HercDude

What kind of dipshit pays a whore by check?!?

Rich had some assignments that were "under the radar" if you will. Probably not open source info. I first met him when he was an IP at Corpus & I was a student. He was by far the most energetic and probably flat out the best IP I had there. I ended up in the same squadron at Pope he had ben in previosuly and he took the time to sit down with me and detail out what to expect, what to do, and most importantly what not to do in the "real Air Force". A class act all around. Rest Easy.

Simmer down.

What the Captain meant to say is that the SIB is out, and AMC has released an FCIF addressing their impression of the root cause.

So what exactly is the problem - they guy who is supposed to go to T-6s doesn't meet the time requirements? Do you have something that says what is currently required to send a guy to PIT? When I went in 2007 you had to be an AC to go to T-1s or T-38s, but not T-6s. I think it may have said something to the effect that you can go to T-6 PIT as long as you have completed Aircraft Commander school, but didn't say anything about being certified as an AC. I knew a guy from -130s who went to AC school, came home and never certed, then PCS'd to Vance for T-6s. Also, there is a SARMS reg (13-201 I think) that defines the different types of times a pilot can log - you're answer may be in there.

I'm not saying being in debt is a good thing - don't know where you got that from. I'm saying chopping off a bunch of zeros and implying that money runs through the national economy the same way a family runs through it's budget is simplistic and incredibly useless.

Comparing credit card debt to the nation’s debt is just plain idiotic. Anyone who thinks you can make a valid comparison between the two should remove themselves from any conversation regarding the national debt, its relevance to the national economy, or American fiscal policy.

How do you think I discovered it myself?

Unlikely. Our solar system is pretty young. The reasons we haven't been visited are addressed in the Fermi Paradox. I think eventually humans will explore huge expanses of our galaxy, but I don't see any reason to believe it will be via manned missions. Hell, we're already letting machines do most of our flying here on Earth, it only makes sense that machines will do our space exploration. Von Neumann probes are a theoretical self-replicating spacecraft that would be able to build other spacecraft as they explore. If each probe could reproduce once a year, at the end of 15 years there would be over 16,000 spacecraft doing our exploring for us. At the same rate, theoretically, after 30 years there would be half a billion. Anyway, I think Armstrong's achievements will stand the test of time Sort of how we view the Wright brothers.

Speaking of the useless Hollywood rehashing of 8 year old franchises: But +1 to the producers for thinking that chemtrails contrails are made by virtue of something going fast.

There's even a tower fly-by.

A similar write up, different spin: https://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123314471 Maybe it's nothing, but I don't like the order in which he addressed standards and the mission.

You're right. Israel has a better Air Force now with better equipment. They WILL NOT allow Iran to get nukes. It's not about us at all. I 100% believe they will tell Obama to f*ck off if he offers up his opinion. The Israeli's have shown numerous times that they don't take shit from their neighboors. And just like in 1981 I think the leaders of rest of the Arab world will breathe a sigh of relief while they publicy condem Israel.

No kidding. I know a guy who lives in Towson and works in Alexandria, and another who lives in Harpers Ferry, WV and works downtown.

Dear God - how on Earth do you find the strength to walk around with that chip on your shoulder? Let me claiffy some things so as not ot offend your delicate sensiblities: At no point was it my intention to disparage the entire RPA community. I realize RPAs are full of volunteer and non-vol guys who did well in their respective communities. I am 100% confident some of them are far better aviators than I have ever been. I never said they were "leppers" and I struggle to find in anything I said where I even hinted at that. My point was only this - the UPT grads they are getting by and far are not "the best & brightest", but are frequently the bottom of their class. That is unfortunatley a fact that anyone who has spent time on a UPT base in the last 4 years can attest to. For the record, I fully admit that the reason I ended up in Hercs is because I wasn't good enough to get T-38s. Someone who is flying UAVs because they sucked at UPT should admit the same. I know that isn't the whole community. I ended up somewhere I never imagined and have loved it ever since. I assume the same is true of the RPA community. I assume that like AMC, there are plenty of late bloomers who didn't quite figure it out in UPT but have gained the skills to be competent and excel in the career that their efforts led them too. I am sure that many will go back to a maned aircraft and do just fine. Pretending that UAVs are home to only the best & brightest is horse shit though, and I don't know what purpose that serves. But then again, after reading the article again I see that it is from the Guardian, so I'm not sure why I am even discussing this anymore.

Really? So are you going to try to argue that the "best and brightest" UPT graduates are going to fly RPAs?

I think anyone who has been to a UPT graduation in the last 4 years might think differently.

Huh? We're talking about T-6s cancelling IFR to enter the RSU (read VFR only) controlled pattern. If there is an overcast layer below me, and below that is a VFR pattern, I can't legally enter it w/o an IFR clearence to get below the wx and then cnx.

My point was to refute this statement: "If you made it back without incident, your check pilot should have gotten a swift kick in the jimmy." If the IP is backed up by CTS, there is no jimmy kicking required. I have long forgotten the CTS for VFR Traffic Entry, but I saw guys screw all kinds of things up by cancelling when they shouldn't have. Like when guys would cancel above an overcast layer. Or when they have a wingman on his fourth form ride in fingertip and decide that they can bank it up and pull into a 69'x69' hole in the clouds. Or when they canceled without really knowing where they were in relation to the airfield, civillian airspace, and tower's airspace. Or when they are being vectored for a descent because they are 5 miles from radar termination at 17,000'. Most guys would get this idea from flying with guys who said "cancel as soon as you can" which I always though was better stated "cancel when it no longer makes sense to be IFR." Sometimes that was a few miles from radar termination, sometimes that was as soon as they cleared the MOA. It depends and teaching them the difference does more to build and enhance SA than calling a guy a pussy for being IFR. If a guy cancels 20 miles out and only makes it to radar termination because he is staring at the KLN-900, he's not learning anything usefull about flying and therefore I would have downgraded him, regardless of whether he made it back without incident or not. And of course as long as the CTS backs it up. EDIT: I think we're about done with this thread.

Bullshit. Way too many variables. Course Training Standards.

Doesn't answer his question. Can you think of a reason a pointy nosed guy would want/need to land at an uncontrolled field? And if so, do you really think he would give a shit if he nailed his downwind radio call?

Wonder if these guys had finished SOS in correspondence & their Master's in Religious Studies yet?

Ops tempo & deployments should mirror what you would see in any other -130 AMC unit. Good deal for us is that ours are almost always 60 days vs. 120. New guys (CP type anyway) are usually gone on a 120 & a 60 day within their first year & a half, as a FAIP I'd probably expect to be on a pair of 60 day deployments within your first year or so. There are usually some good trips to be had aside from deployments, but mostly CONUS. If it's a really good deal it will be full of guard guys, unless the squadron has worked some drug deal directly with Little Rock. The entire TFI concept is convoluted & complex, but on the whole I'd say it's a good deal for most guys. It's a very good deal for brand new guys, a pretty good deal for 2nd assignment type guys, and a dick in the eye for anyone looking at a promotion board. Zero chance of getting a school slot if that's your cup of tea. One of the major problems is that you're always working for two bosses. The 30th, like the Pope, C-Springs, and Elmo units, are part of the 19th Airlift Group at Little Rock (so you're assignments, strats, school slots, etc.) come from there. However, the WY ANG owns the aircraft and day-to-day you're working for their OG & Wing. You skip some queep by the very nature of working at an ANG base located at a small regional airport vs. a real AF base (no one ever tells me to roll my sleeves up, wear a reflective belt, or go on a fun run). However, you're still in AMC and that right there is aboust as much bullshit as a lot of guys can take. The location is awesome though. If you can handle the winters, the opportunities around here are phenomenal.