FUSEPLUG

Another heads up - be careful as you navigate through. Apparently TurboTax now has ways to upgrade your service with little or no notice. I've used the program for free for 4 years now and as I get to the end of my return this year, they want $34 to e-file my returns. I read through some of the online community forums and apparently a lot of people are getting snared into an upgraded service without even knowing it. The only way to fix the problem - create a new account and start over. Needless to say a lot of TurboTax users (including me) are pretty pissed off. So, on principle, I went over to TaxSlayer.com and tried their free service for military members. The interface isn't as pretty or intuitive as TurboTax's, but with my previous year's returns and some pilot math I was able to get my 1040's just right and got my refund to within $14 of what TurboTax calculated before stabbing me in the back. And TaxSlayer truly is free to military members!

Holy sh!t - so many questions. Let's start with, "So how is one supposed to pay the bills while here at the 'Deid?"

And by "near me" you mean Dover/Hickam... because a 5 stop OIF in a Charleston/McChord jet from the early 90's would never benefit from such fancy technology! All these CPDLC/moving map/FFS upgrades are B.S. when we have jets over there with APU's that work 50% of the time. Maybe that money should be put into hardware that actually works in the 120+ degree temps over the summer. It's hard to support all of those software upgrades and the avionics that run them, when you have no cooling airflow whatsoever. (For the steam-gauge guys - the 17's avionics shut down automatically after so long in temps much above 90 F) No fun when you're trying to run a preflight or crunch a flight plan. I love the jet, I just wish the upgrades were going to things more appropriate for the mission she is truly seeing.

After a couple years on the 17, I got a chance to ride along on an airdrop on a J-model.... holy crap. The whole "puppy crossing a busy street" is a great analogy when comparing the 17's SA-providing "avionics" to those of the 130J. The 130 guys were bringing JOG charts up on the MFD! I'm thrilled if the plate for the approach I need to shoot hasn't been ripped out of the FLIP one week after it was issued. I'll be damned if there weren't times where I couldn't find the ILS 15 for CHS in the 60+ lbs of FLIP we carry on every overseas mission. Advantage: J-model

This was one of the classic replies to her myspace blog: "Just know that there have been over 1 million views, and all 1 million people have the come to the same conclusion- You look like chewbacca."

Nothing good can come of this....

But you get to wear your reflective belt to the pisser every day!

I can't speak on the BPC, but around the perimeter of the Bra it looks like there are a bunch of receptacles. There is usually a group of people with laptops sitting up on the stage too so I assume that's for plugging in. The times I was in there, the south side of the DEL is opened up and usually full of computer users taking advantage of the air conditioned environment. Don't worry, you'll still sweat your ass off while eating at the CC Chow Hall, but at least the WiFi hotspots are working.

HA! I was right behind that dude when he got the drive-by uniform correction today. Pretty much the height of my 120 day experience.

If I had a thread for every time I've oversped something in the jet we'd have to start a new forum. I declare this topic ...

Are you kidding me? I love what I do, but those chocks are just a small part of the reason it's 8 more years and I am out!

"Use your situational awareness, your critical thinking, your wingmen, and make the right decision." Holy cliche, Batman! Those terms have officially lost all meaning.

Can a 130 even fly that high?

I've never worn glasses while flying until recently. The eyes don't like the sunrise much after a 5 hour ocean crossing, so I went out and bought a $20 pair of glasses at Target. (Not sure what brand, but they have the Ironman logo on them so they match my watch... a definate fashion statement). They get pretty badly abused so I didn't want to go with anything that I would feel bad about replacing every six months. As far as the headset issue goes, I've tried wearing them under the earcups, but it really kills a lot of the noise attenuation (especially if you use the Oregon Aero comfort kit), so I've started wearing them propped up on top of the earcup so they angle downward. I know it kills a lot of the coolness factor, but I still get good coverage over the eyes and it's very easy to take them off if I need to look down at the pedastal or something like that. I look like an old man peering through bifocals, but it works.

Playing the devil's advocate here... I'd keep my mouth shut at this point. Apparently you're supposed to remember every time you've EVER been to a doctor when you're filling out that paper work. I'm sorry, but that's just insane. I was truthful and mentioned a doctor's visit that I wish I never had. Two years and an appeal to the Surgeon General later... let's just say I'd be an 0-3 by now. The MEPS is where they are going to screw you. They will find anything wrong to send you packing. Get your class date, commission, get through UPT, and if it ever comes up again, I'd be very suprised. Again, I'm just playing the devil's advocate... I commend you on wanting to make the correction. If I were in your position, I would just continue along on the ride, and if anyone specifically asks, then be truthful. To this point you haven't "lied" about anything. Good luck!

I had grayout issues on nearly every flight in the Tweet. During contact, to max perform the jet, instead of "pulling the to tickle," I would "pull to the tunnel." I strained the best I could, and felt that I had a good technique going, but I just had no tolerance. It usually started right around 4 G's. I wasn't too concerned about it because I knew from my second or third flight that I wanted to go heavies, but there was a time or two where I was about a half second from hitting the stick to knock-off the instructors cloverleaf demonstration. Never G-LOC'd though. Keep on top of the strain maneuver and if the problem continues past midphase (do they still have that checkride?) I'd go back and talk to the folks in Flight Physiology. I guarantee they will be more than happy to sit down with you for an hour and work on your AGSM.

I actually have spent quite a few hours in a military aircraft conducting training in a MOA. I too was a civilian pilot and instructor for 10 years before I ever got into a military aircraft. This isn't a military vs. civilian argument, nor is it an argument of who has the right to what airspace. This is a matter of how the airspace is regulated. I agree 100% that it can be dangerous when civilian traffic starts intermixing with military traffic in these MOAs. God help the poor soul that decides to roll through a Tweet MOA. My point is that there are a lot of high-speed maneuvers going on in these MOA's but for some reason the FAA and the Military see no reason to keep the respective traffic in these areas separate. ATC will vector IFR traffic around a MOA, but the regs set no limits for VFR aircraft. Until such a time that the rules change (and I would support that), GA pilots should continue to use extra vigilance, request flight following, and traverse MOAs as necessary. As for the "50$" comment... you know as well as I do that money plays a much bigger part in the flight planning of a civilian pilot than it does in the military. Sure we have all these fuel-saving initiatives and whatever in the AF, but when some 16 year old kid is trying to knock out his private pilot cross country, that $50 in gas is a big deal.

You shouldn't be sorry and you made no misjudgement. Until MOA's become Prohibited or Restricted, you have every right in the world to be there. You did everything that you are legally required to do to transit that airspace. Part 1 of FARs defines a MOA as "...airspace established outside Class A airspace to separate or segregate certain non-hazardous military activities from IFR Traffic and to identify for VFR traffic where these activities are conducted." The AIM Section 3-4-5 subpart c says: "Pilots operating under VFR should exercise extreme caution while flying within a MOA when military activity is being conducted." It goes on to say that, "Prior to entering an active MOA, pilots should contact the controlling agency for traffic advisories." In otherwords ATC would have kept you out of there if you were IFR. You were aware of the MOA and even knew it was hot before transiting so you were extra vigilant. That's the whole point of that piece of airspace for VFR traffic. If you weren't receiving Flight Following, maybe you could have called the nearest ATC facility for advisories as stated in the AIM, but that certainly isn't a requirement. I wouldn't go out of my way to start flying around MOA's while VFR. If its a short deviation off course to miss a portion of a MOA, then sure. But if I'm going to burn an extra $50 in fuel (we're talking 172's here) to fly around, then forget it.

When we come out of Altus' Pilot Initial Qual (PIQ) program we are considered "First Pilots." What this means exactly, I don't know. But from day one, as long as we are with an IP, we can fly from either left or right seat during all phases of flight and on missions. There is no real system (that I've seen) for determining who flys from which seat. It's usually just a "which seat you want?" when we get to the jet. Sometimes an IP will feel more comfortable flying from the left seat if we are doing AR or something like that, but most of the time they try to get FP's in the left seat to build confidence. My understading of the upgrade process now is that when we go back to Altus for PCO (Pilot Checkout?) we're expected to be somewhat proficient in flying assaults and holding contact in AR (to name a few items). It's more of a "checkout" than an instructional program. When we get back to our unit, we do a few buddy rides as "acting AC" before finally doing an operational mission with an evaluator for certification as AC. That's a couple years down the road for me, so I can't speak too intelligently on it, but that's what I've heard. I'm sure someone will be able to elaborate.

Sounds like someone was trying to rehack their noisy currency at the wrong time... a simple mistake.

Just one more thing for future airmen to memorize at BMT/OTS/ROTC/AFA Wasn't the Code of Conduct more than enough?

No they can't... cause it's President's Day. It can wait til Tuesday.

A dude in my class was Security Forces in his enlisted days. After soloing, he walked from the flighline to the cop shop (chute and all) and had one of the guys on duty throw him in handcuffs and drive him back to the squadron in the cop car. The cop escorted our 'cuffed classmate through the halls of the squadron to the flight room. That definately got some looks from IP's and other students in the hallway. Needless to say, we weren't going to let SF get him into the flightroom. He was promptly tackled at the doorway, the handcuffs were removed, and he went for a swim. It was pretty cool of the SF guys to play along (probably the most exciting thing that happened to them all week on an AETC base).

Fill in the blank (usually a Bonanza) and that's how most GA accident investigation stories begin...