ClearedHot

WTF? Uh, isn't the ops limit on an open ramp 150 KIAS?

We are getting past a rough spot of flaming and since the board is getting back on track, I thought we might keep it moving in the right direction by sharing a few stories about your most memorable moments in your particular aircraft. In 1990 I took a T-38 to Eglin AFB for the weekend. My girlfriend lived in nearby Shalimar and I thought it would be a great place for a weekend stop. I called before I left Houston and she assured me she would be there waiting for my arrival. I got lucky on the way and found a 200 knot tail wind up at FL 390. As I started the let-down into Fort Walton Beach, I noticed I was very fat on gas. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and it was easy to find the base out at twelve o’clock. At first I was focused on the fact that my girlfriend was waiting down on the ramp below, but as I looked around the airfield I noticed the ramp and buildings for the 33rd Fighter Wing. In an instant I was transported back to 1972 when I stood on that very same ramp and watched my dad bring his F-4 back from his third tour in Vietnam. There wasn’t anyone else in the pattern and without really noticing it I kept pushing the throttles up until I hit the MIL stop. You only live once I thought as I lifted the throttles and selected full grunt on short initial and watched the airspeed indicator push past 500. I was going so fast I think my break turn took me out over the Gulf of Mexico. I rolled off the perch and all I could think of was watching my Dad’s F-4 belching black smoke all the way through the final turn. I had enough gas for two full AB closed patterns and a full stop. As I put the canopy up and taxied in, I thought about my Dad and all the other good dudes who went to war and came home to very little fan-fair…just the support of their family. It was a great moment and one I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

There are two ways to go. 1. if you are going to be a MX Officer you will go to the five month course. 2. There are also a limited number of short course slots for pilots that are going to be FCF pilots. It was a so-so course, but I did learn a few things.

As STLCFII said, ERAU offers several good programs. I got my first Masters Degree there when I was trying to fill the square. I would have finished in 1.5 years, but I met one pain in the ass professor (at Moody AFB), who disapproved my previously approved research topic and I ended up telling him to go screw himself right in front of his class. I didn't finish the paper for another four years (waited until I PCSed to another base. As a side note the Eglin AFB and Hurlburt outreach centers are both great and will work with you on most issues. The program is typically 36 credits and a thesis or research paper. As I recall you can get 6 credits for SOS in residence, 9-12 credits for WIC (depending on the course you attended), and 6 credits for the USAF Maintenance Officer Course.

Ok, Old guy stepping up on rant container; Why wouldn’t you get a Masters Degree? The principle of this situation bothers me just as much as the next guy, but instead of viewing this as something the USAF is making me do, view it as an investment in your future. I was your age once (a long time ago) and I had many of the same feelings. However, time and events have a way of helping you see things differently. Fortunes can change in an instant. Take for example your medical situation. I have several friends who in their mid 30’s developed problems Multiple Sclerosis, Diabetes, and Slipped Discs that put them feet on the ramp. They lost their flight pay, their bonus (yes they were forced to repay it), and in some cases their position with the USAF (medically retired). I’ve also seen guys get a DUI that ended their USAF and airline career in one incident. Unfortunately, a DUI will prevent you from getting on with a major in most cases. Perhaps the airlines will recover someday and that may be your goal, but what if they don’t? From my experience it’s always best to have options. Better yet, what do you have to lose? A few Tuesday and Thursday nights of partying? View this as a bit of sage advise or as an old guy rant, but I would recommend you put the politics of the USAF aside and take advantage of the free tuition and books to get a reasonable Masters Degree and help protect your future. Begin Flame….Rant Switch off.

Well the Vipers are... Aw Dude

Well one out of three ain't bad...

Toro, You still stepped up and put your cajones on the line. Any one of those caps could have turned ugly in an instant. Give yourself a little more credit. Besides, getting shot at isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

No disrespect at all and please speak freely, just wanted to get the facts out. I am not saying that every ONW/OSW mission was like going downtown in Nam. However, there were a lot of very close calls over the years. ONW and OSW went through cycles where nothing would happen for a few months then every other sortie had AAA or a missile event. Bosnia was very ugly back in the day, lots of MANPADS for the Hawgs and Gunships. Kosovo had some ugly moments as well (scratch an F-16 and an F-117). In some ways Kosovo was more of a fight than OIF, at least the F-15C’s got some action in that one.

You’re kidding right? Light time? ONW and OSW were far from a cake walk. Nearly every mission in the container had some sort of surface to air event. You also forgot Bosnia and Kosovo. I remember some nasty moments over the Balkans that were far from “light”.

Okay I confess, it was me testing our newest version of the gunship, the Banshee.

Toro, I am not sure how the regulation reads, but my bonus was based on my UPT grad date (expiration of ADSC), not my gate months. The guys in the bonus shop used to be sharp, they could pull your records up and tell you right there. http://www.afpc.randolph.af.mil/acp/F1HQAFPC2F.htm Check out Part III, Section D.

I think it was the Megafortress.

If you go to Survival School, make 20 copies of your diploma and send them to different friends. Open a safe deposit box in the Cayman Islands and put three copies there. We had a LtCol in my class who went as a 2LT. They lost his records and he had to repeat the course in order to take a SQ/CC job. He was not a happy camper...

Window....No Window...

Late-Rated is of course a double-edged sword. As you stated you have the leadership experience, but you will be behind in the flight experience. It has been my experience that late-rated guys tend to do very well, not just because of the previous leadership experience, but because of maturity. My roommate from ACSC was late-rated after serving as a civil engineering officer and he managed to catch his peers and pass them. He graduated from the WIC and just made O-5 BTZ. Back in the early 1990’s I saw several Navigators and EWOs go through UPT then get banked. Which means that many of them were Co-pilots as new majors. Every one of them has since made O-5 and several are getting ready for command. While they had some basic flight experience as aviators, they still had to overcome the traditional hurdles such as upgrading to Flight Lead, Co-Pilot, IP. Bottom line, it really depends on the individual. If you are a hard worker your past experience will probably serve you well. The only danger is that leadership will want to tap your skills and have you work projects that will pull you away from building flight time. You will have to balance the increased responsibility they will no doubt give you with the desire to go fly. If you work hard it will prove to be a big plus in your career.

The first CV-22 Squadron will stand-up at Kirtland this summer, no idea when they will start flowing students. If I had to venture a complete "Guess", I would assume student production would start sometime summer 06. [ 21. February 2005, 20:31: Message edited by: Clearedhot ]

Yeah it must be fun to carry their bags and sit around waiting for them to get back to the jet, while you sit there in your blues. Then they try to kill you by taking a turn in the seat for an approach. I have a few friends who have flown in the 89th and for the most part they enjoy it. The part they don't enjoy is flying the political appointee punks who graduated from an Ivy League school, treat the military like crap, and think they know how to fix every problem in the world.

Here is the company that makes the higher end GPS guided telescopes. Celestron Telescopes

Not a space geek but I have a good friend who is really into telescopes. I think the key question is how much do you want to spend? The telescope he has goes for $1500-$2000. It has a GPS system, so you can take it to a dark spot out in the country and it will align itself with GPS and star shots. Once aligned it has a control panel that you can tpye in codes so it will automatically reposition and point at objects it has in it's database. He brought it to a party last year and we were able to clearly see the rings of Saturn. I know there are others like his that go for a bit less. If you want more info PM me and I will get the brand and model number from him.

Do you have a paper ticket or written contract?

If you want to read a great book about heroism and dedication in Vietnam try "Into the Mouth of the Cat". This book is the story of Lance Sijan, USAF Medal of Honor winner.

[ 02. February 2005, 21:18: Message edited by: Clearedhot ]

Is this the diagram? He looks defensive to me. [ 02. February 2005, 21:17: Message edited by: Clearedhot ]

They might try a pay back for Abu Graid and hook him up with "Ken".