Instruments

No solo today. I flew another instrument sortie today, since the crosswinds were out of limits. The flight went pretty well, I was able to accomplish almost everything I was supposed to, with my IP helping out with a few nonstandard frequencies and radio calls. I flew 'glorious' instrument maneuvers in the area too. The back seat is still weird and even weirder when you're wearing the little hood that restricts your vision to simulate instrument conditions. I flew with an IP I hadn't flown with yet, and found out he's a really good IP and a good dude. Almost a day off tomorrow - no flying, just an instrument sim.

Sidenote: The flight leadership took me off CAP today - a good sign.

Combined

Yesterday I flew a combined sortie with an instrument approach up at Lawton and area work with aerobatics. Part of pilot training is learning to deal with last minute changes and being flexible. I had thought the sortie would be my solo to the area for aerobatics, but the crosswinds were out of limits so I went dual and my IP included the instrument approach because it's a requirement for two of the sorties in this block. Though my instrument approach didn't go very well, my patterns on the recovery were some of the best I've flown. Today I should fly my area solo if the weather holds.

Night flying

The past couple nights I've been working the swing shift flying at night. We only get two night flights in T-6's, but it's been pretty cool. It seems to be a little more peaceful at night, and even the air is calmer. It's tough to see, because, as one of my IPs so elegantly phrased it, "The biggest difference about night flying, compared to flying during the day, is that it's dark."

Note to self: Double check that my phone is off during the brief so that I won't be tempted to answer it while holding short of the active runway.

Area solo tomorrow for some aerobatics...can't hardly believe it.

Much better week

So this week was much improved over last. I had my first instrument sortie yesterday, and the unpredictable North Texas weather provided actual instrument conditions. It's a great feeling driving through the clouds and breaking out on a final approach with the runway in sight, positioned for a landing. Flying from the back cockpit was really weird though. I don't like it, but the visibility is better everywhere except toward the front.

Today's instrument sim did not go very well, but it showed me exactly what I need to work on.

I had another advanced contact ride today. I improved my aerobatics and landed in a nasty crosswind. Mongolian grill tonight with the dudes before a weekend of relaxing/studying. I made it another week!

Advanced Contact

Today I started the next block of training. It's mostly all the same stuff we've been doing with the addition of advanced aerobatics. Our new batch of maneuvers consists of the Lazy 8, Cloverleaf, Immelman, Cuban 8, Chandelle, and the Barrel Roll. The Cuban 8 is definitely the most difficult. The Cloverleaf is pretty fun. It's basically four successive loops each offset 90 degrees from the previous. I have another ride tomorrow focusing on the same stuff. Looking forward to it!

I finally had another instrument sim today too. It went pretty well, but it was also the last sim of the basic block. From now on, I need to study the approaches more beforehand, and chairfly the checks. I may regret it later, but I think instruments will be a welcome transition.

The best part about today was that I got to fly!

The past week

I like to keep it mostly positive on this blog, but the past week has not been cooperative. My gradebook looks like a bloody mess. It has a line of 5 red boxes filled with U's along the top. Today however, I got a G. I passed my elimination checkride. It came down to one ride. I was reminded of a quote, "The quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little and it will fail." Though not entirely accurate, since my fate is in God's hands, I felt myself in quite the precarious position. After failing my Initial Progress Check on Thursday, a weekend of soul searching left me better prepared to take on the challenges ahead and not let them ruin my life on a daily basis. I realized that's what was happening. I was unable to enjoy the fact that I was living the dream. The pressure was getting to me. I'm done with that. All I have is the next flight. I'll make it better than the one before. For any number of reasons my next flight could always be my last. An elimination checkride does not change that. Thankfully I passed today. I'll have some good rides, I'll have some bad rides. I'll have more setbacks, but that won't be the end.

Captain Hook

So I busted another ride today. Saw the Doc for some relaxation technique and ways to clear your head in the airplane. I have a pattern only tomorrow to focus on my patterns and landings. Thanks everybody!

U => CAP

I hooked another ride today. They put me on CAP. My old buddy CAP. I'm going to see the Aviation Psych Doc tomorrow. Maybe he has some gold nuggets of knowledge for me. Maybe not, but at least I will have tried it.

Flying was pretty awesome today. I got some instrument time today. We took off straight into the clouds and then broke up above them for the area work. Clouds below you is a great view!

Fly the Plane!

Today I flew early. One of the first takeoffs, we were airborne shortly after the sun came up. The weather was clear and a million, and the air was crisp, with low cross winds. Couldn't have asked for better weather. The winds were blowing right down the runway. I did the area profile and the baby aerobatics without much incident. I enjoyed almost every minute. It wasn't great, but I felt like I was getting better.

I got much better at prioritizing tasks today. We say aviate, navigate, communicate all the time, but my latest IP has really crushed me for misprioritizing, so I think I'm finally getting it. I realized it's really a brilliant metaphor for living life. You really have to fly your own self first and foremost, in the immediate sense, then you can think about where you're going in the future, and then you can become part of a community and interact with other people.

I had an EP sim, and fought off EP after EP, but screwed up a couple. I had a really good IP who had a different viewpoint compared to most of the other sim IPs. He gave me some gold nuggets of EPmanship, so it was definitely a day of positive gains.

In the books,
Mulli

Taco Wednesday

I gave the brief this morning, followed by an uneventful early morning of FDO duties. Then I got a U for my ride later in the morning. Three more rides until the mid phase checkride, so I have some work to do. Frustrating but not unrecoverable. I have another ride tomorrow to clean up the mess.

A taco is another way to refer to an Unsat ride.

On a lighter note, the weather was beautiful today and I had fun flying. We started baby aerobatics too. Split-S, loop, and aileron roll.

T-6 solo hours = 0.5

Despite forecasted instrument conditions, a few more of us got to solo today. My landings were marginal, but I survived and completed the flight without a major incident. I successfully found my way back to the flight room with the help of one of the maintenance truck drivers. He dropped me off on the opposite side of the building where I quietly snuck in the back of the building right through the unlocked back door of the flight room. I was then summarily tossed in the solo tank. Awesome!

The highs and lows of pilot training are no more obvious than when you have a great experience followed by a terrible one. I got stood up for the afternoon standup EP and demonstrated the kind of performance that proper planning prevents. Well, now I know another of my weaknesses.

I ran it off with my neighbor, who I'm fortunate enough to have in my class, and who I hope will be able to put up with me for the next 45 weeks.

Weather

Today we were instrument status for most of the day, so we didn't get to solo. I got another instrument sim out of the way though. Not a total loss. I'm scheduled to solo tomorrow. We'll see if the weather lets us. The crosswinds will be tough, but we're gonna be pretty good landing in crosswinds after 5 months of this.

Scheduled for Solo

Monday looks to be the day. After a disappointing instrument sim and a less than stellar flight later in the day, I am still scheduled for my solo on Monday. The way it works is the same as IFS. The IP just makes sure you're safe with no inputs during the first sortie, then you debrief, brief up your solo, and go out two hours later to fly solo. I'm pretty tired, but a good, relaxing weekend should help that out.