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Sounds fun!

wow, that sounds awesome

Do you have any experience flying before the T-6?

I remember my first landings in a 172. Sounds similar to what you are describing. Way behind the airplane for the first few hours. Hard to believe that in a benign single, but so very true. you'll get there quickly.

Do you have any idea of your flight track yet (ANG/Reserve) or is it all up to how you do?

Here in MA, we have ANG with F-15's, less than less than 10 miles away the Reserves fly C-5's.

I used to play tag with A-10's at what is now the F-15 base. MAANG F-15's are the only fast jets I've actually seen with warshot on them.

So what you're saying is that you may end up flying a cargo plane full of rubber dog sh*t out of Hong Kong?

Hopefully, only if he buzzes the tower at over 400 knots.


Wheels

Only if his ego starts writing checks his body can't cash

I read an article this month about how the AF is way way under its quota for UAV pilots. So much so, that people that arent in rated positions but have a few years of air force experience are being trained to be UAV pilots and are getting a crash course. I think though it the beta training program works out, a lot of older AF officers will want to do that as they could goto war during the day and tuck in their children at night. Here is a link to the article.

http://www.popsci.com/drones

Well Sim, if you're lucky, you won't have to worry about it.

One of the reasons supposely stated in making a UAV track was to build experience in operations. Make 'old heads' if you will in pilots who have been in UAVs from the time they graduated pilot training. Not so much in how to 'fly' the thing, but how to employ it, tactics, etc.

The manning issue was so bad for a while that the USAF was taking folks with less than 200 hours in their MWS and pulling them into UAVs with no intention of going back to your MWS.

The USAF for a while was also wanting pilots because of what the article says, that sort of airsense you get from operating an aircraft over time. Also, there are some SIGNIFICANT issues with operating UAVs in controlled airspace...stuff that makes me even more leery of EVER setting pilotless aircraft anywhere near me, no matter what Beach says. However, this flies in the face of using 200 hour brand new 2Lts with no real time to operate UAVs.

The USAF has finally had reality give them a slap in the face to learn that A) You don't need real pilots to operate UAVs if you keep the UAVs to a controlled enviroment and B) No real pilot wants to fly UAVs unless they have to for other reasons. There was an especially dishearning incident where a T-38 track student, got a UAV assignment on drop night and promptly SIEed from training. Think about that a minute...less than 2 weeks from graduation, all his checkrides complete and he quits after a YEAR of some of the hardest training you will ever go through.

There is a serious move afoot to revamp USAF pilot training because of the aforementioned UAV manning (pulling it out of traditional pilot training and make a totally separate track) and because the advanced trainers are not getting any younger. The T-38C is 50 (yes FIFTY) years old and the T-1A is wearing out faster than anticipated (go figure, take a bizjet and smash it repeatedly on the runway might do that). The serious considerations include getting rid of the dual track system (in other words EVERYONE goes through T-38s/T-X again), and possibly, lengthing the T-6 syllabus and shorten the advanced syllabus to more specific options.

Personally, I have no problem flying a UAV for a single tour...almost all pilots now have a tour outside their MWS, no matter if it's being a staff weenie, a 'white jet' instructor, play Army for a while, etc. You simply make it another alpha tour and call it good. But having a permanent UAV track as a pilot? Pfffft...please.

FC

Man, I thought the comic Air Force Blues was kidding about how much yawl hated the idea of flying UAV's. Guess not.

Yeah, after me there was IFS class with beta testing none-rated dudes going straight do UAV. I recall two washed out while flying DA-20C. Not sure what happened after program but I do not hear any more are going through.

Right now there is only one guy that wouldn't mind going UAVs in my class. And it seems "once you go UAV, you can't come back".

Bah.

Honestly I'm fascinated with what you can tell us about training.

I'm a listless sim pilot these days, but have landed on some big runways IRL.

I always loved flying int old SAC bases in a 172. I could land across some of those runways It's funny seeing Cessnas sitting in the old alert shelters.

The Military was never for me- bad eyes Thanks Mom & Dad for those.

That and all of the pilot slots when I was 21 were taken up by Academy grads. All of my ROTC buddies ended up as missileers for the short commit.

As far as I know, that is still correct.

Don't get me wrong, UAVs are increasingly important, especially in COIN ops.

But until you can setup a 'synthetic virtual cockpit' with full on immersion, you simply will not have the full SA that a real pilot needs. Flying a UAV is like trying to drive viewing through a soda straw with a mesh screen over it.

And newer UAVs don't even have a traditional stick/throttle interface at all...so why do you need a pilot with the coordination?

"If you can't feel a thing, you don't need the wing."

FC

Give the UAVs to the young computer freaks. It sounds like an amazing waste of resources to filter for physically/mentally fittest pilot recruits and then throw them onto a computer. Especially, as FC says, when UAVs are not flying in standard controlled airspace.

Interesting that the prob has so much drag to it. I suppose "Boldface" means the EP checklist/procedures?

Oh yes, a windmilling prop acts almost like a solid disk. The drag is incredible! I was in a Turbo Beaver where we simply set power to idle for a fast descent, and dropped like a rock!

Here's a similar boldface to what we use. Boldface is page 1, ops limits is page 2. Single wrong item in either results in blues.

http://www.t6driver.com/Boldface%20Ops%20Limits/Boldface-Ops%20Limits%20%28Filled%29.pdf

Yep. Prop actually moves to almost 90 degree so it acts like a speed brake.

probably a stupid question.....but the boldface says to set the throttle to idle, which is what you did....which is apparently wrong....why does it not say turn it to off?

I am guessing that there is no autofeather system ? (probably because it is a single engine aircraft).

Actually boldface states: Remember we are talking about engine failure immediately after takeoff.

AIRSPEED � 110 KNOTS (MINIMUM)
PCL � AS REQUIRED
EMERGENCY GEAR HANDLE � PULL (AS REQUIRED)

As required depends on a situation. Prop will auto-feather in all positions but not quickly enough for this situation. PCL - OFF will feather instantly but if you have little runway left, this position may not produce needed results.