euro2005 Posted August 25, 2015 Posted August 25, 2015 Rather than looking specifically at the U model, try this:1) look at the mission of the AC130 (generically, not specific to U vs W vs J) and the mission of the MC130...which would you like more?2) Put on your sheet in that orderSent from my iPhone using TapatalkThat's exactly what I did. Instead of listing a model, I listed what crew position I wanted (nav or EWO). All I wanted was gunships because of the mission and I could care less about location. I knew full well it was a 50/50 shot between Cannon and Hurby. I wound up getting Cannon. Cannon does suck but the camaraderie is fantastic. As for crossflow between airframes, in my short time within AFSOC I've seen it happen a few times already. There's more and more crossflow between the Us and Ws now. The Ws just got someone from U-28s too. And all the folks from the old 16th are either now on the Ws, Us and who knows where else. Not within AFSOC but there's a ton of folks from C-130Hs in the 16th now (pilots, navs, and FEs) since those squadrons shut down too. One of my good friends is a C-146 pilot and lots of them are getting non-vold into RPAs...right back to Cannon...that's another discussion entirely though.
olevelo Posted August 25, 2015 Posted August 25, 2015 To add on to the discussion about LR: AC-130W navs don't even go to LR anymore.Are you sure about that, or is that just a rumor floating around? All the W guys I knew went to LR, but admittedly it could have changed. First I've heard that though. MC/HC-J navs don't go, for obvious reasons (first I heard of EC-J guys going too).
Chicken Posted August 25, 2015 Posted August 25, 2015 To add on to the discussion about LR: AC-130W navs don't even go to LR anymore. The ones who did were assigned the H but got reclassed to the W since the H is retired now. I was talking with some of my EC-130 nav bros and they go to LR...they don't even use SCNS. They get to the EC FTU and have to relearn everything (I think they use something called CANS?) while the W navs do use SCNS and get shit on at the 551st because they don't know how to use SCNS at all when they first get there. Shit's ass backwards.Shit on at the 551st how exactly?
Chicken Posted August 25, 2015 Posted August 25, 2015 Are you sure about that, or is that just a rumor floating around? All the W guys I knew went to LR, but admittedly it could have changed. First I've heard that though. MC/HC-J navs don't go, for obvious reasons (first I heard of EC-J guys going too). W Navs currently don't go to LR. The most difficult thing with teaching new navs is the Cat 1 procedures.. but they don't receive a checkride on it. All of this might change when/if AFSOC pipeline guys start going through Kirtland. Euro I hope you filled out a student critique when you departed the 551 if you felt you were wronged.
hispeed7721 Posted August 25, 2015 Posted August 25, 2015 That's exactly what I did. Instead of listing a model, I listed what crew position I wanted (nav or EWO). As for crossflow between airframes, in my short time within AFSOC I've seen it happen a few times already. There's more and more crossflow between the Us and Ws now. The Ws just got someone from U-28s too.For assignment and cross flow stuff from the previous question, they were asking specifically about pilot (obviously different crew positions don't apply) and the cross flow of CSO's is one of the main selling points of having CSO's vs "normal" navs and EWOs, but the rate/ability of cross flow for CSO's vs pilots is entirely different Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Splash95 Posted August 25, 2015 Posted August 25, 2015 To add on to the discussion about LR: AC-130W navs don't even go to LR anymore. The ones who did were assigned the H but got reclassed to the W since the H is retired now. I was talking with some of my EC-130 nav bros and they go to LR...they don't even use SCNS. They get to the EC FTU and have to relearn everything (I think they use something called CANS?) while the W navs do use SCNS and get shit on at the 551st because they don't know how to use SCNS at all when they first get there. Shit's ass backwards.Shit on at the 551st how exactly?Euro: Correct, EC's use CANS rather than SCNS. It was pretty weird to get immersed in SCNS during the FTU and then learn a completely different system once I got to D-M. Chicken: I would assume sh1tting on 551st students (and, before the 551st, 19th students) for any number of valid or not-so-valid reasons has been part of the gunship culture for many years. Maybe now that Spectre is retired and many of the current cadre "grew up" in the W, that has changed a bit; or maybe not.
Chicken Posted August 25, 2015 Posted August 25, 2015 Euro: Correct, EC's use CANS rather than SCNS. It was pretty weird to get immersed in SCNS during the FTU and then learn a completely different system once I got to D-M. Chicken: I would assume sh1tting on 551st students (and, before the 551st, 19th students) for any number of valid or not-so-valid reasons has been part of the gunship culture for many years. Maybe now that Spectre is retired and many of the current cadre "grew up" in the W, that has changed a bit; or maybe not.I'm not sure how the H model community or instructors treated their students, but this guy is a W pipeline guy specifically talking to the W side of the 551,
euro2005 Posted August 31, 2015 Posted August 31, 2015 My instructors treated me fine. I didn't have any issues with them. I had issues with the program and I did fill out a critique at the end. Someone mentioned Cat I procedures...that's part of what I was referring to. A checkride in that is not a bad idea if future 551 students will never get sent to LR. Or it could be part of the BQ check they want to start doing. A checkride of some sort will ensure that the students are learning what they need to and that instructors will take more time to teach it by adding more academics, etc. I did bring up not going to LR in my critique and I even brought it up when the AFSOAWC commander visited for a meet and greet session with the students. He said that because the FTU is still producing navs, there's not a dire need to spend the extra money to send us all on a 3 month TDY. I can see that, money is tight. Maybe send only the pipeline folks there and the rest straight to the FTU...they're the ones who need it most anyways. Most of my SCNS knowledge was thanks to some friends who were previously qual'd slick navs (because the 551st instructors are overworked which also really sucks for everyone...they're constantly flying.) One of my friends also gave me a SCNS CD (that he got from LR) for my computer so I could practice using it at home. It certainly helped. I guess I have such a huge grievance towards this because as a pipeline student, it can be overwhelming. Many of my friends come from other platforms and have at least part of the puzzle solved...the U-28 has similar software, the slicks have SCNS & a radar, other gunships use the same tactics so when it comes to learning the rest, they don't struggle as much because they don't have to learn everything from scratch. One of my friends who is an H turned W guy even said it's a ton of stuff for a new guy to learn. He has been in for 10 years and even he felt bad for the pipeline guys. I've also heard some instructors talk about how the program wasn't built for pipeline guys and that they fully expect most pipeline students to hook a ride or two and need extra rides due to that fact. Going to LR can help alleviate this, at least a little bit. They'll come in knowing all the nav stuff and just have to focus on learning tactics at the 551st instead of splitting time between the two. Maybe I'm way off base but I do remember asking an instructor what I should study for that week. His response: "everything" That's an appropriate response for a checkride but I was not even close to checking out at this point. Even for my checkride, I was given specific things to study. My brain exploded when he told me that! @olevelo - It's the EC-Hs I was referring to. W guys used to go to LR...they stopped a few years back. Anyone who has gone since then was supposed to fly the AC-H but well you know, those retired. @chicken - sorry if I sound like I'm complaining. These were problems I dealt with and many other students dealt with too. I made it through and gave it my all. After all, I really love this airplane and wasn't going to let this opportunity go. At the 16th currently and it's been good...loving life! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
euro2005 Posted August 31, 2015 Posted August 31, 2015 @chicken - Kirtland? That would be cool too. Do you mean it would be like LR but at a different location or do you mean the entire 551 might move there? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
hispeed7721 Posted September 23, 2015 Posted September 23, 2015 Just saw that the HC/MC's are cutting Little Rock for pilots...does anyone know if AC-130W or U pilots will also be skipping it? Obv the W/U is not the J model, but figured maybe they're all cutting that TDY out of the mix Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
HU&W Posted September 23, 2015 Posted September 23, 2015 Interesting commentary from LtG Heithold on potential usage of friggin laser beams on AC-130J's in the next 5 years.https://pulsegulfcoast.com/2015/09/air-force-wants-laser-weapon-on-gunships 1
Fuzz Posted November 11, 2015 Posted November 11, 2015 https://www.airforcemag.com/DRArchive/Pages/2015/November 2015/November 09 2015/First-AC-130J-Prototype-Declared-Loss.aspx"The AC-130J "tumbled inverted" before test pilots were able to recover controlled flight, entering a vertical dive, on April 21. The aircraft lost 5,000 feet altitude, pulled 3.19 Gs, and oversped the flaps' maximum allowed airspeed by 100 knots before returning to level flight." to the Test Pilots.
M2 Posted November 11, 2015 Posted November 11, 2015 https://www.airforcemag.com/DRArchive/Pages/2015/November 2015/November 09 2015/First-AC-130J-Prototype-Declared-Loss.aspx"The AC-130J "tumbled inverted" before test pilots were able to recover controlled flight, entering a vertical dive, on April 21. The aircraft lost 5,000 feet altitude, pulled 3.19 Gs, and oversped the flaps' maximum allowed airspeed by 100 knots before returning to level flight." to the Test Pilots.Feck!
drewpey Posted November 12, 2015 Posted November 12, 2015 Since no one was hurt it's not too soon...saw this already circulating: 4
stract Posted November 12, 2015 Posted November 12, 2015 curious if the AIB and SIB conclusions are somewhat in the same vicinity of each other...
arg Posted November 16, 2015 Posted November 16, 2015 Read the Flight Characteristics section in the J-1. Plane did just what it said.
stract Posted November 20, 2015 Posted November 20, 2015 (edited) yet another media article reaffirming they have no concept of aerodynamics. https://www.cnn.com/2015/11/20/politics/air-force-gunship-lost/index.html1. Airliners typically crab, not slip2. The act of inverting alone does not over-g an aircraft. See: Tex Johnson. Edited November 20, 2015 by stract
SurelySerious Posted November 21, 2015 Posted November 21, 2015 yet another media article reaffirming they have no concept of aerodynamics. https://www.cnn.com/2015/11/20/politics/air-force-gunship-lost/index.html1. Airliners typically crab, not slip2. The act of inverting alone does not over-g an aircraft. See: Tex Johnson.See also: MC-12 3
backseatdriver Posted November 21, 2015 Posted November 21, 2015 yet another media article reaffirming they have no concept of aerodynamics. https://www.cnn.com/2015/11/20/politics/air-force-gunship-lost/index.html1. Airliners typically crab, not slip2. The act of inverting alone does not over-g an aircraft. See: Tex Johnson.And it looks like we're getting 150mm cannons. That'll be pretty sweet.Another stellar piece of well-researched aviation journalism from CNN.
Termy Posted November 21, 2015 Posted November 21, 2015 yet another media article reaffirming they have no concept of aerodynamics. https://www.cnn.com/2015/11/20/politics/air-force-gunship-lost/index.html1. Airliners typically crab, not slip2. The act of inverting alone does not over-g an aircraft. See: Tex Johnson.Regarding point 1: Although it wasn't written all that well, I think the article was correct on the maneuver. Steady heading side slips are a very common flight test technique. It is used to test the lateral stability of a fixed wing airplane.
ClearedHot Posted November 21, 2015 Posted November 21, 2015 And it looks like we're getting 150mm cannons. That'll be pretty sweet.Another stellar piece of well-researched aviation journalism from CNN.I've been saying this for years...if they get details like this wrong, imagine all the other inaccuracies we read on a daily basis. 2
HU&W Posted November 21, 2015 Posted November 21, 2015 And it looks like we're getting 150mm cannons. That'll be pretty sweet.Another stellar piece of well-researched aviation journalism from CNN.Obviously incorrect. Everyone knows they'll be 150cm cannons! 1
backseatdriver Posted November 23, 2015 Posted November 23, 2015 (edited) There's even a video of info on the ACJ (including 150mm cannons) overlaid on...AC-130U video. The only footage of the Ghostrider is in the first two seconds.Way to go CNN. Edited November 23, 2015 by backseatdriver
drewpey Posted November 24, 2015 Posted November 24, 2015 They gave the H model some love too. Remember the level of research they go through the next time you "learn" something from the news. 1
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