Takin' it to the Air

After 3 weeks of physiological and systems training I finally got to fly a jet this week! Our very first flight is called our "dollar ride." My ride was first thing on Monday. I was scheduled to fly with my assigned IP, but just prior to our pre-flight brief the Operations Group Commander, a German Colonel, showed up to our flight room and asked who he'd be flying with...guess who. I was the first student he had ever done a "dollar ride" with so it was a day of firsts. The purpose of this first flight is to get a general feel for the jet and get a local area orientation. I can't tell you how confusing an orientation it was. We were flying around at about 8,000 ft and he would say..."see that bridge," or "that town over there is ..." It will take me a few more tries to get it all down. Flying was awesome though! Since he is the #2 guy for the whole training wing we got to do a few extra patterns and landings than the other students...not a bad deal.

Tuesday and Wednesday were mostly studying, simulators, and quizzes for me. We did another academic block this week on Flying Fundamentals. It's referred to as the "cats and dogs" lesson because it has all the random instruction that didn't fit anywhere else...basic map reading, instrumentation, aircraft forms, and airspace rules. We test on the material tomorrow. In addition, on Tuesday, I was trained on recorder duty. Long story short, you may have seen those red and white checkered buildings near runways...well, I was part of the team that sat in there and controlled the local airspace. It was pretty a good experience. We are tasked with that duty every week or so.

Thursday was my first instructional flight. During this flight we went out to one of the practice areas and practiced basic maneuvering like steep turns, climbing and descending, and the IP even threw a loop in there. I spent the entire night the day before studying radio calls, and traffic patterns...must've left all the knowledge at home because when I got into the jet you wouldn't have known I studied much. The instructors said that it's like half your brain turns off when you get in the jet...that's where the experience will help in the future. It was truly an overwhelming experience. I felt a little better by reminding myself that I currently only have 2.3 hours in the aircraft. Each time will be better.

The fact that I am in pilot training finally hit me this week though. As I was flying I looked out the side of the aircraft, and painted on the wing in big blue letters was "USAF," it kinda gave me the chills. I can't believe I'm getting paid for this!!!

This next week starts off tough. Monday I have an emergency procedure simulator, a flight, an emergency procedure quiz, and an academic test...sheesh! Well...I'm off to bed since I have to wake up at 4...blah!