UAV's for UPT Grads

[satpak77]

just a comment from a non mil guy, but I personally would have preferred C17, KC10, or KC135 airframes due to amount of flying and international travel.

Its not a F-16, I admit, but I dont see why more young guys dont see that the whole world does not revolve around flying a single seat fighter

 

[AvroGuy]

just a comment from a non mil guy, but I personally would have preferred C17, KC10, or KC135 airframes due to amount of flying and international travel.

Its not a F-16, I admit, but I dont see why more young guys dont see that the whole world does not revolve around flying a single seat fighter

That is because you are a civillian looking in...The fighter is where it is at for most. Now when you were a kid, you never dreamed of being a fighter pilot? Most kids have and still do. Once in the fighter track, you are tought/brainwashed that nothing else will due. When in reallity sometime heavies are better. You don't dropp bombs for the vast majority of heavies but you do go different places if you are in a C or K. If you are in an E, well you see a lot of the same place.

 

[tomgoodman]

Assignment follies

And everyone feared Helos at UPT when I was there.

A B-52 was the designated bogeyman used to scare students when I was in UPT. Eventually, SAC complained about getting all the low-ranking graduates, so MPC created a special "mini-drop" of assorted (non-fighter) assignments for the bottom 10%. That allegedly caused some guys to "shoot for the bottom" and maybe get, say, a C-141. Then MPC turned it all over to a computer, and who knows how they'll do it next?

 

[BeeVee]

Nice C-141 jab.....:laugh:
Looks like you ended up with an EC-135 out of UPT. (you really kicked a$$....)
I ended up with over 2000 hours in the "tube of pain"....enjoyed every minute of it. Airdrop, Air Refueling, Worldwide Airlift, Deep Freeze,...what an airframe!

 

[tankerswede]

Does anyone else think it is beyond a tremendous waste of money to send someone through the UPT program to develop skills that are largely unnecessary in the UAV world, then send them to UAV world?

I knew a few navs who went from tankers to UAVs back in the late 90's. I asked one if his civilian certificate (Comm/Inst) that he was required to have was also what would be subject to enforcement action if a violation occurred. Never did get a straight answer on that one...

 

[Tweetdrvr]

Suuuuuuuuuuucks..............seems there should be better ways to handle this problem.

Well said. You would think all the old guys would line up to fight the fight via data link from Creech and not deploy. Let the young guys still full of pi$$ and vinegar fly airplanes from the first person and get the SA to later do it via data link, run 4 radios and answer the honey do phone calls from the spouse on what to pick up at the BX on the way home.

But then again, we are the service who just paid pilots to get out while we tried to sell people for F-22s.

 

[satpak77]

again, a civilian guy looking in, why not contract out UAV flying to Lockheed, etc etc et al ? It's not like the contractors are "taking pilot jobs" or anything like that.

 

[CWGrizwald]

Contractors

Can't work a contractor like a military person. Contractors have contracts that say how much they will work for, how many hours a day they will work so on and so forth. But more importantly, UAVs now drop and shoot things that kill people which would then make a contractor a mercenary whereas a military person is covered by and has to abide by the USMJ and laws of armed conflict. At least that's why I think you can't contract out all of the UAV flying. That being said, there are many contractors in the UAV world as instructors, mechanics and other assorted jobs.

 

[puck_11]

I didn't even think of the commitment factor, is it 10 from wings for the AF? That would suck, they should ammend their flight contracts to four years max if thats what they select. Maybe they should take the guys that attrite out of flight school due to airsickness and let them be UAV guys. I know the Navy has their fair share.

 

[viper548]

Give the UAV's to the enlisted guys