18 Nov 06

Well I left off last time finishing up the Aerospace Physiology portion of training. Since then we have gone through quite a bit more including T-37B Aircraft Systems training, Flying Fundamentals, Aerodynamics of Flight, and have moved into our flight room and started flying!

The Aircraft Systems portion was relatively easy, just a lot of reading and memorization of how the different systems work. We learned about the electrical system, hydraulic system, engines, ejection system, flight control system, etc. The Flying Fundamentals portion was also just a lot of reading and memorization about things like takeoff and landing data, crosswinds, headwinds, and tailwinds data, flight envelopes, airspace classifications, and then how to compute values for things like refusal speed, critical runway lengths, etc. Luckily, most of this stuff I had already learned while I went through my private pilot’s certification a few years ago. The Aerodynamics of Flight portion has been a very, VERY basic class covering just what a pilot needs to know about aerodynamics. Considering I went through 5 years of Aerospace Engineering classes getting into much more detail about each section, I pretty much had to “dumb” myself down so I wasn’t over-thinking the exam questions. Historically, people from engineering degrees are the ones who usually miss the most questions because they think too much into the questions. All in all, the academics portion of training is called “slackademics” for a reason, seeing how it’s not exactly like going through an engineering degree here, considering people go through this program from all backgrounds. Overall, I did well in the academic portions so far, with quite a bit more to go. Finishing this part of training brings me to the 8th of November.

On Wednesday, 8 Nov 06, our class finally got to move into our respective flight rooms. This is where we will basically live for the next 6 months. Our class was split into two flights, Delta and Hotel, each with 12-13 people. I am part of Hotel Flight with Matt (guy I went to school with), 5 Italians, and 5 other Americans (unfortunately, Greg and Mike who I am good friends with got put into Delta Flight). Our flight room is right beside the life support area, which means we don’t have to walk far to get to our parachute and helmets, and then to the flight line which is nice. We got reintroduced to our Instructor Pilots (IP), two Italian Air Force, three Americans, and one German Air Force officer. They are all pretty intense, and have already demonstrated they expect a lot out of us, and it seems we will learn a large deal from them all. One American IP, Lieutenant Colonel Ingle, has been flying the T-37 Tweet before we all were born, and even back when it was an operational fighter called the A-37 in Vietnam. He is definitely the IP to look out for, seeing as he could build a Tweet blindfolded with one hand behind his back! He also got an “award” from the graduating class: “Reincarnated from the depths of Hell, this IP busted our ass in order to make us better pilots.” The award was presented to him as a plaque on a 25 pound sledgehammer! Great…..but, I am sure we will learn more than we want to know by flying with him, so we’ll see. When we moved into the flight room, we also were overwhelmed with the amount of things that needed to be done each day, and that was all outside of our studies, classes, flying, and meetings… We were also introduced to the 12 hour workdays that we will be living from now on. Up at 0500 to report at 0600, leaving at 1800. Whew.

That very next day, Thursday the 9th, was a great day! We all had our “Dollar Rides”! The dollar ride is the very first ride in the T-37B Tweet. It is called the “Dollar Ride” because you have to “pay” your IP a dollar (usually decorated) in order to get the ride. This is basically the only flight where you don’t have to know anything or do anything. The IP takes you up in order to get an idea of the local flying areas and what is feels like to be up there flying. It is also the only flight were we are not graded. I’ll have to say, climbing into the jet and seeing myself in a helmet, mask, flight suit, and actually at the controls of a twin engine jet trainer made me feel extremely overwhelmed at where I was and what I was doing. Everyone was so pumped up from this flight! That night, we helped out at the graduation for the class who was a year ahead of us. Sitting through that made the light at the end of the very long tunnel (as dim as it was) seem to brighten just a bit. The graduation was exciting, seeing the guys get their wings pinned on and listening to the Commander of the Italian Air Force’s Air Education and Training Command give a great speech. Our class was also introduced (as the new class) to the people in the audience, seeing as most of them were IP’s and commanders of some sort who we will run into along the way.

This also marked the end of our free time for the most part. The next 6 months will be spent either in the flight room, studying, going through emergency procedures, getting tested, flying, or in the simulators. This past week (13th-16th), we flew three times, one day of flights being cancelled because of 35 knot winds, gusting up to 55 knots! The first two flights really started to worry me and really got me aggravated and down in the dumps (just as mom or dad…they kept trying to cheer me up). I was completely overwhelmed and disoriented with how much was going on in the cockpit and in the air, had no idea what I needed to study on what night, had no idea how to prepare myself for the flights and on top of all that, I was getting airsick! Not to the point of throwing up, but my second flight of the week I had to cut 10 minutes short because I had to actually take the bag out of my pocket just in case…I was that close. It was horrible! I actually had to report to the Flight Surgeon to get cleared to fly, even though it was just passive airsickness, meaning I didn’t pass out or throw up. It still sucked and put a ton of stress on me, freaking me out on whether it was going to get better. There were a few other people feeling the same thing, about a third of each flight, and some even throwing up. It still freaked me out though. Wednesday’s flights were cancelled due to the winds, and I was actually quite relieved. It gave me a chance to study what I needed to study, and also to kind of cool off from the last two flights. Turns out when Thursday rolled around I was actually really nervous by that point. I did feel more prepared and ready to go fly, but now my stomach was feeling like it did before every cross country race I ran in college. Just that butterfly’s feeling, like I was hungry but couldn’t eat…This was not a good sign. Surprisingly, when I stepped to the plane, it all seemed to go away and I ended up having my best flight yet! I was SO relieved while I was flying, actually feeling like I was up there with the plane instead of still down in the chocks. I was even able to complete a few overhead patterns and box patterns on my own (for the most part). Let me tell you, the overhead closed patterns that the Air Force flies are no joke! From 200 knots and 1000 ft above the ground, to 150 knots, gear down going the other direction, to 120 knots, gear, flaps, and speed brake out at 500 feet, and finally going 100 knots and landing, all within a box 3000 feet long and 1000 feet wide, and at the same time doing all your checks and radio calls!!!! It was intense! Everything happens INCREDIBLY fast and if you aren’t ahead of the jet, you are going to do something wrong or forget something! Supposedly once we get further into the program this will all be second nature to us, but right now it is just an absolute mindful and very task saturating! But, like I said, I had my best flight yet and was really happy I didn’t feel sick and actually was able to do most of what the mission entailed, hopefully my flights will be like this from now on!

Friday the 17th was Combat Air Forces Day, meaning we got to sleep in (till 0800) and go listen to the capabilities brief on the F-15C Eagle, F-15E Strike Eagle, F-16 Viper, A-10 Warthog, PA-200 Tornado, B-1 Lancer, B-52, and F-117 Nighthawk. After the briefings they were all (minus the B-52) on static display and available to look at and get in some of the cockpits. I got to sit in the A-10, F-15C, and F-16! What a great feeling! They were all so much larger than the little tiny jet I fly, and I can’t wait to find out what I will be flying! A while later the Strike Eagle Demonstration Team flew a demo over the flight line, making lots of noise and pulling lots of G’s. What a great sight! Looking at each of those jets was so awesome, and even better you could touch them! The only one they didn’t want you to touch was the F-117, or take pictures from the wings back (even though it is being retired). It was still cool though, and I posted about 85 pictures on www.kodakgallery.com . If you didn’t get an invite to view them, just let me know and I’ll add you to the list to get emailed from now on.

Other than that, this weekend has been pretty relaxing, watching football and grilling steaks tonight. Tomorrow will consist of a mountain bike ride in the morning, then studying for the rest of the day….got to prepare for my flights for the week! Hopefully all of you are having a great November and all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! I’ll be staying in Texas unfortunately, missing our family trip to Seattle…..but some of the married couples have said they are cooking a meal so hopefully I will be able to have a big dinner too….