HuggyU2

Hmmm.... I must have been doing something terribly wrong in the T-38. I usually took off with less than 1.5 hours of fuel on board. My landings did adhere to the Golden 12 Minute Rule, however.

https://www.aol.com/article/entertainment/2017/06/17/stephen-furst-animal-house-and-st-elsewhere-actor-dies-at-age-63/22439964/ That movie really is a classic. Godspeed, Flounder.

I recommend you head over to the forum at Airline Pilot Central. It is more geared to what you are asking.

1. Why would I assume it's not carb ice? 2. FAA stats: Most engine failures are do to fuel starvation. So change to the full tank and restart it. 3. "I remember an instructor saying" sounds like "I saw it on the internet, so it must be true".

That's a very good way to describe it. I'm going to use that description in the future.

Beat that? You don't have to work any days per month when you're furloughed. (I was furloughed twice).

This sort of thing happens in the U-2 quite often. Lots of folks want to join the "13 nautical mile high club".

So true. A few years ago, I did my fitness test one month before I turned 50. My good friend who is 47 was in my group, plus 7 others. Of those 7, one was in his 30's and the rest were young Airmen in the 20's. I finished first in the 1.5 mile run, followed by my friend about 25" behind me. The two of us stood by the finish line and yelled "old guys rule!!" to the rest of the runners as they went by. It was pathetic to watch the ones in their early 20's struggling to make it 6 laps. They should be in great shape, and certainly good enough to beat a 50 year old Lt Col with an artificial hip.

A scoff? I thought you pilots from Fighter Command always say "A kill's a kill"... right?

Well... that'll just about cover the fly-bys...

Everyone here knows that just about anything in the press related to a "military scandal" is full of incomplete information, and just plain errors and/or lies. This event and how it is being covered in the press is no exception.

A little later, I'll be driving out to the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery by myself to soak up the meaning of the day. I also came across a letter written by a guy who is an acquaintance who lives in north Texas, and was a pilot in the Marine Corps. Taco has is a great American, and writes very well. It's not a "feel good" letter by any stretch. But it reminds me how I felt when military people died. ----- Another Memorial Day arrives and like most weekends and holidays, I will be working . When passengers board my commercial airliner, many are confused between the two holidays, Memorial and Veterans weekend, so with my short hair and Marine Corps lanyard I hear a lot of things like “Happy Memorial Day” to which I reply “come see me on Veterans Day.” For me on Memorial Day, I usually give pause and think about the guys I knew who are now gone. The horrors of war that are tucked away, not discussed with friends or spouses. During the time I spent over in Iraq and Afghanistan , pulling the trigger against the enemy was not something I experienced. That can be a good thing but then you sometimes wish for extreme payback to an enemy who has hurt your friends through their cowardly actions using IED’s. When Iraq comes to mind, it sometimes feels like yesterday, but then I realize that it was almost seven ago which is eons to my kids who barely remember me being gone. It’s a good thing they didn’t see the tears from their mother when she found out that I had volunteered to serve over there just as thousands of others had done. A scene probably played out in many households across our nation. American’s have left for war across the world or have volunteered to serve knowing that at any minute a conflict could come up that requires them to face the very real possibility of taking another human’s life or being killed in the process. It’s not something we talk about to others or amongst ourselves. You just pray that when the time comes, God gives you the strength to do the right thing and take care of your brothers in arms. My tour in Iraq was interesting to say the least. As the Assistant Air Boss at Al Taqaddum, I was never outside the wire kicking in doors (like the young guys did), but we were around for the aftermath of their patrols most of the time. Our mission was to launch the rescue CH-46’s to pick up those who were wounded and more often than not we would end up helping the wounded in some fashion since the hospital was next door to our tower. One day in particular stands out. I had our best Sgt. on the desk one afternoon when I left for chow. It was a long hot miserable walk to the chow hall, made worse since the Colonel and I were required to carry our “Brick” radio everywhere so that we could be reached at a moments notice and this thing was huge! On the way home, the radio crackled “Sir, are you up?” Since the Colonel was on leave in the states, I knew it was me he needed. “I’m here, what’s going on Sgt. K?” The sun was burning down on me as my boots plowed through the fine dust wondering what our troublesome Lance Corporal had done this time. “Sir, we have a MASS CASS (massive causalities) on the way.” His voice very calm over the radio. He didn’t know if they were arriving by air or ground or how many so I detoured to the hospital as the call came in that they were at the North Entry Control Point inbound, but he still no idea how many. I needed to put eyeballs on the situation to cut out the confusion that usually follows. This is one of those things that will get your heart pumping, not knowing how many. It could be just a few or a ton of guys you are talking about and the exact number determines how many CH-46’s you have to launch and whether or not you need to break crew rest for more helo lift. A whole slew of considerations on getting the fastest medical evacuation service to our troops. I arrived at the side entrance, a large unloading spot to the hospital with about 12 staff members milling about smartly. They were all on hand because you really don’t know what you have until the doors open up. We heard that an Army team was ambushed in their Bradley and blown up with a particularly nasty IED mixed with a sort of napalm concoction. Everyone was pretty tense with only nervous banter being thrown about, especially from the new Sailor standing next to me. The ambulance arrived, turned around and backed up. The loud diesel engine shut off followed by the doors flying open and a silence settled over the group of us standing there. Slowly, the first of four forms materialized out of the back. He was burned beyond anything I had ever seen. The skin was dripping off him in places. His ears were gone along with his nose. Pieces of his gear melted into his body and flesh charred. His guttural cries as he moved inch by inch out of the ambulance. The young Sailor next to me vomited into the top of a small Hesco barrier that was filled with dirt when the overpowering smell of burnt flesh hit him. The nurses were trying to be gentle with them, tears in their eyes as the Doctors and orderlies assisted their movement to the ER. This was no doubt a horrible one as each Soldier looked as bad as the first. Lots of emotions flash through my mind, none of them I’m able to express without being tossed out of the Marine Corps or attacked by CAIR . This really affected everyone standing there that day. These events were barely mentioned later, because as much as you wanted them to survive, you were watching the walking dead (I fear they knew it too). We lost one there on the ER table, another on the flight to Ballad Air Base in Northern Iraq , followed by a third death over the Atlantic and the fourth Soldier; he succumbed to his injuries and passed on in San Antonio . That is what I think about when Memorial Day arrives. It’s the service members who will never return to see their families again. The young men and women who volunteered to serve their country with no thought as to their safety, all willing to pay the ultimate price with their lives. That is what this weekend is about so the rest of America can enjoy the time off Monday with friends. As you tip that cold drink, cook that steak and hang out with your friends, please remember those men and women who have served over the years to give us the freedoms we have. They paid for it with their lives. To those men and women, and the many hundreds of thousands before them who have passed, gone West and now guarding the gates of heaven, God Bless you for your duty and Godspeed. Semper Fi, Taco

Posted so you can "friend him"... https://www.facebook.com/colonelpatrickjrhatigan Of course, once you do, drop him a note and say hi.

It was awesome that you stopped by. A few minutes after you left, I realized I hadn't gotten a pic with the two of us! Doh! There's always next year. No matter: it was a nice surprise to get to meet you. Thanks for the kind words. My voice is still recovering. After the response to last weekend, H24 is going to do a show in October at their Lake Havasu location. Details to follow.

I recall back in 2005 or '06 when PBD 720 was going to retire the U-2, starting in '07, and with the last U-2 gone in '11. Uh huh. Yeah. I said it back then: "The last U-2 pilot hasn't finished elementary school". Oh... just so you know, it's now official: https://dragonladytoday.com/forum-3/

There are some serious freaks working as airline pilots, no doubt. But this takes the cake: https://www.travelpulse.com/news/impacting-travel/o-hare-pilot-arrested-in-castration-case.html

Yes, that has got to be one of the most scenic airshow venues out there. The F-18 silhouetted on the mountains was quite a sight. As for the ladies, I was referring to the other three you were talking to. I didn't see the Hooters gals there.

Epic event. One hell of a party. Too bad none of you T-6 guys brought one in. You would have enjoyed it. BTW, those were some gorgeous gals with you in the VIP tent, Bobsan.

Although I am not in the know, I cannot imagine this being a possibility. USERRA is "law of the land", and will take an act of Congress to make significant changes. The AF is only one of seven uniformed services: have they coordinated with the other six? The airline industry isn't the only employer of military personnel. They don't get to decided the rules unilaterally. I couldn't get a couple of safety-related 847's approved through the bureaucracy my last 2 years in the AF. How will they manage to change USERRA?

You need to consider "portal to portal time". Example: for me to fly Sacramento-LAX is about 1:40 of time. However, I must leave my house 2:15 prior to the flight to get there, park, and get to the gate (no bags to check). At LAX, it will take 10 minutes to unload the aluminum tube, and 10 more minutes to get to a taxi. Then I need to travel to my destination... maybe an hour from LAX? So that's about 5.5 hours from my house to the destination. And a good bit of that is time that I cannot be "productive", because I'm driving, walking through security, boarding, cell phone off, etc... Yes, well short of 14 hours... but not as bad as it seems initially. In other scenarios, the results are different.

That applies to me. It is not a threat... at least not for the foreseeable future. If you're an airline pilot in your 40's, you've got nothing to worry about WRT this robot. As for the pilot shortage, I still do not believe it is here. United just hired a friend, and then a month later, changed their minds on his class date and rolled him 6 months. In fact, few if any new-hire classes until then. Shortage? The only shortage that exists is the one developing in the USAF.

OK... why exactly is this robot so amazing? I fly the 737-800NG, and it already has a computer on board that will fly the jet, and even do an auto-land. Get rid of this robot, and you can keep the F/O's seat installed, and have a flight attendant join you for the trip. When you've got a robot that can make complex decisions, let me know. Until then, continue to crash as many Global Hawks as you like.

1. Don't know. Refer to the AFI... can't recall which one in the Medical category though. It's been posted a number of places here, however. 2. Don't know, but most things are waiverable. 3. If it is covered by hair, I doubt they will see it.

It's a good question that I'm not really sure of the answer. And, frankly, having been gone almost three years, my opinion is of little value. My best... and possibly inaccurate... answer is that it I just enjoyed the flying and people so much that it made the BS tolerable. But toward the end, it did seem the BS was getting much worse. But, once again, the perspective of a guy who was about to retire. There are others on here who can speak to the issue better. However, they are currently in a good place leadership-wise with excellent SQ/CC's, OG/CC, and inbound RW/CV.

I'd still go back and fly the U-2, in peacetime. Unfortunately, if things escalated (wartime) to the point where they needed me back even more, I have zero faith that the fucking AFPC bureaucracy could make it happen... even if the squadron was BEGGING for pilots. Honestly, AFPC simply couldn't get through the mountains of paperwork and levels of coordination. You'd be back in your Viper and I'd be back in the Deuce after it was all said and done. I think Maj Gen Poore is still the AFPC/CC. If so, she and the Executive Director need to be thrown out personally by Gen Goldfein. AFPC has failed, and how they do business needs to be re-thought. edit: I looked and the E.D. is fairly new, so I'd give her another 9 months to prove her worth before I shitcanned her.