 IP time. I've accumulated the 400+ hours of F-15E time since '01. The average will depend on whether you're deployed or not. I talked with some Seymour Johnson guys who we replaced for OIF last year - they had been there since the war kicked off five months earlier and flew 6-9 hour sorties nearly every day. Like Beaver, dudes with just over a year operational in the Strike Eagle had nearly 500 hours. During non-combat ops, I'd say we average around 200 hours a year.Originally posted by C-21 Pilot:Based on your replies, I'm curious as to how many flight hours you guys have vs. time in service, as well as, what is the avg yearly flight hours logged for a pointy nose dude.
That gets pretty difficult with a two seater - no way we can spare 16 bodies for one dude. We'll generally combine it with instructor or some other type of upgrades.Originally posted by Beaver:For us, it is common for a 4v4 dedicated for 1 guy's upgrade.
[ 10 January 2004, 23:21: Message edited by: Toro ]
-
It'll depend on what you're flying, your previous experience and other concurrent upgrades. Here's a rough wag at F-15E upgrades where I'm at.generally how long does it take for the average pilot to complete 2FLUG, then 4FLUG, then IPUG?MQ (Mission Qualification) - This is your Ops checkout - always the #1 priority of upgrades. There are 10 rides in our syllabus and you need to be through them within 90 days.
2FLUG - You need 300 hours to start (can be waived to 200 if you're a FAIP), which usually corresponds to about 1.5 years into the assignment. There are seven rides which are supposed to be completed in two months.
4 FLUG - The only prerequisite to start this is that you're complete with 2FLUG. Some guys will go straight into it, but most take a break for 6-9 months and gain 2FL experience. Four rides in this program, expected to be done in one month.
IPUG - 500 hours and 4FL required to start. Most pilots don't start this upgrade within three years (the average length of an Ops assignment). There are 12 rides in this program and it's expected to be done in three months.
No, just like UPT, there is a syllabus for every single upgrade we have that dictates what is done and what items we need to demonstrate proficiency (Demo Pro) on. The only upgrade that has a mandatory time limit is MQ (90 days). For the rest, there is a suggested time limit, but it all depends on which upgrades have priority at the time. If you're upgrading you can usually expect to be scheduled for 1-2 upgrade flights a week.Do those things sort of "go at your own pace" or is there a stricter timeline to follow?
If you're not upgrading, you may be support for an upgrade (red air, for example). With Strike Eagles, you could (in theory, though we don't do it often) have a 4-ship with eight people dedicated to the upgrade of one person.Also, if you're not flying any upgrade sortie, what types of sorties might you find yourself flying?If you're not involved in an upgrade, you'll fly CT (Continuation Training), which is basically where you go out and do something to practice with little to no instructor involvement.
-
They don't do any X-rays during the FCI, it will be more of a matter of your range of movement of the arm. I went into my first FCI with three broken bones in my hand from three days prior. I didn't cast the hand (wasn't sure it was broken at the time), but it was wrapped in an Ace bandage. When I showed up to the physical, one of the techs told me I wouldn't pass wearing the bandage, so I took it off. The doc did a couple tests on my hands - pushing, pulling, having me squeeze his arms, etc. It hurt like hell, but I pulled it off and passed the FCI.
-
Hoser, send a copy to my global address as well. Thanks.
-
I'd have to read the reg to be sure of the exact wording, but if it says total time, then that would include FAIP time.Originally posted by aerogrd:The AFI regarding selection states that pilot applicants need to be instructor qualified or have at least 750 hours total time, would I be able to count the time I log as a FAIP into that 750.
Being solo doesn't matter - in FTU you're still the A/C with an instructor in your pit. I don't know about this one. Again, I'd have to read the reg to be sure of the wording, but I imagine you'd need 12 months of operational experience in your MWS.Also, it mentions you need to have been an A/C in an MWS for at least 12 months, when I go to RTU, assuming I get a fighter, since I would be solo most of the time, can you count your student time at RTU as A/C time.
In theory it's quicker for FAIPs. The F-15 regs say that to upgrade to 2FL you need 300 hours in the aircraft, or 200 hours if you were a FAIP. I heard this from a C model bud of mine and tried to tell the chief of training, but he ignorantly said it wasn't true (I didn't know exactly what reg said this). Several months later, the new chief asked me if I was a FAIP and why I hadn't started my upgrade yet, then pulled open the reg right to the page that explained the pre-reqs. At that point I was right at 300 hours, but there were already four dudes ahead of me who had started and I had to get in line.do FAIPS tend to upgrade quicker to 2 ship flight lead, 4 ship, etc. Or do they take just as long as someone right out of UPT for the most part.The experience and airmanship may help you in 4FLUG - the only prereq for that is having completed 2FLUG, but most guys are given several months to a year between the two.
UPT washout
in Pilot Selection Process
Posted
My class of about 40 had three wash out - one in tweets, one in T-1s, and one in T-38s. The T-37 and T-1 washouts were airmanship and aircraft control. The T-38 was inability to fly formation. In three years at Columbus I saw one guy wash out - he had big problems with basic aircraft control and airmanship, but it was formation that finally got him in the end.
If you wash out of pilot training, you can do just about anything else in the Air Force, but if you go kicking and screaming to your commanders review board, you're more apt to got something crappy like sitting at the bottom of a missile tube.