Instruments, instruments, instruments.... Now that I've finished my fourth flight in the T-34, the squadron has sent me back to ground school to begin my next stage of training. Basic Instrument (or BI) training is designed to teach a pilot how to fly the aircraft without being able to see outside the window. This becomes very useful at night and during bad weather. To do this the Navy puts me in a motion-based simulator with no windows and expects me to fly the aircraft. Using only my gyroscopic, magnetic and pressure instruments (I'll learn about the radio instruments later) I've been learning how to perform basic maneuvers like straight and level flight, constant angle of bank turns, rated turns, constant airspeed climbs/descents and rated climbs/descents. The whole time I'm talking to a civilian instructor over the intercom and he tells me which maneuver he wants me to complete. I've actually been performing really well thus far. I blame the video games mostly. See Mom, my 10,000+ hours sitting in front of the TV and computer didn't go to waste. I've been training for this my whole life!


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Today I flew my FAM 3. We practiced some stalls, level speed changed and level turning. I did alright and we were able to finish those maneuvers quickly enough to go practice some landings at an OLF. We got in 11 landings (8 of them mine) and they were all safe. Not great, but safe. There is a lot to do in the landing pattern and setting up and executing a great landing is a goal that every pilot strives for. I'm doing well for this point, but I have a lot to improve on. On our way back we encountered some decreased visibility due to clouds and I had to maneuver to avoid running into one of our helicopters. I think he was lost because he wasn't suppose to be there. It was a good demo of the "See-and-avoid" principle.

That concluded my first week of flying. There has been a lot to get use to. I've tried to learn all there is to know about the aircraft and regurgitate that information on command. Also, getting use to the Navy's style of flying isn't the easiest thing in the world. Before each flight, I have to brief my IP for an hour about all the things I am required to memorize for that flight (systems, maneuvers, emergency procedures, etc.). Then there is getting use to the aircraft. I use to think that being tall was cool. That was before I got into the cockpit of the T-34. It feels like a clown car in there for me. It's going to be a while before I'll feel halfway comfortable in that thing. Oh and I almost forgot, there is that flying stuff too. That's hard. So much to do and so little time to learn it in. Well, that's flight school. I really can't complain though. I'm having a great time so far and love flying. There is something surreal about leaving the earth to go play in the clouds. Call me a romantic, but I still haven't figured out why they're paying me to do this.

Today was my second flight or FAM 2. This time we went to working Area 2 north of NAS Whiting Field. Like last time, this was my first time seeing this area and flying the course rules. The pilots have named some of the more distinctive landmarks in the area like "California Field" and "Doghouse Field". To be honest, I don't think they look anything like what they're suppose to and I can't tell the difference between them and every other farmer's field out there. So I need to work on that. After we performed some of our high work, my IP took us to a nearby Outlying Field (OLF). We use these small airports to practice pattern work, radio calls, frequent collision avoidance and landings. After demonstrating two touch-and-go's (landing and then taking back off again), my IP gave me the controls and let my try two of my own. They weren't the best landings... in fact they were quite awful, but for the most part they were safe and I kind of knew what I was doing. Not bad for my second flight.

Today was my first flight (FAM 1) in the T-34. I was suppose to fly yesterday but bad weather (fog) and scheduling conflicts pushed the flight back to today. The flight was a "show and tell" of working Area 1. There is a large airspace to the SW of Whiting that we use to train in. I've been studying the layout of the area and the corresponding "Course Rules" to get to and from the area. However, I've never actually seen what it looks like form 9,000 ft! The instructor flew most of the time, giving me the controls when he was certain I couldn't crash us, and showed me all the prominent landmarks in the area. There was a substantial cloud layer which made identifying things on the ground difficult. We finished early so my IP decided to motivate me with a few aerobatic maneuvers. He performed a vertical loop followed by a barrel roll. It was awesome and I can't wait to lean how to do them myself.

This weekend I drove up to Atlanta to help move my fiancée's sister into her new home. My future in-laws drove down from Illinois to help too. Over the weekend we moved all of Holly's stuff out of Greg's house, moved it into her new house, placed furniture, assembled furniture, put things away, hung mirrors and combated a colony of ants where were confused as to who was really suppose to be moving in that day.

See the photos and video walkthrough: click here