Aviation BS and Photo Thread

Uh oh we got a Jayhawk guy here?

 

Yea!

Fly 60!

 

At first glance I read that as get out of the Tupperware.

 

One of our Chiefs was the same. Every time we had a Jayhawk on board he raved about it being a real helo etc. Dolphin would show up hed turn his nose up at it.

 

and if i were the pilot/crew of the Augusta Westland CH-149 in my signature, i'd be laughing at the pissing contest going on. That said being a ground SAR person working under the helicopter, there are times much prefer working under a smaller helicopter. That CH-149 has a 100mph downwash!

 

Kids. Can you identify my avatar. I was stationed at Eglin when the 60 & 64 were undergoing testing in the climatic hanger.

 

.
...^^^... The US military is an awesome place to get your fixed wing and/or rotary instructions (getting both is an added plus).
Great MOS you have and congratulations on being in the SAR business.

My buddy has a son at the US Air Force Academy and is getting a pilot's slot.
The savings on an excellent university degree coupled with flight instructions is phenomenal.

I am curious what a fixed wing military license costs Uncle Sam today? I know that it will differ greatly on type of aircraft and hours necessary to become experienced to a basic level.

I have a friend who teaches rotary at Ft. Rucker and he mentioned the massive amounts of money lost when a foreign pilot in training "jumps ship" and stays in US or goes to Canada and does not go home.

 

HH-43

 

As you mentioned, it depends on the platform but the military is now using the T6 Texan II as a trainer which is fairly pricy. I’m not sure how my training bill was divided up but upon graduation from flight training with dual ratings they quote a $1 million investment in each pilot. This was 8 years ago.

 

KAMAN HH-43 Huskie
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaman_HH-43_Huskie

 

And how is it related to The Gambler's Special...?

 

You may be interested in my son-in-law's experience so far. He and my daughter live in Kendall, FL. and he flies out of Tamiami Executive Airport (KTMB). They moved to Miami specifically for him to do his flight training there. He started in 2019 at Pilot Training Center, one of several flying schools at the airport. He's 26, and a Colombian National, and part of his struggle early on was getting his permanent residence card. He flies at least twice a week, sometimes as much as four times a week. He built a simulator to use at home so he could practice when he's not actually in the air. To date, he has 310 hours total flight time. He has received his private, instrument, and commercial licenses and ratings, and all he needs to complete his CFI is the exam and check ride. He got his spin endorsement and high performance aircraft endorsement this past week, said it was the most fun he's had so far. He got his spin training in a GameBird aerobatic plane.

So, two and a half years and about $30K to get where he is now. Once he gets the CFI, he'll be able to make money while building his time, rather than spending it. His next steps are CFII and AME (multi-engine) and AMEI. Then it's ATP and type-rating. The biggest hold-back to building time before getting the CFI is instructor availability; it was a bit easier for his CFI training. The airlines require 1500 hours minimum total flight time to be eligible for hire, and prefer a college degree (depends on the airline, but many are requiring it to fly left seat). The degree doesn't have to be aviation-related, but it's a plus.

They've been tired of Miami lifestyle for a while, so he and my daughter are planning to move to Kannapolis/Concord, NC area, where there is a fairly thriving GA community, quite a few GA airports and some opportunities for corporate flying, too. Charlotte/Douglas International (CLT) is about 20 minutes down the road, where there is a USAir/American hub. He plans to continue his flight education there in the Concord area. They chose the area partly because it's only an hour from where I live, where my daughter grew up.

 

Between all the NASCAR and the few NHRA race teams in that area now and the BOOM of Financial and Corp business relocating there now should be a win for a pilot.

 

I play war thunder. Does that count ?

 

A350 passing 1000 below.

 

Commuting to work by plane has been going well. It doesn’t save me any time over driving but I do get to avoid the headache of traffic and I get to log an extra .5 on every end of a work trip. Gotta get those logbook numbers up!

 

So, do they charge you hangar fees or just take it out of your check?

 

I miss the MD88
Quick to speed up , hard to slow down
No need to square up a turn
bus tie breaker relays , with attendant chime
https://youtu.be/2nJ6ljy_3sQ

 

None of the above. I usually park it on the ramp but every now and then one of the line guys will put it in the hangar for me just to be nice

 

The odds of one actually landing a job with a race team are not great. I remember back in college in the early 2000s when the race teams flight departments were way bigger than they are now (think 5-6 king air 200s carting people around, as opposed to 2 regional jets like they have now, or outsourcing to airline/large group charter companies) the pilots would just laugh at us when we asked about the likelihood of landing a job with them after flight school. Basically you have to know someone high up in the teams REALLY well to even land an interview.