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7 August 2003 FINAL
FLIGHT
Today
marked my last flight during UPT. Actually, ride would be more
appropriate since our IPs flew us home after our flight of two aircraft
diverted from Columbus to Montgomery due to Thunderstorms last night. It
began yesterday as my last copilot ride, departing Monroe for Texarkana,
then Columbus. When we arrived at Columbus, there was a pretty large
cell over the airfield, and numerous other cells in the vicinity. We had
plenty of fuel, so we opted to hold, hoping the weather would move on.
As time passed, more cells developed and the volume of traffic
increased. It also became apparent the cell was not moving quickly
enough. We moved to another location to hold briefly, then were
instructed to depart for Maxwell AFB (Montgomery). Our arrival into
Maxwell was uneventful, and we ran into one of our other aircraft there.
Despite the best efforts of our flight commander and another of our IPs,
we had to stay the night. After a late night visit to Wendy's and our
obligatory crew rest period, we were off again for Columbus the next
morning. We were, however, passengers.
Despite
being done flying, there is still a lot to do. Graduation preparations
are taking much of our free time, plus we were tasked with doing all the
administrative stuff for the new class. Next week will be busy with
briefings, out-processing, graduation practices, then finally the real
thing on Friday with all our family and friends.
5 August 2003
This week should be
our final week of flying here at Columbus. I had three copilot rides
remaining, and have flown two since Monday. I had to get 2.8 hours of
night per the syllabus, so we've delayed our takeoffs until dark. Night
flying is pretty cool. No night vision goggles quite yet, but I guess
that's coming in C-130 training. I am scheduled to fly my final flight
tomorrow with our flight commander and another student. They pretty much
let you do whatever you want on the copilot rides, so I'm trying to
think of something entertaining. There is still a fair amount to for
graduation to occupy our time after the flying is done, so I don't think
we'll be bored by any means. I just bought my wings today at the BX. It
seems odd I've toiled and lamented for a year for the privilege of
wearing a $6.75 badge.
2 August 2003 ASSIGNMENT
NIGHT
The moment everyone
has been waiting for since we arrived has finally come and gone. Last
night, we all got to take our turn at the front of the banquet room in
the club to be razzed and then shown what our assignments would be.
While it's a no-brainer for the Guard/Reserve, it's like Christmas for
the active duty. Everyone had already submitted their "dreamsheets"
based on a "drop," or list of aircraft and locations that were
available. Everything we'd done for the past year factored into the
outcome. As it turned out, most everyone got what they wanted. Some of
the best were, in my opinion, a C-21 to Ramstein (Germany), a KC-135 to
Mildenhall (England), and a KC-135 to Kadena (Japan). There were also
several C-17s, an E-8, and numerous other KC-135s and C-21s in the
states. It was a great night.
31 July 2003 MISSION-FAMILIARIZATION
CHECKRIDE
I've now taken my
last checkride at UPT. I passed, as have the seven others that have
taken it so far. Seven students left, who will have to wait for next
week. It feels pretty good, but there is still a lot to be done before
we get out of here. Assignment night and preparations for graduation
have really wiped me out. The checkride was really a second priority in
comparison, since all our assignment night stuff had to be worked out
yesterday (it's almost done).
We planned the
checkride for an "airdrop" sortie first, which involves a
two-ship formation flying a low-level route and simulating air drops
over predetermined geographic points. We've flown quite a few low-levels
already at this point, and now we can use the GPS which basically gives
you a moving map of the route you're supposed to follow. Not too bad. We
were then going to do an air-refueling mission, which involves taking
off separately, then meeting up in a local refueling track for a
rendezvous. The flying for this portion is not particularly hard, but it
involves a lot of in-plane math, which is somehow always much harder
than math on the ground. The key to success in air-refueling is a very
good plan before you leave the ground. Know your radio calls and do as
much of the calculating as you can before you depart.
The plans changed, of
course, due to thunderstorms over Columbus and our entire low-level
route. It then fell on myself and Zeese to go first, and do our
air-refuel mission out of Columbus instead of Texarkana. We wound up
doing just that, and the weather cleared for the low-level on the back
half, so everyone was happy. Adapt and overcome, I guess.
26 July 2003
Per yesterday's
schedule, I should have my last checkride Thursday (fly Monday and
Tuesday, Wednesday off, then check). Beyond that, I have three copilot
rides, but those don't really count. Assignment night is coming up
Friday and everyone's getting pretty excited/anxious. The choices are
due Monday morning by 0730 and are allegedly set in stone by Wednesday.
Sounds like our theme and presentation are coming together. We've got
some characters working on it, so it should be good.
I just went through
about the best day in pilot training there can be, and it wasn't even a
day at work. We took what's called the military competency test. This
test basically transfers what we've learned in UPT to civilian ratings.
For $215, we get our instrument, multi-engine, and commercial ratings,
plus a Beechjet 400 type-rating. All those things independently would
cost many thousands of dollars and hundreds of flying hours. This
potentially sets us up for civilian flying jobs right out of UPT. Very
nice.
23 July 2003
I officially have
three rides and a checkride (and three copilot rides) before I'm done
flying at Columbus. I'm not presently on the schedule for tomorrow or
Friday, so I probably won't check until late next week. It will be nice
to have a day or two to digest everything.
We just found out
today that six of our classmates from the T-38 side will be washing back
to 03-14, leaving only three of the original students graduating with
us. Their situation has been pretty bad for some time due to the
closure of the tweet runway. That forced the tweets onto the center
runway, and the T-38s are often limited on the shorter outside runway.
It also cost everyone sorties since we have to fit the same amount of
traffic on one less runway. Since T-1s depart Columbus and do our work
elsewhere, we were not affected very much. Not that it helps our
classmates much at this point, but the runway should open August 1st,
hastening their remaining sorties and allowing the rest of their
squadron to get back on schedule.
Our sister class,
03-12, graduates Friday, and the new class (04-05) has come in to
replace them. Our class number finally appeared on the sign as you enter
base for assignment night as well. All good indications that UPT is near
complete.
20 July 2003
Apparently it's going
to be a sprint to the finish line for us. I had my nav check last
Monday, Tuesday off, then flew Wednesday through Saturday. Three rides
were basic formation in the T-1, and the fourth was an air refueling
sortie on the front half and an air drop sortie on the second. Each was
an out-and-back flight, lasting at least 8-10 hours. Formation is a
little more entertaining than nav and doesn't involve as much individual
flight planning, but certainly brings its own challenges. All of the
radio calls and check-ins are new, and the procedures in general were
not really covered for us prior to briefing for our first form ride.
Normally, we have a class or briefing covering all the basic stuff
regarding form or nav or whatever, but this one somehow slipped through
the cracks. It was a fairly steep learning curve, though the general
concepts were similar to tweets. Needless to say, I'm pretty exhausted
and have only one day to try to recover. Since our sister class, 03-12,
is done flying, we get all the IPs and jets to ourselves. That's a good
thing and a bad thing. It's good because we'll finish sooner, but bad
because finishing sooner means flying every day and double-turning
frequently. This coming week will be exhausting as well, but that should
mean checking early the next and being all done. That's the part I'm
looking forward to. The pace certainly does not slow down the closer you
get to being done.
15 July 2003 NAVIGATION
CHECKRIDE
Wow. The past week
has been a busy one. Since the ninth, I've flown two
"singleton" rides (low-level and a navigation sortie by
yourself in one day) and my Navigation check. The singleton rides
involve a great deal of planning backed up by the knowledge and ability
to get through all that stuff by yourself. The daily rides are painful
enough, then there's the checkride. The nav-check is basically the
culmination of our time in T-1s, if not all of UPT. It encompasses basic
flying ability, mission-planning, instrument flying and procedures, and
low-level flying. I flew my final daily ride this past Friday, was opted
for the checkride that afternoon, and had the weekend to plan. My
profile had Chattanooga as the primary out-base, which means I have to
wind up there on the way out and depart from there on the second half.
Friday afternoon was spend frolicking at the club at 03-12's assignment
night, and Saturday was pretty much a day of rest as well (though the
specter of the checkride hung over me all day). Finally, it was time to
hit the books on Sunday. You are required to have four completed plans
that would accomplish your checkride objectives. They consist of a)
primary low-level and nav on the way back, b) nav ride then primary
low-level, and c) and d) use a secondary low-level with an out-base of
your choosing. It normally takes a few hours to do one plan, so you can
imagine how long four plans took. Needless to say, each of the plans is
dependant on weather, so the potential exists for all your plans to go
to crap. By the time all the planning is done, you're pretty anxious to
get the stupid checkride over with and take a breath.
The big day started
at 0630 when I awoke to start printing out weather and all the other
essentials to make sure my plans were going to work out. Fortunately for
me (and the others checking that day), a high pressure system had just
moved in and the weather was forecast to be pretty decent. I was fairly
certain that my first plan (Columbus to Huntsville, then Chattanooga,
then low-level on the back half) would work out.
I headed to base ops
(where all our nav rides start) to polish off all the final details,
then met my IP at 1015. I went over the big picture, then briefed all
the specifics with my IP. He seemed happy with everything, so we headed
back to the squadron, where the three of us checking had to wait 90
minutes while our IPs went to a mandatory commander's call. Finally,
they returned and we all stepped to our jets.
I knew the profile I
had planned was going to happen rather quickly due to it's short
duration, but it got a lot shorter when our normal departure was
drastically shortened followed by a heading given by ATC direct to a
certain location, instead of via airways as I had planned for (in other
words, I didn't have as much time as I'd hoped to run all the checklists
as I'd have liked). My fix to fix (flying direct to a point in space)
was not optimal, but we got there nonetheless and shot our approach
after a few turns in holding. The approach went okay, then we started
our climbout to Chattanooga. As we climbed out, we had to deviate around
some thunderstorms, which pushed us closer more quickly. Again, I felt
rushed with everything and there was an abnormally high amount of
chatter on the radios. We arrived at Chattanooga for two approaches,
which I flew okay, and then a full-stop. I was fretting on the ground
due to a few errors I considered to be rather gross, but had to flush
that feeling in hopes of having a good second half.
We ate lunch and then
returned to brief the low-level. After the brief, we headed to the
aircraft and launched pretty much on time to hit the scheduled low-level
entry time. The hardest part of a low-level, in my opinion, is finding
the entry point. Once you find that, there is very specific timing and
direction depicted on the map that, in theory, should get you over the
exit point on time. After the IP subtly dropped hints regarding which
cluster of buildings was the entry point, the rest of the route wasn't
too bad. We got a little off a few times, but were generally on time. By
the end, however, we had gotten a mile or two right of course and missed
the exit point. I saw where it was, but we had already passed it. It was
a bridge over a creek, which is just about impossible to see unless
you're right over it. From there it was just a short hop back to
Columbus, which the IP flew.
On the ground, we
first had our EP (emergency situation) and then moved on to GK. I took a
very conservative approach to the EP, which was commented on but not
downgraded. Being overly aggressive may get you hooked, so conservative
is the way to go. The general knowledge portion was pretty extensive,
but I got through it pretty much unscathed. It was only after all of
that (about ten hours after I hit base ops) that I found out I had
passed with a "5G." I think most of the weight of the world
fell off my shoulders right then as I realized it was over and I had
only about ten rides until I was UPT complete.
9 July 2003
I flew my first ride
today with only myself and the IP in the aircraft. The sortie was a
"local" sortie since that's what I was scheduled for with the
wing commander (he was unavailable). We flew down to Montgomery, AL,
which is pretty close and has good approaches. On our way back, we could
see thunderstorms (visually and on radar) parked over Columbus, with all
the accompanying radio chatter of people trying to find a way around it.
We considered our options (holding to let it pass, diverting, etc) and
opted to continue until another course of action was necessary. ATC
vectored us between some cells and we could see the field directly
ahead. We paralleled the runway to prepare for landing and observed some
very dark clouds and heavy rainfall not more than a couple miles from
the field. It got pretty bumpy and you could hear the controllers
getting pretty antsy trying to get everyone on the ground. We got on the
ground without any issues, but then waited about 90 minutes for
maintenance to marshal us into our parking spot (the rules say they
can't move us when there's lightning within five miles). While we were
waiting, we heard a radio call telling a T-37 to "go around"
during his landing. We turned to see a tweet emerge from rain so heavy
we couldn't see where it had come from. It was only fifty feet from the
ground, but had rolled into a very steep bank and pitched nose-up rather
abruptly. They recovered, but you always hold your breath when you see
things like that. They must have diverted after that, as we didn't hear
from them again during our wait.
8 July 2003
We finally got our
off-station low-level out of the way. What's the difference between the
regular and off-station low-levels you ask? Good question. Basically, we
had to call someone besides our own duty desk in the squadron to
schedule it and we had to fly about ten minutes further to get there.
This particular route was pretty cool, however, taking us north of
Chattanooga and just southwest of Knoxville. There is a nuclear power
plant and some pretty fantastic terrain to look at, as opposed to many
of the other not-so-scenic options here.
Tomorrow was almost a
big pucker-factor day for me. I was on the board to fly a local sortie
with this guy.
Fortunately or unfortunately, things changed and I'm back on with one of
our regulars.
7 July 2003
Today is our first
day back following our four-day fourth of July break. It was great to
have the time off, but our class went into it having three people hook
their nav checkrides Wednesday. Hopefully things will get straightened
out early this week for everyone.
I am scheduled to fly
my last two-student sortie today. After this one, I'll be doing
"singleton" rides, where I have a nav ride to an out-base,
then a low-level back to Columbus. This prepares us for our nav-check,
which is a solo event as well. After today, I think I have four or five
rides remaining in nav (the singleton out and backs count as two
sorties, so it will go quickly). I should check late this week or early
next week.
29 June 2003
After having a
not-so-great experience on my previous flight, I was able to pull it
back together on my next ride. The weather was much nicer and we did not
have night to contend with. Bob flew the first leg (Columbus-Little
Rock-Texarkana), then I did the return. The weather was beautiful in
Arkansas, with virtually unrestricted visibility (rare due to the
perpetual humidity and haze down here). We flew VFR (using visual
instead of instruments to navigate) between Texarkana and Little Rock,
then home. I'm still not sure exactly what happened on my previous
flight, but I think it was a one-time thing.
The assignment
night/graduation plans are moving along. Our order for assignment night
glasses went in a few days ago and most people are nav-checking this
week, so we'll be able to get a theme and skits knocked out soon.
Several students are looking into "shadow-boxes" for us, which
is a picture frame with your primary trainer (T-37/T-6), your follow-on
(T-1/T-38), your "hero shot," the class patch, and a set of
wings. They look pretty cool. We may also have a speaker arranged, which
is good since the normal means here was unable to locate one for us. We
had hoped to have Brockshus' dad, but the protocol office is pretty firm
on their being an O-6 or higher. With all that's going on right now, I'm
sure this last month or so will go by in a blur. Class 03-12 has their
glasses all stacked up in the flight room already. It's hard to believe
it's almost over.
24 June 2003 "What's
a bad day like in the T-1?"
Today was not a good
day for Galaxy flight. Of the four crews that were around when I got
back, at least four of us (including myself and my flying partner)
hooked and one got a fair. I'm not sure if it was something in the air,
but it wasn't pretty.
My bad day began in
the morning when the weather at my tentative destination was forecast
worse than it looked the previous night, forcing me to select a new one.
I chose Dothan, AL, followed by Tallahassee, FL. Tallahassee had their
long runway closed, but I could still get the approaches I wanted on the
shorter runway.
The next blow was an
EPQ. I'm not sure how I did, but I was fairly unhappy with some of the
questions. As we were finishing the EPQ, the brief time for our flight
crept to within 25 minutes. Normally, I would have all the weather,
NOTAMs, bird threat, etc, printed out at home and still show up 30
minutes prior to our scheduled brief. Not so today. Never-the-less, I
got everything together that I thought I needed but was still working on
a VFR map when brief time arrived.
Our IP arrived, and
we had not quite finished everything we ought to have had done (not a
good way to start). We then began to tell him what we intended to do,
but he pointed out that the winds may not be favoring the runway we
wanted at Tallahassee for our time there, and we may not get any of the
approaches we were planning. This resulted in us changing our
destinations to Jackson, MS, and Monroe, LA. Though I had been both
places before, I reviewed neither the approaches nor the route like I
normally would have to prepare for a flight. Though change is pretty
frequent in this phase, it still lowers your situational awareness and
throws you off, even if only a small bit.
We got out to
the jet and I began the ground preparations for takeoff. Normally, we
have a ground power unit that provides power (so you don't have to worry
about draining the battery). Well, today it didn't work, forcing us to
do a battery start (I've done maybe one in the aircraft before). As a
result, the rest of my ground ops were off since a battery start
involves somewhat different procedures and my IP was moving things along
since he did not want to waste battery power.
The takeoff and
departure went fine. As we approached Jackson, my IP asked if I'd like
to do the "Back Course" approach "full procedure"
instead of vectors (full procedure is more complicated, because there
are more frequencies and a different avionics setup). Not wanting to
disappoint, I agreed, not having really looked at the setup as I should
have. When we hit the starting point, I still did not have the correct
avionics setup, and consequently became disoriented and had the jet
taken from me (the IP takes the controls when the students get dumb). He
gave it back to me, but it took me awhile to get reoriented.
On our departure from
Jackson to Monroe, I must have still been reeling over the fumbled
approach. There are several checklists that are supposed to be run when
climbing through 10,000 feet. I neglected one of them and called for the
other prematurely.
For training, we
always plan to "hold" (doing a 'racetrack' pattern around a
point in space to kill time). My IP had pointed out a fix that works
well near Monroe, but I failed to realize that the fix exists in two
separate spots. In one spot (the one we talked about in the pre-brief),
it is depicted and starts at 15.6 miles from the station. In the other
(an en route chart), it is at 16 miles. I picked the 16 mile location,
and then didn't hear the controller and my IP say, "hold as
published," which refers to the 15.6 mile fix drawn on the approach
plate. Not a safety issue, necessarily, but one more link in the chain.
I think my last big
blunder was with what is called a "circling approach." A
circling approach is where you fly a straight-in approach to one runway,
then fly visually to the opposite runway (if the winds, for example,
favored the other runway). These approaches are flown at specific
speeds, as are all approaches. Normally, for a straight-in, we are
"category B," which is 91-120 knots. For circling, we fly
faster and are considered "category C" (121-140). The
difference in speed leads to different minimum altitudes, and I set up
the approach for the slower speed. Despite being only a 40' difference,
it is still a safety issue since I was lower than I was supposed to
be.
I'm not sure what the
moral to the story is. Pay attention, do things right, and develop the
ability to shed mistakes off like water and start fresh after each
maneuver. My IP did what he could for me, throwing me hints and trying
to help me out without giving my mistakes away, so I take all the credit
myself. The plane moves the same speed whether you're keeping up for
falling behind.
19 June 2003 (Eight
weeks left)
After an extended
no-fly period for me over the past week, I finally flew again Tuesday.
We went to Jackson, TN, then stopped in Huntsville, AL. On Hardenstine's
leg, we had to revert to a nav-leg instead of his planned low-level due
to Thunderstorm activity. Storms had popped up rapidly all over the area
and we spent a good deal of time deviating around cells throughout the
flight. It was the closest I'd been to storms like that in the
air.
We're inching closer
to assignment night and graduation. I think we're ordering our glasses
tomorrow to sell for some fundraising, and there is apparently a skit in
the works. I know it will be a great time.
I spoke with the lady
at the Guard Bureau that handles schooling for Guard/Reserve and found
that I will be starting in Little Rock on September 16th. We're hoping
to move to MN, sell our house, find an apartment, move-in, and see all
our friends and family before I head out again. Not too much for three
weeks, is it?
15 June 2003 (Eight
weeks left)
This past week went
pretty slowly for most of the 03-13 class, as most of our jets were used
by 03-12 so they can get through their nav checks together. The checks
have gone very well for them so far, which is great. I hope we do as
well. It's supposed to be one of the more difficult checks we ever take.
I am keeping my fingers crossed for good weather. We did manage,
however, to get a good start on our graduation packet (a detailed
checklist on everything we have to do for graduation). We have split up
the class into work groups and divided up the tasks so everyone has
something specific to work on with dated objectives. It's a lot of
stuff, but it's a labor of love since it means we're almost out of
here.
We attended the
birthday party of one of our tweet IPs yesterday (Major Nell). He was
turning 40, so we had to go harass him a little. It was a little odd
since it was three students and pretty much all the senior leadership
from T-37s, but we had fun. They're a little different in a social
setting, but it's hard to let go of five months of being submissive all
of a sudden.
9 June 2003 (Week
eighteen)
Today was a good
start to the week. We had beautiful weather, we had a nice relaxed meal
at our drop-in destination (Acadiana, LA), and I got to do basically
everything I had planned. I flew second today, so I got to sight-see
while we flew to Baton Rouge, LA, then onto Lafayette (Acadiana).
Louisiana has some very beautiful countryside, and certain traits that
make it distinct (large berms bordering the Mississippi and all the
above-ground cemeteries... both due to the low elevation and high water
table of the southern part of the state). I really just sat back and
appreciated what I'm doing for a living right now.
My flight originated
in Acadiana, then we traveled to Gulfport for our approaches. The
weather was great and we were able to see the city and the coast during
all of our maneuvers. We flew three approaches there, then hopped over
to Keesler in Biloxi for another. It was a lot of fun.
I think a large part
of the enjoyment comes from your instructor as well. The IP I flew with
today is a reserve instructor and is the chief pilot for his own
corporate company on the side (can you say, "networking?"). As
it turns out, he's flown out of Flying Cloud airport near my home, and
also worked briefly at American International Airways, where I was a
dispatcher for several years. It's a small world. We get along pretty
well, which goes a long ways in the aircraft.
6 June 2003 (Week
eighteen)
Another week gone by.
I think I flew twice this week and had one sim. The days have a tendency
to run together. My ride Tuesday was a nav ride, with a drop-in at
Little Rock (Adams Field) and a full-stop for chow at Texarkana, AR. I
was surprised at Little Rock, as the city was a lot larger than I
imagined. There is also a large river that runs through the city, plus
the area was quite mountainous. We caught a glimpse of the Air Force
base there as well, with C-130s dotting the ramp in pretty large
numbers. It's coming up quickly. Our sim Tuesday was an ICAO sim, which
introduces us to the rules used internationally for aviation. They vary
somewhat from those used in the states. I'm told this sim was
implemented into our syllabus after the T-43 crash in Eastern Europe
that killed a high-ranking civilian a few years ago. Finally, I flew my
third low-level, with a stop at Maxwell AFB. The base is very nice, and
is home to Officer Training School (OTS) where the active and reserve
folks are commissioned.
We just got our
assigned low-levels for our checkrides yesterday. Our nav checkride will
consist of a nav ride and a low-level on the same day (out and back
flight). Lots of planning goes into it, and the general knowledge
portion is very in-depth. This is the last event that counts towards our
assignments, though there is one more checkride in Mission-Fam. We've
seen all there is to see at this point, so we now have to polish
everything to the checkride standard. Not too much longer now.
31 May 2003 (Week
seventeen)
Heidi and I made the
most of Memorial Day weekend and headed down to New Orleans. I had
really wanted to see the D-Day museum, which is downtown, for some time.
We did that Sunday, then headed to the Audobon Zoo Monday before coming
home. It was a nice getaway.
I flew Tuesday and
Thursday, with a sim on Wednesday. I did another low-level Tuesday and
landed in Nashville. Our sim Wednesday had us departing Biloxi, MS and
navigating to a navy base in New Orleans for a
"high-penetration" approach (started from high altitude
instead of descending en route to the field) and a couple radar
approaches (instructions given by the controllers). They also throw in
some icing so we get more familiar with the anti-icing equipment on the
aircraft. Finally, Thursday's flight was with our flight commander down
through Montgomery to Tallahassee, then back through South Georgia
Regional to Columbus. I flew second, and did not have very good luck
getting the instrument approaches I had planned for. Sometimes your
plans workout, and sometimes they don't. The IPs are happy as long as
you show up to the pre-brief with a good plan, whether you actually fly
it or not.
This weekend is the
big "Wings Over Columbus" airshow. There are already numerous
aircraft on the ground from all over the place, plus the Thunderbirds
are arriving at 1700 tonight. The club is having a big party tonight
with all the transient aircrews which should be fun. Today is also
"career day" for the students, where we all head out and talk
to crews of different aircraft to try to get some idea what life will be
like after UPT.
24 May 2003 (Week
sixteen)
We've been pretty
busy the past week planning for cross-country, nav sorties, and
low-levels. Our cross-country actually took place last Sunday through
Tuesday. We had planned on going down to Gulfport for two nights, and
had therefore planned all of our flights accordingly. Unfortunately,
there were thunderstorms planted all over that area solid until the east
coast. Suddenly we were going to Texas instead of Gulfport or
Charleston. That pretty much set the pace for the rest of the trip. All
our planning was done on the move and we were flying approaches we
really hadn't looked at prior to getting in the airplane. Despite the
pace, it was a good trip. We built our confidence in our
mission-planning and got to see some different places. My flying partner
got to fly into both College Station (where he attended college at Texas
A & M) and his home town of San Antonio. Some of our other
destinations included Lake Charles, Alexandria, and Monroe (all Louisiana).
Instrument approaches and navigation are much better in the T-1 than the
Tweet.
I had my first
"low-level" in the T-1 Thursday. Low-levels in this phase of
training are planned by the student and flown by the IP (with the
student navigating off the maps we've made). We fly on published
Military Training Routes (MTRs) between 500 and 1,500 feet above the
ground at an average ground speed of 240 knots. The visibility is pretty
poor at those altitudes, so the navigation becomes very challenging. You
are basically flying pre-determined headings and times and trying to
keep yourself oriented by finding landmarks (natural or man-made). I
think the C-130 does a fair amount of this type of flying, so I'll be
studying up.
16 May 2003 (Week
fourteen)
The navigation phase
officially arrived for me today. This week has been a blur of planning
and anxiety. This phase consists of going to multiple out bases of the
students' choosing each day to practice navigation and, more
importantly, instrument procedures. There are many bases to choose from,
but the list of variables seems endless initially. Things to consider...
weather, NOTAMs (inoperative navaids, runway closures, etc), types of
approaches (students must have continuity for types of approaches flown
between rides), IP preference, and what sort of lunch you can get there
(more important than it might sound). The typical day seems to be: 1)
Arrive at base ops 3 hrs prior to double-check weather and NOTAMs,
calculate TOLD, call for servicing, and touch-up your flight plan; 2)
Meet your IP 2+30 prior to discuss your plan and make adjustments if
necessary; 3) Back to the squadron at 1+30 to brief the
sortie, sign out the aircraft, get pubs, and catch the bus to the flight
line; 4) Depart at 0+00 with the first student at the controls
(each student flies a 2 hr sortie that includes a drop-in base and a
final destination); 5) Arrive at the destination at 2+00 and eat
lunch (most FBOs offer discounted or free food to lure in pilot
business, which works quite well); 6) Depart after 2 hrs on the
ground for the second 2 hr sortie; 7) Arrive at your home base 6
hrs after you departed; 8) Debrief for one hour. You can see that
it quickly adds up. The flying was pretty fun, but the planning... not
so much.
13 May 2003 (Week
fourteen) TRANSITION CHECKRIDE
Anderson and I
finally arrived at our transition checkride today after two months of
practice. We had planned our profile for Jackson, MS, but when we
checked our weather in the morning we found thunderstorms forecast for
our time of arrival. Our secondary was Millington, TN, near Memphis. We
went to check flight a few minutes early to wait for our IP (there's no
more "couch of death," like in tweets). I was flying first,
and the pre-brief went well. We left after the brief so he could check
our publications for currency (all our flight manuals). We stepped to
the jet at 1200 for a 1257 takeoff.
Since I was first, I
went through all the ground ops (more chances to err). They went
alright, with a few minor deviations. The departure was good, as were
the area maneuvers (we were in the Picks MOA, east of Memphis). Finally
it was time to head to Millington.
My profile included a
localizer approach followed by five VFR patterns. For some reason, it
was just not my day. After only a handful of unplanned go-arounds in all
of transition phase, I had to do it three times today for either being
too fast, too slow, or for overshooting in my turn to final. By the time
I turned it over to Anderson, I was pretty beat down.
After the flight, we
sat down for a Q & A session. We had two Emergency Procedures,
including "runaway trim" and landing gear that would not
retract. We resolved each without much trouble. Our IP then went on to
ask questions on a variety of topics, including TOLD (takeoff and
landing data) and the fuel/hydraulic/electric systems. I felt our IPs
had given us everything we needed to pass the checks. There were no
surprises.
And the moment I was
waiting for... Both Anderson and I got "4Gs" (four
downgrades and an overall 'Good'). I thought the grade was generous for
myself and less than what Anderson deserved. No rest for the weary,
however, as I have my first navigation "out-&-back"
tomorrow.
06 May 2003 (Week
thirteen)
This week started
with a bang (literally) as thunderstorms and tornadoes once again rolled
through northern Mississippi. Most of our flights were canceled Monday,
but most of them went today between cells. This was the second time on
base the "big voice" came on to tell us a tornado was
"minutes out." Unlike the storm in November, no damage was
done in the Columbus area.
Our first four (and
hopefully five) people to transition check have all passed. The best so
far is Quam with a "2E" (go Guard!). I am still sitting on two
rides, but may yet check this week if the weather holds up. It would be
nice to get it out of the way and get into navigation before I get too
far behind those who have checked already. I'm shooting for a 1E, not so
much to beat Quam as to tie a guy in 03-12. Wish me luck.
This month is going
to be busy. Not only is everyone studying for transition check and then
scrambling to figure out what the nav phase is all about, but we have
our cross-country on the 18th to plan for and graduation on the horizon
to start thinking about. I think the count is 100 days now. Everyone has
been stepping up and volunteering their time for things, so things
should go well.
01 May 2003 (Week
twelve)
I have only two rides
remaining until my transition checkride. Anderson and I completed our
third copilot ride, which really helps give you a feel for the pace all
the radio calls and instrument procedures come at. Even with two people
in the cockpit, it can get quite busy when quickly going from one
instrument approach to the next. I am pretty confident going into the
checkride, but there are always little "gotchas" out there you
have to avoid. I'll have until Wednesday before the ride, so I'll have
some time to polish everything up. Brockshus and Duran are scheduled for
tomorrow and will be the first to check.
26 April 2003 (Week
twelve)
Another week gone by.
We've started counting down at this point, despite a substantial amount
to do yet. We have 97 days until assignment night, and 111 until
graduation. I need to get that counter on the site I think.
We have a big class
study session planned for tomorrow since some of my classmates will be
going to transition check this week. Class 03-12, despite all the
negative we heard from all our IPs, went 16-0 (pass/fail ratio). As with
most checkrides so far, general knowledge plays a substantial part in
your success or failure. That, in my opinion, takes longer to develop
than the actual flying skills.
20 April 2003 (Week
eleven)
Heidi and I just
returned from a little R & R down on the Gulf Coast. One of the
benefits of Columbus over Enid or Del Rio is the proximity to some
really nice vacation spots. We decided to hit Gulfport and Biloxi on
this trip, having been to New Orleans, Pensacola, and Destin on previous
trips. We drove down Friday and toured Gulfport a little before retiring
to a room at the Command Readiness Training Center (CRTC), which is a
Guard base at the Gulfport airport. Given it's proximity to the ocean,
you can't beat the $18 price. Saturday morning, we headed to the marina
and boarded a ship bound for Ship Island, a barrier island twelve miles
off the coast. Besides having a beautiful beach, it is historically
important for it's naval usage by the British in the Revolutionary War
and both the Union and Confederacy during the Civil War. There is still
a fort there to tour. That evening we ate at a Mexican restaurant on the
ocean and tried our luck at one of the many casinos. Both Heidi and I
lost everything we started with. "Everything," however, was
only $20 in nickels between us, as we are not big gamblers. We departed
Sunday, but opted to take a detour to Kiln, MS, the birthplace of Brett
Favre (Heidi is a die-hard Packers fan). After getting her picture
there, we continued through Hattiesburg, MS, which was both on our way
and the current hometown of the same Brett Favre. On a whim, we looked
him up in the phone book and, to our surprise, he was actually listed.
Since it was only a few miles out of the way, went to check it out. He
lives right on a highway, and his property stood out due to the
extensive fencing and an "F" in the metal gate. Though we
couldn't really see much, it looked pretty impressive. Unable to take
any more excitement, we headed back to Columbus.
We have Monday off
due to "Blaze Day," but arranged to come in for a couple hours
with an IP for an informal study-session. Since we'll be checking in the
next two weeks, every little bit will help. This also demonstrates to
our IPs our commitment, which they seem to question at times.
I'm very much looking
forward to this weekend. We're planning on heading to Tuscaloosa to play
paintball. I really enjoyed playing whenever I could before coming
here, and think this will be a great escape for everyone. Nothing
relieves tension like shooting your buddies.
11 April 2003 (Week
nine)
This past week was
not nearly as productive for us. We flew Tuesday, then had a sim on
Wednesday. Both went pretty well for us. We were supposed to fly again
Thursday, but our plane arrived with mechanical difficulties and we were
canceled. It was pretty disappointing.
Despite improving
weather and progress being made in flying for everyone, morale took a
hit yesterday after a speech given by our flight commander. He is seldom
present during our formal brief, so he poked his head in to say a few
words. He advised us we were all grown-ups and neither he nor his IPs
were there to hold our hands. The good will of the IPs had been used up
on the class we share our flight room with, so we would be paying the
price for it as well. He was unhappy with our performance and
recommended we take it seriously and pick up the pace. At the completion
of his speech, we were all left to wonder why those words were spoken
and what effect they were meant to have. The more I think about them,
the more angry I get. Our class is doing well for where we are, and have
done nothing to warrant such treatment. They have told us numerous times
that our sister class has tried their patience, but I refuse to believe
we should be treated poorly as a result. If motivation is what he
sought, there are much better ways to go about it. Unfortunately, as
students, this is sometimes the way it goes.
2 April 2003 (Week
eight)
This week has been
quite busy for me. Brent and I flew Monday and Tuesday, then had our
first copilot ride today. For the copilot ride, we sit in the right seat
instead of the left, so all our duties are different. The copilot runs
all the checklists and is responsible for setting up the navigation
equipment and radio communication. All of that stuff was challenging
enough, but actually flying from the right seat was perhaps the most
difficult. You wouldn't think there would be that much difference, but
your hands get trained a certain way and it's hard to change that.
Tomorrow will be our second EP sim, which we're looking forward to.
There's a little more down time with a sim, which we're in need of. The
early shows take a lot out of you. I think we are free Friday, but may
have to come in Saturday (ughh).
The war is in its
second week now, and I try to get all the latest updates a couple times
a day. Watching the coverage is kind of aggravating, however. The
negativity in the press and the protestors affect me in some way I can't
entirely describe. It seems as if the press is trying too hard and
digging too deep for new information, so they have begun to report that
it's not going as well as we'd hoped and almost supporting Iraq by
talking about how difficult it's been. The U.S.'s version of
modern-warfare seems to have spoiled the world to a point where a war
that lasts more than a few days and costs more than a few lives is
abnormal and a disaster. Perhaps they should reference history and note
that wars typically last years and cost thousands, not hundreds, of
lives.
I am also saddened to
see the masses of protesters taking to the streets. It elicits a lot of
different emotions for me. As a member of the military, I volunteered to
put my life on the line for these people that don't seem to appreciate
that, and even rally against me. The knowledge that I, as a soldier, do
not have the support of our people (real or perceived) is nothing but
damaging to morale. At the same time, I feel pride that I am defending a
country where people are allowed to say what they want, even if it's
open criticism of the government. Most nations do not have that freedom.
I just hope the people protesting understand that the military consists
of individual AMERICANS who VOLUNTEERED to serve their country to defend
the nation and what we believe is right and just. Before they demand
that we cease aggression and "bring the troops home," realize
that the majority of soldiers are there because they wanted to be, not
because they had to be. Protest the decision-makers if you must, but
support the soldiers, for they are relatives, friends, and Americans.
27 Mar 2003 (Week
seven)
I finished my third
ride today, and have another sim ride tomorrow. We're on our fourth day
of 0430 (0400, really) shows, which is mildly unpleasant. The bright
side is that we have been getting released around two.
The rides are going
really well so far. We're both flying good, and the studying is coming
along slowly, but surely. I keep hearing that the T-1 is all about the
academics. If you do well with the mountains of general knowledge (GK),
you'll go further than if you excel strictly in flying. Our class got a
little shock today regarding GK. Many students, perhaps due to the ease
and our limited time, study primarily with "gouge," or what
amount to "cliff-notes" of the books we are supposed to study.
We had been emphasizing this perhaps too much, as was demonstrated when
our Flight Commander began asking questions that originated on a gouge
sheet, then threw in more random questions regarding the same topic.
Most of us managed to butcher the non-gouge questions, and he was none
too pleased about it. He felt it was in our best interest not to let
that happen again. While gouge is a great study reference, one REALLY
has to stay in the books in T-1s.
The last of our class
finally got their dollar-rides yesterday and we received our T-1
name-patches. It's amazing how a little piece of cloth can change your
attitude. As a classmate said, "we're not commoners anymore"
(referring to our T-37 brethren). Status plays a big role down
here.
19 Mar 2003 (Week
six)
After a welcome/big
picture briefing on Tuesday with Capt Colson, we started flight line on
Wednesday (today). Unlike T-37s, it was more 'friendly' and
instructional than haze-oriented. We were told what to expect for
stand-ups and when our EPQs would be. During the first twenty days, we
will have five USEM events per week (stand-up or EPQ). After the first
person transition checks, it drops to three. Our first EPQ is tomorrow,
but consists only of Bold Face and Ops Limits, which many of us have had
memorized for some time. We get an IP demo of a stand-up Friday, then
start with our own on Monday. Lots of orientation for everyone at this
stage.
Six of us had our
dollar rides today! It was a beautiful day, and we flew 3.2 hours. I
flew first (me in the left seat, IP in the right, and Brent in the
jumpseat). We departed to the west and went to a MOA to introduce and
practice maneuvers like stalls, steep turns, and slow flight. After I
had done them all, then the IP took control while Brent and I switched
seats so he could fly through all the maneuvers. Brent then flew us to
Meridian, Key Field, in central Mississippi. We stayed there for about
an hour, with Brent flying several patterns, then another seat swap so I
could get a few in. I then flew the arrival back into Columbus and
taxied back to the chocks. All in all, it was a very good ride and we
had a lot of fun. Definitely the inspiration we need at this point in
the program.
17 Mar 2003 (Week
six)
I just finished
listening to the President deliver his 48-hour ultimatum to Iraq. It
brings a deep sense of reality to what we are all preparing for here. It
feels awkward that my unit was deployed a week ago and I could not be
with them, but I suspect I'll have my 'opportunity' in the future.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/03/17/sprj.irq.main/index.html
Brent and I are
scheduled for our dollar ride Wednesday, which is exciting and
depressing at the same time. The 'slow' pace of academics was a nice
break. I am trying to get prepared to be exhausted and frustrated for
the coming month. We are better prepared, at least, than we were for
Tweets.
14 Mar 2003 (Week
five)
Brent and I just
finished our fourth sim, which was an emergency procedure sim. These are
the ones where you experience one emergency after another and have to
resolve each of them in turn. Emergencies are handled quite differently
between the T-37 and the T-1. In the T-37, you have to accomplish
everything yourself and can't spend a great deal of time with your nose
in the checklist (and not looking outside). In the T-1, the pilot flies
the aircraft and directs the copilot to specific checklists problem
resolution. A consensus is reached about the problem and you work
together to solve it. I definitely like this system a lot better. Our
sims in general have gone very well so far, and we both have a similar
work ethic and mindset that should keep us on track. We get to see if
that translates into the aircraft next Thursday on our dollar
ride.
10 Mar 2003 (Week
four)
Heidi and I had a
great time with our friends this past weekend. Columbus is not exactly a
tourist trap, so we appreciate people coming to see us.
Two more sims down,
and at least two more to go before my dollar ride. The first was as I
described below, and the second went through ground ops fairly quickly
and then did several different types of landings (10 flap, 0 flap, ILS
approach). It focused on emergency procedures as well, such as start
malfunctions (what do you do if your engine catches on fire during the
start). I always tend to go too quickly on those, and have to force
myself to slow down and do things properly. Fortunately, I'll get lots
of practice over the next two sims, since both will focus heavily on
emergencies.
This week is our last
week of "relaxation" before flight line starts, but it is
still pretty busy with two (maybe three) tests, numerous classes
(instructor and on the computer), three sims, and whatever our flight
commander wants us to do on the side. There is also an ORI (operational
readiness inspection) going on here for the next ten days or so, which
really ups the pucker-factor.
05 Mar 2003 (Week
three)
I fell from 'grace'
today, missing a question on our third test (avionics). Our hydraulics
class started immediately thereafter, so I didn't have time to reflect
on it. Oh well.
Brent and I have our
second event in the sim tomorrow morning. Our last sim focused mainly on
button-pressing, and involved limited flying time. This one will run
through the checklists much faster and get us each a few laps around the
pattern. The graphics are much better in these sims than the T-37 sims.
We practiced again looking at a poster of the cockpit, but we've still
got a ways to go. There are some pretty detailed checks that require a
lot of memorization and crew coordination that are going to take a lot
of repetition. We have only until the 19th before we have to do this on
the actual aircraft, so we'll be busy.
Some friends are
coming into town this weekend, so we're going to meet them up in Memphis
and hang out on Beale Street for
awhile. Should be fun.
26 Feb 2003 (Week
two)
We started the week
with our first academic test, and finished our second this morning. It
seems like a whirlwind during class and the CBT, but the instructors
give a very thorough review that focuses our studies. We test on the
computers instead of paper, which I am taking a liking to. Once you are
finished, you get your results immediately. The instructor still
discusses any missed questions with the students after the test is
complete.
I had my first
"sim" today. Brent Anderson, my designated flying partner, and
I sat with an instructor at an FMT (the wood, cockpit mockup) and went
over checklists. The worst part about the T-37 was getting it started
and moving on the ground, and this aircraft is infinitely more
complicated. After a two-hour session, we had barely gotten to the
"Takeoff" checklist. It's a bear, so we'll be doing a lot of
practicing between now and flight line.
22 Feb 2003 (End of
week one)
The majority of our
week was spent in academics and getting acclimated to our new
surroundings. We had only two or three actual instructor taught classes,
but spent many hours doing Computer Based Training (CBT). The focus at
this point is systems and getting familiar with all the switches and
annunciators in the cockpit. There is a tremendous amount of information
to learn, and I'm certain this would be a challenging course even if we
never left the ground in the aircraft.
We also spent some
time touring our new environment. We got to see the T-1 simulators and
trainers we'll use to prepare us for the aircraft. The simulators have
no motion, but do have expanded viewing screens beyond just straight
ahead. T-1s have Cockpit Flight Trainers (CFT) similar to the T-37, but
they're known as Familiarization Trainers (FMT). The FMT for the T-1 is
actually just a 3D poster set up like the cockpit of the aircraft so
students can become familiar with switch locations. For more advanced
practice on the avionics, there are consoles that look like the cockpit
but have working electronics. I'm sure I'll become very familiar with
both in the coming weeks.
We have our first
test on Monday, then another on Wednesday. Our first sims will be next
week as well. Our dollar rides are only a month away, so the pace will
be rapid. It is nice, however, to have a break from the flight line for
awhile.
18 Feb 2003 (Week
one, day one)
T-1s got off to more
of an interesting start than I'd counted on. I received a call on Sunday
from our new flight commander informing me I would be the SRO (senior
ranking officer) for the class. Since several students were commissioned
before I was and I am not the oldest, I am not certain what that was
based on, but there it was nonetheless. We seem to have a very good
group of people who know what needs to be done and are willing to help
out, so it should not be too terrible. As cheesy as it sounds, I thought
back on the motto from AMS... "Take charge, take orders, or take a
hike." It will definitely put an interesting spin on the rest of my
time here.
We had a good mix of
activities today. First on the schedule was Physiology, where we
reviewed some items we had covered in T-37 academics. We also touched on
the differences between pressurized and unpressurized cockpits. Our
second stop (after brunch at "The Other Kitchen"), was to our
new flight room, where we met our flight commander and some of our IPs.
We went over general information and assembled our gradebooks. He
emphasized that the "trust cup" was presently full, and it was
up to us to keep it that way. Basically, if we keep our noses clean,
he'll take care of us. No real surprises after the T-37 program.
The day ended with a
short tour of the T-1 computer lab (CAI, or computer assisted
instruction). We had a lesson on how the computers worked and got to see
the classroom where our academics would take place. They were much nicer
than T-37s. We'll see the FMT's (familiarization trainers) tomorrow,
where we'll practice procedures prior to hitting the sims or aircraft.
If you have specific questions, please
contact me at scot_wilcox@hotmail.com.
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