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so, the DLOs for any given fly-by aren't very grandiose, but there is ALWAYS some training benefit when you go out to fly. Whether it's just getting more of a feel for your aircraft, getting more comforatble flying in close formation (core pilot skillz), more comfortable talking to ATC and flying at the same time, or recovering with an instrument approach to get more proficient with IFR regimes, there is ALWAYS a benefit to flying vs not flying at all. When we go do a static somewhere or an airshow, whatever, we get cross country experience, flying in the IFR structure experience (something we don't do much of otherwise), working with the crew, etc etc.

there was an IP at Rucker back in the day who decided to go do a tour in Global Hawks. The unit was excited to have him b/c he was also a CFI. Apparently to keep up the flying skillz the UAV drivers go fly Cessnas, etc with the Aero Club. My guess is the flight docs tag along?

http://www.edodo.org/rumormill/viewtopic.p...;hilit=downtown

here's another, Vietnam era. This one's also on the KIKR patch wall.

Path: UPT --> SUPT-H (Rucker) flying the UH-1H or TH-1 when it comes online --> Schoolhouse (Kirtland) --> Unit TDY: for 60s, I know my unit goes down to Hurbie and up to Pope every once in a while, various Red Flags, etc.... I'm pretty sure DM goes to San Diego for water work and shipboard ops, Red Flags, etc. Not sure where Nellis goes. Have no idea about the overseas units and their TDYs. Currently in 60s deployments are 4 on, 4 off, repeat. Sometimes you get lucky with a 3 on, 5 off... due to the extra taskings in both theaters right now. We also have this thing called GRF (global response force) where any one unit at any given time is on the hook to go anywhere in the world on XX (short) notice. I got to go to Pakistan in 06 for two weeks on this sort of response.

no, we're not immune, but we are pretty undermanned with all these additional taskings we're getting, which is causing all the huey folks to get the 365s to teach Iraqis and Afghanis how to fly helos. AFPC isn't even letting us PALACE CHASE to 60 Guard/Reserve units (there are some exceptions, I know, but for the most part people are getting turned down).

my first AOC at the Zoo went to Keyna for his next assignment flying C-12s. He was an Army Major who flew Cobras previously, and the Keyna tour was accompanied for him (I think his official title was Defense Attache or something along those lines). When I was casual at Rucker prior to UPT, the C-12 office was part of the 23 FTS, but they then became Det whatever under AMC and moved their office to Cairns AAF or Dothan (that's where Flight Safety International is).

the only RW dudes who've gone went voluntarily (the 2 I'm aware of). One was medically DNIF for his back but he wanted to keep flight pay, so he took a job with preds. I've heard he's trying to get a waiver and come back to the 60 community. The other guy did a tour in Global Hawks and now he's back at Mother Rucker as a huey IP. Our community is undermanned, so the quick answer is no, no UAVs for us.

1100-1200 pph baybee!

that's not our AF, but still funny.

what's ######ed up about the Navy UPT grading process is that you could FINISH your training (i.e. not wash out) and still not get wings b/c you had too many "belows" and not enough "aboves". This happened to some folks while I was there. They didn't do poorly enough to get kicked out, but they apparently didn't do well enough as the completed their training to get wings. ######ed up Navy logic. There was a Coastie in one of the other squadrons at Whiting (VT-6 I think) who was on his initial solo after contact check. Goes out into the area, has a good time, and then coming back into Whiting, gets the ole' waveoff lights from the RDO shack for whatever reason (too steep or something like that), so he goes around, and this time he porpoises the landing. Hit the ground so hard he actually collapsed the nose gear. So after the plane returns to terra firma after the hard bounce, the prop doesn't fare so well being that there's no nose gear anymore. So T-34 skids down the runway throwing sparks, prop gets bent all to hell (handlebar mustache...) and the stud decides to egress the plane. But it gets better! The engine is still running, and the props are still trying to spin (tick, tick, tick on the runway), and the stud neglects to do an emergency shutdown before egressing. So the RDO has to come shut the plane down. At least the kid detached himself from the parachute before getting out (which is about the ONLY good thing he did during this whole sequence). Needless to say, the next week, there's one less Coastie in pilot training. I saw that T-34 in the hangar and it was NOT a pretty sight. If you ever see a T-34C with teeth painted on it, that means that particular A/C has had a gear-up landing in the past...

http://204.108.4.16/d-tpp/0712/00854COPTERV061.PDF it's hard enough trying to figure out which road is "Natchez Trace Parkway". I did this one on a severe clear day and still couldn't ID the road we think they wanted us to follow.

the 301st deploys, too. In fact they just got back from their 4 monther to OEF. Granted they don't do it that often like us AD units, but they DO deploy. a good friend of mine from UPT (I went through Whiting) flies HH-65s for the CG. She was in Houston, but just recently PCSd to JAX. Let me see if I can dig up her new contact info for you (she moved while I was deployed and I've just upgraded to Vista so this might be a challenge).

He was. I got to escort him once when I was a cadet.

there's a difference between it being hard-wired into each room on base and paying one service-provider for the access and buying your own satellite and doing it that way (my unit has a satellite in OIF). Although it's cheaper with the base-wide ISP, I've experienced it's faster if you have your own and limit the number of computers so there's more bandwidth for all. But then you have to worry about selling the satellite to someone when you leave (we just left ours in the CSAR compound in the hands of our sister squadron since we'll be back in 3 months).

my point being (since I already mentioned see-and-avoid, thank you very much) that they throw so many aircraft up into a limited amount of airspace and they're all doing different things (solo stud on a PA ride being the most fun/scary) that it's a wonder someone hasn't hit someone else. If you ever happen to be flying through Pensacola, avoid Alert Area 292 at all costs. Stay down on the coastline and you'll be the safest.

agreed. NACWS sucks. I flew the T-34, and there were many times when NACWS never responded when it should have (one time we were both belly up turning for initial into an aux field...). Then there were the times when NACWS went off and marked the location of the other aircraft in the incorrect quadrant. Always awesome. Surprised there haven't been more midairs at CC and Pcola, seeing as how the Navy does "alert areas" and it's all see-and-avoid, none of this cube-of-space in a MOA stuff like the AF does.

The build-up came from Boeing themselves, and I have a 45-sec video of them taking it apart (hour and a half or so) and putting it back together (2h 58m), which was their demo for the contract. The time to mission ready was from talking to some Campbell guys, but now that I think about it, they weren't MX, they were aircrew. So the time they quoted me might not be the most accurate.

the article I linked talks about mission ready vs flight ready...and the csar-x platform is very very close to the MH-47, so not huge differences in basic aircraft systems. also, the fact that the transmission has to be removed from the shithook, and all the blades, means that onces it's put back together it's going to require an FCF for tracking and balancing. I don't have any experience with tracking and balancing a Chinook, but in the 60, it takes multiple flights to get everything where it needs to be should a blade be replaced. I can only imagine this is a tad bit more involved with an aircraft having 2 rotor systems.

no, obviously you don't understand the difference between "mission ready" and "flight ready". The S-92 can be "mission ready" approx 1 hr after rolling off the back of a C-17/C-5, with minimal personnel participation (aka max of 10 people, and no cranes). The shithook requires 2 cranes, at least 20 people, and 2 hrs 58 min to be "flight ready". I have the video of this. From personal experience, it took approx 5 MX and 5 Ops personnel 20 min to make a 60 "mission ready" last year. And there were no cranes involved. From talking to Army MX personnel on this last deployment, it takes them appox 48 hrs to get a shithook to "mission ready" status.

Patrick also has a history of being impatient with the schoolhouse (as does Alaska). If you get hired by either of these two units and then see delays at KIKR, expect to get pulled back to your unit to finish the initial qual. TOML, how's the 701C mod going so far? When I left they were supposed to start the first bird in Oct...

and there was much rejoicing in the CSAR community.... http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/sto...rement%20Change way to go AFSOC. Glad we're back in ACC now, and here's hoping the IG investigation comes to fruition. I'm perfectly willing to fly the HH-60 a little while longer as long as it gets us the right platform for our mission in the end (which is NOT the shithook).

Unfortunately for the helicopter community, all BFE (was BHFE for us) got consolidated at Altus this past year. Feedback from our IFs (Instructor Flight Engineers) both home station and at Kirtland is that this has made a lot more work for them having to retrain all the studs in the helo stuff before they hit the flightline. Has made the course longer, etc etc. Nobody in our community likes it.

I was just at KIRK for upgrade, and the Transition Course (for those who are coming over from Hueys, 53s, and Navy/Army) is approx 5 months long. There were 2 former Navy dudes, both qualified in the SH-60, who were doing this course. One was going to stay AD and be an IP at KIKR, and the other was hired by the 301st (Patrick - Reserves). He was going through as a 60 -1 IP, then once he gets mission experience he'll get Tac IP. Which unit is hiring you?

eh, MX can just keep throwing more metal up there to beef up those pesky 308 beam cracks... we can use the $$ for things like a better AHHS, a 3rd KY-58, a color HDD (supposedly the Reserves are testing that one right now), or even the 701D upgrade would be nice, maybe a wide-chord blade or two. Or maybe SADL, or the short-barrel .50 cal.