KickChick21

Vikings has the big wheel. And I think Don't Tell Mama has been renamed Dreamgirls. And go to Jeff's Pirate Cove down by Talofofo...best burger you will ever eat.

Haha that's it! I KNEW I should have taken pictures while I was there...nice work! It's especially fun to point it out to whatever Japanese family/couple happens to get on the elevator while you're on the Chamorro Porn Express.

And be sure to check out the elevator porn at the PIC.

While checking out all the "Do Something Amazing" spoofs on youtube, I ran across this little video. Possibly one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

I might be interested...but I only have a static line cert right now, I haven't finished the freefall. Do you know if they'll have static line or tandem jump equipment available?

Something occurred to me as I was reading this thread. Maybe some of the misunderstanding and discord between flyers and non-flyers has something to do with reasons for being in the AF. For example, those who join the AF to fly have a pretty good idea of what they're going to be doing, and generally their goals center around flying and being involved in the mission directly. Others join for benefits the AF offers, or job security, or wanting to get training in a job while serving their country. Those are all good reasons for joining as well, but when your goals center around completing a degree cheaply, or traveling, or getting free training, or good health/insurance benefits, you might look at things differently. I'm not sure how to say what I'm trying to say. I guess I was just thinking about when I was in basic training. Out of 60 girls in my flight, I was the ONLY ONE who joined the military because I wanted to be in the military. Everyone else was in for education, travel, medical benefits, etc, and they seemed to forget they joined the military ("why do we have to stand at attention, why am I getting in trouble, why do we have to do PT"). Only one of them was a flyer (AWACS) and she had some sense of pride in what she was doing and seemed serious about being in the military, but nobody else seemed to care as much. There are certainly lots of people in non-flying jobs that care about their jobs and the mission, but they seem to be outnumbered by people who lose sight of the "big picture" and what's really important. Just a thought. A really long thought.

2 mph, 140' AGL, 1g We had a Class A here on Thursday...B-1 caught fire on rollout (brake line fire) and melted the tires and not sure what else, but it's not pretty.

Thanks for the quick reply, Doc! I don't believe it's being considered cosmetic (well that's what I've been told, anyways). The reason they're trying to push it through quickly is because I'm a controller and right now the headset doesn't stay on right, and it's caused some problems. The reason for the surgery shouldn't make a difference though, right?

I've already used the search function...does anyone know if otoplasty (ear pinback surgery) would affect passing the flight physical (pilot or nav)? I can't seem to find any information and the flight doc I talked to here wasn't sure.

We're not necessarily required to...the controllers are probably saying it out of habit or they're just lazy. From the ATC reg (FAAO 7110.65): 2-1-24. WHEELS DOWN CHECK USA/USAF/USN Remind aircraft to check wheels down on each approach unless the pilot has previously reported wheels down for that approach. NOTE- The intent is solely to remind the pilot to lower the wheels, not to place responsibility on the controller. a. Tower shall issue the wheels down check at an appropriate place in the pattern. PHRASEOLOGY- CHECK WHEELS DOWN. If it's affecting safety of flight (too much verbiage during critical phase of flight) I would definitely bring it up to a SOF or liaison who can discuss it with the tower sup or chief controller.

Ten miles does seem a bit ridiculous; however, we have to ensure departure separation (5 miles for fast behind slow, 3 miles for slow behind fast) in case the a/c on final goes missed approach. Controlled t/o time means just about nothing to me. It's not a priority over anything else...it's something we try to accommodate if we can. Calculated t/o time, on the other hand, is a fairly high priority over here, mostly because of the French controllers. Are your taxiways controlled? They're not here, therefore Ground has no control over tows, vehicles, etc. unless they go into the area close to the runway. I don't work PARs, RAPCON does...but I haven't seen a lot of civ a/c do them here. They have to request (and file, I believe) through BOPS to do an approach to the field, which is probably why we don't get many.

Chances are, the trainee's monitor is saying the same thing...unfortunately, we aren't supposed to overkey the trainee unless it's a flight safety issue. However, we can call them knuckleheads and cuss them for 15 minutes about how they just jacked up their whole sequence. Yes! Huge pet peeve of mine...tower controllers that play it so safe they delay everyone and make things harder on themselves. Final approach speeds for a/c are supposed to be tested on at least once a quarter, but clearly lots of controllers are brain-dumping after the tests. So are the differences between controllers at different AF bases pretty noticable?

Pilots: Has a trainee controller ever just absolutely scared the crap out of you? I've always wondered about this...the guys here seem pretty chill when a tower trainee is jacking up the pattern. Something else I've always wondered about as well: How familiar is everyone with comm-out procedures (light gun signals, visual signals, etc.)? Is it something you have memorized and train on, or is there a checklist in the a/c? What type of procedures do you have?

If you ever call me "sir" on the radio I will spin you until you're emergency fuel. :D

I wish I could help, but I've only worked traffic overseas, it's completely different from the states...and I've never worked clearance delivery as we don't have it at Lakenheath. I know that if there are changes to your route, they're required to say "cleared as filed, except" and then state the changes. Also, it's not the ground controller that's changing your clearance, it's the center controller or some controller along your route that has changed it and called to the tower and given them the changes to read to you. [ 23. May 2005, 10:53: Message edited by: KickChick21 ]

Wow...can open, worms EVERYWHERE! I can explain some of the ATC stuff: I agree...a/c in the same pattern on different freqs makes me uneasy. At Pope, does the tower controller simulcast on the frequencies so you can at least hear what they're saying to the a/c on VHF? If not, you might suggest it to the Airfield Ops Commander or SOF, if you have one. If you're getting that as a base assigned a/c, I don't know what to tell you...other than your controllers might be knuckleheads. If you get that as a transient, it's probably the standard-issue phraseology for taxiing a transient...it is at Lakenheath, although we omit it if the a/c has clearly already started engines. Don't know why they do that, unless you're only stating "I have the information", rather than "I have information Alpha". Maybe they're just bored cause they're working Cessnas. ;) Would you rather hear "standby" or silence? Most likely the controller is doing his/her best not to "push to think". We're required to. It's either that or every cloud layer and the exact vis value...personally I'd rather read "weather is better than 5000 and 5" Chuck...I'll pass the words along about the RT on rollout. Thanks guys, this is all good info to know...keep it comin!

From an ATC point of view: I HATE when someone uses "roger" or "copy" in place of "affirmative". "Roger" does not mean "yes". I repeat, "roger" does not mean "yes". That's one of the most annoying things I hear on the radio. That and excessive breathing on the frequency...what the @* are you guys doing in the cockpit?! :eek: "eeeaaaaaannnnndddd" isn't annoying to me; it's just funny. I hear it a lot from pilots of heavies and C-130s; I've NEVER heard it from a fighter. They always sound like they're on speed or doing an impression of Cornholio. Example: "Eagle 11, check wheels down, wind 230 @ 11, cleared low approach. "EAGLE11ROGERGEARDOWNCLEAREDLOWAPPROACH" As far as "wilco" goes, this is from the Pilot/Controller Glossary for the AIM and FAAO 7110.65-Air Traffic Control (non-military regs): "WILCO- I have received your message, understand it, and will comply with it." So is there anything controllers say that drive pilots nuts? [ 23. May 2005, 05:15: Message edited by: KickChick21 ]

Outstanding! I remember him, he used to be stationed at Lakenheath, he was a SOF. We referred to him as The Ken Doll. Did it originally air with only 7 episodes, or is that just what's on the DVD? [ 18. May 2005, 11:41: Message edited by: KickChick21 ]

"Secrets of Inchon" is a really interesting book. In 1950, General MacArthur decided to invade Inchon in an effort to surround the North Korean Army, who had basically cornered the South Koreans and Americans in the most southern part of Korea. A Navy Commander, Eugene Clark, was the man who led the intelligence-gathering mission for the invasion. He is the author of the book, and gives his account of his mission as well as the Inchon landing which was key to winning the Korean War. It's a pretty interesting and exciting first-hand account of that little-known mission. I highly recommend it!

I don't know how much this helps for UPT, but at my base the flight surgeon has a "contact lens program". In order to wear contact lenses in the tower (I was told it's the same program for pilots), you have to go through the flight doc and they put you on a program. This is my understanding of how the program works: You go to the flight doc and request to wear contacts while working/flying. They make an appointment for you at optometry, where you get a prescription made for contacts. They give you the prescription and you go get the contacts. If you have a light prescription, you can pretty much get any type of contact you want. If you have a heavier prescription, or astigmatism, etc, they limit you to certain types of contacts you can use. I was told the reason they do this is because the flight doc wants it in your record that you wear contacts while performing duties, as well as what type of contacts you wear. Hope that helps!

I'm an enlisted tower controller. The officers that work in Airfield Ops are rarely in the tower cab or IFR room (radar facility). They have ratings in the facilities, but this is mostly so they understand what is going on in the facilities and what air traffic issues are important. They do not work on crew, or count as manning...they are in the tower about 8 hours a MONTH to get proficiency time and that's about it. They do not spend most of their time controlling...as Texas Aggie said they are more involved with personnel issues, airfield management, and liaison between the operations flight and the rest of the squadron (namely the commander). However, the officers here have also told me that working in Airfield Ops is rewarding as well, and they are not upset that they don't work in the facilities controlling traffic. I guess it all depends on what would be more enjoyable to you, and what you would want to do in the civilian sector. I guess it really depends on how you want to spend the majority of your time! [ 10. April 2005, 16:22: Message edited by: KickChick21 ]