Release of the B-21 Raider

[Homestar]

8 hours ago, Majestik Møøse said:

Companion trainers should be fast. Fast jets make brain fast.

https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/video/take-a-seat-in-the-cockpit-of-nasa-s-t38-jet-1002459715572

Do brains that fly a strategic bomber at subsonic speeds across vast distances to pre-programmed coordinates need to be fast?

[Biff_T]

9 hours ago, Majestik Møøse said:

Companion trainers should be fast.....

Lol.  I agree with you, I just had to put this picture FLEA made to use. 

[FLEA]

1 hour ago, Biff_T said:

Lol.  I agree with you, I just had to put this picture FLEA made to use. 

I love that these bought you so much enjoyment. 

[Biff_T]

26 minutes ago, FLEA said:

I love that these bought you so much enjoyment. 

They're pure comical genius!   

[Majestik Møøse]

12 hours ago, Homestar said:

Do brains that fly a strategic bomber at subsonic speeds across vast distances to pre-programmed coordinates need to be fast?

So…yes. Because if they didn’t fly fast sometimes, imagine how slow their brains would be then

[HuggyU2]

The T-38 is a great CTP aircraft for the U-2. Although costs are going up as it gets old, it's been a bargain.

In 2006, an F-22 at Langley sucked a nose gear pin down the intake. The engine damage was $6.7M. To put that in perspective, Beale's entire ~3800 hour T-38 flying allocation that year cost less than that single incident. 

Speaking of the F-22, it was their effort to get a 2nd radio in the T-38A fleet.  Thanks!  
But what were y'all thinking in making the 2nd radio another UHF radio?!  Honestly, was someone brain dead when they made this decision?  (I guess this last paragraph could qualify this post for the "WTF?" thread.)

I believe the T-38A is the last UHF-only aircraft in DoD. 

Edited December 10, 2022 by HuggyU2

[TreeA10]

1 hour ago, HuggyU2 said:

The T-38 is a great CTP aircraft for the U-2. Although costs are going up as it gets old, it's been a bargain.

In 2006, an F-22 at Langley sucked a nose gear pin down the intake. The engine damage was $6.7M. To put that in perspective, Beale's entire ~3800 hour T-38 flying allocation that year cost less than that single incident. 

Speaking of the F-22, it was their effort to get a 2nd radio in the T-38A fleet.  Thanks!  
But what were y'all thinking in making the 2nd radio another UHF radio?!  Honestly, was someone brain dead when they made this decision?  (I guess this last paragraph could qualify this post for the "WTF?" thread.)

I believe the T-38A is the last UHF-only aircraft in DoD. 

We were putting F-22s into Holloman and had some concerns about the taxiway surfaces and it was cheaper to repave most of the taxiways than repair or replace an engine.... And then we moved the F-22s out a couple years later. 

[Biff_T]

On 12/4/2022 at 7:50 PM, Majestik Møøse said:

So…yes. Because if they didn’t fly fast sometimes, imagine how slow their brains would be then

They'd be slow helicopter brains.  Lol.  All I know is I saw a lot more tits at 50 feet and zero knots than I did in tankers.  Lol.  

Mouthbreather like booby

Edited December 10, 2022 by Biff_T
Back to Raider love

[Lawman]

We were putting F-22s into Holloman and had some concerns about the taxiway surfaces and it was cheaper to repave most of the taxiways than repair or replace an engine.... And then we moved the F-22s out a couple years later. 

I mean hell if we’re getting comparative with accident prices, that B2 at Anderson that was lost because of a fouled Pitot a tube could have either bought a new nuclear aircraft carrier, or paid to refuel 4 of them. Not to say genuine shit luck accidents don’t happen… but…

Stuff is getting ridiculously expensive and we are never forward thinking as a military toward prevention in a lot of ways. The more time I see the military fail to use smart preventative measures the more I think we operate off the same logic as my wife waiting until the car’s check engine light has been on for a month and it’s smoking and vibrating before we finally say/do something about it.


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[Ant-man]

Anyone have gouge on how they’re gonna select initial cadre? I’ve heard RUMINT about some people already being identified for ops leadership once the squadron gets stood up at Ellsworth. I recognize that she hasn’t even flown yet and will spend a considerable amount of time with the DT guys before it becomes IOC, but I imagine that the ball will start rolling here soon. Is it going to be primarily B-2 guys? B-1 guys since the leadership keeps using the B-21 as the answer to all of the Bone’s problems? F-35 guys for their LO experience? Who will decide who initially joins the community? Will it be a board or push from your sq cc? I ask because I’m being solicited about WIC, and I can’t figure out if that would stovepipe me into my current airframe and close the B-21 door, or if it would actually serve as a pre-requisite. Another path I’ve considered is a white jet tour to give me experience in a different airframe as an 11B and potentially make me more marketable? I’m grasping at straws here.

[Danger41]

What airframe for WIC? I’d suggest you do the WIC thing because that’s an easy discriminator. I got selected as the demonstration pilot and then initial cadre for SOCOM’s Armed Overwatch program and the only thing that discriminated me was being a grey Patch.

[Ant-man]

B-52. My thought process is that with all the new upgrades coming down and the eventual new designation as the B-52J, there won’t be a push to get rid of BUFF experience to other airframes. Whereas my understanding is that the Bone and B-2 will be divested as the B-21 comes online, freeing up experienced aviators from those platforms. I do recognize the doors that being a patch can open, however. 

[Danger41]

8 hours ago, Ant-man said:

B-52. My thought process is that with all the new upgrades coming down and the eventual new designation as the B-52J, there won’t be a push to get rid of BUFF experience to other airframes. Whereas my understanding is that the Bone and B-2 will be divested as the B-21 comes online, freeing up experienced aviators from those platforms. I do recognize the doors that being a patch can open, however. 

I’d suggest you do what you want and let your intentions of a B-21 transition be known. You bring up good points on all and I won’t pretend to know the inner political workings of Bomber Mafia politics, but make yourself as credible as possible and have a good reputation for interpersonal skills. Initial cadre, especially for a crown jewel program like B-21, will need to offer more than being a good stick. 

[ClearedHot]

The model on the pointy nose side for MANY years has been to build "most" of the initial cadre from Patch Wearers, it makes sense for a lot of reasons especially as you move into OT.  These days in an effort to run faster we run DT and OT at the same time, often while still settling on the final design.  That being said if you are thinking of pursuing WIC just as a path to the B-21, don't!  I was not the best Patch in the world but I was very good at finding (and eliminating), careerists who wanted WIC for the wrong reason.  The Weapons School is far from perfect but it is one of the last vestiges of trying to do the right thing with regard to airpower and our Air Force. 

If you want WIC so you can teach, lead and mentor...SHIT HOT, go for it.  The rest will take care of itself.

[Sua Sponte]

It’s probably similar to what happened when the KC-46 stood up at McConnell. There’s tanker, airlift, fighter, and bomber drivers that went to the -46. That also included patches from various MAF/CAF backgrounds.

[Vito]

 I read a book recently about the  “Constant Peg” program. Most of those guys became patch wearers from the F-4  and a lot of them ended up as initial cadre on the Viper. YMMV. I will preface this with the fact that it took almost 20 years to go from buying leased 767’s (around 2003 ish) as tankers to actually flying a KC-46. So I hope you have time. 

[StoleIt]

On 2/6/2023 at 10:23 AM, Sua Sponte said:

It’s probably similar to what happened when the KC-46 stood up at McConnell. There’s tanker, airlift, fighter, and bomber drivers that went to the -46. That also included patches from various MAF/CAF backgrounds.

Hopefully they try to avoid the poisonous, backstabbing, terrible environment that went with putting a bunch of #1 strat/fast burner types all in the same squadron that McConnell experienced...but doubtful.

[TheNewGazmo]

Hopefully they try to avoid the poisonous, backstabbing, terrible environment that went with putting a bunch of #1 strat/fast burner types all in the same squadron that McConnell experienced...but doubtful.

Quite ironic when most studs out of UPT in the bottom of their class got "stuck" with the -135. All of a sudden, with a new airplane that is much easier to fly, we need the "cream of the crop"...

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[Vito]

Thenewgazmo,

 It’s a bright new shiny toy, plus a perfect leadin for the airlines. Of course there is going to be a line to fly it. Same as there was a line to fly 135’s back in the late 50’s and even Buffs, when they were new.

[Sua Sponte]

18 hours ago, TheNewGazmo said:

 

Quite ironic when most studs out of UPT in the bottom of their class got "stuck" with the -135. All of a sudden, with a new airplane that is much easier to fly, we need the "cream of the crop"...

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AMC only picks the best for the KC-46. That's the previous Sq/CC as the PF.

 

[FourFans]

55 minutes ago, Sua Sponte said:

AMC only picks the best for the KC-46. That's the previous Sq/CC as the PF.

 

Sunday?

[Sua Sponte]

18 minutes ago, FourFans130 said:

Sunday?

 

[brabus]

1 hour ago, Sua Sponte said:

AMC only picks the best for the KC-46. That's the previous Sq/CC as the PF.

(Apparently) stabilized approach criteria is for pussies!

[TheNewGazmo]

AMC only picks the best for the KC-46. That's the previous Sq/CC as the PF.
 

Was he previous C-17 qual'd?

I love it when the brakes lock up around 0:32. Like I say to my kids all the time - "This is why we can't have nice things...."

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[Biff_T]

11 hours ago, Sua Sponte said:

AMC only picks the best for the KC-46. That's the previous Sq/CC as the PF.

 

Trends of the day:

1.  Overshooting final.  

2.  Landing farther down the runway than I would in a Piper Arrow. 

Edited February 21, 2023 by Biff_T
Spelling bee failure