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Magellan

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Posts posted by Magellan

    Aviation Continuation Pay (ACP - The Bonus)

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    4 hours ago, hindsight2020 said:

    So, treat your ADSC contract like you work for the best paid regional airline, and a lot of this lamenting is self-limiting. If you pursue an extension of your one-sided contract, do so with eyes wide open. And to be clear, there are reasons why it's ok to be a "regional lifer" (ask me how I know). No right or wrong answer, only the right or wrong answer for each individual and /or dependent family.

    So what is life like for a regional airline pilot?  Asking for a friend...

    Aviation Continuation Pay (ACP - The Bonus)

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    22 minutes ago, QAZqaz said:

    Pretty interesting read, but it sure seems we are going the opposite direction WRT the bonus. One of the best quotes “'Additional Duties. . . We have an instructor pilot trying to get a forklift license.' —USAF Junior Officer"

    So when I was a casual Lt back before ORE/ORIs ended having a forklift license was useful multiple times as opposed to waiting on loggies or MX folks to move our gear, and it even helped during a short notice ONE tasker.  This was back when C-Models started coming apart and where grounded UFN and we needed to pack a bunch of stuff right before Christmas for a CONUS deployment.

    Honestly, I think it would be awesome if all the Lts waiting for pilot training got trained to drive buses, fork lifts, etc.  Because then the ops squadrons can just go to transportation check out the equipment, use it, and return it entirely on their schedule.  Plus then it would be easier to screen for buffoonerous personnel before people bend airplanes.  If you can't drive a bus or a forklift do we really want to trust you with an airplane?
     

    • Upvote 2

    Wisconsin Parade Attack

    in Squadron Bar

    Posted

    1 hour ago, ClearedHot said:

    So it was most likely wasn't terror, but still extremely fucked up.

    Brooks had left the scene of the domestic disturbance before officers arrived, and he was not being chased by police at the time of the crash, according to the chief.  Police were drawing up five charges of intentional homicide against Brooks, 39, of Milwaukee, Thompson said.

    He has been charged with crimes 16 times since 1999 and had two outstanding cases against him at the time of the parade disaster — including one in which he was accused of deliberately running down a woman with his vehicle.

     

    Clearly a victim of the system.

    Only shitty (can’t say silver) lining is the age of the fatalities was all age 52 plus.  Praying for all victims.

    Home Prices

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    13 hours ago, flammable said:

    What are my fellow PCS'ers doing in this market? I recently PCSed and home prices like much of the nation are wild around here. I keep trying to wrap my head around buying a house that appreciated 80k in 2 years and its tough. A house that sold in 2019 on zillow for 270 is now 350!

    On one hand, if I stay renting I am paying ~17-20K to someone else. On the other, if I buy even at these prices and stay for 2-3 years, that's equity I could be pocketing (even assuming a 10% market drop).

    Can you pay the mortgage for 15-30 years?  Do you want to pay the mortgage for 15-30 years.  If not rent.

    Aviation Continuation Pay (ACP - The Bonus)

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    55 minutes ago, pawnman said:

    If the only people taking the bonus are the ones who would stay anyway... why would the Air Force keep it? 

    Retention could tank even further.  I think it is a false assumption that those 30% were staying anyway.  The IDE, Staff, DO, SQ/CC, School, Staff hustle to stay Tier 1 and survive until 20 years becomes A LOT less appealing if you pay them $245,000 or more less...

    • Upvote 1

    Aviation Continuation Pay (ACP - The Bonus)

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    2 hours ago, Hunter Rose said:

     I'll enjoy the schadenfreude. I'd feel a little sympathy if the AF had left the bonus at pre-COVID terms.  But they didn't. They took the risk that COVID would affect the airlines longer, and offered a bonus with shit terms with less money/longer minimum commitments. They gambled and lost. So to hell with a big AF that makes it pretty clear they do not appreciate their rated force.

    Well given the direction this country is going since we are about to pass a 3.5 Trillion dollar piece of legislation I wouldn't be surprised to see the Airlines get nationalized if the party in power felt it was time to go to war.

     

    What's wrong with the Air Force?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    9 hours ago, Sandiegosurf said:

    Hey All. New to the forum. I was selected for UPT (active duty) and guard/reserves is an unlikely an option, as I'm a little on the older side. How is the environment in the Air Force right now and is the flying worth the 10 year contract that follows UPT? I'm curious if you would make the same decision to join the Air Force knowing what you know now.

    I think things are great!  Come on in the water is fine.

    • Like 2
    • Haha 1

    What's wrong with the Air Force?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    3 hours ago, Guardian said:

    There are lots of drone opportunities in the civilian world and a lot of them do better than some airline pilots.

    Yeah that is coming to a screeching halt here soon.  GOCO/COCO contracts are all drying up as we pull out of the Stan and you will see the NGB Title 10 money dry up pretty soon as well.  That only leaves a handful of contractor jobs left, tons of qualified experienced contractors with no jobs, and lots of folks that were feeding their family's off of Guard/Reserve pay checks whose missions will dry up and be shifted back to AD units.  There may be a few hold outs on the NGB side if certain units commands get in bed with the right customers, but there isn't enough of that to go around.

    Interesting times...

    The other civilian opportunities that aren't contractor flying have always been there, but people had to really network, polish their resume, and be able to crush an interview or know someone who could pull you in to land them.

    Aviation Continuation Pay (ACP - The Bonus)

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by Magellan

    So if we just make the pay comparable to the airlines and fix none of the other BS that pilots hate how does that help exactly?  Because if the money is the same and airlines are less BS don't the airlines still win for all of the other reasons mentioned?

    That said I know folks on all sides of the fence who were:

    1. "f'this noise I'm out" as soon as their ADSC was up

    2. Palace chase ASAP to get a line number then pick up AGR orders

    3.  Airline & TR

    4. Stay on AD with no bonus to have free agent status with regard to assignments

    5.  All in bonus takes that are ride or die Air Force.

    The only demographic I see winning/gaining anything under a "pro pay" system is the folks who are all in Air Force already.

    It seems to me like the system has those camps modeled as it is doing what it can to apply the bonuses given the constraints (imposed by congress) they are under.  Also, Springer has life figured out.  I take as much pride in flying the aircraft that I own and/or rent as I do anything the USAF has put me in.  Plus it can be just as much or more fun.  In my case I just married well to a woman that agreed to buy me an airplane with her salary!  But I know plenty of AD guys that can afford to own planes and fly a ton even on the AD salary.  Everything is just a tradeoff.

    Aircrew and Mental Health Services

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by Magellan

    Depending on the situation (And not trying to advertise) but Noom is a fairly good option for people looking to get their life back in order.  I.E. trying to regain a sense of control over their life.  They throw a bunch of psychology at the wall and I am sure some people will find that 15-25% of it could stick for them.  And it is cheaper than seeing a clinical psychologist or licensed therapist.  Plus it is just on your phone so the only people that know are you and your credit card company.

    I would argue it is a much better approach then self-medicating with delicious fried food and booze.  Even if not nearly as fun in the short term...

    Promotion and PRF Information

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    22 hours ago, pawnman said:

    If you're trying for O-6...just go ahead and start AWC in correspondence.

    How fast can the current iteration of AWC be completed?  The book answer doesn't have an answer.

    https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/Portals/10/eSchool/documents/PME/Combined_PME_Handbook_current.pdf

    It lists 7 months for ACSC (which is very doable)...but doesn't put a timeline for AWC.  It looks comparable to ACSC maybe a little shorter.

    Captain passed over for Major, looking for advice.

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    5 hours ago, BeefBears said:

    I have a feeling that they will interpret the regulations to hold a continuation board at 2 years into the 5 year window. 

    Otherwise, the vast majority of majors are in sanctuary at the 6th year look.  If this is the case, the major rank will become heavy and promotion rates to major will have to fall.

    I also think AFPC has been intentionally quiet on the subject because they have no idea how to handle it. 

    I believe some would say that is a feature and not a glitch.  This way you can have the shiny penny Major's fill the staff and school slots, get promoted to Lt. Col, and be on their merry way to CSAF.

    In the meantime how long will the USAF be able to string people along as Majors on AD with 5 shots at Lt. Col before the USAF exercises a forcing function?

    Questions on TPS (Test Pilot School)

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    On 3/17/2021 at 10:00 AM, Waves said:

    Agreed with everything Magellan said except for this part. If you check boxes you don’t actually want to go to, you might get sent to AFIT or the Navy when you don’t want to go there.

    I confirmed this with 2 commandants: they don’t take into account GRE scores or whether or not you volunteer overseas/navy/AFIT into whether you get in. They literally just do “accept/waitlist/deny” then determine who’s going to the nonstandard places after among the pool of folks that got in.

    And after being in the business, I would recommend not going to AFIT and going to USAF TPS in almost all cases. Only exception is going to France/UK if your spouse really wants to travel (with a hit in the quality of school) or going to the Navy if you fly helicopters.

    Which 2 commandants?  Webb and Pabon?

    While they may feel that way I don't know many officers that make it to the O-6 of the Air Force without a strong implicit bias against white space.  Whether they realize it much less admit it is another thing.  The subconscious is a weird beast.

    Also, unless you are max performing a timeline to make O-6, which isn't really a thing any more with BPZ being eliminated, what is the draw back of doing AFIT or any of the other schools?  It could affect IDE looks maybe...  But what do people gain by being the same cookie cutter Blue Patch as all your peers?  The USAF TPS course is more of a fraternal right of passage coupled some academic exercises and lots of really cool flying that isn't even objectively graded.  The knowledge I gained from the year of TPS was much less useful than the year I spent doing MAJCOM OT on my MDS prior to TPS.  The only benefit of USAF TPS over the other schools I see is getting to know your classmates (and their families), and that is a double edged sword if the ones you (and your families) click with during that year don't both stay at Edwards after TPS.

    That said I also think the establishment over values what the course teaches when the real value of the TPS pipeline is the selection process.  You could probably take the pilots, CSOs, and FTEs selected and give the TPS resources to the CTFs and get just as good or better product at the end of the day.  But then you lose the fraternal right of passage, and the token MS in Flight Test Engineering Degree.

    That said the job options that are available as a TPS grad are awesome.  Developmental/experimental flight test is the best mix of flying and nerdery out there.  Plus your peer group are some of the most outstanding individuals you will ever get to work and party with.

    Questions on TPS (Test Pilot School)

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    On 3/15/2021 at 7:48 PM, LiquidSky said:

    PDSM is out. Can anyone speak to who should be writing the recs? SQ/CC, GP/CC, or higher? Are recs from experienced line pilots (EPs) useful at all? Professors?

    In terms of total flying time for the resume of flying exp does stud T-6 and follow on track count/mentionable? Or only student (primary) time post-wings?

    The best combo I know of is your SQ/CC and any 2 TPS grads you can find.  Even better if you can get to know them well, but you are already on the clock for this year.

    Line IPs, Group/CC, Wing/CC, etc don’t mean much unless they are known by someone on the board.

    I know TPS grads that used a Professor.  But it should be an Aero, Mech, or EE professor to carry much weight.  Better if that professor has successfully recommended folks for TPS before.

    Don’t fudge or get cute about hours.  You have what you have.  They only care about hours after UPT.  Just fill out the form following the instructions in a way that won’t get scoffed at by O-5s and O-6s who are really smart at sniffing out BS. If they want you to have more hours before TPS they will put you in the later Alpha class as opposed to the earlier Bravo class.  This works out to 16-18 months from when you hit send until showing up at Edwards to rack up more hours.

    Also, if you have GRE scores and DLAB scores put them on the form and check all the boxes associated with them.  You might just get a good deal, and it looks better (more motivated) than white space and empty boxes.

     

    • Thanks 1

    AF Test Pilot School-Masters Degree

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    A Master's in Engineering makes you more competitive at the board, but it is not a requirement.  A letter of recommendation from a TPS graduate (or 2) probably has more weight for pilots quite honestly.  Plus you get a Master's of Science in Flight Test Engineering for going through the course.  The only thing a Master's in Engineering opens up for you is if you want to get selected for the TPS PhD program after TPS.

    In my class about 1/2 of the pilots had an Engineering Masters, 1/3 had non-Engineering Master's degrees (ERAU, MBA, etc.), and some had no Master's degree prior to TPS.

    Plus there is an AFIT TPS option.  Take the GRE and get a Letter of Academic Eligibility from AFIT for their Aero or Electrical Engineering Masters program then apply for TPS with the AFIT box checked on the application.

    As far as how to get a letter of recommendation from a TPS grad.  Find out who the TPS grads are that are working DT on your airframe, get in touch with them, and convince them you are they guy or gal they want to work with.  Figuring out a permissive TDY out to Edwards or just straight up taking leave to go there on your own to check it out sends a pretty strong message.  Plus you will realize where you are signing up to live for possibly the bulk of your active duty career going forward.  The flight line is like an airshow everyday especially when TPS has qual eval aircraft in town, but it is a very remote place to live for people that like urban amenities...like a drive through Starbucks, fully stocked liquor store, or gym that isn't as old (or older) than all the bombers on the flight line.

    If you want to do an online MS go for it. It certainly won't hurt you.  One of my classmates did the CSU program that was mentioned, and I know at least 3 TPS grads that did the MS Program from the University of Alabama.

    https://catalog.ua.edu/graduate/engineering/aerospace-mechanics/ms/

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