WheelzUp

Shack! In a world where new fighters cost stupid mega bux, maybe the rest of the world has a good idea. Upgrade what you have and make it last.....wow....what a concept!

Let me educate you here fella, before someone else does. It's actions such as this...hot-headed posting that proves you don't have the SA that 4 years as an LT will earn you. Take it from a recently minted Captain, (who doesn't claim to know everything, or have "Godlike SA") you want to have the benefit of the doubt that being an LT will grant you for the next couple years. Why? Because you are gonna make the kind of "LT Mistakes" (everyone does) that Captains and above are exected not to make. In the course of those next couple years, likely you will get your nutz stepped on a couple times, and get lots of great advice from dudes who have been there. This will teach you that you don't know everything, indeed you are not bullet-proof, and most times its just better to be quiet and realize that no matter how smart or talented you THINK you are, someone is always there waiting to show you you've still got a long way to go. You NEVER really arrive. My advice is to do just as slacker suggested and shut up and color. Wheelz

I would say the responsibility of learning to safely and efficiently operate a multi-million dollar aircraft is pretty "big". Just because USAF 2d Lt student pilots dont lead platoons, doesn't make them anything CLOSE to a 1-striper in terms of the responsibility placed on their shoulders. And Boom, thanks for "Capt Obvious" remark. A 2d Lt has alot to learn???? Duh! Wheelz

Hmm....Joe Biden said that Pres. Obama would be tested within a short time after he took office. Sounds like ole' Hugo may be first to the table. Wheelz

Bummer dude. My wifey kinda digs the idea, or so she claims. But no matter, the real issue at hand here is that you CANNOT back down. No self-respecting pilot should be denied his right to participate in this fine tradition!

Thanks for that little gem of a post. Choke yourself.

Nobody really cares much about what you flew before UPT, thats very true! But everyone will suck equally as much???? Eh....agree to disagree. I flew almost 900 hours before putting on a flight suit, and honestly speaking, it made the first half of T-37 training MUCH easier IMHO. While everyone else was freakin' out trying to learn how to run the trim switch and not flare high, I was able to comfortably focus on the other stuff like standups and GK. But after about the halfway point in tweets or T-6's, all prior experience really matters not, because the things you will be taught to do with the jet are so vastly different than anything the civillian world has to offer (formation, low-level nav at 500' agl, etc.). So for what its worth, yeah, its gonna help, but not for long, and its definately not worth spending your life savings on. Wheelz

Shit Hot!!! Now THERE is a warbird worthy of applause at airshows. I don't want to know how he paid for that, but jeez, wouldn't every pilot love his own personal Harrier to zip around in? Best part about this one is, ya dont even need an airport!

Your rate vs. radius comments are valid, no doubt. The traditional rate fight occurs at a lower G level than the initial nose position maneuver, however, IMO the issue is that the F-22 has the ability to sustain 9G's for a significant period of time, even in a rate sort of turn. I'm no raptor driver, and we would need one here to confirm that. The fact is though, that if we don't have a two seat F-22, the young guys who go to fly it will not have alot of experience with high G flight unless they are first exposed to it via some other fighter. ie: F-16D or F-15D. This is currently the way things are being done, but those jets won't be around forever. The T-38 simply cannot prepare a pilot for that kind of physical stress, and until we replace it with something more modern, this shortcoming will continue to be a problem. And allowing an LT to fly the F-22 alone for the first time, potentially to go out and pull 9+ G's is risky buisness. Interesting times we are living in for sure! Wheelz

Nah, don't leave. Enjoy the TDY! "2" on Inn of the Mountain Gods, its beautiful up there. Plus you wont find anything much in El Paso worth your while anyway. Like was previously mentioned, the Juarez thing is either off-limits, or a bad idea. There is plenty of stuff to see/do up in the Cloudcroft area in the mountains near Alamogordo. At any rate, yeah take the 'fuge ride early and blast. Otherwise you are in for a rediculously long day of sitting around. Have fun. Wheelz

"2". Cause you KNOW you'll hear about it. "Umm, excuse me........uhhh....sir???"

Ha ha!!! Priceless! Thats what makes bein a military aviator a little different and never boring. Sure.....we'll follow their rules, and look good doin it....but the rebelious spirit can't be kept down by the man. Love it!

Good S.A. on your part Ill. But honestly, not that this news is anything not previously stated, at UPT the #1 priority needs to be learning/not sucking (STS) in the jet. You will be able to work out, but its gonna be a struggle to "get to the gym" at times. Weekends will usually involve sleeping in and otherwise letting your brain decompress from the events of the week. If you can get in a run, or maybe some lifting, good on you, but dont expect to be a pro-athlete while you are there. Good luck! Wheelz

Same feelings about flying the T-38C with the new avionics. When I upgraded from the simple ole' A-model, I thought it was rediculous how many useless toys the AF had glued into my jet. But now, teaching in the shiny "new" version, i can't imagine having to fly a REAL fix-to-fix with any precision, or having to navigate *gasp* tacan-to-tacan. Funny how everyone feels the same about this stuff, but honestly the part I think we may be forgetting is that airmanship and experience put most if not all of us in a positon to quickly adapt to whatever cockpit we are lucky enough to occupy.

Was back in College for me. Sleepin' in the dorm room when I got a phone call from my roomate's mother (who was frantic obviously), and I urged her to calm down and say again slowly. Frustrated, she told me to turn on the TV, and the rest is history. Classes were canceled that day at Embry-Riddle in Arizona. And that was the day I decided to set aside my goals of flying for the airlines, and give Uncle Sam a call. I still remember the helpless angry feeling that just would not go away. To those lost that day: Modern day Pearl Harbor. Let us never forget! Wheelz

Yet another case of a pilot and his spouse who are under the impression that Uncle Sam and the good ole' USAF care a lick about what they would like to do with the next few years of their lives. For the bro, STFU and enjoy your wings. For the wifey, stop assuming you have a clue what this is all about, and be happy for your hubby. Scheezus..........SNAPs. Wheelz

Him Him............ :salut: :beer: Let's all pray for the best.

Godspeed fellas! You will be missed.

Didn't the Habu keep flying until the mid 1990's?

Gonna have to chime in here. Are you talking an equal power setting or not? Because i can take a heavy aircraft, and a light one, and descend at the exact same speed and VVI in both, but the power will be different. If power and lift are equal the heavier aircraft should descend faster, but there are a significant number of variables to be considered here. At any rate, great question, and definately a skull scratcher. Cheers Wheelz

It's worth the trip. I landed at Leadville in a Turbocharged Seminole back in 2002. If nothing has changed, they ought to give you a t-shirt and/or some type of certificate regarding landing at North America's highest airfield. Good time, great view, have fun and go for it. Wheelz

Anyone have any S.A. on the whole tour extension thing? Are all flying tours going to be 4 years now?

The FAA says that any aircraft which has a MGTOW in excess of 255,000 pounds is designated a heavy aircraft. I don't know if big blue uses the same rules, but am willing to bet we do. At any rate, heavy or not, Herks rock dude!

Intelligence is pretty popular actually. Lots of cool opportunities there. And definately a job where you can get involved with some interesting information and locations.

Rainman, 100 feet? How can ya get cleared that low? Weapons School? Jeez, thats impressive. I start shiftin in the seat a tad at around 500ft in the tweet. But then again, im a newbie.