SPAWNmaster

Uhh…wut. If you seriously don’t trust your multi agency all source analysis on JWICS or JIANT because you don’t like that your civilian leadership has smoked pot (like virtually everyone in this country) I’d consider that pretty negligent. That’s like saying Trump drank a beer and therefore we should only trust NIPR or lower. Non sequitur. My point was that this thread sounds more like a retiree rumor mill than informed discussion. You’re not helping that and that was before you linked to CNN 😂.

This thread is proof that none of you are spending time on high side 🤣.

We have been ramping up our DTOC CT program and wondering if there are other units outside of F35 and MQ9 that are linking up and doing virtual exercises. It’s a good way to dry run dissimilar CT before we go out and burn the JP8 for real. Looking to add more friends to the party. HMU por favor.

While I'm not really bought into the culture war debates, I did find it ironic that your post is literally virtue signaling lol. Anyway see you all there, should be there with my airline!

Jon - how come you guys aren't certified in New York? Can you recommend someone who is? Thanks

Nice feature on the MC-145B. Great looking plane in the foreign livery! https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/41347/meet-the-mc-145b-wily-coyote-armed-special-ops-transport-plane

https://www.airforcemag.com/usaf-considering-pilot-school-changes-to-curb-flight-accidents/ I hope it's not just lip service. I went through in '16 and was directly affected by numerous issues to include: break in orders in the middle of UPT (which led to pulling me off the flying schedule, baby kicked out of daycare, wife CAC card no longer working and stuck off base, etc), as well as 8 month break between wings and B-course (during which time I pursued my civilian CFI rating just to keep my hands warm), multiple 40+ day breaks in training at FTU (several of my peers experienced the same or worse) and other issues. Reality is you suck it up and press but big blue should not be acting so surprised that young guys are burning in after years of syllabus cuts, flying hour deficits, tired iron, struggle to maintain or even establish any level of proficiency among new line guys, etc. I hope that current leadership can take the issue more seriously than ever before.

Just had second Pfizer dose yesterday. Was fine all day but woke up feeling like I was in a car accident. Super tired today and muscles sore all over. We were briefed that second dose 70%+ feel symptoms whereas first dose only 30%.

The boys and gals at Fairchild also do plenty of mountain flying as well.

Got mine a week ago in NY. ARNG and ANG had secured a whole bunch of doses for local units. Huge turnout, was organized into a multi day affair...pretty much they said whoever wants the vaccine just let us know. Day after shot sore arm and a little "icky" feeling kind of like when I get the flu shot but more mild. Next day onward, no side effects. Still waiting on my 5G signal. Separately I have to say I'm impressed with the CDC webapp they gave us. It automatically prompts you to check in with any side effects - I feel like we should have this level of automation for a lot of medication (seems like a great way to get data in the digital age).

I think I'm also in the poor genetics camp. Typically I'm 5'8" ~160lbs. Running has always been a struggle for me - I was the kid that could never even finish a 1mi run in grade school and even into early high school. I always struggled with keeping my breath...was screened for asthma and other shit as a kid but always checked out with normal lungs and cardiovascular from a purely medical standpoint. My legs and energy level had absolutely no issue...it was literally a question of being able to breathe on a run. I probably didn't make things easier by smoking heavily all throughout college later on, but I have to do a 2 or 3 month workup before a PT test that involves multiple 1.5's per week starting at 15min/mi pacing and progressively get towards a passing time by the date the test rolls around. When it comes to situps and pushups I can absolutely dominate and easily max out my score with no more than a week or two prep but the run just kills me. On the one hand I am proud to overcome what seems to be a sort of inherent handicap purely by work ethic, but on the other hand I wish I was that dude who could just show up for a test and crush an 8min/mi pace without thinking about it. Is what it is...

Not going to happen with his reputation as a racist. 🤷‍♂️

I'll bite on this (for context my wife and kids are all Native American, I've spent enough time on the Rez and one of our family members is the Director of the BIA so I've been able to learn a little bit about this ). What it comes down to is that many native populations are 1) extremely underprivileged - a lot of the communities struggle with just basic access to running water, schools, etc. And 2) the tribal populations have also been diluted significantly due to things like the residential schools, theft of children and people leaving "the rez". WRT #1, when your community can't give you the same baseline opportunities as say your average middle american WASP community then it's a naturally steeper funnel to climb out of. So you just get raw fewer numbers of people who are even remotely capable of getting selected for UPT by that age - I'm not saying Natives can't hack it but that often they start behind the goal post instead of at the kickoff line in terms of opportunities and the resources just aren't there to foster the the natural talents/inclinations/traits that Natives might have that would normally make them a great candidate had they grown up in other circumstances. The actual talent of many Native individuals I've met is impressive though - they are naturally extremely brave, sharp and witty. It's no coincidence that our tribe (Mohawk) is known for their steel workers - guys who built the Empire State Building without harnesses, ropes or anything - literally just scaled steel into the sky and then did roll call at the bar end of the day and cheered to the men who fell that day. Some real courage and skill. WRT #2, a combination of the residential schools and skin leaving the rez in search of better opportunity has ultimately bred out / white washed the Native population. From what I have seen and learned, there literally just aren't even the raw numbers to make this a viable recruiting opportunity. By the way this is not even to speak to ancillary points like the cultural challenges of the drugs, gambling, smugling and gangs that often funnel young Natives onto the wrong path (which itself is actually not a Native problem but one that 19th/20th century Americans have given them). I think when you have a competing source of work/recreation that also would help the USAF focusing on Native communities. By the way huge props to you for identifying and recommending Natives for this, a lot of people wouldn't even think twice about this group of people who has given so much to our Nation and really got the shit end of the stick in so many ways.

OP your gouge on RPAs is old. The community is a lot happier than back in the day and the mission set those guys are doing is insane (SCAR, AI, CAS, etc). I don’t even think you can drop unmanned out of UPT. Today, MQ9s are busier employing for CAS than any of the aircraft you listed including the A10. If you want CAS manned, gunships should be top of your list. Consider marines for attack Huey’s too but you said no helicopters? I’ve done manned and unmanned feel free to PM for pros and cons of each.

American punched out of a supertucano today. Huge props to the Afghan Air Force prosecuting a successful SAR. Was half expecting to hear Pave Hawks. https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/34694/american-pilot-reportedly-ejects-from-afghan-air-force-a-29-light-attack-plane

Did you guys actually read the article? They just put in stipulations for the withdrawal, which for the most part appear to be reasonable. Always set performance gates, if you hit them you get a cookie. If you don’t, then you hook the ride. Aside from the partisan headline not sure what the issue is here.

Unsure. I know he worked closely with Branson at the outset but SC is such a large organization I’m guessing there were other super smart engineers that did the brunt work. His designs are legendary and I’ve heard great things about the LongEZ. Only seen one in real life and was told they all fly slightly differently due to builder differences.

IMHO Scaled Composites’ SpaceShipTwo (flying for Virgin Galactic) has the coolest looking cockpit.

BAE's Small Agile Battlefield Aircraft (SABA). Was the 1987 vision for surface attack and COIN "of the future". I find the concept from back then to be pretty on point for the design proposal vs. what we know works based on recent history. Bonus points for the proto-Ospreys in the background. (If this was already posted earlier in the 60+ page history of this thread, I apologize and will Q3 myself)

The PAC-750 is a proven platform. I've known Ray Bozard for years who brought it into the recreational skydiving community and was part owner of Pacific Aerospace. It climbs like a rocket and you can G it up, it is also insanely economical to operate (price parity to super caravans with the BH conversion) but all the benefits of newer spars and design components. If you've never seen one IRL the one challenge I foresee would be how low the mission equipment would be. Hanging a pod and some hard points is going to cause some clearance issues. Where the PAC excels just like the Kodiak and Twotter, are the back country performance. 750XL's get beaten up daily in Malaysia flying into impossible mountain villages with sloping 200 meter dirt strips. Now it is starting to fly in Africa as well from what I've heard. Great machine for a mission like manned ISR or light airlift. It's basically already doing it every day in south east asia.

Good inputs, thanks! Assumptions in my calculus include being a career FO and/or only taking jobs where the contracts mitigate the typical QOL concerns that stem from stagnation. I think the offset of such downsides also include the ULCC's inherent resilience against recessions and the like plus the continued upward mobility towards legacies where the gaps are most advertised. In other words, I can see the point about stagnation but hopefully it's not as bad as it could be. Food for thought though. Thanks again!

Ok fair enough. I just figured the folks who this applies to know exactly what it means. Thanks for feedback and look forward to connecting with anyone who can reach out. edit: spelling/words

Hey all. I'm a guard dude. Building time at my first 121 gig (regional) and have my apps out to the majors. Frontier just announced a hiring window and I'm wondering if we have anyone from there on these forums that I could talk to. Me: Civilian chief pilot and DO experience, obviously Air Force pilot, speak multiple languages, over a decade of civilian work experience including management at successful startups (including one to IPO). So I'm a fairly driven guy with some unique experiences. However I'm still pretty low time and the Legacy's won't give me the time of day. Again, mainly looking to talk to Frontier guys right now to learn more about how I maximize my app during the window. But I'm also open to talking to anyone from Jetblue or Spirit as well. Thanks bruhs (and brahs)!

I had a VLPAD app that was routed and approved through NGB and had a job lined up for my desired active duty assignment. All the stars were aligned but at the 11th hour I was told the program was not approving apps even for guard guys. This was as of September ish. FYSA