B.M.

People can and do say "Travis". You did. I just did. Easy. Move along folks, nothing to see here.

So is the rusty trombone, but that doesn't mean you should use it in polite company.

Sort of. However, his reflective belt was on back order because belts are bought with the O&M pot of money, and that was emptied to provide more B.I.T. training for our warfighting customers. If you had read the minutes (or at least the BLUF part) from the CGO or rising 6 meeting you would've known that.

Yep. The official verbiage was along the lines of "When you put on your reflective belt, I want you to reflect on the lives lost and ruined by driving under the influence". I'm sure it'll work, too... I'm sure when the guys now push it up they'll think back to these trying times of wearing disco belts and call a cab, instead of thinking they're bulletproof and getting behind the wheel. Makes perfect sense.

Reflective belts are now mandatory 24/7 at a certain AMC base in California. Indefinitely. This comes on the heels of 3 DUIs this Memorial Day weekend, including one that resulted in a 60 year old civilian man dying because of a drunken Airman behind the wheel. I'm not quite sure how wearing reflective belts helps to prevent another DUI, though. And I really don't think the family will feel better knowing the base is wearing them as punishment, either. I guess perception really is more important than reality.

"...Chief..."

Especially when you cut corners and take a huge bite out of the safety cushion because you "know better than they do". And then they wonder why the seat cushion has to be removed from the boomer's a$$ with a pair of pliers

More or less. Depends on who we're flying with: When the WG/CC is a former national boxing champion, you tend to follow the rules a bit more when he's around. Lest he lump you in that pitiful group of order/discipline breakers known as "gravel-walkers" and decide he should make an example for others who may be tempted to think for themselves.

Excuse me? Booms have a lot more to do than warming your "precious" nuggets.... We make pizzas too!

Blessed Tennessee nectar... What airframe are you on? When you say 250K are you talking the 10 or yours? Again, the 10's basic aircraft weight is ~ 250K, and I'm sober as a bird. Unfortunately.

249K gross weight? KC-10s weigh a little more than that when they're weighed at depot. Empty. With no crew. No gas. And no galley panels filled to the brim with Kashi cereal

That's one of the best non-Rainman quotes I've seen in awhile. Nicely done. Say what you will about Q-2s being for douches who can't make a choice; They give an evaluator options and, properly used, can help to identify future problem children. Whether you choose to use that option is a different story.

Sounds like a lot of "fun". It happens in contact, too: A KC-10 the other night had quasi-F22 fuel vapes coming off it's receptacle. Two HUGE fuel trails going all the way into the huge vacuum known as the #2 engine. No burner, though. Itsokimapilot: That 4th picture, especially, is just incredible! Your bud's got some skills. crewreport: Dude, put away the ruler and just chill. If you want to be proven wrong then feel free to start the fight back up in the AR thread. Or you can do everyone a favor by being a man, leaving it alone, and enjoying the pictures.

I understand how the system works. Read my post again. I was talking about you guys normally shutting off the AR pumps a few seconds before you punch him off to prevent fuel spray upon disconnect. I can speak more slowly or quote T.O.s if you'd like

TAC It's just fuel spraying out of the viper's receptacle. Completely normal for KC-135s: 135 boom surge boots and teflon seals aren't the best (1950s tech), so if you disconnect with the pumps still going there's usually a bit of residual that sprays everywhere unless the tanker turns the AR pumps off some time before disconnect. There's an awesome A-10 picture somewhere on the interwebs that shows a JP-8 deluge in contact, but my google-fu is weak today. Maybe someone else can find it. It also looks like the receptacle is probably leaking a bit. The spraying will definitely stop when the viper pilot closes the receptacle. Stunna, I forgot it in my pubs bag, I swear. I'll put it on in just a minute :-)

Fair enough. Thank you!

I originally posted the picture and comment in a new thread because I didn't care enough to use the search function. The irony is it's sort of a microcosm of the AF: I try to lighten the tanker mood from the 15 pages of bitching about tail number calls and ego-checks w/regard to UPT rankings, and I get shwacked for not following the established procedure because I stepped into someone's pet issue. At least I had my shirt tucked in and the correct length socks when I did it.

Is this some sort of sick joke?

Because most boomers aren't drones, and most fighter pilots aren't douchebags. Post the pictures that remind you of why flying is worth the a$$pain of AMCART, long debriefs, and pencil whipping your latest homo CBT.