The choice of my life

[surplus1]

avbug,

Your analysis of the PR dialect made me grin from ear-to-ear. Right on target.

Yes, I did operate it some on the -377 (same airplane really). You're right about all you said including the museum part. Of course one might say the JT-8 belongs in the same place.

I have a lot of nostalgia for round engines. That one fascinates me because it was the biggest and I was always amazed by how that many moving parts could actually stay assembled for more than a few hours. Never had to change a jug myself but have watched many a real engineer do it. It generates interesting phraseology. My favorite is the R-2800. I seldom hear one anymore but can always recognize that sound when I do.

 

[flyerc90]

While it may take a little longer....I joined the USAF right out of high school. I did not fly, rather I turned wreches on -135s and E4's (747). Being a mechanic allowed me to get a very decent paycheck....which all went towards my licenses at the aero club, and even better...after your private, the GI Bill pays 60% of the rest of your flight training...and college is 75% paid for. In four years I got out with an AAS, and my CFI....which lined me up perfect to get hired at the university that I was to later finish my BS at.

 

[avbug]

Surplus,

I'd agree on the R2800, though my experience with that engine is mostly really only maintenance. It's probably the most highly refined radial built...the only other true advancement, and probably the zenith for radials, was the 3350.

I love radial engines. I had a choice this year between doing the turbine thnig and running radials, and radials probably would have been my choice. My assignment right now, temporary as it may be, is in a single engine airplane, though, and there's something to be said about having a turbine out there when you're looking at the business end of a box canyon. It's reliable, smooth, quiet, leaves you feeling fresh and oil free, and it's politically correct, but has no character.

Then again, I haven't spent a single night in a rainstorm changing a jug this year, either. There's something to be said for that. Like most things in retrospect, the good old days were good, but at the time, they weren't always so hot.

If I had the bucks, I'd go buy a T-6.

 

[jgore]

flyerc90

Very interesting your point.
But, can foreing students do the same you did ?.
I was told that if you join the USAF for flying, they wont let you go that easy to the airlines. Say, you have to be with them many years before you can leave.
Anyways, i'm still hearing (reading) every single word you guys tell me.
Thanks to all, i really appreciate it.

jgore

 

[surplus1]

avbug,

I don't know if you can sell me an anything made by those Wright people. Douglas ruined a perfect airplane when they put that thing on a -6 and called it a -7. In the 1049 I could never seem to keep the PRT from overheating and giving up. Guess you can see 3350s aren't my favorite thing in life.

Have never done what you're doing now. It seems interesting and very challenging. Not to mention worthwhile. I agree completely that you can't beat the reliability of the turbine. I doubt I'd want to do what you do with any single engine, but certainly less pucker factor with a kerosene burner.

Never did the maintenance thing. Just lots of watching and admiring those who did. I learned quite a bit and also got losts of support on the line from those who knew I watched. Times are different now.

Sometimes I miss the "good old days", but overall the newer days were better. No regrets either way. It's been a blast and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Take care.

PS. If you get the bucks, skip the Texan and get something with a Merlin up front (as in -51). It ain't round but it's close to music.

 

[skiddriver]

jgore,

I'm afraid you may have been led astray on the issue of joining the US military.

First you need to be a commisioned officer to fly for the US Air Force/Navy/Marine Corps/Coast Guard. You have to be at least a Warrant Officer to fly for the US Army.

As a foreign national (here in the US), you will probably only be able to join the US military as an enlisted man. Commisioned Officer candidates have to be: (1) US citizens, or (2) have applied for or been granted permanent residency in the US, or (3) have served as an enlisted man and have met some pretty stringent security requirements. I believe the requirements to join the Army as a Warrant Officer are the same.

Your ability to join the US military as an enlisted man and what you can do if you can join, will largely center around your ability to be granted a security clearance. As a foreign national new to the country, it will take a while to get any kind of clearance.

Under certain special programs, some foreign nationals have been directly enlisted into the US military from overseas, but I don't think any of them would apply to you. I think you have to be able to legally reside in the US before you enlist. A tourist or student visa won't be sufficient.

Good luck, sorry to be the bearer of bad news.