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Originally Posted by Paul
Congrats!
I was going to make the Air Force a career (ROTC) but in 1969 my draft number was 324 and a lot of my classmates were just back from Vietnam (GI Bill) and told me I was crazy.
I did go on to get a private license and an instrument rating and bought a Piper, but I envy your flight experience, since I've always wanted to push the throttles on a fighter!!! I have shot approaches several times at Patuxent.... My brother is stationed at Mountain Home (a lifer).
But I still doubt that the Boxster would need to have 100 more hp than a 996 to have the same drag limited top speed.
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Hi,
I hear ya, my Draft Number came up
#12! So I
ran to the NROTC Office, raised my right hand, and signed up (I had been in JrROTC in HS) as a Naval Flight Officer. This allowed me to complete school before reporting, but my intention had always been NAVY AIR.
Then, I passed the Flight Exams (got my Private License at 17) and was off to NAS Pensacola for Basic Flight Training (T-34C Turbomentor). Then to NAS Beeville,TX for Advanced Jet Training (AF-9F). Luckily, I graduated high enough to get a coveted 'fleet seat' and was off to NAS Miramar.
RAG (Replacement Air Group) VF-121 for training and certification in the F-4 PhantomII, this included Air-to-Air (NAS Miramar), Gunnery (NAWS China Lake), then back to Miramar for Seaquals.
Finally, I was assigned to VF-142, the "Ghostriders", on the USS Midway and did 8 WestPacs, mostly MigCap, ResCap, but also some
IronHand. Two tours on
Yankee Station (Gulf of Tonkin) and one on
Dixie Station (Mekong River Delta - South China Sea). Got my 3,000 Flight Hours and shot at a few times.
Then Graduate School and off to Pax River for Test Pilot School and 3 years in the Navy Flight Test Center flying nearly everything in the inventory - F-8, A-4, F-4, F-14, F/A-18, F-16 (yes, this was originally spec'd for the Navy and still carries it's Tailhook today). It was fun - I got to fly
REALLY fast airplanes and spend copius amounts of the Taxpayer's Money - for Pay!...
Happy Motoring!... Jim'99