towbubba said:
I know I am not there yet but I don't understand how IP's are scaring people from the Cobra pipeline? Anybody know why people don't want the huey? It will be my second choice because it's the only thing besides cobras with a pilot controlled weapon system and it's getting upgraded soon. What's a good reason SNA's change their mind about the cobra? Are there some weeks where there is no Cobra slots passed out? Is there a particular area of advanced that would let someone know they would be a better Cobra pilot than say a 53 or 46 pilot, you know like PA's and cruise forms is in primary? At least the jet draft is done.
The IP's are not scaring the SNA's away from Cobras, rather letting them know what the fleet is like. You will get a "Preference Card" lecture about once a month where IP's from every community and location talk about the experiences: good, bad, and ugly.
For the Cobra community, it has a reputation (some would say well earned) for being much more uptight than the 46 or 53 community. You will see more of the "frustrated jet jocks" here than anywhere else in the helo community. Way more studying than other platforms. Think all of the studying you have done for flight school: double it for the next two years. Also, many students pick location first and platform second (i.e., its more important to get New River for the Med Floats than over what platform you will fly.)
Hueys? When you go out on a standard MEU float, Hueys generally do more command & control and VIP than anything else. We have the Cobras for ordnance but we need somebody to haul around the AMC (pilot in charge of the mission: Airborne Mission Commander) and the HUC (grunt in charge of the ground forces: Heliborne Unit Commander). These guys generally ride around in the Huey and direct the show from a few miles away at several thousand feet for radio reception. Like turn patterns? Then go Hueys. Occasionally the Hueys will carry ordnance but when loaded down they are significantly slower than the 46's, not to mention the 53's. (The 53's are by far the fastest helos we have - that may change with the new 4 bladed Cobra.) The Hueys do some fast roping and special ops stuff occasionally as well.
All of the tactical approaches and formation flights are more pertinent to the assault community than to the skids. We are the ones that have to buttonhook into a zone, in formation, at 200 ft and 120 knots, on NVG's to get the grunts either in or out of the zone. Meanwhile, the Hueys going round and round as the C & C bird or the Cobras are hovering in their Attack Positions.(The last paragraph is my opinion only - skid pilots might disagree
.)
Gotta get back to studying for grad school. Good Luck with wahtever you pick.