Okay
so I haven’t blogged in …. well, since the start of pilot training. Sorry about
that, guess there’s a lot to catch you up on. So…. let’s start right at the
heart of the blog…UPT. Truthfully, there is no comparison I can make to try and
relate how much of a rollercoaster it is. One day you could be on top of the
world and then next you could be like that commercial of the guy waking up in a
ditch. I love it, I hate it, but I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
I
guess looking back on it, the reason I really haven’t been writing blogs about
UPT is that 1) I haven’t really had time because I am, or should be studying.
2) I’m having a really bad day/week and don’t want to smash the dreams of
others by dissing the program. Or 3) I’m just so tired from the week that I
rather sleep and try to prep for the coming week so I won’t be as worn out the
next week…. Those are the main reason why I haven’t been writing. However,
since the end of phase two is drawing near and I feel more like a big kid in
the program and not like a two year old trying to fly a plane, guess it’s time to
write....
Here is an update that I did for
the Leroy Homer Jr. Foundation about "A Day in the Life..." of a student in UPT. It pretty much covers the basics of the past
6 months that I’ve been in pilot training. http://www.leroywhomerjr.org/media/blog/ is the website its found on, or you can just keep reading.
As a student in Air Force
Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) no one day is ever like the next. Sure, the
variables remain the same: flights, simulators (sims), academics, stand-up and
formal briefs; but there is always something new, something different and
exciting to add to the mix.
Starting out there are three phases
to UPT. The first phase is purely academics and last about a month and a half.
During this time we are introduced to a majority of aspects of the T-6A Texan
2, from systems, to aerodynamics, to the basics in instrument and navigation.
From there we hit the flightline for phase two, which places us in flights in a
squadron and involves all the flight training we do in the T-6. Phase two last
about four months and concludes with a tract select, in which you track either
T-1s preparing you to fly heavy aircraft such as tankers or transports, T-38s
which prepare you for the world of fighters, or helicopters. T-1s, T-38s and
helicopters are phase three and last the remaining 6 months of our pilot
training experience.
Being in phase two, our days
usually begin with a formal brief that covers everything from the current
weather and runways, to a brief emergency procedure of the day. As the
students, we run the majority of the morning brief, however our instructor
pilots (IPs) oversee it and love to ask us questions, especially about typos on
our PowerPoint and flub-ups in reading the METAR and TAF -information on
weather. During the first 15 days on the flightline, these formal briefs were
the most dreaded part of our day and could last up to an hour due to the
tedious process of memorizing checklist and procedures and having to recite
them word for word. Now that we’ve been on the flightline for a few months,
these briefs are just as they’re meant to be… brief.
After formal brief, we break up and
prepare individually for our flights and sims for the day. Our simulators are
instructed by government contracted retired Air Force pilots, whom fondly
remind me of what it would have been like to be taught how to fly by my
grandfather. One thing is for sure: when you’re flying with a sim IP, you are
bound to hear some great stories that mainly start with the phrases “So there I
was…” or “Back in my day…” In total we log about 38 hours in the simulator
while flying the T-6. Today I completed my formation simulator and have just my
low-level simulator left before I am sim complete for the T-6!
Our actual flights in the T-6 are a
whole other beast to tackle. Flights usually last 1.3 to 1.5 hours and take
many more hours than that to properly prepare for them. We usually meet up to
brief with our flight IPs an hour prior to takeoff. In our brief, we go over
the profile that we are flying and any special syllabus items that need to be
covered as well as anything that may affect the flight for that day, such as
winds, weather, NOTAMs (notice to airmen), etc. You name it, we brief it. A
half hour prior to our takeoff time we move to the stepdesk where we are
assigned a tail number for the flight and briefed on any important happenings
going on in the squadron or in the air that may affect us. Then we continue on
to life support where we put on our G-suit, harness and test our helmets before
we step to our jet. When we get to our assigned plane, we go over the books and
do a preflight inspection of the plane, if everything is good to go, we both
strap-in and start running the before take-off checklists. For a beginning
student, these checklist could take up to a half hour to run from start to
take-off, however the more familiar you become with the jet, the faster things
go and with the weather starting to really warm-up, its best to keep your IP
happy with fast checklist to get the plane’s AC up and running.
The flights themselves are always
challenging and if you adequately prepared, they can be a lot of fun too! My
most memorable flights have been my initial solo in the T-6, and my two area
solos, where I got to take the plane out by myself and preform aerobatics until
I couldn’t see straight. It was amazing! Going cross-country was also a great
confidence builder and was the point where instruments really clicked for most
of my class. The last block of rides in phase two are formation rides, which
act like a capstone to the program. My formation dollar ride (first ride) is
tomorrow and I’m so excited. I haven’t decided if I want to go fighters or
heavies yet and I hear that formation is usually the deciding factor for most
people.
With the end of phase two drawing
near, our UPT class also faces a lot of changes, besides the obvious of
switching to a new aircraft. Our UPT base is joint and we have Internationals,
Navy and Marine officers in our class. Our Navy and Marine officers only stay
up through the end of phase two and then do the remainder of their training
with their own service. Our whole class is very close and it has been a great
experience sharing these exciting and challenging times with our water loving
brothers and sisters. However, I know in the end of the day, we’ll all be up
flying in the same skies and will sure to cross paths again. So far UPT has
been a ton of work; there have been good days and not so great of days, but I
feel truly blessed to be given the opportunity to both serve my country while
following my dream.
Okay so hopefully I can keep this updating thing up. Maybe if people actually read this I might ;)
