Hello and question about Hornet recruitment

[Pinger]

Hi, I'm Bill but have gone by the callsign "Pinger" since the days of Falcon AF. I was curious whether the 476 vFG anticipates opening recruitment for the F/A-18C recruitment in the future.

[Roman]

Hi Pinger, welcome to the forum. I see you made it to the discord as well nice! I am sure a Hornet guy will touch base with you.

[Pinger]

Sounds good. Thanks.

[Howard]

Welcome!

[Pinger]

Just bumping my old introductory post, as I am still interested in the 476th and Hornet recruitment. I have chatted briefly via PM with ExNusquam relative to Hornet recruitment, so this is more perfunctory to refresh this post. Happy to answer any questions anyone may have though. Thanks!

[Pinger]

Hey, I hope I’m not being a pest, but I wanted to post again express my interest in the 476th. I know recruitment isn’t currently open for the Hornet and may not be open for a while; no sweat. I just wanted to go ahead and sort of introduce myself, put my best foot forward, and explain my interest in the 476th.

I’ve been a flight sim enthusiast sims Falcon 4.0. I totally lacked the confidence to learn Falcon 4 upon release but picked it back up around the time Allied Force was released. At that time, I determined I was going to learn to do this little hobby. And I started working hard at it and got a little better. That just means I learned to land. Mind you, I later learned that I wasn’t landing the right way, but hey, no fireballs, so there’s that. I joined the v72nd VFW and that’s when my learning grew exponentially. I’m not sure they were a “hardcore” group, but they had standards and 1:2 ratio in training. Having now been a part of a few wings, I know they had some really good SOPs to try and be as realistic as possible, and that’s what I liked the most. From there I was hooked until RL got in the way and I stopped flying for a while.

Then I saw the DCS Hornet was released and jumped back in back in about 2018. I’ve been a member of a few different DCS groups. None of those groups have really had what I really desire the most – dedication and training to reality. They all have had really good training programs, but what I want is to get down into the details. I was very active for a few years in PACOM and then CENTCOM where I served as a founding member of CENTCOM and acted as the CO of the vVMFA-225 Vikings. In those two groups I accumulated over 360 hours in the Hornet; they even sent me a plaque as thanks for my time with them. What I enjoyed the most was helping train and teach. So, eventually, I’d be the type of person that would want to give back to the group. The problem was, I’m not a real-world pilot, never served in the military, and I’m not sure the things I taught were always accurate. We had fun though and that counts for something, I think.

Then I had some issues with a reoccurrence of cancer and stopped flying for about a year and a half. It’s crazy how fast skills and muscle memory you once had can diminish. I’m now in another group and while it’s a lot of fun and a bunch of good people, it’s not exactly what I’m looking for. Training was more rushed, can you do A, B, and C? If so, you’re in and we’re ready to move into “deployment” and start having “fun.” Well, the training is also a ton of fun for me. To really get into the nitty gritty of this stuff is what I’m hoping to find. I want to really simulate flying this aircraft. I want to go through the start-up check list that includes things that, in the sim, have almost no effect. I want to be challenged by the simulation aspects of DCS rather than the video game aspects and whether or not I earned the most points during deployment (Hint - I did not. LOL!).

Having looked through your materials, this looks like what the 476th offers. I’d be very honored to join and become a member. And in time, be able to give back. I know something of what goes into being a leader in a flight sim group and appreciate the incredible amount of hard work and the time it takes. That is the type of thing I’d want to be thankful for and show my appreciation by putting in the time to get better and make the experience as fruitful for the teacher as it is for the student. I am happy to meet with anyone, talk about anything at all, and do what it takes to earn a spot here.

Thanks for everyone’s time.

Bill - Pinger

[Ahmed]

Hey Pinger,

Have you joined our discord? If not, make sure to do so. You will probably get better info about our recruitment there.

[Ben]

Do you have interest in the Viper or just the Hornet?

[Pinger]

Thanks, yes, I’m in Discord. I don’t post much, but I’m in there.

[Pinger]

Just the Hornet but thanks.