fire4effect

America has had a history of our citizens serving in foreign militaries. Lafayette Escadrille in France in WW1 and the Eagle Squadrons in Great Britain in WW2 come to mind. Though I'm sure any "Neutrality Act" issues were easily overlooked given the popular sentiment of the time.

Sorry, poor cut and paste job. See kids don't drink and post

Wow, Wonder what the average blood alcohol content is for posters on Christmas Day? Not that I would EVER drink and post

I'm not looking for a uniform item but I am looking for a black A-2 style with Thinsulate in the lining. I've found jackets with the Thinsulate lining are pretty warm without the bulk which is important in some smaller civilian cockpits. I've owned a fleece lined leather jacket in the past and I found it restricted mobility. I've seen the LL Bean Thinsulate lined Flying Tiger Jacket but I don't like the way the back is sewn in two pieces whereas US Wings and the like seem to have one piece backs and look better in general though I don't have any idea what kind of insulation they use if any. Opinions?

I'm sure Panetta was thinking the same thing when he made his speech. Regardless of what actually comes to pass the echelons above reality have to know that people will bail if they perceive the current system has become essentially use or lose.

Coming up on 2 years this winter but I lost an old H.S. classmate with his 2 teenage daughters on an IFR approach under (at least apparently similar conditions). He was flying a Bonanza and he hit at steep angle. Based on where he was on the approach I would bet he was configuring the A/C for landing and I've wondered if he had iced up and the flaps coming down precipitated a loss of control. Anyone know if a (straight tail)Bonanza has the same issues as the Mooney?

Anybody hear a plan for the Reserve Component? A few years ago they talked about a reduction from age 60 to draw the annuity base on deployed time. Looks like they'll keep leaning on the RC forces all right for now due to cost savings but flat out screw them in the end when it comes time to pay up on retirement.

I heard the pilot was IDed as CPT Johnny Five

Now that's funny......Well they use the drug trade to help fund Al Quaeda/Taliban why not make porn to supplement their income? Dirk Kashmeri former pornstar. Too bad he didn't realize his last role was in a snuff film

Very well said. I love all the cheesy "Active Shooter Powerpoints" out there. Maybe if I print them all out and stuff them down my shirt it'll stop a .22. Most Base Commanders, I'm talking all service's here, care more about their careers. Until someone like the commander of Ft Hood at the time of the shootings is put on the hot seat for leaving the troops defenseless until a DOD civilian cop showed up, then they will continue the politically correct status quo.

Maybe the Intel haul from Bin Laden's (former) crib is starting to bear fruit. Death truly comes from above....

I would rather save Nitrous for the dentist Knew a few guys back in my youth who loved to make cars go fast with the stuff. I'm the first to admit a lot of stuff is good in theory but is it practical in the real world is a whole new question.

Totally different slant for the science nerds.. Anybody try to use a similar system to up the peformance/mileage of an internal combustion engine? Just thinking out loud

Not sure if this is related From Reuters 22APRIL PESHAWAR, Pakistan | Fri Apr 22, 2011 9:43am EDT PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Two U.S. pilotless aircraft fired four missiles into a house in Pakistan's North Waziristan region on the Afghan border on Friday killing 25 militants, Pakistani intelligence officials said. The strike came two days after a visit to Islamabad by Admiral Mike Mullen, the top U.S. military official, in which he expressed concern over links between Pakistani security agents and militants attacking U.S.-led forces across the border in Afghanistan. The drone strike happened in Mir Ali town, about 35 km (20 miles) east of the region's main town of Miranshah. A Pakistani intelligence official in the region who declined to be identified said the house was being used as a militant hideout. "They have surrounded the area and are not allowing anybody to go there," the intelligence official said, referring to militants. Twenty-five bodies had been recovered from the rubble and three women were among those killed, he said. Another official said some foreign militants were among the dead but their numbers and nationalities could not confirmed. North Waziristan is a known sanctuary for al Qaeda and Taliban militants. The United States has been using drone attacks to target militants over the past few years in Pakistan's lawless ethnic Pashtun border areas. The attacks are a source of concern for the Pakistani government, which says civilian casualties stoke public anger and bolster support for militancy. During Mullen's visit, a U.S. official said the United States would not stop the drone attacks in Pakistan, despite Pakistani objections. Earlier, militants attacked a security post in the northwestern town of Dir killing 10 soldiers, security officials in the region said. About 30 soldiers were manning the post when militants attacked on Thursday, they said. Fighting went on for several hours. Security forces have been battling Pakistani Taliban militants in several parts of the northwest over recent years. The militants want to destabilize the U.S. ally and impose harsh Islamic rule. In 2009, the military cleared militants from Dir and the neighboring Swat Valley in a successful offensive. (Additional reporting by Junaid Khan in Mingora; Writing by Kamran Haider; Editing by Chris Allbritton and Robert Birsel)

1)DLA = DELAY 2)PMA (reverse engineered by other than the OEM) parts forced upon us. Way more trouble than they are worth. 3)LEAN/Just In Time concepts are fine for a manufacturing operation but totally jacked for a maintenance operation. 4)DLA = DELAY Video was spot on

Been a while since I've been on. Very busy...Who knew, what knew? all questions after the fact. We all do things in the air AND ground that CAN get us killed. Usually we get away with it. Is it worth the risk. Not usually in an Airshow. Learn the lesson and try to remember ALL the kids lost in A-stan on a day to day basis. Most of them weren't practicing for an airshow at the time. Thanks

Didn't get all relevant quotes above but I think you'll get the idea. As my signature block states " This is a serious misallocation of valuable military resources" Frequently true in the military as we're all aware. However the purpose of the military is to deter war if possible, win if necessary. Anything that we as members of the military as far as job satisfaction get above that is gravy. I've gotten a lot of taskings and duty stations (we all have I'm sure) that were not desirable and I've been in New Mexico and Arizona in my military career so I can see the downside to those postings but I'll definitely say they are better than Iraq (where I've been) or Afghanistan (where I'll probably end up). Nobody said we had to like it. Whether we like it or not we adapt to fight the war at hand with the best tools we have available (and no I'm not trying to sound like Rumsfeld) That right now means UAVs. Many many years ago General Billy Mitchell tried to tell the establishment that Air Power would become the dominant military force over Sea Power. At the time no one wanted to hear it. Reality is reality. As far as technological advancements, UAV capabilities along with their command and control will evolve beyond what we can imagine in 10 or 20 years after most if not all of us reading this have retired. But it won't happen quickly. I do hope you UPT grads eventually return to the cockpit either in the military or civilian world. Right now we have a war to fight.

As someone who could hear the buzz of the UAV high above late at night while manning a checkpoint, I do remember the bad guys made themselves scarce and fewer things were left to go boom the next day. I've even talked to "associates" of some less than savory characters who were well aware of the the death that can come from above and they spent as least as much time avoiding being spotted by the UAVs as going out and making trouble. I do fly on the civ side and love the air as much as anyone but I assure you seeing a Dad able to come home and hug his son after a year in the desert because a UAV kept the bad guy's from putting out an IED to kill him makes it all worthwhile. I think the UAV will be to the GWOT what the helicopter was to Vietnam. Thanks for watching over them.

I bet cancelling the Constellation program gets a second look when someone in the current administration remembers how many electoral votes are in Florida and Texas combined. IMHO

Simple and to the point. I agree totally

Pretty arrogant. The military doesn't exist to make sure you get the job you want. It's to deter wars if possible and win wars if necessary. Everything else you get above that is gravy. I think the army needs the C-27 and will probably get some down the road. Nothing is more responsive to your needs than organic assets. It's that simple. At the same time I'm pretty sure some in the different services will want to protect their "turf". No doubt deals are struck at echelons above reality. Plain disgusting. We've ALL come a long way since the 30s and 40s. But that was WW2. That argument is not even relevant now. There have been exhausted soldiers who got too close to the edge of a crappy dirt road in Iraq who drove off into a canal and 4 guys drowned. Tired will always be a killer. I suggest that anybody in the military who thinks he's getting a raw deal should tell that to the E-4 at Walter Reed trying to learn to walk again. Feel free to transfer those extra 2LTs to the Infantry. The Army can always use the extra help.

I agree the A-10 is one helluva platform but as was mentioned the cost is out of sight for a lot of countries. For that matter we don't have infinite funding either. Props are just going to be less expensive. I also know that there are 1000 reasons turbo-props have advantages over pistons too. The biggest vulnerabilty to the props as I see it are heat-seeking MANPADS. To beat/mitigate that threat we need to have a better designed exhaust system. Pistons don't put out the heat turbines do. Maybe that't the way to go from a powerplant perspective high altitude performance not withstanding. We lost 2 Apaches and a civilian MI-8 to those Manpads in my AO back when. Either way until the IR signature is supressed/addressed low and slow is a really dangerous place to be. Of course it still out of range of most IEDS.

I thought I saw a picture of a special mission Caravan that fired a minigun out the cargo door. Wouldn't think that would be too much of a stretch. Matter of fact I think a lot of light aircraft too small for the Hellfire could use lateral firing automatic weapons in the COIN fight. The AC-130 model is effective at concentrating fire on a particular area

I actually met a guy over there in 2008 who was training Iraqis on the Caravan. Pretty sweet deal. Wish I could have done it. I love the Hellfire. I don't think there's many platforms you can't put it on. If the bad guys hear a platform overhead i.e. UAVs, Apachies, Caravans etc, that the bad guys know can fire or at least target for a Hellfire they tend to spend less time attacking our forces and more time looking for cover. Loiter time is a BIG help for those of us on the ground.