BigFreddie

I remember a guy started a landscaping business (yards/grass in summer, snow removal in winter, etc.) and he did very well with it. The only issues started when he wouldn't fly because he needed to be home to manage the business. He was close to retirement then and I think he decided to drop his paperwork.

The news report on the radio this morning was literally two sentences so it is good to hear the crew is safe.

How do you like that Vortex scope? I've heard really good things about them. They also offer a 35% MSRP break to military members...

Unless something has changed in the last two weeks this is a false statement... Maybe a wishful statement but a false one... Full acceptance is mid-May 16. Please mark this response so we can all point and laugh when it rolls into the summer and then into 2017.

New "chicken coops" or double stacks were supposed to be opened in Oct. When they went to test the electricity and A/C units there was a bunch of smoke. Apparently the amperage was about 50% higher than required. The contractor wanted to just wire the A/C for off, low and medium and skip high but that offer was politely declined. New opening date is set sometime in Mar 2016.

Agree with above. First time I met him I was a sophomore at the Zoo and he was a senior major. He starts in with some of his flying history then tells me about the two Masters he had plus a Doctorate and the couple books he's written. We then end up talking for about an hour about hunting. I think once he retired he ended up on the US Forest Service's payroll helping with their aviation branch and safety. I never had him as an instructor but he was a speaker at an event I attended once - he is a very good speaker and did a great job conveying information to the audience in a very understandable manner. I would recommend him as a speaker at an aviation (or hunting) related event...

I remember a classmate who bragged to his IP in T-1s that he never got less than an E as an overall grade. Well his streak of Es ended right there! As a T-1 IP you always knew the top couple students and the bottom couple. The middle if the pack was always pretty normal. And if you spend a lot of time flying with the senior IPs that's a pretty good sign that you're a "special" student...

It was ok, nothing special. There are much better Vietnam helo books out there.

I was at ATA last week and the AMC/CC said one COA is to retire the entire KC-10 fleet starting in FY15 with the entire fleet being gone 3 years later. The cost savings come from "divesting" the entire fleet, not taking small pieces away. This is all coming from the AMC/CC who was a KC-10 guy in the true Gucci days. His explanation for why this was happening was the KC-46 - the money is needed for an uninterrupted roll out of the new hotness. He also said the C-130 fleet won't get new avionics and 50-60 of the old ones will be retired in favor of eventually getting more J models. He said there would be pain in the next 5 years but we would end up with a more capable fleet in the 5 to 7 year window. I'm a C-5 guy working at TACC and see the value of the KC-10. If you want to see the value look at Talisman Sabre from this summer. Also, as someone mentioned, this hasn't met the beast that is Congress and politics. I can't think of toe worse delegations to cross than the ones from CA and NJ. If the relatively young delegation for AK can make the AF stop moving a single squadron of F-16s from Eielson to Elmo, this battle will be really tough to win...

I've got one I plan on eventually getting cut down. I haven't seen one for sale in a long time. If you're really patient I'd wait for Arsenal to maybe release some more. Get on their weekly update list for product news.

Thanks for coming forward - big balls man! You got rolled by the system... Had Combat Camera not been on the aircraft you would have been heroes. Personally, I would have run the full checklist to see if it would have worked. I also flew an airplane with a flight engineer who would have beat me to death with a Maglite for not running it. I too had a Class A. Life pretty much sucks when you really have mere seconds to make a decision and those investigating can take months to determine what you did wrong. My incident resulted in neither a CDI or an AIB.

I understand HeloDudes comments. I also had several items in the NFA registry as well. I wanted to know if I needed a lawyer before they came knocking on my door. 5 minute conversation using all the best SERE techniques I knew and I never heard back from them. Personal choice and it worked out for me that time. All the other comments are spot on too.

Keep it for a long time - like brick said - and I think they can dispose of it if they give up their FFL. Shortish story about the defacto registration: Lived in Del Rio as an instructor for 3 years - ended up leaving in late 2008. While there I bought AKs and ARs plus an FN PS90. When I PCSd my FFL calls me and tells me the ATF inspected him as part of the "we're sending guns to Mexico" movement in the late-08 / early-09 timeframe. He said the ATF was going to every FFL on the border and looking through their bound books. His impression was the ATF was looking for those with multiple purchases of ARs, AKs, 5.7 chambered rifles, etc. I had bought a ton of AK kits so I bought matching receivers and I had started building ARs from parts - I must have had double digit purchase in his books. My multiple purchases flagged me and I ended up speaking with an ATF agent about it. They asked me if I still had the rifles and I still had the majority of them - I sold a few ARs to my buddies in the squadron to which they said I couldn't sell at a profit or I would be considered a dealer (WTF?). They wondered why I needed so many AK receivers - I told them I was a collector and they let it be. The funny thing is I also bought NFA items during this time so the ATF had ALL my info and knew exactly when and where I went. So... yeah, there is a defacto registration. There were a couple articles about how the ATF traces firearms in crimes recently. They start with the manufacturer, go to the distributor, then the shop or dealer it was sold to, then through the shop/dealer's log book to you. Then they ask you where the gun went.

Too bad they wouldn't hold the media to the same standards...

The Star of Africa: The Story of Hans Marseille, The Rogue Luftwaffe Ace Who Dominated the WWII Skies by Colin Heaton and Anne-Marie Lewis. Hans Marseille is probably what all pilots once aspired to be - drinking, whoring, flying machine! Who else could tell Mousolini he was an ignorant fool or play banned music for Hitler, Goering and Himler? He shot down an aircraft after his engine seized then deadsticked the aircraft back to his base. Over the course of 3 sorties in a single day he downed 17 Allied aircraft. He's a very interesting look at the Luftwaffe in WWII.

Cheap Walmart ammo... Gents, I just want to let you in on a little strategy on buying ammo from Walmart. Generally they are the only place that has (sometimes) ammo at the same prices now as before Sandy Hook. Step 1 - go to www.walmart.com. Check for ammo in the sporting goods section under outdoors or just search for your favorite caliber. Step 2 - check the stock status at your local store and those around you. You will often find some is available. Step 3 - call the store, ask the first person who answers to check the UPC from the website. They can check to see if the UPC is in stock at the store. Step 4 - optional, ask to speak to the sporting goods section. Wait for the surly Walmart employee to answer - ask them what is on the shelf - remember you're about the 69th person to ask about ammo on their shift. A lot of the time the ammo isn't even out on the shelves and you can "see" it via the website and UPC search. Step 5 - go - go now if it is in stock. If you get there and the shelves are empty ask the clerk if they just sold out (that's always my luck). If they haven't sold any and it isn't on the shelf ask them to check the back. A lot of the time they just haven't put the ammo out yet. Be prepared to buy only 3 boxes as they ration it. I've managed to buy 5995 rounds of .22 LR in the last month along with some 9 mm, .45 ACP and .44 Mag all at pre-scare prices. BF

I had two assignments in the C-5 and they were great. As most mentioned - it breaks - but only in good spots the engineer likes because their mistress is there or we can make the most per diem. All kidding aside - it breaks and often is broken for long periods. The C-17 breaks as well, just not as often. What's this mean to you? Well, the C-17 will get the cool missions to go help people where you can't have a broke-ass C-5 sitting on the ground. I've planned C-17 missions to a lot more cool places than I've ever seen a C-5 go. The C-17 can get in and out of a lot smaller fields and does it more reliable. And you know what FRED stands for, right? While Barney is FRED's smaller friend. Flying the C-5 is a lot of fun - it is pretty awesome trying to control something that big. But you'll pretty much never have the chance to fly low-levels, airdrop or work with NVGs. Those are things you will get to do in the C-17. If you like the instrument phase and fake AR in the T-1, the C-5 is for you. Another reality - the C-5 is a dying airframe. What do I mean by that? Well, outside the M program there is very little money for upgrades and the like. C-17s is still relatively new and gets new toys way sooner than FRED. Also consider basing locations - the C-5 will soon be in 4 locations - KSUU, KDOV, KSKF, KCEF - great if those are places you want to live. If you're thinking long term the options for C-17 AFRC/ANG jobs is a lot better. PHIK / PAED / KTCM / KSUU / KLTS / KJAN / KCHS / KDOV / KWRI / KFFO / KSWF / KMRB? - and you can even do exchange tours in the C-17. The ONLY advantage FRED has is you no longer need to go to KLTS - the only thing FRED and Barney agree on is that KLTS sucks - ok one other thing - TACC sucks...

</p> From the article Senator Ball is a USAFA grad - he's been on Fox news a lot lately...

You are right on the money here. It is 100% progress towards no guns at all. The next person who gets shot from across a parking lot with a Rem 700 with a scope will be the cause de jour to ban "sniper rifles". At that point any rifle with a scope is a "sniper rifle" capable of killing from several miles and able to knock down airliners at cruise altitudes. As the saying goes, never let a good crisis go to waste. I am 100% certain something will change because Sandy Hook. I don't want a ban on "assault weapons" or "hi-capacity" magazines - they both stack the deck in my favor against someone wishing to do me harm. There are Supreme Court rulings stating police are not required to protect you and even if they were, they aren't by your side 24 hours a day. My feeling is the "gun show loophole" will be gone. And possibly "hi-capacity" mags but I really hope not. See the following video for a great breakdown of criminal stats that are being thrown around. This guy does a great job of separating hype from reality. But it is all based on the accuracy of the source data.

I had the opposite experience with them. Bought an M&P Shield from them and they had great communication. Stated the pistol was not instock but had a delivery date available for their restock. Pistol arrived before the stated date. I would likely cut them some slack due to the holiday. They were open a half day on Christmas Eve and even sent you an email on Christmas itself. A $49 mark up isn't bad when people have marked up a single magazine more than that since the 14th. Personally, if you want the rifle I'd call them and get on the list. You're not going to beat their price during this panic - the worst I've seen BTW. S&W won't cut you the $100 off anyhow without the serial number which Quantico couldn't provide without the rifle in hand. BF

I hate to say it and I know it will sound bad... Too many kids got killed for nothing to happen after this. 1989 Stockton school yard massacre - you immediately got Bush I to sign an executive order banning imported rifles and ammo. No more $200 AKs and $50 cases of Chinese ammo. The anti-gun crowd will be able to trot out the pictures of 20 six and seven year olds and shame politicians into voting for their new legislation. The situation is a bit different now - there is a much larger "assault weapon" owning block out there now than there was in 1989 or even 1994 before the Brady Bill. I highly doubt any legislation is going to make us all felons overnight in regard to having/owning assault weapons but it could happen. Outright confiscation - highly unlikely. But something is going to happen so all our precious politicians can say they did something to help the problem the next time they come up for reelection. Here's how I'm going to attempt to stop the errosion of my liberties. 1) Renew my NRA membership (I might even sign up some of my liberal anti-gun friends as well - gives the NRA money, makes anti-gun friends furious - win/win in my book). 2) Take non-gun people to the range. Show them the experience is fun and safe. Prove to them having an "assault weapon" in your hand doesn't instantly make you a psychopath... 3) Write my two Senators and one Representative reminding them this is an important issue to me and to vote in favor of idiot gun laws means I will not vote for them and in the next election my meager contributions will go to their challenger. BF

If anyone is looking for low cost Shields, look at Quantico Tactical. Sign up for the .mil discound and they are $330 +$25 shipping. None in stock currently though...

Read it... - Lacked the typical BUD/S recap which reads " I was tired, cold and they beat the piss out of me..." - Had a little more descriptions of the guns which I liked. - Described a relatively recent experience in his selection process. - Humble and taken as just another story. Not cool about trying hide but dropping all the info about where you came from - not hard to trace back a SEAL much less a SEAL from Alaska. One of my best friends fits this description very closely and his parents were fielding phone calls from the media prior to the author's real name becoming known. Heard from a contact that the SEAL charities he wanted to donate his proceeds to are refusing to accept it... And that he is persona nongrata in the community now...

I've had my SCAR for over a year now but don't have anymore than 500 rounds through it. I've added the Tango Down charging handle (still undecided - probably not a required accessory), Tango Down stock latch (worth the money), and a 7.62 Battle Comp which should come with the rifle (most of the recoil reduction with less than half the blast/concussion of the OEM brake). I'm running a Blue Force/Vickers sling with Blue Force loop on the rear and a QD swivel on the rail up front. In my opinion, if you want a 7.62 battle rifle, this is the one to get. It has very respectable accuracy and shoots very softly for a 7.62 (compared to M1A, HK91, FALs I've had). I've got no issues with the stock and I don't think anyone outside of living on the frontlines somewhere would. The number of stocks I've heard of breaking is very, very few. There is a replacement stock for it in the works if it worries you... If you want decent accuracy and aren't looking for match-grade/sniper rifle groups, I can't think of a better set up for the money... BF

As often as I hoped the AFA would burn down, I never thought it might actually happen... Thoughts and prayers are with all those in the path of this nasty beast of a fire...