Pilot Crew Check in

[PilotWings01]

So did anyone else want to become a pilot after playing Wing Commander?

I wanted to ever since I was a kid, but playing WC pushed me over the edge.

Anyone else?

 

[Dralthi5]

Definitely. I got into WC when I was 12, and my dad was in the Air Force. So he tried to encourage me to go into the Academy. For a while, I was very tempted. Then in 8th grade, my vision got completely fucked up, so there went my dreams to be a pilot. I still wanted to be an Air Force officer up until maybe my junior year of high school. Then I decided it wasn't for me. I do know a guy at the Academy now. Lazy as hell in high school, but he got a 1600 on his SATs. A regular Zach Morris.

Now my hair is past my shoulders and I'm coasting through college with no ambition.

 

[Mjr. Whoopass]

My dad's a retired colonel from the Air Guard. He's the one who got me started with WC, and he wanted me to follow in his footsteps. I learned to enjoy fighter combat from this and other games. I had my pilot's license on my 16th birthday, but I decided I didn't want to be a fighter pilot. Even though it would've been fun, I was mainly afraid of being sent off to war and asked to bomb civilian targets. Being an airline pilot didn't intregue me either, I guess it might have been because my dad did it so it wasn't exciting. I would get bored while logging flying hours, so I'd turn off the TCAS (before GPS existed) and buzz small towns at very low altitude. Pretty soon I became so bored with lessons that I quit. I'm a Real Estate agent now. Since I wanted to avoid killing humans, I may not have signed up to fight in WC4. I wouldn't have objected to fighting the Kilrathi or Nephilim though.

 

[Maj.Striker]

Ok...you're going to have to explain this. Why is killing Nephilim or Kilrathi so much easier then killing humans? You'd better have some good logic for this.

 

[Death]

Perhaps because they're aliens, and not his own kind?

"They're different, kill them!" is hardly a new sentiment, for humanity as a whole.

 

[Mjr. Whoopass]

Ok...you're going to have to explain this. Why is killing Nephilim or Kilrathi so much easier then killing humans? You'd better have some good logic for this.

I'm going to post a new thread for this one since it doesn't really apply to "pilot check in"... stay tuned...

 

[Claymore]

I thought about going. Still want to for that matter, but the whole "Thou shall not kill" from the Ten Commandments bothers me. I also developed bleeding ulcers and almost had to have a blood transfussion last year, so I didn't even apply. I have perfect vision scored 28 on the ACT and have like a 4.8 GPA ranked 4th in my class, so I might've gotten in.

The killing people part really got me out of doing it. Has anyone else seen Starship Troopers 2. It can be viewed as a political statement that heros are fools who have thrown their lives away. I'm not going to go any further b/c I might have an AP English moment. And I don't neccesarily agree with the anti propaganda statement from SST 2.

 

[Worf]

Actually, if you have half-decent vision (not great, but do-able), you can still fly. My vision is basically at the borderline of the Cat 3 medical, which enables me to get a PPL, so...

Of course, while I dream of flying an F-15, I really wanted to do it because of aerobatics, not for combat (don't know anyone who really thirsts for combat, honestly enough). But since aerobatics and BFM are quite reliated, well, I guess I can do everything but fly in a jet. Oh well.

 

[FlashFire82]

I thought about it, actually. I almost went to the Academy, too, had my congressional recommendation and all. I wasn't going to be a pilot, but a Navigator, which only required vision that could be corrected with glasses.(extra seat on the Tomcat, anyone?). But I fell in love with my music, and ended up joining the Army band. But I have to say - my love with military service is closely related to my experiences playing Wing Commander.

 

[AD]

I sure wanted to fly jets... but not really to be in actual combat.

Has anyone else seen Starship Troopers 2. It can be viewed as a political statement that heros are fools who have thrown their lives away. I'm not going to go any further b/c I might have an AP English moment. And I don't neccesarily agree with the anti propaganda statement from SST 2.

I wish I hadn't seen it. What a horrible waste of the five bucks it cost me to rent it. Whoever thought it would be a good idea to put Tippet at the helm was out of their mind. It was a horrible excuse for a bunch of sfx guys to practice their craft and make a disgusting and unoriginal sequel (there were a few ok moments) and the acting was wretched. Unless you like over-gory semi horror movies with gratuitous nudity (bordering on the idiotic - the nudity that is) stay away from that stinker.

None of the gore is used to effect, but rather for the sake of having gore - and alot of it. That whole moral sub-plot (considering the only real plot is gore) felt tacked on.

I hate most horror movies, not because they're scary, but simply because most of them aren't. Why do people always confuse disgust with fear?

 

[Death]

I thought about going. Still want to for that matter, but the whole "Thou shall not kill" from the Ten Commandments bothers me.

A more accurate translation of that commandment would be "Thou shalt not commit murder".

While the King James version did bring the bible into "modern" (for the 1600s, anyway) language, there are more than a few parts where its translation accuracy is somewhat questionable.

That, however, is another thread entirely.

 

[Anxiety]

Because of Wing Commander, I have thought about joining the Air Force. I don't think I would be the military type, though. Although I have said in the past that if I HAD to join the military for some obscure reason then I would definately try the Air Force first. This is because of games like Wing Commander and Ace Combat (which I only got into because of my love for Wing Commander).

 

[Edfilho]

I could have tried to get into FAB (Brazilian Air Foce), but piloting F-5s and Mirage IIIs while watching drug traffickers airplanes flaying in and out without permission to shoot them, nah, that's sad.

 

[Dahan]

After playing my first wing commander 2 in 1992/3, I had a desire to join the defence force and now in the process in applying with either the navy or air force. It is not because of playing the game, but of my patriotism and/or my dedication I have to my country.

 

[TopGun]

I've wanted to be a pilot for as long as I can remember, I first played WC when I was 14

 

[TIRex]

My dream of becoming a (Space-)Pilot begun with the T-65 and the Viper (about 1980 at the age of 7) and ended a few years later with the diagnostic of colorblindness.
The german army didn't even let me become an SaR-Helicopterpilot because of my eyes.

 

[Worf]

Well, I'm somewhat relieved. I thought I was one of the few pilots that really wanted to fly in a fighter. Apparently, I'm not, and there's way more people is a recent article in this month's AOPA Pilot is any indication.

Ah well. I can't wait for aerobatics training. Took a little while and realized what it was about fighter jets that I really wanted to fly - it's those aerobatics! (Though, aerobatics and BFM are related...).

 

[DyNaMiX]

I know Wing Commander is one thing causing me to spend my days working towards serving in the (Royal) Australian Air Force.
I'd love to be a pilot but I understand it's a VERY competitive and tough career to get. But I love the military in general. So if the Air Force says "don't come near me" I'll run off to the Navy, if they say no there is plenty of jobs in the Army.
But being a pilot is on the top of my list.
I'm just waiting to live out Wing Commander 1.

 

[Starkey]

I could have tried to get into FAB (Brazilian Air Foce), but piloting F-5s and Mirage IIIs while watching drug traffickers airplanes flaying in and out without permission to shoot them, nah, that's sad.

Go ahead now... Congress approved a brand new "Shoot Down Bill". The drug traffickers planes just vanished after that, however.

... AND, you can fly the AMAZING ALX*!

(*that is, a freaking Super Tucano armed with Piranha missiles)

 

[Starkey]

BTW, speaking of the Brazilian Air Force, allow me a once-in-a-lifetime double post.