HuggyU2

For those of us that have no experience with OBOGS, can some of y'all chime in on what you don't like about it?

C'mon Rainman,... that stuff never happens,... and never will again. RH: don't you have a good hurricane story?? "If you're too drunk to drive,... don't do a wing takeoff...."

I'll take your word for it, but I find that pretty hard to believe. TCN's work the chow hall, and know how many meals they serve. The pool being open or not doesn't seem SIPR-relevant. Other "QOL issues" generally aren't of a Secret nature. If you're concerned, then don't post it. But if you've got any info that's relevant and unclass, please do.

Valid,... with maybe the exception of getting an initial CFI "the old way".

But of course! It's the same "government" that is bringing you such well thought out programs such as the RIF, VSP, foreign aid to Pakistan, and death taxes. Are you surprised by this? Don't sweat it. You will have plenty of "quality time" by the time you end your 10 year commitment. I know plenty of pilots that flew only the Viper that got flying jobs at major airlines.

OK, your terminology is off, and that creates confusion. To clarify: - you are going to get the CFII and MEI Instructor Certificate, based on your military background. Got it. - is is unclear on what Pilot license you have. -- you have an AMEL Commercial Pilot certificate, true? -- Do you have an ASEL Commercial Pilot certificate? --- If not, what ASEL pilot certificate do you have? --- If it's not "Commercial Pilot", you must get that first. --- If you do, the number of flights you need to get your CFI Certificate will vary. It depends on a lot. Overall, it should not take you a lot of hours of flying/ground instruction if you are a good pilot. Once you have your Commercial Pilot ASEL certificate, you will have the option of using the DE. Why would you want to use a FSDO examiner?

Brilliant... There are a lot of us that are looking at 179+'s to numerous places. It's nice to know some of the truths vs. rumors in the off-shot that someone has a choice. It's been a topic of discussion more than once... would just like to get some facts.

For those of y'all at Balad,... there's a lot of rumors floating around. I figured I'd get it right from the horse's mouth. - Still on track to shutdown at end of year, as per press reports? Or just parts of it? - Chow hall: down to 2 hots per day? Going to 1 hot per day + MRE's? - Pool: shutting down soon or already? - What else is happening WRT supposed drawdown, that my cause a decrease in QOL?

First, you cannot just have your Form 8. You need to bring the FAA's 8710, your Aero Orders, flying time printout, medical cert, photo id, etc... Second, while there may be some guidance provided to the inspectors, you should check CFR Part 61. http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=40760189a03dfea0b501608f33820a45&rgn=div5&view=text&node=14:2.0.1.1.2&idno=14#14:2.0.1.1.2.1.1.3 If you are going to to to the FSDO and ask for something, make sure you know more about it than they do. I've not gone for a type rating in a crew aircraft, but I know many that have, and none have received an SIC restriction. OBTW,... you have to make an appointment. No walk in's.

Hilton: $15 vouchers for hotel where the meals tend to be expensive is of limited value. Basically, it will pay for your breakfast buffet,... which isn't a bad thing. And unless it has changed (or you worked a good deal), the concierge lounge is an extra $10 per day. The private condo ( www.atlflyinn.com ) is really the best deal going. You get about $30 in food vouchers,... and you can use them ANYWHERE. Washer and dryer in the house, full kitchen, free wireless, free indoor parking (no walking in the rain). ... and you can walk to Manchester Arms. Boldface: my understanding is that you need to be able to do it procedurally, but memorizing it "verbatim" is not required. True? Academic test: it went closed book about 2 months ago, and I've heard of people busting it. Has it changed again?

Shack.

JS, Thanks for the clarification. Since you responded to Spoo, I thought you were directing your views toward the U-2. As for other communities like airlines, corporate, Air America, NASA, FAA, etc... I've found that although you only might see 1-3 folks directly during the interview phase, you can bet a bunch of folks are involved, to include folks that either know you, or know someone you work with. Nineline: I'll pm you on the differences.

Do you really think that we are that stupid and incompetent when it comes to selecting applicants for an interview? Do you really think we don't understand how different communities do checkrides? Name me an aircraft type that you can't find a pilot that flew it (exceptions: AFSOC, because of their varied aircraft; B-2, although our 1st B-2 guy shows up for training very soon). If I get a Navy S-3 pilot's application, we have guys that than look it over and "translate" it. I ran Recruiting & Acceptance for ~5 years. We do a pretty good job of keeping the big, accurate picture when looking for a pilot that will do well in the U-2. BTW: our application process,... and especially our interview process,... look NOTHING like what they do in the B-2 or Thunderbirds.

If you apply to the U-2, they will go through every Form 8 in detail, to include your testing scores.

Sorry. PM on the way.

Cool looking,... but the Cri-cri is probably smaller, and does aerobatics... plus you can log multi-engine time. A little bigger, more expensive, but very cool also,... check out the Icon A5. http://www.iconaircraft.com/video-icon-on-cnn-edge-of-discovery.html Kirk Hawkins flew F-16's in the AF, and decided he could do more. You should have been to their corporate party at Oshkosh last year. I'd say he's done a lot better than going to the airlines...

Sputnik: the answer is "it has not been decided/announced yet". An implementation policy will come out to determine, among other things, a "cutoff" date. However, I'd say it is safe to assume if you are done with a short tour, your credit will stay.

Just to clarify: don't group "100K/year starting salary jobs" and "airline pilot" in the same thought process. A friend of mine tried that. It didn't work out.

I think the previous 6+ pages might have mentioned this.

http://www.388fw.acc.af.mil/library/biographies/bio.asp?id=14408

He did not retire.

No, C-21 pilot.

Quick answers: - yes, done in chalk. They used to put hair spray over it to make it last. Don't know if they still do that. - no, you don't go to PIT to check out. We do it "in house" via an ACC syllabus. - I have never seen anyone moved to another airframe involuntarily. Why would we send you to JSTARS when we need you here? Moosepilot mentions "follow ons". There are none outside of the U-2 path (to include school and U-2 staff). - the U-2 guys that left The Program did so after 4+ years here. It is somewhat OG dependant, I'd guess. If you're the right rank and personality, the OG might decide "it is better for your career" to go to a U-2 staff job at Langley, Pentagon, Germany, Hawai'i, etc... - in the last 11 years, I've seen 5 guys go to F-117 , 1 go to T-6's at PCola, another to T-6 PIT, 1 to the 89th... and there's more.

And there is no requirement to have ever flown the T-38. I had someone tell me last week they didn't apply because they thought they had to have flown it.

Some MC-12 guys I know asked me to pass this on for them. If you are going to the MC-12, your lodging options in Atlanta for your ~18 course at Flight Safety are varied. Lodging rate is $132. Many choose the Atlanta Hilton on Virginia Ave. It's walking distance to FSI or 4-5 minutes driving. If you call FSI, the concierge (Bridgette) can book your room, or you can get their Corporate Code and do it yourself. With that code, it's $105/night, including free internet, parking, and a $15 coupon for food (no booze) in the hotel. Hilton HHonors points. Not the best Hilton out there, but ok. A gazillion other hotels are in the same area. Marriott and Renaissance good choices if you collect Marriott points. But you might pay for internet, parking,... and probably no food voucher unless you can convince the manager to cut you a good deal. Probably the best deal is a townhouse that a guy owns as a rental property. Military pilots pay $132 night, and he gives you a $30/day food credit for anywhere you want: restaurant, grocery store, whatever. You do not have to find a 2nd person, but finding another pilot in your class to live there too would be ideal. Owner is a Delta ground instructor, and former Marine pilot. Great guy. Two master bedrooms, each with private bath. Full kitchen. Free internet. Garage parking. 5-6 minutes to FSI. 3 minutes to the interstate. About 2 minutes to Manchester Arms (popular watering hole). The place is less than a year old, and was built to a high noise standards, due to proximity to airport. You can't hear a thing. http://www.atlflyinn.com/