HuggyU2

Just travelled this week. I-5: too many HGV/18 wheelers. I'd like to know why I-5 is only two lanes each way. It's the only good north/south artery on the west coast. SFO airport: the TSA folks look like something out of a Wes Craven horror flick. It was a freak show (typical for anything in San Fran, though). How about grooming standards, thank you? As for the shoes: correct me if I'm wrong, but as of last year, it is now mandatory to remove them.

Just curious: how did you determine that?

It appears that particular clip is of a guy in the back of a two-seater grabbing the FOD, while the TBird pilot flies.

This only about 21 years old, and has probably been posted dozens of times, but ifyou haven't seen it, here you go: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzMzGXRUlaM Some guy edited a new version with the Hornet (circa 1995), and it's good too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUDPjsvjRkA

2.... except I call it a glove BOX.

We had a high-time U-2 pilot get the opportunity to go be a C-21 DO a few years back. He came back to the U-2, but said he loved his time in the C-21. That said a lot to me. Also, our C-21 guys that have come to the U-2 were able to apply fairly quickly, due to the fact they can build hours quickly. One pilot says he picked C-21's for that very reason, e.g. to get to the U-2. Most of our C-21 pilots have done very well in the U-2. All of them say the C-21 was a great tour, especially those that were based OCONUS.

Looks like a bunch of the argumentative posts (including mine) have been deleted (which is a good thing; sorry 'bout that Mods). One questioned what I had said (on an earlier post) that the Blues couldn't use G-suits because it makes control difficult. I didn't mention the ~40 lbs spring they use, that pulls the stick nose-down. The TBirds don't have a spring (due to the nature of the stick), but opt for full nose down trim. A friend of mine who was on the TBirds for 3 years said, if he had his choice, he'd want way MORE nose-down trim. I emailed a guy who was the Blues' solo 4 or 5 years ago, and asked him if I remember correctly what the guys on the Blues told me, or if I was smoking something. He wrote me back with this: "As you know, there is a spring connected to the stick to give us feedback on the stick position. Without that, there is a "void" near the center of the stick position where the stick can move 1/8 to 1/4 inch without triggering a flight control response. Bottom line it feels like "slop" if the spring is not connected. Not really noticeable unless you are flying 6 inches from a dude. What am I getting at? With 40 pounds of downward force, we have to rest our right forearm on our leg to act as a fulcrum. It is not humanly possible to hold 40 pounds the entire flight. So, with a g-suit under your arm and inflating and deflating throughout flight, there is no way you can stop that movement from transferring to the stick." That should settle the argument.

All these years, and I never knew it was so prevalent at all the airports,... and that it had so much to offer. Very cool.

Those videos are of Dean Wright, and he was on the team in '99-'00. Looks like the Chicago show they do every year. I haven't been, but I think they still fly between the buildings. The Block 52 decision was made by CSAF. I think it was more about getting the Block 32's back to units that needed them. T-Nerds? T-Clones? What's up guys? The name calling's a bit childish, don't you think?

Too funny! I was going to say the opposite. Oh well. The pilots are all just as skilled as the next. The Blues' solos fly very low on the sneak attack pass, and I like the way the Hornet looks in formation better. But each of the pilots is very skilled. Just like the pilots on this forum.

According to who??

Damn,... I thought all those guys were trying to get to the U-2.

Not according to some friends at SWA.

Are you sure it's a "dude"? "Dudettes" also fly jets nowadays.

No way. Too dumb,... which is why we don't have any. Our new one was built by a Lieutenant Colonel.

Terrific! The dad of my very good friend was the SQ/CC of the 95th back in the 70's, and I'll forward this on to him.

Excellent. Class act.

Every single pilot in the U-2 came from another airframe, but you probably knew that. Here's the backgrounds of the ~80 pilots we currently have in the U-2: C-130 (including Coast Guard), EC-130, AC-130, C-17, C-5, C-21, C-12, KC-135, RC-135, B-52, B-1, F-14, F-15, F-15E, F-16, F-18 (Navy and Marine), FB-111, A-7, AV-8B, A-10, S-3, EA-6B, F-117, UH-1, MH-53, SH-60, CH-46, AH-1, T-34, T-45, T-37, T-6, T-38, T-3, USAF TPS grads, about a dozen with airline experience. I'm 99.9% sure that Thunderbird 7 came out of the C-130 community. http://www.thunderbirds.acc.af.mil/07OfficerHTMS/7.htm

Yes,... FAIP's are just so frustrated. You know, come to think of it, they've been that way for over 20 years, and they STILL haven't gotten over it. You see, it has nothing to do with the person: they were pre-destined to become FAIP's, which accounts for the fact that all the "cool" pilots, and the pilots that are not the type to become "frustrated", are generally not FAIP'd. AFPC gets a psychological makeup of all the students in a UPT class, and consults with the Flying Training Wings to ensure this happens. I hear that the FAIP "mofia" (sic) actually gets together on Tuesday nights to plot their ball-busting strategy. Yeah, I know what you mean. EVERY fighter pilot out there is an absolute, egotistical tool. Can't stand them. But, I've got a couple of friends that are fighter pilots, and, of course, they're ok guys.

Side note on Toro's link: that pic was taken in March of '96 at Randolph. I was standing there, next to the photographer. I was one of the co-organizers for the annual POW Dining-In, and we wanted to get all four together. Apparently, it had not been done since "The Push". We got 3 of them to commit to it, but Steve Houghton was no where to be found. Word got to him a few days prior (I think he was overseas on missionary work), and he said "I'll do whatever it takes". Bottom line, he got there with only a few hours to spare and history was made. Rory "Ox" Blackburn was the driving force behind making this happen, and he's a great American. If you're familiar with the "Pilot for a Day" program that many flying wings do now, Rory is the one that started it at Randolph around '94. I think he's at Delta Airlines now. Can't miss the guy. He's about 6'6" and was a Nebraska lineman, I think. Most of his size is due to his heart of gold.

Well, not a long "ouch", anyways.

Not an ALFA tour, I'm almost positive. It really changes your entire career track, once you graduate.

"I don't know, but I've heard" of some pilots actually making up a call sign for use on a cross country. Yes, I know it's shocking. Additionally, I heard that it worked fine (everytime).

In my wing, leadership gets their own callsign. The rest are assigned based on the type of mission. By hearing the number, you know a little about what they are doing.

A few years back, we decided we needed 2 more callsigns. We found out that there was "a process" to get them. We had to submit a request to the FAA, and their "random generator" gave us two callsigns. Our requests were ignored. Many callsigns have been around for decades. I don't know how they did it then, but I imagine it was more "history" and "cool stuff" oriented. As for new callsigns, my guess is that some units just ignore "the process", and pick their own. Just start using them, and fait accompli.