HuggyU2

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. https://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.

Sure enough: Lt Col Driscoll was at Reno. Real great guy. Always upbeat. Oddly enough, just after this photo was taken, I went back to the Box I was hanging out in, and a gal is there with a shirt that says "baseops.net" on the front, and "UAV's Suck" on the back. It had picture of the Pred on it, but I'm hoping to see one made with an RQ-4.

Is getting medically retired an option?

First: IMPAC vs. MPACT. Noted. Secondly: ? Thirdly: we don't usually use military fields, so grabbing what we need from base ops is not usually an option. When we DO hit a military field, many only carry sectionals for their region of the country. Doesn't do me much good if I needed that sectional for my arrival to said base. Even fewer carry the Terminal Charts. Bottom line: I order them before I start the trip. "Planning" vs. "chance".

We order our squadron's Terminal Area Charts along with the Sectional Charts that we use. I didn't see these kind of charts on the NGA website, and I don't know the process for how we order them. Sorry. We require our jets to fly with the San Fran and Klamath sectionals. There's more info on those than in all the other charts combined, I think. Additionally: if we're going cross country and need Sectionals or Term Area Charts short notice, we use the squadron's MPACT card, and order them from Fallon Airmotive in Nevada. You can google their phone number. They ship out right away, and we get them within a couple of days. Saves the squadron money since we don't order a bunch of stuff that we don't use, and that gets thrown out at the expiration date.

Very few people will do this, but if you don't like the direction they are going, consider mailing a short note to SWA's leadership, and their head of marketing. Let them know what you think.

Are you looking for a date, sailor??

https://www.southwest.com/gaytravel/ Another unfortunate trend at SWA.

Loading bombs?? Relative safety???!!! There's a lot of problems I could have in an airplane that I'd be more than happy to deal with: just don't make me handle bombs. I'm raising a toast to your dad. Anyone that handles high explosives day in and day out is certainly earning their pay! Cheers.

Don't be too harsh on Altus. I spent 4 years in Del Rio,... and loved it. Absolutely a great time. It's what you make of it.

Ironic to see Jerry Driscoll's name there. A great American, indeed. When I was in the 560th at Randolph, we'd host the POW/MIA Dining-In each year, and Lt Col Driscoll was always there. You could tell he was "a leader". I saw him last year at the Reno Air Races. Ironic, since I'm heading there tomorrow morning, and my box seat is about 30 feel from his (of course, he's in the River Rats' box). I hope he's there again. I'll print this thread off and bring it to him.

I live in the Rocklin/Roseville area. It's a 40-45 minute commute. I drive north on Hwy 65 in the morning; south in the evening. Traffic isn't a problem. However, traffic going the opposite way is heinuos. If you move here, I recommend Rocklin for schools, Grass Valley/Nevada City if you must live in the mountains. Not much in Wheatland, but land values are going up; and it's only 10 minutes to the flightline from Wheatland. I wouldn't live in Wheatland if your kids are in high school. You can actually live as far out as Loomis and Auburn: there are some back roads that can keep your commute to under an hour. Very little TDY. I hear it is a 3 year assignment. Short days: seems to me those guys don't work much. I don't know for sure --- just my impression based on watching them run for their cars at 1530. Why are you considering the RQ-4?

I was airborne on a flight from Kansas City to O'Hare, as a UAL 727 flight engineer. We never got the word while airborne to secure the cockpit. When we got to O'Hare, we landed, and realized something was up: nothing was moving on the ground. Weird. We were sent to a piece of tarmac and told to park. Over the next hour or so, we got SA on the situation from various sources. At first, I thought it was a massive power failure. Then, a cryptic message came down through the ACARS (onboard data link) that made me think a nuke went off. I remember when the second tower came down, that a pax told me her brother worked in that tower. When we finally got inside, I stayed in ops a while. When I ventured out, I was one of the only people in the entire airport. You just can't imagine walking through O'Hare and not seeing anyone, except a few security folks. I spent 4 or 5 days there, and finally got onto the first airplane that went from O'Hare to San Antonio (my home at the time).

Frank Borman had one about 3 years ago in Las Cruces, NM. I don't know if he still has it. I don't think the CAF has one anymore, though.

Yes, don't lock it. Personally, I'm done reading it, but it seems like great entertainment for a bunch of folks. Let 'em play!

You'd better think your situation over very hard, then. Expect a year to Korea, Iraq, or Afghanistan fairly early in your career,... as well as numerous TDY's. Your glass should be "half full", not "half empty".