HuggyU2

Based on my limited experience in the C-model, I'd say "fortunately". I find it to be a poor execution on the glass cockpit concept. But, I'm probably in the minority.

Update: Due to pm's, emails, and phone calls I've received, it seems the word has not gotten out that the U-2 is good until 2015. I have heard (not confirmed) that it is in the 2016 FYDP. As we've seen since 2005, expect these dates to move to the right.

Ha! He'd have appreciated it had he known. Not a big deal at night. I don't know how much longer it stretched the sortie out.

I remember it. One of the U-2 pilots, Greg Dotter (who is a contract IFS pilot at Pueblo now), was driving the chase car. We had just got a new style radio. The old style were like what you'd find in a T-38A: a wafer switch to immediately go to Guard. He sees #3 of the three ship roll out on final... and no gear. Being that we operate on a U-2 discrete freq, he tries to rechannelize the radio to Guard... which is not a quick step... to send the guy around. No luck. Before he can get it switched over, the Hog bellies in. Had we had the "old style" radio, this would not have occured. What happened to the pilot?

Using two invisible, $50K/hr training aids when you need to train up two more pilots aircraft starts to add up. And lets not forget that these aircraft have an airframe life: each hour you use up zorching around Tyndall is an hour you will not have in 2017 when an adversary needs to be challenged. We need to accept that we have 184 aircraft, and that's all we get. Use the hours carefully and smartly. Folks, the USAF is broke. The next 3 years are going to be lean.

Absolutely brilliant.

Correct, but I believe they have less than 10 ACC aircraft.

Are they getting A-models from Korea or Taiwan?

It was a blast! Thanks for posting this... I hadn't seen it. We spent about 25 minutes in formation with Bruce and Jim, and just holding position while level was fairly physical. I found myself tense on the controls, which after all the hours of formation I've flown, was kind of humorous. Overall, it was very different and a magnitude more difficult than flying formation in a T-38. They also shot some video, which I have. BTW, the pilot in the backseat is Kuma, another regular on this site.

Plus, they have the brand new Lakotas flying. Sweet aircraft.

How many pilots interviewed? How many slots? What do you currently fly?

HeloDude, If selected, you'd go to Pax, right?

There is a former U-2 pilot somewhere out there who is an O-3 approaching 20 years. Whatever caused his problem which resulted in not making O-4 occured before he came to the U-2.

It is.

UAL

Good point. During my brief stint in the major airlines, I did ~150 days to places like Allentown, Omaha, La Guardia, Greensboro... Better than the desert... but, whether it's good or bad, you are still gone from home.

Contacts work very well for me. I haven't worn glasses in the cockpit in almost 20 years. A few years ago, I switched to disposable lenses. Definitely the way to go for eye-health, cost, convenience.

For you old timers here: how far back do you remember Mustache March? Although the article says it goes back to the 70's, I don't recall seeing it in the 80's or early 90's. Maybe just bad memory on my part. Was it pretty much a TAC-only thing until '92?

That may be true... but I certainly hope that we never baseline OUR standards on anything done by NATO.

A different version: https://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=19ptOv1mGm8&vq=small#t=34

Well, I just got the 2nd phone call 2 hours ago. Bob Finer was also on the aircraft. A former Marine attack pilot, Bob was a West Coast Airshow Performer. I just saw him at Chico 6 weeks ago. https://www.finer-flying.com/pilot.html Really a nice guy, he was.

I know one... got the call a few hours ago. Retired F-16 guy, who I see each year at the Reno Air Races. We were talking about this -337 job he was in just 2 months ago at the Races. Tailwinds, Brother.

Just saw this: https://www.8newsnow.com/story/13516891/alaska-military-base-says-f-22-fighter-overdue

Anyone?

We have some in the U-2: AC-130 & MH-53 backgrounds. Had a few MC-130 pilots released a few years back, but didn't end up coming out. B-2 pilots: are they having problems getting B-2 volunteers?