Best Thread of all times

[ivauir]

WOWO
Just read the Duke Elegant thread .....

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

Duke Elegant. It has been printed, binded and placed in the crewroom.

 

[DaveGriffin]

.........the most dedicated, cut throat, patriotic, and selfless airmen I've known were rotor heads, and no one gives them any credit at all.

No arguement with that ivauir. An H-3 doing a night-time HIFR in sea state 4 is as good as it gets. Awesome and unbelievable stuff. On top of that, those dudes don't bitch and moan.

 

[grinder]

Dave, never was sure what you were with your big shiny simulated SEAL pin, why you hated P-3 guys, or why you liked living on a boat with a bunch of mens, but to each thier own.

The best threads ever were in the '98 time frame on the old, old, old, brown thread web site when people were trying to figure out if white-out would ruin their UAL app, if they should corner Cecil Ewell down in the parking lot in Dallas and ask him to go golfing to get an interview, or if they should wear a blue suit to the DAL interview. Ahh yes. Mmmmm. Major pilot with gooood paaaay and tiiiiime offfff.

 

[Airbusnut1]

The "Duke"

Ï just spent the last few hours reading the Duke Elegent thread and have to admit I was enthralled.
Duke Elegant, may you rest in peace. The world is a lesser place now that you are not among us.
I have flown with some real characters in my times, but I wish I had the chance to fly with you.
God speed.

 

[Fins Up]

Huge;

You P-3 guys are more nasty and spiteful than an ugly chick scorned. I make the point, to the uninformed AF and civilian masses, that the P-3 community is the only tactical USN airplane that doesn’t land on the boat, and you non-quals get all pissy. Pardon my candor.

My first experience with P-3 ‘poseurs’ was watching a couple of them in action as they tried to work the NAS Oceana Happy Hour guests, hearing them tell the chicks how they did low level bombing runs on subs, in between cashing big per diem checks. The TacAir guys just sat back and laughed. The P-3 guys ended up going ugly, late.

After I experienced my first disassociated P-3 guy on the Kennedy, my opinion was confirmed. He hated the boat and was the biggest whiner and complainer I ever met. He never had a good word to say during the entire cruise. The guy simply didn’t like operating. He really wanted his shore-based billet back, along with the per diem checks. The other I have met along the way have not been too much different.

Au contraire Huge, thank you for playing.

You won't find many P-3 pilots lamenting about thier lack of carrier landings. It's just not that important. Plus, I haven't seen any entries for "# of carrier landings on any on-line apps." Jet jocks get all the high-speed hair-on-fire "look what I can do" thrills and ,as you pointed out, P-3 guys get the perdiem checks about which you seem so bitter. Works for me. We've all got our jobs to do.

 

[azdriver]

I rather read then post but in this case: DUKE ELEGANT all the way.


Saluti a tutti

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[AlbieF15]

For Dave and the other Macho types who praise "those who don't bitch and moan..."

I was in combat with a tank battallion during WW Kuwait back in 91. I flew fighters for the next 15 years all over the world. Now at FDX and as an interview coach I have met a bunch of aviators, including a host of P-3 drivers.

Know what? There have been some great folks in every community. In the Army battallion I served with, there were some great guys...and a few guys I would rather not work with again. Ditto my fighter career, as well as my airline job.

What were the common threads of the "good guys and gals" I met? Most didn't make their JOB their identity. They never got so consumed in their job title that they lost who they were before they became tank commanders, fighter pilots, P-3 Mission commanders, or whatever.

I hate the labels and jealously that creep into some of these threads. I was a CFII and a jump pilot...but some think I got hired at FDX since I was a "fighter mafia" guy. So what am I really, military or civilian? I hear guys say "you can't get on at carrier X unless you military" but then I help a half dozen Chataqua and Express Jet guys get on at SWA while a fellow F-15 driver gets the boot. A lot of you out there simply don't know what the heck you are talking about when you clump or label guys into a group. I have no idea what imparts such venom and jealousy into some who peruse these boards, or why labels are so important. Perhaps some folks are so insecure they have to "attach" themselves to a label to feel confident, and by the same token if they fail it must be because they are from the wrong group. There are at least 3 guys who I went to Auburn with that are now here at FedEx with me, and they all found there way here through different civilian routes. But the point is they all worked hard, got the quals, and eventually got their dream job. I think if you took away my AF wings or my fighter pilot experience I'd still be the same guy and I would have gotten to this same place. I might have turned out a bit less worldy or experienced in certain areas but then again I might have had a whole new set of experiences. In any case, you'd still get the same basic guy. When I coach clients, I always try to help them reveal the real side of their personality, as I am convinced its not what you've flown or where you got your training that defines you...its your attitude and your ability to do your best where you are that sets you apart.

 

[chase]

...and that my friends is why Albie's the best at what he does!!! Well said.

 

[ivauir]

..its your attitude and your ability to do your best where you are that sets you apart.

... and I thought it was shoe size and sense of humor

 

[Clyde]

Who Was the Best?

That's easy:

THE GUAT​

 

[Wang Chung]

That's easy:

THE GUAT​

Agreed 100%. One of the very few threads that was so funny, I had to email and PM my friends so they could check it out. Unfortunately that thread was erased in a heartbeat and many people will never know how hard some of us laughed.