Yesterday I flew down to the valley and did a few localizers and a localizer back course along with a TACAN circling approach and an NDB. The NDB approach was no fun. The needle swings back and forth, and you just have to sort of pick the approximate course you're going to fly. We ate more Mexican food and I flew a few more approaches on the way back. I finished with a visual back into the airfield. That was only the second time I'd ever done that. The first was in the T-6 at Lubbock Intl. Easy, but new.

Today I flew with an instructor who actually had high expectations. It just revealed the fact that I have to look out for myself and push myself, because the quality and expectations of the instructors varies. I learned a lot, but it was a little unnerving to feel behind when every other ride in the block I got good vibes from the instructors. The flight wasn't so hot. I overflew a holding fix and didn't even realize it for a whole minute. Thankfully, the IP gave me another shot.

I'm tired. Good thing it's the weekend.

A break from sims

Yesterday I doubled up on sims again, with one in the afternoon and one in the evening. They both went better than Wednesday with no major issues. I shot my first TACAN approach in the sim, which is really the same as a VOR/DME approach. The T-6 didn't have a TACAN, so the T-44 will be my intro to TACAN. Nothing cosmic about it though. I also shot my first NDB approach in the same sim, for the same reason - the T-6 was not equipped to utilize an NDB. That's a little trickier, because you're just using the needle and RMI card for navigation. There's no CDI to mark your course and tell you exactly how far off you are, you have to pay attention to the needles and make the adjustments in your head. Just takes a little more focus.

My sim profile was actually pretty diverse. It had a HI-TACAN, VOR/DME procedure turn, and a GPS approach. The transit time between approaches gave me plenty of time to get everything done before shooting the approach. So much so that our instructor was commenting on how bored he was in the back, especially in contrast with my acting copilot, who'd just done a jam packed profile with barely 5 minutes between his 3 approaches.

Today was a flight planning review for a test we'll have on Wednesday, so I got a welcome break from sims.

Whether there's weather

We started academic lectures this morning at 0800. Not bad for an Air Force job. The morning was devoted to meteorology with special emphasis on thunderstorms, icing, and meteorological threats to aircraft and how to use the available resources like pressure charts, wind charts, weather radar, and text-based forecasts to flight plan effectively. We got into the requirements for alternates, the requirements for filing VFR (1000' AGL and 3 SM vis), the definition of MVFR, and I learned a lot more about weather this time around. Hopefully I can keep soaking it up, because we only have tomorrow morning and then the test on Wednesday. The afternoon was devoted to IFR review. We went over the IFR environment, airspace, special use airspace, cloud clearances, and all the different kinds of NAVAIDs. It will be interesting to finally use a TACAN and maybe an NDB for approaches in this aircraft, since the T-6 didn't have that equipment. I dove into the CBTs after the instructor left, and I gave myself a good review of instruments, along with a confusing introduction to instrument procedures in the T-44. It's difficult with no cockpit context to precisely understand the way I would fly a procedure turn in the T-44, especially since the Navy has different rules and a new mnemonic for remembering the procedure. Worked out afterward, so I'm feeling good. Hopefully the rest of the week goes this well, and I stay this productive.