Whitman

Sweet, I was just about to ask that question. Now, aren't you required to fly with your medical certificate in hand? Would that mean that you have to fly with your 10 page FC II folded up in your pocket?

Bahahaha! AJ's is a whole lot better than Seville or anything else Pensacola has to offer. As far as the original question, it's pretty simple. If you're single and renting, don't live in Navarre. It's a pain driving to Destin and the work commute is frustrating during peak times, especially during the school year. Also, people will not hesitate to pull out in front of you on US-98. Aside from the shear boredom of the road, I wouldn't drive a bike on there either. You can find some sweet places on the bay or close to the beach in FWB and you'll be a lot closer to work and restaurants. As far as buying opportunities, Navarre is a good one and is going to expand, it's just a matter of when.

Box STS, Has your area auto gas converted to 10% ethanol blend? I was under the impression that a lot of the United States has converted. If that's the case and I hope it's not, you wouldn't be allowed to run auto gas, even though you have an STC. There's a variety of dangers involved with running fuel with alcohol in it and your insurance would be void if anything happens. Hopefully the course will be reversed, but the federal mandates are screwing a lot of GA pilots right now. Check out this article http://www.eaa.org/news/2007/2007-10-18_ethanol.asp A buddy of mine in South Carolina runs auto gas on his Bonanza and Cub and filled five large tanks at home with the last load of ethanol-free gas. Nice looking airplane, good luck and fly safe!

Great post LJ! Glad you made it out alive and appreciate your advice. Can you post a pic of the Stinson?

I've heard that advice but disagree. It really depends on the airplane, altitude, and the pilot. Everyone who flies single engine should practice simulated engine failure after takeoff. Depending on the aircraft executing 180 is a viable option and can get you back on deck safely. The key is to unload the airplane in the turn. Many people have died trying to turn back to the airfield (that's why its common advice not to) because they start the 180 degree turn, while pulling back on the yoke to maintain level flight, and add a load factor to the wings in the turn which accelerates the stall, resulting in OCF at very low altitude. 500 AGL is the lowest I would try this maneuver in most airplanes as you lose a decent amount of altitude when unloading the aircraft. Your head is in the right place Gannon, great question. Thinking about things like this ahead of time can safe your life. I recommend the flight you talked about with the IP pulling the engine. Good luck and be safe!

My bro gave me the other half of his wings when he broke 'em.

Good luck, just realize that riding, much like flying, is serious business and can bite you at any time. Wear good gear (leather), take the MSF safety course, get your license, and keep your head on a swivel. Pretend like you are invisible to other drivers, because you are! I've driven as long as 3.5 on my CBR F4i and it was pretty uncomfortable. I was ready to sell that bike after the first few days because of the seat but got used to it. There are aftermarket seats you can by too. If you're looking for a comfy sporty bike, the Suzuki Katana has a great seat and would be perfect for a beginner. I do not recommend you go out and by a full up sport bike like a GSXR or R1. Buy something used that you don't mind dropping (it will happen) and if you get tired of it, resale it and upgrade. Bikes hold their value really well. Good luck and BE SAFE!

I thought only AC-130H's were going to Cannon (16th SOS)?

I never understood why airlines don't just board back to front? It would solve this very problem. I also never understood why its considered first class treatment to board first? If I'm paying double, I'd much rather chill in the Crown room in ATL (or anywhere else for that matter) and wait until the last possible second to get on the jet, strap in and go, but that's just me. Well said Bull.

brick, i couldn't agree more!

Anyone going this year? I imagine the crowd will be smaller than normal with avgas hovering around $5-6/gallon. I'm gonna try to make my way up there for the weekend.

Knocking out the remote first with the follow-on seems like the way to go, if the follow-on truly was guaranteed. But the adage "a bird in hand, is worth two in the bush", comes to mind. After a year you won't be that experienced so they either need to keep you in the jet OR send you on your way to preds. You're only possibly gaining 1yr in the viper by going to Korea, but risk lossing 2yrs if AFPC continues with their buffoonery. Good luck and I truly hope things work out for you guys.

Pretty sure it was "puss game" and Rainman but it's been a while. Semantics aside, well said Chuck.

RIP brothers and God Speed. You will be missed

What's the scoop with U-28's out of Corpus? It seems like they were dropping pretty regularly at first out of Corpus but died off. Whereas, T-38/T-1 have been dropping them consistently.

Enough with the ball busting already! I still have nightmares from that video Herka Derka posted a couple months back.

Said C-17 AC would require T-38 training at PIT or wherever, then JSF RTU. T-38 grad, gone preds would just need JSF RTU, right? I actually stole that line from a good buddy of mine, a Hog driver.....what's a vault????

The way I see it is, even if you do not get a fighter out of T-38's, you have highly valuable training to fall back on in the future. If/when the JSF comes on line and they need pilots, you might have a chance at cross flowing (0% if you go heavies). Further, Guard/Reserve have hired heavy pilots without T-38 time, you'll have a "chance" again at getting a guard/reserve fighter gig. It all comes down to opportunities. If you've always wanted to fly a fighter, know the facts and trends but don't be scared by the stuff you can't control. TIMING. For me, I want to fly fighters or AFSOC so U-28/NSA's don't worry me. Preds on the other hand are scary, but at the end of the day, you can still rest your head down at night knowing that you gave it your all and now are in the fight and doing more damage in one tour than a fighter guy does in his entire flying career. T-1's would be nice but I want to do something in my AF career that I cannot do in the civilian world and fighters or herks seem more closely aligned with that. I figure I've got the rest of my life to worry about good deals. Lastly, as trivial as it may sound, I don't want my old man to be the only one in the family who's flown the T-38 Track select (or as the navy calls it, selection) is in app. 3 weeks so we'll see. Either way, I'm still thrilled I get paid to fly.

What about deer, elk, antelope, and turkey hunting? Freshwater fishing? Lakes or rivers for water skiing? Snow skiing?

1) Get the 1853 signed by your Det. It doesn't have to be your CC, just a verifying official (ie: personnel NCO etc) 2) Show up to CHS with your form and military ID (cadet or 2LT reserve ID if you've already commissioned) 3) Be flexible I flew from Charleston-Dover-Travis-Hickam on my first Space A while waiting to EAD (precommissioning). Later that year, I flew from CHS-Travis-back for a ski trip to Tahoe after commissioning but while waiting to EAD. Charleston is a great place to fly from. It used to be really good for flights but they have been sending more flights out of Dover in the last few months. Check www.pepperd.com message board (flight schedules) for fights out of Charleston and all over the world. Truly an invaluable resource. Let me know if you have any more questions and HAVE FUN! I'm jealous!

You get an "F" for SA.

Nice.... :beer: back at ya, have a good M-weekend!

I had the privilege of working for CH and he is indeed a class act! Good luck sir and congrats again!

While it may sound like a "good 'ole boy network" thing, said Airman's assistance was a byproduct of how he was treated everyday by me. I didn't care that he wasn't writing my OPR or deciding who goes to Nellis for TDY, just treated him like I would want to be treated if I were in a job and was the only Airman in a squadron filled with O's. If I were knew on base, I'd hope that the dudes in my squadron would help me out. The "nobody is better than the other" comment is based on the attitude that "At the end of the day, I'm the one pulling the trigger so do your job shoe clerk" mentality. I've seen it personally and it's sickening. They couldn't do it without us, and we sure as hell couldn't do it without them. Period dot. As for the rest of your post, reference Fact #2.

Fact: Support troops won't treat their jobs like pilots do. Fact: The system is flawed. You can either complain about our support troops or take an interest in them and show them that you actually care about their job (reference Bender's post). It's not that you are foreplaying them or trying to manipulate them, it's a simple matter of mutual respect. Everybody writes off airmen but you'd be surprised what they know and who they know. A personnel troop at my last squadron, Airman ##### was fresh out of the personnel building and had plenty of friends there. I was getting ready to PCS and needed and an amended RIP and orders by the end of the week. For all of you that are familiar with personnel, you realize this is the finance equivalent of getting 2 fighter squadrons to the fight without tankers. I talked to Airmen ##### and all it took was a couple phone calls, some email comm, and I had my RIP and non standard orders to follow in 3 days. Bottom line: Nobody is better than the other, we're all in the same AF and we're all after the same mission to fly jets and kill bad guys. Treat the support troops like you'd want to be treated and you can't go wrong.