So I am now IFS complete. I finished my last check ride on the 19th of Oct. I look back on my achievement with pride and with some disappointment. Though I never hooked a ride (failed a ride) I still don't feel like I was where I needed to be in the program. I have always wanted to leave a program looking back and saying I would have done nothing different...I know I could have chair flown more, studied my stuff more, helped others more, eaten better (it helps). I was at the top of my class but I still feel it was not good enough. If I want to track 38's I now look forward to what needs to be done in UPT. It sounds somewhat egotistical but the drops for 38's for every class are dropping from about 5-7 per class to about 2-3 per class starting a few classes before me....so I need to be the best. 
But lets go back to where I left off; mid-flying phase. I began getting better and better at flying the aircraft and was looking at how I could improve my flying skills each day. Its seems weird how it works but all of my best flying days were during standard training flights but my check rides seem to be my worst flying days. My first check ride, in my mind, I should not have passed. I busted my area (a box in the sky you have to do your maneuvers within) and I did my ground reference maneuvers with my flaps at Take off (left there from a previous maneuver). It goes to show that even with your infinite wisdom and ego that things can sometimes snow ball on you. All this occurred because of one thing...when I stepped to the plane I found out they changed my area at the last minute. But I let my ego make the call; I looked over at my IP and said I am cool with it if you are....and once again I said "I got this shit!". Everything in the flight turned out great except that the elevation I based my low altitude maneuvers were now different and I didn't realize it till I was mid stride in a simulated forced landing (engine failure....look for a landing spot on the ground and go for it.) Eventually everything in that portion of the flight took its toll. Surprisingly though everything else in the flight was awesome enough that he passed me even after screwing the low level portion.
And then there was my final check ride - Murphy decided to take a ride with me on that one too. I was paired with Miss Hicks; a check pilot who was conveniently 4 months pregnant too. As usual the on these types of flights...it started off wrong. I turn the key to start the plane and the engine fires up but it begins making a weird sound like it couldn’t quite get started….SHIT!!! why me! Why me! I begin looking around the cockpit to see if there was something standing out….Start warning light extinguished, oil looks good, temp looks good, volts/amps look good…..but everything is not good, the engine is still making weird sounds. So for safe causes I decide to shut down the engine; good choice right. Well it was the wrong one and for some reason I decided to shut down the engine by turning the key back to off…wrong again….use the mixture to shut down the engine! Two mistakes and I haven’t even taken the parking break off yet. She begins to tell me that the engine would have been fine and then got on to me about not shutting the engine down right. So we finally get rolling and tower decides to let me know that I will be taking off from a different runway with a different departure; Fantastic! So I throw my mistakes I made on the ground out the window and say “lets get it done.” Take off was great and I get up and get cleared to contact departure (someone in front of a radar that watches you and everyone else throughout your flight to the area). So I proceed to do so “Pueblo departure, Tiger 27, five thousand six hundred for six thousand five hundred, east departure.”…cool the radio call went well. Now just an aside here: when I am flying by the seat of my pants, such as on departures I have never done, I look a few steps ahead and worry about those before I look to the next steps. Now I had looked at the departure but I only looked at where I needed to turn out…not to where I was supposed to turn out to. Ok, now on track, I made my radio call, good. Well for some unknown reason departure decides to come back and quiz me over the radio…this is unheard of. He proceeds to call back “Tiger 27 radar contact………………Tiger 27 can you explain the next step of your departure for me?”. WhaaaWhat?! Who are you to question me over the radio like that! I have a pilot in the plane that does that for me!.....Damn! You’re just giving her more reasons to fail me! Now of course this was all in my head, outside I was cool calm and collect. Now I know that we didn’t turn till the pueblo VOR (thingy that tells you where you are in relation to it) but I didn’t know the next way point; I knew it was either Yard or to the left of Dale. So I get on the radio “Tiger 27, yes sir, we turn abeam the pueblo VOR……”….cool got this…Pueblo Departure: ”Tiger 27, can you tell me what the next way point is?” At this point I wanted to kill the guy on the ground so I mumble “Tiger 27, we turn abeam the pueblo VOR towards yard*mumbled*” – Pueblo Departure: “Tiger 27, thank you.” Whew…Thank God it was right. The rest of the flight went well except for a few mistakes and a minor near mid-air collision in the pattern. Yeah! There was a kitty (Solo student call sign) in the pattern and he decided to turn final for the runway when we were already on final. It was cool pulled a few G’s and, never once heard of it but, came back and hooked the student that was on his solo ride. Overall the flight was not good by any means; I was on edge the whole time and my mojo/stuff was just off the whole flight…she still decided to pass me though, weird.
Overall a great time was had in good old Pueblo, Colorado. I made plenty of new friends that I will remember for the rest of my life. Its funny because I always heard my father talking about how he met guys in the Air Force that he never forgets and who are still friends of his to this day. Well on to the next step....UPT baby!!!
