Just Let Me Check!!!

My instrument check ride was supposed to happen the week before last...but the weather finally decided to change here in Wichita Falls. There were a couple days that the wind was out of limits for us to fly. There can't be more than a 17 knot crosswind or 35 knots sustained wind for the T-37. As the cold fronts moved through, the wind picked up. These cancelled flights moved my schedule back to last week...leaving me to dwell on it for another weekend. In addition, we only had 3 days last week due to the long weekend. I had to accomplish one flight prior to my check ride and the weather outlook for Tuesday and Wednesday wasn't looking good.

On Monday I completed my last pre-check ride flight uneventfully. It wasn't a very good flight, but I passed nonetheless...so I was scheduled to check on Tuesday. There were 2 people from my class checking on Tuesday including myself. My flight was scheduled later in the morning. While I was briefing with the check pilot the announcement came over the loud speaker that the wind had stopped T-37 operations...damn it! It is mentally challenging to get in the right mindset and then let it go and then be prepared to go later. I was told to stick around for a few hours to see if the weather would let up...it was 10:30. A few hours went by and we were still at a Stop Launch. Finally, they told me that if it didn't change by 2:00 we would move it to Wednesday. At 1:45 as I packed all my stuff to go home, the status changed and they asked if I still wanted to go..."of course!" We got ready and went to the duty desk, where we check in before flying, and my instructor basically decided it wasn't a good idea for us to push it with the questionable winds...I was pissed!

So...I had one last chance before the 4-day weekend. Not only did I get moved to Wednesday, but it was with an instructor who is infamous for being a bit tough...in fact, I had flown with him once before and he pretty much crushed my will to fly (only for about a day or two). Wednesday I came in at 6am...ready for my 7:45 flight...but again the weather wasn't looking good. We briefed anyways in anticipation of the weather changing...and the weather broke just enough for us to fly! Because of the poor weather we had to fly a non-standard profile...but I think that may have worked to my advantage a bit. The flight went pretty well...especially considering my prior few flights had several days between them and they weren't very good. The ground eval (knowledge and emergency procedures) went awesome...this is what I was most nervous about. I PASSED!

With that check out of the way I move on to the fun stuff...low-level, aerobatics, and formation...what a relief! Also, Andrea and Gav are back...all is right...

Flying Away

The last few weeks have shown me several places besides Sheppard AFB. Part of our instrument training is to fly 2 out and back missions and a cross country. This allows us to practice instrument approaches and procedures at airfields we are unfamiliar with. First, I flew an out and back mission...exactly what it sounds like...to Abilene, TX. Once there we ate lunch at a local BBQ place that was pretty good. Last weekend I had my cross country flight to Denver. I grew up in Denver most of my life so it was really neat to fly into a place that I knew. We spent the weekend there and I got to visit with Andrea and Gavin since they were already in Colo Springs visiting family. As we prepared to depart from Denver the #1 engine on our aircraft wouldn't start...so we had to stay another night and fly back commercial the next morning. This was a good and bad thing. Good because I got to do another out and back, but bad because I had to plan for that other out and back. This week I flew my last two out and backs to Dallas and Lubbock. They are fun missions but the planning literally takes longer than the flight.

Additionally, this week I finished my last T-37 simulator (link). I can't tell you how exciting it is to be done with the links. Simulator is a loose term...really it is just a working T-37 cockpit where you fly instrument procedures on the ground. It is as bad as it sounds. There were a total of about 15 of these links...LINK COMPLETE!!!

Next week I will have 3 flights before my check ride. I cannot wait to get this thing knocked out! The instrument check is the most heavily weighted of the check rides and is most important because it is the material that will be used throughout my flying career...regardless of what I fly. Fortunately we have a 3-day weekend this week...so I need to rip the plastic off of my study material and get going.

After this check ride there are 3 left...low-level navigation, advanced contact (aerobatics), and formation...all the good stuff!!!