bfargin

Wait, you mean they didn't recycle every scene from previous Star Wars movies? At least tell me they had a giant death star that a person who had never seen a flying machine before blows up.

Wow, that is the quickest I've seen any bureaucracy take action

Has anybody seen Megan Leavey yet? Movie about the Marine working dog and his handler. Is it worth a watch?

It would take a little time and commitment to get your PhD but the life of an academic is pretty nice. I didn't have the option to do the airline gig when I got out of the AF and to be honest I wasn't sure what was in store for me. I ended up going to Vandy and getting my MBA and then working in industry for four years before I decided sitting in an office all day was not my cup of tea. I then decided to go to Pitt and get my PhD (business with emphasis in information systems and telecommunications) and haven't looked back. If accepted to a decent PhD program, you will receive free tuition and a living stipend. The stipend isn't much but is usually in the $1500 to $1800 a month range. If you have the GI bill available, it would probably be livable for the 3 to 4 years you are on campus. If you choose a business discipline your pay will start minimally in the low 100,000 range, even at regional state universities. Most other disciplines (even engineering) pays lower than the main business disciplines of accounting, management, information systems(including analytics), economics, finance, marketing, etc. So, you won't become super wealthy, but the work life balance is outstanding and the pay is very livable. I chose to move back home to middle TN where the cost of living is pretty low and weather is mild. Even with the research requirements of academia there is little work related pressure (I am at a regional state school and not a top tier research university) and plenty of time to pursue outside interests. At a top research school there is more pressure to publish at top rated journals so the stress levels would be higher. If you are willing to spend the 4 years earning your PhD it is a great gig and while college students at times will drive you crazy, they also keep you challenged and motivated to not lag behind on current events and current technology.

I fly a little Titan Tornado S now and it is a blast. It's a full light weight metal aircraft with only 80hp (Rotax 912) but it will do a loop, actually more of an oval ellipse since it barely gets over the top and kind of falls off the back side. It cruises at C-172 speeds and has 2 seats in tandem and a stick rather than a yoke. A fun little experimental that carries about as much (600 lbs - that includes the 15 gallons of fuel) as its empty weight (~620lbs). The reason I chose it is that the front seat height is pretty much even with the seat in my wheelchair (I'm paralyzed now so can't use feet/legs) and the rudder and brakes were easy to modify so that I can use my hands to operate all flight controls. Never consciously thought about how much I would miss flying until it was taken away for a little while. The first picture was when I test flew one before I bought mine, the second shot is my plane shot from a friends plane.

I'm surprised they survived the flight. A 5 mile no engine glide in a tanker is an impressive feat.

As any good flyby should.

But really, compared to current POTUS, Trump has actual job/work experience to draw from. I think Obama's total work record included 3 or 4 years as a community organizer and 3 years of his first Senate term. He had no business even being a Senator much less POTUS, as far as experience is concerned. Trump is a knucklehead with regard to his comments and presentation style where as Reagan was a god when it came to communicating. I hope Trump does a good job and doesn't drift back to the left where he was previously, but only time will tell. I hoped Obama would do a good job too, and look where that took us.

All I know is that in an evil sort of way, I'd love to see Trump say "Hillary, you're fired" during his inauguration speech.

Is the top video from a different flyby? It shows 2 in the right wing position, but the two bottom videos show 2 in the left wing position?? Just curious?

US Court of Appeals (9th Circuit) is at it again. What a ridiculous decision that is clearly in their hopes of a liberal appointment to the Supreme court. https://www.forbes.com/sites/frankminiter/2016/06/10/why-the-ninth-circuits-concealed-carry-gun-ruling-is-nonsense/#fe9a40b38b92

Sadly what most of you are describing as currently valued characteristics in AF leadership can be seen in the civilian world as well (paperwork over substance). I got out of the AF back in 1992 and am now a university business professor. I have said for several years that we are the most educated we have ever been as a nation, but have less sense than ever. We value the degree (paperwork) over actual learning (either through study or experience). The importance of degrees (the more the better) is way overrated by our culture. And yes, I do realize that demand is why I get paid as much as I do. As an experiment one semester (with his department head's permission), a friend of mine offered on the first day of a Junior level required class (quantitative analysis) the option of each student taking a C- but never attending class again or attending class and receiving the grade they earned through study and effort. 13 of his 30 students took the C-. They just wanted the class credit (since it was a course known to require some thought/work). He's at a good business school on a prominent university's campus (not top 20, but AACSB accredited and well respected).

And this just happened in my home state. Blue Angel crash during practice for upcoming air show at Smyrna. https://wkrn.com/2016/06/02/lifeflight-responding-to-blue-angel-plane-crash-in-smyrna/

How is that even possible? No fire, flames, smoke?? Ran out of fuel (fuel leak) and bellied in? The plane looks amazingly intact (right around the cockpit area it looks like it's broken/separated) for a crashed jet. I'm glad he made it out safely.

Capt. Byron Greer

I've worn all kinds of patches from other units while TDY (back in the day - 1980's). Maybe he got the patch from a contact when he was assigned to NATO in Europe. He has the correct wings on so I don't see a big deal with the patch. On one TDY I appeared to fly A10s out of Syracuse when I got one of their classic "Go Ugly Early" patches from one of their guys on TDY. I still have it in my collections of acquired patches. I also wore the Recce Rebel patch from Birmingham on a couple of TDYs. To most it is just a cool patch, of course many here recognize it as the ENJJPT patch.

If the bank is happy with the appraisal and feels confident lending to you, then you should be able to borrow the 70% of appraised value = 70,000 and then only have to come up with 20,000 for the downpayment. But, they might base it off of the actual sale price (market value) rather than the appraised valuation, so I'd double check with them. I've seen it done both ways.

I haven't seen this information here, though I might have overlooked it. Looks like it would be a fun class to set up and participate in. https://ngoabuyersclub.com/building-the-1911/

Tennessee Technological University has a great MBA program (10 classes - 30 hours) that is accredited and the school is as military friendly as the state allows (not much room for negotiation on state mandated tuition rates). Three of the MBA professors are AF veterans and all of the staff is willing to work around deployments and other job requirements of active military. I work at TTU so drop me a PM if you want additional information.

Definitely, and unless she's referring to Jordan flying over someone's head for a dunk, I've never seen him moonwalk.

Sure, Thai Airways has specials out of LA for the next month or so. Make sure you're current on your Hep. vaccines.

Just wondered why all of the Muslim talk on a thread about an idiot killing Sikhs. If he was really a skin head, I doubt he cared what religion he just killed them because they were "different" from him.

you guys do realize Sikhs are not Muslims, right???

Trainer, read some stories from the many countries that have currencies that have failed over the years. If you don't think things can get ugly quickly when the value of your currency drops to nothing you haven't been around long (Poland, Brazil, etc) and those are the fairly peaceful failures. Am I real worried about it, no, but I have given it a little thought. But, I grew up in Pakistan and was there when their last civil war resulted in Bangladesh, so even as a kid I saw the impact of turmoil on a population and maybe that made me more aware of the potential for chaos when things go to crap.

Trainer, He sounds sane to me. i'd say you are screwing the pooch if you aren't thinking about and planing for (preparing for) the unknown. No need to worry and stress, but some thought and planning given to the future (potential risks and opportunities) is always a good idea. And, no, I don't think the dumb-ass-in-chief is selling us out, but I think all of our "leaders" are pretty much short sighted and self serving.