Manhattan..... Kansas

...but not quite.

After I finished Basic Instruments it was immediately time to go back to the "House of Pain" a.k.a. The Sim Building and climb back in the sweat box for another round. It was "Radio Instruments" and it was rough... it was really rough, it was Boston Red Sox towards the end of 2004 ALCS rough, it was actually the roughest time I've had in flight school.

For those of you non-Boston fans (who's not a fan of Boston???... I digress), I kept getting average grades Sim after Sim and I didn't think I was doing poorly until I had a below average Sim which put my grade average for the whole thing well below the squadron's average and in fact, below the "cut" or "one standard deviation" below the squadron's average. Not only that but I was over halfway done with the unit which meant that I got a "pink sheet" and had to explain my poor performance to just about everyone in my chain of command excluding the skipper and the XO. That was two Wednesdays ago. It was the worst day I've ever had in flight school, possibly the worst day I've had in years. Not only did I feel like the worst pilot in the squadron, but after being told I wasn't practicing enough (which was true... but not really my fault... long story) and a number of other problems I had, I felt like the worst person I knew.
I mean seriously, here I was, lucky to get my jet spot and now I'm just throwing it all away by not trying hard enough. Could you imagine how pissed off all the guys who deserved my spot, but didn't get it, would be if I attrited from the program??

That day I also found out that I had finally gotten approved to go on Cross Country. Of course we all know I wanted (really really badly) to fly up to New York or Long Island. There were so many things I wanted to do. I wanted to show my mom the new ride, I wanted my civilian friends to check it out and of course, I wanted to fly a jet over Darien, CT as low and as loud as legally possible (which wouldn't be that low, but in my head I'd totally be rattling all the windows in DHS, Post, Tok, Downtown and all the places I used to hang out).

So you can imagine how I felt when I was told that they found a cross country for me and I was going up to "Manhattan...........Kansas, and you're leaving tomorrow."

Holy shit... pardon my language, but I was already in freak-out mode by that point. Me, the failing student (not really, my grades to that point have been awesome), now had to fly to a place he'd never heard of with an instructor he didn't know the day after almost failing in the simulators (that's true).

Luckily, there were two planes involved and the student in Jet#2 was a friend of mine and had already flight planned most of the route. I totally mooched off of him, but even still the day we left I was working until the last minute and made the brief time by less than 5 minutes. I've never been less than a half hour early to any brief in flight school.

Freaking out the entire way we briefed, walked, packed our stuff in a "blivet" pod that looks like a big tank or even a large white bomb underneath the jet and got ready to take off. We had a "stuck bleed valve" on startup (minor engine problem) and for a brief second relief that we wouldn't go washed over me in an awesome wave, and then the problem fixed itself and that comforting tide rolled back to sea leaving me high, dry and very alone in my rear cockpit (the instructor wasn't a talker).

I struggled on that flight. I did some good things and I did some pretty dumb things, I averaged out... which took my grades further down, which was the last thing I needed at this point. However, thankfully both the instructors and the other student were exceedingly cool and upon arrival in Manhattan, KS, home of Kansas State University (instructor #2's alma mater), we headed out on the town. A few hours, a few beers, a few crazy stories and what turned out to be a very fake telephone number, all was well once again.
We were there to organize a flyover for the Kansas State vs. Nebraska game and it turned out to be a really fun time. I met a lot of really nice people out in the Mid-West and learned a little bit about that part of the country... it's not all just plains and cornfields, which is cool. I was on the radios for the flyover and the other student was on the timing. We really nailed and the instructors in the plane did a really good job, they were over the top within a second of the last note of the National Anthem.... very cool. What was also cool was being introduced in the middle of the field between the 3rd and 4th quarters. It was kind of a new experience realizing that (depending on who was paying attention or cared) 50+ thousand people learned my name and face. I didn't do the town that night, I stayed in and studied, but I just can't help but think that if I had, I probably would have had a very good time.

The way back was ridiculous, my oxygen mask wasn't working properly and was leaking. Towards the end of the first leg I, with the instructor's help, realized that I was going hypoxic (not enough oxygen in the 'ole cranium) and needed to stop flying. I got kicked out of the jet, spent the night in tulsa and flew back commercially. Not the most glorius end to what was otherwise a pretty fun weekend.

The day after I returned I had two flights to try and finish up the unit. Somehow, I pulled one last shot of adrenaline out of my body and actually did really well. The next day I had another two flights scheduled exactly 12 hours from when I'd left the night before. I got enough hours of sleep, but I was still exhausted, I can't describe it other than to say that I was awake and alert, but not able to focus on much of anything. I don't know how I passed my check-flight, but thank God I did and with decent enough grades to stay away from a "Performance Review Board" (which, like Ac Boards at the Academy, is just one small step from hitting the road).

So, if I haven't been good at keeping in touch, or even updating this journal, that's why. It was rough and just like the Sox, I managed to pull out a win at the last second and stay alive. I've still got a long way to go, but at least I'm still on the road.

Okay, moving on.... FAMs. The day after my R.I. check, I had my Familiarization Flight Procedures lecture. Familiarization flights, just like in Primary, are where you first learn to fly competently from the front cockpit. The main focus is to be able to fly the landing pattern well and since the pattern is uh, patterned after the pattern around The Boat, I'll learn how to fly the famous "Ball" as well as other important things I'll take with me when I go to Carrier Quals. Also, this part of the syllabus will take me to my first solo in a jet!

Nervous from R.I.s? Yes, definitely, but I payed attention in the lecture, got a practice Sim that night and learned how to decently fly the landing pattern. Also, I had that landing experience in the back seat on my "trunk flight" and every time one of the Simulator instructors would let me take the plane all the way in for a landing, I would look at the Ball and practice flying it in. So, actually I had a lot of reasons to be confident going into my first Fam Sim. It payed off and I've had three of them since and they've all been above average. All I have to do is keep studying and practicing and I should come out not just with a ton of confidence but in good standing with my peers as well.