contraildash

I still firmly believe in the point one of my college professors kept driving home: "the only way to solve problems in the Arab world is for one side to win completely. There is no such thing as compromise within the tribal mentality" He grew up in Lebanon and fought in their civil war back in the late 70's / early 80's. I think the huge lack of education and the tribal mentality are the biggest hurdles to building any sort of national identity. Everyone is out for their own, not the greater good of a nation. Until that changes, we are just wasting time, money, and blood. I'm going in the near future. I'm sure I'll come back even more pessimistic about the whole place than I am now.

If you do a start/restart improperly on a turbine/jet you most certainly can exceed ops limits and trash the engine. Read the SIB for more.

I found out about this shooting just as I went into crew rest for a flight to Kosovo. It hit pretty close to home. Not knowing the circumstances around the shooting, I thought I'd be getting a call stating our mission was delayed or postponed. We still went, although we had a few armed Germans come along last minute to provide security for our passenger. We didn't really know what to expect down in Kosovo. By now we had gotten word that this was most likely an isolated incident, that said we still figured we'd just be hanging out with security watching our jet for the day. In reality, it was an entirely different experience. Every Kosovar we met expressed sympathy and condolences for what happened. There was also a lot of anger towards the guy that did it. (supposedly his family was from Kosovo, but he has been living here in Germany for a while). The biggest surprise was the gratitude they declared for the United States. "If it wasn't for you and your allies, we wouldn't be Kosovo". We ended up changing into civi's and went downtown for lunch. Bill Clinton was everywhere. Bill Clinton street, huge Bill Clinton posters, even a big statue of him. Apparently they love the guy there. So instead of being stuck on the airport, I enjoyed a pretty damn good lunch and got to meet some great folks down there. Returning home I was welcomed with some very saddening news. One of the airmen killed was a guy I played hockey with. While I didn't know him all that great, the last practice I was at with him was a memorable one. He took a puck just above the eye and was bleeding all over. When asked if he was ok he replied: "it's superficial, there's no crying in hockey" Godspeed Zachary. This morning at Ramstein, a few thousand people lined the streets of base to honor the funeral procession as the two airmen started their final journey home. It was very sobering and at the same time amazing to see that many people show up.

I think my point wasn't clear. Pubs...yes. Plates/charts...no. Also, What about all the damn TERPS write-ins, ect for STARs,approaches, SIDs, ect. Yeah Jepps are nice, but any time I use them (or host nation) I'm completely changing the mins/visibility/ect on them. How do you do that on an iPad? So I still think this is a good idea for our PUBS (I have my pubs on my iPhone). But as far as a practical use for what I just talked about above...far from it.

I love how I am required to carry all my pubs on a USB memory stick that is absolutely useless to me in the A/C. Most guys have already put our pubs on smart phones or iPads. I can see the benefit to having plates/charts on these things, but to me it'd only be useful if I can have all the volumes preloaded. They'd have to allow us access to the network with them to update/download/ect. I don't see that happening yet. The way of the future...sure. Now? Not quite yet.

Dude in my SQ here has a wife who's a PT and works on one of the Army bases. So it's possible.

EURO FAIL

Anyone else think that this guy is kinda odd? Maybe it's just me being up all night for the 4th night in a row...

Keep those contacts, kick ass in UPT, get a fighter, go to Weapons School, hope Denver survives any BRACs between now and then, and maybe you'll have a chance. I've interviewed with them, that's one of the hardest units to get into if you aren't the son of somebody or prior enlisted with them. "Who want's to fly Vipers in Colorado and be a ski bum????" You, me, and like 10,000 other people. Good luck.

It's sad that dudes have to resort to this...I think we've all met one or two over the years.

Are they being funny or totally serious?

wow disturbing, but well played.

I've been a member since I started driving - thanks pops! USAA has had an awesome and very intimate relationship with my car. -They gave me a great loan (one more payment!!) -Transmission cooling line failed (was damaged when I had the timing belt replaced) when about 50 miles north of Dallas: USAA towed it over 40 miles. -Headgasket failed: USAA towed car to the nearest qualified repair shop. It was in Norman, I was in Enid: 120 miles. -I've gotten a few jumps, one rental car (hit a curb in the snow), and they have been johnny on the spot with their customer service. The only time they haven't hooked me up was when the mechanics here broke my steering knuckle while doing my brakes. They said the shop was responsible for covering the rental, and then proceeded to talk to the shop for me. So while they didn't cover the rental, they still helped me out.

I took these up in Norway at an open house. Two of my favorites.

(admitted airplane dork here) I recently picked up an issue of Aviation Classics recently that was all about the English Electric Lightning. Awesome read, and it has the story of the image you posted. Fortunately they publish their magazines digitally as well: Issue 5 - English Electric Lightning: Eject! Eject! "...Jim lived next door to de Havilland test pilot Bob Sowray in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, and on this day both of their wives had gone clothes shopping in London. Bob had mentioned that he was due to fly a Lightning that day, and later Jim’s children asked if they could go to watch the flight. Although Jim was a photographer, he wouldn’t usually take his camera on an outing like this. However, on this occasion he decided he would get a picture of his neighbour flying. The camera he took had just two exposures on it."

Never too late - RCAF Flyers honoured 60 years after historic victory While he wasn't a member of the Gold Medal team, the rink I practice at is named after a RCAF pilot killed flying F-86s here in Germany. Peter Cunningham Memorial Arena

I think all of the seasons are on Netflix instant watch. Been hitting them up. Haven't seen the US version, don't really care to.

Love that show. Especially loved how they showed up when they challenged the Germans.

2. Easily the best post I've ever read on this forum. Tac Airlifter nailed it.

Horses and camels? pppssshhh...easy solution:

I was just posting my daily computer 'cleaning' work flow. I use CCleaner for wiping temp files and the like, cleaning up the registry as well (occasionally). But like everyone else has stated, don't download stupid shit or visit nefarious websites.

I use that + Malwarebytes Anti-Malware + CCleaner. Gets the job done. All Symantec has ever done was jack up my computer beyond all recognition. Screw that.

Shit, it's bad enough that for the first time in Super Bowl history there will be no cheerleaders. The only good part...they perform before the kickoff. "Super Bowl XLV will be televised on FOX Feb. 6, with kickoff scheduled for 6:25 p.m. ET. Tops In Blue will perform shortly after 6 p.m." I think I'll tune in at 6:24.

Who'd your family piss off?

Man Seeks Protection From Sex-Crazed Wife in Germany HERE