fake military pilot?

[FlyinGuy]

I had a guy tell me once (way back in ROTC) that if he did not get a fighter out of UPT, he was going to go over to Israel and fly fighters for them! I am sure you can imagine the laughter that this generated, especially when we realized that he was serious.

 

[Occam's Razor]

I can't speak about the guy you mention, but it has happened.

In 1981 the USN was short pilots in the year group, so they offered immediate inter-service transfers to Marines going through the Strike syllabus ("jets"). About 30 Marines took the deal. One of them went into the USN, then withdrew (DOR) when he was tapped for E-2/C-2's. He bailed from the USN and went to Israel to fly. Seems his parents held Israeli citizenship.

Don't know what he ended up doing in Israel, since then were pretty tight-lipped about the status of their armed forces back then.

I didn't know him very well, but his IP's said he never made a mistake that was his fault. <--We all know the type!

 

[AlbieF15]

Yeah, well....this from a guy I'm not sure really was ever a Marine. Heck...I'm not sure Occam is even a man!

 

[Occam's Razor]

Yeah, well....this from a guy I'm not sure really was ever a Marine. Heck...I'm not sure Occam is even a man!

Dang!

Discovered and exposed!

The SHAME!

A "Y" chromosomed poser...Hey!...wait a minute...I could fly fighters in the Air Force!

Woo Hoo!

 

[AlbieF15]

...or be a Thunderbird!

A generation from now they'll wonder my the manly men don't gravitate towards military service "like they used to do...."

 

[Mud Eagle]

Put pods, datalink and HMS from a Viper on the 15E and you might have something.

What exactly does the Viper have in the way of datalink and pods that's so much better than the F-15E? Are you arguing that SADL is better than Link 16, and that LITENING is better than SNIPER? Interesting argument...I'm all ears.

The only toy that a Viper has that a Strike Eagle doesn't is the HMS...which is nice, indeed.

I'm curious to hear specifically why you think the Viper is so much better at locating and killing than the F-15E? Where in the kill chain does the Viper do things faster? Where in the kill chain does the Viper employ better weapons? How, quantitatively, does a Viper hit the target more often than the F-15E? What's the Viper's hit rate for LGBs and JDAMs? How about rounds strafed?

 

[Snapshot]

Easy to explain. Carrying bombs doesn't count, putting them on target does.....The mission they accomplished by sitting on the ramp was saving fuel for the Vipers. .

I gladly pay taxes to make sure all of Y'all on both sides of this friendly debate keep up the good job out there...But you've got to admit that is some good ******************** talk .....

So who would win if you went Toe to Toe?

 

[Fedora]

U guys need to take this to another thread. The rest of us just don't care.
Thre has to be a military thread here somewhere.

 

[pilotyip]

They are everywhere

Just saw in Navy Times last night the Libary of Congress had on file 24 interviews with Veterans who claimed they held the MOH, but they had never received the MOH they had just claimed they did. And the interviewers believed them. They are now going to do a search down to the SS to confirm they are talking to an actual recipient.

 

[anotherF16pilot]

If the "guy on the ground" is Rover capable, I'll bet he's looking for my Blk 30 BI...

 

[Mud Eagle]

If the "guy on the ground" is Rover capable, I'll bet he's looking for my Blk 30 BI...

<yawn>

F-15Es that are in the AOR are Rover capable.

Next?

Fact is, guys, the Viper and Beagle are just different tools to perform the same mission...both of whom bring unique capabilities to the fight which are useful to our bros on the ground.

 

[007]

I flew with this guy that had more stories then Stephen King. He was an F-14 pilot and was shot down twice over iraq in the original war, was a helicopter pilot that was involved in the Somalia disaster, as well as other helo crashes, was in the CIA and stole King Airs from Mexico (he couldn't elaborate on the details, top secret stuff.) Blew up mountains in Columbia, still dont know why. Flew 747's for 5 years at Southern Air but had to "retire" because of some top secret CIA mission. The list goes on. Of course I didn't believe a single story, but it was all this guy had. 40-something, single, living with Mom, no car, no phone, doofy, etc. He was also "best" friends with the CP for JetBlue but couldn't get an interview because he didnt have 1000 hrs jet time. Wait?? Didnt you fly F-14's and 747's?? Wasn't a very good pilot at all, icing on the cake!!

WAIT A MINUTE....this wasn't self proclaimed "Captain Midnight". Sounds like his story. All the while he was a CFI and Cab driver.

 

[Bus-Driver]

I've got a question. Right now I'm a civilian pilot (all I've ever been) for a regional, and I hear alot of stories,but only believe half of them. The one that takes the cake I'm not sure about. It was a while back while I was flight instructing. I was tasked with checking a guy out in one of our cessnas, while we were flying, he kept bragging about flying F-5's for the airforce. Now I thought the F-5 was just an export fighter, the only U.S. pilots would have been instructors, thus also trained in something else more bragworthy. Is all that true or could this guy have really been an f-16 fighter pilot?

 

[Bus-Driver]

Here's another question. I already mentioned my civilian life, I fly captain on an EMB-120 Brazilia for a regional. Not extremely happy with pay, QOL, or politics and while I was a very poorly paid FO on a CRJ about 6 months ago I applied for an OTS pilot slot and, to my surprise, got it. They have done my flight class one physical and background check and I have an OTS date of march 19. Now that my pay is a little better, and I have a new baby at home I wonder if it's worth the commitment for military life. I was hoping some of you guys who have done it, especially the military/airline guys, could give a guy like me some advice. Thanks

 

[BiffF15]

I've got a question. Right now I'm a civilian pilot (all I've ever been) for a regional, and I hear alot of stories,but only believe half of them. The one that takes the cake I'm not sure about. It was a while back while I was flight instructing. I was tasked with checking a guy out in one of our cessnas, while we were flying, he kept bragging about flying F-5's for the airforce. Now I thought the F-5 was just an export fighter, the only U.S. pilots would have been instructors, thus also trained in something else more bragworthy. Is all that true or could this guy have really been an f-16 fighter pilot?

How old was the guy? We flew them (F-5's) for years both in the USAF and USN. The USN might still have them. However, if he was an USAF (claimed or whatever) guy then he would be a bit older, probably in his mid to late fourties. The last ones the USAF flew were to check out pilots for countries that still flew them. We basically supplied instruction / jets and they supplied the bodies. The last place the USAF flew them would have been at what was once Williams AFB.

As for whether or not to go to military pilot training that is completely up to you. Most guys never consider QOL prior to joining as you won't know what you are going to fly until assignment night. If QOL is a show stopper don't go, it's that easy. You aren't the only guy with a new kid who has done this, nor are you the only guy who flew for the Regionals. If you are only after the resume filler for the majors then take a pass as well. There is a lot more to being a military pilot than just flying.

 

[pilotyip]

They also flew they as aggressor A/C in the fighter schools

 

[Zulu]

he kept bragging about flying F-5's for the airforce... Is all that true

It's possible, if the guy's age is right. I remember talking to a guy a while back who only flew F-5's. After South Vietnam fell to the commies, the USAF took possession of a couple of squadrons worth of F-5s that had been intended to go to the RVNAF. The USAF stood up one or two operational F-5 squadrons in Arizona (I'm thinking Williams, but maybe DM) for a couple of years until they could decide what to do with the airplanes. This guy I was talking to got assigned to one of these squadrons out of UPT, flew for a couple of years, then was able to get out during the post Vietnam drawdown and did twenty in the ANG.
So, long answer to a short question is it IS possible.

Z

 

[BushwickBill]

This summer I was seeing flights of either T-38s or F5s flying over Marin on either the way to Beale or Travis. They were all black and were at about 2 or 3 thousand feet going due north over China Camp State Park.

I guess they could have been T38's but it seemed to give some credit to the F5 thing.

 

[bssthound]

I guess they could have been T38's but it seemed to give some credit to the F5 thing

T-38s out of Beale. The U-2 guys fly them. HuggyU2, Kuma, and others on this board who actually fly them could expound further.

 

[airmack]

I worked with a guy who claimed he was an F-15 driver. I thought his story was a little sketchy. I thought I would call him on it, and asked him a few questions that only someone that worked the aircraft would know. He was clueless.