08Dawg

Found this on another site and thought it might be of interest. Anybody heard anything about it? New gunship flies to Paris Air Show debut By Stephen Trimble on June 6, 2009 12:14 AM | ShareThis http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/the-dewline/AT-802U_2.jpg http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/the-dewline/AT-802U_3.jpg The Air Tractor AT-802U is now en route from Olney, Texas, to Le Bourget, France, to be unveiled at the Paris Air Show, said Lee Jackson, design engineer. Featuring an armoured fuselage, a 10hr loiter time and the ability to haul more than 8,000lb of payload, unarmed AT-802Us have been operated by the US State Department in South America since 2002 eradicating drug crops, Jackson said. Air Tractor is now offering the weaponized AT-802U Air Truck to the US Air Force and other militaries to serve as a a trainer/light attack fighter. After its international debut in Paris, the PT6A-67F-powered turboprop will return to Olney for a series of wepaons and sensor integration trials, he said. The AT-802U must overcome its stigma as an old-fashioned tail-dragger, but Jackson sees its lack of a tricycle landing gear as an advatange in the irregular warfare role. For lighly trained pilots forced to make hard landings on remote strips, the two main gears offer a great advantage, he said. The aircraft may find its true niche in an operational setting like Afghanistan, he said. It's an interesting idea. The Afghans need a sturdy trainer and attack fighter. The ability to spray the Taliban's poppy fields might also come in handy. Apture™ Photos and promotional materials courtesy of Air Tractor

Doc's wikipedia page has been thoroughly cleansed, and in all amounts to about a long paragraph now. Must have somebody watchdogging it for him. All it says about his time at Mississippi State is that he was there...nothing else, at all.

Shiner beer is amazing. Better on tap than in the bottle, though. As for liquor, I just discovered Crown and Dr. Pepper this past weekend. I usually drink Crown with Coke, but this new combo is really smooth.

When did the AC-27 get scrapped? First I've heard of it.

Wait, you've actually had somebody pissed at you about that? Where the hell else are we supposed to put it?

Sounds like what I told my (now-ex) girlfriend.

"He is a former cadet in the Civil Air Patrol and a 1989 Air Force ROTC graduate from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University." There's your problem right there. *Ducks*

Though I had no reason to go to Lackland anyway, now I think I shall avoid it like the plague. Looks like it's had a shoe infestation. Of course, it could be a golden opportunity to piss off a random shoe. "Hey LT, roll your sleeves down, and give me your discrepancy form!" "Sorry chief, I'm from Randolph."

Four days?? Really? Unsat!

Why does the Air Force have such a stick up it's collective ass about running with headphones? It's not as if a driver can't see when in your PT gear with that big huge reflective target on your back.

I'd bet the boys on Guam would get a hell of a chance for some carpet bombing, too. If it happened, I'm not so sure the Chinese would get involved. Everything I've heard seems to say they've tacitly washed their hands of the Jonger and his cronies.

At least he ended up in the sand and not in some woods or somethin? Sucks to be him...

So if I get a BUFF at the drop Friday, should I expect to be seeing Minot soon, or has the manning evened out enough so that I could potentially stay in Shreveport?

Can you put this on that FSU patch?

I dunno...at least at Randolph the club's a pretty good place to hang out on Friday nights. The crud is actually crud, i.e. we actually hit people, and most Fridays there are a good number of people there. Hell, I knocked a two-star flat on his ass about two months ago and he got up laughing. Gen. Lorenz, who lives here, encourages the use of the club, as opposed to sending the fun police mutawa hunting down any slightly enebriated officer. Once I leave here, I have a feeling I'll miss the Auger.

Ok, so it's not boobs, but it's funny as hell! Edit: Drink too much and you forget to upload images on the first try!

2 on the test score helping out your oral exam. I studied hard, and I had a 97 on my written test. My oral exam was about an hour and fifteen minutes, and none of the questions were really that difficult. Another guy at my flight school had something like a 78 on his written, and he got grilled for almost three hours. The examiner told me as much at the end of that part. Do well on the written and the oral will be easy. Don't do well, and you'll have an interesting time. And remember it's open book, too. If you don't know a question, look it up! The examiner will be testing you as much on your ability to do some research and find the answer to a question you don't know as he is on your rote memorization. And finally, don't get nervous. When your CFI signs you off to take the checkride, you're a private pilot. You're just defending that to the DPE.

As requested....

Aside from the awkwardness, I'd think it would be common courtesy. If the gate guard, ex-military or not, is courteous enough to render a salute, I would be courteous enough to return it. We have civi gate guards here are Randolph, and while they don't salute, they present a professional image. I'd be alot of them are retired military anyway.

The IFF squadron at Randolph has done the same thing once or twice.

...I'm sorry, for a second I thought that was a serious question...wait...it was, wasn't it? Slap yourself.

Your nav experience will help you if you're flying civi on side. Radio comms, regs, stuff like that, and I think higher SA. But you can't count the hours. When you go up for your instrument rating, some things will be directly applicable and will probably give you a little bit of a leg up, but again, there's no logging nav time as simulated instrument time, for example.

Can't let this thread die!

I wish we'd go back to the jacket we had in the '80s and early '90s and call it done. I guess that's what this four-button thing is meant to look like.

2 on the Ops A. If I had wanted a degree in EE, I would've gotten one.