Track Selects and Assignment Nights

[Guest]

I’m thrilled people care enough to look into updating things.

I think they’re being too ambitious with this first class. VR/Sim/limited flights followed by Phase 3 to see how their training compares to traditional UPT would have been a better test. IMHO. Also, no cherry-picking candidates with a higher potential to do well, unless they plan on closely screening UPT Next guys in the future.

[SocialD]

3 hours ago, di1630 said:

Most new jets don’t even have CCIP bomb capes. Hell, even in the hog most stuff is PGM.

BFM hasn’t been used in usaf combat in 40+ years.

I’m thrilled people care enough to look into updating things.

Wait....what, No CCIP!?!?!  So no BSA phase anymore?  I see what this is...a plan to finally push out the old timers!   Next thing you know they'll stop putting guns in jets and make it against regs to practice BFM...missiles are lasers and have a pk of 1.  I jest...mostly.

I agree that it's not a bad thing to reevaluate our training and look into new ideas, as long as it's for the right reasons.  However, putting a 30 hour T-6 pilot in a massively power jet that is the Block-30 (w/o AGCAS) seems like a worse idea than an underpowered Block-42  (w/ AGCAS).  Either way, I have faith in the IP cadre down at Kelly...lots of great dudes down there.  

[Hopefulflyer389]

My grandfather was talking about his transition to the F-4 and being thrown into an advanced aircraft may not seem out of the ordinary for the AF.

J-3 cub: 0-40 hours

T-6: 41-100 hours

F-4: 101+ hours 

This new training will be interesting to watch and see what kind of pilots it will produce. 

[matmacwc]

You're going have a bunch of angry B-course IP's and a disappointed CAF, but the experiment is supposed to end at Kelly I believe, and hope.

[HerkDriver87]

On 7/28/2018 at 9:16 AM, Inertia17 said:

I believe it was ~30 hours flying in the T-6 in around 6 months.

Well this has caused quite of bit of stir amongst the thread...

They received between 70-80 hours in the T-6. I'm not implying that this alleviates all the concerns voiced about these folks having in-air experience (versus the 160-200 that a normal UPT stud might get through Phase II & III), but experience at 30hrs vs experience at 80hrs is a non-linear increase in experience level. 

As far as the CAF folks, they did get specific "IFF Type" instruction in the T-6 from instructors with experience in such. There was a point in their syllabus when the class "tracked" and the training syllabi diverged to accomplish an end result tailored to either CAF or MAF/SOF.  I'm not making excuses for these folks not attending IFF but it does show the program has a process to produce a desired end result. 

Edited July 31, 2018 by HerkDriver87

[Inertia17]

9 hours ago, HerkDriver87 said:

Well this has caused quite of bit of stir amongst the thread...

My mistake, that was the word on the street. Thanks for the clarification.

[Standby]

Wouldn’t be an aviation forum without people going full rage mode with notional or incomplete data. 

[FourFans]

17 hours ago, Standby said:

Wouldn’t be an aviation forum without people going full rage mode with notional or incomplete data. 

...cuz I'm a pilot!!!....

[zachtx]

KEND 18-13

T-38:
F-16x2 Kelly, Luke
F-15C Kingsley Field
F-15E Seymour Johnson
U-28 Hurlburt
HC-130J Moody
E-3 Tinker
T-6 FAIP
F-15SG Singapore

T-1:
C-17 Charleston
KC-135x4 MacDill, McConnell, Kadena, Mildenhall
KC-10x2 Travis, McGuire
E-3 Tinker
T-1 FAIPx2 (one to Laughlin)
HC-130J JBER ANG
C-130H Bradley ANG
 

[YoungnDumb]

Why are we still FAIPing people to Laughlin?  Can't they FAIP their own kids?

[Fly4five]

KCBM 18-13

T1

KC135 Maine ANG

MC12 OK ANG

C17 ANG

KC135 Kadena

C130 Dyess

C130 AR ANG

C130 NV ANG

C130 Ramstein 

E3 Tinker

KC10 Travis

KC10 NJ AFRC x2

T1 Faip KCBM

CV-22 Cannon

T-38

F16 TBD

TBD

F15E Seymour

F15C LA ANG

B52 Barksdale

E3 Tinker

C130 Yokota

T6 Faip KCBM

 

 

 

 

Edited August 5, 2018 by Fly4five

[FishBowl]

RUMINT says RPA drops returning... not even the “fun” one. 

[Hopefulflyer389]

1 hour ago, FishBowl said:

RUMINT says RPA drops returning... not even the “fun” one. 

And the pendulum swings.... 

[Switch408]

3 hours ago, FishBowl said:

RUMINT says RPA drops returning... not even the “fun” one. 

You and I have had enough conversations to know there is no "fun" one

[dmginc]

17 minutes ago, JRBac said:

Didn't they just PCS 60+ students in between IFT and starting RPAs to the UPT bases? 

Not to mention the high number of RPA selects in the last few civilian/AD OTS boards. 

Edited August 6, 2018 by dmginc

[viper154]

47 minutes ago, JRBac said:

Didn't they just PCS 60+ students in between IFT and starting RPAs to the UPT bases? 

Yes, not sure on the numbers though. No knowledge of these rumored recent RPA drops but there is a bottleneck at Randolph, and empty slots at the FTU. They just need dudes with wings to fill them. AFPC did say about 2 months ago all the 11s that didn’t recat to 11U were to be back manned by the end of 2019, so par for course, AFPC lied. 

[Guest]

Yes, not sure on the numbers though. No knowledge of these rumored recent RPA drops but there is a bottleneck at Randolph, and empty slots at the FTU. They just need dudes with wings to fill them. AFPC did say about 2 months ago all the 11s that didn’t recat to 11U were to be back manned by the end of 2019, so par for course, AFPC lied. 

When did the bottleneck shift? It’s been at the FTU for a few years now. 2 years ago, URT was supposed to reach an output of 384 a year; that should be more than enough to sustain current CAPs, even if every RPA pilot bails after 6 years.

[viper154]

4 minutes ago, ihtfp06 said:

When did the bottleneck shift? It’s been at the FTU for a few years now. 2 years ago, URT was supposed to reach an output of 384 a year; that should be more than enough to sustain current CAPs, even if every RPA pilot bails after 6 years.

I want to say about a year ago. These UPT RPA drops seems suspicious to me, briefing last week had ACC manning at 100% + 

[YoungnDumb]

There are spots open at UPT?  I'll believe that when everyone isn't behind.

[FLEA]

Left RPAs a while ago but when i did the functional was dissapointed at a squadron level brief that HAF intended to fufil the promise his predecessor verbally made to return all UPT-D to manned, argueing there was no obligation to fulfill a promise a previous CSAF made. That tells you about all you need to know of this person. Anyway, he mentioned this would cause some bathtubbing and a plan would need to be made to recoup the ranks. I guess they figured that plan out. 

[viper154]

1 hour ago, FLEA said:

Left RPAs a while ago but when i did the functional was dissapointed at a squadron level brief that HAF intended to fufil the promise his predecessor verbally made to return all UPT-D to manned, argueing there was no obligation to fulfill a promise a previous CSAF made. That tells you about all you need to know of this person. Anyway, he mentioned this would cause some bathtubbing and a plan would need to be made to recoup the ranks. I guess they figured that plan out. 

What a douche. He would have lost most of us anyway, only reason many of us didn’t get “chronic headaches/conscious object/fail 6.9 PT tests” was the promise to return to fly. First group of us got assignments a couple months ago, I won’t believe it until I’m back in a cockpit but at least the AF seems to be following through. 

 

Cautionary tail to the young guys, if you want to fly for the AF, do it for the guard. AD will try to stick it to ya every chance they get. 

[YoungnDumb]

Interesting, give the T-6 bros a little slack though, it's a fairly crazy syllabus rewrite for them.  It'll be interesting to see how this affects the toner/38 bros once the new guys start "tracking" their way.  Any word on how they are going to divvy up T-1/T-38 slots?  I had been part of some discussions of it before I left but never heard the final.  The big hang up was if you have a stellar stud but no 38 slots (or T-1 if thats what the kid wants).

[MooseAg03]

Cautionary tail to the young guys, if you want to fly for the AF, do it for the guard. AD will try to stick it to ya every chance they get. 

Truth. I will never recommend active duty Air Force to anyone. Unless they’re going to be a contracting officer.

[cragspider]

7 hours ago, FLEA said:

Left RPAs a while ago but when i did the functional was dissapointed at a squadron level brief that HAF intended to fufil the promise his predecessor verbally made to return all UPT-D to manned, argueing there was no obligation to fulfill a promise a previous CSAF made. That tells you about all you need to know of this person. Anyway, he mentioned this would cause some bathtubbing and a plan would need to be made to recoup the ranks. I guess they figured that plan out. 

I’m still in the RPA world for a few more years. I can comment that the current functional is getting guys back to manned on a time line. Just about every time he comes to base to talk all his briefings are just about all 11x guys and UPT-D guys asking him about going back. Hell global strike isn’t letting they guys they have in rpa’s stay if they wanted to. Most of us should be back in the cockpit by 21. There is a list of the return to fly folks and so far they have stuck to that timeline decently. Now they are holding recat boards now vs just letting guys say I want to stay in the rpa world.  But most of the guys they are really targeting in the board are guys who have been out of the cockpit for a long time and have a high time in service for now. Plus like the new adsc issues they do want a return on the investment of getting you requalled back in the jet. 

 

Now on the 18x kids leaving after their initial commitment I can see most of not all of them walking away to go make more money or do something else.  Some of the saving grace for this community will be the prior E guys who are coming in now.  However those won’t be enough to stem the tide of the initial 18x folks who will leave sooner and not stay on past the 6 years. It’s also telling when you have academy folks taking the rpa assignment as a shorter way to pay back the school time vs going full pilot. 

[pilot]

Is the ENJJPT syllabus changing at all?