Batman

Try text messages for the quick stuff...much cheaper (around .10 to send and .35 to receive each call). There's also the option to go computer(text)-to-cell phone with T-Mobile. Batman [ 08. March 2006, 22:41: Message edited by: Batman ]

Airshows, airshows, airshows. If you ever want to know what it feels like to be a Rock Star for a day do an airshow. Batman

Cockpit. There, I said it. Batman

It was during Tweets at Vance. Went out to the area with my IP. He's "IP demo"-ing split-"S" maneuvers and I'm starting to feel very, very queasy. I can feel my face begin to lose its color and turn the gray color of the leather on my gloves. My forehead is perspiring like a faucet, sweat is dripping onto my eyelids causing me to blink to shake 'em free. I take numerous deep breaths, trying to calm down. I do better when I'm actually doing the flying vs. the riding. My flying is going well enough for the IP to continue showing me new tricks that the Tweet can perform. Every time I start to feel better he says "my aircraft" and my stomach begins another roller coaster of queasiness. However, the next time he gives me the jet I'm really feeling exhausted with hot flashes. Finally, I can't take it anymore and then I just "rrrrrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaallllpppppppphhhh". The IP takes the jet and looks over to his left at me. I have my mask still attached to my face and a mouthful of breakfast and part of my lunch. Without hesitating, I put my breakfast and remnants of my lunch BACK DOWN THE HATCH and open my mask to show a clean environment to my IP. I can still see him to this day looking over at my open mask, scanning left and right, up & down for vomit. I felt so much better after hurling, even after I put it all back down. The hot flashes were replaced with refreshingly cool AC. The sweats were gone. After a minute or two the IP asked if I was ready to fly again and I said "yes, sir". The rest of the sortie was great. We continued area work for about 15 more minutes and then headed back to Vance and the traffic pattern. IP never mentioned anything on the ground and I believe he never knew that I put the stuff back down. Batman

Call 1-800-460-9608 or (210) 344-3464. Ask to speak to "Don". Tell him an "old friend" sent you and that you're "Air Force". Explain your situation to him. Best of luck. BATMAN [ 19. September 2005, 18:52: Message edited by: Batman ]

You know, Toro, wives' opinions on their (pilot) husbands is like first-time parents discussing their kid. Family ties are like Texas pride, overwelming and in-your-face at times, but still a good thing. This reminds me of the Pony League coach whose son is the "star" pitcher. No matter how many batters he walks or hits, that kid aint coming out of the game. Despite the inquisitive looks and complete silence from other parents and players it's not until another coach says something to the coach that "reality" hits. Wives protecting their husbands and sticking up for them is natural, expected, and is good for them--and can be for everyone else in the unit. However, the next time a wife misspeaks about her husband's squadron commander, how her husband "got looked over for" someone else, or got the shaft because of a Boss "playing favorites" you owe it to everyone involved to point out her inaccuracies. She gets her information from her husband or from other wives. She needs to get the straight scoop from someone removed from both of these corners. You don't need to eye poke her, just state the circumstances that led to her husband's "screwing". Tell her (hopefully with him present too) what he needed or needs to do to change "their" circumstance. Nobody up until this time has probably had the nads to tell "them" how the "system" works--whether it's hey, you need to take the next deployment, fly more often, do social events, get your Masters, etc. Her eyes will probably open to the news on how things work within the unit, and how many different "factors" determine a person's fate and career path. We owe it to wife, husband, and our unit to set the record straight. Gossip and misinformation in a squadron can expand like Rick Majerus' waistband and kill morale faster than a broke VCR on a deployment. BATMAN

Need To Fly- I'd recommend you take the same test I did as a junior in H.S.: 1. Can you afford college without taking out a loan? Yes - (+3) No - (-1) 2. Do you already have a girlfriend? Yes - (-1) No - (+4) Never asked a girl out - (+6) Girls? Who cares! - (-4) 3. Ever drink alcohol as a minor? Yes - (+3) No - (-2) 4. Do you have your PPL? Yes - (+2) No - (-1) 5. Do you easily meet the physical criteria for UPT? Watch - (+3) Ray Bans - (+2) 4.0 GPA - (-4) Top 10 in your class - (-3) 20/15 vision, uncorrected - (+3) 20/20, corrected, older siblings wear glasses - (-4) 6. Any chance you could be cast on "Beauty & the Geek"? Yes - (-4) No - (+2) 7. Having someone yell in your ears for several years makes you feel: Nervous - (+4) Like home - (-4) 8. Ever been handcuffed? Yes - (+3) No - (-3) 9.Ever handcuff a chick? Yes - (+6) No - (0) 10. The thought of eating meals in 2 minutes or less leaves you thinking: Hey, more time for SportsCenter - (+4) Why? - (+2) Cool, a challenge! - (-4) What's SportsCenter? - (-2) Scores: 1 - 41: go ROTC -37 - 0: go AFA Hope this helps. BATMAN [ 10. July 2005, 15:18: Message edited by: Batman ]

First, remember "Hopefull" that when it comes to BOLDFACE, spelling does matter. Secondly, as for your "week" brain power, keep this in mind (literally): During college we could remember the seating location of every hottie in those 600-person lectures. We remembered the directions to parties verbatim without the use of maps or street numbers. When it came time to get the girl's phone number, we placed that 7-digit lottery number into our human "lock box"--no Fairchild instructor could get that from us. Flash cards are the only way to go. It forces you to actually write-out the questions/answers and your better half can help you study as foreplay. To help get over your fears of being able to stand-up and recite BOLDFACE I'd recommend you immediately start using them in normal day-to-day conversations. I never went through the Main Gate at Vance without telling the SF dude "Handgrips Raised - Triggers Squeezed". When some driver provokes you in traffic, yell "Throttle - Retard"! Follow it up with the Fuel Shutoff T-Handle and Throttle Cutoff verbiage to let him know you're serious. On Friday nights, when you're out chasing tail get the local hotties involved in your study. Tell her all about "Dual Only Maneuvers". If she balks or makes excuses re: boyfriend or something let her know it's not on the "Prohibited Maneuvers" list. If things go Tango Uniform yell out the "Abort" procedure. Some of the married guys that would get home after the routine 12-hour flightline days only to find their "better half" in no joyous mood would often just throw out the "Thunderstorm Prevention Airspeed" as a greeting. 180 kts! These are only "techniques". Talk to, study with, and help your buds. They're going to experience the exact same feelings and difficulties as you. On your worst day at pilot training remember there are hundreds of dudes wishing they were in your UPT slot. BATMAN

I was in the EC-130s in the late 90s and it turned out to be a blessing. Tucson is a great town for married and single folks--U of A and 4th Avenue provide great entertainment. As for the flying, we were getting tons of flight hours. We had pilots upgrading much faster than most units. In fact, we had pilots going to IP school at the same time their buddies from copilot school were arriving back to LR for the AC course. The reason for our abundant number of flying hours (500-600/yr) was our deployments to the Balkins. The EC-130s were flying 10-12 hr sorties, boring holes in the sky. Only good news was we got to do aerial refueling, which I think is more rewarding than assault landings. I know the EC-130 are still deploying but can't say for sure how many flight hours they're getting right now. Their pilot manning was very high about a year ago, so perhaps the flying hours are only going to those that deploy and less for the folks back home. Deployments will be just like the rest of the AF. Expect to be gone for 1/2 the year at least. I was going on-average, 230 days/year in the EC-130--of which 80% were deployments and the other 20% SOS, AC/IP school, etc. Our excessive TDY rate gained Air Staff attention and things got better my last year--closer to 190/yr. Expect to be gone for 3-4 months at a time and then come back for 3-4 months at Tucson. As for going to Special Ops--we had pilots/navs crossing over all the time. In fact, most pilots went to AC-130s, MC-130s, including Talons. Others went to C-21s, C-5s, and U-2s. A couple even went to slick C-130s (Dyess). I went to the schoolhouse from EC-130s with AFPC sending me to Phase 2 and 3, enroute. One of our navigators left the EC-130 for one of Little Rock's active duty, operational slick squadrons. Overall, a great town and although the mission isn't the most exciting it can be very rewarding and set your husband up for other aviation opportunities. Best of luck. -Batman [ 13. June 2005, 23:54: Message edited by: Batman ]