Fighters or Heavy's?

[DaveGriffin]

Re: Re: "Going ugly early"

I believe it was a Marine pilot who left with a girl one night affectionately known as "the Zepplin". Need I say more?

Come on Otto; you know as well as I that Marines do things like that just to prove to their buddies how tough they are.

You guys "go ugly early" because it is often the only way to find a date.

Fly Navy.

 

[Seeniner]

Alright ladies, that's enough.

Another consideration is the TDY frequency--specifically deployments. Fighters, tankers, -130's tend to deploy, 30-60 days at a time, a few times a year. Transports: C-17, C-5, C-141 tend to go on more frequent, yet shorter trips.

I've heard my share of heavy guys wishing they flew a fighter, my guess is you don't hear many fighter guys wishing they flew a heavy. You need to decide how important getting up out of your seat, using the toilet, getting some coffee, grabbing a few freshly baked cookies, then sitting back in your seat is to you.

See

 

[DaveGriffin]

Alright ladies, that's enough.
See

Thanks for calming things down Seeniner. It was getting pretty rowdy in here.
Helo pilots are always more fun to party with than cargo haulers.

 

[SpeedRacer]

Lawn Darts vs. Big Jets!

This was getting pretty funny a little bit ago!!

You guys have said it all, pretty much covered all the bases (even with the ocassional "I am the greatest fighter pilot" dork - probably even shoots down his watch everyday at the O'Club!!!).

All I will offer is that is sure is nice to have four engines under my wing (C-141 if you havn't guessed) cruising over the cold North Atlantic vs. going single engine and wearing a "poopy suit" - if that's what you guys and girls still call it nowadays!!!

 

[Eagleflip]

Good Point

SpeedRacer, though unimpressed with inane fighter bravado, has a point.

When doing an ocean crossing in an F-15C from Spangdahlem, AB Germany to Langley AFB, VA, the weather guy briefed that the surface winds were about 30 kts or less for the route except for a low pressure area 500 miles south of Iceland. There we would find winds up to 50 kts. OK, we all thought, this is the North Atlantic. We'll never see it anyway...Wrong.

After the second refueling (in the weather, of course), we broke into the clear at that very point. The winds down there were nothing short of biblical. I kid you not, from our lofty perch at 25K or so, a full 40% of the ocean's surface was white with sea foam from the wave action. Our survival time in a raft down there was probably about 10 minutes, just a tad shorter than the 6 to 10 hours it would have taken to get a rescue 130 out there.

I just turned up the lights and adjusted the seat down, hoping that the engine troop that rebuilt my trusty F-100s was a happy camper.

 

[HueyPilot]

Best deal in the AF...

This is purely my own opinion, but having flown helos for the Army for a few years, I guess I've had a little experience outside my current world. If you want to pull some Gs, then go fighters, but if you could care less, then fly C-21s. Yes, the little Learjet. We fly operational sorties AND we get our fair share of good deals. Tomorrow, if my jet isn't assigned a mission, we'll get to take it anywhere we want for a 'training' sortie. How about lunch in Durango, Colorado? Or how about Key West? Maybe a few overhead tactical patterns for some fun before we land for food? Or lets bet how fast the jet will climb to 10,000 feet today while doing a max-performance climb...

Anyways, that's my little recruiting input from the Lear crews...

Good luck with anything you decide on.

 

[DLFLYR]

It's been beaten to death, but here's my .02. Being a heavy dude myself, I had a chance to see the world, stay in some nice hotels (few bad ones too) and fly with some of the coolest dudes/dudettes to hang out with. Everytime I flew the FRED, it never seized to amaze me that such a humungous beast can actually get airborne. I have to admit that sitting on my butt for 8+ hours at a time got old, but on the lighter side, napping in the bunks was very relaxing-not to mention food at every stop (dont' forget to work out when you're out on the road).
From speaking with my buddies flying fighters, the general consensus is that they are very happy "when they are flying" (key phrase here). However, these guys/gals work too hard, in my opinion. From what I'm told from my fighter buddies, typical fighter pilot works 12 hours in the office when they are not flying, which includes studying in the vaults.
I was never a fighter wannabe (just an airline pilot wannabe), but I have to admit that flying a fighter would be awesome, but just that........"flying". It's too bad that not everybody gets to fly the T-38 like the old days; not that it's a fighter, but it did help in deciding what you wanted to fly. My advise to you would be to follow your dreams and never look back and regret. If your dream is to fly fighters, go for it! There are definitely pros and cons to EVERYTHING. For me, it was an easy decision; I wanted to spend time with my family, fly, and enjoy life. I never thought I would say this, but if you decide to go heavies and later in your flying career you miss going inverted and flying close to another aircraft, you can always fly the T-6 (T-37 replacement or soon to be). Good luck and God bless!

 

[XNav]

Ask yourself this question:
When you finally talk the Babe o' Justice into having dinner at your snake ranch bachelor pad, do you want the picture on the fridge to be of you ascending the ladder to your F-22 or of you slurping coffee and scarfing a TV dinner in the cockpit of your C-17?
On the other hand, if you don't hang out with women who are so shallow as to judge you by your flying equipment, then fly whatever YOU want.

 

[AArider]

Here is my 2 cents from someone who has done BOTH. Fly fighters first (while your young). Then find a Heavy unit to finish out your career. You get the best of both worlds !! I'll tell you, the flying is quite different in both platforms, with one not being any harder than the other (flying wise). I believe there is more to learn as a fighter guy though with all the friendly and enemy weapon systems/threats. Either way, the ground gets smaller as you pull back on the stick/yoke. Good luck either way.

 

[av8raaron]

The Jet Sorts You Out

I haven't gone through UPT yet (hoping the AFROTC UPT board will be kind to me this March), but I'll tell you what a bunch of people from my Det. have said. The jet (the Tweet) sorts you out. I suppose you can update that to the turboprop sorts you out for the Navy and T-6 types. What I mean is that during phase II of UPT, especially the aerobatics phase, you'll figure out if you enjoy the yank and bank stuff or you'd like the bigger jets. I know one guy at Altus in the RTU for KC-135Rs that g-loc'd unexpectedly once in 37s and from that day on swore he had no business in a single place aircraft. Just an example. I know plenty of my peers that don't just want to be pilots, but want to be Eagle drivers or 130 drivers. My advice would be this - don't try to get a specific cockpit, try to do well enough in UPT, especially 37s, that when you have to choose a track you'll be in a good position to pick what you want and you'll have enough first hand experience to know.

Just my $.02

 

[Purple Haze]

Better late than never

Hey XNav,

That wasn't a TV dinner, it was hot pizza.....but the coffee was Starbucks! The image brought back some sweet memories--thanks.

To be honest, I don't keep a picture of myself on the fridge. Fighter pilots rock, but my wife digs me anyway.

For the original poster: If you have no idea what you want, you will probably figure it out after your first few months at UPT. If you love the intensity and want more of it, fly a fighter. If you would rather kick back and enjoy the scenery on a cross-country, go airlift. If you want to takeoff and enter holding until it's time to land, try tankers ---- just kidding (couldn't resist)

It's all good. Thank God for the choice.

Purple

 

[o2deprived]

While a the eyes of a lot of heavy drivers are on this thread... Does anybody know if there are going to be any ANG B-1 positions available after the proposed contraction of the fleet or will it be only regular AF? Looking into Heavy ANG upt spots for
the Herc at the moment. Got passed over for an A-10 slot (first try at the interview process) but I have good scores on my tests and just want to fly. Any suggestions? Even looking into the Corps. though that would be an active duty committment.

 

[Draginass]

O2 - To the best of my knowledge, B-1s will be completely OUT of the ANG inventory.

 

[o2deprived]

B-1

Would anybody know what would happen to current B-1 ANG pilots or pilots in the training pipeline if the proposed consolidation does happen with the GA and KS units? Applying to GA unit... Thanx

 

[Otto]

No more afterburner....

o2deprived,
The GaANG pipeline guys would probably have their choice of staying or leaving the unit. I had a buddy in flight school who was with a F-16 Guard unit (Iowa I think) and midway through school he got the word they were switching to KC-135's. They told him they completely understood if he wanted to go somewhere else so I assume GA would be the same way. Anyway...the deal at Warner Robins is that they are officially going to J-Stars. They start the transition in April and should be complete by September. The thinking was that all the heavy electronics in the back of the J-Star would keep all those B-1 maintanance folks employed. Needless to say the pilots aren't too happy about it. If you like eight hours of droning, it's probably a good time to get in as I know they'll be looking for pilots. Good Luck!

 

[DaveGriffin]

Naval Aviation study material

Here are some passages from USN avaiation study material I thought some of the undecided might like to see:


The only three things a wingman should say are:
1.) Yes, SIR!
2.) Lead, you're on fire!
3.) I'll take the fat chick.

In a multi-piloted aircraft, there are only three things the co-pilot should say:
1.) Nice landing, sir.
2.) I'll buy the first round.
3.) I'll take the fat chick.

FLY NAVY

 

[furloboy]

Back to your original question...

If you don't know that you want to fly fighters the instant you see one, there's a good chance you won't enjoy them.

But there's always the exception. Give some consideration to joining the "Boy Racer" crowd--we run with scissors, take three times the recommended dosage, and tear "do not remove under penalty of law" tags off of pillows. We also talk too loud, are entirely self-centered and know no strangers. It's like being in junior high again except that we don't have to lie about the chicks (well, most of the time).

I've loved every minute of it--20+ years.

S/F,
Furloboy

 

[av8instyle]

Fx vs. Cx

I guess I'll throw in a little blurb:

I don't agree that you'll figure it out in UPT. Because aside from the fact that the T-38 is a swept wing, supersonic jet that you'll pull G's in and fly formation, that's where the similarities stop. Those basics are exactly that-basics.

The things you do in a fighter (Basic Fighter Maneuvers, Air Combat Maneuvers, Air Combat Tactics, Basic Surface Attack, and Surface Attack Tactics) you won't even get a sniff of until you graduate UPT.

I'll be honest, although most guys will tell you UPT was the greatest time of their lives, I personally though it sucked. But after UPT I had a blast. Flying the F-16 is without a doubt the most fun I've ever had (with pants on). However, caveat with what was said above regarding actual time in jet is true. I think the average time per year in a fighter is around 200 hrs. There's a lot of preparation that goes into a mission. But the 200 hours is all busy work. There's very rarely a dull moment.

If you even think for a little bit that you want it, you should go for it.

Remember one thing-there's only one chance in your lifetime to fly fighters. You can always fly airliners.

Oh, and one other thing, flying a low level in a B-1 with bombs still does not even come close to making it a fighter.

 

[HueyPilot]

Airliners?

I don't agree with the notion that flying USAF heavies is the same as flying an airliner. No civilian-trained airline pilot that I know of ever flew a four-engined turboprop 300 feet off the ground in a 4 ship formation and precisely dropping their cargo on a DZ, at night with goggles. Nor do any of them land a 150,000 lb airplane on a 3,000 foot dirt airstrip with a 4-5 degree glidepath at night either.

Unless you fly some of the more boring aircraft (E-3, E-8, EC-130, C-5), you'll do some interesting stuff regardless of whether you're a heavy, bomber or fighter pilot. Pick your own destiny.

 

[av8instyle]

A heavy is a heavy

Unless you fly some of the more boring aircraft (E-3, E-8, EC-130, C-5),

I think these are all heavies. I can't think of one fighter that's even remotely considered boring.

No civilian-trained airline pilot that I know of ever flew a four-engined turboprop 300 feet off the ground in a 4 ship formation and precisely dropping their cargo on a DZ, at night with goggles.

And no "four-engined turbo prop pilot" that flies in gogs at three hundred feet in a four ship gets to smell the perfume of a hot blonde serving him a hot meal.

By the way, I know of several civilian pilots to this day that fly one, two, and four engine piston and turboprop airplanes on 1000 foot dirt, and ice strips, as well as ramps. We're talking 50 knots straight across. And, oh by the way, this approach is done routinely by loran since there are no VOR's any where for hundreds of miles. You occassionally get the token NDB, though.
And, if I remember correctly, Alaska Airlines flies B737's onto gravel strips every day, and I'm quite sure they're pretty short.

Next arguement.

There are two kinds of airplanes, fighters and targets.