brabus

What you propose is a bad idea. Decide now if you really want to fly or if you want a 9-5 "stable home life" job. You have a shot right now to go fly, either take it or don't and chalk flying up to a dream you had, but never accomplished. Doing 4 yrs AD, then find a guard unit to do that same job in for a couple yrs, then applying for boards is not a good idea. By the time you get your app going, you'll probably have one shot based on age. And this is all if everything works out almost perfectly. Your best option is to pursue the AD pilot slot and then palace chase down the road. Do maybe 5 yrs AD service or something and then go guard...that's really a great deal. Also, guard guys deploy as much as AD nowadays. So just b/c you go guard doesn't mean you're not going on nice little trips to the desert.

VN 08-04 F-16x4 (Me!!) F-15E T-6 FAIP C-17 Mchord x3 C-17 Charleston KC-10 Mcguire KC-135 Seymour Johnson U-28 E-3 Tinker E-3 Elmendorf UAV (Guard...got brac'ed) C-21 Ramstein T-1 FAIP 2 more I can't remember

Check out https://www.logbookpro.com. It's a really nice program and gives you tons of options. You can buy it from them, sportys, etc. OR you can definitely find it elsewhere...that's up to you. An excel program will do the basic trick, but this program's features are definitely nice to have.

You're right, it was. It was based on the premise that she was one of "those" who thought she was the shit and better than everyone else b/c she had all this "experience." People like that piss me off and I found it gratifying that she washed out. HOWEVER, if it's true that she really was humble about it and all this propaganda stuff was daddy, then I was wrong to jump on her (STS!!!!) like that. If she truly tried her best and didn't make it, then I commend her for trying and have nothing against her. This is the first I've heard of her, so even though I'm at VN, I've heard nothing. Though I still want to know about the whole "beat every fighter pilot in air-air" claim. Then again, maybe that's just Daddy blowing smoke up her's and everyone's ass.

Wow, b/c flying an aircraft "through the sound barrier" is so incredibly difficult. "Hey did you see the needle jump...yeah...good job, you're a hero." Holy shit! A real live hornet interior! Wow, I wish I was cool enough to do that kind of stuff. Ah, so some chick when she was 16 beat a fighter pilot from practically every fighter out there...yeah, I'd like to hear a little more about this one. What a douche. BL: She's a douche bag and fucking ugly. And just for that and the stuff above, good riddance and have fun in finance. Wait, crap, now she's going to fuck up my next travel voucher.

There's countless washout stories, but I think any of us would be hard-pressed to find a story that equals blowing away a cow with a .50 cal! I guess "go big or go home" applies.

hahahaha, that's awesome. That's something I wish I would have thought of.

Go with whatever you're most comfortable with. I have friends who are on both sides. Some just didn't want the hassle of contacts and others didn't want to wear those hideous things. If your eyes get irritated w/ contacts, then the smart choice would be to just wear the glasses. I don't think either has a benefit over the other besides just personal comfort.

You guys both make good points. You're right, my opinion will always be an outsider's who hasn't BTDT in the plane/mission. Again, I'm not shitting on any C-21 guys or the aircraft, I just see it differently, even after the boozing in 52 countries and flying Robin Williams around...not saying that shit isn't sweet, but just not the "sweet" I'm looking for in mil aviation. Nonetheless, things like those are still cool opportunities. At least to me, that made the most sense. That's definitely something I never thought of.

Absolutely not. I'm sure you're 100% correct. I do not for one second look down on those who fly the C-21 or any other aircraft for that matter. Everyone has a personal opinion, I don't care what yours is and you shouldn't care what mine is. I just find it hard to see the appeal to flying a plane that you could easily go fly once out of the AF. I would just think you'd want to fly a C-17, F-16, 135, F-15, 130, etc. while you're in the AF and not seek out an aircraft that you can just go fly afterwards. They may go to "non-existent" airfields or whatever, but it's still A-B carting around passengers. Yes you're right, it's more than a nice LAX-DFW hop, but from the heavy side, I would think someone would rather be hauling cargo, passing gas, doing an airdrop, carrying troops, etc. than carting around some general and his aides. But, to each his own.

Doing "the mission", fighting the bad guys, etc, etc. I'm sorry, but carting around generals et al is not fighting the enemy. Sure you can argue that moving generals around is part of the overall war effort or whatever...but seriously, that's a stretch. I'm not saying dudes who fly C-21s suck, are worthless, etc...I just can't personally understand why you would want to fly a Lear 35 when you have the option of flying so many other aircraft that you can't fly outside the military. Not to mention all the other aircraft have missions unique to the military...C-21s have a "mission" that is the same one thousands of civilian pilots do every day...who cares.

Maybe it's in another thread, but it went along the lines of why the hell would you go to UPT to fly a standard civilian business jet and not be in the fight at all. That's a good question.

USAA is a good company, but you're still dealing w/ insurance agents. They will low-ball you until you bitch and moan to the point they can't stand it. You can make the argument that the car's resale value is significantly reduced after it is fixed due to the extensive accident damage. You can provide proof of this by finding a car of the same year being sold that has been in an accident vs on that hasn't. It will require some extensive searching probably, but you can find it. Another option is shop around for different prices and hopefully you get one in the total range. Thirdly, I would demand OEM parts. No way would I ever settle for non-OEM parts on my car, especially when the accident wasn't my fault. All of this can be accomplished by, for lack of a better word, harassment of your insurance agent. They low-ball you b/c most people just accept it and move on. If you complain enough and be a big enough pain in the ass, they'll cave. I've seen/been a part of very similar situaitons as your...in this instance, brute force complaining will get you closer to what you want.

I've met far more Academy grads that are "normal" than ones who are tools. The AFA does not produce any more weirdos, tools, d bags, etc than ROTC. As someone else said, the tool/cool ratio is about the same. I had never really been around a lot of AFA guys until coming to Vance (besides the very few who came up north to party), but needless to say I was surprised to find out how most of them are just like me...who would have thought. I guess the only thing that sets them obviously apart is they all know each other in some capacity it seems. But other than that, they're no different...personality or capabilities wise. I'm wondering that too. But I do remember one time sitting in Finance for 6.9 hrs and there was dude sitting next to me in blues, so we were just talking a bit and finally I asked him where he went to school. The guy literally just made a fist w/ his right hand and just showed the ring to me without saying a word. Now there's the definition of toolbag. Luckily, he's one of the few that I've met like that.

I heard back in the day AFA grads had priority over ROTC/OTS guys in different parts of their career. I've also been told that is much less nowadays. Just my guess, but I bet it has more to do w/ the type of person and not exactly where they went to school. I don't have proof, but I would think dudes that have that 30 yr Gen career somewhere in their head have a tendency to go for AFA over ROTC. Just a guess though.

I had a license when I got a slot, so no I'm not one who got a slot w/o a license, but I know countless people do/did. And that's exactly why I said this a couple posts ago..."but if you can finish up in 10 hrs or so, just get it done. Plus, the more hours you get, the more "air sense" you'll have...it can only help you." I very much agree you should get a PPL if at all possible. I think it can help some especially who may not make it through IFS w/o prior flying experience. However, it is still incorrect to make it sound like a PPL is going to make a difference when getting a slot. If there's any difference at all, it's minimal. Now actual flight time does make a difference. I strongly doubt any CC will rank a dude w/ 45 hrs and a PPL over a dude w/ 45 hrs and no PPL just b/c the first guy has a license.

I get this info from BTDT...you? I don't care what your rando-reg says, it doesn't matter. Countless people w/o PPLs get pilot slots every year. I will say it is POSSIBLE for a CC to consider PPLs when ranking cadets, but I bet it's safe to say 98.69% of them don't do that. There is absolutely no other place in the entire "pilot slot ranking system" where the PPL matters. So unless you're Det CC is the one guy who actually ranks one cadet above another just b/c of a PPL, then it doesn't matter.

The pilot license doesn't matter at all for getting a slot in ROTC, but if you can finish up in 10 hrs or so, just get it done. Plus, the more hours you get, the more "air sense" you'll have...it can only help you.

We did both our class patch and friday patch through Progressive Specialties. You can email them at sales(at)progspec(dot)com. They do great quality work and their prices are pretty descent. He's also very accommodating...i.e. we only wanted 35 friday patches and he did it for us (there's only 6 of us, so no need for the usual number). I couldn't find one company other than progressive that would let us do that. Give them an email, you won't be disappointed w/ the quality, price or their genuine care about the customer (unlike several companies I've dealt w/ in the recent past...where has customer service gone?).

Work on basic flying...holding it level, turns, descents/climbs/level offs, pattern and landings, etc. Those are what you'll start with anyways and that's what will build a good base for something like IFS. As much as you can, get used to how radio comm goes. Not much you do at your local airport will emulate IFS, UPT, etc. but the more you can fly at a towered airport the better. The comm "overload" will actually make you better. Do all those things and see if you can get 15 hrs in and solo possibly. That would be a great boost going into IFS.