A Four Name Family

As you can tell, I’m super busy and have very little time to post anything…shame on me!  Oh well, I forget what week we are on but, we’re all in Formation Flying now.  I finished my cross country tour of wonderful TX.  First night in Alliance Ft. Worth (AFW) and second in Corpus Christi (CRP).  We were supposed to fly to Ellington Field (SE Houston) but the weather was bad so CRP worked out to get home on Sunday afternoon.  We shot approached at multiple fields in the day and night.  It was pretty cool overall except I still think flying west (aka PHX) would have been better! :)  I took my Instrument Checkride and got an Excellent overall.  I enjoyed the profile I got, since it required a GPS approach.  We went to VA the weekend after for my younger sister’s wedding and had a blast!  Unfortunately, I got sick when I returned to Laughlin and can’t fly for a couple of days.

So, I haven’t flown Formation yet.  My peers tell me it is a lot work but, very exciting.  We “TRACK” next month!  No big deal for the Guard and Reserve guys since we already know what track but, it’s huge for the active duty guys fighting over T-38s (fighter track).  The next aircraft I’ll fly is the T-1.  It will be back to the books again for systems and navigation right before the holidays.  Dana & I wanted to go to NC for T-Day but, the tickets were too expensive so we are going to Houston with family.  We are going to fly to PHX for Christmas and New Years.  That’s about it for now.  I’ll post some more pics when I get a chance.

Hi Everyone!

It has been super busy as the days filled with studying, flying, “stand-ups”, tests, etc.  We have four checkrides in the T-6.  I took my first one two weeks ago (Mid-Phase Checkride) and did some stupid stuff so hooked it.  Yikes!  The next day I had to take an “88″ ride and passed it!  So now, I’m working on advanced aerobatics such as Cuban Eight, Barrel Roll, Lazy Eight, Immellman, Chandelle, Aileron Roll, Cloverleaf, etc.  Lots of precision to boost confidence and accuracy as a pilot.  Yesterday I flew to the area solo to practice.  It went well overall but there were clouds everywhere so I was constantly trying to stay out of the clouds!  Came back to the pattern and got five T-N-Gs!  The wind was variable and gusting so needless to say my landings weren’t so hot.  Although the last one was the best!

I’m also taking instrument SIMS and have so much to learn still.  We’ve being studying Formation and Weather already!  We just took our Navigation test and everyone passed!  Pilot training is so different than anything in college because you CAN’T BRAINDUMP!  Just because you pass the test doesn’t mean anything if you can’t perform/apply it in the air.  Pilot training has caused me to continously reprogram my learning habits.  The next two weeks are short, thanks to Labor Day wknd.  I will have my Final Contact Checkride after the holiday and then a cross-country trip.  We are hoping to get approval to fly to Phoenix, but no guarantees!  Will keep you guys posted.

 It’s SUPER busy here as usual.  We all got our Dollar Rides and now have flown almost everyday since.  Each ride I was a bit light-headed and stomach was acting up.  Finally, on my third ride I puked on final.  They sent me to the flight doc who gave me some good tips (DO eat breakfast and slowed my breathing down significantly) which helped me get over my sickness.  The bad part was all those rides count even though my head was spinning.  We had our first instrument test last week and I passed!  Yeah!  This weekend I’ve been reading a lot and “chair flying” to get up to par with quite a bit of General Knowledge (GK).  This next block of training is trying to get us ready for solo flights by next week!  I also have to work on area work such as stalls and checklist efficiency.  My radio calls need to improve and of course continually working on pattern work (ie coming in too fast on final or too close on inside downwind).

Too bad I don’t have a lot of pictures for everyone but hardly enough time to grab a bite to eat during the day.  Dana & Logan stayed in PHX another week to help me stay focused on studying.  Once they get back, hopefully I’ll be close to solo in the T6….stay tuned!

 It’s been extremely busy and I don’t see any slowdown in the near future.  We just passed our Aerodynamics exam on Monday which wasn’t easy.  It’s a semester’s worth of material covered in about one week with a 47 question exam.  You must score at least 85 on all exams in pilot training.  If you bust (aka fail) an exam, you retake it the next morning, usually around 0700.  If you fail a retake, you’re probably packing your bags the next week.  This week we are studying Flying Fundamentals (a bit easier to understand, but still a ton of information).  Our exam is tomorrow and I’ve got to start reviewing tonight!  Anyways, we’re in the SIMS everyday now (flight suit, gloves, helmet, etc) and it’s getting exciting.  Today I was in the OFT, not sure what it stands for (Oval Flight Training?), but it’s 180 degrees and feels “almost” real.  The videos aren’t that realistic but who am I to complain? :)  Sometimes we’re in IFT (just a screen) and other times UTD (Useless Training Devices?) no screen, just a cockpit in the wide open hooked up to a PC.  We can schedule time in the UTD on our own to practice checklist flows.  My SIM today went pretty good overall.  We took off from Rwy 13R, Quail Three Departure to Area 1 and practiced 30, 45, and 60 degree banks, trimming the aircraft, etc.  Then we came back on the Rio Arrival for a straight-in approach.  The instructor and I were not referencing the same (obviously he was right) so it took a while to find my landmarks.  Oh yeah, trim, trim, trim.  Power changes, pitch changes, trim!!  I digress…I landed pretty good.

Next week, we get our first ride in the T-6!  It’s called the “Dollar Ride”.  More info then….for now, back to studying!

Well, here it goes. This is my very first blog on my first website! I would like to thank my brother, Dale, for his assistance with setting everything up. On 28Apr06 we hit the road and landed in Del Rio, Texas (Laughlin AFB) by 1May06. We are still getting settled in our house on base. It’s better than we expected, about 1450 sq ft (3BD,2BA).  It’s hot and humid with lots of bugs. I’ve killed numerous GIANT coachroaches, mosquites, flies, spiders, and yes…a garden snake!

Everything in Texas IS BIGGER!  We’re using the queen bed instead of the king due to space.  Logan’s room is all set-up with his cool crib and diaper genie! :)  The girls (Kyleigh & Haley) have adjusted just fine with our new grass fenced-in back yard.  There’s a sidewalk between all houses on base with plenty of traffic so they get a good view on a daily basis.  The only thing they don’t like is my long days which equates to very limited play time.

Living on base is awesome!  It makes me wonder what it would be like to be active duty with all the amenities so close.  We have a commissary (groceries), BX, bowling, movies, gas, maintenance shop, craft shop, world-class gym (with Starbucks!), post office, library, and more all within one mile drive or bike ride.  I’ve been riding my bike on base since it’s actually easier than parking if you can stand the heat.  There you have it…life on Laughlin AFB in one blog! :)  See my next blog about pilot training (SUPT).

“There I was…” at pilot training.  Actually, here I am at pilot training and this is no Top Gun.  It’s the pre-Top Gun training you don’t get to see in the movies.  It’s balls to the wall, nose in the books everyday!  I’m in UPT class 07-10.  We just finished our first two weeks of Aerospace Physiology which included parasailing, altitude chamber (rapid decompression), studies on decompression sickness, hypoxia, land survival, and ejection seat egress.  This is the stuff you want to remember in case you ever have to eject!  Excellent, top notch training!  So here’s the breakdown for the next 52 weeks:

Phase I - Ground training, 6 weeks (this is me right now)

Phase II - T-6 Flight training, 4.5 months (contact, instruments, formation)

Phase III - T-1 Flight training, 6 months

It’s going to be one very long, hard year with a lot of ups and downs (no pun intended).  My typical day varies but usually we start around 0700 and end around 1900, that’s 7pm for you civilians.  Everyday is a 12 hour duty day until you are formally released.  Then, I come home, have dinner with the wife & kid, and study for two more hours until lights out at 2200.  On Friday nights, it’s O-Club time for some cold beer and to wind down.  Saturday is my free day to hang with the family, play golf, etc.  Sunday morning the same but, gotta start studying again by afternoon.  Stick to this rigid schedule for at least one year straight and with enough effort I should earn my silver wings.  Of couse, I try to hit the gym at least three times a week to let the stress out.

Dana has the real hard job this next year.  She takes care of Logan 24/7 and rarely does she get adult interaction unless she plans it.  She does hang out with another pilot’s wife who has a child.  She is one awesome parent and the best mother I could ever expect for with Logan.

More to come …as soon as I can figure out how to master this webpage thing.  -Jeremy