UPT Phase III Pictures

Quam and Brockshus hard at work (as always) in the CAI lab.

Anderson and Bennett enjoying a beverage at a picnic following our unit's successful completion of an ORI (operational readiness inspection). 

Our neighbor's dogs, Roscoe and Peanut, checking out the cat-tree (Staged, yes. Cute though, ain't it?)

Dave and Lori, friends from MN, came to visit in March. Columbus is a tough place to get visitors to come to, so we really appreciated it.

Jokhy's Stinson (until April, when it was sold). He had just gotten his annual inspection done, so we took it up for a spin. Quite a departure from the Tweet.

During our flight, we hit four different airfields in about an hour for a total of about 10 landings. One of the fields was just that, a muddy grass strip that wound up covering his plane in mud. Kind of exciting.

This is the wing commander's aircraft. There is an emblem on the nose that reads "Spirit of Columbus" and "Let's Roll."

This is one of many "antebellum" homes in the Columbus area. It was one of three that were open to tours during the "Pilgrimage" that is held once every year. People in costumes of the period give tours of the homes. It was pretty interesting.

This one was called "Rosedale" and was done in more of an Italian style. Very beautiful.

The owners of this one are both antique dealers and have the home filled with period pieces. That must be a much more lucrative field than I'd imagined.

This is "Friendship Cemetery" on the south side of Columbus. These graves belong to Confederate soldiers, many of which are "unknown soldiers." Columbus was one of many towns along the railways that served as a hospital town during the Civil War. There used to be a small number of Union troops here as well, but they were relocated to Arlington National some time ago.

One prominent landmark while flying to and from the base is the lock and dam just west of town. Heidi and I finally went and checked it out while looking for an excuse to enjoy the nice weather.

Here I am taxiing out for an early mission in transition. As students, most of our flights are in the left seat. There are, however, numerous co-pilot rides (right seat) in the syllabus as well.

This is Columbus AFB from the Northeast.

Tammy and Molly at assignment night, possibly consoling one another for having to come to Columbus after their husbands completed T-6 training (the T-37 replacement) at Moody AFB. Brian, Steve, and Jeff joined our class when we completed Tweets and headed to T-1s.

While in Gulfport one weekend, we took a ferry out to Ship Island, a barrier island 12 miles off the coast. It was very scenic and the beaches were nice. There was also a fort used during the Civil War that was pretty cool.

One of the many casinos located between Gulfport and Biloxi. Heidi and I thought this one was one of the more creative, so we opted to 'donate' our money to them that night.

Though there were tourist traps abound, none were quite so flamboyant as "Sharkhead's." They had all kinds of things, including a large collection of occupied hermit crab shells.

Heidi being the Packer fan that she is, we opted to divert from our route home through Kiln, MS. This sign was about the most exciting thing in town from what we could tell. 

Duran shows his sensitive side at Brickerton Grill.

Zeese, Blackburn, Strom, and Bennett in deep discussion at a pre-checkride study session. The beer and boche-ball came later.

Duran and Captain Ellington relax on the bus ride back from a flight.

Anderson returning from the flight line following a transition ride.

College Station, Texas, during our cross-country. Texas A&M can be seen in the background.

Hardenstine maneuvering to land at College Station.

The Louisiana Bayou at the Audobon Zoo in New Orleans.

Checking out the 'gators at the zoo.

The Air Force's newest first lieutenants (Randall excluded) at a party they threw at the base bowling alley for their promotions.

Despite an off night of bowling for Heidi (my game is always off), we still had a good time hanging out with everyone. 

Bennett tops off the night with a spin on the ball-washer.

Brockshus displays his "appreciation" for his new first lieutenant bar.

One of the Little Rock C-130s from the active duty graced us with its presence during the airshow. As it turns out, one of the crewmembers had graduated Columbus in 02-08 and had already been to the desert and back. Furthermore, he said they had served with my unit over there and commented how nice our planes were. Pretty cool.

One of the many friends our cats have made here.

Some of the T-6 gang enjoying a night at CJ's.

Major Nell, our former IP in T-Bolt, poses with one of his 40th birthday party presents.

I could probably make a photo album containing only cloud shots (aren't digital cameras great?). It really is pretty amazing seeing how weather works in the air.

Columbus AFB from 4,000 feet looking Northwest.

Greenwood, MS, looking very much like an airplane graveyard. It appears to be an assembly line where they remove all the interior components and prep the aircraft for retirement.

Lieutenant Corrigan demonstrates his skills in "Crud," an often played game at assignment night.

This is close to the "contact" position during simulated air refueling. During your checkride, you must maintain this position (10' aft and 2' tail-to-belly clearance) for one minute.