Stitch

Stumbled on to this... A different kind of UPT video...

First commander of the Space Shuttle flew west 5 Jan 2018. Fast facts: Naval Aviator, flew F-9 Cougars & F-8 Crusaders on fleet tours aboard USS Coral Sea & USS Forrestal, Navy TPS Grad, 42 year career with NASA, Flew on Gemini, Apollo and Space Shuttle missions. From his Wiki page: John Watts Young (September 24, 1930 – January 5, 2018) was an American astronaut, naval officer and aviator, test pilot, and aeronautical engineer. He became the ninth person to walk on the Moon as Commander of the Apollo 16 mission in 1972. Young enjoyed the longest career of any astronaut, becoming the first person to fly six space missions (with seven launches, counting his lunar liftoff) over the course of 42 years of active NASA service. He was the only person to have piloted, and been commander of, four different classes of spacecraft: Gemini, the Apollo Command Module, the Apollo Lunar Module, and the Space Shuttle. We don’t make guys like this anymore. Thoughts and prayers to family and friends. Whole Wiki page here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Young_(astronaut)

Then he'll get tagged for another six months of TCN escort duty at some deployed shithole and lectured by some shoe about how important that task is to accomplishing the "mission"...

Don't forget Bay Orderly Dorm Manager's Bitch, Pee-pee watcher, Weeds n' Seeds and other basewide bullshit details...

Wear it to pancake fly-in's, OSH and such in post mil GA life flying RVs, -172s, etc

Ahhh game day at Bitburg 1986... complete with cheerleaders, tailgate parties and beer! Fun, fun. Only downside to USAFE football was losing flightline guys "TDY" to the gym for months at a time during the season. Heard many a rumor that Wing Kings would trade players like the NFL, I guess winning the USAFE Trophy (or whatever it was called) was a big deal on their OER.

Agree 100%. While they may not care a group of fans burned/trashed/shred jerseys/posters/whatever those items represent money already in the bank. But once the big dollar sponsors DirectTV etc... start to go away, that'll have em' singing a different tune.

While at Edwards in the late 80s there was an instructor at the TPS who had a cottage industry making coffee table shadowboxes. Whole thing was laid out like a runway & airfield with runway headings, accurate taxi lines, parking areas, etc… along with little models of the different jets complete with tailcodes and flashes retiree flew. Add in all typical medals, badges, patches, odds n’ ends that end up in boxes (STS). He sold a shit ton of the things. Thought they were pretty cool.

Here. Retired E and B-2 MX guy. Used to buy em' when I was shadow box guy a thousand years ago; excellent quality, numerous designs. Link: https://www.866flagcase.com/ Added info: use the search function and you can get aircraft shaped boxes; Eagles, Vipers, etc..

Spot on! EAA is a great deal, we have guys flying RVs, light sport homebuilts and classics such as a beautiful 1947 Howard DGA (looks brand new) and another guy with, I kid thee not, a 450 Stearman, the only flying Boeing 40 in the world and just finished restoring and now flying a 1943 Grumman Goose. I have been very active with my local EAA Young Eagle program in the last four or so years. In the time I've been involved, our chapter has flown just over 431 kids. Sent one kid the EAA Air Academy in Oshkosh, he went on to college for an Aviation Business degree with a minor in flight and just learned another kid who we gave an Eagle ride to years ago just earned the gold wings of a Coast Guard aviator. Good times inspiring the next generation of recreational and professional aviators. Just for the record, I work as a "crewchief" escorting the kid, mom/dad out to the plane and back. Being retired MX guy I don't miss the BS of active duty, but miss being around the airplanes. I however, am spending the elephant dollars to earn my PPL so maybe next season I can do some flying as well. Fun being back on the ramp even if the environment is completely different.

Agree 100% not to mention they'll get GI Bill benefits; so "free" medical care, then they get to go on for a "free" college education once they walk and other bennies. Not to mention everyone else in the unit has to pick up the slack while this person is on profile/con-leave during medical treatment. Even if the others are 100% supportive of that individual their patience will run out at some point and they will begin to resent that person because they're picking up someone else's load (STS). So a whammy on multiple points.

OK, that all makes sense now.

Agreed. But we both know it'll NEVER happen that way. There will be way to many cooks in the kitchen looking to pad their OERs and you'll end up with a zebra (with building costs and contractors spread across numerous states and congressional districts) when you wanted/needed was an elephant.

Serious question from the "teach me" point-of-view, not being a smart ass. What about guys/gals who are guard/reserve and fly for the airlines weekdays and drive Mother Blue's hardware in their off time? Couldn't that be considered "dual qual'd; airliner/something else? Also dual-qual'd pilots like the guys at Beal flying the Duce and the -38 seem to do OK. (yes, I understand the Beal crowd is really the cream-of-the-crop type of community) Again, asked from a "teach me" point-of-view not being a dick.

I understand that this guy/gal perhaps had their hopes/dreams somewhat crushed in not getting a (inset dream jet here). But this pilot should be happy they got what they did, just getting to fly any of Uncle Sam's hardware is a gift and privilege that so few get to do. It still takes a lot of skill and dedication to safely operate these "lower on the food chain MWS jets" so suck it up buttercup and bloom where you're planted. There are a metric shit ton of enlisted maintainers working jets pumping gas, pulling panels, kicking chocks, etc... in all kinds of weather that would gladly swap places in a micro-second if they were able to. At least he/she got a real airplane and they're not off to sit in a box (STS) at Cheech/Cannon or where ever flying droids. OBTW, only ever spent time at Kadena while TDY, but sure looked like a kick-ass place.

Serious question: Is this because Big Green views helicopters as only slightly above flying trucks/buses necessary to carry soldiers to/from where they need to be; and pilots of such vehicles overly glorified heavy equipment operators?

Them

This does NOT look like an MWR function.... thank goodness!

WTF, are there really no Robin Olds types left? The big brass balls lead from the front types are really gone? Big Blue has really done itself good with that program. Heaven help us if we get in a no-shit near-peer shooting match.

Thread bump! Have an awesome 4th of July Holiday everyone!

Fuck, pussy, asscrack. Foul language OPS check good.

Flounder...

I'll bet the PA pukes had him wear that for the photo op (at least I hope). Props for his former bad-assary, but I would hope by now he'd enough SA by now to know that hat is a no-go item.