Interesting. I flew with a few and never sense a problem. Maybe they had been spoken too by that time??
Might have been. It wasn't their flying, it was the attitude of some around the spaces.
Interesting. I flew with a few and never sense a problem. Maybe they had been spoken too by that time??
There are a myriad of TTP's and weapons that are now on the plate that was not around then. It wouldn't just be sending aircrew through a RAG to get them up to speed, this would be varsity-level work even for VFA FAC(A) types.
How about just bringing this gorgeous old dump truck back??
The way I read the Navy Times article is that these guys are gonna be direct CAS support with the weapons they have on board. The FAC part would still, in my mind, be covered by guys higher up, with a broader field of view/SA. If that is the case, I don't see how the specific flying would be much different than in BlackPony's era, just get the 5 line, etc, and go at it, which I would think could be taught to most any bubba with wings.
Of course, this is from an HS guy's point of view, so I may be totally missing something.
Even if this program is a sucess and it is expanded to include more aircraft and personnel I would not be so certain that a RAG would be stood up. Why invest in the infrastructure of a RAG to bring personnel up to speed when you already have a large pool of experienced people to pull from and train in-house? Given enough money and time you certainly could train anyone for the mission, NASA proved that with it's Mecury monkeys, but the money and manpower could be better invested elsewhere. That is the way it has been done with 'special' squadrons for a while, why should this be different?
So let me get this straight, you are comparing training certain folks for the mission to chimps and the astronaut program? Yeah, that's a good comparison. Fucking retarded but then again, I'm one of those guys who actually fly's the plane, a stick monkey if you will.
It's my understanding that some 'weep for the future of Naval Aviation' .......I thought there was no crying in Naval Aviation, or is that baseball?
Really, that sensitive? Relax, according to many pilots I am nothing more than self-loading baggage, I am certain you can take a monkey joke or two.
I thought there was no crying in Naval Aviation, or is that baseball?
AF requests 100 light-attack aircraft:
http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2009/08/airforce_light_airplane_080309w/
Turbojets ain't exactly thrifty, either.