‘No More,’ United Airlines proposes hiring freeze on Naval A

[Dave P.]

Mil folk have the training and guts( for the most part) to do it better then those who never worn the uniform.

I think what they get or have is more time flying various aircraft out near the edge of plane's performance envelope.
A lot of civilian pilot training stays far away from the aircraft's potential. I'm a long ways from a commercial or ATP pilot
but never felt like I learned to really fly the airplane till taking aerobatic instruction. Then got some rides with world class
pilots in serious aerobatic planes and realized I still didn't know how to fly.
Don't know but would also think the military training has a lot more competition and pressure to perform or get washed out.

 

[dannyd]

dannyd,
Thanks so much for the compliments. Son and Daughter both had GREAT careers. Son did have to do his penance in the Pentagon and serve 8 months on the ground as a grunt with the Marines at Camp Black Horse, Afghanistan. At least the Admiral that sent him there watched over him and gave him the XO-CO of VRC-40 job when he returned which led to the Air Boss job which lead to the Staff job which lead to the Commodore job
What is REALLY UNHEARD of is a Female Helo pilot becoming the Captain of the USS Abraham Lincoln. Just becoming a Carrier Captain is unbelievably hard.
Yes most all Air Bosses are from the Pointy Nose Gang his Minnie Boss was a Hornet Guy along with all of the Bosses before him were jet guy Air Bosses on the Nimitz.

I left my tour in the DC area behind 40 years ago this month. Makes me feel old when I started VRC-40 still used C-1's.

I knew the first SH-60B OIC told to women on a sea detachment; he refused an unfortunately his career was over. He was a really good guy sad thing is they could have asked someone else, but that is behind the door evil of the military.

The go fasters were number one on the carrier especially the Fighter Pilots, but there was always an equalizer " powdered fiberglass in their laundry bags" There was many a jet jock on the JFK with some real bad diaper rash.

 

[Wyandot Jim]

dannyd

Did you know John Vargo????? He was the OIC on Trey's first deployment to the Red Sea. A great Guy. He would send a letter to all the families letting us know what was taking place on the DET.
He and Trey still keep in touch. I believe he lives in Jax.

 

[tazbigdog]

I’d rather have a government/military trained pilot at the helm than those book read idiots, especially for flying in different kinds of weather, dealing with flying issues, etc.

 

[beentheredone]

"I do hope you realize this whole article is a joke "

Unfortunately, our populace is now on average too dumb to recognize parody. Sad, really. It's what all of the political dialogue has become...

 

[RSIno1]

A friend flew L1011s for ATA they had an autoland feature he said was so soft you had to bump the yoke after you were down to activate the squat switches so the brakes would work.

 

[Johnny-Baseball]

My son will likely file Army retirement papers and thereafter obtain the fixed wing pilot training prerequisite to being hired as a commercial airline pilot. Previously a 160th SOAR maintenance guy, he finished an industrial engineering degree and became a Warrant Officer and Blackhawk pilot (4 deployments to Iraq, 3 more to Afghanistan, one to Kuwait and recently one to Eastern Europe). He saw lots of rough landings in the 160th - some by design and others under duress. Now a Blackhawk maintenance test pilot, he practices those rough landings for a living - routinely autorotates Blackhawks as a final "yep, this bird is certified flyable" check item.

He says the commercial airlines project they will be woefully short of pilots over the next 5 years - the glut of pilots hired over the last few decades are all rapidly approaching mandatory retirement age (65) and the pipeline of new fixed-wing pilots is inadequate. So the airlines are aggressively recruiting military rotary wing pilots, even offering to help pay for fixed wing pilot training school. They're succeeding. Now the military are short of experienced helicopter pilots, and their pipeline is likewise inadequate.

I don't know which is more thrilling - an aircraft carrier landing or intentionally flying an "engine is shut down" helicopter into the ground. But I do know that only the jet can recover - by stepping on the go pedal.

 

[Wyandot Jim]

"I don't know which is more thrilling - an aircraft carrier landing or intentionally flying an "engine is shut down" helicopter into the ground. But I do know that only the jet can recover - by stepping on the go pedal."

Son has over 1500 hrs in a SH-60b Seahawk doing some pretty scary stuff at times on land and sea. He will tell you it is WAY more thrilling landing on a pitching deck at night when it is darker than a sack full of Aholes
With the Big Wing E-2c Hawkeye if you are more than 3' ether way of centerline on landing you start putting dents in other parked aircraft which is not good. Also the vertical difference between hooking the #1 wire to #4 wire is 4'

Good for your Son and I hope everything goes well for him.
In the past airlines didn't count helo time. Glad that they now do.
Will he receive a fixed wing ATP License????
The Major Airlines are not hurting as bat as the Regionals are. The Regionals are a lot tougher to work for with less bennies and pay.

Son's first trap. Notice no other aircraft are on the deck and for a good reason.

 

[Johnny-Baseball]

Good for your Son and I hope everything goes well for him.
In the past airlines didn't count helo time. Glad that they now do.
Will he receive a fixed wing ATP License????
The Major Airlines are not hurting as bat as the Regionals are. The Regionals are a lot tougher to work for with less bennies and pay.

Son's first trap. Notice no other aircraft are on the deck and for a good reason.

View attachment 11829

He will get a fixed wing rating after attending schooling (paid for by GI bill). He has many Army helo pilot friends who have already gone this route and are now flying regionals/majors, so he's not a pioneer.

His research shows that the pilot shortage will be at both the regional and majors...this comes from the airlines' (and/or their unions') published forward looking mandatory retirement data, by year, for the next few years.

And - my son practiced Blackhawk carrier landings while on his Kuwait "vacation." 160th jockeys wearing NVGs can land on a dollar bill at night and give back correct change. Or land on one skid and hover while loading/unloading their pax.

 

[beentheredone]

The truly sad part is that things have gotten so nuts in the news that is now nearly impossible to separate satire from actual news...although the "comfort gerbil" was a bit of a tip off.

No, the saddest part is that NOBODY KNOWS THAT PARODY IS SUPPOSED TO SOUND LIKE THE REAL THING WHILE BEING PATENTLY ABSURD. Geez...

 

[Johnny-Baseball]

Beentheredone - that's why this was so difficult. Recent leftist behaviors are so unbelievable that they appear to be parody, but they aren't.

 

[bobski]

hey danny-d...speaking of vrc40.....
we used them all the time.
ops over at naec lakehurst with the teams and french f. legion...
and,
brought the wife out to a.p hill one sat on the dz to watch. so long ago.

 

[Wyandot Jim]

A bad day in the Atlantic to be landing on the deck of a Small Boy

Fill it up and clean the windshield PLEASE

Daughter with her Size Extra Large HM-53 while in Kuwait right after the war. She did find some mines that Saddam left behind

 

[314Chevy]

Former Marine Aviator Mike Highway just wants to make sure his aircraft is safe. “I’m not sure what these freakin’ snowflakes are whining about. How would you like to fly in a plane that’s probably been inspected by some 12-year old that just graduated from Embry Riddle, makes $9 an hour and lives with his mom? I’m not signing for that s**t without double checking it. I didn’t do it in the Fleet, and I ain’t doing that s**t now.”

Between United's way or the Highway I'll take the Highway!

 

[dannyd]

dannyd

Did you know John Vargo????? He was the OIC on Trey's first deployment to the Red Sea. A great Guy. He would send a letter to all the families letting us know what was taking place on the DET.
He and Trey still keep in touch. I believe he lives in Jax.
View attachment 11698
View attachment 11699

Great picture of his Det; I did not know his OIC but I did know his CO and XO.

Before the SH-60B program; a helicopter pilot, crewmen or many of the ground crew changing platforms was almost impossible.

But one of the greatest Naval pilots you have never heard of helped change that for us; Larry Cable.

Mr. Cable started his career as an enlisted man on a nuclear ballistic submarine and was picked by Admiral Rickover to go to office training school to get a degree in Nuclear engineering. He took a ride in a helicopter at a county fair and was hooked. After explaining to Admiral Rickover he was going to flight school, he got his Wings became an H-2 pilot and then a test pilot for the SH-60B. Mr. Cable did all the programming of the simulators at HSL-40 and HSL-41 and went to command HSL-42. To me he was the greatest helicopter pilot I ever worked for and could fly a helicopter like no I had ever seem.

Also at the Test Center he did help turn my hair prematurely gray.