I've come to the realization that pilot training in the US Air Force is not at all based on teaching you HOW to fly a plane, but merely how not to crash it...or if you have to crash it, crash it correctly. The amount of time we spend on emergency procedures makes it hard to focus on what we're actually supposed to be learning: instrument flying procedures (of which, we've hardly done any). Needless to say, we've spent the better part of this whole week focusing on emergency procedures, and I can honestly say that these are not my strong points. It's kind of hard to take an emergency situation seriously when you're in a simulator. One entire sim (1.3 hours, plus 45 min pre-brief and 45 min debrief) was dedicated to nothing but figuring out my way through different possible emergency scenarios. Engine fire on the ground, engine failure on takeoff, blown tire on landing, low oil pressure, engine failure in flight, etc. Every second of the sim, I'm just waiting for the next thing to go wrong. I'm surprised I even flew the plane straight. But I digress...
It's almost to the point of seeing the light at the end of tunnel. We're all pretty burnt out and on edge. Our brains are overwhelmed with numbers, equations, rules of thumb, emergency procedures, and all the new information we're learning for our next test on Wednesday. But, there's only 1 month left, or 20 more class days left, 21 sims, 2 tests, and 12 stand-up EPs...not that I'm counting. Now that we've been flying for a couple weeks (which I can only assume converts to a couple years in pilot training terms, like dog years) the standards for each sortie have been increased and we're expected to fly every maneuver, departure, arrival, traffic pattern, and landing as if we have 1,000 hours of T-6 experience. Cake!
In other news, it seems like there's been some shifting in the RPA training pipeline and I may be delayed for an indeterminate amount of time between my next class and my FTU training (FTU= Formal Training Unit, where I would receive my training on the Predator, get my wings, and be considered mission ready). So, it looks like once I'm done with my next class I'll be doing some sitting around for a bit. Good chance to get some other stuff done, like Master's classes or SOS (Squadron Officer School). Like they say, hurry up and wait.
Lastly, the girlfriend is coming to town for the Easter weekend, so consider this my post for Sunday. I'll try and make another post sometime next week after our test on Wednesday.
