[Track Selects and Assignment Nights]

5 FAIPs in the drop at KEND last night as well. 3 T-6 and 2 T-38. Don't have the full list of drops though.

[T-6s Grounded; More OBOGS Issues]

39 minutes ago, LiquidSky said:

That's some scary shit. I don't know what they're doing differently there but I wouldn't want to be flying their tails. Have they all been rear cockpit? I know all but one were IPs... Or maybe the studs just have low SA and don't even notice the difference in the front.  

I know of at least 1 stud that experienced hypoxia-like symptoms. But the vast majority have been IPs.

 

[Aviation Continuation Pay (ACP - The Bonus)]

15 hours ago, BCan said:

Dude...think this through very carefully.

you are entering into a 10yr commitment - essentially giving the AF the power to do as they please with you for 12 years.  So, if "just the thought of going to reapers" gives you pause...you might be on to something by second guessing your decision.  What were you doing 12 years ago?

Secondly, you think you are entering your dream job - but think this through logically.  Why the 10 year commitment?  Why does the AF offer a pilot bonus of up to 225K...and why are the majority of pilots not taking it?  Why would we be talking about stop-loss?

i'm not saying you should / shouldn't proceed to active duty.  What I would say, is if flying is all you seek - then you are bat-shit crazy for not looking at the guard/reserve.  Disclaimer - I've been active duty my entire career.

If, however, you abuse yourself nightly to a candle lit scroll of the airmanship creed ...then maybe you are the next General Changer and will love active duty.

good luck!

 

 

All good points,12 years ago I might as well been in diapers... Guard/Reserve does sound like the way to go, but I don't have nearly the resume to apply. I was one of those 0 flight hour selects ( I have flown since selection). I applied because I was looking for something exciting/rewarding to do with my life rather than sitting at this cubicle in my office job like I do now. I suppose I was lured into applying for the AF based on claims that you guys enjoyed a higher QOL relative to other service branches, golf course on every base, going straight from sortie to bar etc. etc. Its been great getting a reality check from you guys. But who really knows where the AF is headed in 10 years, the current trend is downward, but I'd think things would have to start improving at some point.

But enough of the woe-is-me sob story from a pilot select. I know a lot of people want to be pilots but never get to for one reason or another. I obviously still have some thinking to do, and I'll be keeping an eye on this thread from the shadows.

[Aviation Continuation Pay (ACP - The Bonus)]

Thanks to everyone who took the time to respond to my post, I've read all your responses. Glad to hear some more tempered opinions about what the job entails. And good to know that even with all the suck, you still come out of the experience with a net positive.

I will comment on something SnapLock said though concerning QOL:

On 5/21/2016 at 10:36 PM, SnapLock said:

 

One of the biggest things that gets me is that I work 12-16 hour days while it seems like a lot of the rest of the base works 0730-1630.  They also usually get to break away for lunch and are allotted time for PT.  I don't get either.  My days are ALWAYS crazy busy and when I have to deal with one of these 0730-1630 workers I ALWAYS get pissed off.  It's usually because they will only do what I need Thursdays between 10 and 11.  Or, I have to make an appointment to see them a week in advance.  Or, THEY decide when they will do the training that I need and the next training that they are conducting is 3 weeks out and in the middle of the day so my squadron has to take me off the schedule for the day.  I could go on, and I think we all could, but the thing that sends me through the roof is seeing their work ethic and working conditions. 

 

 

I can certainly see how 16 hour days of running around base doing essentially nothing but queep would get old really fast. I was also amazed that you don't get allotted time for PT. The physical fitness of the pilot corps -- people who are responsible for the lives of aircrew and those on the ground -- seems more important than, you know, someone who sits in a cubicle all day. But I guess you can always get a workout in after your exhausting 16 hour day.

 

[Aviation Continuation Pay (ACP - The Bonus)]

Combine a young exposure to aviation with some early 2000s patriotism and the result is yours truly. After seeing how awesome I look in a flight suit with my sleeves rolled up, having to repeatedly tell young women that I'm married and having seen the vapes trail off my strakes from an aggressive closed pattern, my kids will undoubtedly want to follow in my footsteps. I'm already thinking about the conversation that I hope will inform them of the unseen surprises that lurk in a bureaucracy - Changs decide your next assignment, chicks don't dig droid operators, you get yelled at if your sleeves aren't around your wrists and Santa is not real.

Reading through this thread, and posts like the one above, is quite disconcerting. I am a civ pilot select headed for OTS sometime in the future and this thread certainly has opened my eyes to some of the problems the AF is facing right now. Just the thought of going to Reapers after UPT makes me nauseous. Some questions if you'll indulge me: Knowing what you know now, being in for 5, 10, 20 years, if you could go back and tell your younger self "Don't join!" would your younger self have listened? Would you regret it 10 years down the road having not joined?

I suppose it says something about my overall commitment to join that an online forum would cause me to re-think my future career as a military pilot. You all make valid points, but there have to be some redeeming qualities to being an AF pilot.

I apologize if this is too much of a digression for this thread's topic. I was just reading through so I thought I'd post it here.