Virgin Blue pilots offered Virgin Galactic positions!!

[Bypass ratio]

Be One of Australia’s First Astronaut Pilots!
Virgin Blue and Virgin Galactic have announced an “out of this world opportunity” whereby
two pilots now flying for Virgin Blue could become astronaut pilots of the future! Six Virgin
Blue pilots will be short listed and sent to the United States to undergo final selection by
NASA.
All Virgin Blue 737 pilots with a minimum of 500 jet hours are invited to apply for the 27
month secondment to train as fully-fledged astronaut pilots and fly space tourists on the
Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo from 2008/9 onwards.
The successful candidates will relocate to the USA and will undergo highly specialised
training including nine months of aerobatic, fast jet and executive aircraft for zero gravity
flights training. They will then spend the next nine months flying the Virgin Galactic
mothership named “White Knight” and will also participate in Mission Control work - the
last nine months will be spent flying Virgin Galactic Spaceship missions into space. Once
they have completed their 27 month secondment they will return to Virgin Blue as
Australia’s first qualified pilot astronauts.
The two selected Virgin Blue pilots will have the opportunity to command SpaceShipTwo
on its missions.

[Rolling Departure]

Geez wonder what the endorsement would cost on that????:eek:

[Pass-A-Frozo]

hahaha.. nice one Bypass Ratio.. :D :E

you should have added something about having to pay for the endorsement... haha LOL

[Bypass ratio]

It's no laughing matter, I just picked up the email from the company extranet!!:)

[Buster Hyman]

Does face paint go on easy in Zero G?

[rammel]

I saw it here

http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/virgin-pilots-offered-galactic-gig/2006/06/06/1149359735999.html

[Pass-A-Frozo]

Do you have to purchase food and drink onboard as PAX??

[Gnadenburg]

Wonder if they will undercut the NASA astronauts on pay. They certainly will on experience. Tertiary educated, military and civilian engineering test pilots, pride of their nation etc. Versus the baseball cap, aviation bums in VB who look like they fell out of a C206 from up north somewhere.

C'mon. A publicity stunt like the staff island. A year 10 educated VB pilot in NASA. :uhoh:

[Lord Snot]

Hahahahahaaaa!!! Classic stuff Gnadenburglar...!! :ok:

I was gonna say something similar but you worded it so well, I just had to sit back.

Virgin Atlantic pilots have been made the same offer. However their pilot body is not a bunch of "GA bums." They have a number of ex-RAF test pilots who are, alas, probably the best suited for this sort of venture.

Since VB has a definite number of positions (two according to the above) to be filled, I guess it will go to whomever the best Chieftain driver was (FO) and the least fat-gutted Capt who can drink VB without belching in public.

Can't wait to see the Virgin Niggeria shift have a go at it.....:uhoh:

[Vorsicht]

Hey snot nose and gnads, that's not a huge dose of envy combined with a healthy measure of dinted ego bubbling to the surface there is it?

[Lord Snot]

Sh!t yeah......!!! What do you expect??? Getting a seat on the rocket ship would be the highlight of an otherwise uneventful and mundane career spent flying loads of smelly people from A to B and listening to hosties whinge.

Not sure if it'd be worth 5 or 6 years of VB life (and wages) just to be in the running for 2 positions, though. Good luck to those who want to go for it. Yes I'm jealous.

But I still think what Gnadenbooger wrote is funny!

[capt kickback]

The only DH!!s involved with this will be BG .....and his band of merry men........PM & the EX DF----!!!!!.........I will leave the rest to you??:D

[Helibloke]

According to the NASA web page a Captain gets paid $91,000 US that is the same as $122,951,17. So maybe worth the effort. A virgin Capt gets much more than this, so sorry Lord Snot.
They are not all GA warriors,lot's of ex RAAF, airlines from all over the planet and EX Mil from all over, here because the standard of life is SO good.
bloke

[Lord Snot]

...which is why guys are leaving for places like the UAE...:hmm:

[The Bunglerat]

As usual, your predominantly snide remarks show that the "tall poppy" syndrome is alive and well in Oz.

How about congratulating the DJ drivers and wishing those who plan to have a go the best of luck?!? I watched a '60 Minutes' story last year about Burt Rutan, Mike Melville (his chief test pilot) and all the crew who worked so hard to make Spaceship One a reality. It was no "Mickey Mouse" stuff. These guys are at the forefront of a whole new frontier, and some of the stuff they were doing was damned near heroic.

I personally think the two DJ drivers who get selected are two lucky bastards.

[Buster Hyman]

"In space, no one can hear you cream!":} :ouch: :suspect:

[Lord Snot]

Snide, yes....

Tall poppy, no!

Good luck to them.

[Mr.Buzzy]

Yep, all leaving in droves for UAE....... 2 in fact..... A helluva lot less than QF SO's knocking on Dragon's door.
"GA Bums" ......are you serious?..... What do you call 500 hour cadets? (Other than stagecoach drivers )

bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbzzzzzzzzzzzzbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbzzzzzzzzzzzz

[Gnadenburg]

show that the "tall poppy" syndrome is alive and well in Oz.


Actually, until the advent of Big Brother, I felt Australians smelt bullshi$$ better than most. The Virgin publicity machine, uses whatever means it can to get free advertising- whether that be continuos whining in the press, outlandish claims or the lunatic behaviour of Branson himself. Often the Virgin publicity wagon gets way ahead of itself- the Virgin Blue Staff Retreat Island for example.

A 27 month secondment seems a bit of a skinny time period to qualify as an astronaut, achieve operational status and be a useful member of a mission control team. Where is the return on investment? This is where a reality TV style publicity programme will kick in courtesy of the Virgin Group.

If you think a baseball cap, tan pants with plumbers crack makes the profession look bad, wait until you see the astronaut Laurel & Hardys, nepotism and the VB publicity machine put together.

Could be wrong though. Could be best man for the job. How many VB pilots have traditional astronaut candidate backgrounds?

[Gnadenburg]

Yep, all leaving in droves for UAE....... 2 in fact.....
bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbzzzzzzzzzzzzbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbzzzzzzzzzzzz

From what I hear from one airline, it takes 40 VB candidates to apply, to strike two for success.

Let's hope NASA doesn't have a technical quiz. Or has someone explained to the boys what those big winglets are for- no, they are not there just for the Virgin logo. :hmm:

[Soulman]

Sour apples Gnadenburg?

[Mr.Buzzy]

Funny, they are the same numbers of SOs I have heard applying to Dragon.... Talk about jumping the sinking ship!

bbbbbbbbbzzzzzzzzzzbbbbbbbbbbbzzzzzzzzzzzbbbbbbbbzzzzzzzzzzz zzz

[Gnadenburg]

Are you applying Buzz? You could be Hardy. :D

[sweetpollypurebred]

Hey Knackenburger, perhaps a 27 month secondment to quiet peaceful retreat somewhere overlooking a giant volcanic crater would do you the world of good!
Firstly, it would give you the chance to purge some of that obvious inner turmoil you carry with you, and secondly you`d be able to watch your sad career as it plummets into the great abyss, but be sure to wipe the tears from eyes just long enough to take a look up and watch as the poor uneducated VB pilot takes off and heads into the stratosphere.:{

Keep smiling mister happy.

[Gnadenburg]

Sorry Polly

Hardy's shoes have been ably filled by Buzzy. We need a Laurel. What about that bloke I read about in the in-flt magazine? He was Top Gun for a day or something. He has a few hours of military fast turbo-prop exposure.



Soulman

Apples are bitter mate. Grapes are sour.

[ruprecht]

I know of 2 ex-RAAF test pilots in Virgin. I think there may be more.

ruprecht.

[Woomera]

You guys never miss an opportunity, do you? :ugh:

** Click **