HuggyU2

Since the topic of "formation approaches and wing landings" has come up elsewhere, I want to ask the fighter/attack folks about fingertip: is it still relevant to what you do? Or if IMC, do you depart/arrive via some sort of radar trail? What about the A-10's? Do they use fingertip more? Or do they split up to singletons? Do A-10's do wing takeoffs if there is a 600' ceiling on departure? I realize fighters can come up initial in fingertip... but is flying initial in tactical better/preferred/more common, as compared to fingertip? Bottom line: is fingertip still relevant to what you do as a fighter/attack pilot? Is the answer different if we are talking about the F-22/F-35 instead of the F-16/F-16? My personal opinions don't matter any more. Just looking to see if technology has moved us further away from fingertip. According to what I've read, formation landings aren't operationally necessary for y'all.

Are you saying there are PIT IP's that have not done a tour as a UPT IP? If so, that's crazy. It was not that way when I was in the 560th (except for a few O-5's and above, I believe).

104 aircraft built 104' wingspan F-104 cockpit. If you see one in a museum or on a pole, it was one of the 55 smaller A/C models. The last of those flew in '87. The big-wing jets: 12 built originally, then 37 more built in the 80's (as mentioned above), with the last jet being delivered Oct 1989. History info: short read with updated info on the Powers shutdown. Good stuff. https://dragonladyhistory.com/2020/05/01/u-2-mayday-shootdown-gary-powers/

Word. F'in word.

About 1060.

Sixty years ago today, Gary Powers flew the last of 28 Russian overflights in the U-2. The first was flown on 4 July 1956 by Hervey Stockman, the 17th pilot to fly the U-2 (Powers was #25). Here's to those great Americans that put it all on the line to do what the nation needed, to keep the Communist enemy in our sights. 🍺 https://www.coldwar.org/articles/50s/early_u2.asp For those of you at Laughlin AFB that haven't been to the Laughlin Heritage Foundation Museum, there's a fair amount of good U-2 history there. James Long runs the place... tell him hello and that you're stationed at DLF. https://www.laughlinheritagefoundationinc.org

Do you meet the pre-reqs, such as a Bachelor's Degree? Frankly, only you can answer your question. Do you want to be a military pilot for the next 11 years? Or would you rather stay in the airlines?

What was justification to create the T-1 almost 30 years ago is somewhat irrelevant. What can it do for the USAF now? Separate subject: I'll bet the USAF could pick up some narrow body airliners parked in KROW for way less than the cost of other T-1 replacements.

Larry does all of the photography at the big Airshow convention and formal in Vegas each year. Nice guy.

Should be little to no factor for getting hired. Lots has been posted on other threads about similar subjects (Q-3, FTU washout, etc...). Just be honest, and address it with professionalism.

True... and I feel bad for China if that happens.

Although not an assignment option for anyone here, this a good video of Dean "Gucci" Neeley talking about the NASA ER-2 mission at Palmdale on Earth Day 2020. Gucci has an incredible flying background, including the B-52, T-37, KC-10, T-38, U-2, and F-117 in the USAF.

I did my part by putting 5 gallons of 100LL in to the atmosphere.

If you're willing to type it, I'd like to read it. I spent 4 years in Del Rio many moons ago.

I'll be calling HindSight when I get a little closer to pulling the trigger. Today, I went out to fly the Cub... my first flight since 7 March... and after I flew, I was walking around the ramp with a good bud (who owns the Cub, a Stearman, and a PT-22 and has a ton of GA experience), and we saw a nice Swift taxi out. I say "You've flown the Swift. What did you think?" He says "Good... but you can get in an RV-?, go faster, have better support, do it for cheaper, and have more fun." One data point. For you U-2 guys that know Mountain, we saw him land just a few minutes after that in his RV-6, and went and looked it over. His was finished in '92 (IIRC), and it was a beautiful airplane. He's had it two years, it is is first airplane, and he is a very happy owner. FWIW, we have quite a few U-2 Drivers with airplanes in the Beale area at this time.

Hacker, Good time to be "in cargo". Congrats.

Shack. Even I... just call me "Boomer"... have a big collection of CD's gathering dust. I built a great bunch of songs for my 2020 airshow soundtracks. Too bad the season is a loss. I grabbed some great sections of the following songs: The Trooper, 2 Minutes to Midnight, Flight of Icarus, Cowboys from Hell, Dreams, In the End, New Divide, Pressure and Time, Joker and the Thief, Ladies and Gentlemen, Click Click Boom, Bad Motor Scooter, Shoot to Thrill, Hangar 18, Alien Nation, Hail to the King, Fuel, Bodies, Voices, 10,000 Fists, Modern Day Cowboy, Flat Liner, Fallen Angel, Metal Health, Bark at the Moon... and about 60 more. Until I go to an airshow, I'll just play them at home with the volume at 11... when the the wife is gone. p.s. don't worry, kids: I have some current stuff I can play too. It won't be relevant in 18 months, and neither will the artist so I don't have any idea what the song names are.

Ironic: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/04/08/navy-secretary-trip-roosevelt-cost-243-000-leads-modly-ouster/2973486001/ I just heard on the news that CNO is considering reinstating Crozier to his command billet on the Roosevelt. That would be quite a turn around.

Four days ago, they had the Elder at the grocery store. Totally out of the blue. $5.99 a bottle and there were at least a dozen bottles. I said something to the checker as I was buying one, and she said "yeah... this never happens." You're being stupid and naive. I keed, I keed!

As M2 pointed out, he had a 1-star just down the hallway. I'd guess the two of them discussed it, the 1-star told Crozier "noted... press on" and CAPT Crozier didn't care for that. Oh well. He came to a fork in the road, and made his choice. As one of the articles I read stated: "It wasn't just sent up the chain of command, it was send and copied to a broad array of other people. It was send outside the chain of command." I don't know much about Navy ops... but a carrier strike group is a pretty big deal, and represents a metric shit-ton of American power and might. Everyone knows the Pacific Theater carries a lot of risk to American presence. I have no doubt the admiral in charge of that group is up to the task, and that he understands the mission comes first. It was the admiral's call on how to handle this, and Crozier tried to bypass him.

Because they fired a commander that did something that most of us wouldn't accept from an O-3 under our command? "Hey, CNN... we are way short on jet fuel needed to accomplish our mission; the food is terrible because a bunch of refrigerators are broken; and we have leaks in over half of the bathrooms. I hope my bosses will get this stuff fixed!" CAPT Crozier sounds like a great guy and a number of my Navy acquaintances have nothing but good things to say about him. I have to think that he realized that jumping that much of the chain of command was going to have blowback. Maybe he didn't realize how much... who knows? But he had to go. SECNAV's handling of the aftermath is a completely different discussion.

If you're seriously considering this, also consider getting a small group of well-known locals and/or friends to go in on a plane with you, and share the costs... and the fun. And join AOPA. They can give you plenty of resources whatever you do. Plus, it's just good to support AOPA and all they do for the GA community. With over 50 former U-2 pilots in the local area around Beale, it is something we were going to consider... until everyone's jobs began to look uncertain as a result of the virus. I'm sure we will discuss it again next year. There's an Interstate Cadet and a T-Craft on Barnstormers I wanted to get folks interested about... but it will have to wait.

Agree. When I applied for an ROTC scholarship, all I could get was a "technical scholarship" and you had to be working to obtain a "technical degree", which was Engineering, Computer Science, and maybe something else I can't recall. There were "non-technical scholarships" but they were few and far between.

Wow. They have made some significant changes to those King Air props since I flew the MC-12. Technology. Amazing stuff

Bottom line, the answer to your question doesn't matter and is impossible to answer since the future of the U-2 will more than likely change between now and then. When you are able to apply, they will either be hiring or they won't... simple as that. As Hawk15 alludes to, go enjoy your first MWS as much as you can... and let the chips fall where they may if/when you decide to apply to the Dragonlady. In previous years when we were "a dying airframe", we never slowed hiring. A lot can happen between now and 2025, and only time will tell