The Basics

The last 2 weeks have flown by...so fast that I forgot to blog last week! Week before last I continued by first instructional block of flying. It was 4 flights total and basically required pretty low ratings to even pass in the end. The main point of the block is to teach basic aircraft control and other essential things like clearing (making sure the area is clear), planning, and knowledge. Before you can move on to the next flying block it is required that you meet the minimums for the previous. I finished the first block and started the second which is actually almost identical to the first except you have to get higher ratings in the final flight of the block. Again, the block was 4 flights. My 3rd flight of the second block was on Monday last week and it didn't go very well. I guess there was a little too much rust left over from the weekend ;) It was a little bit of a reality check though because there were a couple areas that I had to raise in order to successfully complete the 4th flight of the block. That night I studied and did some chair flying to prep for the flight the next day.

Before I go on, you may be asking yourself what chair flying is. Well, it is exactly what it sounds like. In order to help develop muscle memory and form the flight mentally you fly the whole mission while sitting in front of a poster of the cockpit in a chair. Sounds pretty silly, but it actually helps a lot. Some of the IPs have actually said that you will not graduate if you don't chair fly often. The good thing is that you can do it anywhere.

Anyhow, I flew the 4th flight on Tuesday and did really well. Following that flight I was expecting to move straight into the next block which again is improving basics and landings. However, the schedulers decided it was time for me to start learning basic instrument flying. Wed and Thur I had and instrument flight and simulator. They were very basic, but a little intimidating because we haven't even started our instrument academics yet. Both flights turned out well and were actually more fun that I expected. The toughest part is doing the simulators at the end of a 12 hour day. The "flight" is just sitting in the sim staring at instruments for an hour while the instructor says, "turn left, turn right, climb, descend..." but the sessions are very helpful when it comes to the actual flying because you do the exact same thing as in the jet...just fly by instruments.

In addition to the flying we completed another academic block. This one covered basic aerodynamics. I felt like I knew the info well, but when the test came I was nervous. All of our tests are multiple choice on a computer and when you are done your score comes back immediately. Well, I'll tell ya, I was hesitant to hit the "Score Me" button! I ended up passing just fine, but it reminded me how important it is to study.

Our commander surprised everyone by making Friday a day off, so with the holiday on Monday we had a (very welcomed) 4 day weekend. Tuesday I will resume with the regular block of instruction, so am very excited about that. If things go as planned I will fly my first solo next week! I can't believe it.