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Today, a good friend and I flew formation. It was the first time in 34 years that two A-37's flew in formation in North America. Took them from Boise to St George VFR. And yes... it was a blast.

So let me get this straight, 20 million illegal immigrants coming into the country is better than a small number of constitutional violations that are being resolved in the courts? That's the math. I don't work in the Congress, so I don't get to pick a made-up third option where the border is closed and there are no violations of constitutional rights. I have a choice between a candidate that made everything worse, dramatically, and a candidate who single-handedly reduced illegal immigration to near zero, while fucking up in some edge cases. That's pretty easy math to me. No one is denying the constitutional violations, though I suspect you would view far more of the deportation activity as a violation than I would. But even if I agreed with you on every single case, the alternative was a slow rolling catastrophe for my country and the country my children will inherit. Caveats are part of living in the real world. I will be very black and white in this point. If this is a literal statement, then you are a hack. And while I could put together a rather extensive list of individual things he has done that are quite easy for me or any other conservative-minded person to support, and I can even make a smaller list of things that any fair-minded liberal would support, if you can't do that on your own, then you are simply beyond any position that is worth engaging with. In that case, TDS is a fair label.

That picture causes tinnitus.

Sorry about the FB link https://www.facebook.com/reel/1331132237948069

I am a weather geek and always wondered what it would be like to be a Hurricane Hunter. For those who followed Hurricane Melissa which is the third strongest hurricane on record (892MB and still intensifying at landfall), the NOAA and USAFR Hurricane Hunters had a constant presence as the storm built and hit Jamaica and Cuba. USAFR flies a fleet of 10 WC-130Js and NOAA operates two PC-3's. One of the P-3s (named Kermit), was flying a mission during the rapid intensification. As they departed the eye and flew into the eyewall they encountered what looks to me like extreme turbulence. Ultimately they elected to depart the storm because of the turbulence ..something that rarely happens. Video below shows what must have been a tense ride. Note the engineer working the throttles...or trying to while getting tossed around. AQP1zLdnXrSgI_2_OBE_F0hhLxJeGO4jFK1eae_iKwtS_ust8aU-GrgMjUvsO9FJVYVRDFgG7Q7fe2AYKxCS-1egSOsuHaBH7rl8OO9TGvWqRQ.mp4

Too much effort is spent justifying upholding the law. Just call them criminals and keep arresting them. The people who don't want us to follow the laws are never going to be convinced no matter how many high-level whatevers you catch, and the people who are already supporters are just going to be turned off if you're caught in a lie. There's never going to be an administration in the history of the country that loses an election for upholding immigration laws. Plenty have lost elections for over-promising and under-delivering.

Good a place as any for this.... Time to cut down on uniform flair? https://cdrsalamander.substack.com/p/overdue-for-de-norkification-of-our

No, the A-37 sounds like a T-38. it doesn't make the dog whistle of the T-37's J-69. The J-85 in the Super Tweet puts out as much in Mil as a T-38A puts out in Max.

Yeah, absolutely. I did the IFT replacement at the Air Force academy when they had gotten rid of IFT (or whatever the program was pre-2006). It was like half of a PPL course, taught by civilians, and had basically no standards. I learned practically nothing. Then it was over 2 years before I started upt, so I had long since brain dumped everything from that course. The T-6 is perfectly suitable to be the first airplane and Air Force pilot touches. Edit: agreed with the above however, 45 hours would be wholly insufficient. 100 hours is probably The Sweet spot before going to an intermediate or advanced trainer. If we're going to transition back to everybody flies the T-38 (replacement) then we probably need more like 150 hours in something like the T-6. At least back when I was a FAIP, The limited t38 slots meant that only your best students were going to it, so you could get away with much less training.

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I'm digging the engineer's hat!! 🫡🫡🫡 And Kermit's bouncing all over the place! 😮😮😮

Quibbling. They DEA actually arrested 617 suspected cartel members across the U.S. between 25–29 August 2025, that number (171) was in New England only. That operation also led to the seizure of large quantities of fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, counterfeit pills, firearms and millions in cash. DEA officials may have described these as “high-level arrests” and part of a broader effort to dismantle the cartel. I don't give a fuck about how these criminals are described, as long as they are concentrating on removing these individuals from our society, they can call them the Easter Bunny! And of course Massachusetts law enforcement officials will try to downplay the fact that these cartel narcotics networks are operating almost unabated in their state!

Sometimes cheap can be more fun! I'm picking up a Rock Island TM22 (in reality, built by Derya Arms in Türkiye and rebranded by RIA) tomorrow that's about half the MSRP with only 5 rounds through it! Yea, it looks like (and is) a cheap .22 AR-wannabe; but reports are it's a decent plinker (with the right ammo!) and you can never have too many of those! I figured since I scored 2K rounds of .223/5.56 over the weekend at a great price ($500), I have credit to spend on another toy! Range report to follow...

Anyone can do garage beer. Now shower beer, that's a different level. Pic brought to you by The BrewDog Hotel in Columbus. Yes, I've stayed there.

This is pretty typical of the majority of progressives…unless they’re in an echo chamber where they can, at best, regurgitate talking points, they don’t want engage in substantive debate or explain their positions past the point of emotions. Even Bill Maher, who is anything but a conservative, called out the high profile types on the left because so many refuse to go on his show. He also then said that those on the right will at least show up. “And these are people, all people, I voted for,” the “Real Time” host continued. “Think about that: they’re afraid to come on the show of a guy who voted for them. The Republicans? They show up, and when they do, they take their beating like a man.” https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/articles/bill-maher-slams-high-profile-194828481.html

Hey all, What I’m about to share, take with a very large grain of salt. I have a friend who applied and their commander was actually on the board this year and just based on a conversation we were having, although the government is shutdown, results are still being processed and potentially at final adjudication. Final adjudication means that the selection list is making its way up the chain for final approval before being released by AFPC. To me it would make no sense that the Air Force would leave a board like this up to soley gov civilians to process. There had to have been a contingency plan in place. But again, after over a decade in the Air Force, I can maybe count on one how many things have been done that makes sense lol. However, with this news and my friend actually being stationed at Randolph extremely close to AFPC, I am hopeful for results in the coming weeks.

Anyone care to comment on the stupidity of coaching contracts? IMO, no taxpayer funds should be used. That's what TV deals, tickets, sports betting kickbacks, etc are for.

I'd have to look at the slides again but I'm pretty sure eventually when UPT goes to a single aircraft model (T-7) there's different syllabi after track select depending on which type you track ie Heavy guys wouldn't be flying events like 4 ship form. IIRC after track select Heavy students basically go direct to the FTU. Edit to add: if you have a .mil email PM me and I can send you the placemat slide explaining the current plan.

I put Columbus Laughlin Vance. Don’t want to be in the middle of nowhere Enid with a wife and kiddos. My wife doesn’t want to be in Texas because she thinks the cartel will kidnap us close to the border lol

The Gators got screwed....that was totally a catch. I was pulling for them!

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Congrats! Your package looked good. Glad the board could see that.

Agreed, that's pretty badass! Love to see peope pushing the limits. I'll keep flying my tailwheels where they belong... < 500 ft AGL.

Congratulations dude. We're both at Creech I believe. I’m at the 22nd

400 FPM passing through 35k…that is crazy. I’m impressed.

Just got notified! UPT Select! 99 Pilot 98 PCSM 320 flight hours PPL/Instrument/Commercial/MultiEngine/Certified Flight Instructor. #1 at squadron/group/wing! First time applying. 11 years in the military. Prior enlisted maintainer/ Prior Flight Engineer/ Current RPA Pilot.

Just got notified, UPT select! 96 Pilot 92 PCSM, PPL, second time applying and LOR from Wg/CC in non rated AFSC. Good luck gents!!

Congratulations! I’m waiting to hear. I’m on the west coast and so our day is just getting started

@M2 I’ve got the M&P 15/22 and that is a great little plinker. If that RIA 22 is half as good as the 15/22 that should be a fun little toy.

But... does it have a built-in crew ladder?

Kudos Huggy for taking him. I chatted with him prior. He was really looking forward to going. Thanks from all of us.

Like I said....Take what I said with a huge grain of salt. I am hoping what I heard was right and I hope this government shutdown doesn't delay the results

Yeah, I'm sorry!! At SGU, I took Hank Hoffman flying: 205 combat missions in the A-37 and a TPS graduate Neat guy! Still knew and flew the jet really well!

The transfer is “just paperwork.” Your losing unit/AFRC will have to release you to the new unit/guard, transfer your UPT ADSC over, etc. I would tell your SQ/CC you are starting to look into this plan due to the hardship on the family and its long term unsustainability. Any good human should understand and be supportive. Hopefully he’ll also be willing to help you with the search (e.g. reach out to other CCs in your local region to vouch for you, ask for transfer help, etc.)

Personally I’d find a unit closer to where you live, and consider changing base to ORD. Get both jobs within the “local” region - your family QOL will be much better. Look at the guard too, don’t just limit it to reserves.

Gripens for Ukraine… probably… https://www.twz.com/air/huge-gripen-fighter-order-letter-of-intent-signed-by-ukraine

Idiot!

Zeroed in my MPX yesterday, this thing drives nails at 50M.

That sign better end up in a squadron bar

Looks like @M2 started a new business. I've seen the Helo hog hunts but using a suppressed SAW from the back of a pickup truck is a new level of fun. @M2 can we put the SAW in the Helo?

T-7 Thunderbird

I've got 0.4 dual in a Ford Tri-Motor. Thanks EAA! Nice left leg workout with the p-factor 😂 IMG_6026.mov

very disappointed in trump that he hasn't pulled the plug on the ukraine disaster.

That’s a really thoughtful perspective — and I totally see where you’re coming from. The shift in training hours and structure definitely impacts overall preparedness, especially when phase 3 time isn’t there to reinforce fundamentals. It sounds like experience levels are narrowing faster now, which can make the learning curve at FTU a lot steeper. It’s interesting you mentioned the FAIPs too — that balance between getting them the right exposure while still maintaining training depth for new LTs seems tricky. Hopefully, with the added hours at graduation, some of that gap can be bridged, but it’s hard to replace real reps and mentorship time. By the way, for anyone interested in thoughtful takes on training, learning progress, and milestones, I’ve shared a few reflections on my site as well — different field, but similar themes around growth and readiness.