Nice tribute by The Blues. 
 

https://www.instagram.com/share/_9-DtxI4t

2 hours ago, brabus said:

Screw all the judges who just throw them back into the world with zero fucks given.

Yeah, well, people vote for those lenient Superior Court Judges.  And they vote for in support of the Appellate Judges nominated by the governor.  

It's the "will of the people"... at least it is here in the DPRK.  

Looking forward to seeing what the experts discover. 

NOT looking forward to what the YouTube aircraft ambulance chasers will speculate on, to get their ratings up. 

For those didn't know Rob, he was "the Tom Brady" of the aerobatic world (for lack of a better comparison).  And a very, very pleasant and humble person.  A dedicated professional who wanted to always be the best.  And he was.  

Him him...

On 3/29/2025 at 1:20 PM, arg said:

Installed a new dishwasher last night. 

YOU installed it yourself??

So you're not an airline pilot.

If you were, you'd have hired a guy to do it... picked up a 2-day trip during the installation.. and returned to a professionally installed dishwasher... and with enough money leftover to cover next month's loan payment on your Porsche. 

Wait... is this an elusive "Hacker spotting"?!?!

Kind of like seeing Bigfoot or the Loch Ness monster!

Or did Chang hack Hacker's account??

110 years of military aviation tradition.
 

Started out by chasing rogue Mexicans who invaded the US via the southern border and killed Americans. 

 

If Congress doesn't fix the U-2 divestment really soon, this will likely be the last Beale Airshow with a U-2 flying.  

Lineup is coming along well, to include TBirds, F-18 TACDEMO, USMC Osprey Demo, C-17/KC-135 Demo, Aarron Deliu, T-33 Demo, Vicky Benzing

If interested in bringing a static to the party, drop me a note.  It should be a large time.  

The music always stops for a while.  

Like the Boy Scouts say:  Be Prepared.  

Also, take note of the A-37 in the video link picture 2 posts above (tail 10779):

They modified their jet with new Martin Baker seats.  That jet is one of 3 in Australia/New Zealand and part of the group of 10 that were recovered from Vietnam.  With ours in the US, that makes four of those 10 now airworthy in private hands with another 1 or 2 that will be flying in the coming months, hopefully.  

On that note, our A-37... the only one flying in North America... will be at the March ARB Airshow on 12-13 April.  Although I'm one of the two pilots, I don't fly it in airshow aerobatics, but the guy that does is absolutely top shelf.  And the jet has the best smoke system of any jet out there.  

It is currently spending the winter in the Warhawk Museum at Nampa, ID.  It has a unique history in that it was captured by the communists, who then flew the jet in combat against the South Vietnamese.  Yes, it flew on both sides.  It's one of 10 A-37's that were bought from the commies by an Aussie, and finally purchased by the current owner who spent 20 years restoring it himself.  He has photos of his jet with both the North and the South, and it looks exactly the way it did in 1972.  

If you make it to the March Airshow, swing by and introduce yourself.  I'll be wearing the bright orange flight suit with the HUGGY name tag.  I look like a traffic cone, only bigger.  Hard to miss. 

And yes, those fuel drop tanks actually work.  The jet is thirsty and you need them to go anywhere.  But that thirst translates to a lot of power.  It puts out in MIL what a T-38A puts out in MAX.  

Thanks, Biff.  

After seeing your post, I can't recall if I posted this.  Not only fuckin' hilarious, but the guy has his facts pretty tight.  

 

 

15 hours ago, BigE said:

That might be a first to be CJCS. 

Second.  

https://www.jcs.mil/About/The-Joint-Staff/Chairman/General-Maxwell-Davenport-Taylor/

3 hours ago, Day Man said:

honest question with no disrespect intended: are you the oldest dude to fly the U-2?

No offense taken!  

I am 61. 

There are currently 2 guys flying that are 64:  One sits next to me and has about 3,500 hours and 1,000 - 1,100 sorties in The Deuce. 
The other flies the ER-2 for NASA out of Edwards, is a TPS grad and has a boatload of hours too. 

I believe that many moons ago, NASA allowed pilots older than 65 to fly and a few did. 
 

As an AF civilian pilot, I don't do anything "operational". But if you want to learn how to land her, do EP patterns, or fly in a spacesuit, then I'm your Huckleberry. 

On 2/9/2025 at 12:22 PM, brabus said:

We can’t be too hard on Huggy, he did do UPT in a Stearman and has spent a lot of time at altitudes with very little oxygen.

https://www.instagram.com/share/BABMhUaZY6
 

Back when the "no colored t-shirts" rule was first initiated (was that 2023?), some of the senior U-2 pilots broke out their old scarves.  It caught on for about a year and both squadrons ordered a bunch for everyone.  People still wear the scarves somewhat, though not like it was at the peak.  

 

I think that's my third post recently where my sarcasm didn't come though. 

14 hours ago, WheelsOff said:

 

Don’t know what Kwast is doing in his retirement...

https://www.spacebilt.com/

I enjoyed my 30 months in the 737. 
 

I'm the rare person that likes it better than the 757. 

20 hours ago, snoopyeast said:

I just had flashbacks to The Rat flipping his lid over untucked zipper pull tabs at the Deid.

It takes that sort of attention to detail to ensure Boeing's commercial sales are humming right along. 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-rhatigan-1814b622

I was at an event recently with Canadian military personnel, and they appeared to have eliminated "traditional grooming standards".  I asked a Canadian I was with and he said they had pretty much done away with traditional grooming standards in an effort to get more recruits.  Don't know if he was 100% accurate, but the face piercings, partially shaven heads, and colored hair seemed to indicate he was.  Don't get me wrong:  everyone I saw looked well put together... it's just a departure from what most of us have seen.  Much like beards in the AF:  the vast majority I've seen are very well kept.  I mean, spectacularly GQ-nice.  

So how does DoD go forward?  Do we adapt a standard that is more in line with perceived societal grooming norms, and is more "big picture", and less about gig lines?