Post by: UnarmedButStillPolite on February 15, 2008, 02:26:44 PM
Anyway, I haven't totally given up on my dream of going into space, but I've started looking into alternatives and the next best thing would be to join the Police force, so I was wondering if there are any Police officers would could advise me?
What can I do that will give me a leg up on the competition? Are the risks worth the rewards (I meant knowing that you're helping to keep the streets safe, not material rewards)? Would you recommend your children follow in your footsteps? (this will help me win my parents over, both of whom think I'm a wee bit reckless with my life, lol)
Post by: Bogie on February 15, 2008, 03:21:36 PM
Dude, engineering school. The next round of "nasa" stuff will be outsourced.
Post by: Ryan in Maine on February 15, 2008, 03:51:56 PM
Post by: UnarmedButStillPolite on February 15, 2008, 04:02:39 PM
Wouldn't the next best thing be to join the Navy or Air Force?
I mean the next best thing for me, as in what my second choice as a career would be.
Post by: Boomhauer on February 15, 2008, 06:09:59 PM
There are a couple of LEOs on this board. Moondoggie, I do believe, and I think Lawdog is also registered on here. There are undoubtedly others, too. Personally, I think that being a LEO in a smaller town could be interesting and fun.
Post by: Ryan in Maine on February 15, 2008, 07:17:37 PM
Wouldn't the next best thing be to join the Navy or Air Force?
I mean the next best thing for me, as in what my second choice as a career would be.
I still thought it warranted mentioning though. The Air Force has a lot of space program involvement these days. They employ civilians as well, I believe. They work commercially as well as with NASA and the DOD.
The Air Force Space Command certainly wouldn't be a bad way to get a foot in the door.
Just saying!
Post by: Gewehr98 on February 15, 2008, 08:22:41 PM
Air Force Space Command doesn't do squat with astronaut selection - they're basically the end users and managers of space technology, but they're not the hatching ground for NASA astronauts. Air Force pilots plucked from Air Combat Command (My former major command) are one fertile source for astronaut candidates, as are test pilots from Air Force Systems Command at Edwards AFB. These are all highly trained and skilled aviators, thousands of hours of seat time, and typically not guys who flew trash-haulers like C-130, C-141, or C-5 airframes. Even B-52 and WC-135 dawgs like myself are passed over for those who flew higher-performance aircraft that can yank and bank while swinging the G-meter considerably.
IOW, if you're looking to be a shuttle pilot, and want to go via the Air Force route, you have to become a Command Pilot (Pilot Wings w/star and wreath), preferably a fighter jock, and come to the table highly recommended, sporting exemplary OERs and Definitely Promote statements w/ Senior Level Endorsement. Your records will be thoroughly reviewed by the Air Force if they're given a quota to fill, and it'll span your entire career, including what place you graduated from UPT (Undergraduate Pilot Training) and OTS/Academy/ROTC ranking. Then you get to go through the NASA selection board as you compete against Navy and Marine pilots with similar credentials. You're probably the top 1% of the Air Force's pilots, before you get racked and stacked with the top 1% of the Navy and Marine candidates. If you don't get selected on the first go-around, keep plugging away at it while improving yourself with more experience, training, and endorsements.
The other option is to become a Mission Specialist, no left and right seat up front, but you'll still get astronaut wings. You'll have an advanced degree in whatever discipline NASA wants for the mission, and will undergo most of the same training and testing as the Pilot and Mission Commander. Selection will still be extremely competitive, and it doesn't hurt to keep applying after getting passed over once or twice. Think AFIT (Air Force Institute of Technology) as a feeder path.
Post by: Ryan in Maine on February 15, 2008, 09:32:54 PM
Post by: S. Williamson on February 15, 2008, 09:53:59 PM
I'm taking a different route. I'm getting my Airframe and Power plant license at the moment, followed soon by an Associate's Degree in Aviation Maintenance, followed by (hopefully) employment at Boeing in Seattle, followed in a few years by an Aerospace Engineering degree from UW. (I actually plan on getting one to pay for the next and so on...
)I knew from a very early age that I would never, under NASA's physical requirements, pilot a space shuttle. My eyes are horrible without lenses, for one, and even if I were to miraculously drop my body fat percentage to 13% and become capable of the PT exercises that the military requires, I'd still be over 300lbs.
I am doing everything I damn well can to get myself into space where I belong, and where most people think I actually am.
If, by the point that I get my last degree from UW, I'm eligible for spaceflight via NASA, I'm going. If not, then (I hope to God) the commercial space industry will have built up by then. And if I *still* can't, then I'm building a time machine, going back to 1956, and strapping a harness to Alice Kramden.
Post by: Perd Hapley on February 16, 2008, 03:35:02 AM
I'm...strapping a harness to Alice Kramden.
Well, some guys just have odd fantasies, I guess.
Post by: Sergeant Bob on February 16, 2008, 04:04:30 AM
I'm...strapping a harness to Alice Kramden.
Well, some guys just have
Sorry fistful, I just had to!
Post by: Tallpine on February 16, 2008, 06:04:33 AM
Quote
Even B-52 and WC-135 dawgs like myself are passed over for those who flew higher-performance aircraft that can yank and bank while swinging the G-meter considerably.
Well that Holland guy could yank and bank a B-52, at least for a while ...
Post by: Sergeant Bob on February 16, 2008, 06:45:14 AM
Quote
Even B-52 and WC-135 dawgs like myself are passed over for those who flew higher-performance aircraft that can yank and bank while swinging the G-meter considerably.
Well that Holland guy could yank and bank a B-52, at least for a while ...
And what does that have to do with anything? Most Air Force pilots are highly skilled aviators with a level of dedication and professionalism most people can only aspire to.
What happened with Col. Holland is not the norm and is quite rare.
Post by: Tallpine on February 16, 2008, 09:59:42 AM
Quote
Even B-52 and WC-135 dawgs like myself are passed over for those who flew higher-performance aircraft that can yank and bank while swinging the G-meter considerably.
Well that Holland guy could yank and bank a B-52, at least for a while ...
And what does that have to do with anything? Most Air Force pilots are highly skilled aviators with a level of dedication and professionalism most people can only aspire to.
What happened with Col. Holland is not the norm and is quite rare.
Sorry if I pushed the wrong button ....
Col. Holland was highly skilled too, or else he could not have done what he did for so long.
What's the old saying ... "there are old pilots and bold pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots" ?
Gwehr, seems I remember you posted a 60 degree bank photo from inside the cockpit, but of course at a much higher altitude ...
Post by: S. Williamson on February 16, 2008, 12:06:13 PM
Quote
I'm building a time machine, going back to 1956, and strapping a harness to Alice Kramden.
Dangit...
1956. The Honeymooners. Alice Kramden was threatened more than any other individual to be "sent to the moon."
Little-known fact: The first person to actually set foot on the moon was James Marshall Hendrix in 1967. It was undocumented, however, because he didn't use a corporeal means of transit.
Post by: Gewehr98 on February 16, 2008, 06:07:06 PM
Quote
Col. Holland was highly skilled too, or else he could not have done what he did for so long.
What's the old saying ... "there are old pilots and bold pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots" ?
Gwehr, seems I remember you posted a 60 degree bank photo from inside the cockpit, but of course at a much higher altitude ...
What's the old saying ... "there are old pilots and bold pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots" ?
Gwehr, seems I remember you posted a 60 degree bank photo from inside the cockpit, but of course at a much higher altitude ...
My photos are at 300-400ft AGL, and I never exceeded 45 degrees bank angle, per the T.O.s. Trust me, I know, as did everybody else in the 8th Air Force on down since that day.
Bud Holland was a hot-dog, and had been behind the 8-Ball for a while due to his aggressive behavior and disregard for procedures. He was only authorized to fly with a Stan/Eval crew at the time of the incident. There's very little aerodynamic lift delivered by a B-52H fuselage when the aircraft is rolled to a 90 degree bank angle. He was an accident waiting to happen, and the entire 92nd Bomb Wing contributed to that disaster by sweeping his previous infractions under the carpet vs. taking appropriate measures.
Part of the story here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_Fairchild_Air_Force_Base_B-52_crash
Your airframe assignment out of UPT is based on your class standing. The top scores get fighters, then it goes to TTB (Tanker, Transport, Bomber). I've seen folks change airframes later only on rare occasions, usually from rotary wing to fixed wing, and I know of one C-130 pilot who transitioned to the U-2/TR-1. He was the exception, rather than the rule.
I don't know how the Navy does it - they may be easier, they may be tougher. It doesn't hurt to shoot for astronaut, but don't eat a shotgun if you can't get that far.
Post by: S. Williamson on February 16, 2008, 06:18:19 PM
Where might be a good place to find that kind of info?
Post by: Tallpine on February 17, 2008, 08:03:54 AM
The occasional incidents only prove that it is a profession not tolerant of errors.