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Get into flying sailplanes. Once you get good at finding and staying in lift you can stay aloft for hours on a single tow. (usually around 30-40 bucks).

True, but that doesn't mean it's good form. I'm in the midst of a Class B (would have been an A but we fall under the UAV exemption) investigation right now. I'd be fairly upset if one of my Marines decided to release his own cell phone photos of the mishap. We have PAO types for a reason and we...

Wow. I'm sure the ASO is really pleased that photos from the flight deck of their mishap is showing up on facebook.

I've always thought that was a stupid and pointless maneuver. There are reasons to learn how to fly using a paper chart/plate (see Zippy's post above), but simulating a dead battery on an e-kneeboard is like simulating that you dropped your paper plate off of your knee. Carry your paper pubs...

If only the Marine Corps shared that sentiment.

I flew with the canopy open every chance I had in Primary. Alas, I'd love to own that little airplane.

Went to flight school and the RAG with him. Good dude.

Pedro has money for station SAR until 1 October.

They have a hydrazene system that burns and gets the motor turning pretty quickly. Again, not saying they are right or wrong, just saying that they fly 300kts because their Dash-1 says it's their min safe speed and they are the AF...

They can fly slower than 300, but they don't want to. It's in their Dash-1 (AF NATOPS) that min safe airspeed is 300 kts. It does have to do with airborne restarts and the whole single engine thing. Source: My old man is a retired Viper dude, I asked him.

I didn't say a Reaper would do it, but an Avenger can, and maintain tactical airspeeds. I guess I'm high.

If the space shuttle costs 20 million then yes it costs as much as a space shuttle. Adding an AESA radar is a bit more expensive but still much cheaper than an F-35. Read up on the Predator C/Avenger for the AESA and air to air piece. Read up on the latest MQ-9 variant about carrying 44 hours of...

For the Marine UAV world, yes. 800 million in development thus far to produce an airplane in LRIP that doesn't stack up to it's predecessor, but has been promised to be the wave of the future. It's going on the 22nd MEU because it has to. Nevermind the fact that its NATOPS is still in draft...

We're too stuck on the terrible and antiquated idea that it has to launch and recover from the boat. When you have 44+ hours of gas, with a loadout better than what a Harrier or an F-35B, and with the same sensors as the F35B, you can control/fly/operate (or whichever non offensive term everyone...

Eh. Happier is a relative term. Like I said, we're losing our Lts at the cyclic rate. They don't want to stick around. A lot of that has to do with what our METL says and what we're really capable of/what big Marine Corps has equipped us with. We have the METs of a group 5 UAV that we are...

Ouch. That news hasn't made it way out this way yet. But... ouch. Those dudes are not going to get back into a flying cockpit again. We're losing our 1stLts at the cyclic rate. An 80K bonus and 1500 bucks a month in ACIP has quite a pull.

Interesting speculation. The USAF doesn't take guys out of UPT anymore though, it's a completely separate pipeline. The AF flies MQ-1s, -4s, and 9s in the NAS with chase airplanes. We don't use MOAs, we use restricted airspace and warning areas. Around Cherry Point we fly Shadow in the...

Still accurate.

Sort of. Officers are flying the MQ-21 right now, and it will most likely continue that way as we're getting heavy into the different EW payloads it can carry. No civilian pilots license, but it's only a few top of flights to earn your PPL. It's called a BUQ-4, Basic Unmanned Qualification...

Sign me up.

I've heard from dudes that the monitors' idea of how to fix this is to send guys to resident EWS (to plus up their competitiveness for Maj) then either an AirO tour or possibly right back to the fleet. The second answer I've heard is that if everyone is in the same boat then new breakout...

Looks like they both have plates in their hands too.

Yeah, that's what I was getting at. Wet layers under a drysuit don't work, and if you sweat like I do (think of a fat kid jumping rope in the attic) those wicking and insulating layers become saturated pretty quickly and lose their effectiveness. Now I'm wet on the inside as well as the outside-...

In which you do nothing but sweat like crazy in your drysuit, seriously reducing it's ability to keep you warm in cold water...

... Read this one again.

A classic

From what I know that was intentional. EMCON reasons, at least that's what the Raptor dudes (all 2 of them) have told me. Stupid to not have the ability in today's realm? Probably. I'm surprised no one has brought up the idea that we have stuff that can help us extended our visual recce...

Hmmm. I wonder how many of these things will creep their way over to the Marine side of the house...

I've got one. It was never an issue. Doctor said I might want to look into getting it fixed before I leave the military, but there is no rush.

ASO school quote: "You can't prove a negative". ie- you can't prove how many mishaps you've prevented. Human Factors are a huge focus in aviation now- especially when it comes to preventing error. We'll never remember the times technology has saved our bacon, but we'll always remember the one...

"But the best professional outcome will still pale in comparison to the first time I signed for a jet, solo, and was launched off the deck of a United States aircraft carrier – right after almost killing myself enroute to my first arrested landing in the might T-45 Goshawk. I still get...

Yeah, I'm not doing this with you again.

That's awesome- now can you take all that info and link it without a big delay to a building somewhere and remotely fly it?

What shouldn't be discounted is that statement about how people will want a pilot who shares the same fate that they do. That will be tough to overcome- will it happen? Maybe, probably, but not for a very long time. A lot of other systems would need to become "automated" for people to trust...

Show of hands- who actually has actual no shit experience with both manned and unmanned TACAIR platforms? (I do) Most of you talk a mean game but only have experience from one side. Saying you've worked with UAVs and therefore know what they can and can't do is like a Harrier dude saying they...

If only AW had a SIPR site...

Damn, so close! They're going to get it, and it's going to be awesome!

Which is why the man will never be taken out of the decision loop- only out of the airplane. I do know that as UAS tech grows, and as more and more aviation minded folks are seeing the potentials that exist within the community we're absorbing more and more mission sets. We compliment manned...

Yep, pointless wars, dead Americans everywhere, world crumbling. I've heard this before somewhere... Oh yeah, on whatever 24 hour news cycle show that was on TV at the moment. They followed up that story with such awesome journalistic vignettes as "Kimye get's married!" and "The dangers that...

I think a lot of us can see this. Being a Capt (or Navy LT) today perhaps has a lot less authority than it did 30 years ago. There is a lot more oversight today than there was 30 years ago. Hell,we've had General's peeking around our COC because he wanted to know what was going on and direct...

That's the cultural difference. It won't go away in the Marine Corps. As an Officer of Marines I know my role, and my abilities as a UAV Mission Commander (or as Hornet Pilot in my previous life) are only as good as my ability to ensure my Marines can put the UAV in the right place at the right...

I'd do it again. No one is afraid to speak openly and freely around here.

When does Pedro give up the station SAR gig here at KNKT?

This.

One of the VAQ dudes is a good friend of mine from before my life in the Marine Corps. He's a great guy and all around solid dude. Totally awesome to see him on the list.

Holy hell... I'm sure there are a couple of studios who would love to get their hands on her! You just can't replicate that sound- especially with the B3 speaker cabinet (the one with the rotating horn)

Holy jeebus- he's caked on more makeup than a 13 year old girl in the middle of a breakout!

Yeah, I get it. You don't have to remind me of my lane, I'm well aware of where I do and don't fit in these days (seems like we're show ponies for every random General Officer who wants a FITREP bullet- look at these great tricks our UAS guys do- look how awesome they are- deploy? Oh no, we...

Are you really going to plan on entering a threat wez in which you would have to use your M9 against an RPK? Hell no you aren't. That would be absolutely stupid and a good way to get yourself killed. Making Harriers do CAP just gives Generals more ammo for buying more F-35Bs. (See, look at...