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2022-11-21 Science & Technology

Here's the Air Force's plan to train armed overwatch pilots

[AirForceTimes] Four months after military officials picked a modified crop duster as America’s newest counterterror plane, Air Force Special Operations Command is working to answer a crucial question: How do you fly it?

"We’re going to have to pay a lot of attention to training on this," AFSOC boss Lt. Gen. Jim Slife told reporters in September. "We haven’t operated, at scale, a tail-dragger aircraft in quite some time."

The Air Force and its special operations counterparts have sought a light attack and reconnaissance plane since 2009 but faltered at multiple points along the way. Their latest push began as an Air Force experiment in 2016 and morphed into a smaller procurement program overseen by SOCOM.

Posted by Besoeker 2022-11-21 14:56|| || Front Page|| [11138 views ] Top

#1 This is a great aircraft. Farmers fly it, the Air Force will do fine.

Posted by 49 Pan 2022-11-21 17:18|| 2022-11-21 17:18|| Front Page Top

#2 Flying a taildragger is not a problem.

Takeoffs and landings, however....

Posted by Anomalous Sources 2022-11-21 17:38|| 2022-11-21 17:38|| Front Page Top

#3 (Youtube) F4U Corsair carrier landing ...now that was hard.

Posted by magpie 2022-11-21 18:16|| 2022-11-21 18:16|| Front Page Top

#4 From the old Murphy's Law Calendar: "If it seems easy, you are doing it wrong."

Posted by M. Murcek 2022-11-21 18:21|| 2022-11-21 18:21|| Front Page Top

#5 Whatever happened with the A-29 Super Tucano? I thought that was the Air Force's light attack darling.

Also, why is the Air Force complaining about having to learn to fly airplanes? One would expect that to be a core competency.

Posted by SteveS 2022-11-21 19:15|| 2022-11-21 19:15|| Front Page Top

#6 I want to call BS on this
I soloed a G-39 Albatross after 9 hours
And was 26 years after I crashed a Huey a Grafenwoeher
I bet this like cutie practically flies itself

Posted by Sock Puppet of Doom 2022-11-21 19:29|| 2022-11-21 19:29|| Front Page Top

#7 Looks like a great way to reduce flight school failures by 50%

Posted by Super Hose 2022-11-21 20:33|| 2022-11-21 20:33|| Front Page Top

#8 It isn't a jet, it isn't supersonic and it does Air-to-Mud. Three strikes against it.

Posted by magpie 2022-11-21 22:02|| 2022-11-21 22:02|| Front Page Top

#9 Ha ha ha. What SteveS said. 😁

Posted by Dron66046 2022-11-21 22:53|| 2022-11-21 22:53|| Front Page Top

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