Phase I Complete!!!

Whew!!!.......where do I start? The last update I had was somewhere near the beginning of phase one….around the physiology time frame. Well I know some people have been looking forward to an update but there really has not been much of a change in routine till now. Phase I has included many hours of studying/reading, working out, and now sims…..now I am not much of a reader but the amount of material we have been through in the past few weeks is a stack of papers roughly a foot high; I think I have read more here than I ever did all four years of high school. In the past 3-4 weeks we have been through 7 academic test, 2 fitness test, and 5 Sims (simulators). Below are my scores (Note: my scores are posted to keep my family and friends informed on my performance here at UPT and are not there to boast over anyone else.):

Fitness
- PFT (Physical Fitness Test): 100%
- FACT (Fighter Air Crew Test): 100%
Academics
- Local Area Survival: 100%
- Aerospace Physiology: (-1) roughly 96%
- Systems 1: (-1) 98%
- Systems 2: (-1) 98%
- Aerodynamics: 100%
- Flying Fundamentals: (-2) 96%
- Contact: 100%
Simulators
- B1001: Excellent
- B1002: Excellent
- B2001: Excellent
- B1101: Excellent
- B2001: Excellent

I will probably not post any more of the sims just because there are so many of them. It should be noted as well that the excellent score on the sims is not hard to reach my any means; they have “very low standards,” so well put by one of the LSI instructors (sim instructors). As for our class as a whole though, we are doing awesome; the average for every test so far is one missed question and no failures. I guess that is unheard of in pilot training, every class usually has at least one failure per test or something like that. So 09-04 is making a good name for itself thus far….now if we can keep it going on the flight line.

Now for some detail; Academics is run around a system of teaching that comes from all angles. We have CAI’s (computer aided instruction) that walks you through the lessons, then you have a the actual lessons themselves in your pubs, and then you have a review with an instructor; this is good because it helps people out that come from all different styles of learning, visual, group/individual studying, verbal….etc. A typical day of academics in UPT is as follows:

545 – wake up (1hr to get ready/eat breakfast, ½ hr to drive to work)*
715 – show
715-1100 – 2-3 CAI lessons
1100-1200 – lunch
1200-1700 – 2-3 CAI lessons or classes/reviews/simulator
* We have one gate open right now so you have to wait in a 10 min line to get onto base..Sucks!*

The simulators are the best part of academics because its really where you get hands on with what you are learning. You have about 45 min briefing with the instructor on what the sim is going to entail, about an 1hr in the sim, and then a 45 min debrief with the instructor. They have three different types of sims, UTD’s (cockpit but no visuals/screen), IFT’s (1 screen in front), and OFT (270 degree visual surrounding you; the coolest one). The sims are pretty much the coolest video game a kid could get to play with, you have a cockpit with all the switches and controls and then a surrounding screen; you also have to be suited up in your harness, helmet, g-suit (on Emergency Procedure sims). The emergency sims are cool because you go out and fly to the area while the whole time the sim instructor is throwing emergency situations at you: “Departure, Texan 11, four thousand five hundred for one three thousand, request contact low”….[interrupted by flashing lights] *Fire Light & Master Warning Light Illuminate* *Aural warning goes off in your helmet* *Hydraulic Pressure and Oil Pressure begin fluctuating* *ITT begins increasing* *Power loss*. [Turn, Climb, Clean, Check] - Turn towards the nearest airfield, climb to trade airspeed for altitude and get to 125 KIAS (best glide speed), clean the aircraft….i.e. gear/flaps/speed brake retracted, and check your instruments to analyze the problem. “Looks like we have a fire [boldface applies – PCL-OFF, FIREWALL SHUTOFF HANDLE – PULL], sir is the fire extinguished? (asking the LSI instructor)”, instructor response: “nope”. [notify the IP that an ejection is imminent] "Sir engine fire, no response to actions, prepare to bail out”, [Check Airspeed and Altitude; 125-180KIAS & above 6000MSL], [notify the world what is happening your cockpit/distress call] "Texan 11, two five miles south east of Laughlin, two souls on board, engine fire, bailing out over area 1,” [squawk 7700 if time] [check your visor down, mask clicked tight, leg straps, lab belt, seat survival kit, harness checked] [turn toward an uninhabited area] [Assume the position: head back, arms in, legs extended] “ok, lets do this! BAIL OUT! BAIL OUT! BAIL OUT!” And we live to see another day. Now that of course is just in the sim, hopefully we will never have to see that problem in the actual aircraft but in the chance we do, we know how to approach it.

Now that’s all cool but the really cool part comes next week when we hit the flight line and we actually get to fly the real thing. I get to finally be at the controls of my first Air Force Aircraft!! Its going to be awesome but I am sure I will be hearing a lot of “I have the aircraft,” (what the IP says when I do something stupid or wrong and he takes the controls), my response will be “Damn!, you have the aircraft.”

As for the social aspect of things in my life things are going well, its pretty cool when you can just chill at the end of a week with all the dudes you work with and studied hard with. Of course we threw another famous 09-04/08-13 party to keep people entertained on Saturday nights; pictures are below. Mom, that is red colored water in my camelbak (and yes, that is the way it is spelled). The most interesting social interaction I had was last night; we finished our test and headed to the O-Club to blow off some steam. There just happened to be a party for some high ranking officer that was promoted, which meant that the wing staff and many of the other distinguished members of the base were there too. Long story short by the end of the evening we were playing crud (game played at a modified pool table…google it) with the wing commander (guy that owns and commands the base), ops group commander, and some of the other staff. Everyone made a good impression and we all walked out still in UPT so all is well.

The last cool thing coming up is my roommates track (find out which way training will take them, fighter/bomber, heavies, or helicopters). They will track Wednesday, leave to their new respective flights and we will take their place in the 84th FTS as the new Guns flight. My roommate John has a good chance at T-38’s and my roommate Jake has a good chance for T-1’s; good luck to them both.

That’s about all I can think of right now. For those reading if there as anything you want me to write about or need more insight on something just leave a comment and I will try and elaborate on it the next time I write. Wish me luck in the T-6. I still thank God for every day I am here!