Bergman

I believe it. He flew a left-seat KC-135 ride out of Turkey back in 06 which is a no-no as well.

I agree with Port Dog on this one. Don't do engineering unless it's free or you REALLY want to be a engineer...because the work load is just not worth it. If you're looking at ERAU for AE, I think you should also consider Parks College of St. Louis University, obviously in St. Louis. The price is probably similar with a good location, tons of hot nursing/teaching chicks, a flight department, and a pretty good aeronautical engineering program. Oh yeah, they have AFROTC also.

You might be able to convince him to sell it via celebrity charity auction on eBay.

I wonder if the generals making these decisions have flown a KC-135 recently - with a new Altus grad. Again I say, there is no way in hell you can learn to land a KC-135 in the sim. UFB. Sadly, I think you're right. Keep in mind that all of this is going on while the AD is upgrading people with ~800 hours total time (including UPT, sim, OTHER, and pri/sec). Does the AD still waive the 800 hours?? Anyway, this is a recipe for disaster IMHO. Thankfully, there haven't been any major issues so far, which is why this stupidity continues. And you're right - the AC will take it in the shorts because they're the last person in the chain. There are some serious design issues with the -135 that should prevent newbies from ever sitting in the left seat to begin with (tiller, anti-skid, speed brakes), which makes me really wonder who is making these decisions. Surely not someone who has ever flown the jet. To get back on my original question...no more PUP in FY09? I know our unit will have several 'Legacy Copilots' remaining after the FY starts, so it looks like we'll have to in-unit upgrade them. I've talked with our training folks about all of this, and I'm kind of surprised that none of them really know what is going on. Or maybe I shouldn't be all that surprised. Thanks for the info fellas. Good luck to the Block 40 PIQs. You're going to need it.

Hey fellas...I refueled a C-17 out here in PACOM land tonight, WITH AN ALL-MALE CREW!. Big Fucking Deal. You're either good at your job or you're not. Beyond that, no one cares. I wish PA would get that through their skulls.

WTFO?!? There is NO WAY on God's Green Earth that you can learn to fly a KC-135 safely in 3 flights. No fucking way. I don't care how many sims you suffer through. The sim just isn't that good. I know other platforms have been doing this for years, but they aren't 50 years old either (and therefore fly like they're 50 years old). This is going to be a real treat when these guys start coming back to the squadron, banging them on (sts), and setting off the asinine hard landing light (which is a whole different rant altogether), and generally screwing up the entire mission flow. Ugh. Since this is still PIQ, they are getting 3 flights to do all of the events in BOTH seats??? R/L seat 4 eng, 3 eng, EFTOC, 30 flap, etc? Again, YGBSM. The new guys we're getting back now can barely run the fuel panel, let alone fly the jet...and that is with 12 flights. This is madness.

I don't normally reply to these posts because there isn't usually much I can add. In this case, there is. I had the pleasure of handing Dave his first set of gold bars. I was his Faculty Advisor for AMS Class O-2006-4. I only worked with him for 6 weeks, but I remember him being smart, dedicated to serving his country, and willing to help others succeed. He did well at AMS, and I genuinely enjoyed commissioning him. He was definitely "one of the good guys". Sadly, I must also report that this might be the first regular baseops.net user to pass. Dave was registered here as VIPER_STUD. His last login was at 0954 on Thursday, 14 March 2008.

Separate question... Any idea if ACIQ is still going on at Altus? If so, any idea if that'll continue into/past FY09? Bret, I have no real answer for your question other than to say the standard "don't worry about it". I'll venture a guess that it will be almost transparent to you (vs. the Block 30 stuff) because the CBTs are pretty must a 1-for-1 swap. Using the equipment on the jet is 100x easier than the CBTs lead you to believe. Although, I am sure the guys at Altus will find ways make it more difficult than it needs to be.

If you really are just looking to do some target shooting, your absolute best bet would be a .22LR. Take a look at the Ruger Mark II. A box of 500 rounds of .22LR goes for $12 so you could definitely get your fix and stay within your $250-$300 range for gun price.

This does make me wonder what is going on in the B-1 community. Even in the lowly -135, we brief emergency egress procedures every single flight. That brief always includes the phrase, "I'll throw down the chocks, chock the nose wheel..." and the pilot brief always includes, "I'll set the parking brake, cut off the motors, turn the battery off...blah blah". Now we know why. In fact, it's Step 1 on our "Engine shutdown checklist". Go figure. One other question...the article lead me to believe they had flown from Ellsworth to Guam, and that it took a "non-stop 21 hour flight". Did I miss something there? We used to make the KOFF to RODN run in an RC in ~18 hours. What sort of airspeeds does the BONE fly during cruise?

I've read a bunch of good reviews on the Bersa Thunder .380. I was looking for a good concealed carry handgun and everything I've heard/read was positive. They can be found new for under $250. I ended up going with a Taurus PT-145 in .45 ACP. I know I'll probably take some flak for this, but I've had a Taurus PT92 (9mm copy of the Beretta the USAF uses) for 13 years and my wife owns a Taurus .357 revolver (Model 617SS). After literally thousands of rounds, I've had nothing but good luck with Taurus products. I haven't shot my .45 yet, but I expect similar results. Check Taurus' web site for their complete catalog. Most anything by Taurus, or the Bersa that I mentioned earlier, will get you into a decent handgun for less than $350.

There is a certain peace of mind that comes from knowing you at least have a slim chance of bailing out. Having said that, I have never in 12 years run across someone who actually thought it was feasible. First of all, there is the fact that the chutes are located next to the boom pod, roughly 69' away from where most of us usually sit and where the primary bailout exit is also located. I have always gone under the assumption that whatever could happen to the airplane that would cause me to want to bail out would also likely prevent me from making it to the back of the jet, strapping a chute on, walking back up front, putting my helmet on, activating the chining bar, and actually bailing out. I'm not terribly upset at losing the chutes , but I am a bit concerned that they think taking 300# worth of safety gear off is worth the $.01 per flight it'll save in fuel. It makes you wonder "what's next?" Hopefully not the microwaves! Oh, wait....

I was in your situation a few years ago. Yes, the reg does apply to the ANG. You are right - the ANG unit you are interviewing with probably doesn't know about this limitation. The Guard Bureau used to give waivers pretty liberally for this (I personally know 6 people including me that got them) but it sounds like things have changed. It used to be a waiver from the CSAF, not an ETP. So perhaps that has changed as well. BL - it can be done.

They must have tested this satellite 6900 times before sending it up...then it fails 2 hours after getting there. Niiccee. I didn't think they awarded satellite contracts to the lowest bidder.

If they should have engaged, I'm sure they would have. This sort of thing is not new. One does have to wonder how the -18s were scrambled with the Bear 500 miles out, and only completed the intercept at 50 miles (or at least that's what was released to the public). Lastly, I want to go on record as saying the Bear crew is a bunch of soft-bellied commie pinkos for only going down (sts) to 2000' for the photo op. Bring back the wall. I have a strong urge to fly, and no place to fly to!

Look more closely... She worked for SecAF. No big surprise that she got a good deal on her next assignment or two. Also note the job title "policy and issues analyst" which in my mind means she was probably not only writing the speeches but probably also presenting SecAF with the policies themselves. Lastly, she was the "aide" to SecAF. I'm sure that included some knee time, but she probably also worked her arse off as well and did so in front of the right audience. She's probably brilliant...but has the common sense of a grape. Typical 40 pound head person/analyst.

Shack. Unless you're in the ANG...where they have no idea what the mins ever are, because you're going to have 3500 hours total time before you upgrade, "no matter what the f_cking active duty reg says the mins are!" For the love of God, please let's avoid this. Yes, I know I got my one jab in...but the ROTC vs. academy argument never goes anywhere. Holy shit! I may have to print this part and put it in the archive. By the way...now you know how I felt when the Packers lost to the fooking Denver Donkeys in 1998. At least I wasn't at your house rubbing it in the whole night (sts)! Jackass!

Damn! And all these years I thought I had coined the term "Instructor Copilot" - when the copilot knows more and flies better than the very part-time FedEx guys. This chick not only beat me to the punch but raised the ante. Well at least my hair doesn't look like some sort of over-varnished toupe. nah nah! Let's be honest...it doesn't take a PhD from Harvard to find the juicy bars or parlors "with a happy ending" out Gate 2. They're not just trying, they're succeeding! No need to joke...it's the f-ing truth! Anyone who picks the academy over a full-ride ROTC scholarship should have their friggin head examined, IMHO. All sarcasm aside (no, really!) I sincerely feel bad for the kids who have to put up with this crap.

You SHOULD get those days off, but if you're behind the timeline you might end up flying on the Saturday of the 3 day weekend and still get the federal holiday off. NSTFS. As for living off base...it's going to depend on which base and what's going on at that exact time. If you're single (or engaged - as mentioned, that means nada to the AF) I would plan on living on base, then if they let you leave consider yourself lucky. Personally, I would live on-base if at all possible. It saves the hassle of driving in to fly, front gate traffic, and trying to find a place to live in Cowtown USA.

Now THAT is vintage PAB! Coincidentally, just finished a handle of Beam (edit: not in one sitting). Ah, that good old days. Hopefully I will be retired before ANG guys are forced to buy that thing.

Florida. Most people seem to use the rule of thumb that 2 out of the following 3 things must be from the same state to claim residence (and therefore file taxes from that state and/or avoid state income tax where you're living): driver's license, residence, car registration. You meet that requirement. FWIW, I kept Texas plates and license for 10 years on AD and never had any problems while living outside of TX.

I found People Finders.Com to be almost alarmingly accurate, although I have only tried their free searches. If you enter a name and a state where they have had an address, it'll give you all the addresses associated with that person, as well as other names associated with them - wife, kids, parents, grandparents. It shows whether the web site has an address, phone, and/or email address on file and then you can decide to pay for that additional info or not.

Ok M2...you asked for it (sts):

Everyone is the "world's greatest pilot" when they're paying a $10,000/hour (or however much it costs) to rent a Mig-29, or hell even paying a CFI $20/hour to teach them to fly. Do you really think someone is going to take this girl flying, then land and say "Nah...she actually sucked donkey balls flying today, but I'll still pocket her daddy's cash anyway!"? They're going to say whatever they need to say to keep the business rolling in. That is the fundamental difference between civilians who pay their instructors and military instructors who could care less how much money your dad has, or whether you were a nav before, or whether you were cadet wing commander.

2. How in the hell did a ricochet from a .22 pop this dude's truck tire? That was the best shot ever! Beyond that, it sounds like your friends are a bunch of assholes...pushing you into doing something, then whining like a bunch of pansies once you do. Find better friends.