HuggyU2

What’s the reason for starting this thread? I get the impression there is something “personal” about your dislike of SK.

This says it all...

What does the brain trust know about excellent black flight boots? USAF Approved preferably but not required.

They said the space suits were redesigned to look fashionable, but I am not a fan. Plus... everyone knows Star Wars predicted the return of the orange flightsuit / spacesuit.

If you were to make masks "mandatory" for airline travel, what would your criteria be? - Medical research shows that if they are not tight fitting, the efficacy diminishes. How do you measure/determine if they fit well enough? - Can people hang their nose over the mask? - I'm on a 17 hour flight to Singapore: do I get breaks when I can remove it? How long? Do I only do it when in the lavatory? - We give accommodations to people that need support animals because of various emotional issues such as PTSD. What about those that have claustrophobia and find a mask to simply be impossible to don? What accommodations will we make for them? - What materials are acceptable? One research study I read stated that 600 count cotton along with two sheets of chiffon (made from polyester or spandex) was one of the most effective combinations. However, I've seen some pretty shaky homemade masks that don't appear go do much of anything. Who decides what is allowed and what isn't? Is the person deciding trained to know the difference?

An excellent resource for any military pilot, and it's been well known (and used) for decades. And it's free. https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/media/00-80t-80.pdf

What percentage of them are going to flying jobs that they want to do?

Prozac, Wearing pants is like masks? I guess we are not going to agree on this. Also keep in mind that any federal oversight will have to be enforced by... you guessed it... the Flight Attendants. Like they don't have enough crap to deal with.

Bobsan, I saw that plane on Barnstormers and it looks like a really nice plane for a screamin' deal. Congratulations on joining the "owners ranks". Nice picture over the AF Museum. 👍

How do you (and would you?) mandate mask usage on a 5 hours transcon? How about a 15 hour flight to Sydney? Can you remove the mask for 15 minutes so you can eat? What about the beverage service? Can people hang their nose over the mask? What kind of material does the mask have to be, or what thickness? I skeptical that there is a common sense way to implement this, and I admit am against the idea of yet another Federal rule imposed on the masses... one that I believe is as ineffective as the TSA.

Should definitely look at putting a stop to night landings on training sorties. Too much risk.

Well stated.

Uh huh.

Hindsight, I completely get your point. But if I were to get the offer, I'd jump in a Snowbirds jet tomorrow without a thought. Same with the T-38. You can always "buy" more capable technology... but at some point it becomes diminishing returns. Accelerating through 400' AGL at 60+ degrees nose low is a tough parameter for any seat. And there sure are a lot of high performance aerobatic aircraft that don't have the luxury of an ejection seat.

PreContact, I'd like to see a post in YOUR words, not an eight-year old article posted without comment. Can you summarize? I am very aware of the RCAF and the Department of National Defence's discussions about the future of the team for the past decade How does THIS mishap relate to YOUR position that they should be grounded? Nickel on the grass for Jenn.

Clayton, were you at Hangar 24 AirFest in 2018? Jenn was the PAO for the CF-18 team back then. She was a hoot... just a lot of fun and energy. OK!. Let's just jump on the knee-jerk train and take action before any causal information is known. Certainly not an example of "thoughtful response".

A local guy built an RV-14 and took me with him on an out-and-back to Chester Field (O05) in the Sierra. Really nice airplane. I cannot imagine Vans will be selling a lot of RV-7 kits with this out. The extra space is a big plus. I just saw the first one listed on Barnstormers: the owner wants $199,000. Ouch.

IMA

It only took 20 years to make it happen. But it happened... finally. Another success to chalk up for the current leadership at Beale. Well done. It's a great time to be in the 9th.

In the T-38? Pretty sure you're wrong. And no, we haven't been "lucky". Same way you haven't been "lucky" you haven't killed yourself in whatever you fly. You've worked hard at being good at it. Irrespective, we have had a shitload more Class A's on single-ship no flap, single-engine, and normal touch and goes than we have EVER had on T-38 wing landings. How about the dreaded T-38 single-engine go-around. About as benign as it gets, right? And not needed for an F-16 or F-35, right? For you T-38 IP's out there, do you know why they brief it now the way that they do? It's because in '87 or '88, we crashed a T-38 doing a SE Go at DLF. It's not in Road to Wings because... miraculously... the jet hit the dirt, went through the VASI's, and came to rest in the caliche and weeds to the left of 13L... and everyone walked away. The jet flew a few days later. So stop SE Go's too? After all, what are the odds it will happen for real... and if it does, that it will kill you?? Maybe the problem is touch and go's, and everything should be a full stop like in the GA world. That'll fix it. I'm sure it does!!! As do other training events. I think a lot of you have higher expectations of UPT grads than maybe you should. And dumbing down the T-38 syllabus won't make it any better. What else should go away? 3G/90 degree wing work? Close trail at 4G and 120 degrees? Do you do those items in the CAF? How much four-ship wing work and close formation do y'all do in a $339M F-22? You want to know the closest times I've come to a midair? Twice as #3 in an echelon turn where the other IP insisted that we fly 2G/60 deg... f'in dumb. I could have put the palm of my hand on the belly of #2 one of those times. Thankfully 4 wasn't that close when I split S'd out of formation. The other memorable instance... also TWICE... was sandbagging on IFF sorties with all IP's (no students). And both times it was on BDA checks. YGBSM! When was the last time a BDA check found something really important? So get rid of that too? Typing this out with a bottle of tequila has brought back some great memories. And it's fun to watch you fighter/attack folks argue about the merits of BFM too. Good night!

Furlough notices will probably go out on 1 July for UAL. A lot can happen between now and then and it is simply a wait-and-see game at this point.

That's good to hear. The A-10 drivers I worked with in the past were always good with a map and LLNAV. I learned more from them about VFR flying than any other "fighter community".

I doesn't develop any skill you need in a wingman? Really? This isn't FTU training. It's not even IFF. We are teaching them basic control of a jet throughout the range of its operation. I believe it's a skill I want in AF pilots that I work with. We can argue this to death. Suffice to say, I don't agree with you. VFR flying is an anathema to the USAF and it too was dumbed down during my time in the AF. "It's entirely too dangerous". I can't speak to your statement above. I'm glad to hear it but it surprises me. Speaking to the fighter pilots of my era, I got the impression it was depart IFR to the MOA or range... do your work... RTB with an IFR pickup until field in sight, then cancel for initial. If you're now departing VFR, going enroute to the area VFR, and doing a VFR RTB, then that's a big shift from what I recall. Additionally... as a T-38 PIT instructor, the vast majority of trainees we got came out of fighter/attack. They were usually very good pilots. But their VFR skills were very lacking. Every time I flew with one of them on a VR route, about 5 miles out of Randolph I would turn off their TACAN (this was A-model days). Despite all of the pre-flight planning for this sortie, very few could find the route entry point. Chasing a GPS-derived waypoint carrot "while flying VMC" really wasn't the same thing as "flying VFR" and learning to read a map.

I was just having a little fun at y'alls expense to get the thread back on track. But for me, yes, "cancel IFR" was usually an auto-fuck off. I used it every single time I was forced on to the Jacob Arrival in to the Phoenix Class B, as I passed FL180. You're not wrong since it is your opinion. However I completely disagree with you. Formation landings are well worth it. The part from 500' AGL to touchdown is a magnitude more difficult for pilots new to the T-38 and formation, and requires a lot more skill than they show on a formation approach to a restricted low approach. I recall when we passed through Laughlin years back in a four-ship, and while talking to students while grabbing lunch, we found out that "HUD-out patterns and landings" were dual-only maneuvers and a "Special Syllabus item". The look of "YGBSM" on everyone's face said it all. What else can we dumb down? Well... how about "formation landings" for 800, Alex? As unfortunate as the discussed mishap is, it is a single data point that I don't believe should erase the benefits and skills we've been teaching in the T-38 for 60 years. Just my opinion.

It warms the cockles of my heart to read that many of you know how to decline SIDS/STARS. I'm proud of your written and verbal communication skills with Air Traffic Control. Well done. In the future, how about just saying "I'll take a descent to below FL180 and Cancel IFR" ? Works every time and no one give two shits about what you filed. VFR really isn't scary. Try it some time. However, I didn’t start this thread to discuss that nonsense. I started this thread because I was very interested to continue the discussion about the value of wing landings after a very tragic incident. To Hawg15, MotoFalcon, YoungNDumb, Brabus, et al… I get your point. You don’t do wing landings in the CAF, and you see it as “increased risk with no benefit”. However, from a “risk management” view… and from a “training viewpoint”… I don’t support nor agree with you. You’re not wrong. I just don’t agree with your "risk threshold". A few thoughts: I just googled “T-38 Road to Wings”. It was the first time I’ve perused that in quite some time. I don’t see jack-shit about wing landing mishaps in there. And in all of my years of being around the T-38, I don’t recall any Class A mishaps on wing landings. Road to Wings seems to validate that. There sure are a lot of mishaps on low-levels, single-ship landings, etc… Do we still do those? Now we have the FIRST Class A fatal on a wing landing, and overnight it becomes a prohibited maneuver after 60 years? Does having a fatal outcome on a maneuver disqualify that maneuver as a good/important/valuable item to be accomplished by a military aviator in training? To my way of thinking, it is not whether formation landings are “practical”, though I believe they are. But it is also about learning a skillset of precision… control… discipline… precision… and some mastery… of something I would expect a top-notch military aviator to be able to show some competence in. Much of what is done in UPT is done to instill confidence and aggressiveness. “Aggressiveness”… is that bad word now? Should we stop flying wingwork with 3G’s and 90 degrees of bank? It appears that isn’t a “CAF maneuver”… but as mentioned elsewhere, the skillset is valuable. How interesting. “Training for a skillset”. What a concept. Yes, we need to mitigate risk. Got it. However, the nature of the beast is that we cannot eliminate it. Flying can be dangerous. And we will never stop having mishaps. I’ve done dozens… and probably hundreds… of formation landings in the T-38. I was PIT IP when we did formation touch & go’s. I was there when “leadership” got rid of formation T&G’s because they felt it was too risky. I recall pilots telling me how formation T&G’s were a dumb idea… and yet they had never briefed, flown, or debriefed one. Getting winged as an AF pilot should be challenging. And it should prepare you to fly not just within the “heart of the envelope”, but also toward the edges. And when those items are flown toward the edge, we put an IP in the jet to mitigate the risk. Those newly winged pilots will use those lessons and skills when they go off to their F-35 and B-21. If wing landings are honestly “too dangerous”, then knock it off. But are they really that dangerous? Pretty much, I’ve taken 600 words to say what Hacker said in 60. But I ask you: what else would you cut out of the UPT syllabus because “the CAF doesn’t do that?”. Reap what you sow.