Hacker15e
Who am I? Where are my pants?
Except for the fact that one can continue to operate with lots of battle damage, and the other one....not so much.
Long live the Viper...
- Thread starter HumbleSiPilot77
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Except for the fact that one can continue to operate with lots of battle damage, and the other one....not so much.
etflies
Keeping calm, Chiving on.
My stepdad used to work on F-16s as a civilian working for GE. What amazed me most about the thing was when the motor was taken out of it, half the airplane was gone. That airplane is basically an engine with wings and a cockpit attached to it.
Of course, while I was growing up he worked at Miramar in the days of the F-14. Being able to go in and see F-14s up close, and even sit in the cockpit from time to time, was amazing as a 10 year old. All hail the F-14! I still remember the distinctive smell of the JP-5(?). And the sound...oh man...
Looking at my career so far, the only disappointment I have is not being able to fly fighters.
I remember the Fightertown days before the Navy left. I always knew when Tomcats were going flying because the ground would shake when they launched. Sure enough, not long after I'd look up and see the distinctive delta shape going overhead as they headed east for the desert.
///AMG
Well-Known Member
The Lakee departure (the one that goes towards the east) out of Miramar was no joke. You basically had to stay in blower with the nose low until you hit 4 bills, along with a really aggressive low altitude turn to cut inside leads ground track if you were ever going to get joined prior to crossing Julian........if it took you longer than that, you sucked, and the goal for me was always to be joined up as they cleared us eastward. Problem there being the bat turn to stay east of 805 (or the MZB 360 radial) coupled with the climb basically unrestricted up into the low teens. Makes for a slow join if you don't grab a bag of knots right off the bat and hold onto them, and work the geometry early. I'm sure the Tomcat guys had a similar technique, as I remember watching them there as a kid and being impressed by the same stuff.
dasleben
That's just, like, your opinion, man
I think it's all perspective, though. I recall taxiing out at an airbase one day, past 4-5 F-15s getting ready to launch. The pilots actually stopped what they were doing and filmed us taxiing by. I have another friend who's in the U2 program at Beale; he loves the idea of flying big jets, and he asks me lots of questions about it. Meanwhile, I'm ridiculously envious of his time in the "Dragon Lady."
bunk22
Well-Known Member
What do you fly? I too was bummed years ago when I selected E2/C2 out of primary. Had the grades but there were 2 slots needed and I fell into the mix. Sometimes success is doing what you have to do vice what you want to do. I got to fly jets in training, now as an IP and did well enough back then that I knew if I were in advanced strike I'd probably make the cut. But you get busy in doing what you have to do and after living the life of a cargo pilot living on the beach, drinking, partying and just visiting the carrier, it becomes a good time, a good life. I had goals to switch over but opted not to. I sometimes regret it too but at the end of the day, I had a damn good time
And yes, still would love to fly the Viper!
etflies
Keeping calm, Chiving on.
Yeehaw, I bet 805 comes up pretty damn fast when your coming out of Miramar. Sounds like fun too though, problem solving and lots of power. Every now and then I'll see a pair of Bugs go over with a couple others that appear to be catching up, all headed east. Julian wouldn't be too far east of my neighborhood flying-wise so maybe they are doing what you're describing.
<-- chalk up another dude who wishes he had the chance to drive something pointy nosed.
Hacker15e
Who am I? Where are my pants?
I have a big case of SJS myself.
Interesting, though -- not that many military pilots are really interested in aviation. They like flying, and they certainly love their jobs, but most of them (us) find civilian aviation pretty boring. Most military guys who want to go to the airlines still think it's Catch Me If You Can or what they read in Skygods.
bunk22
Well-Known Member
Agreed. It's tough when I think of civilian flying as it seemingly bores me to death. I wouldn't mind learning to fly a Pitts Special 2B though, just to have fun on the weekends though. I would like to fly FedEx or Southwest as the money is pretty good, lets me do other hobbies.
///AMG
Well-Known Member
I always liked going east......if heading to the Yuma ranges or the Choc Mtns, you normally had a good 15 mins or so to just relax and enjoy the view before things started getting real busy/tactical. Going west was easier for the join up, but things happened a lot faster, and you had to deal with Beaver control and their resident Simple Jack who would continuously do long test counts on guard for no reason whatsoever for like 10 minutes at a time. I think my favorite was the R2508/saline valley area. Awesome range, pretty much the wild west, and you always got to do some cool sightseeing transiting over Los Angeles and past Palmdale and Edwards. Also saw my first F-35 up there
etflies
Keeping calm, Chiving on.
I always liked going east......if heading to the Yuma ranges or the Choc Mtns, you normally had a good 15 mins or so to just relax and enjoy the view before things started getting real busy/tactical. Going west was easier for the join up, but things happened a lot faster, and you had to deal with Beaver control and their resident Simple Jack who would continuously do long test counts on guard for no reason whatsoever for like 10 minutes at a time. I think my favorite was the R2508/saline valley area. Awesome range, pretty much the wild west, and you always got to do some cool sightseeing transiting over Los Angeles and past Palmdale and Edwards. Also saw my first F-35 up there
Now yer jus' showin off!
🦈💜
All dragon~
Many civilian pilots are the same way. :|
Acro keeps me happy, and the impossible dream of someday being an airtanker pilot or flying warbirds keeps me pointed in the right direction ... but "Yesterday I flew an ILS down to minimums and broke out just before going missed!" is not my raison d'être.
Unfortunately, the military isn't available to everyone, and the options for tactical flying outside of the military are ... well, basically nonexistent.
So I wouldn't worry too much about the fact that military pilots find civil aviation pretty boring.
Just wait until we reach the "cockpit of the future" day. You know, the dog and pilot one.
~Fox
Agree. Thats why I had to go do something interesting and unusual when I left, like flying UH-1H Vietnam era Hueys now. Because I couldn't at all see myself in the right seat of a 121 operation. Too slow paced and overall boring to me.....the highlight of my day being an instrument approach; whereas in a fighter, instrument work and approaches were simply some third-rate thing we had to do in order to do to get through the WX and do the actual job of employing the jet as a weapons system.
For others though, 121 flying is what they like or its the best flying they'd ever done. For me, the F-117 was the top of the mountain jets-wise; anything civilian jet flying was simply lesser interest, lesser worthiness, and completely uninteresting. It's all perspective.....no one is more right or more wrong than anyone else.
dasleben
That's just, like, your opinion, man
What do you fly? I too was bummed years ago when I selected E2/C2 out of primary. Had the grades but there were 2 slots needed and I fell into the mix. Sometimes success is doing what you have to do vice what you want to do. I got to fly jets in training, now as an IP and did well enough back then that I knew if I were in advanced strike I'd probably make the cut. But you get busy in doing what you have to do and after living the life of a cargo pilot living on the beach, drinking, partying and just visiting the carrier, it becomes a good time, a good life. I had goals to switch over but opted not to. I sometimes regret it too but at the end of the day, I had a damn good time
I'm a civilian, flying the 767. I'm not crying in my beer about not being able to fly fighters, but having grown up around Tomcats, that was my original goal in aviation. Of course, genetics played a big part in all of that, and I inherited 20/400 uncorrected vision. In fact, I wasn't even sure I could be a civilian pilot for a good while (I know Delta had a 20/100 or 20/200 uncorrected limitation for a while; not sure who else). No big deal!
Actually I'm probably most envious of MikeD. Always loved that A-10.
///AMG
Well-Known Member
I enjoy all kinds of aviation, and I hope to keep flying after the military gig is up, whenever that may be. I agree with Mike, that something a little more unusual and/or exciting appeals to me, but that isn't to say that I don't find big transport cat aircraft awesome in their own way. That being said, I do dream of getting involved in the jet warbird world. I don't know how, or where, but I'd like to get my hands dirty. Flying would be cool, but I'm sure that would be thousands of more jet hours down the road, when I'm an asset rather than a liability (ie when I'd actually qualify for their unique mins). For now, I'd happily be a grease monkey/waterboy during my weekend spare time if it got me in and around a MIG/T-33/Hunter/etc.
///AMG
Well-Known Member
I think the 757/767 family (if they are indeed a family) are my favorite big jets. Such nice lines, and long legs
jtrain609
Antisocial Monster
I don't know if I'm typical in this regard, but I've come to really appreciate boredom as I've come closer to being 40 years old, and not 20 years old. There was a time in my life where I'd completely agree with you, and complain about how boring the job was.
But now boring means safe, and safe means I come home to my wife and soon, our daughter. Flying airplanes is fun, and I enjoy what I do, but it gives me the time off and the paycheck to do what I want when I'm not at work.
Frankly I've found the best part about the airline is that you fly with some really interesting people that do some really, really interesting things on the days off.
///AMG
Well-Known Member
Flying 767's would be sweet I think...I might even want to try it one day, if someone will hire me
You and I both know that your landings are going to take a lot of work if you go that route
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