busdriver

Actually, from what I've heard the CV-22 was a heavy hitter early in the PRV program, until they realized it was completely unaffordable. Do we need something bigger than a 60? Yes. Do we need something as big as a 47? No. Would the 47 have worked? Yes. Was it perfect? No.

Short and sweet of the above: Rescue better not be holding its breath. Like I said earlier in this thread, we (both helos and hercs) need to be back in AFSOC/SOCOM, AND fully embrace the SOF mission to ensure continued survival. Well that would at least ensure the Kings' survival.

What we get from new birds is really a matter of money, as HiFlyer stated. In the end we'll still have a space & range limitation (although probably better than current) but could fix issues like usable aircraft load, power margin and maintainability.

You are correct, this year's budget allocates funding for I think 5 aircraft that will be used for testing and development. Like I said, a near duplicate of the MH-60M, they need to determine what needs to change for the CSAR mission and how those changes will affect the airframe & avionics. That's assuming the funding in this year's budget goes that route instead of straight up combat loss replacement, which would mean a single guard unit gets new toys.

My guess is that if this goes forward the aircraft will be a near duplicate of the MH-60M, what it'll be called is anyone's guess.

Why is loyalty to your MDS required? To that community sure, but the actual airframe means almost nothing. In other words, is it about the mission or the aircraft?

Blaming one man for a long standing foreign policy paradigm is a bit short sighted. Also the idea that "Charlie Wilson supported the Taliban" is incredibly simplistic, and even the freaking movie covered that angle.

Sign on the door as you left the 41st RQS (at least two years ago)read: "Don't Forget to Grab Your CAC"

The AF.mil story The above link focuses on the crew from Moffett as the article was written by their PA office. I was the Aircraft Commander on chalk 2. Another one of those didn't have time to think about it then, but after the fact it's kinda creepy. After lead got shot up, I ended up landing to pick up some of the folks on the ground at their emergency landing site, another 30 seconds and it probably would have been a crash landing site. At the time it almost didn't seem real, watching rounds hitting the dirt just outside the rotor disc and just waiting for the PJs to load everyone up. How we didn't take a single round is absolutely beyond me.

Although this could be a boon for those small little private space flight companies out west.

Life is bullshit, get used to it. While being a pilot is fun, it's also a job meaning you'll have a boss who you won't always agree with. Most of us young guys bitch and we're all a bit cynical. Why? Because we care about the mission. No matter what you do with your life, you'll always have aspects that piss you off and they're probably things you have no control over. Best advice? Worry about shit you can control, the rest will take care of itself.

It was a joke chief, albeit a bad one. Realize that as close as 6 years ago helos had a very bad rap in pilot training. So much so that if you put them first, you might get an appointment with the flight commander to "discuss" your choice. Those of us that chose that route despite "career suicide" advice have a bit of warped sense of humor about it. Now imagine a student at ENJJPT requesting helos under those circumstances... That said, I don't think it's even an option to modern ENJJPT guys anyways, so whatever. EDIT: I stand corrected

Well I would say their problem has nothing to do with being a SNAP, instead they are an annoying pain in the ass. Maybe I just don't have the exposure to the types you're referring to, or maybe getting shot at and having near death experiences together tends to mellow both of our outlooks. In the end a bro is bro, whether he drinks or not has no bearing.

I had/have a Lumix P&S, takes very good pictures for the size too bad I lost the charger.

I forgot about BAH, my bad. Damn overseas assignment messed up my view.

How is a Major making over 110k a year? I just tried running the numbers and came up with around 90k (guy at the 12yr point) just like the airline numbers you quoted. Doesn't take anything away from your point however. My only question is will I try for a Guard/Reserve job once my commitment is up.

I think you'll find two types of people in life: the bitter contrarian who'd be unhappy no matter what he ended up flying and everyone else who thinks their airframe/community is the best thing since sliced bread. But to actually contribute, I'm of the latter persuasion.

I now have a disease! Bought a 10-22 wide angle lense.

Ok, first day of shooting actual aircraft today. Advantage of digital: I took 240 photos in just over an hour, that kind of pace would have cost me an arm and a leg back in my 35mm days. I ended up with a couple decent photos, even though the first half or so were just playing with camera functions. I tried getting the exposure long enough to blur the rotor into a "disc" but only succeeded in over exposing the crap out of the image, and the time was so long it would probably only work on a stationary "target."

Scooby, don't loose heart. There is a strong need in the support field for folks like yourself and Finance_Guy. When a support agency falls back on their regs, in full CYA mode at the expense of mission effectiveness, we need strong leadership who can step in and raise the BS flag. However I would caution you in fighting the "warrior BS" too hard. While a loggie calling himself a warrior is a bit retarded, the young enlisted guys probably don't have the broader perspective and need to feel that their efforts are both worthy and appreciated. Your challenge is to keep them properly focused and motivated. If it sounds like I'm talking down to you, I apologize, I don't' mean to, but I've seen some of our young PJs scoff at our maintainers embracing the rescue motto, but the fact is connecting their efforts to the end result builds morale. Just showing those guys some pictures after a mission and telling them our story makes a huge difference in their job satisfaction. Not the perfect analogy, but hopefully my point is coming across OK.

contrail, I like the perspective on that last photo. To add to my new toy: I'm now the proud owner of a 55-250mm telephoto lens to go with my new camera. Now I just need to actually get back to the flight line and put my new toys to use!

Yep, older and wiser now, I've stopped giving a crap.

Zombie thread alert! I just bought a new Canon DSLR (T1i), Steve mentioned using software to clean up the fotos in "post-production." My camera came with a little program that lets you change saturation/contrast, etc. What else would you guys recommend as a starting point. I haven't delved into SLRs since photography art classes in high school, and that was all wet B&W shot with an Olympus from the mid eighties.

While based on principle I'd rather have a pilot is charge of just about everything in the AF, I just don't see why an acquisitions type automatically falls into the fold of people who just don't get it. I don't know this lady from Eve, so I'm not gonna automatically paint her with the shoe clerk brush since she hasn't deployed. She may very well deserve it, but I just don't know, that's my only point.

I don't really see a problem with promoting an acquisitions expert to the head acquisitions position. If she had a history of fucking the ops side of things, sure bad news. On the other hand, what if you have an acquisitions type that has always been a champion of the ops world, wouldn't you want that person at the helm to ensure we get the shit we need? It really comes down to the individual, and in the case of AFMC I really don't see why a rated officer has to rule that particular roost, they just need to have the proper focus. I've never really thought of the engineering types as clerks, more like star trek geeks who make science fiction, science reality.