Hey everyone, I know its been a long time since I've talked to all of you. I'm sorry I lost touch...between the flying and courses in college, it got busier than I thought. Hope everyone's been doing well in the last few months, I see there are still alot of familiar names here. I miss flying with you guys, wish I had more time to do it.
Right now I'm packing my bags and getting my uniforms ready for USAF Field Training. I enlisted (by scholarship contract) in September, and on the 13th of May I head out to Tyndall AFB for 4 weeks. Turns out there's a 65% chance of getting a T-38 ride at the end of training too! This fall I'll be putting in my application for a pilot training slot, and the results will be in by April next year.
Well...picking a jet is a long 3-4 years away, but right now I'd go for the F-16 or the F-15C (or the F-22 of course, if it was offered for UPT grads). From there, the F-15E or the A-10.
You have come a long way in your training, and now already looking into the Air Force. Awesome man! I hope you get what you want, just don't forget about us, mmmk?
Take care and good luck.
"SILENCE, I KILL YOU!!" - Achmed the Dead Terrorist
AKA: Staark or Staark_RLG
Kami,
I see you looking at all these jets, and you haven't mentioned the F-35. Any particular reason for that? Apart from the obvious - the QM's dept aren't letting anyone sign for one yet reason?! :roll:
Surely it must rank as a high on a wishlist given that it's a latest generation aircraft, not forgetting the scope being offered by the adoption of the aircraft by the various "airforces" including US Navy - that alone must provide potential for cross-training and such.
Anyway, best of luck with it all, I am certainly envious of you.
The way things are going, the F-35 definately doesn't look like an option for UPT grads by the time I get through the system. Heck, I'm not even sure if the -22 will be an option for me.
I dunno, just never been a fan of the -35. Not sure why, but it has just never appealed to me.
I feel the same way about the -35, just too modern. I prefer the feel (and looks) of older birds. I suppose there's less of a sense of pilot control in these latest aircraft, too much automation.
"...and the bombs go BOOM and the walls crash down, bang, bang, boom, boom, war is a terrible thing, OK?!..."
Well, I can certainly understand your preference - each to his own as they say. Given the opportunity, I'd have to say my prefs lie with jets to begin with. And as far as individual aircraft are concerned I'd have to say the Typhoon is in my top 3. others would have to be the F-35 (as it is now known, but obviously the VSTOL version - being a great fan of the Harrier), the French Rafale, the Sukhoi SU-47. Wouldn't mind seeing all these in Falcon 4 SP4 - well maybe that'll be a while yet, eh?!
As far as is known there will be no further upgrade - other than anything anyone can get permission to add to SP4, or any additional add-ons from 3rd parties such as maybe new cockpits etc.,
There was a proposed Falcon 4 Operation Infinite Resolve, but as far as we all know that's been canned - having said that I have seen it advertised for sale in a recent PC magazine here in the UK. Further to all of this, Falcon V seems to have been given the boot as well by the company who took over the rights of the source code. Finally, the very same company have promised a "replacement" sim for Falcon 4 which will be the ultimate in sims - so I guess round about 2006 we'll maybe see something worth looking at . And if takeovers are anything to go by I'd say that's the end of the line for it all, especially if you take a look at the demise of Commodore and the Amiga!!! :roll:
On a rather random note, F/A-18 Korea, I tried it on 4 different computers, with different graphics cards, and on full detail, the quality couldn't have been poorer. The entire peninsula was 1 shade of green, nothing like on the back of the box. Just me again?
"...and the bombs go BOOM and the walls crash down, bang, bang, boom, boom, war is a terrible thing, OK?!..."
I can't see how you could choose a plane that's not even flown yet. The F-35 is approaching its first flight date, but it's still a ways off. The X-35s are the ones that flew, and they're not the same, just like the YF-22 differed from the F-22A.
To get into the F-35, I'd think flying the F-16 or A-10 will get you in by default when the squadrons flying them transition, but that's still a good 10 years away.
I got some pics of the X-35B, BTW, at the NASM in D.C. this weekend. I was surprised to see it there!
I know the F-35 as such is still awaiting first flight as the F-35, as opposed to the X35 variants under evaluation - but by the time Kami gets anywhere near flying that grade of aircraft, they should be looking for guys with his level of flight experience coupled with youth to cross-train into that aircraft - cause let's be honest they won't be giving slots out to bloody rookies will they?! Not even with a hundred hours or so simulator specific training. And, as we military types know - there's nothing quite like a new piece of equipment / job spec to kick your career forward at the right time.
I can see your point with the F-16 / A-10 squadrons being potential default slots should they transition. But will they also maybe choose to reduce the number of squadrons with the - We need fewer aircraft for this sort of mission now that we have a superior technological edge - bullshit mission evaluation statement?! We seem to all fall into that category each time we do this equipment transition, no matter whether it's airforce, army or navy.
After the cold war, we Brits were probably the most guilty of all NATO forces with that crap - and look where it's brought us? We can't even carryout the missions we have properly never mind any new ones they find for us! Technology is great, so much more so when it provides the edge over the enemy. However without the trained experienced manpower to operate it correctly (and that includes sufficient manpower to rotate out of theatre - cos we are human and need respite from the rigours of war ocaisionally!) all that hi-tech equipment is useless.
The X35B at NASM? You know I read something about that a few weeks ago somewhere, maybe someone mentioned it on here, was it maybe Gator said something - I can't honestly remember now. Anyway, did you manage to get up close? And if so, get any shots of the cockpit interior and the likes? Let us know - get the shots on the forum if you can. By the way, did that look like being a permanent display?
Well, the X-35B is on the ground floor, and so are you. That means you can see the HUD and the top of the seat from the outside, that's it.
There was a catwalk up high, but it was kinda far from there. Also, the lighting in there isn't good at all. Spotlights with no floodlights means pics get a washed out area next to a dark area just on one wing! That said, I got more out of the video camera which has far better zoom than the still camera, plus digital stabilization so you can see what it is at 300x+ zoom (the camera goes to 700x!) The still cam is like 6x I think.
Anyway, if I can get the blasted thing into AVI or MPG form I'll post them up.
This fall I'll be putting in my application for a pilot training slot, and the results will be in by April next year.
