Exterior Preflight Check and Ops Procedures CAIs

This morning our usual bluesuiter gave us the Systems 1 review. I stayed awake, victory. Nah... honestly, it was good review. That GPS and Nav stuff is complicated. Need to get my fingers on the buttons to really know it. After that we braved the frigid wind chill to get the rundown on preflight exterior inspection, which doesn't seem too tough. Seems like crew chiefs take care of a lot of the stuff we had to worry about at IFS - fuel check, chalks, tie downs, etc. After a buffalo chicken samwich, we did 3 CAIs on the preflight, inflight, and postflight checklists.

Study time for the test tomorrow.

Snow Day

A couple of CAIs this morning, followed by a notice that the rest of the day was canceled due to the 3 inches of snow and on the ground. I'll never begrudge a snow day, even if it IS during pilot training.

More systems

Today was easy. It's not even 1400 and I'm done for the day. We did 3 CAIs today, Hydraulics 2, and T-6 Instruments 1 and 2. There was a 2 hour review as well, but that was easy enough to sit through. I feel like I'm really learning stuff about this plane.

Blues, Preflights, Running, and a Videochat

Our first day of academics in blues.

We started off with an intro to T-6 Systems. One of the blue suit instructors (contractor) gave us a Powerpoint listing all the various systems of the T-6, hydraulics, oil, the engine, environmental control, etc. Then they took us outside to get an up-close look at the aircraft. It felt like I was actually getting ready to do something. A thought I had: They're not just taking me on a walkaround as a complimentary tour. They're showing me, because I'm going to fly it. More CAIs followed.

Ate lunch at the Hibiscus.
More CAIs.
Went for a 5k run in my Fivefingers.
Skyped w/ Dave and Jarrod. Just like the old times. They're ready to graduate yesterday.

Our class patch was approved (as seen on right).

FACTs, CAIs, NNTs, and Aviation Psych

Probably the last easy day for a while. We started out with a long lecture on aviation psychology from Dr. Pittner, who seems to be the kind of relaxed, calm personality you would want to run a Stress Management Program. He helps people get over airsickness too. Hopefully none of us require his services anytime soon.

Our second NNT (No Notice Test, that's not a real acronym, I just made it up) after that. Surprise! You have the survival test in 20 minutes, you should study for it. No big deal, we all passed.

Right before lunch we took the FACT, the Fighter Aircrew Conditioning Test, and all of us passed that too. I think everyone got outstanding (>200 out of possible 225). Most of us elected for 201s. It wasn't too tough. Just 5 different exercises on weight machines and 3 body weight exercises to make sure you're in shape enough to pull a few Gs.

After a long lunch, we met in the sim building to knock out the first couple intro CAIs (computer aided instruction). Easy enough, even though I was the last one, because the first computer I logged into was broke.

Tomorrow should be fun. We'll be in blues starting T-6 systems.