RogAir

If I look back on it 30 years past, I’d like to say UPT was awesome, but I can’t, because I made a promise to myself during UPT. You see, a Colonel came to visit our class (some presentation or sumtin’) and he told us how lucky we were to be having so much fun and that UPT was the best year of our lives, etc. I promised myself that if I ever became a crusty old Colonel and got the chance to tell it like it was, I’d remember this moment as a 2Lt. UPT sucks. I wanted to finish #1 and that meant studying my ass off and treating every day like it could be my last (because one bad week could show you the door). I was one of he worst T-37 studs, and probably the best T-38 stud, so I saw the entire spectrum of good and bad days. Every day was a grind of fear, sarcasm, and ridicule! Don’t get me wrong, there were some awesome times, and I remember them well. In fact they are the only real memories I have of UPT. If it weren’t for that Colonel coming in and telling me how much fun I was having, I’d be writing a different post right now. But I can still hear 2Lt Rogair in my head, “This ing sucks”.

Are you sure you have a line number? I seem to remember it wasn’t official until you finished Indoc or IOE. As a strategy, don’t leave airline until you get a few months of max pay months under your belt. Your B fund contributions will accrue while you are on mil leave at the average pay you accrued prior to leaving. At least this is how it worked for me, your situation could be different.

No expert here, but I have flown the MD-11 at fedex and the C-17. My guess is pucker factor. The only two airplanes (out of 9 commercial/military flown) that I felt I truly had to awake for on landing were the MD-11 and the C-17 on an assault strip. If I flew carrier based aircraft I would imagine I would want to be awake for that landing as well. A 737 or C-5? Not so much.

Its a great benefit, worth extending for. Saving me $50,000 per year right now.

I must have misunderstood what you were saying. I took it to mean that Fedex had a hard limit (say 100 hrs/mo) on what you could fly each month like my previous Legacy airline had. There is no "number" except FAR limitations. Not unusual to get 100-150 hours per month simply by bidding carryover, volunteering for extra flying, taking flying offered by other pilots, etc. In other words, if you want to be a flying whore, Fedex is a great place. On the flip side, you can also drop down to zero hours for the month at no loss of benefits (unlike my previous Legacy where you had to fly 55hrs/mo to keep Medical ins, etc. Having access to both extremes makes Fedex a great place to find your individual lifestyle. Not trying to "sell" anyone on Fedex, just trying to correct my misunderstanding of your post....

Not true. There is no limit to what you can pick up if you have time in your makeup bank (acquired through mil Lv, trip drops, conflicts, etc). Ties into vacation question too- fedex probably has the best work rules for getting time off. You can drop all your flying every month (so your free to travel) and make it up when you like, or never. Vacation system. I use one week of vacation to knock out my entire schedule for July, bid last week of June off and first week of August off, and enjoy 6weeks free over the summer. Bunch of other ways to skin the cat, lots of flexibility. And with all the frequent flier points I get, haven't paid for families tix in years (and no standing by to boot).

When I was the Chief Pilot at my unit I briefed my guys I would back them up 100% on MLOA disputes with their airlines UNLESS they were gaming the system over the holidays, then I would side with the airline. You are screwing over the buddy who has to fly the Xmas trip and you are screwing over the buddies in the unit who may be trying to get hired by that airline. Fly your damn Xmas trip.

Thanks for the clarification. Initially I thought you fell for the rookie mistake of thinking the scheduled deadhead on CA meant "Cathay" (CX). Made that mistake once. Although China Air wasn't bad (seat was good, food and alcohol not so much), I too deviate to avoid CA. Finn Air usually cheaper and better.

I tried this back in the 90’s. Grounded, feet on the ramp for turning down bonus, with 2 years left on ADSC. I offered the AF a “reverse bonus”, I would pay them $25,000 for every year I owed to get out. Blew their minds. Wing King said he wouldn’t even know where to deposit my check....

Thanks for the replies. Yes, some were service connected. Affect QOL? Yes, sometimes. How are guys getting ratings for ski accidents? Those aren't service related... I was not working with a VSO, I will with my appeal though. Being in CA, I'm not sure how pro-Vet my Senators are:(

Just got my report back after applying for VA disability. I filed 9 items (20+ years service). All items "rejected"; some even cited as "didn't happen" while clearly shown in medical records. Has anyone else received this type of rejection? Everyone I've talked to has gotten at least a 0% rating, most get 10-30%. Not looking for a check, just want a 0% rating...

Where does this headline come from? It doesn't jive with the linked article. The article says Mikey asked to have the "blessed day" verbage removed, and it was. Later, the AF reviewed its AFI (not the Constitution) and decided it was okay to say "blessed day". And the arguement appeared to be over Separation of Church and State, not Freedom of Speech.

Has anyone's unit put out protocols for flying into Africa on an Air Force mission? I know there are protocols for preparation and execution; I am referring to post mission. 1. Informing your civilian employer. Is it only if you visit the Hot3 countries or all of West Africa/bordering countries? What if they ground you for 21 days, will the USAF pay you for 21days? 2. If you fly international for your Civilian carrier, and check "yes" on a countries immigration form to the "west Africa in past 30 days" question, are you putting yourself at risk for quarantine and trip removal? 3. If back in civilian status and develop symptoms, will the USAF pay your medical costs? 4. Other issues?

Correct me if I'm wrong but it looks like you're meshing "boots on the ground" (an Army term), with "feet on the ramp" (an Air Force punishment term). Feet on the ramp was used in the mid 90's to ground guys who did not take the bonus, and still had ADSCs left (mostly FAIPs in their second assignment). Officially it was a "manning" tool, but everyone knew it punitive and meant to pressure guys into re-upping. Problem was, they grounded so many guys they couldn't man the missions, and finally cried uncle, and the program was terminated. But not before they sold the termination as Big Blue "being cool and treating everyone right".

Unless they (the experienced Reservists) leave. After a quick skim, I didn't see this addressed. Guys get off AD for many reasons (spelled out in thousands of posts here), some join the Guard/Reserve because the culture there is tolerable. Take away the culture, by putting them back in the AD, and many will just leave altogether....

JEFF; Not sure I understand your comment. I merely pointed out that the petition the OP wants us sign advocates getting rid of the only thing protecting US pilots' jobs. I am NOT advocating the lifting of Cabotage, as this would endanger Cargo, Legacy, and RJ jobs. Be careful what you wish for is all I was saying; if I misunderstand, or am wrong on the situation, someone please clarify....

I would believe most third world airlines pay their pilots less (China too). No need to change any safety, security or ATP rules, they Already fly into the US (int'l flights), so just need to let them fly Domestic.

I am by no means an expert in this area, BUT, couldn't this be a case of "Be careful what you wish for"? The law as it stands allows the President to order striking pilots back to work. If you take away this provision, you take away the ONLY thing stopping the revocation of Cabotage. This would mean that Air Guatemala could fly domestic routes with their $5/hr pilots and drive us all out of business (see US shipping business). To clarify; business leaders and the government would love to allow Air Chile to set up shop in the US and fly domestic routes cheaply. The only problem is that once the foreign carriers have taken over, and they will, the President can't order a bunch of Columbians back to work if they strike i.e. the entire US air system could be shut down by foreign strikers-- a scenario unstomachable to any President.

Are you kidding me? You-as an aviator, have a responsibility to not fly when fatigued. If at alert, you are not ready to go, state, "I'm calling safety of flight due to fatigue". Shiite is going to hit the fan. And you are going to come under intense scrutiny, because for all the hundereds of times the brass has said "Safety First", Don't Fly Tired" "Make the Safe Call" they don't mean it, and go ape shiite when you do. So be prepared with your supporting evidence as to why their schedule is inhuman. If you do this a couple of times, as well as your fellow aviators, I guarantee the schedule will become human. If they can't make the schedule work, that is their problem; an aircraft accident, with you in it, is yours--control what you can. Science is on your side--Man is not a machine.

Mark my words, in 10 years the FDA will discover this pill gives you brain cancer. Don't take it....if the USAF can't build a flying schedule that depends on you medicating to make it work--that's their problem (i'm sure they'll compensate you for your brain cancer though)

Is Patches your cat?

Depends. A lot of new hires are getting widebody International seats (MD-11, 777). I know widebody guys who have never done a night hub turn (the type of flying that most people think of when they think of FedEx). If you want to fly domestic, I believe it's about 60% night/40% day flying (there was a time when it was 100% night flying, and thus the stereotype). Done both pax and cargo; cargo is the way to go.

This one is probably the best replacement so far; I downloaded the manual from Casio--it'll tell you the date in Paris, but not the day. I'm beginning to think a true replacement isn't made anymore--which is frustrating because it can't be that friggin' hard.....

You're a better drunk than I, I need the watch to tell me the day/date and sometimes where I am. Happy hour specials, dancers schedules and subway charts are not published in Zulu time unfortunately....

The current one you linked shows I'm in Paris, but I don't know what the day or date is there....unless I do a lot of scrolling perhaps.. This one has potential (although I have no need for the Julian feature, as I'm a Reservist). Does the World time page show city code, local time, day and date? The first watch you recommended --you said it had all the features I wanted, but checking the manual in the link you provided, it looks like the World Time page doesn't tell you the day of the week and date in that city. Am I misreading it?