All Weathered Out...

Although pilot training base locations are chosen for optimal flying weather all year long, this winter has been the exception. We have had dismal weather for most of December and January. It's really wacky because Monday-Friday has been consistently fogy with low cloud decks and then Saturday and Sunday come and the weather is beautiful, as it was yesterday and today. Hopefully we will be able to get caught up quickly to avoid working more weekends than needed. So far I've only had 24 rides, still another 27 to go plus some simulators. Below is scan of the flights and some of the sims that are involved in the current phase. The highlighted items have been completed.

A couple weeks ago I had my first big in-flight test. The first check ride, called Mid-Phase Contact, is the newest of the four T-6 check rides where you must show that you are safe enough to take the plane by yourself out 40 miles east of the base, be able to perform aerobatic maneuvers safely and safely recover the plane back at base. I passed the ride although I didn't get the best of grades by any means.

This week, weather permitting, I will be having my Final Contact check ride. This ride isn't much different from the Mid-Phase check ride except that we have new maneuvers which include the: Barrel Roll, Immelman, Cloverleaf, Cuban 8, Lazy 8, and the Chandelle. Aerobatics really improve your trust with the aircraft and you really know how to get a lot more performance out of the plane once you have learned them. Plus, once you can do it right and get the guy in the back seat to stop talking because you pull too many G's, it can be really fun. Also, Wednesday is our last T-6 academic test. Then we will be T-6 academic complete! After that, a few more weeks and we will be simulator complete, then it will just be formation flying:)

This week is our night-flying week! This means that we start at about 1400 in the afternoon and get out about 0200 in the (morning)night if they keep us for all twelve hours. I did the simulator, which is the same thing as the flight and it was pretty boring actually. I'm sure the stars will be great though. I'm kinda hoping for a power outage over Mexico because I think that would look awesome from 9,000 ft. Just a momentary one because we don't want anymore mayhem over there, right?

Besides the check ride and night-flying this week. February 12-16 is scheduled to be my cross-country trip and I maybe planning a stop to a destination near you! Nothing is final yet but I'm hoping to fly to California to see family since it looks like once I go to the next phase of training I won't be allowed to leave Del Rio for 6 months :( ... There is another guy in my class from San Mateo and two others from San Diego so it's possible to go North or South. Mom and Dad, what do you think about a trip down South? The reason why I would rather stay with another student is if I did fly somewhere near home, my instructor would probably not want to hang out with all of us and there would be no other instructors to hang out with. If we go as a group, the students can hang out and the instructors can hang out and each have there fun.

Anyway, that's what's on the horizon for now...