[simpits-tech] Whats happenin?

[Brian Sikkema]

> I will keep my fingers crossed in your eventual transition from prey to
> predator. :)
>
> g.
>
Lol!! Well put. Though truth be told, most days my airplane scares me 
more than anyone who may be "hunting" me. We're embarasslingly late in 
procuring a new tanker, and structural problems seem like an eventual 
certainty in a plane this old. Problem is, we're pretty bad at 
predicting such failures (cases in point - A-10 wing cracks, C-130 wing 
box, and of course the F-15 longitudinal spar problem). And unlike the 
A-10 or the F-15, we don't have fancy rocket seats to save us. In fact 
since about 2008 we don't even carry parachutes anymore. I'm just not 
particularly interested in still being a tanker pilot when the first one 
goes down. I won't say I'm 100% convinced it will happen, I'm just 
saying the odds are higher than I'm personally comfortable with. Nobody 
has flown an airframe as long as we have the KC-135, and we tread new 
ground every day. I just hope the learning curve doesn't get too steep.

Ah well, off my soapbox for now. :)

Brian