The Final Countdown

So the time has finally come for my last few flights in the T-6 Texan. This week could be my last time to fly it, it will definitely be my last week of formation and my last checkride of this phase. I only have six total flights left including my checkride. I am getting pretty stoked about getting these last few rides knocked out because I am ready to move on to bigger and more complex aircraft. This final push will also let me have some much needed break time between phases. I could have as much as four weeks of down time with little more to do than read books and show up in the morning for attendance. I might even get to take some leave and go get in some great fishing somewhere down here in the south. I am trying not to get too far ahead of myself, this checkride is not going to be a gimme but I think that I can buckle down and focus on this for the next few days. Rachael will like having me T-6 complete because it will mean no more excuses for a while about my limited house work. I am also trying not to jinx myself about getting to go to corpus and train with the navy. I am still in a pretty good spot to have a good say in my aircraft destiny but stranger things have happened. I am pretty excited about seeing our entire drop. It will be cool to see what my classmates get. Some of them don't feel very strongly about what aircraft they fly, but there are some who know what they want and I hope that they get it. It will be interesting to see how it all shapes out. The other cool part is that the families will get to com in for a day and see what our normal day was like in this phase. They come in for a formal brief and stand up/ep. After that we all have a big breakfast that we prepare for everyone. Then they can take a tour of the different agencies around the base that really effect the flight training for the students. There will be a static display of a Texan and maybe the aircraft that we could move on to. The night concludes with Track Select which is going to be a pretty fun event. It should be pretty raucous and funny. We have been working on this for the last week or so, and we still have several weeks to get it honed out just right. When it goes down, the whole day should be a pretty fun affair. Well, that's it for now.....more after my checkride/last flights.

Late Shows

There really isn't much to say about the last week or so. I am kind of getting slow rolled so that I can have at least the minimum required flights over the last twenty flying days. I have done a lot of sitting and waiting. The one time I was scheduled to fly, the runway was wet and the winds were out of limits. So, this morning I am sitting at the house waiting to go into work. Most of the flight showed up at 0530 but I have to wait until after 8 so that I can stay later and work in the RSU. That really sucks because I am basically going to sit around all day so that I can go sit in a little building and write down take off times for the younger classes. The nice part is that I wont have to go in to work until after 8 for the next couple of days.
In other events, we are getting closer and closer to track select. Every day that goes by gets me that much closer to actually have a little clearer picture of what is going to happen with the rest of my Air Force career. It also gets us that much closer to having an assignment that is going to last more than a few months. Not that I don't like the money we make off of being moved around, but it would be nice to have a place that we could actually live and get established in for a couple of years instead of just being "transients".

BEST FLYING EVER!!!!!

So today I had my formation solo. This was probably the best ride of UPT. That was some of the most fun I have ever had in an airplane. I spent about an hour and a half ten feet from another aircraft, maneuvering through high and low G maneuvers and chasing them around the sky. There is nothing like going to max power and pulling as hard as you can into another aircraft that is 1000 ft off your wing, just to reverse the turn and put yourself into a nice rejoin position. I didn't have the best technical wing work today, but that didn't really matter because everything I did was safe and I more than made up for that with how well I did extended trail today. I got to do two sets of pretty high intensity sessions of extended trail. I got to take off as the lead aircraft and lead my wingman through a full profile. After the lead change, I got to do an abbreviated profile (there are a few things that you aren't allowed to do solo). It was pretty neat not having an IP in the backseat freaking out if you did anything that wasn't good. It was also pretty tiring not having anyone to back you up and search for the other airplane. Probably the best flying ever!!!!

Boredom

I have just spent an entire weekend wishing it would warm up so that I could get out on some nice long bike rides. But instead of doing anything else physical I managed to have one of the laziest weekends that I have had to date in UPT. I did almost nothing of note for an entire two days, and while I am a not pleased about not working out it was probably some of the best resting that I have done since July.
We went with a group of friends on Saturday and saw the new Clint Eastwood movie Gran Torino. I was actually presently surprised at how good of a movie it was. I usually do not agree with critics, but this movie was actually a pretty decent flick. We went out to dinner with a few of our friends at this mexican place that had more items on their menu than any other place i have ever been to. It was absolutely ridiculous trying to figure out what you want when you have over 200 items to choose from. They should have just cut their menu in half and focused on making a few good items because i was not very impressed with my chimichangas.
Not really much to write about this weekend just really some bored ramblings.

Good Day

Had an absolutely great day today. I absolutely love flying formation. It is the most difficult flying that we do, but it is the most invigorating thing in the entire planet. Flying ten feet from another aircraft and doing the things that we do is a life changing experience. Today, we spent a little time working on just staying in good position while maneuvering both planes at up to 90 degrees of bank. That is probably the hardest thing that we do and it shows, but even it is fun. Then we do some other formations that resemble some of the types of missions that other airframes actually do on the active duty side. The thing that we do that is the most fun is called extended trail. This type of flying is extremely physical and very taxing. We chase the other aircraft through some of the more difficult aerobatics while trying to maintain a "cone" of airspace around the back of the lead aircraft. We do loops, barrel rolls, clover leafs, cuban 8s, and alot of moves that just teach us to maintain a safe aspect angle to the other aircraft. Once you do all of this stuff following another aircraft you actually trade places and then you have to lead all the same things that you just went through. In many ways that is harder than flying in the wing position. You have to consider where you are in the working area and what is going on with your wingman. Today, I had an exceptionaly good day with flying and all of the little things that have to happen to make a great day. Formation really is the best flying we do around here.

Inauguration and other things

So I actually got to come home today and watch the inauguration.....and I was not that overly impressed. I mean, how hard is it to look ahead by twenty or so minutes and actually pre-read the Oath of Office. I don't mean to speak poorly of the new president, but that is one of the little things that just strikes a chord with me. The rest of the world is watching hoping for a "great change" but this harbinger of change can't even get through the four lines of the Oath of Office. Just a little something that irks me a little........

Got back on the bike again today. This is the first day that I have ridden my bike in over a month. It has been ridiculously cold for being Mississippi and the weather just hasn't been cooperating. I think that I was probably the laughing stock of the base when people saw me, but man did it feel good to actually be out there and riding again. Now, if the weather would just warm up a little where I could actually get out on some longer road rides instead of just commuting back and forth.

Good Luck Rachael

Rachael has decided to branch out into the unknown and start her own blog. She will be sorely missed as her contributions offered our many readers a stark difference to my ramblings about flying and generally manly things. We here at Bike Pilot will follow her blog with great anticipation. Check her out at http://acclimating.blogspot.com

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of our contributors:
1. RickW

Finally Got The Laptop Back

This is the first post in a couple of weeks that I haven't made from my phone. It is actually nice to have a keyboard instead of trying to type on that small screen. Things are going pretty well here for me and Rachael. We are really in the groove of UPT and we are starting to actually have more and more time to spend with each other. I actually have time at night to help with dinner and do chores around the house instead of spend the entire night buried in books trying to learn how to do this flying thing. Rachael is not really enjoying her job very much but she is sticking it through until track select. After track select we will know more about the next six months or so and she will have a better idea about what she is going to be doing with her education/work.
My class is scheduled to track select (pick what genre of aircraft we are going to be flying) around the 10th of March. It seemed like that was really far off when we started, but time has flown and now we are almost there. I started off with 62 flights in the T-6 and now I only have 14 left. I am simulator and academic complete and that is a really good feeling. I have also done 3 of the 4 check rides that we have to do in T-6s. I only have to think about one kind of flying and that makes the days a lot easier to bear when you know they can only have you fly one type of sortie. These next few weeks leading up to track select should be some really fun weeks.
Rachael and I are really hoping the I get to track into T-44s (a navy trainer). If we got that we would be moving to Corpus Christi, TX for our next phase of training. That would be awesome. Rachael has been looking at school possibilities down in South Texas like TACC and a few others. I would love to go down there and train with the Navy. It is really a program where they treat you like an adult and expect you to get the work done at a pace that is suitable to you. Also, if we get T-44s there is about a 90% chance that we will go on to C-130s from there. C-130s are a good aircraft (although old, but what isn't these days) that do a lot of different kinds of stuff in some pretty cool and austere places. I would try to go on to just the regular variant of C-130s because they have better hours and locations than some of the special operations versions that are out there. If things worked out like we wanted them to, I would be flying the newer J model 130s and we would be on our way to Germany in a little over a year. Another good bonus of being in corpus is the central locations for some pretty decent fishing. I would love to live on the coast for a while and get some nice salt water fishing done on my time off. Maybe I can even get Rachael to like fishing a little..........yeah right!

Until next time!

Formation

So now I am on to the next phase in my training. This is the phase
that makes the air force different from the airlines. We are flying
formation. I am not flying very often but when I am it is the best
flying we have done yet. We spend most of the flight about ten feet to
the side of another aircraft. It is absolutely one of the weirdest
feelings on the planet. We do all kinds of manuevering and aerobatics
in the ten foot position called "fingertip". We also do some exercises
in a position called "fighting wing". That is where we do a kind of
dog fighting and chase each other around the sky. It is absolutely one
of the coolest things I have ever done. I have only eighteen more
flights left in the T-6 and I am sim and academic complete. That is
about it for now.

Long term update

So it has been another good while since I have updated this. Things
have been going pretty well around here for me and Rachael.

Since I last posted, we have been pretty busy. A couple of weeks after
thanksgiving I went cross country with about half of the guys from my
flight. That was a pretty interesting trip. We started off by flying
to little rock shooting an approach at the airport there. After that
we stayed in the air and followed the Arkansas river up to fort smith.
We got gas in fort smith and then we headed down to Alliance fort
worth. That place looked like a UPT base parking ramp because almost
every base that had a trainer had one there. We went out that night
and I got to see my good friend Caroline from the U of A. The next day
we woke up and the winds were blowing so hard (and forcasted to get
worse the next day) that we had to leave and go somewhere else. We
went to Nashville and went to a stars hockey game. The rest of the
weekend went pretty normal for a flying weekend.

After that weekend the flight commander decided that me and two
other guys were going to get sped up and do our instrument checkride
before Christmas break. Ordinarily that would not be a big deal, but
the weather would not cooperate. We sat and did not fly for almost a
week. We got to the point where if we didn't fly on a given day they
wouldn't have enough flights to check us. It ended up working out
where we all got to check the next to last day before the break. My
checkride did not feel like a
great flight but I don't think that they ever do. I ended up doing
very well and only getting downgraded on one item. Getting that done
means that I only have to worry about one block of training. I should
start formation on Tuesday.

For the break, Rachael and I decided to stay in the area and spend
some term together. We had a good Christmas and we got to spend some
quality time together. We also went to the NW Georgia area for thee
days. We did all the touristy stuff and we stayed in a great cabin
with a hot tub in the woods. We also had my birthday on the first. It
was a pretty chill day and I couldn't have asked for anything more.

House Tour

I thought I would share some pictures of our house since most of you haven't seen it. It's really just of the kitchen and entryway with a lot of Christmas decoration pics thrown in. It's a teaser. Now you'll have to check back often because you'll never know when I might upload a picture of the livingroom or, even better, a bathroom. Contain your ooo's and aaawww's.

Obviously we needed to rake. I decided to hold out until maintenance came to do it for us. Especially since we have no grass at all to uncover.

They came today and now we have a nice dirt yard. Well, mud now that's it's been raining for a solid three hours.

Here's the kitchen.

Best part is that we have a dishwasher. And it's name isn't Rachael or sometimes Rick.

The laundry room is past that open doorway with a huge closet that holds the dog kennel.

Our dining area with our new dining table. My sister and I set the table for no reason when she came to visit. It looked pretty though.

Our entry way. It's a good shot of the 1950/60s wood inlay floors. Which would be awesome except they've never been stripped. Ever and have 200 coats of varnish on them.

Still better than carpet.

Kitchen is too the left. Living room straight ahead and bedrooms to the right.

Christmas tree closeup with the angel we used a lot on our tree growing up.

I found these red curtains for something like $4 awhile ago and thought they'd be great for Christmas. Then I put them up and was a little overwhelmed by the red. It's a lot, a lot of red. We'll leave them for now and see how it goes.

We went to a Christmas tree farm to cut our tree but it was pretty ghetto. They were selling cedar bushes as Christmas trees. Wierd. I'd never heard of that before. So we had to do the awkward "We don't like your trees" thing and leave. We went to Kroger and bought this fir tree for $30. Way less than what they were selling the cedar bushes and much more Christmas-y. I also used up our exta ornaments with this little tree like decoration.

Alright, that's all I can handle. I'm not going to lie; it may be awhile before more pics. They take a long time to upload and then organize. Unless Rick knows how to do it some easier way. Cross your fingers. You just may get to see the bathroom afterall.

first time for this feeling

So this is the first time in my life that I have been DNIF (duties not to include flying). That pretty much just means that you have accommodated some illness that is affecting or could possibly affect your flying so they dont want you up in the air. I had a pretty good upper respiratory infection since last Friday and I really didn't start feeling good until this Friday. I felt pretty bad on Monday because I was scheduled to fly and I had to take myself off the schedule so I could go to the doc. That really sucks for the guys in my flight because it means that one of them got added to a flight without knowing it was going to happen. Other than being sick it wasn't a bad week. We only had to work for three days this week, and it was really nice having the long weekend.
For thanksgiving, Rachael and I decided that we would host as many people that were staying here as we could. Rachael did an awesome job cooking her first turkey and I think that I did an ok job on the side dishes that I was tasked to prepare. We had a total of thirteen people including us over for dinner. It was a really good time. Most of the people were the folks from my class, but some of them had people that had come down to visit so we fed them all. It was really neat just getting to hang out and eat some good food on a day that we could have been working on. After the meal, one of the guys had rented a temporary house so his family could have a place to stay and we went over there for a party. Rachael and I had a pretty good time over there. The next day we did absolutely nothing until three in the afternoon. WE WERE SO TIRED from Thursday. Abbey decided to drive down because she was bored in AR on Friday. We all, pretty much every person from thanksgiving dinner, went out to this pretty good catfish place on the class bus and then we headed out to Starkville for a night on the town.
Well I think that is about it for this week. Coming up this week I am going to be into instruments pretty heavily. We are also probably going to start having Navigation rides as well. Most of this stuff is pretty new, so I have to really start hitting the books now.

good week

so this was probably one of the better weeks of upt for me. I finished up the contact block of training and i am now moving on to instruments and navigation. My checkride went really well on thursday. I only got three downgrades and an Excellent overall. My flight commander said that was the highest final contact total he had seen in one of his flights. So far our flight is 5-0 for final contacts and that is a really good thing. we didnt do so well on midphase so we are trying to redeem ourselves. Instruments is a completely different kind of flying. you have to stare at the instruments and fight the urge to look outside. there are a lot of different rules that really govern how you fly when you are flying on instruments. that is actually the hardest part, just memorizing what to do when, and what applies where. sorry for the short post but i should have more after the razorback game.

A day to remember

An inscription at the WWII memorial in DC

It's days like today that should cause every American to look back at where this country came from. Veteran's day, a day that salutes veterans serving in all wars, gives everyone a chance to look back at the beginning of this country and the ideals that we have upheld since its inception. Our system is not based on fealty, fear, or loyalty to some monarch/dictator. This country is THE democratic example that all nations should look up to. Since our inception we have come to the defense of those less fortunate, sometimes at the detriment to ourselves. This country has given freely of its valuable resources, including its most precious one, its sons and daughters. Do not let today go by without reflecting on the sacrifice of those that have protected this country and its citizens from all forms of tyranny. I would like to say thank you to all those who have served/died and given this country the freedoms that it sometimes takes for granted.

The largest flag ever airdropped.

Man its been a while

So, a lot has gone down since the last post so strap in for a long one....

I think that the last time i posted I was getting ready to solo. I have since soloed several times. The first solo is absolutely one of the most harrowing/exciting experiences. They give you the keys to a couple of million dollar jet/prop and expect you to remember everything that they taught you. I got to go up at the same time as a couple of friends and that made the pattern (where we fly) interesting. It is really different not having an IP in the backseat correcting you on everything that you do. After you solo, they pretty much leave all of the decision making up to you. Your training is in your own hands is a favorite saying of most of the IPs.

This is me right before we went to the plane.

I am wearing my IPs wings since it is bad luck not to

where them on your first solo.

Me and Bervig waiting on the truck to take us out.

Some people strap into the jet, but I strap the jet onto my back.

Engine start

Getting carried to the tank

That was some cold, nasty, water.

Stapp, Bervig, and Me after being dunked.

After we solo we only have four rides until we take our first check ride. I took mine exactly four days later. I usually don't get nervous about taking check rides, and that day was no different. I went in there exactly the same way as if it were just a regular flight and briefed to fly. When we went out to fly everything was going perfect until the takeoff. I did one thing that took me out of my rhythm and I missed one of the few things that will instantly hook (fail) you on a check ride in the T-6. I forgot to turn off the nose wheel steering (NWS) before I started the takeoff roll (it gets really sensitive at high speeds and can lead to a really dangerous situation). The plane was one of the better ones and the IP didn't even notice until we had already started to lift off. I knew as soon as he said something that I had hooked my ride. The ride isn't over though. The way that they score your check rides here you can actually get a better grade even after you hook it, than someone who just has a mediocre flight. I managed to get my head back in the game before I even got my landing gear up. That is a first for me because I used to have a tendency to think about my mistakes and let that effect the rest of my flight. I flew a pretty solid sortie and managed to only get a few downgrades. Even after I hooked it I still had the 7th highest score in the class (the next closest hook was 14th). The check pilot (the guy who grades you) told me that I flew like a test pilot. He said that he thought that the NWS would completely snowball into a bad flight, but he said you couldn't even tell I had done it. He said some really complimentary things about my flying and then sent me on to do my makeup check. I flew my 88 ride the next day with one of the ADO's and that flight was over as soon as I turned off the NWS. The makeups only really grade you on what you hooked for. After that we just went out and had a pretty normal sortie.

After the check rides we go into advanced aerobatics. Those are pretty neat. We do a lot of maneuvers like loops, cuban 8's, immelmans, split-s, barrel rolls, etc. They are pretty neat but they are pretty tireing because of all the G's. We also get two area solo's during this block. They are different because we are out in the area doing all of our manuevers. I only have two more sorties until my next check ride. They will be my last Contact flights. After this, we move into instruments and navigation. That is going to be a completely different kind of flying. I have never really done any kind of instrument flying so it is going to be a huge change in types of flying. The control of the aircraft is the same, but you aren't supposed to use outside references at all. This is what they use when you fly through weather and that sort of stuff. We also just took the hardest test in UPT......weather. That test was a total waste of government resources. Over half of our flight failed, and the rest of our class still has to take it. The best part about taking it was the fact that we only have two academic tests left.


Outside of flying, things have been going pretty well. Bill got really sick a couple of weeks ago and he had me and Rachael both pretty worried that he might be on his last legs. But in typical bill fashion he was up and bouncing around after a trip to the vet, in which the vet confirmed that he is back on track to live well into his twenties. Other than that things are pretty mellow. We are getting ready to host thanksgiving for all the people in our class who aren't going home, and don't have people coming down to visit. That should be fun. Well, I guess that is it for now..