HuggyU2

A kill's a kill.

You mean like the "unborn Americans"? I'd say they are being "pitted against" already.

I'm not sure I completely agree with Hugo, but his inputs are worth considering. I live NE of Sacramento, exactly 125 miles from the SFO employee lot. Especially since Covid, things have not been too bad. Last Friday, I crossed the Bay Bridge at 0710 (without extra pax, so no HOV) and only waited about 10-15 min at the toll booths. That was the only traffic I hit. I leave home ~4 hours to show and it's comfortable. That includes the 25 minutes to leisurely find a good parking spot, change into my shirt, and walk to Ops. I don't recall having any flow delays going into SFO over the past 6 years that affected my return. Driving from SFO up I-80 to greater Sac can be longer if you are leaving SFO after around 1530 on a weekday. And for heaven's sake, don't try to drive to Oakland or SFO on a Sunday afternoon most of the year. Everyone is coming down the mountain and I-80 is a mess.

I'm assuming they have. But irrespective... in this climate, I would find it rather amazing that these pilots, with their extensive turbine aviation backgrounds and letters of rec would be overlooked due to a missed error on their application. Certainiy, it's up to these pilots to produce an error-feee product... but c'mon.

Still... I'm seeing some really experienced and quality military pilots not getting called. Yet seeing new hire classes with a lot of pilots under the age of 26.

Wedgetail? Seriously? What is that supposed to mean? This has got to be a British thing. I mean... a country that would name a plane a "Nimrod" or a "Beverly" is probably the same one that would name this jet "Wedgetail".

On the Airbus 319/320/321, it is only about 5" left of the center of the console. And it is well aft of the throttles, which allows both pilots to use it without the throttles interfering. Much better design.

The issue isn't the TOGA switch location. Instead, I ask "why do I have to reach all the way over to the left side of the center panel to get to the speed brake?" Why can't there be one on the FO's side? Boeing simply won't move it to a better place. It's like that on all four Boeings I've flown.

You're thinking of these 737 mishaps... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Airlines_Flight_585 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/USAir_Flight_427

My rule of thumb: if I cannot drink the tap water in a country, I won't fly on their national airline.

I've found "easier" means that the folks in the squadron are left dealing with the shortfalls of that course of action.

The FTU. Duh!

The pilots that got the early retirement were the beneficiaries of this. I've yet to meet one that regrets doing it.

Beale got rid of the traditional Group CC two years ago, and went to the A-staff. Not positive, but I think they may be going back to the Group CC thing this year.

Thanks to those at Vance and Columbus that came by to meet us. We even had one pilot that came in from another base a couple hours away to listen. Based on what I heard, there are still a lot of inaccurate beliefs about the U-2, so if someone tells you "you can't apply because of X", give us a call to verify that.

Attn Vance Pilots: We will be at Vance late tomorrow and will be doing a meet & greet at the 25 FTS. Should be around 1730... but check your emails. Students interested in learning about the U-2 are welcome too, and we are glad to have you show up.

I'll bet Air University has it.

Update for those at CBM interested in a potential U-2 career: We hope to arrive Thursday morning. 14th FTW should be setting up a location in one of the flying squadrons for us to answer questions and talk about the U-2... probably Thursday afternoon. Maybe Friday morning also. Happy to talk 1-on-1 anytime during the weekend. Just track us down. And if you want to see why the T-38A is way more awesome than the T-38C, come take a look.

It was about five pages in because of limited recent activity. Here you go...

If you are a member of AOPA, you may be able to get free advice from their medical staff. Not positive... but give them a call if you're a member.

I'm a Paul Harvey fan.

12-15 months for me.

First flight will depart Palmdale late this year.

Lord Ratner is right. Simply look at the Railway Labor Act and how it is used to prevent airline strikes.

Attention Columbus AFB IP's and student pilots... Beale will be bringing a T-38A to the Columbus AFB Airshow next month. The plan is to get there Thursday, and have an informal meeting Friday for anyone interested in learning more about the U-2 Program. No rent-a-crowd... the only people that will be there should be pilots interested in learning more about a U-2 career. Myself and Lt Col "Ghost" will be there. Ghost is the U-2 FTU DO, and will become the 99 RS/CC around June. He was a former T-38 IP at CBM 18 months ago and flew the U-2 previous to that. If you won't be available Friday morning, you simply need to let me know and I can arrange for us to meet at the airshow on Saturday and chat. As mentioned, happy to talk to student pilots also. We can't get you for at least 4 years, but knowledge is power. Drop me a pm if interested.