reloder

I had T-41 training at the Valdosta airport prior to T-37s and 38s at Moody. I remember my T-41 instructor as a young guy, probably no college, wanted to go on to the airlines. He was a competent teacher and had the patience to put up with my fumbling around. Nice guy. I hope he found his dream. For what the T-41 program was intended for back then, he did a good job.

Found this link showing changes to USAF pilot training over the years. Might be of interest. https://www.aetc.af.mil/Portals/88/Documents/history/AFD-070130-081.pdf?ver=2016-01-12-160015-923

That made me laugh. I recall a 1980s USAF program that put new UPT grads into ANG/AFR units as a first assignment because there were no slots in active duty units. So we put an impressionable 2Lt into a unit of folks who essentially were people who wanted out of active duty for a variety of reasons, some good, some not so much. What could go wrong with that?!

Where do these prior-rated E's come from? Certainly not the USAF. Army helos maybe?

What is a WO? Otherwise, I'm still unconvinced that the old way (T-41/T-37/T-38) was inferior to whatever is done these days.

I suppose that includes me...T-41/T-37, and T-38 at Moody, 1967. Leaving aside the issue of airframe age, would not this type of pilot training meet the needs of today's aircraft and mission types?

What is GUPT?

Seems like a reasonable question. If anyone is familiar with today's personnel procedures, why not give him an informed and courteous answer?

Nope, they appear not to...but think they do more so than anyone else. Or maybe I'm just remembering how we were.

T-6? No, I'm old. IP in tandem a/c: F-4, F-104. IP in side by side a/c: T-37, B-727, DC-9, MD-80, ERJ-170. IP in separate a/c: A-10. Neat fact. The prototype B-52 had a tandem seating set-up, like the B-47. Curtis Lemay thought differently and told Boeing to redo the cockpit to a side by side arrangement.

Is there such a thing as T-37 style initial jet training? I realize that this debate is over, but I remain of the opinion that side-by-side seating was a better teaching environment for this segment of pilot training.

In my new hire airline class, I was next to oldest with about 4400 hours total. There were a number of young guys in their mid-20s who commented that my total time was pretty low for such an old coot (44 at the time). I just smiled and passed on the question but I would have liked to explain to them that there is a difference between experience and repetition. Flying boxes and checks from point A to B isn't quite the same as a 35 minute air-to-air sortie in a F-104 where 5 minutes in taxi time was included or an F-4 range sortie with 3 strafe, 6 bomb, and 3 more rocket events.

Google has pictures of the left main gear area that appear to show flaps and slats extended.

What's a Friday shirt?

Sadly, too true.