its funny you should mention air shows because the air force was my first choice to fly in but they wanted to make me a navigator based off of my AFOQT scores, I worked with the air force officer recruiter for like 6 months and there was no head way so army helicopter pilot was second choice. Since I tried all 3 options into the air force and none worked (save the forth which does not apply to pilots) my biggest goal is to get myself an extra 300 to fly acrobatics in air shows. Air Shows are bad ass and it was the thunderbirds that first inspired me. I will never make the thunderbirds but I can still be a hot shit stunt pilot. A hoser, no one ever called me that to my face but im sure they were saying it behind my back.

Air Shows do have their moments...been present at three at which crashes happened. Have a very good friend [ he was over last night, actually, ]who is an Air Traffic Controller Trainer and he gets passes all the time to the events 'round here.

Met pilots from Snowbirds, Red Arrows, Fleche Tricoloure, some Russki flyboys.. got to admit they all look real sassy in their flight suits [ especially the Italians with their fey red neck scarves ] and the women do swoon..they know their stuff and the planes' limitations...still, for me ' engaging the enemy ' from six miles away by pushing a button smacks too much like a videogame.. Going to war using an X-box somehow just doesn't seem all that sporting...[ this from a guy who eneded his career at the pointy end of a desk ]

And being a pilot wouldn't require vast amounts of teamwork or disipline?

Not if people were wise enough to avoid being in the air at the same time.

Seeing thoes pitts specials and Extra 300's was pretty impressive and the flight suits and paint jobs were sweet. One guy I saw had a modified russian yak. I start flying again next month after a long winter and should have my private licence by May and I wrote some software for an automatic navigation log for crosscountrys instead of individually calculating each way point, after that is just a matter of saving for my acrobatic Extra 300 (about 125,000$ for a used one) not a whole lot when you consider a Cessna 206 is like (100,000$).

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And if "training" is suppost to distill the boy out of the man, I did not experence this magical change.

You said it that time, not me.

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F that I will just go somewhere “else”

And somewhere else you went, thank you very much.

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but they wanted to make me a navigator based off of my AFOQT scores,

Couldn’t even cut it academically. And though typos are usually expected in a forum atmosphere, many of your misspellings are not typos, they’re just bad spelling. Explains a lot.

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my biggest goal is to get myself an extra 300

Well, you know your aircraft at least. But having a private pilot license and actually being able to perform at a competitive level in aerobatics are two wildly different things.

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A hoser, no one ever called me that to my face but im sure they were saying it behind my back.

That’s because you were always too quick to turn and run.

And the fact that you’re already talking about competing in airshows and you haven’t finished your private license yet fits your personality pattern very neatly. What’s going to happen is that it will take a little longer than you expected to get your license, it always does, especially with unrealistic types like yourself. And you’ll blame the FAA inspector, or your flight instructor, or you’ll switch from high-wing to low-wing or vice versa, and blame the stupid airplane.

Personally, I haven’t finished my private license either, took a pay-cut at the private school I’m working at (it’s a team work thing, you wouldn’t understand) and had to postpone the lessons. And I too have made plans to buy an Extra 300, but I also understand that’s a long way off, and competing in airshows would be nothing more than a little boy’s pipedream from here.

Nope I have stayed on track for my licence and have 2 cross countrys left and my check ride, my writen is done and the money is budgeted. I am doing a high wing, I dident know it made a difference for a private. After all of my loans are paid me and my wife could theoreticly buy one on a years pay before taxes so like 1.5 years, but the loans and a house come first then the plane. If I dont get competetive enough to fly airshows oh well, I will make sure to get good enough to have a good time. Why did you take the pay cut?

Of course because I did not like the military now im not a team player, being a team player and not tolerating mental abuse are totally different issues, but that issue has been beat to death so I would agree to disagree. I dont know if I cut it academicaly or not with the AFOQT becasue I did now know what was considered good, I got in the high 80's for nav and in the 90's for pilot but my math and english werent so great but thats because it was no calculator short time math test, when I had become calculator dependant in my engineering program, so I guess if doing fractions and long division in your head is the ultimate measue of intellegance then im stupid, lol.

The way I see it, its been a life goal of myn to fly so im going to go for it. I am in a lucrative carrer field to pay the bills for the plane now its just a matter of a little time and saving for a few years and I will be good to go.

The military can put up stumbling blocks, but when money talks somehow the blocks disapear and a path is cleared to your dreams (in my case an extra 300), someone on here has that money talks thing, I like that one. Money is the BS eliminator.

Me and you have more in common than you thought, you just dislike me becasue I disliked "training" and I was not willing to be mentally abused, which is just a personal choise.

I have also thought about a pitts special but I heard they are a little squirly landing due to the short airframe.

I dislike very few people Pearson, and you're not one of them. You're fine. But I will take up the argument that you present with vigor.

I called you a puke a while ago, and I shouldn't have. Sorry.

But I don't claim that you're not a team player because you are not in the military. I do not believe that the military is for everyone. However, your approach to accepting that you were not cut out for the military is all wrong. You're placing the blame on the military instead of just accepting the fact that you're not military material.

I break out with the warrior language some times which makes the infantry types mad, but I'm willing to give anyone in uniform their due.

Having said all of that, all opinions are welcome here, in my opinion. But be ready for some resistance when laying the blame on the military for your not being in it.

And I've heard some squirrely stories about the Pitts as well.

There's a guy with a freshly painted Yak out there that my instructor had a chance to fly. Pretty cool.

I guess the only thing I was mad about was the military not letting me leave basic early, I guess most people who want to quit in the first or second week of basic end up finishing and going on to be a soldier, I was just different, I decided I dident want to be there and nothing changed when I graduated but thats probably not the norm. I am by no means mad at my guard unit as they basicly let me walk away with out any fight, which was really nice, I probably dident need to put on weight but I was expecting a fight, most people I have heard of that wanted out were not able to just walk away, they had to do something extreme to get out like 32% body fat, etc.

"I break out with the warrior language some times which makes the infantry types mad" what does that mean?

That ok for the puke thing, I probably deserved it, I was hard core when I was benching 300 in the gym with rock music playing but in basic there was no music and I was sleep deprived and the hard core went way away.

Why did you take a severe pay cut?

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Originally posted by rppearso:
I guess the only thing I was mad about was the military not letting me leave basic early..If that was the case, and they did let people leave early, what would the point be, because more than half would probably leave early..... This anger point makes no sense, except to show, you had no commitiment to your word... , I guess most people who want to quit in the first or second week of basic end up finishing and going on to be a soldier, I was just different, I decided I dident want to be there and nothing changed when I graduated but thats probably not the norm. I am by no means mad at my guard unit as they basicly let me walk away with out any fight, which was really nice, I probably dident need to put on weight but I was expecting a fight, most people I have heard of that wanted out were not able to just walk away, they had to do something extreme to get out like 32% body fat, etc.

"I break out with the warrior language some times which makes the infantry types mad" what does that mean?

That ok for the puke thing, I probably deserved it, I was hard core when I was benching 300 in the gym with rock music playing but in basic there was no music and I was sleep deprived and the hard core went way away.

Why did you take a severe pay cut?

So that means that half have no commitment to there word, I think it means nothing more than they just couldent hack it. Some people (myself included) can do all the skills but cant hack the stress and there is no way to know the stress until you are in it, and just because you cant hack it doesnt mean you are dishonorable it just means you cant hack it. They should make you swear in after you complete basic or in my case basic and OCS.

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Originally posted by rppearso:
So that means that half have no commitment to there wordactually, I just thru a number out there, so to be fair, I do not know how many would actually quit, but I do know, that in Boot camp for me, it would have been about half the platoon in 1st phase. However by 3rd phase, I doubt any of them would have quit.... I attribute this to maturity, or lack thereof......, I think it means nothing more than they just couldent hack it...Untrue, as you proved it, you hacked it.... I also believe,it is more a lack of character, than what we would have seen 40-50 years ago....... . Some people (myself included) can do all the skills but cant hack the stress ...you did... you didn't quit, until after the worst was over... hell you didn't even give it how long?..... I almost quit after 4 years, to work for more pay and less hours, now 17 years later, I thank the Lord I didn't....and there is no way to know the stress until you are in it, and just because you cant hack it doesnt mean you are dishonorable ...true to a degree, the military is not for everyone.... however, breaking one's word is much easier to do today, then years ago.. Honor does not carry the weight it use to..... Call it what you want, but to sign and then quit without fullfilling an obligation... well, what is it? I attribute this to youth, as a you teenager signs for a brand new car, then fails to pay the loan because he didn't realize life would be so hard....(hint, my oldest son)it just means you cant hack it...there are many things people can't hack, not just the military, doesn't give them the right to just quit when they want to.. What does this teach our children and grandchildren?. They should make you swear in after you complete basic or in my case basic and OCS..your opinion, and I disagree, because good young men, that think they cannot make it, would quit before they became America's future leaders......

The reason I quit is becasue the worst was not over I still had OCS which is worse than basic and I could not bear to be put back into a worse enviornment than from which I came from, I was way to freaked out, the paranoia would cause me to lock up when I was at guard drills.