busdriver

I have no doubt that the joint concept doesn't really save any money. Complexity is complexity, I just get bothered when people go on about how this thing is way too expensive, well compared to what? The first actual F-35 flight was in 2006, everything before that was prototype DARPA type shit. So we're less than 10 years of the real aircraft, so really about on par with the F-22. It's a shit load longer than I'd like to see, but it seems to be standard for the industry. If my google foo is ok the last super hornet buy has a fly away cost about 60mil per bird, I picked that aircraft because it's the newest fighter the DOD has bought in awhile. The flyaway cost for the F-35 is about 80mil if you buy the forecasts for 2018. So the new hotness is about a 30% cost increase. All the LRIP costs are floating all over the place, in my opinion part of the rush to kill other platforms and ramp up F-35 production is to prevent a cost spiral. So there is no doubt that the new jet costs a lot more than the old stuff, but is that worth it? What would the cost be to upgrade the super hornet class of jets to F-35 class avionics? Since the F-35 avionics are a large part of what's holding things back, I don't see how a block XX F-16 with F-35 type avionics doesn't close that gap pretty significantly as well as eat up time. So we might end up with a badass F-16, it'll still have a worse RCS, inferior performance when loaded for attack, and it will be just as shitty for low slow escort, the single advantage of the F-16 is last ditch survivability, it can jettison all the extra weight and turn itself into a BFM monster. When has that been a key player in the last 20 years? As far as the F-35 replacing the A-10, fast movers have been doing CAS for a long time. The marines have been doing it without the advantage of the A-10 for awhile. The biggest problem is the AF will try to multirole the shit out of everything without realizing the biggest reason A-10 squadrons are really fucking good at CAS is because that's what they do. This is more a pink body issue than platform issue. When the F-35 really comes online, the AF needs to not have a blanket DOC statement for all F-35 squadrons, they need to specialize. As far as the A-10 specialty of low slow escort, well we're fucked, we (the slow fat kids)need to take that upon ourselves.

So much internet fact there.

The wrinkly ass skin on the B-52 always kills me.

Good god. PYB posts replies to threads on this website on facebook! Why does he even care? I know more than one person who holds his hard core libertarian and borderline anarchist viewpoint. It doesn't mean they have to be raging assholes. I actually agree with PYB on some topics, doesnt change the fact I think he's an annoying jerk.

I'll echo what has been said, being in the AF you will miss family milestones. That said, if you follow your heart and accept what lot in life you get you'll be happier overall. If you're a bitter asshole, it will migrate into your family life. Your family will be much happier if when you are home, you're happy. Follow your dreams, bloom where you are planted, always remember that 20 years down the line when you retire, the AF gets kicked to the curb but your family remains, but you and your family should have had fun along the way.

While I agree not to panic, the issue is touching said surface then rubbing your eyes or eating, etc. I doubt Africans are rubbing their mucous membranes on dead relatives. The issue in West Africa from what I can tell based on some Vice reporting and whatnot is overload of medical facilities. Sick people sent away rely on their friends and family, who are at risk based on no barrier protection. Seems to me that we could boost the medical capability as well as pass out free barrier protection capability. Let's be honest some tyvec suits, gloves and face masks aren't expensive.

Some of those cliffs are seriously dangerous during storms. Sucks.

My experience with flight med has either been a solid "meh" or outstanding. Our current doc isn't technically assigned to our unit, but he's in the building and hangs out with the bros, and is constantly running around helping whoever he can. The good docs I've had have always made a point to have us call them first, they'd then fast track us through the machine/ fit me in between appointments/ etc. The good docs seemed to get that their job was to take care of people while facilitating them doing their jobs, how do you train a cadre of docs to understand that? I don't want you to auto DNIF me for everything, I want you to help me find a way to keep flying without fucking myself up long term. There's a reason most flyers won't admit to problems unless shit gets really bad....

That's unfortunate to hear from you, especially since I think squadron commanders should basically be demi gods allowed wide and free ranging authority to meet their doc statement however they want ( with the caveat that if you fail, you're done). Then again, I've probably been tainted by too many years in the 57th wing. I admit I'm probably out of touch.

Why would you want to be a CC? Simple, to make a difference. How awesome would it be to be in the position to actually say "that's queepy bullshit, we're not doing it" and the consequence? Who gives a shit, there is no better job after SQ/CC so it doesn't matter. AMC is fucked up six ways to Sunday based on the recent firings, hopefully that shit doesn't propagate into the rest of the Air Force.

Lawman can elaborate further, but the AH-64's primary fly at night sensor is a FLIR slaved to the pilot's helmet. They didn't start flying with NVGs until recently, and even then it's an either or thing, usually the co-pilot on NVGs intermittently with the TADS.

Maybe, but regardless the B-1 crew should have been able to stop that chain. Likewise the JTAC should have known better as well. Can you see IR strobes in a pod? Really?

There are these things called maps, just saying....

I was thinking more along the lines of Afghans in a very conservative and quite frankly racist town, at least amongst the old money there.

meh, just go to valdosta... On the other hand, 120 Afghans roaming around town, that could be interesting.

MX actually under OPS or not isn't really an issue. The issue is communication. If MX is under OPS, the comm is forced, but it can still exist if separate. In other words as the OPS guy I explain to MX why I'm doing what I'm doing, and what my priorities are, he responds with how my schedule may impact follow on lines and if I stick to my schedule I may in fact be fucking myself. If I say I'm willing to take that risk, then I've accepted if they can't deliver aircraft for those follow on lines it's on me. Chasing metrics is counter productive, it doesn't show the importance of one set of sorties over another and it doesn't allow ops and mx to make real time calls about where to put the weight of effort. Metrics are useful to track trends but not as a measure of merit.

What kills me about MX playing stats games is that those stats should help highlight things like under-manning and acquisitions problems. Guess it's better to hide the problems and kick the can down the road.

I'm not sure I buy it. Another news source questioned the source of the "fatwa," since FGM is not prevalent in that area. But then again, most of those extremists have a weird aversion to women.

This argument could not be any dumber.

Be a bro and a peer leader. You should strive to be the best you can be, and that means bringing those up around you. If your peers are struggling, you should be helping them, if you're struggling your peers should be helping you, Foster the type of peer environment that you and your bros are on the same page and everyone's goal is to make the group better. The team gets better, then the Air Force gets better. The rest is just careerist asshole stupid shit.

GE is claiming something like a 20% increase in thrust on top of the 414's increase on the 414-EPE due to improved hot section durability blisk magic, well according to wiki anyways. i know I've read some Navy articles lamenting about the Navy not buying the EPE engines.

I guess I'll ask this then: if you lost the sustained G of the Viper but gained the high alpha of the Hornet, is that a net gain or loss in your mind?

Promotion isn't a reward

I didn't forget about the vertical, I just didn't address it as I was picking and choosing, just like the single data point that is the publicly released spec. i have no doubt that the F-35 is draggy pig however, it sure looks the part. But that's actually what I'm talking about, if you look at empty weights (yes I'm going to use wikipedia here, I don't have anyone's dash one available), combat radius examples from that same crappy website and a baseline 2k lbs ordnance load (ballpark 6xAMRAAM) I end up with a wing loading for the F-35 that is comparable to the Super Hornet and the thrust to weight ratio that is comparable to the legacy Hornet. While not eye watering, it ends up being right in the middle of the fourth gen aircraft kinematically. In other words, the F-35 is not an improvement in fighter kinematics, just more of the same. Is that OK given the improvement in other areas? EDIT: Sorry I said i wasn't going this far outside of my lane, but napkin calculus and afternoon lager got the better of me.

As a fellow slow kid unable to choose when a fighter tries to shoot me I appreciate the ability to run away. I'm rapidly getting away from my area here, so I'll leave with this: I'm skeptical of the internet pundits who decry a reduction to 4.6g sustained since that is one data point that doesn't tell the whole story. As an example on paper I can pick a point where an H-60 can better a Viper in sustained rate and radius. All that said, it does look like a chubby fucker when it's in the same hanger with an F-22.