Any Military IPs?

[RogerMOSA]

geez...sounds like the AF is on a quite a short leash. Do they give you guys any responsibility??

RM

 

[CCDiscoB]

No Responsibility at all

Do they give you guys any responsibility??

No they don't.

Unless you consider the 24 year old Lt. I have on my wing. He has to return the $30 million jet in one piece. Or when I was a Lt. they would send me out, with a Lt. nav, single ship to fly the F-4, low level, through the hills of Texas. Yeah, no responsibility at all. Dude, the military gives you a lot of responsibility Which is why the military sends guys to jail when they screw up. Because they had the responsibility and blew it.

 

[vschip]

I'm thinking RogerMOSA reply was a shot at the Air Force training command, not at the "fleet" Air Force. When I was in T-2 training, landed at New Orleans NAS, 2 T-38's landed after us, asked us if it was ok for them to refuel ahead of us, they had to get home before sunset. We didn't care, but thought it was funny that the studs couldn't fly at night eventhough there were 2 IP's with them. And for the responsibility thing, how 'bout sending 22 year old students to the boat solo with just under 170 total hours.

 

[Hugh Jorgan]

Re: No Responsibility at all

Unless you consider the 24 year old Lt. I have on my wing.

The same guy they teach to "call the SOF" when there's a problem. That SOF is the guy who has to get to Church...far be it from them to allow the IPs out there to get home without their help....might have a little yellow light come on.
I wish I could share the look on my face the day the SOF declared an emergency for me. Yeah, responsibility.

 

[RogerMOSA]

you're feeling me, Hugh......

 

[milplt]

I'm a USAF dude who just finished a tour at Whiting NAS, and the Navy is becoming as big a syllabus tracker as the USAF. If it is a day sortie, it's flown in the day and lands before sunset. If it is a night sortie, it is flown at night. Want to talk about responsibility, ask the T-34 IP's who are not Night VNAV qual'd (and not many of them are) if they can let a student on a contact sortie land after sunset, and the answer is no.

As far as getting home on a X-C, it has nothing to do with sunset and everything to do with field closure. AETC X-C recovery windows are only a few hours long (usually about 1300-1700 if you're lucky) on Sun due to field (ATC) manning - THERE ARE NO SOF's ON DUTY FOR X-C RETURNS (at least at my AETC base). Whiting X-C returns were allowed until sometime after sunset to give the option of a night VNAV on the last leg - and for no other reason.

Ive seen a lot of differences after flying for both the Navy (and I enjoyed flying for the Navy) and the USAF, and responsibility was not one of them.

 

[Kramer]

...Or when the AF guys have to call back to home base to see if it is ok to deviate on a crosscountry for WX and leave us Navy guys standing there in disbelief...."ok, have fun with that, I am going to Vegas!" ...yeah, big responsibility!

 

[vschip]

As far as getting home on a X-C, it has nothing to do with sunset and everything to do with field closure.

Trust me, the reason was they had to land before sunset, that's the reason it has stuck with me for the past 11 years. Done the Vegas divert thing, heading home to NASNI, "be home first thing in the morning" is what the CDO said the skipper said, ummm, ok...

 

[Spur]

Trust me, the reason was they had to land before sunset

Yes, and the reason behind that was probably a whole 'nuther part of the AF bureaucracy --- the RSU (runway supervisory unit). As I recall, an RSU is required for night homefield ops for T-38s (really just one dude) and they are not generally scheduled on the weekends.

Also the field probably closed at sunset due to lack of manning in the tower/radar.

 

[rainman_02]

Question from someone who has only had sandbag time in fighters...


Why, when we're dragging fighters, do they have to land before sunset? Is it one of those RSU requirements?

Not slamming any of my pilot bros...just curious and always trying to learn something.