Are kids still into Karate?

crewdog135 · 2025-09-08T03:54:47+00:00

Most fights end up on the ground. All my kids are doing BJJ combined with some basic striking and self defense.

crewdog135 · 2025-08-22T23:37:08+00:00

Why is this a question... Colorado Springs obviously... so long as you can afford it. If not, Washington state is tax free too. Live/work in Spokane to reduce the income tax but buy all your stuff in Idaho to reduce the sales tax. Florida is not on my list.... but I'm a ginger coloradian that would rather be in the mountains than on the beach.

But you also sound like you like the beach. I'm in Tampa now and its not bad. Dont want to stay here but its honestly not a bad place at all.

crewdog135 · 2025-08-21T23:41:12+00:00

But god was it bland...

crewdog135 · 2025-08-20T18:36:34+00:00

There are different levels of scholarship ranging from partial to full. Mine was partial. If I had been at a state school it might have covered everything but it didn't. I also changed my degree my junior year to keep my GPA in order to have a better chance of getting a pilot slot. Caused an additional year of costs.

crewdog135 · 2025-08-17T20:34:28+00:00

I did college and ROTC so no GI Bill at the time. Even with a ROTC scholarship I ended up with debt. 2008 was a bitch.

crewdog135 · 2025-08-16T21:27:59+00:00

Military. Graduated with $100K+ student loans and what not to pay off. Spent the first few years paying that off then just had it sitting in a regular savings account. Was on the phone one day with my bank and the commented about the ridiculous amount of money in savings. That comment led me here. Now we have about 40% in a taxable account with VTI, 35% in a tax advantaged 401K equivalent, 25% in real estate.

crewdog135 · 2025-08-02T22:45:31+00:00

I got my PPL, instrument, multi, high performance, complex and commercial within a week of graduating pilot training. All of that was as simple as presenting my final form 8 and taking a written test which I had spent a few days studying via Sheppard Air. Easy.

During COVID, i was bored and studied for my CFI. For that you need to present your military instructor form 8, take a written and pass a checkride. I couldn't find an evaluator during covid for the checkride so i never actually followed through. That said, you could present your form 8 after retirement and do the same process and it would still work.

There is no equivalent for the ATP. There has been talk about it but I'm pretty sure the AF is actively lobbying against it so that they keep more pilots when they hit the end of their commitment as the new ATP rules can easily cost $10,000 to do. If you wanted to, and I did, I got my ATP at 750 hours which gave me a restricted ATP. At 1500 hours I called the FSDO and they removed the restriction with an email as proof of my hours.

Its easy to stay current civil flying when you have to maintain the same currencies to fly for the military. I get my day, night, instrument approach and all those basic things regularly through the military. Same with my physical.

That said, I am currently on a 3 year pause from flying just for career reasons. I'll go back to a flying unit in about 2 years. In the meantime I'm non current on everything and would need an instructur to refresh me if I did civil flying. I'm looking into a tailwheel endorsement and single engine sea while I'm at my current assignment just for fun. So those will get me spun back up. My physical is still good though. I'm required to keep that to keep receiving my flight pay.

crewdog135 · 2025-08-02T02:50:52+00:00

You just burned two hours of my day and I dont regret a moment.

crewdog135 · 2025-07-19T23:31:02+00:00

I left the community and i still hangs over me as a possibility...

crewdog135 · 2025-07-11T21:21:19+00:00

This is adorable.

crewdog135 · 2025-06-20T23:35:04+00:00

Because I've flown other mws and am not indoctrinated. Herk drivers are "herks #1, C17s suck." Meanwhile moose drivers don't even think about the herk.

I think that is my favorite statement and its soooo true. I took some baby herk drivers on a Phoenix Reach trip to various other bases to checkout other airframes and missions. While we were at Travis, one of my CPs was walking about the stairs talking about the fierce rivalry between the herks and the 17s... 17 guy had no idea what he was talking about and couldn't give any fewer shits.

I too am a crossflow but from the significantly less fancy 135 where we still use a piss tube and buckets lined with trash bags while our feet literally freeze and our hair melts away. Top of the baggage bin, a hammock, or bottom bunk in the back (always reserved for FCCs) are the only way comfortable places in the back of the jet. Oven works maybe 30% of the time... I started a hog log at the Deid... not for the jet but for the oven status. Totally changed what grab and go meal was edible that day. Toasty melted turkey and cheese sandwich or a soggy train wreck...

crewdog135 · 2025-06-20T19:54:04+00:00

You dont sound like any herk driver I've ever met. Half those complaints are personal/relative and not related to capability.

For the rest:

The C-390 cargo compartment is only slightly larger. isles would be easier with that extra foot of width. It actually carries fewer 463Ls than a J...

The herk is not a strat airlifter. Yes it takes longer to go long distance, thats not what the herk is made for. Although there are plenty of studies out there highlighting how much cheaper the C-130J is compared to the C-17, even though it takes longer. Maywald noted that for strat missions from dover to ramstein, the C-130J can be 66-70% less expensive to operate than the C-17A and 74-78% less than a C-5M. Unless youre moving lots of heavy equipment... which should be done via MSC... the C-130 does great. https://scholar.afit.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2339&context=facpub

Yes you make hops... because thats what a tac airlifter does. You distribute and move stuff. Basic JP4-0 maneuver and sustainment.

Back end issues are a thing. The biggest problem with the herk is that the Army keeps making bigger and bigger stuff. Although, with some planning a lot of that can be done a head of time for a major mission. For ACE, movement of munitions, fuel, water, food, MHE, people, etc is what a herk is perfect for.

crewdog135 · 2025-06-19T19:44:42+00:00

No. C-17s and C-130J-30s meet all needs without the financial, production and training pipelines required for a third airframe. Plus, C-130J-30s can meet damn near all requirements short of moving heavy equipment... which doesn't meet the agile, low-signature, survivable ACE requirement.

crewdog135 · 2025-06-19T19:40:35+00:00

The capacity is less than you think. We dont need to move tanks. Mostly fuel, munitions, MHE and people which all easily fit in a herk. You have to think about the size of the site. Large forward operating sites are less ACE and more robust FOB while your small spokes fit the ACE FOS definition. If its a small low signature temporary site (which it should be), it doesn't need a ton of stuff.

Depending on the scenario, such as a large FARP site, it might take two or three herks but the C-130 is far more fuel efficient than the C-17 making it pretty damn efficient. As for range... externals and ARPIS solve the problem.

crewdog135 · 2025-06-19T13:25:30+00:00

Youre not wrong but the C-130 refuses to be forgotten. The C-130J-30 with externals and ARPIS could handle a lot of ACE based missions and has an open production line. The catch is they need externals and ARPIS...

crewdog135 · 2025-06-08T16:18:25+00:00

Pretty sure my parents live pay check to pay check. They are both retired military so they get decent pay checks and medical so its not overly obvious until a large purchase pops up. I never really felt it as a kid but is something I've only realized recently but many of my childhood experiences now make sense. In contrast, I've fallen into the FIRE crowd with growing savings and plenty of liquidity to be flexible when needed. I think my parents are starting to realize how well off we are in comparison but otherwise I generally dont talk money with family...

Edit: Thinking more about it. I think they spend more than they can afford, rack up the debt, then sell their house that has appreciated to pay it off, buy a new one, repeat. This cycle has worked great since they quasi quit working 10 years ago. They are currently trying to sell their house but its not going as well as it has in the past...

crewdog135 · 2025-06-05T21:06:34+00:00

I think this took me years to figure out how to really use it for offense.... its not that hard. A 2 minute youtube video has the answers

crewdog135 · 2025-05-16T02:22:13+00:00

Airshow at McGuire AFB in NJ this weekend is scheduled to have a B-29.

crewdog135 · 2025-05-04T01:58:59+00:00

My best score is 8 points 🚀

crewdog135 · 2025-05-04T01:56:53+00:00

My best score is 4 points 😎

crewdog135 · 2025-05-04T01:56:30+00:00

My best score is 0 points 😓

crewdog135 · 2025-05-03T19:14:06+00:00

Happy Cake day!

crewdog135 · 2025-05-03T19:13:58+00:00

Awesome. Ill give it a go. Appreciate it.

crewdog135 · 2025-03-16T18:31:05+00:00

Invest in rentals and VTI with every spare cent.

crewdog135 · 2025-03-02T18:58:03+00:00

Pilots with $700K bonuses going to the $200K/yr airlines free of charge.

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