xcraftllc

Lol, I vote that they leave the plane there and play it as a natural obstacle. There will probably be some people who say he shouldn't have attempted "the impossible turn" but if you look at the area, it was actually probably the best thing to do, especially for the safety of the local population considering how dense that area is. Based on the photos, he put it down on the northeast corner just short of the approach end of runway 03. The only other open area was the beach and that would have put others at risk. As far as I can tell, kudos to Solo

Harrison's been having a rough time with injuries. He hurt his ankle just recently on the set of the Millennium Falcon. I really hope he manages to stay healthy long enough to finish the new Star Wars trilogy! I bet JJ Abrams is on the phone with him like "if I pay you an extra million bucks, can you promise not to have any more dangerous hobbies over the next few years?" Edit: looks like although the headlines are saying he was "seriously injured", people on the scene are saying he's hurt but doing alright: "We are very thankful that the passenger had [only] very moderate injuries," Los Angeles Assistant Fire Chief Patrick Butler said." http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/harrison-ford-injured-plane-crash-n318301 Assuming it was a mechanical issue, it looks like he's just as good a pilot in real life as he is in the Star Wars universe! Judging by the crash scene photos, it looks like he put it down in a good spot.

Awesome man thanks for the heads up! I've been waiting on this word for a while since I'm in a situation that could really use that right now. I'm not gonna get outta the Army in time for the March AMS class but if I could get into BOT class 10-06 starting on June 21st, it won't effect my timeline at all. That's a lot easier than worrying about AMS specific dates. Do you have an official reference I can show the recruiters at my unit?

Dos Gringos needs to write a song about this guy called "The Foglesong Song".

I'm an inter-service transfer so I'll just go ahead and plan on the full AF physical then. It was a long shot but I figured I might as well ask!

Does anyone know if this means that someone with a DD 2992 in one branch will now be good for any other branch? I'm in the Army on my way to the Air Force. I have a current flight physical in the Army and right now they're saying I have to go through a complete one with the AF, but that was before this came out.

Word. I saw an article by an airmchair general internet journalist who feels that the Air Force is unnecessary and should be reattached to the Army. The irony is indescribable. The Navy gets aviation cuz they have always existed in a fluid environment that requires specialized equipment and SMEs to be successful. The Marines...well... they're Marines so they kinda just do whatever it takes to accomplish the mission, largely with the Navy's help. The Army on the other hand doesn't care a bit since the sky is blue because god loves the infantry (the Army guys here know what I'm talking about). Our Army, despite all its flaws, is by far the best Army in the world. That doesn't mean that they need organic aviation units to be successful. Half the time I think it gives ground force commanders a power and sense of entitlement that they haven't earned. If anything, Army Aviation, including every kind of UAV, needs to be flagged under the Air Force. Not saying that's gonna happen, but the best thing that ever happened to our air power assets was the Key West Agreement.

lol maybe if we run into each other at a squadron bar somewhere man. A couple interesting examples though: Army enlisted personnel are promoted based on a combination of points awarded from a generic Army-wide system, a board, and the demand for their specialty, unlike the Navy and AF which require knowledge tests in addition to such things to ensure that the individual isn't just good at playing the game or being "Hooah". Most of the board questions and points are awarded for infantry-style skill and knowledge completely unrelated to aviation aptitude. Also (and I wish I was making this up), they replaced our pickle suits with two piece uniforms that are no where near as fire retardant because they thought that the aviators were using the flight suits as a status symbol. There are many counters to that reason but I have on good word from people who were there during the policy change that the status symbol argument was indeed the main reason. Still, I don't hate the Army, in fact, they gave me a huge opportunity and I'll cherish many memories for the rest of my life. Kinda one of those it was good, it was real, but not really good sorta things. Lol oh man, I remember one time down at Shank, the command at the time was Artillery. One day they spotted some guys setting up mortars. There was an Apache QRF ready to go but they decided to try to hit them with a 777 (of course missing horribly, it wasn't an Excalibur round or anything). It was only after they had fired a few shots all over the place as the guys were running away that they notified the Apache QRF. Of course by the time they got there, the dudes were long gone...

Please excuse me while I put in my 2 cents on this thread. I can tell you that this discussion is an exercise in futility for many reasons (there isn't nearly enough time and space here to list them all). I don't know everything, but as a combat experienced Army attack pilot who is in the process of transitioning to the Air Force, I think my 2 cents hold some value on this topic. First and foremost, the people who already mentioned it are dead right; the money and logistics alone will prevent this from happening. Again this is my 2 cents, but if money and logistics were not an issue, it would still be a horrible idea. This is not to discount what the OP said with regard to WO's ability to effectively employ highly complex aircraft in combat. I am myself a WO. Many of us have degrees, and some are even former commissioned guys who gave up their commission just to fly more. To me, the problem doesn't, and never will, lie in Army Aviation. The problem is the Army as an organization overall. The Army politicians hate aviation (up until the point where they need us to accomplish their mission). The Army is a ground force, always will be, and will always focus on that. Much of the leadership are indeed very intelligent and respectable individuals who know and love what they do, but they do not, and never will, understand aviation. They over-scrutinize it, structure it as an infantry unit, dress it like an infantry unit, train it like an infantry unit, and run it like an infantry unit. I could go on and on with more specifics (most of which people here couldn't relate to), but I don't care to bitch too much about my frustrations with the Army here. I'm a grown man and know that every organization has it's problems and politics. I'm just saying that even if it were possible, any such aircraft is better off in the AF's hands. The AF is now, and will be for the foreseeable future, the most competent, capable, and effective employer of air power in the world (by a healthy margin). There are some damn good reasons why it separated from the Army in 1947, and those reasons are still valid today. The system that the Army has is working fairly well at the moment, but that's more of a testament to the ability of the men and women of Army Aviation to work with the hand that the Army commanders have dealt them, and not so much an example of how the Army leadership knows how to run aviation. Anyway back to my jalapeno corn practice, all I'm saying is I wouldn't bet the barn on this one.

I think there is indeed a disconnect, or at least some sort of grey area. I was speaking with the squadron and wing commander at a recent drill about my timeline; about the various contingency plans we had to get me into UPT in time in case something were to come up like an administrative delay or scheduling issues. The Wing Commander said if it really came down to it, they could push a waiver, and he was confident that it would be approved, which was quite unexpected by me and the Squadron Commander. We were under the impression that ETPs were not being considered at this time. Just a little while after that, I heard about these two examples in this thread. I'd say if you're going to get one, it's going to have to be something other than just being an older guy who spontaneously realized late in life that he wanted to be a military aviator. You're probably also going to have to have some significant qualifications and experience to bring to the table, along with a great attitude, good aptitude scores, and a good fitness level. I think the NGB was just getting tired of people asking all the time. The demand for pilots also ebbs and flows. I most likely won't need one, but it's good to hear these stories to know that it's a possibility in case it becomes necessary.

PM sent, I don't think the Army guy is going to be able to help with much with a Marine transition though. The training and qualifications are a lot different.

Lol well that's why I made sure to add "according to this anyway". Still can't help but think that news articles like this help push Lockheed along to hold up their end of the deal though.

Cool! I turn 30 in mid-February of 2016 but it's good to see that you got a just-in-case waiver since I may want to do the same just to be safe. Luckily for me I don't need the TCFSD ETP.

Good to hear man! Seems like too many people discount the "might as well try" philosophy. So when are you scheduled to start UPT and how old will you be then?

An interesting counter to the "outdated EOTS" news: http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/is-the-f-35s-targeting-system-really-10-years-behind-cu-1676442535 Some other stuff I thought of while reading it: It will actually end up being essentially free for us to use pods on F-35s since we've already bought a ton of them, so no sweat really. -relatively inexpensive when compared to other aspects of the program (edited for reality check) Having a dedicated external pod will add a bit of redundancy for maintenance issues. The EOTS can be used for flight/navigation while the pod view is kept on the target. The nice big screen that's in the cockpit is probably big enough to take advantage of having two views. You could even use the EOTS as a wide field of view of the overall area while the pod is used to zoom in and look at individual items. Still a bit concerned though. I'm not sure how "seamlessly" this software is going to work in the beginning, but I'm sure they'll figure it out eventually. At the rate things have been going, we'll probably find out that the F-35 actually can't accept external pods without serious modification and money. Hell, Block 30 F-16s don't even have the wiring to view the full resolution of the Gen 4 litening pods.

Word... and overhauled the A-10s. Hindsight's 20/20 and all, but yeah, it would have been nice if they just filled the original order for Raptors (I think it was something like 600). The Raptors could do the missions that require stealth and A/A, with the upgraded legacy air-frames taking care of everything else. The Block 60s are amazing, especially with the 32,500lb GE engines. The funny part is that would totally have been affordable with the budget that was given to the JSF program. Lockheed and PW would have made plenty of money too. Oh well, I guess we gotta work with what we got now.

Apparently the F-35 won't be firing its gun until Block 3F software is installed in 2019. According to this anyway: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/12/31/new-u-s-stealth-jet-can-t-fire-its-gun-until-2019.html

Thought: I wonder if it would be possible to mount the GAU-22 gun pod on the A model F-35. It would increase weight/drag/RCS and such but it would definitely make for a more effective ground attack configuration. Double the ammo and rate of fire, and two separate guns for maintenance redundancy in case one fails in the middle of a TIC. Any commander who has the balls to sign off on that one would have my vote to be the next 5-Star General of the Air Force! Oh well I'm just dreaming. Better just plan on dropping JDAMs from 35,000 feet with altitude hold on...

I bet he's having an interesting conversation with the mechanic right now!

Alright, I'm going to revive this thread with some good and informative news: At the time of this writing I have made the following progress: -I was granted a Conditional Release (DD 368). This had to be signed by the Aviation Branch Chief, a LTC position at HRC (I'm AD). To my understanding, for guard/reserve, it only has to be the first LTC in your CoC (don't quote me on that, it's just what I've heard). -I was selected by the 187th FW, Alabama ANG!!!!! This was after I had a signed Conditional Release. It was most likely necessary to have this DD 368 pre-approved, for a unit to even select me. Also, to restate: there is no more Air Force Fixed Wing Qualification Course. UPT is the only way to get in, and you must be in UPT before your 30th Birthday. -I have submitted my resignation to the Army This is in the form of an Unqualified Resignation. Again, having the DD368 already signed is a huge deal. This will be my last post for a while. Please send me specific questions through the PM feature. The last thing the Army Aviation Branch chief wants is a bunch of Army Aviators asking for a DD 368. Keep in mind that I had already spoken about my intentions to my entire Battalion chain of command and my air-frame branch chief before I email the Aviation Branch Chief. I firmly believe that this was instrumental in my success in getting a DD 368, as was the fact that the Army is currently downsizing. Just emailing the Branch Chief alone will most likely result in failure, as well as the burning of any bridges you previously had, in addition to destroying any chances you might have had at transferring to the Air Force. Be respectful, you can't guarantee that you'll be transferred. I will update this thread about my progress one I'm officially out of the Army and into the Air Force. Until then, thank you to everyone who helped me get this far - to pursue my dreams and expand on my military aviation career. I am in debt to many!

I was speaking to an MG from the AFRC at an airshow about a month ago, telling him that I was applying to the guard. He also said the AD will be hiring more in the near future. Also the days of people being forced into UAVs should be over.

I kinda wondered how UAVs do it, they're basically flying avionics bays.

Got the word from Montgomery, I'm selected, now I just need to get outta the Army stat! I owe a lot of people for all the help I've received over the years, not the least of which came from people on Baseops.net. Congratulations to whoever else gets selected (there should be two slots), I'll see you at the unit! For those who don't, it was good hangin out with you guys down there, if you have any questions, feel free to PM me!

At first I thought it was something similar to the Harrier and specific to the B model, where it had to have water injected in order to increase performance and not overheat. But this is actually an avionics heat issue.

Check PM