UPT Week 15 (Dec 14-18, 2009)

Update!

#1 & 2 - I fly with these in the aircraft
#3 - Flying Rules and instructions
#4 - Emergency Procedure (EP) Guide
#5 - Navigation Academics - in progress
#6 - Formation Flying - will start next year

Everything Below That - DONE!!!

Monday December 14, 2009 ( Day 66)
Weather Cancelled ALL DAY! But we still had a 3 hour navigation class! =0 AGHH!!!

Tuesday December 15, 2009 (Day 67)
DOUBLE TURN!!! That's right! 2 flights in one day - in this particular case, I only had 25 minutes in between! (C4301 & C4302) And to make it more intense, I had to show up at 0630 while the rest of the flight showed up at 0830! But hey, early bird gets the worm! I was the 9th flight to go (usually 300 flights per day), but I only saw 2 others take off before me. And I definitely raced the sun rise and I climbed to altitude!

Speaking of which, I flew through some SERIOUS clouds today - like 4-5,000 ft of them. I was PURE instrument flying - "just like the simulation!" I got 3 minor cases of spatial disorientation - nothing serious because I "Remembered my training and quickly recovered." What happened was I'm flying, climbing, turning, monitoring engine instruments, keeping jet within the specified parameters, etc. Everythings going well, lah lah lah, and I'm still flying with 0% outside reference. Its all white, and actually kinda bright because the sun is trying to break through but can only get through the top portion of the huge weather front. So all I see is a big white blank wind screen. So your scooting around flying, climbing, turning, monitoring, then you convince yourself that you are wings level, and your ATTITUDE instrument so show exactly wings level (Line on Line). EXCEPT when you look down, you see 15 degree of bank to the left and you do NOT expect it what-so-ever, and your soul jumps! And you literally freak yourself out, because what your body&mind think is correct is NOT, and all senses (including judgment and self reliance) is completely lost! Its kinda scary.

HOWEVER! You must REMEMBER YOUR TRAINING - TRUST YOUR INSTRUMENTS! It's a simple quick fix with good focus and reaction, but people have literally crashed into the ground, mountains, etc. as a result of not correcting spatial D (which is way more prevalent at night). It's really not a big deal in regards to my flying course and heading, but its definitely scarier than someone sneaking up behind you and going - BOOH! (If you can imagine that).

1.4 hour flight (20.4 hours total T-6 flying time)
70 Total landings

1.3 hour flight (21.7 hours total T-6 flying time)
75 Total landings

Wednesday December 16, 2009 (Day 68)
Fly C4303 today, again early as HECK! This was my 3rd flight in 26 hours!!!!
Then to top it off, I had a Sim as well! It was actually a fun one - SLIPS! At IFS, every single landing approach seemed to have a slip involved (oops, newbie here)!!! But in the big-mighty 1100 horsepower T-6, slipping isn't used during normal flight operations. So we got through the sim early, and I really wanted to buzz the control tower by saying "Tower, this is Ghostrider, Requesting a flyby" and they respond "Negative ghost rider, the pattern is full." TOP GUN Reference!!! So my urge to buzz the control tower at 100 feet and then do an aileron roll (using -2 Gs, to prevent crashing) didn't get to happen. Nor did me getting to land with 99 knots of crosswind to where I attempted to land on top of the buildings! =0 Maybe better luck next time.

1.3 hour flight (23.0 hours total T-6 flying time)
80 Total landings


Thursday December 17, 2009 (Day 69)
Flew again, very early, again, with the Jokers' flight commander. This was considered my "to check" ride because, well, after this I'm going to CHECK! Flew an entire profile, completely NOT what was planned (due to weather), but its good because one thing that's been helping me out a lot with flying is my flexibility, or me being "elastic." At IFS, where I knew more of nothing than I do now, every single flight was like a play - with transcripts in chronological order, planned calls. Every flight was a special event - kinda like a space shuttle launch! That's great - except when one thing changes, then starts the extreme "fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants" panic mode!!! =0 Here I've either done and/or been trained to take what ever has been presented to me. Yeah I still pre-flight every time, and still pre-pre-flight with my mission data card, with planned flight routes, maneuvers, profiles, etc. But now I'm at a point where I can think on my feet, take the situation at hand, evaluate, and take the proper action. THAT IS GOOD! I think I'm ready!

Speaking of time warp - I went to another flight's room today to pre-flight with that new IP I flew with, and that flight had a brand new wave of students - all bug-eyed, mouths open, dumb looks of confusion with little hope, all getting ready to go on their dollar rides, the others not flying still wearing their blues (as punishment/right of passage). And I was the "big boy" briefing about everything I'm going to do for my own flight, clearing up some final questions about certain arrivals or twitching some maneuvers that involved loops, aileron rolls, and Split-S, and having the IP (a fighter guy with 3,000 hours in the A-10 and F-15E) use his hands to explain what airspeeds to look for at the top of my loops, when I tilt my head back all the way up, except when looking up I see the earth now below me, because I'm upside down & meeting my 120-100 Knot airspeed to stay on profile for my loop. Ohh yeah! I didn't tell you guys yet, I'm doing awesome aerobatics! =)

I'm ready.

1.3 hour flight (24.3 hours total T-6 flying time)
83 Total landings

The Loop!!!

Friday December 18, 2009 (Day 70)
WOW. What a busy week! I literally lost track of time. According to my body's natural clock, I should be getting ready for the ball to drop on 1 January, because I've just caught up 3 weeks of flying in 3 days! =0 Also, I honestly can't even remember anything from Monday! Not one detail. So I'll say I'm earning my $$$!