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Old 03-06-2007, 03:51 AM   #1
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WOOOOOO HOOOOOOO!!!! NEW JOB!!!

I've been in the Air Force now for over 9 years as a heavy aircraft mechanic. I have been gettting a little burned out and around July of last year, I applied to retrain to the job I really wanted. I just found out a few days ago that I was selected to be a flight engineer! In case you aren't aware of what a flight engineer is, he's the busy guy in the cockpit on large jets that runs all of the aircraft systems and keeps the plane running while the pilots steer. In my opinion, it is the best job an enlisted man can have in the military. People who hate flying wouldn't think so, but I've wanted to do it ever since I came in. To be an FE, you have to have years of experience in maintenance or flying career field and a thorough knowledge of aircraft systems. I'm pretty stoked that I was accepted. I even had the opportunity to be an officer and make double the pay I make now, but I wouldn't have liked that job. I figure I'd rather do something I like. It's more rewarding than money I think. The pay isn't bad anyways. I make a comfortable living on Staff Sergeant (E-5) pay.

Anyways, another perk is that I get to choose the plane I want to fly on and choose the base I want to go to. I have chosen the KC-10 at Travis AFB in northern California. I worked on KC-10's years ago when I was stationed in New Jersey hence the screen name. The KC-10 is a very large three engine refueling and cargo jet. Fully loaded, it can take off weighing 593,000 pounds. I'll have some training in Florida, Washington State and San Antonio, TX. Most of it will be at Travis AFB. I'm currently trying to figure out how to get all of my stuff, a bus, three vehicles a wife and two kids moved 1,650 miles away. I'll probably sell one vehicle. I have a few months to figure it out. Anyways, here's a KC-10:



My future office (FE station behind Co-Pilot):


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Old 03-06-2007, 05:56 AM   #2
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Congratulations! As a full-systems Harrier CDQAR with SFF certs and A&P tickets in the Marine Corps for 13 years, I can relate to your burn-out! Sadly for the Harrier crowd, lateral moves are next to impossible. Once yer in the program, it's extremely hard to get away from you originally assigned M.O.S. May the ice never build on your wings!
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Old 03-06-2007, 06:43 AM   #3
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As I understand it, any movement that isn't towards the ground is positive in a Harrier (payscale included I would imagine).

Congrats, KC-10! What is the KC-10 in civilian clothes? It sure looks like a DC-10 and the naming convention would make sense it if were.

You ever make it up to the 148th in Duluth? We quite frequently get the KC130's out of Grand Forks our direction along with a fleet of F-16C's as old as me. My dad put himself through college playing rock and roll and with the help of the 148th. I want to say he ended up as an E4, but I could be mistaken. I know he wasn't in nearly as long as some his buddy and bandmate who ended up as an E6.
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Old 03-06-2007, 07:52 AM   #4
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Yes, the KC-10 is basically a DC-10 airframe with a refueling boom and three extra and very large fuel tanks in the fuselage.
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Old 03-06-2007, 08:14 AM   #5
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Once you move to California, I think you will rethink the double pay thing. Can you say "STICKER SHOCK!!!"

How do you put the picture in your post?
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Old 03-06-2007, 09:49 AM   #6
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Yeah, I was looking at houses in the Fairfield, Napa and Vacaville areas! I may end up living in the bus! HA! For a house that costs $100K here in the OKC area, I'll need half a million for a comporable house in California. I'm not kidding either. The Air Force pays a housing allowance based on where you live. It's usually enough to pay rent or a house payment not including bills. I'll probably just rent an apartment to start out. Hopefully not in the ghetto.
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Old 03-06-2007, 06:56 PM   #7
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To post a picture in a message:

http://www.skoolie.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=60
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Old 03-06-2007, 07:07 PM   #8
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Thank you. I thought I tried that. Maybe I did something wrong.
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Old 03-06-2007, 08:03 PM   #9
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Sorry for hijacking this thread, but....

It needs to be on a website where the picture is available all the time and the URL of it doesn't change. It's both complicated and simple at the same time. Photobucket and other sites like that work exceptional well. Please remember that it's the URL of the picture itself and not the web page that you need. To get the URL of the picture, right click on it and "Copy image location" if you use Firefox. It should be similar in Internet Explorer.

Even following these instructions, I still preview all my messages to make sure it worked before posting them.
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Old 03-06-2007, 08:13 PM   #10
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Quote:
I worked on KC-10's years ago when I was stationed in New Jersey hence the screen name.
...And I thought it had something to do with the Kansas City Chiefs... Silly me !!


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Old 03-06-2007, 10:02 PM   #11
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Congrats on the new gig.

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Old 03-06-2007, 11:12 PM   #12
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Congratulations!
We just met an uncle on my wife's side of the family who was a staff sergeant on a C-5 out of Dover AFB. He said he really enjoyed those years. We didn't go on base while we were there last weekend, but hopefully when we go up again he may take us on base.
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