HuggyU2
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Posts posted by HuggyU2
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Edited by HuggyU2
Haha, yeah he took a lot of grief.
But of the 71,337 in attendance, about 22 even noticed. And seldom do I see the players react like they did
I'll wait to see how well a formation of jets that are less than 60 years old manage the next one (14 Dec) in that overly complicated airspace.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRgdW09kceb/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
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Beale back in the saddle for the MNF flyover 2 nights ago.
George Kittle saw the pilots and made an effort to thank them for an epic flyover at dusk.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRdz4P-AAMW/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
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12 hours ago, Clark Griswold said: That’s a good point (high capability sims)
An ACE aircraft program could have a ground based training element with the aircraft and ideally link them for LVC training
No.
ACE should be focused on low time co-pilots of crew aircraft... and they should be flying a real aircraft
All of the other training options like LVC need to continue to be pursued and aimed toward their specific goals. Completely agree with y'all.
But ACE was/would be very effective when aimed at the correct audience.
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Edited by HuggyU2
On 11/11/2025 at 8:23 PM, ViperMan said:This is from the cheap seats, but everything being discussed in this thread strikes me as the whole point of pilot training. What am I missing? What is the USAF missing?
Is this a serious proposal? We cut pilot training in half, but then add a program like this shortly thereafter? WTFO?
i totally agree that UPT cuts are seriously degrading the quality of the product.
But don't conflate the UPT syllabus cuts with a need to create a new ACE program: even with a robust UPT syllabus like I went through many moons ago, the ACE Program was extremely beneficial for the new co-pilots.
Story time: I remember back in the 2005-2006 time frame, there was a Langley F-22 at Hill AFB whose crew chief lost control of the landing gear pin during ground ops, and the pin got sucked down an engine. IIRC $6.8M in damage.
That year, at Beale, our T-38 CT Program was run on a budget of around $6M for ~3700 hours of flying time.
Think about that. That's around 3,000 SORTIES in a T-38... for $800,000 less than the cost of a single Raptor FOD incident.
My experience in the Beale T-38 CT Program has made me such a better U-2 pilot and overall aviator than I would ever be without it. A magnitude better.
There is so much that could be done to make our USAF aviators "that much better"... but the AF leadership will simply not invest the pennies... and I do mean "pennies"... to make it happen. It's no longer a priority.
I hope I am proved wrong on my last statement.
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Edited by HuggyU2
Correction: ACE did not end when SAC went away. It remained within the newly-formed ACC until summer 1994 (maybe '95) when General Loh cancelled the program literally overnight.
In my opinion, this was one more indicator of the lack of understanding that officers like Loh and many of the other ACC generals with fighter backgrounds had WRT to the non-fighter platforms under their command.
Although I was never in ACE, I have many friends and classmates that flew as ACE co-pilots, or that were assigned to ACE as instructor pilots. I have a lot of experience with the CT Program at Beale, which ran in conjunction with ACE until the ACE portion was killed.
You pose a number of questions, Clark. Bottom line: the ACE Program was a cost effective and solid aviation method for getting low-time co-pilots some much-needed quality flying experience. Not to mention, it made pilots very happy that they were able to fly... actually fly anywhere they wanted to go, and work on developing their new aviation skill sets. Imagine that... happy pilots working to better their fundamental aviation skills.
For a brief period of time, Beale RQ-4 pilots were flying Beale aero club aircraft in an ACE-like program. Pennies on the dollar. Of course, it was cancelled. But it showed that with a tiny bit of thought and effort... and not much money... something positive could be done.
The short-sightedness of Gen Loh and his staff was very unfortunate. Bringing back an even better version of the ACE Program should be done today. In both ACC and AMC.
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On 11/9/2025 at 11:36 AM, Sua Sponte said:
Minus the fact the Viper has two different engine manufacturers and different models between manufacturers.
Try five engines, with three different ones on the same jet.
Real good friend flew this until RR retired it 2-3 months ago.
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Blytheville AFB. "Hooterville".
Forgot all about that place.
It was one of the ~13 bases that had B-52s and KC-135's when I graduated UPT. They had Tweets too, for the old ACE Program... which Gen Loh killed, in what I'd call a not-well-thought out decision.-
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Edited by HuggyU2
3 hours ago, Hacker said:The tail engine is #2.
Engines are numbered left to right... for those unaware like I was at one point.
Brabus... In the Viper or F-35, that would be "#1".
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Edited by HuggyU2
The Travis AFB Aero Club has a TB-20. I went out there 4-5 years ago and rented it with an instructor just to try it out. Enjoyed it.
Maybe a good option for you to go sample it.
https://www.travisaeroclub.com/our-fleet-
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Edited by HuggyU2
Yeah, I'm sorry!!
At SGU, I took Hank Hoffman flying: 205 combat missions in the A-37 and a TPS graduate Neat guy! Still knew and flew the jet really well!
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Edited by HuggyU2
No, the A-37 sounds like a T-38.
it doesn't make the dog whistle of the T-37's J-69.
The J-85 in the Super Tweet puts out as much in Mil as a T-38A puts out in Max.
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Today, a good friend and I flew formation.
It was the first time in 34 years that two A-37's flew in formation in North America. Took them from Boise to St George VFR.
And yes... it was a blast.
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Edited by HuggyU2
Did Textron develop the aircraft with an internal ladder system?
Or will they just provide the pilots a pole vault like Boeing?
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On 9/14/2025 at 10:35 AM, Lord Ratner said:
"Uh, and who exactly bought the participation trophies?"
It wasn't Coach Huggy.
And many of the soccer parents were truly not happy I wouldn't.-
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Edited by HuggyU2
https://www.foxnews.com/world/trump-us-trying-get-bagram-airbase-back-from-taliban-afghanistan
I hope the Bagram Ice Cream guy can get his job back at the chow hall if we go back. Does anyone have a picture of him that they could post?
That guy had the most hateful, combat-hardened look on his face that I've ever seen. But the ice cream was tasty!
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1 hour ago, fire4effect said:
How many on BO would volunteer to pay 60 k and be restricted to base for 2 months to walk away with an O-7 retirement?
Not me.
The career paths those guys had are not the paths that I would want.-
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Edited by HuggyU2
12 hours ago, Swizzle said:Where did that AETC general go?
If you are referring to Phil Stewart, he was found guilty of dereliction of duty and conduct unbecoming.
He was reduced from Maj Gen to Brig Gen, and retired in May.
2 months restricted to base. $60,000 in pay to be forfeited over 6 months.
B-21 Raider
in General Discussion
If the plane is carrying nukes and/or flying 40 hour missions, it should have a 2nd person.
Pilot, CSO... even RPA pilot.
Someone smart who can think and make solid decisions.