HuggyU2

"Sounds like" is one thing. Have you flown either so that you can give us your personal experience... especially in the "black jet with shiny ass tailpipes"? Duster has probably 1000 hours in the T-38N. If you want to speak to him about it, let me know and I'll get you in touch with him.

I was way under impressed... however, it was only 2 sorties (one front, one backseat), and a few sims here and there at Randolph. As for my sequenced/sequined shirt, chicks dig it.

Hindsight, Good perspective and excellent post. I'm glad you like the seat. It's a done deal, so anything I write is meaningless. As it is, I wrote entirely too much, and drew attention away from my point: the new seat was very expensive. And arguably for only a slightly better capability. I think it is an abysmal integration into the T-38, and not done well at all... much of that based on the options of other IP's I know that have flown both the A and C. Some of them have told me that would prefer to be riding on the Northrop seat. They don't like the seating position (more vertical and forward, I'm told), the lack of storage, visibility, etc... Did we meet at Stuck's memorial in Los Angeles? I knew him when he was still in college, and spoke to him about a week before the mishap. I'm familiar with the mishap and firmly believe he would be alive today had it been the Northrop seat he was flying in. In the case of Mark Graziano, a U-2 bud who died in 2009 in a T-38A with the Northrop seat... he might be alive had they had a sequenced seat that would have allowed the guy in the rear cockpit to punch them both out. For me, there's nothing I like about the T-38C, and if given the choice, I'd take the A-model every time.

1. I don't know the real reason they went with the MB seat, but as with any multi-million dollar contract, there were certainly more than a couple of reasons. Personally, I don't believe it was money well spent. And if the people involved in "upgrading" to the C-model were involved... well, that's a whole different story. There was a much better cockpit offered and they went with the lowest bidder... which ended up costing the most and being less capable. But I digress... 2. I've never heard the official cost for the seat upgrade, but simple math means it was big. When the first jets were going to get upgraded at DLF, MB looked at the parts of the system that the AF was responsible for (IIRC, it was the rails) and wouldn't touch it until the corrosion situation was improved. I cannot verify this, but DLF folks told me there was at least 1 MB person at DLF doing very little for over a year while the problem was addressed. 3. Had the AF saved the money for the C-model, PMP mod, and ejection seat... and had a comprehensive plan earlier on for acquiring the T-X, the money and horsepower spent on those individual projects would have gone a long way in getting the T-X procured by now. Yes, I'm sure those with PEM/staff experience will state "that's not how it works"... but maybe it should. Piecemealing improvements to the T-38 during that ~10 year window cost a ton of money, and I don't believe it was money well spent. 4. I did not realize that there were successful ejections on the MB seat that would have been fatal on the Northrop seat. Glad to hear that. But how many were there? Divide the cost of the program by that number and ask yourself if that was worth the expense. I'm not a believer in "if one life was saved, it was worth it". It's a silly justification, and we cannot afford it. 5. You state the MB seat upgrade saved a person/people... but I believe there is one person that died in an MB seat that would have survived had the Northrop seat been the seat he was flying on. 6. As a side note, the T-38 I'm flying now has the original seat. A few of the owners (of private T-38's and F-5's) have asked about going to an MB seat. I believe the huge cost to do so erased that idea, and I'm pretty sure all of them will stick with the old seat... even the ones that could afford it. Going to a cold seat isn't an option like it is on an L-39 and other jet warbirds: I'm happy to fly an L-39 with cold seats (and I do)... but not a T-38 or F-5.

I'm going to say you're wrong on this one, matmacwc. Certainly not 1000... but I think it might get some traction with those retired for under 12 months. Because not everyone retired because of the BS. Because... for those that just retired and went to the airlines recently... they now have a seniority number that is accruing longevity.

This was only announced yesterday. Not sure yet. Unlikely I'd do it. But it's worth a few brain cells to give it a look.

Fine. You figure it out any way that makes you happy.

Hangar 24 AirFest - Havasu is 27 October 2018. Looking for aircraft to support statics AND flyovers. Yes, it's SAF/PA approved. For you Luke, DM, TUS, and Nellis folks: you could have your families join you for the weekend. Pretty laid back event, put on by the 84th largest craft beer company in America.

I spoke to the VRRAD office today, and there are no financial incentives that they knew about.

Yes, I get that. What you don't get is that I work 5 jobs right now. Your concept of "don't work get $50k a year" doesn't really work for me. How many AF pilots out there have retired and quit working altogether, and are living high on the hog at $50-$60k per year? Instead, I look at what my 2019 income would be if I went back. I then compare that to my projected 2019 income on my current career path. VA benefits and retirement pay are subtracted, and $151,000 is added. That's not all that may change. The decision to go back might also affect the amount of money I'm making in the other jobs I'm working... and potentially open up some new opportunities I'd like to consider. I also consider the value of "quality of life"... which is going to be different for each person. Simplifying such a serious decision is never a good call.

Mark1, Goddell is motivated by profit. For him to make such a controversial decision against so many players would imply that the NFL's data shows a downturn. It might be pre-season sales are way down; merchandising is plummeting; etc... I'm no NFL business analyst, and my logic is probably flawed. Why do you believe the NFL has done this? Oh... and let the NFL fine the teams all they want. It means nothing, since the measly fines can be made up by adding $.069 to the price of every ticket.

No, it's like working for $151,000 a year, not factoring in some minimal tax-free benefits. Correct: no bonus. Returning would be a big financial hit for many pilots who are eligible.

And their product does a fine job. But I NEVER had qualms about riding on the very capable Northrop seat for ~4000 hours. It has done... and will continue to do... a fine job.

Repeatable offense: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Cunaek9W24

It appears the pilot crisis has gotten to the point that AFPC has decided to open up the rules and allow some pilots to return to fly jets again. As of yesterday: https://www.afpc.af.mil/Retirement/VRRAD/ I made a few calls... they are ready for applications, though they said it would take 4-6 months to get back in. Interesting to consider, but a significant pay cut. Going back to Beale would amount to $151,000 annually, if I did the mental calculations right.

My plan was to never get a GTC card. They said I couldn't pull it off. When I retired Nov 2014, I proved them wrong. Without a GTC, getting airline tickets to TDY was slightly painful for other agencies. And the looks I got at Finance when I needed help were priceless. But I made it work. One of the small victories is really enjoyed. (The other was going 8 for 8 against AFPC).

Yes, he's a great guy! I've announced a number of shows for him (and them) over the past few years.

I wish you'd have stopped by and said hi. Saturday was packed. The international beer festival that ran before the show was a huge hit, it seemed. Sunday had a more laid back feel by design. Pretty impressive lineup all around.

Just to be clear, there is no shortage in the US majors. Plenty of applicants still waiting for the call. And for the Regionals, there’s only a shortage of pilots willing to work for their salaries/benefits.

I have no sympathy for Emirates. $46M per month... I'll bet they could pay their pilots a lot more, and still come in under that figure. It's a good time to be a commercial pilot. Article below: A couple of weeks ago, James wrote about how Emirates is reducing some flights due to a pilot shortage. In the past we’ve seen Emirates sometimes store planes briefly due to decreased seasonal demand. While parking planes isn’t cheap, it’s certainly more expensive to fly them at a significant loss, so it’s the best option in those cases. Emirates’ unprecedented pilot shortage Emirates is currently dealing with an issue in unprecedented numbers. Specifically, Emirates pilots are quitting to go work elsewhere. The airline has always had some level of turnover, but they’ve never had anything to this degree. Emirates’ president said that the airline is “a tad short on pilots,” which is perhaps the understatement of the year. How bad is Emirates’ pilot shortage? Media reports suggest that Emirates will be parking 46 planes over the coming months: • Emirates will park 11 Boeing 777s and 1 Airbus A380 this month • Emirates will park 14 Boeing 777s and six Airbus A380s in May • Emirates will park 11 Boeing 777s and three Airbus A380s in June Altogether that represents 36 Boeing 777s and 10 Airbus A380s, which is about 18% of Emirates’ fleet (specifically 25% of their 777 fleet and about 10% of their A380 fleet). While it’s possible that Emirates may have otherwise stored a few of these planes, the numbers in which they’re storing these planes is unprecedented. Emirates is flying these planes to Dubai World Central Airport (since there’s no room at Dubai International), so by June that airport should look like an Emirates parking lot. Some suggest that a fairly new widebody costs roughly a million dollars per month between leasing and financing costs, as well as maintenance contracts and insurance. If that’s the case, storing 46 planes would be a loss of $46 million per month, or over $500 million per year (though presumably they wouldn’t be parked for that long). Why are Emirates pilots leaving? In the past, the contracts that Emirates offered were extremely competitive: • The salary is mostly tax free • Emirates covers housing and lots of other expenses for pilots • The pay rates themselves are quite good • You get to fly some cool planes as well; if I were a pilot I’d much rather fly an A380 or 777 than a regional jet Of course there are downsides as well. Emirates pilots work a lot of hours, and work some crazy hours (no matter how hard you try to adjust, I imagine working a 3AM flight never gets easy). You also have to live in Dubai with no option to commute — personally that’s something I wouldn’t mind, though I realize other people would far prefer a commuter contract, where they work two weeks on and then two weeks off, or something. So why are pilots suddenly leaving? Because there’s now a worldwide pilot shortage. 10 years ago pilots couldn’t find jobs at major carriers and pay had been cut significantly. Now pilot pay is as good as it has ever been, and Emirates hasn’t kept up. So either pilots are moving back home to find jobs there that pay comparably, or pilots are moving to other countries where airlines are offering incredible contracts. For example, Chinese airlines are known for their extremely lucrative contracts, with many pilots at Chinese airlines apparently earning $300,000+ per year, with the ability to commute. Bottom line We’ve seen Emirates park some planes before, but have never seen them park 45+ planes at a time, as far as I know. This isn’t just an adjustment for seasonal demand, but clearly reflects their severe pilot shortage. While I know Emirates has some pilots in training right now, it sure doesn’t sound to me like this shortage will figure itself out in the next few months, because pilots are still leaving in droves. While Emirates pilots obviously aren’t unionized, it sounds to me like there might need to be some negotiating when it comes to their contracts. What was once an industry leading benefits package is no longer the case, and things are only getting worse. I also don’t want to say that we should be worried as passengers, but ideally you want to fly with an airline that has experienced pilots with lots of hours. Emirates simply isn’t able to maintain that type of talent pool with what they’re offering right now. Emirates’ president makes it sound like this problem will be solved in the coming months, though it doesn’t look like that’s happening. This will be an interesting situation to follow as we move into the summer. https://goo.gl/QE1LWC

Do you have a unit that has hired you, or that at least is advocating for you?

Yep. On how "I fucked away my career in the most admired special-operator-group in modern history".

In this scenario, the fraternization, not the publicity of the video would be the punishable offense. It's the Guard. From what I've seen, nothing in the Guard is considered "fraternization".

Yes, it was Gump.

Like a private, homemade porn video, that somehow ends up on the internet? With a male officer and two enlisted gals?