brabus

To figure out descent gradients for the visual learners: On your ADI, put the distance you have to the point at which you need to be at the new altitude on the 10deg line, then put the altitude difference on whatever corresponding line (we usually use 5deg decent when able). Ex: You get a call to descend at pilot's discretion from FL280 to 3000 ft and you're 100 NM out from the fix...when's the optimal decent point? So I want to use a 5deg descent, so I imagine the 5 deg line of my ADI representing 25 (25K ft of altitude to lose), thus the 10deg line represents 50NM (10 is 2x of 5). So at 50NM I should begin a 5deg descent to arrive at the fix at 3000 ft. However, I usually add another 5-10NM over that just b/c you don't want to be getting to the fix right as you hit the altitude, and you have to allow slop for wind, etc. If I wanted to use a 3deg decent, I'd imagine the 3 deg line representing 25, thus the 10 deg line would be approx 85NM (9 deg line would be 75NM out, so estimate about another 10NM to get the 10deg line equivalent)...so at 85NM (add another 5-10 as usual) I'd start a 3 deg descent. Kind of hard to explain without a picture, but maybe someone will understand what I just said. I know this helped me...back in the day if I got a descend at pilot's discretion, I just WAG'd it and had no real idea of what would work. Using this method now gives you a concrete time at which you should begin your descent instead of just guessing.

The perfect response. Lets see how long their whining lasts when millions of funding is cut. Some people are just such idiots. I love the standard 1st amendment argument...yeah we have free speech, but there's a line between free speech and acting like a total piece of shit. I wish this was back in the 40s or something when good old fashioned ass kickings were kosher.

That was awesome. Great 2nd half.

Well it does blow, that's for sure. Just in my limited experience, the pain of DTS is less than the pain of dealing w/ Amn Assbag. I've done DTS 4 times now with limited problems. I've done the old travel voucher way the same amount of times...every time was a disaster. They all sound similar to Coasta's description above as far as the amount of time, under-payment and no-common-sense idiots.

I admit I bitched about DTS at first b/c once again you're doing someone else's job for them. But now I understand that some things are just better done yourself than to be done by incompetent shoes. I say bring on a DTS equivalent of everything else. Finance is completely incapable of doing their own damn job and it pisses me off when it negatively affects me...I'd rather spend some of my own time doing it right so I don't get screwed out of money. More people should see the benefits of such a system.

It never ceases to amaze me how incompetent 99% of these people are at their jobs. They act like their job is so stressful, hard, etc...give me a break, if you can't handle this you probably couldn't even handle a briefing, let alone flying a plane. I think what pisses me off the most is that I could do their job w/ little to no training (hence I'm actually kind of glad now for DTS), but yet they still fuck up all the time and make excuses. Unbelievable. And in case I haven't made it clear...I hate finance (with the exception of 1 in a million like finance guy on here who actually has a clue).

Sort of a thread hijack...you don't need to produce receipts for expenses under $75, right? Situation...for some reason finance (or whoever) wants me and another guy to take a shuttle to Holloman and then back. Round trip cost is $75. Or we could rent a car which would total to $57 for the two days. So not only do we have our own transportation (i.e. casino up the road), but we're also saving the AF money. However, I'm sure Amn Retard at finance won't understand it no matter how much I explain it, so my plan is to just claim $57 in "transportation fees" (same as if we'd just taken cabs around Alamogordo). So, will this work? Sorry for the hijack.

What exactly does MPF do now? A couple time I had to go over there and same with some friends, every answer is "You have to go onto vMPF and do it." The AF could save a lot of money by force shaping all those worthless people out of there.

Also maybe ask around work when it comes that time. A lot of dudes have their old rank and are usually pretty willing to just give it to you. Definitely beats spending 40 bucks.

If we're going to go REMF on this, isn't that statement a direct lie, a direct abandonment of one specific core value, etc? That little gem right there blatantly says, "tell a lie to your family and friends, b/c everyone knows you did absolutely nothing even remotely close to this on your deployment." What a bunch of bullshit...though I can't say I'm really surprised.

Revival: I know we're doing the breaking of the wings on Friday, but was wondering who exactly I should give them to. The real question is are these something that should be given to my wife (obviously the one who has supported me the most through UPT) or should they be given to someone else special (i.e. relative). If the other 1/2 is meant to be given to the person who supported you the most, then obviously that's my wife, but if that's not necessarily the point behind it, then I'd like to do something else for her and give the wings to someone else. Guess I'm just wondering what everyone's thoughts are on this/what you did.

What you propose is a bad idea. Decide now if you really want to fly or if you want a 9-5 "stable home life" job. You have a shot right now to go fly, either take it or don't and chalk flying up to a dream you had, but never accomplished. Doing 4 yrs AD, then find a guard unit to do that same job in for a couple yrs, then applying for boards is not a good idea. By the time you get your app going, you'll probably have one shot based on age. And this is all if everything works out almost perfectly. Your best option is to pursue the AD pilot slot and then palace chase down the road. Do maybe 5 yrs AD service or something and then go guard...that's really a great deal. Also, guard guys deploy as much as AD nowadays. So just b/c you go guard doesn't mean you're not going on nice little trips to the desert.

VN 08-04 F-16x4 (Me!!) F-15E T-6 FAIP C-17 Mchord x3 C-17 Charleston KC-10 Mcguire KC-135 Seymour Johnson U-28 E-3 Tinker E-3 Elmendorf UAV (Guard...got brac'ed) C-21 Ramstein T-1 FAIP 2 more I can't remember

Check out https://www.logbookpro.com. It's a really nice program and gives you tons of options. You can buy it from them, sportys, etc. OR you can definitely find it elsewhere...that's up to you. An excel program will do the basic trick, but this program's features are definitely nice to have.

You're right, it was. It was based on the premise that she was one of "those" who thought she was the shit and better than everyone else b/c she had all this "experience." People like that piss me off and I found it gratifying that she washed out. HOWEVER, if it's true that she really was humble about it and all this propaganda stuff was daddy, then I was wrong to jump on her (STS!!!!) like that. If she truly tried her best and didn't make it, then I commend her for trying and have nothing against her. This is the first I've heard of her, so even though I'm at VN, I've heard nothing. Though I still want to know about the whole "beat every fighter pilot in air-air" claim. Then again, maybe that's just Daddy blowing smoke up her's and everyone's ass.

Wow, b/c flying an aircraft "through the sound barrier" is so incredibly difficult. "Hey did you see the needle jump...yeah...good job, you're a hero." Holy shit! A real live hornet interior! Wow, I wish I was cool enough to do that kind of stuff. Ah, so some chick when she was 16 beat a fighter pilot from practically every fighter out there...yeah, I'd like to hear a little more about this one. What a douche. BL: She's a douche bag and fucking ugly. And just for that and the stuff above, good riddance and have fun in finance. Wait, crap, now she's going to fuck up my next travel voucher.

There's countless washout stories, but I think any of us would be hard-pressed to find a story that equals blowing away a cow with a .50 cal! I guess "go big or go home" applies.

hahahaha, that's awesome. That's something I wish I would have thought of.

Go with whatever you're most comfortable with. I have friends who are on both sides. Some just didn't want the hassle of contacts and others didn't want to wear those hideous things. If your eyes get irritated w/ contacts, then the smart choice would be to just wear the glasses. I don't think either has a benefit over the other besides just personal comfort.

You guys both make good points. You're right, my opinion will always be an outsider's who hasn't BTDT in the plane/mission. Again, I'm not shitting on any C-21 guys or the aircraft, I just see it differently, even after the boozing in 52 countries and flying Robin Williams around...not saying that shit isn't sweet, but just not the "sweet" I'm looking for in mil aviation. Nonetheless, things like those are still cool opportunities. At least to me, that made the most sense. That's definitely something I never thought of.

Absolutely not. I'm sure you're 100% correct. I do not for one second look down on those who fly the C-21 or any other aircraft for that matter. Everyone has a personal opinion, I don't care what yours is and you shouldn't care what mine is. I just find it hard to see the appeal to flying a plane that you could easily go fly once out of the AF. I would just think you'd want to fly a C-17, F-16, 135, F-15, 130, etc. while you're in the AF and not seek out an aircraft that you can just go fly afterwards. They may go to "non-existent" airfields or whatever, but it's still A-B carting around passengers. Yes you're right, it's more than a nice LAX-DFW hop, but from the heavy side, I would think someone would rather be hauling cargo, passing gas, doing an airdrop, carrying troops, etc. than carting around some general and his aides. But, to each his own.

Doing "the mission", fighting the bad guys, etc, etc. I'm sorry, but carting around generals et al is not fighting the enemy. Sure you can argue that moving generals around is part of the overall war effort or whatever...but seriously, that's a stretch. I'm not saying dudes who fly C-21s suck, are worthless, etc...I just can't personally understand why you would want to fly a Lear 35 when you have the option of flying so many other aircraft that you can't fly outside the military. Not to mention all the other aircraft have missions unique to the military...C-21s have a "mission" that is the same one thousands of civilian pilots do every day...who cares.

Maybe it's in another thread, but it went along the lines of why the hell would you go to UPT to fly a standard civilian business jet and not be in the fight at all. That's a good question.

USAA is a good company, but you're still dealing w/ insurance agents. They will low-ball you until you bitch and moan to the point they can't stand it. You can make the argument that the car's resale value is significantly reduced after it is fixed due to the extensive accident damage. You can provide proof of this by finding a car of the same year being sold that has been in an accident vs on that hasn't. It will require some extensive searching probably, but you can find it. Another option is shop around for different prices and hopefully you get one in the total range. Thirdly, I would demand OEM parts. No way would I ever settle for non-OEM parts on my car, especially when the accident wasn't my fault. All of this can be accomplished by, for lack of a better word, harassment of your insurance agent. They low-ball you b/c most people just accept it and move on. If you complain enough and be a big enough pain in the ass, they'll cave. I've seen/been a part of very similar situaitons as your...in this instance, brute force complaining will get you closer to what you want.

I've met far more Academy grads that are "normal" than ones who are tools. The AFA does not produce any more weirdos, tools, d bags, etc than ROTC. As someone else said, the tool/cool ratio is about the same. I had never really been around a lot of AFA guys until coming to Vance (besides the very few who came up north to party), but needless to say I was surprised to find out how most of them are just like me...who would have thought. I guess the only thing that sets them obviously apart is they all know each other in some capacity it seems. But other than that, they're no different...personality or capabilities wise. I'm wondering that too. But I do remember one time sitting in Finance for 6.9 hrs and there was dude sitting next to me in blues, so we were just talking a bit and finally I asked him where he went to school. The guy literally just made a fist w/ his right hand and just showed the ring to me without saying a word. Now there's the definition of toolbag. Luckily, he's one of the few that I've met like that.