Leaderboard

When I was a SQ/CC I sent alot of guys to get seaplane and tailwheel rated at a 2 week civilian school in Alaska. I would have done everyone but didn’t have the budget, instead it was about 2 dozen and used as an incentive/reward for great work: IP OTQ, Pilot OTY, etc. Didn't work with everyone’s schedule so randos got to go too. It definitely teaches pilots to unlearn some overly safe attitudes in UPT (nothing wrong with that for their level) and how to fly aggressive without being unsafe, meaning have the confidence to take calculated risks. You can’t quantify the benefit of learning to be comfortable outside your comfort zone, but vignettes can draw connections between unconventional training and success in unconventional combat situations. It’s the same logic used sending officers for masters degrees- “this may not apply directly to current job but you’re learning how to think using new tools, thus arming you for the unknown.” That’s the argument I used to get it approved and left my boss speechless, lol. My thoughts are that if you aren’t actively finding fun creative ways to make the team better you have no business leading. Also if you aren’t willing to take some personal career risk by trusting the team to do these things, you have no business leading in combat. We ought to have the best pilots in the world and that costs money and requires leaders who aren’t pussies.

The defense of democracy is necessary to defeat Russia <go google yourself a random twitter link about Romanian Election Campaign Interference that supports my narrative>

The ORM worksheet requires Tier 2 approval. ETIC 72h

My theory does not hold then…hoping for this week to be it then!!!

The number of times I've wished I had acft MX experience is pretty high versus the number of times Ive needed seaplane experience. Unless Clark gets his wish and we buy a fleet of the spruce goose, I think having pilots with MX experience is going to be useful when it kicks off with china.

Yeah, not feeling it so much anymore (STS)... Woman Made Air Force History. How She Stays Winning (Exclusive)

SWA to end two free checked bags, Wanna Get-Away fares, Wanna Get-Away fares, non-expiring flight credits, and changes for basic fares. Private equity strikes again. Today we announced updates to some of our policies and benefits within our fare bundles. Sharing them with you is important to us, as we’re working to offer you more choices to create travel experiences that fit your needs. Updates to Checked Baggage Policy We will offer two free checked bags to Rapid Rewards® A-List Preferred Members and Customers traveling on Business Select fares. We will also offer one free checked bag to A-List Members and other select Customers. In addition, Southwest will credit one checked bag for Rapid Rewards Credit Cardmembers. All remaining Customers will pay to check their first and second bags, and we will continue to charge for the third and fourth checked bags. Changes will apply to flights booked on or after May 28. Updates to Our Fare Bundles We're updating the benefits of our fares bundles in phases. Whether you’re looking for a lower price with fewer perks, or more benefits for added flexibility, you’ll have the choice to pick what works best for your trip. Phase 1: Beginning this month, we increased our Rapid Rewards earn ratio on our Business Select fares and lowered the earn ratio on our Wanna Get Away® and Wanna Get Away Plus™ fares. We will also begin to vary our redemption rates across our fare products on some high- and low-demand travel periods. Phase 2: Beginning May 28, we will introduce a new Basic fare. This new Basic fare will be our lowest price point and will have less flexibility than other fares. Additionally, we will be adding expiration dates to our Flight Credits, which will vary based on which fare you choose to purchase. The chart below gives you a full picture of the revised fare products as of May 28, 2025, ranging from most flexible to value-first. We recognize these changes may be a disappointment to some, but know we’re committed to building a Southwest that will continue to offer you low fares, convenient flights to destinations you want, and a travel experience that is rewarding. You can count on the Heart of Southwest, our People, to guide you through the changes and welcome you on your next journey with their friendly, award-winning Customer Service.

Current plan for IPT is Private, Instrument, and Multi ratings. I doubt this will change. Flight schools involved in the program must provide the same instrumentation across all the platforms students will be training on.

Can't tell if you're being facetious or not. Seaplane training, really?

Island of white people surprised to find out they have a white military. Ridiculous

Sorry to just throw this in here, but here's what the RAF is getting up to: RAF facing pilot shortage after diversity scheme backfires

It was glorious. Nearly six figures to leave AD just as Delta and SWA were cracking open the spigots. It was a calculated risk after the shit show of 2010/11 force management program, but it paid off. YMMV in 2025.

Couldn’t agree more. I’m an issues guy, through and through. Unfortunately when it comes down the realities of American politics, the Republicans are more aligned with my values than the Democrats. But yes, the Republicans aren’t great either.

Not on that level but I do the same thing so I can keep more of my money. I claim everything I possibly can. New tractor, yep, barn repair, yep, tools, yep, and more, all legal. I guess I'm skirting taxes, using loopholes. I guess since your'e honorable, you don't use any so called loopholes? Don't claim anything? Pay as much as you can?

What @Clark Griswold said. Air Force trainer aircraft acquisition has been the next-to-last priority, for a long time. When the AF went to replace those aircraft, they didn't care enough to put the proper resources behind it. Leading to today's inevitable state of affairs. Also, my hazy recollection - folks can correct as necessary. The T-41 had worked well for a long time, until McPeak became CSAF in the early 90s, and decided people needed to train in something aerobatic. The AF procured the T-3 Firefly, which was pulled from service after three fatal accidents. After that, the Air Force vacillated between several different solutions: sending people straight to T-37s with no prior flight time provided, paying for people to get a certain amount of hours at a private school of their choice, sending people to get their hours at a school designated by the AF, and probably other options over time that I don't recall. The T-37 had worked well for a long time, besides being old and outdated. The Air Force tried replacing in in the early 80s in a competition eventually won by Fairchild Republic's T-46 Eaglet. They went over budget, and the program was cancelled. Just goes to show you - even during the height of the Reagan era military buildup, the Air Force didn't care enough to get a new trainer built. The AF tried again in the early 90s with the JPATS program, and ended up with the T-6, which were delivered between 2000 - 2009 or thereabouts. And, based on this thread, the Air Force can't seem to keep them flying, for whatever obscene reason. The T-38 had worked for a long time, but was old, outdated, and wearing out. In the early 90s, the Air Force began procuring the T-1 Jayhawk, and split pilot training into a track for T-38s and T-1s, with part of the reasoning being to extend the life of the existing T-38 aircraft. In the early 2000s, the AF began the T-X program with a stated goal of replacing the T-38. That program proceeded in fits and starts, but generally really sucked hind tit when it came to funding over the years, with some years having no funding at all. Finally, in 2016, the AF released a formal Request for Proposal, and in 2018 selected Boeing's T-7. And Boeing has basically been Boeing, and fucked it all up.

We have an assumption problem here: ALL SERE instructors are mentally unstable. With that quantity known, we have serious violation of the crazy/hot matrix application.

NTSB Released today: Read the Investigation Preliminary report. Read the NTSB's urgent recommendation report on mitigating the risk of midair collisions at DCA. Some highlights that popped out to me: At 2047:40, the crew of flight 5342 received an automated traffic advisory from the airplane’s traffic alert and collision avoidance system (TCAS) system stating, “Traffic, Traffic.” At this time, the aircraft were about 0.95 nm apart, as shown in Figure 3. At 2045:30, PAT25 passed over the Memorial Bridge. CVR data revealed that the IP told the pilot that they were at 300 ft and needed to descend. The pilot said that they would descend to 200 ft. The PAT25 FDR indicated that the radio altitude of the helicopter at the time of the collision was 278 ft and had been steady for the previous 5 seconds. At 2047:58, or 1 second before impact, flight 5342 began to increase its pitch. FDR data showed the airplane’s elevators were deflected near their maximum nose up travel. And the airplane rolled about 450°, impacting the water in an approximate 45° nose- low attitude with a left roll about 90°. PAT was at least 60 feet high...not sure if those helicopter routes are supposed to be AGL or MSL, but DCA is only 14 ft field elevation but either way they were high. The CRJ must have seen the PAT too late and applied full deflection. How terrible that must have been for the passengers and crew before impact.