I've been busy...

I finished the "Cockpit Procedural Trainer" sims not too long after that last post. It marks pretty much the first time in my life I've actually worked in the months of July and August. I don't count that one summer as a sailing instructor at Wee Burn, Plebe Summer, summer training at USNA or the months spent at the Embassy or out in Miramar. This summer, after 25 previous summers of fun, I actually worked. Yes, it was a shock, but I persevered.

The CPTs were great and got me used to starting up the plane and accomplishing all the different checklists required during the various regimes of flight including Takeoff, Climbout, Cruise, Approach and landing. What they also covered were the numerous Emergency Procedure Checklists. I'm writing this post in the hope that you'll read it in order and not after the one I'm about to write, but if you didn't...this is some of the back-story. This aircraft is equipped with a new 8-bladed propeller system designed and patented by the Navy. It allows for improved efficiency, maintainability and slightly more power, but it also is not a perfect system. We cover a number of possible prop failures in our emergency syllabus. We also cover electrical, hydraulic and really any other possible problems we could face while aloft.

After CPTs, I had one flight, supposed to be my FAM-0, but the takeoff time was pushed back due to various issues and since it was at night, it didn't count for that syllabus event. However the Naval Flight Officers and students had a mission of their own in back, so I filled the co-pilot's seat and talked on the radios. It was beautiful, we took off right before sunset and got to watch all the pastel colors fade away into darkness at 20-something thousand feet. Hours later we returned to the field over the brightly lit city and did a pretty aggressive break into the pattern.

A few days later I left for Jacksonville, Florida because I, with 3 other of my friends had been picked to be a duty-officer on the squadron's detachment to Jacksonville. VAW-120 goes down there a few times a year to do practice landings at a field just outside the city and apparently far enough away from locals dumb enough to purchase a nearby house and then complain about the noise of over-flying aircraft as is the case up here. Virginia kinda sucks.

I spent a great weekend in Savannah, GA and caught up on some family history there. After a long two weeks in Jacksonville I returned to VA Beach via Atlanta where I spent another great weekend with a good friend from my Mississippi days.

Since then, I finished the rest of my Familiarization sims and made one more failed attempt at a FAM-0. This week, I succeeded at FAM-0 and even had a flight after that where I was, finally at the controls. But that's a story for the next post.