I'm Ready and so are you!

I picked the absolute best time to give BMS a serious go. I am lucky in that many of the communities I have been following have started campaigns. I also recently just got word that one of my wingmen, Upchuk (Wretch), has secured our group a server as well. Selfishly, this means that no matter what work schedule you or I have, there is no reason you can't get up in the air with the homies. 

Sidebar: It is also gnarly that most servers running campaigns are doing so in theaters set in the 1980s. So, it's been a WONDERFUL heap of nostalgia! Plus, it's super cool to hate on the Russians now, so leaning into fighting 1980s Soviets is second nature. I am excited to report that in Enigma's community server, the KTO—1980s Campaign is into its fourth day, and the Chinese and Soviets have joined. 

I love a target-rich environment. 

If you have ever considered joining a Falcon BMS community and taking part in online flights, do it. Stop thinking about it and do it. I hate to quote Top Gun: Maverick, but so help me, Robin Olds. I fucking will. "Don't Think...do." there is truth in those words. 

I, for one, GROSSLY miscalculated these online communities' patience. Accidentally shoot down a friendly plane? Learn from the mistake and move on. Rolled in hot on a target and accidentally BBQ an entire regiment of ROK Mechanized infantry? Bet that hurt a little; take a breath, learn from that, and get back in the air. 

Let me back up by explaining my experiences online with Falcon BMS. It started with dinking around with some buddies, and it grew into a couple of us getting heavily involved. Freezer and I flew together in a virtual squadron I started in DCS, the Yankee Air Pirates. We had some good times, but I wound up taking about a three-year break from flight sims. 

That break is over, and Freezer and I are back in the air again, but this time in the far superior Falcon BMS. He and I have a long, storied battle streamer consisting of single days in theater. We kept trying different campaigns and starting new ones. Generally speaking, we never made it to day 2, not because of a lack of good sorties. We have started flying in different communities and are well into Day 4!

Strike Package over DMZ KTO 1988 - Colorized

Flying with a wingman is excellent; flying with 30 30-ship strike package over Eastern Germany to halt a soviet advance is amazing. It's also terrifying and tough to approach. From the outside looking in, everyone is dialed in and professional. I am still flinging poop on walls and drawing pictures of dogfights. The folks I see in videos online are Renaissance artists that have put away oils and clays for Fox - 1s and MK-84s. 

Let me go ahead and tell you the truth about that: They are not the Ninja Turtles. No, as it turns out, they mostly draw with crayons and color outside the lines. Some have an encyclopedic knowledge of the entire scope of the Air-Land Battle and know what they are doing. 

Most are exactly like you; they just have flown with other people more, so they have more time playing monkey see, monkey do. I was laboring under the notion that I needed to RTFM to the point that I was an expert. I thought I needed to be able to puke out every emergency procedure at the request of my flight lead at any given moment. 

For some reason, I thought that I needed to have a ton of flight hours, knowledge, and experience, and I better show up right. Don't waste people's time, and don't get in the way. Show up right, or don't show up at all. 

My first flight with the crowd of UOAF was more about learning that I was wrong about almost everything I thought about BMS online. First of all, I have found at least three communities right now that have welcomed new pilots with open arms, even those with less experience than me. 

The bar for entry is simple. Do you have a copy of BMS? Can you connect to an online server and IVC to communicate? Can you taxi a hot started, warm and cozy, already set up jet to Taxi? Can you follow the flight lead? Can you land? Congratulations, you are doing better than you think because that's the signs of an amazingly competent pilot. 

Winning medals, getting kills, and putting warheads on Commie foreheads is the high we should aspire to chase, but it's not the only one. I made so many mistakes and set myself up for so much failure. At one point, I got in my own head so badly that I almost turned back. I almost said, "2 is RTB," turned off my radio, and landed my plane. 

The mistake I made was punching all my tanks and bombs when I only needed to punch my bombs and one tank. I stuck out that embarrassment and followed my flight lead's instructions. I was mad at him for being frustrated with me. I was mad at myself because I made a mistake. I was mad because I was embarrassed I screwed up. 

I wound up shooting a friendly plane with a Fox 2. It was a tornado; it looked evil enough, and he limped home for some reason, that was far less embarrassing to me. They tried to pawn that shot off on someone else, but I owned it because, I mean, I did do it, and it's war. 

What were the first two things I did after the de-brief? I pulled up pictures of the MiG-23 and the Tornado. I also learned how to set up my TACAN yardstick, use my HSD to tell others where I am and to find locations relative to bullseye, do a proper selective jettison, and hot refuel a jet on the ramp.

None of those things I would have ever learned on my own. All were discovered by my failure to know them in the first place. Simple things, easy to understand, and are now part of my flying routine.

Getting kicked in the dick is an excellent way to learn not to do the things that lead to the dick kick. 

This is a long way to say, get your ass to fly. There is no excuse not to get up there and give it a shot. It's the best and fastest way to find out what's important, what you don't know, and what you need to learn. You also aren't doing it alone. 

It was so comfortable seeing people making mistakes. The best part was I am not exceptional because I am choosing to learn from my fuck ups. I have seen pilots beat themselves to the point that intervention is required. They want to do better, and it sucks when they don't. 

They also don't quit. They look at the adversity in the face and say, "Eat shit," and strap the jet back on and get back up to go do God's work. Do you know how hard it is to have to sit and have 30 strangers look at everything you do and shit on it? Don't worry, you get your turn. They want to know what you saw and hear your input.

Holy shit, one flight, and you're a peer and part of the team.

Put me in Coach; I'm ready to play.

Today.

Pushing to target - KTO 1988