Damn.

Smirnoffka

Wow, I have some bad news for myself, and, weather you care or not, I have decided to post it, mostly for the sake of getting it off my chest.

I injured my back when a car crashed into mine whilst parked, just as I was getting out. Yeah, it hurt. The real bummer for this is, as being a pilot, means that I really need to be in tip top condition to fly. And, apart from an uncomfortable back brace and some imminent surgery, the Doc has said it will not be at least 2 years before I can get back to flying. Talk about a bad day.

Anyway, they cant really have me sitting around doing nothing, so in about 20 days, they are sending me to university, well, Military university anyway, to study a Bachelor of Technology in Aviation. It will only take 2 years, and by the end of it, I should be able to continue flying no worries.

I guess you cant argue with fate.
On the upside, they pay me to study, and I should get a decent payout from the accident. I don't want to be an arsehole, but I do want to get the money I deserve for what happened. Considering I didnt do a thing wrong.

Sigh anyway, I will keep anyone (that cares) posted via the forum.

Oh, on the upside of life, my sister got married last week and I won $1900 at the casino. Its not all bad.

Hollowmind

That sucks, dude. =/ Although being paid to study Technology in Aviation doesn't sound bad at all. And from the way you tell it you'll eventually get to fly again. Sounds like a good opportunity to "broaden your horizons" so to say. But, again sucks what lead to it. I hope you heal up without any permanent effects from the injury.

Gratz to your sister and you winning a good amount at the casino.

Toomas

Sorry to hear that but the degree can help your career in the longer term, like when you are too old to be active pilot.
And i hope you can atleast fly slow prop planes and stuff..

Mark Dygert

ouch, that has gotta suck... hope you get back on track and feel better soon!

notman

Geez... that's a first. I've never heard of an accident like that. How the hell do you hit a parked car? Especially when it was obviously hard enough to cause back injury You shouldn't feel guilty about collecting on this. Good luck on the recovery. Keep those flying skills honed with some Flight Sims

Smirnoffka

Thanks guys. Its not that bad in the long run, but I guess I will miss the flying. I should just feel damn lucky I am not in a wheelchair for the rest of my life.

Mongrelman

That sucks

Glad there is no permanent injury and you can still use your hands for 3D and 'other stuff' (cleaning your shoes -Ed).

Don't see why you should feel guilty for getting a payout; sitting in a parked car isn't exactly dangerous (unless you parked it on the motorway or something hehe), and to hit one...

greenj2

Sucks to hear that dude, best wishes for your recovery. Good to hear you'll be keeping busy while you recover with something useful/relevant to you.

flaagan

Could always become a "desktop jockey" and fly a UAV around.
Sorry to hear that it could be a career-fubar'ing injury, but at least they're willing to keep you around and still pay for you, and better yet when it's all healed up you can hit the wild blue yonder again. Take care of yourself and don't strain the injury, I can say from my own accident-caused injuries that if you push them, they push back.

gauss

bad news indeed my friend, very sorry to hear it. but just when you think it's bad... you know it could have been much, much worse. especially when it comes to car crashin'--you've still got a shot at modeling, right?
these two years could end up being a huge blessing in disguise, not only making you a better pilot once you're able to get back into it, but set you up better for the longer term as well. education is never a waste, so long as you're willing to learn. so try your best to treat this like a stroke of luck.

"Do you know that the Japanese use the same word for crisis that they do for opportunity?"
"Yes - crisitunity!"

hawken

A friend of mine broke his neck in a diving accident leaving him paralyzed from the neck down, a year later he won "best UK designer 2005". Who know's what this might provide for you!

Smirnoffka

Thanks for the support and the cheer guys. I saw the surgeon today with my girlfriend to go through some stuff. He then told me that I will not be allowed to have sex for like 3 weeks post op. My girlfriend smiled. I cried.

Yeah, I am looking at this very much as an opportunity in disguise, and this degree should hold me in very good stead for the rest of my carreer, and really, give me a much better shot at flying the new Super Hornets the RAAF are getting, then possibly the F35's. Thanks guys. Oh, and it also means that any other plane Geeks can ask me anything you need and I can try and dig it up for you.

TomDunne

I was just going to ask you a few questions, Tom. First off, what is it like, flying a jet fighter? It's an experience I'll never have, and I'm curious what it feels like. Is it as complicated as it looks, or is it the kind of thing that starts to feel like video-game intuitive once you get used to it? I remember how awkward it felt learning to drive a manual transmission automobile, but now I go through traffic like I'm playing Gran Turismo

What sort of day-to-day activities did you do while actively flying? Clearly there aren't a lot of bogeys to shoot down over Australia, so what kind of practice do you guys do to stay sharp? My understanding about that sort of thing comes entirely from the movie Top Gun, and so I'm sure it's a little skewed I'd really like to hear more about what it's like, the fighter jock lifestyle.

Smirnoffka

Haha, well, I would say that as a fighter pilot, 90% of the flying you do is geared towards training. Because as you said their are not any bogies over Australia, all the flying that we do here is basically to get ourselves so good that if there WERE a boagie, we would be right to blow them out of the sky. We do go on deployment (Iraq, Afghanistan, ect), and there we provide the same roles as say the US Air Force, which is basically just air superiority and partol. Apart from the obvious football game flypast, thats pretty much all we do. But boy, some of it sure is fun.

My favorite exercise as yet has been the low level radar avoidance training. Imagine flying about 50ft above the ground through valleys. Its basically flight simulator stuff, but sooooo much more fun in real life.

In terms of the actual flying of the jet, because we have done so much training before we even strap in, it feels second nature, though, the power is massive. When I first flew one, it was like I had gone from a Ford to a Dragster.

Flying in general is not that difficult. It starts to become really complicated when you have to a list of things as long as the great wall of china, and in a jet, you don't get much time to do it. But, you will find that flying a slow prop aircraft is not too difficult, in fact I find it much easier than Flight Sim, because of the fact that all of your sense are involved, not just your sight and hearing.

Anyway, to be honest, I think it is one of those things that you just have to begin with, very much like artistic talent. That is to say that anyone can be a good pilot, but some are just naturally better to begin with. Just like anyone can be a good artist, given enough work and study, but some are just naturally more talented.

I hope I answered your questions, and if you have any more in depth questions, dont hesitate to ask.

Smirnoffka

Had surgery yesterday, and all has gone well. I start at university on the 24th of Jan, so not long now before I am learning shit I probably already know. Ah well, I am just glad the surgery was a success. Thanks for everything guys.

Kovac

Truly a shitty event man, though it's great that the surgery went smoothly. Always keep your head up, and it's good to see you're taking advantage of this unfortunate situation by excelling yourself even further in what you do.