FM9 Firmware Version 5.01

ezvictor said:
Awesome!!!
Honestly im just glad someone on here got that lol
By control, did you operate rapcon / tower or something else? Was Yuma warm enough for ya?
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I was a Marine Tactical Air Controller, also known as GCI. Which basically means I would talk to the fast movers and direct them to the enemy air targets. We were combat deployable, conducting ops out of something the size of a train car. We use fiber optic and connect our radars from distances of hundreds of yards to almost a mile away. We could see for hundreds of miles. This was in the mid 90s, so I'm sure the job has changed somewhat with the advent of things like Link 16 etc. We would datalink our picture with an AWACS, and together divvy up control of the theater.

I spent most of my 4 years of active duty in the desert southwest. After Parris Island and Lejeune for infantry training (we all did it) I went to 29 Palms for 6 months then Yuma. The good part about that was LOTS of training in that area, since it's so desolate. When we were in garrison in Yuma we would have 3-4 flights pre day and it was very common to control the 'bad guy' red side of the fight, which usually meant the F5s. Most of the pilots were reservists who also flew for Southwest. What a gig lol. I spent a lot of time hanging our in their ready room, which was one of the coolest - all Russian themed... red walls, lots of Cyrillic writing. My favorite tho was VMA-214 - the Blacksheep Squadron. Lots of memorabilia from their heydey in WWII with Pappy Boyington. While i was there, they brought Arnold Schwarzenegger into the Harrier simulator to film his hands for the movie True Lies. Good times.

We also controlled a lot of flights for VMFT-101 the 'Sharpshooter' out of El Centro, which is a RAG squadron for newbie F18 pilots (now F35s I think). Not to mention USAF stuff from Nellis and Guard units from across the country. It was a fun time, but alas - no civilian counterpart. We had Yuma tower ATC guys attached to our unit, we'd see them on Fridays for formation, for promotions and ceremonial stuff like that, that's about it. My job was very different. Different mission, equipment and language. They keep people separated for safety, we brought them together to kill the enemy LOL. I did 4 years then got out. GI Bill, finished my degree, got all my pilot ratings. Been flying business jets for the last 25 years. Time flies... literally LOL.


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jetdriver1775 said:
I was a Marine Tactical Air Controller, also known as GCI. Which basically means I would talk to the fast movers and direct them to the enemy air targets. We were combat deployable, conducting ops out of something the size of a train car. We use fiber optic and connect our radars from distances of hundreds of yards to almost a mile away. We could see for hundreds of miles. This was in the mid 90s, so I'm sure the job has changed somewhat with the advent of things like Link 16 etc. We would datalink our picture with an AWACS, and together divvy up control of the theater.

I spent most of my 4 years of active duty in the desert southwest. After Parris Island and Lejeune for infantry training (we all did it) I went to 29 Palms for 6 months then Yuma. The good part about that was LOTS of training in that area, since it's so desolate. When we were in garrison in Yuma we would have 3-4 flights pre day and it was very common to control the 'bad guy' red side of the fight, which usually meant the F5s. Most of the pilots were reservists who also flew for Southwest. What a gig lol. I spent a lot of time hanging our in their ready room, which was one of the coolest - all Russian themed... red walls, lots of Cyrillic writing. My favorite tho was VMA-214 - the Blacksheep Squadron. Lots of memorabilia from their heydey in WWII with Pappy Boyington. While i was there, they brought Arnold Schwarzenegger into the Harrier simulator to film his hands for the movie True Lies. Good times.

We also controlled a lot of flights for VMFT-101 the 'Sharpshooter' out of El Centro, which is a RAG squadron for newbie F18 pilots (now F35s I think). Not to mention USAF stuff from Nellis and Guard units from across the country. It was a fun time, but alas - no civilian counterpart. We had Yuma tower ATC guys attached to our unit, we'd see them on Fridays for formation, for promotions and ceremonial stuff like that, that's about it. My job was very different. Different mission, equipment and language. They keep people separated for safety, we brought them together to kill the enemy LOL. I did 4 years then got out. GI Bill, finished my degree, got all my pilot ratings. Been flying business jets for the last 25 years. Time flies... literally LOL.
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Very very cool. Thank you for your service. Looks like some fun was had along the way 👍
For the record I am not military and certainly never have I flown the F-5.
 
Thanks man. I was enlisted (only had my private pilot rating back then) and didn't really start flying until after I got out of the service. But I have flown the F-18 and F-14. Let me explain...

Back then we had a thing called TADIL-C, Tactical Data Information Link - Charlie. The only two jets in the fleet that had it were the F-14, and F/A-18. Basically, it would allow us GCI controllers to steer the jet remotely - like taking control of their jet while on autopilot. Not while their actively fighting of course, but during other times, like on their way to the tanker for more gas. We couldn't really 'see' what was happening from our radar scopes, we just had a basic set of commands like climb, descend, turn etc. If I remember correctly, the phrase was 'ensure vector mode, two way colonize'. If the pilot agreed, he'd flip a switch and we could take control and have a little fun. Then after that, we could link him with the tanker and the computer would fly his jet remotely until he was in trail of the tanker. This allowed the pilot to be heads down for a few mins and get ready for the next mission/fight/strike package... adjusting maps, programming things etc. Later in the debrief we could watch the HUD camera footage and see the parts where we were 'flying' the jet. So, all in I probably have around 10-15 hours of F14/F18 time LOL.

These days I fly a Gulfstream G-VII, cruising around a sipping coffee at Mach .90 It's a tough job, but someone has to do it LOL.

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jetdriver1775 said:
I was a Marine Tactical Air Controller, also known as GCI. Which basically means I would talk to the fast movers and direct them to the enemy air targets. We were combat deployable, conducting ops out of something the size of a train car. We use fiber optic and connect our radars from distances of hundreds of yards to almost a mile away. We could see for hundreds of miles. This was in the mid 90s, so I'm sure the job has changed somewhat with the advent of things like Link 16 etc. We would datalink our picture with an AWACS, and together divvy up control of the theater.

I spent most of my 4 years of active duty in the desert southwest. After Parris Island and Lejeune for infantry training (we all did it) I went to 29 Palms for 6 months then Yuma. The good part about that was LOTS of training in that area, since it's so desolate. When we were in garrison in Yuma we would have 3-4 flights pre day and it was very common to control the 'bad guy' red side of the fight, which usually meant the F5s. Most of the pilots were reservists who also flew for Southwest. What a gig lol. I spent a lot of time hanging our in their ready room, which was one of the coolest - all Russian themed... red walls, lots of Cyrillic writing. My favorite tho was VMA-214 - the Blacksheep Squadron. Lots of memorabilia from their heydey in WWII with Pappy Boyington. While i was there, they brought Arnold Schwarzenegger into the Harrier simulator to film his hands for the movie True Lies. Good times.
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You had me at 29 Palms :)

 
jetdriver1775 said:
Your profile name caught my eye. 'ezvictor' is code for prepare for an emergency evacuation LOL.
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Yeah it’s an old command we don’t use anymore. Yes I’m guilty. Airline trash here ;)
Wow pretty amazing about that GCI. So those 1970s tactical jets had some pretty robust datalink (for the time). Very cool. I’d definitely put that in my logbook. :cool:IMG_2292.jpeg
 
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jetdriver1775 said:
I was a Marine Tactical Air Controller, also known as GCI. Which basically means I would talk to the fast movers and direct them to the enemy air targets. We were combat deployable, conducting ops out of something the size of a train car. We use fiber optic and connect our radars from distances of hundreds of yards to almost a mile away. We could see for hundreds of miles. This was in the mid 90s, so I'm sure the job has changed somewhat with the advent of things like Link 16 etc. We would datalink our picture with an AWACS, and together divvy up control of the theater.

I spent most of my 4 years of active duty in the desert southwest. After Parris Island and Lejeune for infantry training (we all did it) I went to 29 Palms for 6 months then Yuma. The good part about that was LOTS of training in that area, since it's so desolate. When we were in garrison in Yuma we would have 3-4 flights pre day and it was very common to control the 'bad guy' red side of the fight, which usually meant the F5s. Most of the pilots were reservists who also flew for Southwest. What a gig lol. I spent a lot of time hanging our in their ready room, which was one of the coolest - all Russian themed... red walls, lots of Cyrillic writing. My favorite tho was VMA-214 - the Blacksheep Squadron. Lots of memorabilia from their heydey in WWII with Pappy Boyington. While i was there, they brought Arnold Schwarzenegger into the Harrier simulator to film his hands for the movie True Lies. Good times.

We also controlled a lot of flights for VMFT-101 the 'Sharpshooter' out of El Centro, which is a RAG squadron for newbie F18 pilots (now F35s I think). Not to mention USAF stuff from Nellis and Guard units from across the country. It was a fun time, but alas - no civilian counterpart. We had Yuma tower ATC guys attached to our unit, we'd see them on Fridays for formation, for promotions and ceremonial stuff like that, that's about it. My job was very different. Different mission, equipment and language. They keep people separated for safety, we brought them together to kill the enemy LOL. I did 4 years then got out. GI Bill, finished my degree, got all my pilot ratings. Been flying business jets for the last 25 years. Time flies... literally LOL.


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Is the earth flat...lol
 
Deadpool_25 said:
@jetdriver1775 Right on man. GCI has been my world for going on 25 years now. I'm at a GCI (and other C2 stuff) schoolhouse now where part of my job is scheduling control for the wing's fighter squadrons. I'm at an AF unit but we recently got a USMC instructor/controller into the unit and will probably be adding a few more.
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Wow, all this GCI talk brings back many old memories, as I was in the USAF in Germany back in the late 60's when we had the ADIZ, and Berlin corridors. Back then we were controlling mostly F4 Phantoms, and were using data link back then, as well, but I'm sure far from the capabilities of today's systems. Thanks for sharing your stories, and thanks to jetdriver1775 for the great photos.
 
Tomr said:
Wow, all this GCI talk brings back many old memories, as I was in the USAF in Germany back in the late 60's when we had the ADIZ, and Berlin corridors. Back then we were controlling mostly F4 Phantoms, and were using data link back then, as well, but I'm sure far from the capabilities of today's systems. Thanks for sharing your stories, and thanks to jetdriver1775 for the great photos.
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Love the Phantom! One of my all time fave fighters!

Here's a throwback to me flying an F-4 Phantom simulator in 96 at Holloman AFB. A group of 10 of us Marine GCI guys got to go on det to Holloman and control flights for the 120th Silver Lobos, who transitioned from F-4s to F-16s and were hosting the Luftwaffe in F-4s and Tornados. I think most other squadrons there were flying the F-117. We got to sit in one, and I was surprised how 'old' the cockpit was, but alas - no pictures allowed LOL. We jarheads got to live like kings in the Air Force barracks and party with the enlisted German crews they brought over with them. They had an old F-4 sim that they let us fly. I was the only pilot in the group (with a private license and about 50 hours total). So my buddies volunteered me to go first with one of our always crabby Gunny’s in the backseat LOL. I figured it was a real man’s jet (never touched a jet) and figured it would take some force to manipulate the controls. I was wrong lol. I went to full afterburner yanked back on the stick and stalled the jet… crashing in shame lol.

Everyone laughed. But the sim tech had mercy and let me try again. He said, use a feather touch, just think about pitch and roll. So, next try I went full afterburner and rotated into a nice climb. Pulled up the gear and flaps and off we went. Then he set me up with a basic 1v1 MiG intercept and gave my backseater some work. We got vectored to a merge with a MiG 21, which developed into a one circle fight. I was able to get behind him and let a sidewinder off the rail. Splash one MiG. I was the only one to get a kill that day. 🤘🏼😎


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