Spartacus

Are there any models of C-17's that have the stick located on the side instead of the center? I have heard that they are mounted on the side from several people but all of the photos that I can find show that it is in the center.

Has anyone else felt that they don't really know what is going on with their grading in UPT? It seems like sometimes it's really subjective and dependent on the instructor. On certain flights I fly really good and the instructor gives me an "E" and then on my next flight I feel like I did even better and the instructor gives me a "G". How much do daily rides factor into your overall grades? Does anyone on here have something that tells how all of the grading works etc? Also, we had standup today and I got stood up. It was a pretty difficult standup, at least for me, but I seemed to do ok. (I didn't get sat down or anything.) However, later on in the day I looked at my file on the computer and I saw that an entry had been made saying that my standup was marginal. What does that mean? Did I hook it or what? I would assume that I didn't because they didn't say anything about it to me but why would they put that in the computer? I just hate how the IP's just don't tell you things sometimes. Is all of this normal or what?

Doesn't DARPA have a blue logo like that?

Steve just reminded me of another story that I had happen. I was working at an FBO and I see one of our planes going around. The plane going around called and said that a plane had just crashed at about the 1000' foot marker off of the runway. (There was no tower or security or anything at the airport so we called 911 and started for that part of the runway.) I was one of the first to get to the site. The guy had been flying an RV-6 and ground looped it on landing. He skidded off of the side of the runway and bent up his plane a little but he was ok. So, I'm helping the guy get stuff out of his plane and as he bends over to get something (by the way he was wearing white khakis) several of us all notice at once a huge brown spot! Yuck! Enough said!

OK, so this is embarrasing. I'm at Field Training and I learn that I get to do JETO at Moody. I'm thinking that the T-6 is going to be awesome. However, the day before we leave I start to get a bad cold and even had an ear ache. My stomache would also rumble and I had... well, bad stomache "issues." BUT, I don't tell anyone because I wanted to fly in the T-6 SSOOO bad. After only getting about four hours of sleep we're at Moody going through all of the egress traing etc. and I'm feeling better so I decide to down a snickers and some pop. (Bad idea) Finally, I get to the IP who will be flying me around and he asks if I've ever flown before. I tell him that I had a couple hundred hours and he's thinking "sweet let's get out there and pull some G's!" We take off and he let's me take the plane. I'm flying all over the place and doing everything that I can think of... it was awesome. Well, he then takes the plane and starts "pushing it", (at least for me it was pushing it) and I start to feel pretty bad. I turn on 100% oxygen and it didn't do a thing. Suddenly, he puts us into a tight bank and I see darkness coming in on me from all over. I'm thinking, crap I didn't strain so I do the G strain and everything was ok, but I realize that I'm about to blow chunks any second. I frantically pull the barf bag out of my pocket but I was already letting it go. However, I was able to keep all of it in my mouth and I swallowed it back down. This only made it worse and I felt it coming back up. I tried for about 20 seconds to get my stupid oxygen mask off but I had never worn one before so it took a long time. Right when I finally get it off(sts) I puke a little in the mask, a little in the bag, and a lot all over myself... and I mean all over. During this I had thought to kill my mic and I never told the IP what was going on, but there was no hiding it now. Right after we land the IP asks how I liked it and I told him that it was great but that I puked a little. He was like "When did you do that?" He then asks if I got it on anything and I said, "Well, uuhh, yeah a little." After we parked he jumped out and looked back at me with puke crusted on my chin and all over my body. He just started to laugh and said "I'll see you back at the squadron." I sat there for an hour cleaning up the plane and then made my way into a maintenance hanger to wash off my clothes. I was in the bathroom for another hour in my underwear waiting for my uniform to dry enough to put back on, while dudes are walking in and giving me funny looks like I'm going to try something on them or whatever. I finally walk back to the squadron and everyone is laughing at me and saying HEY ACE etc. My IP I think felt bad and he showed me around and talked to me about UPT for the rest of the day. Another funny part about this story is that a Moody IP came to my Det a few months after that and talked to us about UPT. While he was there he told everyone the story of this Cadet that puked all over himself more than anyone had ever seen while he was doing JETO. The IP didn't realize that it was me so I just sat there and turned red as my buddies laughed at me because they knew that it was me. Good times! I can't wait for UPT!

Regardless of your political views, this certainly gives us all food for thought. Sen. Glenn was so quick on his feet. When you speak from the heart and with passion, you never know what comes out. -------SENATOR JOHN GLENN SAID: Things that make you think a little....... 1. There were 39 combat related killings in Iraq during the month of January.....In the fair city of Detroit there were 35 murders in the month of January. That's just one American City, about as deadly as the entire war torn country of Iraq. 2. When some claim President Bush shouldn't have started this war, state the following .. FDR...led us into World War II. Germany never attacked us: Japan did. From 1941-1945, 450,000 lives were lost, an average of 112,500 per year. Truman...finished that war and started one in Korea, North Korea never attacked us. From 1950-1953, 55,000 lives were lost, an average of 18,334 per year. John F. Kennedy....started the Vietnam conflict in 1962. Vietnam never attacked us. Johnson...turned Vietnam into a quagmire. From 1965-1975, 58,000 lives were lost, an average of 5,800 per year. Clinton...went to war in Bosnia without UN or French consent, Bosnia never attacked us. He was offered Osama bin Laden's head on a platter three times by Sudan and did nothing. Osama has attacked us on multiple occasions. 3. In the two years since terrorists attacked us President Bush has liberated two countries, crushed the Taliban, crippled al-Qaida, put nuclear inspectors in Libya , Iran and North Korea without firing a shot, and captured a terrorist who slaughtered 300,000 of his own people. The Democrats are complaining about how long the war is taking, but...It took less time to take Iraq than it took Janet Reno to take the Branch Davidian compound. That was a 51-day operation. We've been looking for evidence of chemical weapons in Iraq for less time than it took Hillary Clinton to find the Rose Law Firm billing records. It took less time for the 3rd Infantry Division and the Marines to destroy the Medina Republican Guard than it took Ted Kennedy to call the police after his Oldsmobile sank at Chappaquiddick killing a woman. Wait, there's more... Some people still don't understand why military personnel do what they do for a living. This exchange between Senators John Glenn and Senator Howard Metzenbaum is worth reading. Not only is it a pretty impressive impromptu speech, but it's also a good example of one man's explanation of why men and women in the armed services do what they do for a living. This is a typical, though sad, example of what some who have never served think of our military. JOHN GLENN ON THE SENATE FLOOR Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 11:13 Senator Howard Metzenbaum to Senator Glenn: "How can you run for Senate when you've never held a real job?" Senator Glenn: "I served 23 years in the United States Marine Corps. I served through two wars. I flew 149 missions. My plane was hit by antiaircraft fire on 12 different occasions. I was in the space program. It wasn't my checkbook, Howard; it was my life on the line. It was not a nine-to-five job, where I took time off to take the daily cash receipts to the bank. I ask you to go with me..as I went the other day... to a veteran's hospital and look those men - with their mangled bodies - in the eye, and tell THEM they didn't hold a job! You go with me to the Space Program at NASA and go, as I have gone, to the widows and orphans of Ed White, Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee... and you look those kids in the eye and tell them that their Dads didn't hold a job. You go with me on Memorial Day and you stand in Arlington National Cemetery , where I have more friends buried than I'd like to remember, and you watch those waving flags. You stand there, and you think about this nation, and you tell ME that those people didn't have a job? I'll tell you, Howard Metzenbaum; you should be on your knees every day of your life thanking God that there were some men - SOME MEN - who held REAL jobs. And they required a dedication to a purpose - and a love of country and a dedication to duty that was more important than life itself. And their self-sacrifice is what made this country possible. I HAVE held a job, Howard! What about you?" For those who don't remember - During W.W.II, Howard Metzenbaum was an attorney representing the Communist Party in the USA If you can read this, thank a teacher.... If you are reading it in English thank a Veteran. Please keep this circulating Have A Great Day [ 31. August 2005, 05:44: Message edited by: Toro ]

I think that would be a great idea! I was just looking through a CD of mine today that has pics of every AF aircraft and I am going to put it on my computer. If we all had access to cool pics I think a lot of people would have fun with it and use it!

Silver, Well, dude it's all up to you. My personal opinion is that if you do a study abroad thing or intership then you will hurt yourself no matter what. That is JUST my opinion though. Just remember that you are always racked and stacked against your peers and going away for a semester is going to hurt that. In everything in the AF (ROTC) you have to compete against others. Even if you don't want to be rated you still have to compete for the job that you want. Why mess with your career like that? Personally I am in a major that highly suggests an internship, but it's not required. I decided not to do it because of these factors. My career in the AF matters more than my fun and games in college. This is just my opinion though so take it for what it's worth.

Just a word of caution... this can really hurt you if you do it. What happens is if you do an internship or study abroad thing then you will make up the missed ROTC classes during another semester. So if you missed a junior level class then you will take that class your senior year along with your senior level classes. Here is where it can hurt you. If you are going for a pilot slot then that is a whole semester that your commander has to forget about you/think whatever he wants/or even dislike you for leaving and not being committed. This happened to two people at my Det. Both of them in different years went to do study abroad the semester after FT. This is the most critical semester for a pilot slot because that is when your commander and cadre really look at you for class ranking. If you're not there then you are obviously not going to be ranked very high. Both of these guys that I am talking about were great and deserved pilot slots. The first guy didn't get anything because of his ranking and was eventually picked up for Nav. However, he should have gotten a pilot slot, he had a lot of hours and was a great guy with great hands but when your commanders ranking is 50% of your score then it's going to hurt you. He just commissioned and never got bumped up to pilot. All of this happened because of an intership. Is an intership worth that much to you? Let me tell you it was hard watching this guy for the past year. He would always talk about how stupid he was and how he shouldn't have done that internship. He was in the Det almost daily trying to figure out a way to get a pilot slot. He looked at the guard and everything and it just never worked out for him. He was bitter, but it was his own fault. The second guy got a Nav slot and is hoping to get bumped up to pilot, but we'll see. By the way, this is happening at a Det where just about every year we have a 100% pilot selection rate. The only reason why it's not always 100% is because of these guys who go and do interships. DECIDE what is more important to you, an intership or a cockpit. I know what I would do!!!

Phlash, Well, first of all I'm a perfectionist. That might have something to do with it. I was the Color Guard Commander and there was a sudden influx of requests for us to do things. One big thing was that we would raise and take down the flag at my university every morning and evening. Well, I had it all covered and then a lot of people suddenly dicked me over and said they couldn't do it. I didn't have everyones phone numbers with me so I called all over the place trying to get people to fill in for a lot details and things that we had to do. I spent a whole lot of time asking people for numbers as well as begging them to do stuff. It was the beginning of the semester and everyone was still in summer mode and didn't want to do crap. Now I am the Wing Commander and, well... it's a butt load of work but really fun. So, now that I have made an idiot of myself I'll stop! Thanks.

I guess it depends on your experiences. I loved being a GMC and I love being a POC too. Sometimes it can be a little much though. For example: The third week of school after I got back from FT I took a trip to NYC for vacation. Everyday I was getting calls on my sell from the Cadre and Cadets wondering if I could do something or wondering how to do something. One day I spent six hours on my dang phone trying to get stuff taken care of because someone else didn't know how too or just wouldn't do their job. As a POC I think your job will play a big factor in what you think of it.

Dude, Being a GMC was awesome for me. I had a lot of fun and I have heard most people enjoyed being a GMC a lot more than a POC. Right after FT I was given a lot responsibility as a POC and it sucked. I worked my butt off and still had a lot of fun, but being a GMC is the best. You will soon realize this and long for your GMC days.

Thread revival! I just got it and thought it was awesome! I watched it within about 24 hours. One question to those who have gone through F-15 or even F-16 or A-10 training... does everyone come that close to washing out? It seemed like almost every single one of those dudes had at least one point in their training where they were really sweating it! Especially Love! That dude was awesome and did really well in his graduation ride, but I totally did not expect him to get Top Gun! Side note: Do studs in heavy training go through stresses like that too with their check rides etc? And to think this whole time I thought that if you make it through UPT and got your wings then you had "made" it! It seems like I was wrong! You can wash it during IFF and B course stuff too, huh?

When do 2nd Lt's start getting their pay? I looked for an answer to this but couldn't find it. Do they start to get it on their date of commissioning, their RNLT date, or half way in between? Thanks for your help!!!

So... does anyone have a picture of this chick?

So, since when did they start dropping B-2's in UPT? I thought that was something that you couldn't get until later like the F-117 etc. Can someone explain this to me? What makes the AF decide to drop certain planes in UPT and not others?

If you want to see it directly go to Google. Then type in French Military Victories. Then hit the I'm Feeling Lucky Button. Not the normal search button. That's how you get to that.

Comanche, Yes, that does happen. It does all depend on your timing and the state of the airline. Skywest for example has been buying RJ's like crazy and has hired a butt load of pilots over the last two years. My buddy who was the first of my friends to get hired there started almost two years ago. Now he has about 1,000 pilots under him. That's a lot of new hires in such a short time frame. When did you have your application walked-in? Maybe they aren't in such a hiring frenzy anymore. I'll ask my buddy about that.

One thing that I have noticed about civi flying is that it is who you know. Yes, there are certain requirements for each company/airline, but just getting an interview is the hard part a lot of the time. I have friends in Vegas at tour companies and with Skywest. From what I have seen in order to get a job there are two ways: 1. Have a lot of hours and do well in the interview. Getting the interview is hard and you tend to need a lot of hours just to get looked at. 2. Have the minimum hours and know someone in the company who puts in a good word for you. I think it's obvious which one is the better way to go! For example: My buddy at Skywest didn't get a call back for an interview until he had 3,500 hours. He started bothering them at about 1,800. Then, this same buddy put in a good word for a bunch of his buddies who had the minimum time and they all got hired. Granted they had to pass the interview and the sim ride but I think there is a trend here. Also, the current state and hiring of the airline plays a big role. My buddy in Vegas got hired on by being recommended by my first flight intructor. This guy who got hired moved up really fast and the company loves him now. If you have the minimum time and you just mention his name you are golden in the hiring process there. Depending on the state of the industry if you have 1,000+ hours and 250+ multi you should be able to get a job SOMEWHERE. You might have to bend over a little and be a bi*ch for a while but you can do it if you know your stuff and know someone on the inside somewhere. I have friends in the above mentioned places and with Netjets, Flexjet, and scaryair (Cherryair). This is what all of them tell me and they all say that if the AF doesn't work out to give 'em a call and they'll hook me up. They also say to keep in touch and they'll hook me up in 10 years if I want out of the AF. IT'S ALL ABOUT WHO YOU KNOW!

Well, this isn't a regional, but there are scenic are tour companies in Vegas that will hire at 650 with 200 multi for a Twin Otter. That's turbine time. My first flight instructor did it and I have a couple buddies down there doing it right now. They make about 20K. However, they fly their butts into the ground!

Ok, I might be wrong here, but I just got interviewed and all that for my TS clearance and the guy said that for us, (recent ROTC pilot selects) that it would take a month to complete the investigation and that we should be cleared in 6 months. That sounds really fast to me, but that's what he said. Another thing he told me is that they dropped all of their other cases to do the pilot selects first. I don't know why this would be or if this applies to all pilot selects across the nation, but I tend to believe him because I turned the stuff in for secret and didn't hear a thing about it and it had been 8 months. I got my pilot slot and suddenly they were pounding down my door, and the doors of everyone who has ever even seen me.

These are just civi stories, but here I go. I'm on my first solo x-country. I check the NOTAMs and file my flight plan. I scheduled two airports and then back to base. I land at airport #1 and then head to #2. As I'm on short final for airport #2 I notice some crap on the runway. I kept bringing it in but kept a close eye on the runway. I'm at about 100' agl and notice that there are three men on the runway and further down it is a bug truck. I think to myself WTF? I went around and buzzed 'em at about 50'. Turns out they were filling in the cracks in the runway and no one had bothered to notify anyone about. Really sucked because it was my first solo x-country. I always check notams and also get really wary of stuff going on even if it's not published. I'm on my second solo x-country flying into Pocatello, ID. I'm flying through the canyon just east of the field and suddenly had a hanglider fly right in front of me. It scared the crap out of me and I could see the dudes eyes get really big. I was dang scared threw it into a 90 degree+ bank. That whole flight sucked because I was in a 152 and had verga most of the flight. Bumpy as heck! So there had been a mid-air along my route of flight and it had happened about an hour earlier. Suddenly I see smoke up ahead and sure enough it was coming from the plane on the ground that had spun in. The second plane made it to the nearest field, which is where I was headed, and I had been handed over to the tour for the landing. I'm now on base, cleared final and full stop. As I'm turning base to final I suddenly hear a guy come over the radio saying that he is taking evasive manuevers. I look up and at 12 o'clock there's 182 showing me his belly about 300' feet ahead. I bank hard right and pack my shorts. I went around and was again cleared to land. I get on the ground and go up to the tower to see what the heck was up. Turns out the controllers were dealing with a lot of crap from the mid-air and had forgotten about the second plane. WTF!!! Last story! I land in North Las Vegas for a pit stop. I'm in a 182 and take off again to the south. It was so hot that day and the density altitude was so high that I couldn't climb worth a mother. I was getting about 400' per minute at best. (We were heavy.) The controller keeps on telling me to go to best climb and I keep telling him that I'm at it. He gets pissed and ends up vectoring me all over Vegas to avoid other planes. I ended up flying right over the strip at about 800' AGL. That was pretty fun!

I am just an ROTC guy, but I've visited the TPS twice and they have gone over what it's like as a Test Pilot. However, I'm sure some other people will post who know more about this than I do. This is just a start. 1. The vast amount of people in the TPS had a masters or higher in a technical area. Their GPA's were also very high. (3.9 range) There were even a few who had PhD's. 2. From what we were told the people who go to TPS work as test pilots for a few years and then basically go to a few places to do "administrative" type work. However, it seems like some still do the test pilot thing for a while at other locations across the country. Basically, from what I gathered, you will not be flying like you want to, ie combat, once you have become a test pilot. This makes sense to me because why would they want to risk you after all of that? 3. Don't know, but what we were told is that once you hit 12-15 in after TPS you will be doing a lot of other work besides combat flying. I think a lot actually go to the Pentagon too and work there.

Sorry to bring this thread back but I had a couple of questions: 1. So you have to get your masters online, or from a school that is close to where you are stationed? 2. The AF pays 100% for the degree and for any prerequisite classes that you might need for the degree? 3. If you want will the AF pay for a masters and a PhD? I know that there are some Generals out there with PhD's so how did they do it? 4. I know that there are some prereq classes that I want to take that have some pretty intense labs and etc. What if these are only offered during the day? Are you screwed or can you work out a deal where you can go to those labs and classes and then go into the SQ and work later?

I was just wondering if gallbladder surgery/removal was a DQ condition for the FC1?