Now thats good to hear! Everyone loves Music Majors...med schools, law schools...and the Air Force! I have a very procedural lifestyle, and great attention to detail, but memorization is my strongest attribute. Im the only person I know of that has memorized every movement of every Mozart Symphony, Concerto, and Opera Tweetfaip, Id love to get some more information about the AF from you if possible. Could you PM me and maybe we can talk on the phone?
Jordan, Have you ever considered the Air National Guard? The way you get into a Guard unit is by sending out packages (resumes, transcript etc) to the units that you want to join that fly the kind of aircraft you want. They fly KC-10's KC-135's, C-5's, B1's, A-10s, F15s, F16s, C-130's and a few choppers. Just major in whatever you want (majors do not matter when it comes to getting selected for undergraduate pilot training, it's the GPA that they look at. Sounds like bs but it's true heh.) I'm going to go Guard and get into an F-16 unit hopefully. With the Guard, you only have to serve 2 years of full time. After 2 years you can do part time. Part time Guard flys 1 weekend a month, two weeks a year. At any time you can request to be put on active duty if the part time isn't giving you enough flying. Being in the Guard would allow you to pursue your civilian career also. Guard pilots fly more hours than air force guys, make more money and don't have to be moved around all over the place. You live at home and go to "work" when you have to fly at the base. It's a pretty good deal. Here are two good message boards that you can check out. http://www.studentpilot.net/cf/msgboard/messageresultsp.cfm?ds=studentpilot&msgforumid=10 http://www.dynamictruth.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?category=1 And here's a cool website with a bunch of info. http://www.baseops.net
ANG is also a more relaxed and laid back environment. You get more flight hours than active duty AF, which is a good thing. I'd look into it. I like the ability to pick what units I want to apply to based on what I would be flying. In the Air Force, only the top 10% or 25% of the class gets their first choice on their aircraft "dream sheet" of what they want to fly. With the Guard, if you're accepted into the unit and go to pilot training, you will be flying their equipment.
If you're not yet a junior in college, you might want to look into walking onto a ROTC program. I had a full ride from the Navy to do ROTC, but decided to DOR using the 1-year out option. I intend to pursue going to law school, and THEN go back into the military as a JAG (hopefully staying Navy, as that is what I am familiar with). The nice thing about ROTC is you get a *little* taste for what it will be like in the military. Some like it, some don't. Best of luck. -Jason
(Humor) Seems the cops around here will try ANYTHING to catch me. The REAL problem is once the Valentine 1 Laser Detector goes off showing Laser Lock, i had better brace for impact. Damn, i need an emergency ejector seat on the 308!
Yeah but youd'd be in the ANG. If i'm going to do something i want to do it right. This is why i want to be a naval aviator. MAybe i'll ***** out and try to join the ang, but doubtfull. Also, from what i hear its very hard to get into a ANG fighter squadron because ex-fighter pilots get those jobs.
what's wrong with the ANG? hope you're kidding about that, esp with everything they've done for our country the last few years. i don't see joining the ANG as pussing out or whatever you are calling it.
I have nothing wrong with the ANG. I joke about them sometimes, as do alot of people. Some west point cadets i was talking to once commented on how dates some equipment was because the nat'l guard used it too, i think we were talking about some type of helicopter, iirc. but you have to admit there is a difference between the ANG and the marines. Its not easy to join either one but the marines has a reputaion of being very difficult to join. Im sorry if i offended you, as it wasnt intended. But isnt it hard to get a unit to sponsor you to go to flight school, especially a fighter unit? I thought they preferred guys with prior service.
Tim, FWIW, the experience of the average ANG pilot is much higher than any active duty unit (AF, Navy, or Marine). If I were doing it over, the ANG would be the way to go. Eric
That flyby is actually fully authorized and resulted in no grounding. Its part of the "at sea" F-14 Demo done by the legendary Dale "Snort" Snodgrass.
Tim, The ANG has an advantage in that: they can be very selective in whom they send to pilot training, they have stable leadership, and they don't move every three years. All of this results in great unit cohesion and very, very high experience levels. They are able to cherry pick whom they want from among pilots leaving active duty, and for a "home grown" new guy, give them the benefit of years of experience and continuity in how they do things. The disatvantages are how political it can be (ie. Geo. Bush). Perhaps in times past the ANG flew older equiptment, but for the most part they have current stuff now. They also are really not weekend warriors, they deploy everywhere. If you want to travel and move frequently the guard is probably not for you. But if you want stability, it would be pretty good. Eric
I was driving by one of the local airports and spotted this 747 sitting in storage. This is not a joke this is a official airline out of Thailand.
This happened at an air show in Idaho. The pilot calculated the ground elevation of the airbase incorrectly and when he finished a roll after takeoff, there was the ground in front of him. Here's a report including 2 videos, one from the pilot's point of view. http://www.f-16.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=842&mode=thread
There is a constant stream of trucks going back and forth. Plus even if you were to jump over the fence and get into the cockpit, It is doubtfull that you would be able to fire one up and fly off since most of them the motors have been pulled out along with fluids drained. Most of the aircraft there are in storage till the airline industry turns around, Or to be converted into freighters for UPS and Fed EX.
Here's a couple from last year. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
If I have overstepped the rules by posting these, even with the copyright included, I apologize. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
