Hacker

Yes, it's a joke. I was in the squadron that made it, and it was supposed to be a takeoff of the "100 missions" Thud patch. Anyone who is taking it seriously as a token of pride has missed the point.

The housing market in Enid is surprisingly strong. Fortunately, the town is very military friendly, so you're not going to find many realtors who are going to try and shaft you. Courtney Colby is an ex-AF officer who does a lot of business with people on Vance. Ty and Kelly (who have the strange 'Laverne and Shirley' video on a previous page in this thread) are also a good realtor team. I don't see much in the way of modular homes anywhere that people from the base live. Most of the 4 bedroom houses are in the neighborhoods where Capts and above live (on the north and west side of town, primarily) and start north of $200,000. BAH in the area is enough to make such houses affordable. There's a pretty decent rental market in that price bracket, too. Schools are pretty good all around (two school districts in the area) -- Eisenhower Elementary is right on base property if you end up living on/close to base, and Glenwood Elementary is on the west side of town near where many Vance IPs live in any of about 5 or 6 neighborhoods out there.

I'm looking forward to doing this if I ever pass through this young lady's empire (sts).

I guess his PR machine is able to mask just about anything.

Lots of jets taxi with pins still in, usually armament pins. The pin on the close side could be for the Hellfire, not sure what the one up there by the FLIR turret is.

Although I agree that rude pax are really fucking annoying, why is it that this dude's adios from JetBlue is getting so much positive attention? I think he's just as much of an idiot for doing what he did.

That's precisely the reaction I'd expect when a trainee is questioning the training process.

Just heard from some guys fresh back from Atlanta that, as advertised, Flight Safety has cracked down on helping out dudes with the CL thrust restriction, and will not allow the ATP ride for anyone who has the restriction on day 1 of training. Has anyone actually gone to an FBO and had a checkride with a DE to remove the CL restriction? The one FBO I called yesterday reacted to me as if I were a complete moron when I said I just wanted a checkride to perform the Vmca demo and the single-engine approach/landing. The guy I talked to laughed as if he'd never heard of such a thing as a "centerline thrust restriction". If there's anyone else out there looking to do this, this is what FAA Order 8900.1, Volume 5, Chapter 1, Section 4, Part F says: So, the trick is finding an FBO and DE who will instruct to, and check to, only these items...else you are going to spend a lot more time and money.

There are a number of things that Sec Gates has done that I don't agree with, but FINALLY here is someone with the stones to cut needless bureaucracy, even if it's just for the financial benefits. There's certainly a lot more that could be cut in this same manner, but what a great start.

Then they'd have some average pilots and WSOs.

I much preferred the reaction at Bagram by the local Army folks when we were getting rocketed very early in the morning. After the 'boom' and the siren going off, the Army guys just stayed in their racks while I wrestled with my vest and helmet. After the 'all clear', I asked them what the deal was. Their reply -- all the attacks at Bagram are hit-and-run. By the time the rockets hit, the launcher is all ready long gone. So, by the time you wake up, put all your crap on, and run to the shelter, the attack is over. So, unless you actually got hit with the initial rounds, you weren't going to get hit...and thus it was better just to stay in bed and get additional sleep.

Isn't it apparent that this statement is applicable to *everything* the USAF does?? Unfortunately, nearly every aspect of the USAF is more about perception than it is reality. It's more about how things look than how things are. OPRs, awards, medals, hell even calling ourselves 'the world's best air force'...it's all image manufacturing. A smart man I know compared the USAF to Enron based on precisely this basis, and there were frightening parallels. Not to say there aren't some amazing people who are doing some phenomenal work, but unfortunately that's not good enough for us. We have to make it look like EVERYONE is doing that kind of work ALL THE TIME.

They're just copying the model of Finance, and Personnel, and just about every other support agency.

Apparently there is some trigger on YouTube that deletes this video automatically as soon as it is uploaded. Bastards.

Don't forget the CAT III T-38 TOLD in the summertime.

RUMINT heard yesterday says that Mr Roush may have some more permanent eye damage.

No, a Raytheon Premier bizjet.

You need to find the office that runs the DoD "Voice Call Sign List" (VCSL). That is the document (a big phonebook-looking thing) that assigns all DoD flight callsigns.

Very cool. Were you involved in the 'conversion'? That's always been an interesting airplane IMHO. My family used to own L-17B 48-1007, a Korea vet.

Is that the polished metal one that has been on display at the Reno Air Races occasionally?

What kind of L-17? Is it a real L-17, or just a dressed up Navion?

e-Snacko does 'em, too. My squadron just had them do a run for everyone last month.

Thanks for the words, dudes. It's more about the ATP than it is the Be-350 type. If you don't have the centerline thrust restriction, and you have more than 1,000 hours PIC, FSI will make the MC-12 checkride count for both the ATP and the type rating. If you do have the restriction, then they won't do either. So, just trying to kill the most expensive/important bird with the stones allocated by Uncle Sam.

Kuma, how many hours in the Seminole did it take to remove the restriction? I assume that you also had to pay "full fare" for a DE to sign you off?

Anyone know if the folks at Flight Safety can/will remove the Centerline Thrust Restriction to an FAA Comm/Multi when doing the checkride for MC-12 training? I've heard directly contradicting information; Flight Safety's own information packet says that they won't allow the checkride to count as an ATP / Be-350 type ride if the student has the Restriction, which implies that the student needs that Restriction removed the minute they walk in the door on the first day. 2ndhand I've heard that more than one student has shown up to training with the Restriction, had Flight Safety add the Vmc Demo maneuver series into the checkride itself, and was able to get the ATP and the Type. I tried calling Flight Safety, but couldn't get ahold of anyone who understood what I was really asking about.