hindsight2020

None related to the crashes. That's making fvck all difference in the timeline. Yeah we saw the AFOTEC slides. Selection decision this year (they're already late), prob turn of the fiscal. As to IOC? LOL. Dude, 2023 at the earliest.This entire thing can shift right with a single call for arbitration. Boeing ) being the usual whiny bitch, is one of the participants so that probably means this thing will get stonewalled to the right. BL, the cavalry ain't coming bud. The T-X canard at this point is like posterity...the fvck has it done for me lately?

I get that's a common sentiment in order to show gratitude to the departed, but that's not at all how it went down in reality. It's also not the first time I've buried a co-worker where the folk tale gets pressed that there was a heroic suicide for the sake of the people on the ground, later to reveal a more simple and less flamboyant answer (spatial D and mental unwillingness to get out, as was the case with my UPT SRO and his Hornet crash). You don't have to rub it in the surviving's faces at the funeral. But for us who still remain and do the job tomorrow, damn right we owe the departed some roasting, if we are to honor the legacy of his sacrifice, and learn a god damn thing or two instead of repeating it. The conversation about collateral damage in the jet was to me, simply ancillary to a suspension of disbelief that stemmed from the fact they (and I am also not above reproach in that fallibility) did not immediately internalize the absolute nature of loss of control once dual hydraulic failure ensues. The common urban legend is that you can steer with windmilling hydro when the engine fails but windmills. First of all, not true enough to warrant consideration. BUT, this is worse than merely windmilling hydraulics, because the gearboxes were severed and thus there would have been actual zero input to the pumps. That means no shit, other than the engines effecting pitching moments of little consequence as they throttle jockeyed, the aircraft was immediately ballistic. The decision to delay ejection was neither the correct one nor one that saved lives on the ground. It may have actually killed the deceased, if one is to conjecture that he would have had extra time to gather enough presence of mind to get his sh*t together, un-f*ck his own seat from the way he left it on takeoff, and punch. But this is conjecture since we will never know if he failed to punch himself out due to incapacitation (due to the incorrect sequence selected, and the FCP seat blasting him with the rocket) or inappropriate reaction to stress (aka frozen by panicking). As to the latter, the SIB had some insights into that question which now the AIB sort of refutes, and paints the survivor in a not so positive light. I'm a little bit disappointed by this reversal in findings, but that's for the survivor to live with. Never miss an opportunity to STFU when it comes to USAF interviews is all I got to say about that one. I also don't trust the safety process enough to open my trap, but that's my bias. Exactly. And you're being kinder than I. Generally the checklist now allows for anywhere before takeoff. Most people either stow them in the hammerhead, or all the way back before pulling chocks. I do the latter, but sometimes I break order and do it in the hammerhead. And I'll challenge anybody here who flies these things come and assert they've never forgotten to arm their seat until they get to the MOA and go "..oooh shit...*muffled cllllllick* ". I only say that so people don't misinterpret my criticism for the complacent CRM in the conduct of a requal sortie that was conducted with a CT atmosphere (they all are) as some sort of gratuitous aspersion, when in reality we have all been guilty of it at one point or another. The lesson learned for me is exactly that: treat CT rides with respect. And treat requal guys like idiot UPT students. Sure, don't verbalize that to them, but treat them with the same skepticism. The fact is, we don't as a collective. I also don't agree with the shortened "feed the fight" figther-centric thing we got going on at the schoolhouse, with shortening the callouts. Not so much because it's somehow blasphemy, but rather because the UPT bases, Red Bulls in particular, are actually going the opposite direction, precisely because of this accident. But I'm preaching to the choir here. Stay safe out there.

Especially tougher to read when you're asked to keep doing it like everything's been fixed......

AIB is out. Cliffnotes for the AIB challenged. Nothing new learned for those of us close to the vest on this one, but the gallery might be interested.

i just wanna know if @scoobs ever got hired by the Reserves LOL. I want that guy to come to my retirement ceremony and give me airline advice.

I suppose you mean RegAF. For some of us there's a canyon of difference between a primary AFSC deployment, and an AFCENT rent-seeking, combat desk, operation deny family, green slide warrior, congressional pork barrel jobs program nonner 179. It may be a distinction without difference for those who entered the military with a high level of price inelasticity relative to what their income potential on the civil sector is. For those of us who have options on the outside however, it's anything but the same difference; it's a non-starter of a difference. I've left quite a bit of money on the table over that so-called non-difference over the last 12 years. And I have point blank asked my family that question: in my household's case, the consensus is that if they are to involuntarily be without my company for 200 days out of the year, they prefer the sentence to be served out on a 3-on-4-off basis, vice a 200-on-165-off. Gee I wonder what that looks like? I digress. To each their own.

Depends on which one you're asking about. There's PTN (Austin), UPT-Next, PIT-Next. I don't feel comfortable expanding on the implementation realities in this political climate, but I can tell you the end game is a combination of both propositions: e.g. VR-aided/integrated self-study, AI-led VR syllabus events, and IP-led VR syllabus events. On a personal note, this wouldn't be the first time we get people killed in the name of innovation and shiny doo-dads. I've seen it in my former MWS. Nobody likes talking about it and I can understand the sensitivity. But it's a real opportunity cost nonetheless. Brings a whole new meaning to that tired "service before self" trope, that's for sure.

There is a difference between cutting chairflying time via VR technology (implementation which I support btw) and bypassing phase III in an equalizer type airframe like the white rocket; an animal much more unforgiving of airmanship deficiencies than a viper via severe underpowering and no flight control automation of consequence. People are straight up playing with fire going from t6 straight to a big mouth burner jet, on the rails of VR potato. I'm balls deep in VR implementation at work; its a very immature development right now imo. And that's for guys with standard upt and a heck of a lot more hours under their belt. We are currently not making any cuts to the flying sortie count, which I think is a much more honest approach to VR validation than the PTN boondoggle. My issue is that the PTN thing has "too visible to fail" written all over it. That's not honest brokering in the least, especially when sold as an experiment. Do not construe this criticism of the implementation timeline as some sort of luddite argument.

...said no Southwest pilot ever. I keed I keed. Kinda.

It's basically what happens when you find yourself becoming the crusty one-strike divorced Major while babysitting FAIPS during "fat and backs". It's amazing the millennial stuff you can pick up on a double turn. These cats got the dragon slayin' apps on point. The only thing I ever carried with me on a computer when I was their age was a nerd ass -38 PMP TOLD Calculator. Of course that's back when text was charged by the message, yahoo messenger was a bona fide ass-scouting venue (being decommissioned this month btw..sad that I know that), and I had to tell the slam mat to call me after 1900 so I can tap the nights and weekends minutes. These cats today have the slam mat apps pre-selected on their phone so when they chock they're already swiping right. Lining up ass has become so much easier. I will say, closing still requires ol school game. Brave new world nonetheless. I regret having married my college girlfriend after UPT, especially after she got fat and lazy in the sack. I don't regret divorcing her though. So DFP Inst Fix: 1)Stay single for the first 10 years of AF tenure...fuck it make it 15. 2)Load smartphone with "Target or higher" quality ass-scouting apps prior to off-station sortie or TDY. 3) Smash. 4) Ghost app on the RTB. 5) Profit.

bumble is where it's at these days yo for future exwife and crazy ex. Same ratio of single mothers (69%), but the quality is more Target in flavor than Walmart (tinder), if you're looking for the lightly used exwife material. PoF is still the grab and go, 'grab er by the ----' mecca though. Like sticking your hand on a wood chipper.

You can say that again. It's fucking terrible. Not so much that, it's TFI imo. That fucking initiative blurred the lines all to hell, and the AD sycophants ran with it. It's been game over for a while. If you see someone in a TFI outfit who isn't leadership, understand that person is merely calculating on a second to second basis WHEN and not IF, the pain ratio will exceed his or her tolerance, at which point boldface applies. It's no way to man a place worth being a part of, I tell you that much.

I should have put ethnocentric on quotes, as I'm not using the term literally but figuratively. I meant to say that the air Force is obsessed with one drop rules and degrees of separation in everything they do, regardless of fiscal realities or combat readiness. 11f centrisms in pilot training pipelines being the historical perfect example of this obsession with elitism. Enlisted flyers or the warrant discussion would be another one. So then, even though the reason the idea is stupid is because an enlisted flyer would have a bigger economic incentive to jump ship with his training than a comissioned officer, the reason they'll end up shelving it will have little to nothing to do with this reality. But dead is dead so what does it matter anyways. That was my point.

Correct. He's banking on the notion that the Es are smart enough to fly the airplanes but dumb enough to not be able or capable to get an online (or hell even brick and mortar) 4-year degree, thence making them non-competitive for major airline work. An absolutely checkers move and mentality on the part of senior management. You can't make this shit up. In all reality the AF is so insufferably ethnocentric that they'll end up shelving the idea anyways for a completely different and biased reason. I guess the enemy of my enemy is my friend. The clownshow continues.

And this military demographic has the stones to demonize civilian welfare recipients.....

Absolutely, and it's happening more now that the 38 side of the UPT IP landscape has been stacked with heavy drivers. Numerical necessity has created pressure on the ol' "airframe ethnocentric" apartheid of Air Force pilot tracks. It's still statistically insignificant, but more examples are becoming a reality, which is a good thing considering the barn doors are already wide open and the horses have largely left the barn in this airline hiring wave. Yup, we had an C-17 (38 UPT tracked) guy finish his 38 white jet and go straight to IFF enroute to Strikes.

@HuggyU2 I'm glad you are happy with the Northrop seat, I've flown the A, the C legacy and the C PMP all with the old seat, then I flew the T-6 on a MB seat and now the C PMP with the MB seat. My family and I much prefer the latter. The recent DLF fatality doesn't go against the seat, and like it was hinted at, you need to go read the safety outbrief in order to find out the reason why. That fatality occurred in my host squadron and was a co-worker, so hits close to home. I've flown the tail in question as well. I understand you don't feel the expense is worth it. I agree with you in the aggregate point regarding the procurement of the T-X could have been afforded easily by not wasting it patching the T-38. You're 100% right: the piece meal procurement of life extensions programs on the T-38 has been wasteful. But you're also old enough to recognize the jobs program nature to our rent-seeking DOD contractor funnel business (ie the DOD), so that falls under the wish on one hand shit on the other axiom. So as far as Congress is concerned, said waste is the goal and thus a political success. On a personal level, I disagree with you on the merits of improvement of the MB seat versus the old one. Btw I also flew that old seat in the BUFF (same seat, different firing handles), and several components of that and the 38 seat alike were on the fly to fail component list. So please excuse if I part company with you and find peace of mind in doing this job while strapping to the MB seat, just as I did in the T-6. RCP Visibility is horrid now during no-flaps, but I'm quite content with that opportunity cost. Let's not create false dichotomies here. The procurement wastefulness argument (and you're 100% correct, the RNAV implementation on the -38 for instance is embarrassing and a human factors nightmare I'm surprised hasn't killed anyone yet) can be had without having to shit on the objective improvements made on personnel recovery (for once, the meat in the seat is valued above zero) via this particular seat upgrade.

Asked a buddy of mine and they were back flying like a week later. He wouldn't go into the details of whatever made them feel the malfunction was addressed, but I understand that's his prerogative. Considering the fatality we had in the 38 last Thanksgiving, I'm surprised the bone community took to getting back on the saddle so quickly after a confirmed misfire of a seat. Way too rich for my blood. The community must know the details already, that we're not privy to. Lord knows we raised a stink down here regarding the lack of transparency in the safety process relating to the integrity of the egress system, which led to some people even falling on their swords and being sacked out of jobs by a scorned leadership. Second time in my AF career I was wholly unimpressed with our so-called safety process. Bunch of political CYA hackery. I digress. At least in the Buff we still had the ol school bomb bay manual bailout if all else failed lol. Mostly placebo in all likelihood, but whatever gets ya through the day kinda thing. Ya can't do that when the chute is in the seat though, as in the bone's case. As an AC I agree, no way I'm getting out of a controllable airplane if one of my guys is trapped. I don't see that decision difficult in the least. They're certainly lucky though, my understanding is if that thing actually gets to the other hydro, it becomes an uncontrollable event and it's game over for the guy with the bad seat. I used to brief the 4 engine on one side drill at low altitude on the buff, turn the whale on its dying back and give the first floor guys a chance to get out. No guarantees in life. Tough business we're in indeed. Whether the decision to sequence manual in this accident was purposeful or a lucky happenstance matters not, these guys are getting hardware out of this one guaranteed. Bravo Zulu.

yeah well fuck that snowjob. There's nothing "perspective" about PRP and flying the memphis belle in the 21st century. The check ain't bouncing... it's about all I got outta that one. I'd quit before I do that again. I got my AF wings and I own my own airplane, so I got nothing to prove to myself anymore by wearing a bag and practice bleeding for a living.To each their own. All that said, absolutely, I'm a firm believer of 'it's not what you do, it's who you do it with'. In hindsight (see what I did there lol) I think things are as they should be. I think I would have enjoyed the hell out of physically flying the Viper, but would have probably not meshed well/enjoyed the ancillary/cultural hazy shit that comes with it. Lord knows I've enjoyed shorter debriefs in my life as a result lol. As an older man I've become aware of that nuance, and I'm at peace now. I admit it didn't feel like it 10 years ago. In all honesty, the fact is I got a family and then life got complicated, so the "live to work" impositions of certain airframes in this line of work just became complete non-starters for my current priorities in life. Which is why I do love my trainer job. It's weak sauce to the youngin's, as it should be, but i'm really happy with it. I wouldn't mind a light attack mission if I had to do it all over again. A-29 or the sort. It's a bit more engaging to me than the bomb truck driver without a pickle button thing. Knowing the AF though, they'd prob fuck that up too. Guess should have joined the Army ....nah. LOL

Yes, at least in the AFRC, lack of ACSC completion is a guaranteed non-promote to O-5. People forego it and retire as O-4s all the time. Leadership is very much still interested in you having all their PME boxes checked in order to be considered for leadership. I don't recall what the difference in retirement pay is for O-5 but for a TR who gets paid at 60 (minus whatever they drew down with MPA) it's probably ballwash. AGR it may be worth pinching your nose and doing it. Can't speak for the guard.

Based on the video and the witness recollection of the relative position of the aircraft to the landing rwy (28?). Looks like a base to final stall/spin, or a Vmc roll if they were doing some sort of engine out work and it went south (no pun intended). Condolences to my childhood hometown unit.

So much for the fighter pilot shortage LOL. When it comes to hiring in times of low retention, the 11F community truly knows how to fvck up a two car funeral.

And this happened in the Guard gentlemen. Put in other words: the USAF is fucked.

The club parking lot after the Single Airman dinner invite hits the flying squadron incontainers.....