Sunday, July 12, 2009
Seasoned pro!
I officially have 5 flights in the T-6 under my belt. Oh yeah, I'm a pro....yeah right!. The past couple of weeks have been pretty crazy. We have been having early starts which means that our formal report time has been at like 0430 in the morning. Yeah, not fun. I have a hard time making myself go to sleep at 8:00 or 9:00 and so 3:45 am comes way too fast in the morning. We are on formal release which means that our work day is 12 hours long, so we are usually done by 1630. After that I come home and study or chair fly (imaginary flying...really fun). The flying is Awesome!! It is completely different than civilian flying.....I never pulled 5 G's in the Piper Warrior. In the traffic pattern we do 60 degree bank turns and pull 2 g's. It's crazy. Right now I am in the "Contact" phase and I am currently working on traffic patterns (which are completely different than civilian patterns), landings, and area work (stalls, slow flight, etc). It is a little weird not having the instructor sit beside me like in the civilian world. Instead all I have is controls to the left and right and a glass bubble around me (makes for a great view!). Now I just have a magical voice that pops into my helmet every time I do something crazy. On Thursday evening I got a good reality check. I was with a friend studying emergency procedures and I got a call from our flight leader informing me that a solo student had run into some problems out in an area and had to eject. He landed in a tree and was relatively unharmed and the plane didn't hurt anyone when it hit the ground, but it really hit home the importance of studying emergency situations so that I will be the most prepared that I can be if I ever encounter a real emergency. Well, gotta go to bed. I have some pictures I will try to post next time. See ya!
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3 comments:
Wow I bet all this crazy flying makes your wife nervous! But its also probably a turn on to have a top gun of her own!!! ;)
Hey amigo! I'm glad to read a bit about your adventures!!! sounds like you are having a good time and some really wild rides... WOW doing what you love AND getting paid,,, doesn't get any better than that!!!DAd
Hi sweetie ,, it is incredible to believe that you are flying one of those big planes!!!!! I am so proud of you !!!! every week that goes by it brings a new adventure to your career!!!! I am proud to be your mom !!! love you, mom
Hi there! I found your blogand thought that you may be able to help answer some questions for me.
My husband is a member of the NY ANG and recently graduated AMS and IFS. He has been home for two weeks. He was scheduled to head off to UPT Oct. 2nd, but they just moved his dates to Sept. 2nd, which means he leaves in 2 weeks. Our lives are so crazy right now that I can't even think straight....a new baby, a new house that needs complete renovations before we can live in it, resuming my demanding job in four weeks, and my husband leaving again after just coming home. We made the decision for my husband to head to Texas alone for training, while I stay here to work and keep our home in New Jersey with our 4 year old and 3 month old. Of course now that the time has come we don't want to separate, but it's too late to go back now!
My husband was hired as a civilian for this particular pilot slot. He will be flying C5s when his training is done. He has no prior military experience and basically walked in off the street (of course after much research and preparation) and got the job. Only then did he actually enlist in the ANG and eventually went to officer school. Since this is the case, we really don't know what to expect.
Can you give me any input on what it will be like to be so far away and when we may possibly see each other? Will my husband have any holiday time off or leave? I have heard that they sometimes receive the week between Christmas and New Years off, but I haven't been able to confirm this. I'm trying to prepare my daughter as much as possible, and I am of course anxious to know if I will even see my husband for the next year or more.
I'm not sure if you can help, but anything that you can tell me, or even point me in the right direction would be a plus. Thanks!
Heather
hgonzalez@hpregional.org
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