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Napoleon_Tanerite

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Posts posted by Napoleon_Tanerite

    Track Selects and Assignment Nights

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Danger41 said:

    This is not meant to have any connotation at all so keep everyone's panties unwadded.  I'm asking because I'm curious.  In the T-1, how much of the flying is done on the autopilot for the students?

    Depends on which phase of training.  In Trans (first category after track) it is exclusively hand flown, even at cruise.  The student hands off aircraft control to the IP in order to get ATIS, run TOLD, brief approaches, etc, but that's it.  Trans sorties consist of MOA work (TP stalls, vert S, etc) and VFR patterns for the most part, so it's stick (yoke) and rudder work anyway.  Nav they cruise with the A/P on, but aside from GPS approachs (where the intentional emphasis is how to use the automation to fly approaches) all instrument approaches are hand flown.  Holding and procedure tracks/turns may be flown with the autopilot on, but only in heading or roll mode, so the student still needs to figure out where to point the nose.  Mission Fam is a mix.  Wing work is exclusively hand flown, even in cruise, but lead is about 75% A/P on, with the exception of on LLs, which is hand flown at all times.

    • Upvote 1

    Track Selects and Assignment Nights

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by Napoleon_Tanerite

    46 minutes ago, di1630 said:

    I'd say the bigger factor in T-38 success is attitude. 69% of T-1 students would probably do fine in the T-38. 96%+ of T-38 students would do fine in the T-1.

    I knew a reservist who flew T-38s for 8+ years but had to go fly T-1's to make rank....he'd stop by with some great stories.

    T-1 studs should take pride in their training and jet. Just recognize it's a different mentality being taught. My T-38 students would talk about their T-1 roomies sleeping in and playing video games while they were pulling 12 hour days.

    That's where the animosity often lies between the tracks. Not better/worse...just different perspective.

    We did get some T-38 studs who just weren't cut out for single seat. Ok pilots overall but not on their own so we kept them safe enough to pass, got them crew aircraft and they've done great things.


    Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

    Attitude is everything.  I know it sounds like blue bullshit, but there really isn't a track or assignment that is bad (or good) top to bottom.  No matter where you your attitude and approach to it is the key factor in whether you enjoy it.  Every assignment has good aspects and bad aspects, and anyone who says otherwise is delusional or a liar.

    Track Selects and Assignment Nights

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    10 hours ago, Inertia17 said:

    The T-X is coming...eventually.

    Ya, as a direct replacement for the UPT and IFF T-38 only on a 3 to 5 buy ratio, hoping to cover the gap via reduced attrition.  The T-1 will be around well into the 2030s.  

    Some of the more amusing calls I fielded as a T-1 Flt/CC were from my T-38 counterparts trying to poach my gunships/C-17s/AFSOC/etc in exchange for their E-3s and such.  That's all well and good if it helps my guys, but the phone was quickly set to the "go fuck yourself" position when those guys tried to imply that because their students were flying the T-38 they were inherently better than my T-1 students and would have aced the T-1 program and finished ahead of my guys anyway.

    The fact of the matter is it is a myth that doing well in T-6s is an automatic identifier of future performance.  It is frequently a result of either prior flying experience, or being a faster learner within a given medium.  I saw guys who aced T-6s, chose T-1s (to the wailing and gnashing of teeth of the people who though they should go 38s) and then finish bottom 3rd in the T-1.  Conversely I saw guys finish dead last in their T-6 class, come across the street to me with an apology note pinned to their lapel, and knock T-1s out of the park.

    So implying that students that track T-38s are inherently better than students that track T-1s is quantifiably bullshit.  There most certainly are people who bottom feed the T-6, and then bottom feed the T-1, but there are also students who kill the T-6 and are gone from the T-38 before their first checkride.  I'd be willing to bet those 38 washouts would have been T-1 washouts all the same.  The T-1 and T-38 [programs aren't so different in terms of difficulty, it's just the nature of what is difficult.  The T-38 is fast moving and demands precise and rapid decision making.  The T-1 is complex, operates in a complex environment with limited to no outside decision making help (Sup, SOF, wingman, etc), and requires a lot of dynamic task management.  The product of each program is different, but I wouldn't say one is better trained than the other.  

    • Upvote 12

    ?s on ADSC (Active Duty Service Commitment)

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Bump.

    I have a DOS set for 1 Apr '18, and am now getting hit with a deployment.  I have 60 days of leave carried over from last year, in addition to the leave I am accruing in FY17.  This will total up to 85.5 days of leave to burn before separation.  Is there a way to parlay this into a way out of the deployment?  I have been looking for anything in writing that stipulates a minimum time home before separating, and if they can legally obligate me to lose leave or sell it back instead of taking it?

    Boeing unveils its T-38 replacement

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    18 hours ago, Boomer6 said:

    Lets not kid ourselves, SPs aren't looking outside anyways.

    I know-- that's why it sucks for me!  I've got my SP with his head in his ass, my jumpseat with his head in his ass, and the T-38 student with his head in his ass.  That's 3-1 against me, a more advantageous paint job would be nice!

    • Downvote 1

    Boeing unveils its T-38 replacement

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    7 hours ago, matmacwc said:

    The T-38 isn't impressive either, it's a trainer, that is all.

    But it's fast!  Truly the flagship of any UPT base (just ask the T-38 guys).

    Anything that doesn't involve going fast (you know, things like turning within one county, landing at anything other than ludicrous speed, etc) means nothing to the T-38.

    And let's not forget...

    71728318.jpg

    Boeing unveils its T-38 replacement

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    9 hours ago, HU&W said:

    So, something more like this?

     

    The 'ole white rocket paint job would be a nice improvement-- or something along the lines of what the T-6 has.  I think that paint job looks professional and military without being a hazard in a congested student training environment.  Or-- say what you will about the Navy, but they know what color to paint trainers.

     

    8 hours ago, F16Deuce said:

    How about for the Thunderbirds?

    No mention of that.  Brief I got was an AETC centric one.  They briefly addressed the other T-38 functions, but the scope was limited beyond that.  The Thunderbirds haven't flown the T-38 in decades, and I don't think the F-16 is going anywhere any time soon (CAF or T-birds).  No good reason to program what is likely to be a VERY limited number of tails to fill slots in a flying show choir.  

    Boeing unveils its T-38 replacement

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    52 minutes ago, tac airlifter said:

    Why do you say that?

    Because it is impossible to clear for friggin T-38s.  I get it "hurt durr fighter pilot" but the T-38 is not a fighter.  It's a trainer flown by students who have no idea where they are, where they're going or what they're doing.  When you congest the airspace with dozens of students in similar states of mental dysfunction it would be nice to at least be able to SEE the other airplanes.

    • Upvote 3

    Boeing unveils its T-38 replacement

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Current brief (as of a few months ago) stated that this is EXCLUSIVELY a UPT/IFF T-38 replacement.  There is no current plan to replace ADAIR, CPPT, or other T-38 roles.  This of course may have already changed, but they're not planning a big buy on this airplane for now.

     

    And jesus tapdancing christ in a birchbark canoe.... what idiot decided to paint it camouflaged?  Was it the same idiot who decided to paint the current T-38s camouflaged?  They deserve to get their pecker kicked in.

    • Upvote 2

    Escaping RPAs

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    My guess is this ILoveScotch guy is one of those true blue pickle shiners who min ran his time on the line, stepped on his bros to be an exec asap (without learning dick about his jet or mission) and moved on up through the exec/cag path to his current place in life. I further guess that he's an O4 with fewer hours than most of the copilots in his community.  He's the guy who can't fathom life outside of the AF, and looks SHOCKED when you say you're getting out.  He's the kind of guy who asks dumbass questions like "what are you going to do when you get out?" not out of curiosity, but because he genuinely believes that the only paycheck in the world is available from the AF.  He's the kind of guy who is the exact reason I'm getting out.

    Track Selects and Assignment Nights

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    59 minutes ago, 10percenttruth said:

    I agree that attitude is utter bullshit from IPs, but it's not exclusive to SPS or -38s, unfortunately. Hell, just sit in on any assignment night at any UPT base & wait for a guy to drop a bomber or JSTARS, the room gets quiet & everyone looks at the dude like he just got diagnosed with stage 4 ass cancer. It's fucked up & a really great way to send dudes who just did something that 99.9% of the population could never do off on the rest of their careers. God knows i'd rather have to retrain a ton of salty copilots that are bitter about the pill fed to them by UPT than a batch of folks excited about the mission. /s

    Spot on.  I've had guys who had E-3 and E-8 as their number one choice and get treated as you describe above.  I hate the student scuttlebutt about what is a good or bad assignment, but even worse is when that perception is fed by IPs.  It's one thing for some good natured shit slinging between communities, but for an IP to genuinely put down the mission of another airframe that he/she is completely unfamiliar with is a major foul-- ESPECIALLY when it's a FAIP doing it.  

    • Upvote 1

    T6 gouge

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    You should be able to perfectly memorize the boldface & ops limits in 1-2 days.  You'll be given this information when you get a stack of pubs and TOs when you begin.  Fill out blank BF & OL until you could do so in your sleep.  Once you've got that down start studying the for whatever academic test you've got next.  You'll have plenty of time during the academics phase, you just have to make effective use of it.  Before your class starts, enjoy the free time because you won't have much once you start.

    This.  Know your BF.OL cold, and don't study anything else.  Pre-studying is a waste of time at best, and dangerous at worst.  It's a lot harder to un-learn bad info gleaned from old gouge than to learn something for the first time.

    U.S. Considers Up To 72 New F-15s Or F-16s

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Jee-sus!  This idea was kicked around YEARS ago when the F-22 was on the edge of the rocks.  Now that the F-35 is on the rocks, past the rocks, and up the beach they revive the same idea.  It's about time!  The F-15s and F-16s that are currently being produced are vastly superior to the ones we bought back in the day, and the factory integration of a lot of current technology can't be ignored.  Even some of the stuff that has been grafted onto our fleet would probably function a lot better if it came factory installed.  With Canada bailing out of the F-35 entirely I'm sure the Air Force is looking at the reality of the F-35 never coming to fruition, or at least never being what it was sold as.  Curious-- they didn't seem to mention buying new A-10s.....

    Track Selects and Assignment Nights

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Already happening on the T-1 side, big backups on follow-on schoolhouses.  Depending on MDS it's not unusual to have 6+ months from UPT grad to a class start for follow-on training.  Part of the reason they've been dropping RPA to T-1s.  Also not sure about other bases, but CBM is doing flights for grad students when possible just to try to keep some semblance of skill set alive.

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