deltajuliet

Very cool, thanks for all the info guys. And what a career to have gotten to fly both the B-1 and B-2!

rickair7777

I have a suspicion that B-1 is much more fun to fly, and the B-2's only advantage is mystique.

satpak77

I wonder how much annual flight time a B-2 guy gets, and how much of that is training/etc versus doing operational/"real" missions.

If a UPT student, wanted to see the world and "stay busy", what platform should he pick, if every single one was available ? KC-10 ? XX-135/E-3 based platforms ?

yes some thread drift, sorry

galaxy flyer

C-5 or C-17.

GF

bababouey

C-5? He wants to know about a plane that actually gets airborne on occasion


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galaxy flyer

I got 4,500 hours airborne in it, not to say there wasn't some ramp pounding happenin'. The C-5M is, at least, as good as the Buddha.

GF

UAL T38 Phlyer

B-2 guys get about one sortie a month. U-2 is one every other month (I was told; we have U-2 guys on APC who can correct me) unless deployed, then obviously several a week.

That is why both those airframes have T-38s as companion aircraft....to keep proficiency, even if not in their primary aircraft.

If one's goal is strictly hours, I would guess any of the C-designated aircraft. They are busy hauling stuff around the world. Tankers are busy, too. Lots of airline-esque flying on autopilot, although I would suspect the Hercs do a lot of hands-on stuff. Heard some harrowing stories about Hercs landing on dirt strips in Iraq with major EPs while under enemy fire.

Want to get the most sorties or hands-on flying? Pilot training. One advantage: it's all PIC/IP, from day one.

In the middle: fighters. In my day, average guy got three sorties a week; maybe 4.5 hours total, for 200-220 a year. Hear these days guys are only getting 180 a year when at home, but obviously more when deployed. Generally hands-on, but deployed flying is lots of droning punctuated with infrequent---but intense---combat. Again, all your time is PIC from day one.

So, it depends on what your short-term and long-term goals are, your demonstrated skills, and what aircraft are available for a student's class.

tunes

it's starting to break more and more....

HuggyU2

When back at Beale, U-2 pilots will get more than that. The average line pilot will probably fly about 4 sorties a month in the U-2, plus whatever they get in the T-38.
On the road, a sortie every 3-6 days, depending on ops tempo.

ipdanno

C-130, C-17, C-5

4000 hrs C-130, 4000 hrs C-5, 0 hrs in Barney.

C-130 flying is much more hands-on, low-level, 300 ft modified contour operations. Not helo-low, but close enough to fry chickens in the barnyard (thank you, General Turgison) and see the smiles on their faces. Or make emus and ostriches jump out of their pens.

Gotta be on your A-Game to survive...