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Posted (edited)

For someone admittedly not smart about the C-130J or the CONUS base options, Little Rock or Dyess, what pros v. cons do you see to each base in terms of flying and living? I understand the first actual J has yet to show to Dyess, but eventually would the types of missions tasked (i.e. non-deployed flying) be any different than the Rock bubbas?

I tried a search, but only came up with track select drops and smaller specifics on LR. I was hoping for a more head-to-head comparison from those in the know.

Thanks!

:beer:

Edited by IGB
Posted

but eventually would the types of missions tasked (i.e. non-deployed flying) be any different than the Rock bubbas?

Do you really think this is a discussion to have here? Recommend you re-word the question.

HD

Posted

I'm finishing up at the school house this week at The Rock. Looks like I will finish a few days before my projected grad date. I will be staying here at one of the squadrons. Can anyone tell me what squadron indoc is like for a guy going to fly H3s?

Posted

I'm finishing up at the school house this week at The Rock. Looks like I will finish a few days before my projected grad date. I will be staying here at one of the squadrons. Can anyone tell me what squadron indoc is like for a guy going to fly H3s?

I can't resist, its just too tempting!

Sure there Cowboy. First, they tie you down and shave your head bald. Then they tatoo the All American DZ to the left side of your head. It makes for easy reference for the pilot. The back of your head is reserved for the nav...this could be interesting. And if you don't believe me, just ask your fellow squadron mates when you get there.

Out

Posted

I'm finishing up at the school house this week at The Rock. Looks like I will finish a few days before my projected grad date. I will be staying here at one of the squadrons. Can anyone tell me what squadron indoc is like for a guy going to fly H3s?

I can tell you the 50th is a great squadron, but expect only about half your rides in the H3, all else is E's. INDOC takes anywhere between 1 and 5 months depending on IP availablity. I got a dude done in one TDY once, but thats not the norm. Also, expect some good TDYs, things have changed and they're back to the old days of good deal TDYs 4-5 times a month. Great DO!

  • 4 weeks later...
Posted

I've heard it's not too difficult to get C-130s out of T-1s as long as you let the IP's know early on that you really want C-130s. Obviously going to Corpus would be ideal, but that didn't work out so... Anyone know what the chances are for getting C-130s out of T-1s?

Guest Flyin' AF Hawaiian
Posted

I've heard it's not too difficult to get C-130s out of T-1s as long as you let the IP's know early on that you really want C-130s. Obviously going to Corpus would be ideal, but that didn't work out so... Anyone know what the chances are for getting C-130s out of T-1s?

I think it just depends. It's obviously harder to get -130s out of Tones, but not impossible. Just let your FLT/CC know early on that you want Herks, and put it in as a special request on your dream sheet. I think that's about the best you can do. Oh, being #1 doesn't hurt either.

Guest Hueypilot812
Posted

I think it just depends. It's obviously harder to get -130s out of Tones, but not impossible. Just let your FLT/CC know early on that you want Herks, and put it in as a special request on your dream sheet. I think that's about the best you can do. Oh, being #1 doesn't hurt either.

Keep in mind my experience with UPT is nearly a decade old...

There were occasional Herks out of Tones, but nearly every one I saw was a C-130 to Dyess. IMO, Dyess isn't that bad of a gig, and if you really want to go Herks, it's a good place to start out as a copilot. Now with the J coming online, those might flow out of Corpus (Corpus nearly always got the good deal assignments), but a Herk out of Tones isn't impossible.

The only non-Dyess Herk I saw come from the T-1 track was an AC-130, but from what I heard the dude graduated at the top and wanted a join-spouse assignment, or something along those lines...so they hooked him up (sts). The frequency of Herks out of T-1s back then was about 3-4 a year. The advice above is pretty good advice...work with your Flt/CC and do well. Another road is do what I did...C-21 or FAIP with a Herk follow-on. I understand they don't do set follow-ons anymore, but if you don't get a Herk out of T-1s, put down C-21s or FAIP and hope for the best when you roll the dice in another 3ish years.

On a side note, HD was correct, both Dyess squadrons are getting the J....the 40th is first and the 39th will follow. The Gp/CC for Dyess is here attending JMATS. As for the schedule following Dyess, no one's really sure. I've heard the 53rd is next, and I've heard Yokota is next.

Posted

Thanks for the advice guys. Do I understand then that C-21s are not a permanent assignment? Do most pilots go to another airframe after 3 years there?

Guest CharlieDontSurf
Posted

Thanks for the advice guys. Do I understand then that C-21s are not a permanent assignment? Do most pilots go to another airframe after 3 years there?

All of the -30 production right now for USAF is the rest of Ramstein's birds and 26-28 for Dyess. All other USAF production is for HC/MC. No word on Yakota getting J's yet.

  • 2 weeks later...
Guest stuck_zipper
Posted

Long time user... first time poster.

I was in the T-1 business for 3 years very recently, and I didn't see very many Herks at all- and all of 'em slicks (no special-ops.) The three reasons to go to Corpus Christi:

1- Guaranteed C-130

2- Waaaaaaaaay better syllabus

3- Ms. Del Rio, Ms. Enid, and Ms. Columus all get kicked out of the bar in Port-A.

IMHO.

Guest Hueypilot812
Posted

On a side note, HD was correct, both Dyess squadrons are getting the J....the 40th is first and the 39th will follow. The Gp/CC for Dyess is here attending JMATS. As for the schedule following Dyess, no one's really sure. I've heard the 53rd is next, and I've heard Yokota is next.

Correction, the info above was passed along by a L-M guy. I actually spoke with the future 317AG/CC and he said for now, the 39th is supposed to get AMP airplanes, and only the 40th will be J. I have no idea how that'll work, considering DYS was always short of maintainers. I suspect that'll only get worse if half the dudes there can't fix your airplane.

Posted

Hey I have a few questions, I am getting ready to head off to Columbus next week, I would really like to eventually fly a C-130. I was wondering what the deployments are like and when you are home how often are you TDY, and what's the lifestyle like in general in the community? Thanks for the help!

Posted

Hey I have a few questions, I am getting ready to head off to Columbus next week, I would really like to eventually fly a C-130. I was wondering what the deployments are like and when you are home how often are you TDY, and what's the lifestyle like in general in the community? Thanks for the help!

Use the search function.

Posted

Correction, the info above was passed along by a L-M guy. I actually spoke with the future 317AG/CC and he said for now, the 39th is supposed to get AMP airplanes, and only the 40th will be J. I have no idea how that'll work, considering DYS was always short of maintainers. I suspect that'll only get worse if half the dudes there can't fix your airplane.

Guys, please stop posting speculation. Both squadrons at Dyess are still scheduled for the J-model. Nothing has changed yet. Not sure exactly what DD said, but there has been no change to the plan at this point. There may be CoA's in coordination, but no firm decision has been made that will change 28 J tails at Dyess. Your point about "no idea how that will work" is exactly why this will probably not happen. It will be too difficult. Not to mention how deployments will be managed or lots of other factors.

  • 3 weeks later...
Guest Spectre514
Posted

Searched for a better thread to put this but couldn't find it... to make a long story short I'm in a class that uniquely wants a bunch of AFSOC (all T-1s). Personally I've wanted U-28s since the beginning of pilot training, but would be open to any manned AFSOC. We have one guy that wants an MC or AC, and two others that are also open to anything. Can we do anything to help ourselves, beyond the standard tell everyone (FLT/CC, IPs, etc). One of the career days had a couple U-28 guys come in and mention "we don't need the guys with golden hands, we want guys that want to be part of the squadron and mission." Can anyone expand on the special request process? We filled out a sheet that talked about requests for leave dates after grad, not sure if that was what was mentioned below. Has anyone recently seen one of these "Special Considerations" sheet?

This post may be too late to help you out, but make sure your flight commander knows you want AFSOC as early as possible. And, if you get a chance to fly with the squadron DO or commander mention it to them. As a T-1 stud it may be easier to get into AFSOC C-130 (harder since you're not a Corpus guy) and then move to the U-28 later. For a lot of different reasons most guys going directly to the U-28 from UPT are T-38 grads. About 85% are from T-38, the rest from T-44s and a very occasional T-1 grad. If you do get into AFSOC any MWS will be a great mission. Good luck.

Guest Hueypilot812
Posted

It's been said before but I'll repeat it again for any studs out there reading this thread...if you are interested in AFSOC, you need to track T-44s. I was a T-1 student when I went through UPT, but wound up in the Herk community because I had a tactical airlift follow-on after flying C-21s. My example shows you can still fly Herks of some kind without going to T-44s, but again, if you want AFSOC, your chances go up dramatically if you go to Corpus. I wanted AFSOC as well but at that point, it was purely up to the AFPC lottery, and when my time came for assignment, there weren't any AFSOC billets to be had. To some degree, it's always down to the timing, but it seems to me that the odds are in your favor if you do well at Corpus and put AFSOC on your dream sheet.

  • 1 year later...
Posted

Hey all,

I just dropped slicks to little rock, Most of this info is pretty old, I was just wondering what deployments are like for new co-pilots, what the lifestyle is like and just some general information about the community! Thanks!

Posted

Hey all,

I just dropped slicks to little rock, Most of this info is pretty old, I was just wondering what deployments are like for new co-pilots, what the lifestyle is like and just some general information about the community! Thanks!

Which Squadron?

No matter which one you'll have a good time.

Welcome

Cheers :beer:

Posted

Any word as to how the Nav FTU is going to change with the new pipeline coming out of Pensacola? Some say it isn't, some say it'll be much longer. Any syllabus changes?

Posted

Which Squadron?

No matter which one you'll have a good time.

Welcome

Cheers :beer:

Not sure yet, I think I find out next week...

  • 3 months later...
Posted

Dropped 130s out of T-38s. This has happened to a few guys over the past year or so. I know back in the day all pilots came out of 38s, but just curious on people's thoughts about transitioning from a fast single seat mindset to the crew mentality on a 130? Thanks!

Posted

Think of it as this: The AC is flight lead. You are the wingman. The enlisted dudes on your crew are also wingmen. All of you work together to make sure the flight lead has the best info and can lead the mission to success. While we may say head, box, and other things without so to speaks...and while we may not know what the ###### dead bug or crud are...we want you to know your shit, be the best damn copilot you can be, and be a bro.

  • Upvote 1
Posted (edited)

It's an airplane. It has wings. It flies. You'll do fine.

I've seen quite a few guys come to the Herk from -38's (IFF washouts, transfer between guard units before FTU, etc.). Their successes and failures had nothing to do with the -38 or a "single-seat mindset." The ones who did well were the ones who came in embracing the mission, had a solid work ethic, and showed an eagerness to learn. That's it.

Edited by TacAirCoug
Posted

I was a 38 turned J model guy.. hardest part, was that day or two figuring how to read a checklist and do it with another person. Next, shooting an ILS and twiddling your thumbs waiting for the DA..

Other than that, not bad at all.. great plane. Good times.

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