Fighters or Heavy's?

[HueyPilot]

...and an attitude is an attitude...

The 'Fighter pilots are cool and everyone else sucks' thing is exactly why I didn't go T-38's when I had the chance. I'm pretty low-key, and I certainly don't like people who are self-promoters.

Next subject...my wife is a blonde, thank you very much...and I enjoy her perfume regularly.

Thanks for tossing the odd bush pilot example in there....I was talking about AIRLINE pilots, not humanitarian flights in Africa. Flying a 737 into a gravel strip requires a special cert, just like it does for any other heavy pilot. It's still challenging, airframe type notwithstanding. The simple fact is that most people who choose the -130 community do so because they like the mission. There are a few that are there because they were 'stuck' there, but most want to be there. I've got several friends who are civilian-trained airline pilots, and none of them have ever gotten to fly a low-level, much less any of the other stuff I posted.

To be completely honest, I never WANTED to fly a fighter. I'm not all that interested in the air-to-air mission, and dropping bombs doesn't have the same appeal to me as it might to someone else. I've done the tactical side of things flying for the Army...dealing with calling in artillery, learning threats and aircraft survivability equipment. It was fun, but I hated flying around the flagpole all the time.

My advice to anyone trying to decide what to do....Just do what you want to do. Don't let someone drag you into something because they say 'it's cool' or because you think you'll get more dates on Friday night. If it takes flying a fighter to get a date, then that's saying something right there. Flying fighters is challenging....I won't lie and say it isnt'. But flying Herks can be just as challenging. Hell, the hardest aircraft I ever flew was a Bell JetRanger. It was harder to fly than anything else I've ever flown, even the T-38 sim. And it only cruised at 100 knots. But try landing with a stiff quartering tailwind, and you'll have your hands full.

 

[av8instyle]

Whose attitude?

The 'Fighter pilots are cool and everyone else sucks' thing is exactly why I didn't go T-38's when I had the chance. I'm pretty low-key, and I certainly don't like people who are self-promoters. To be completely honest, I never WANTED to fly a fighter

Sure, you and everyone else that chose helos over fighters. Hey, if you actually wanted helos good on ya. I personally would love to fly helos, more so than heavies, and I know they're a challenging type of flying. But I gotta be honest, I've yet to meet a heavy/helo pilot that didn't get a choice of fighters. For some reason EVERY heavy/helo pilot turned down fighters for their respective airframe. Hmmm.

my wife is a blonde, thank you very much...and I enjoy her perfume regularly

Good on ya.

Thanks for tossing the odd bush pilot example in there....I was talking about AIRLINE pilots, not humanitarian flights in Africa

I too was talking about AIRLINE pilots, not humanitarian flights in Africa. And there's gonna be a lot of "non-airline" pilots that read this post that might just take offense to your comment. They ARE AIRLINE pilots, and deserve such credit. Believe me, they earn their money!

The simple fact is that most people who choose the -130 community do so because they like the mission.

I agree. Had I not been able to go Fighters I also would have elected to go 130/Helos. However, this is a Fighter vs. Heavy board, not Fighters vs. C-130's. And correct me if I'm wrong, but I do believe you called the others "boring".

Don't let someone drag you into something because they say 'it's cool' or because you think you'll get more dates on Friday night.

I wouldn't "drag" anyone into a fighter. Flying 500 knots at 500 feet while carrying a six pack of GBU-12's, and six missiles aimed at a four ship of Archer/Alamo carrying Mig-29's into SAM entrenched Baghdad, all while trying to maintain visual formation with your three flight members, work your air-to-air radar, and acquire your target either visually, or with the targeting pod, designate the target, and put bombs on it, while you dodge telephone poles, and triple A, is not something I would want to do with someone who didn't want to be there. Was that a run on sentence?

Hell, the hardest aircraft I ever flew was a Bell JetRanger. It was harder to fly than anything else I've ever flown, even the T-38 sim.

You know what, flying fighters IS cool. But that's not why we do it. I too have some good varied experience. I have flown for the commuters, in the Alaskan bush, and for a Major. And without a doubt, the most challenging flying I have done is in the F-16. I'm sure you liked the T-38 sim. But flying the T-38 is nothing more than flying a swept wing Tweet, and I know from your profile that you've flown that. The T-38 is a simple airplane. It is very basic. The thing that makes it intimidating is that it looks fast (which it is), and it looks like a fighter (which it is not).
Like I said before, UPT (T-38) is nothing like the RTU for the Fighter. Completely different world.

There are a lot of helo and C-130 civilian operators that do some pretty interesting jobs. Don't discount all civilian flying as boring without all the facts. I guarantee you outside of the military you will NOT fly an F-14, 15, 16, 18, or A-10.

My intent was not to slam heavy drivers, hell I drive one for the airlines. I said it once and I'll say it again: If you have any desire to fly fighters and you're going into UPT, THIS IS YOUR ONE SHOT PERIOD

 

[HueyPilot]

C-130s rule

I never intended to slam fighters or fighter pilots. They do what they do very well, and I'll be the first to say that it is indeed a demanding job. And to be honest with ya, if the USAF would let me take an F-15 or F-16 and just do what I want with it, I'd jump on it. But, they won't.

As for the whole T-38 thing, I had my chance to select fighters, but I turned it down. T-38s was third on my dream sheet behind T-1s and T-44s. I knew I wanted a C-130, but I also wanted to fly the C-21 to get some more jet time and upgrade faster. So that's why I wound up with a C-21 with a tactical airlift follow-on. My Tweet flight commander sat down with me and asked me if I really wanted to go heavy (he was one of those ex-heavy pilots that really wanted to fly fighters), and he was concerned that I was passing up an opportunity. Actually, I was passing up HIS idea of an opportunity, sort of like the parent trying to live vicariously through their kids thing.

In the end, I felt good about my decision, because I got what I wanted, and a couple friends got T-38s that they otherwise wouldn't have (there were a couple of us that put heavies first when we could have gone fighter/bomber). Both of those guys are loving their new lives as a B-1 pilot and a Tweet FAIP with a fighter follow-on. I'm perfectly happy with what I'm doing, and the other dude who could have gone Talons is now happy flying C-17s.

Most (not all) of the guys I know that flew for the Army wanted to fly heavies. I'm not certain what their reasons were, but many came from a crewed helicopter and wanted to fly a crewed airplane. I guess it's just a world that we knew well and didn't want to leave. I'm perfectly comfortable in my decisions, and I honestly wouldn't have done it any other way.

But I'd have to agree with you on one count....if anyone wants to fly a fighter, the military is your only shot at it. As for flying Herk style, you're also right....you may be able to do that on the outside, but it's highly unlikely that you'll be wearing a United Airlines uniform while doing it. Personally, my greatest attraction to the Herk is still being close to the tip of the spear, and anytime CNN is covering some world event, you know that there's a Herk involved to some extent. Plus, I've always been a sucker for the underdog...and being a slow prop-powered crate that flies like a garbage truck (but lasts like a workhorse) has to be one of the all-time underdogs of the 21st Century USAF.