bearmech

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spent over 10 years maintaining travel airs and barons among others. its hard to miss that cowling!

GrnBrt

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So why did you turn off one of the air conditioning fans???

JohnVH

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For FUN

Here you go Art! Mt Ranier on monday

TailDraggin

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Ahh yes. The inter-service jibes game...

Grampaw...

My
Assets
Ride
In
Navy
Equipment
Sir

Just kiddin' ya, Bro!

ex-Navy Corpsman, FMF Da Nang, '70-'71

Had a just-out-of-the-Air-Farce young dude workin' for me once. We went back and forth all the time. The one I remember best went....

"Well, the AF has stealth."

"Yeah? Let's see ya land it on a carrier!"

Seriously. I know of no higher calling for a young man to aspire to than to serve his country -- Whichever service he chooses, as long as he does it to the very best of his ability!

evan-RCU

From 1991-1994 I was stationed at Pt Mugu where the UAV program for the NAVY is, the Marines are part of the NAVY, and I lived down the street in base quarters from the Gunny that was in charge of one part of the Pioneer Program there(there are a few different UAVs). As one of the more accomplished pilots in the area and working part time at the local hobby shop I was asked to come down and give them a try as an external pilot. It was interesting but I had no intention of trying out for the program after I leearned a little more about it. If accepted they send you to school to relearn how to fly R/C, you have to fly their way, thumb and index finger, you have to be very precise in that every take off, approach, and landing are graded and you don't choose what you'll fly. You could be back packing a powered glider to the front lines or launching and recovering a pioneer from the deck of a ship at sea. You only fly the plane for a few minutes and then it's handed over to the internal pilot that flys the mission. The only good thing was they got anything R/C related free so they could practice. Usually they had foam planes that were, I belive, modeled after Migs. My job as a Calibration Manager was much safer and more interesting and I was retiring in 1996 anyway. Anyway don't think that you'll get the transmitter and be able to just fly around, they are very strict on what you can do.

Ruralflyer

Been a while since I checked this. Homework comes first. Thanks for the support for me entering the military. I wouldn't stay a civilian with all of the opportunites in the military. Can't say that I'm entering just for R/C, im just a simple-minded parkflyer, but I would like to become an aeronautical engineer because I am one of the few teens that enjoys mathmatics (love calculus). I'm sure to fail at a pilot slot, but that won't stop me from trying my darndest!! World is a bit unfair for four eyed people (hope the free laser surgery in the force pans out).

*looks at post time*
Whoaaa!!! Coffee Buzzz!!!

Flyboy Dave

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....does the word "navigator" ring a bell....

TailDraggin

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Or flight engineer, or RIO, or EWO...

Lots of crew jobs don't require 20/20 uncorrected.

Best of luck to you whatever you decide, and thanks for choosing to serve!

Grampaw

Hey folks, I'm going to go somewhat "off thread" here. Taildraggin said he was a former FMF Corpsman who served in 'Nam. What that means is that he was a Navy Medic who served with FMF Marines in combat. FMF means Fleet Marine Force.

As a rule there is no love lost between Marines and Sailors, but a Navy Corpsman is a distinctly different breed of cat. He's in the Navy, but not quiet a sailor. He's also in the Marines, but not quiet a Marine. He is both, and a member of one of the most respected bunch of guys in the Naval Service, especially to all us Marines.

In Korea our Corpsman was killed by a Chinese machine gunner while dragging a wounded member of my squad to safety. We just didn't loose a Corpsman, we lost a member of our "family."

"Taildraggin" Today I hoist a glass of suds and say to you what I never got a chance to say to Doc Sutton in Korea, you're one of the greatest! Semper Fi !

GrnBrt

My Feedback: (5)

I agree with Grampaw here and I not only salute the Medics but those lovely Ladies in white, the Nurses. they saw the carnage of war everyday and held us together when we were injured. The medics in the Special forces went through a lot of training, something like 51 weeks worth and each and everyone of them were called Doc, and highly respected and 3 times I was fortunate enough to have one near by, so you guys that put your butts on the line for us who were wounded, I thank you and salute you for a job well done!!! :thumbup:

TailDraggin

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Welcome home, guys!
Here's to Doc Sutton, and to many others who gave it all. <clink>

bearmech

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HERE HERE<clink>

Ruralflyer

Yeah, I would enjoy being a wizo in the back seat of a F-15 but I'll just concentrate on getting into college right now and worry about what I'm going to do later.

MinotRich

One thing I've learned in 17 and 1/2 years in the Air Force is that "Everything is waiverable." So, I think those Hellfire missiles would be ok! Follow your dreams son, but remember, as mentioned before "the needs of the USAF come first" before you sign on the dotted line...

GrnBrt

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Better recheck your choice of planes as I believe the F-15 is a single seater and you just might be sitting on air brake, not a good place to be!

SgtMitchell

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there are some 15's that are 2 seaters. I had to pull some time in the air force myself.

Ruralflyer

yeah, the F-15E strike fighter is a two seater with a person in the back. Those I think are the most abundant F-15s, the F-15Cs are the dogfighters and the second most abundant I think........

bearmech

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RuralFlyer

When you get to a leadership position, and you will, remember "Mission, Men, and Me. Do that and you cannot fail as a military leader". That was the advice given to me by a young Lt. when I made Sgt. It served me will during my military career as well as in civilian life.
Good Luck
Good Flying

PS take full advantage of the educational opportunities available to you in the military!!

Ruralflyer

Yeah, ditto there, very good education.

david a

I see that this topic on UAV's has flushed out some old military dogs, so I may as well jump in with the pack. Compared to many of you old war dogs I'm just a pup as I enlisted only twenty-four years ago. Basic training, boot-camp or whichever your pleasure is something not many GI's forget, as it marked the beginning of the changing of their lives. Since no one here as given you this critical information yet Ruralflyer I will. When you get to BT, don't volunteer for anything and keep your mouth shut. Toward the end of my training my TI looked at me and asked, "Are you in my flight?" I wish you the same luck.

Ruralflyer

yeah, I know better than to take BT lightly from what I've heard, but Im sure it'll still suprise me. Basicly its supposed to stip down your sense of identity and freedom until you follow orders perfectly. Necessary, but still, extreme.

Though I have heard that some people enjoy BT cause they are in shape and enjoyed monkey bars and such in their childhoods.

david a

Air Force basic isn't physically demanding so don't concern yourself with that, just practice folding your underwear 6". This is where they separate the men from the boys.

Ruralflyer

thnx!!! I needed to know that, the more i know the better!

Shadow 200 TUAS PM

Hey Grampaw,

I'm a grandfather too, but not nearly as experienced as you. I read your blog while searching for some information on the original Marine Corps Pioneer companies/squadrons, and read that you said that the Marine Corps pioneered R/C drone use. Although I am proud of the Marine Corps, as an 18 1/2 year Marine myself (1974~1992, disability discharge), I have to point out that they did not pioneer the use as true, R/C-type drones. The Army was the first service to test/evaluate/acquire an RPV (remotely piloted vehicle) system. The reason for that is because the Marine Corps, being the only service operating on a shoestring budget, could not invest the amount of money required to conduct acquisition of new technology on their own. They rarely do and usually have to follow the lead of the Army. However, the Marine Corps, comprised of personnel who are masters at adapting and overcoming, always finds ways to make the best use of anything that the DoD or the Army acquires. The Aquila was one of the first systems in which the Army invested, and it proved to be a black hole for taxpayer money. The Pioneer was the first successful RPV (eventually UAV - Unmanned Aerial Vehicle), but the Army dropped it and moved on to the Hunter UAV system, a larger, dual propeller (push and pull), system with a much longer range. The Marine Corps made the Pioneer system work and, as they are always capable of doing, adapted it to become a very successful surveillance system. It also became a very strong psychological weapon against the Iraqis during Desert Storm (remember the famous incident where Iraqis had learned to associate the sound of the Pioneer flying over them with the Naval gunfire that followed about 2 minutes after the Pioneer arriving on the scene). A large group of Iraqis, upon seeing and hearing the approach of a Pioneer UAV, started to wave white pieces of cloth to signal their surrender. They knew that the Americans could see them through the optics in the payload and followed the aircraft to surrender to the American unit flying the system and were taken into custody. The DoD later used recordings of the obnoxious sound of the Pioneer in flight, broadcasting in Iraqi towns suspected of harboring insurgents, to keep them from conducting their operations. The sound of the Pioneer, at low altitudes, sounds like a neighbor's lawnmower at 5 o'clock on a Saturday morning. It can be very demoralizing when the first sounds are accompanied by huge earthquakes and the booming sounds of the blasts from 2000 pound naval ordnance.

For those who are interested in a career in Unmanned Aircraft Systems, the Air Force is trained by civilian contractors at Creech Air Force Base, in Nevada, to teach the Airmen to fly and maintain the Predator (and Reaper, an updated and larger version of the Predator). I am situated in Arizona at an Army Post in Arizona (southeast corner), Ft. Huachuca, as a Program Manager of part of the government contract to provide training for the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps on the Hunter UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System), Shadow TUAS (Tactical UAS), and, in a few more months, the Sky Warrior-A UAS. Next year, we expect to provide training on the Fire Scout VTOL (vertical take-off and land - basically an unmanned helicopter) system.

The Unmanned Aircraft Training Systems Battalion continues to grow and is comprised of contracted civilian instructors. The pre-requisites for an instructor candidate vary frequently, depending on the urgency of need for instructors. Currently, the requirements are that the system maintenance personnel need to have an aviation or communications electronics maintenance background and the operators must have been in the field or hold an FAA pilot certification or a bachelor's degree in something related to aviation. When it is difficult to find those qualifications, the school will accept those who have significant R/C experience.

Just wanted to give you an update on the subject of Remotely Controlled Airplanes versus Unmanned Aircraft Systems.

Semper Fidelis,

James Baber

bassfisher

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Shadow - got any open positions? 25+ years flying RC, 28+years as a Commissioned Officer (Army Reserve), 21 years DoD Civilian, MA- Management. If the salary is right, I might be willing to move to AZ from AR