HuggyU2

Uh... no.

After that email went out, I spent a few minutes "researching" the 3 regs/AFI's that the MSgt from Base Ops referenced in stating his point about FOD checks. As it turns out, each of the 3 were taken out of context, and there was NO requirement. He did a less-than-poor job of his responsibilities. Had I done a similarly poor job of researching a tasker that I'd been given, I would have been (deservedly) chastised and/or removed from my position of responsibility. I broke down the arguments that he stated, and sent them to leadership: sure, if they want the engine shutoff, that is their perogative, and we need to salute smartly and do it. However, nowhere in the regs is it required, or even implied. But Fudge is correct: that email chain was pretty funny. Since the major involved is a good friend, I watched the whole thing transpire from 12 time zones away, and it was like watching a car crash in slow motion... he just didn't realize who was on the "Reply to All". "Reply to All" got me in a lot of trouble at Randolph when I managed to reach out to the AETC/CC and Command Chief. That faux pas almost left a mark.

With the throttle parked in the NW quadrant (like it is on takeoff),... and the air conditioner set fairly cold... and the humidity is right,... you will get air conditioner induced "fog in the cockpit" (which is a boldface item... yes, it can get dense enough that you cannot see anything). There are two floor vents ("chimney vents") that face upward,... and that's why you saw the fog coming up. In that particular scene, that was the rear cockpit with the photographer. (edit: looks like HiFlyer just posted about 2 minutes before me,... while i was typing, hence the redundant answer). NEFlyer: thanks for posting that video. I'd never seen it before. That photo shoot took place about 2.5 years ago, and we never saw the results. The still shots are the ones that made it into AF Magazine a few months ago. The photographer has a website: www.horizontalrain.com and has done some unique work. For any of y'all that have seen the Mountain Home jets flying with an Indian Sukhoi, or the B-2 shot (from a T-38) over Whiteman, it's the same guy, Sagar Pathak. The charts are seldom used, actually. But, they usually fold up easily. However, there's always those times when they won't fold, and you hit the "get this damn thing away from me!" point, and it gets stuffed. Oh well... there's plenty more in the flight planning closet. Personally, I'll jam it on to the dash when I'm flying into a rising/setting sun, and can't see anything anyways. The AF Magazine shoot had a nice still photo of the scene where the U-2 and T-38 shadows are in formation in the grass, on the low approach. That was done at ~200 KIAS: pretty fast for a U-2,... and the T-38 had the flaps down. My very first time flying solo high, I was over Southern Cal, and trying to figure out how to heat and eat my tube food... so needless to say, I'm not looking outside much. Suddenly, my peripheral vision is aware of some movement. I look outside and, going the opposite direction and fairly close, is a Palmdale-based U-2. Just when you think you you are all alone...

Good question... do you know the answer? Yes.

No shit! However, this will probably be treated like a bad WX day on a Friday: it's obvious that no one will turn a wheel the entire day, but rather than utilize the time to get everyone together and get necessary training done, and then push to the bar early, we drag the schedule out to the bitter end,... and still not fly anything. And of course, no one gets home until 1800 either. In this case, all these Raptor pilots could already be doing something beneficial somewhere,... but no, we need them ready to go "just in case the WX breaks in the next 10 minutes".

I didn't know you flew light gray Eagles.

If you need supplemental, look at Army Air Force Mutual Aid Association. They have the best rates I've seen. And no "aviation" nor "war" clause. If you're going to bet against yourself, you might as well pay as little as you can...

Ha! You knew this was coming. And it will probably expand next year, when the 2010 recalls come up for the voluntary 1-year extension.

I know the square root of crap about the Guard/Reserve. And I've got a lot of friends that got there, even though I didn't... I tried though. That said, my dealings with guys that work 2 "pay periods", have their commercial travel paid for,... and that brag to me about making bank and owning 2 houses (C-17 guys) because they are able to work the system WRT rules and AFI's that I don't need to know (since I'm not a G/R guy),... well, I'm not sure the taxpayers are getting all they should. And yes, I know we are keeping some very experienced and quality people in. Got it. But the impression,... right or wrong,... is reality.

You really need to hang out with a higher quality social network. But, if you are enjoying it, more power to you.

Word.

Actually, I should fix this to say "member of the human race"

Hacker,... you are funny guy. I kill you later.

Do I know him? No. Do I have first-hand experience dealing with him? Yes. ... ... ... As an active duty officer, I figured it was more appropriate to delete my original comments.

2. It is beyond me how he continues to ruin the legacy that he could have had. He just won't shut up. It's too bad that Hoover or Bud Anderson wasn't the first to go supersonic. These two epitomize what a gentleman with a great aviation legacy should be.

Not true. While some of the high rollers in EAA (like the Poberezny's) drive VW's during AirVenture, the EAA President does not. There are additional VW's around the airfield, and the one in the video is the Flight Line Operations vehicle.

Yes, you are probably not going to be an airline pilot. Oh darn. I know a number of navs that got employed based on their security clearance, and are doing quite well. There is good work out there for quality officers.

Sounds good. I'll quit now and take a 35% pay cut, 'cause I'm so racked with anger about the 36-2903 changes. I'll explain to my family that I'm not a pussy. Let us know how this works out.

Two people in my squadron did it last year. I'm one of them. We both left the AF on 31 Oct, and came back on active duty 1 Nov.

A "morale shirt"? I've never heard it called a "morale shirt".

First time since '02 that I'm missing it. Have a great time.

A better question would be "have they done this in a situation where this was the only option for employing air assets?" We've all seen too many instances where a Service or their asset was called in, mainly because they wanted a cut of the action.

It's an internet forum... try using a name rather than a vague "someone". A lot of others could use the SA. Maybe so. But any truth to the rumor that many ANG fighter units have lost their bar?

Touche, monsieur. One did, and I very certain the other 3 did. FWIW, the one captain lost his eye, and spent a minimum of 6 months learning to work with monocular vision. After that period, he went through sim training, and then was certified by an FAA-designated examiner. It's been determined that binocular vision is not critical from the cockpit of airliners. IIRC, the field of regard, distances, etc.... are such that the difference is in the noise level. This was a long time ago, so things may have changed. But generally, those changes involve getting less restrictive.

During my very brief stint at United Airlines, we had 4 pilots with 1 eye.