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My First Flight as a Pilot in the C-130

Aviation is a really funny industry.

For so much of my life so many aspects of the industry have felt completely out of reach.  Even after all of the experiences I have had and people I have met, I still feel like there are so many things I will never get to see or experience.  The reality is that there are so many experiences I would like to have that there is no way it would be possible for me to experience them all.  I have made the mistake of ignoring the cool things I have done because I spend so much time looking ahead to the things I would really like to see and do.

In some ways that is what I did a few weeks ago when I didn’t take the time I should have to enjoy a moment that I waited almost a decade for, and which less than two years ago I would have told you would never happen.  Despite my delay I would like to share just how special an experience it was for me.

I have about 1600 hours as a navigator on the C-130H, and I enjoyed every single one of them.  To stand on that flight deck in countries all over the world, to airdrop supplies to people who needed them on the ground in Afghanistan, to deliver patients to hospitals where they could get the care they needed, or even to return them home, to dangle my feet off the ramp flying low over the islands of the Pacific and see what has to be the bluest water on earth.  All of these experiences were life changing in their own way, and I fully anticipated making more of the same memories over however many years I remained in the Nevada Air National Guard as a navigator.

But then the opportunity arose to attend pilot training and ultimately take the controls of the C-130.  As I look back on what it took to even be given that opportunity I am overcome with gratitude for the willingness of leaders to support me, and others, in that pursuit.  I am forever indebted to a family that continues to sacrifice every day so that I can chase my dreams.  None of it would be possible, nor would it be worth it, if I didn’t have their love and support.

This is the first C-130 that I ever got to fly as a pilot and it was life changing.

After about 21 months of training, I finally got to sit in the pilot’s seat for a flight on the C-130.  The first time I got that chance was honestly less than exciting.  For various scheduling and training reasons, I only got in the seat for the second half of the flight, and I didn’t actually get to manipulate the controls once.  That being said, it was still incredibly memorable for me, and in some ways is still a little surreal that it actually happened.

A few days later I was able to get in the seat for the entire flight that was actually based around pattern work so I got a ton of takeoffs and landings.  Some people may be surprised to learn just how much time Air Force pilots spend working in the pattern and doing takeoffs, approaches, and landings.  Those are skills that remain important no matter what level of flying you get to.

As I took the runway for that first takeoff at the controls I felt like my whole body was smiling.  In a less professional environment I may have squealed like a child with excitement, but I kept all of that inside.  Logically, the sights and sounds of that takeoff were not significantly different from any of the thousands of others I had experienced from six feet further back in the plane, but I will tell you that it felt like the first time I had ever experienced it.  It is amazing to me just how different it feels in that seat compared to the one I used as a nav.

The rest of the flight was spent working on landings, and the weather was certainly giving me a hearty welcome with a significant crosswind the entire time.  (It made future flights seem much easier when the winds were significantly less challenging.)  As the flight progressed it was exciting to watch myself get better with each landing.  Slowly putting the pieces together of how to apply rudder, aileron, elevator, power, trim, etc. to set that plane down where it was supposed to be.  I still have tons to learn, but even in those couple of hours it was exhilarating to see my improvement.

Sunsets from the air are just so much more beautiful for some reason.

I have since had a handful of flights spent mostly on tactical flying, and they have been a lot of fun, but nothing really compares to that first time you take the controls.  As I finish up my training here in Little Rock I have so much to be grateful for.

I don’t think I am alone in sometimes feeling that as I approach 40 it is easy to forget about my dreams and feel like the time has passed to chase them.  You tend to resign yourself to the life that you have.  Don’t get me wrong, I have been really happy with my life.  I have a job I love, with an amazing wife and stellar kids.  I have had incredible experiences with my work, and my family, and I know that those will continue, but I still have moments where I feel like there are so many things I want to do that I never will.

At times like those I have to remind myself how many dreams I have already successfully achieved, and that if I stop chasing new ones I have only myself to blame.  Being realistic, my dream of playing professional baseball has sailed, and that’s okay.  I still love the game, but it was probably never realistic anyways.  However, other dreams, like getting my tailwheel endorsement, teaching my kids (and maybe wife) to fly, and backcountry flying, are all still very much attainable.  They aren’t even that far from my reach if I just make them a priority.

Like so many other dreams, they are not just going to fall into my lap without effort.  I will likely have to make sacrifices and not pursue things I would like to do if I am to accomplish the things I really want to do.

When I was a kid living under the approach/departure path to DFW I vividly remember having the dream of becoming a pilot, but I never thought it was a realistic possibility.  I had no idea what the path was to get there.  When I enlisted in the Marine Corps I thought I had started on that path and would reach my goal in just a few short years.  Turns out it was more like 18 years, but dang it, I got there.

I think I have confused my own impatience with something being impossible.  It is easy to compare yourself with others and say they just got lucky or they have the right rich parents, and some of that is true, but who cares what someone else’s path was?  If you really want something bad enough and continue to focus on it, you can get there, and make it a reality.

It is really fun to be able to say now that I am a C-130 pilot, especially because I never thought it would happen.

June 21, 2021 I Written By

I'm Dave and I am a proud Avgeek. It goes way beyond liking airplanes. It is a passion that cannot be subdued.

C-130H Training as a Pilot: Academics and Sims

If you know anything about me you know that I am a little obsessed with the C-130H.  This is somewhat ironic when you consider that at the beginning of nav school I had said that I would be happy with any plane, as long as it wasn’t a C-130.  For the life of me I can’t remember why I had such a negative perception of the plane I now love, and the only answer I can come up with is that I was just uneducated.  When I did drop a C-130H at the end of nav school I was incredibly disappointed, as I had really wanted the B-1, but it was my second choice so I got over it relatively quickly.

During the time that I was a nav on the C-130 I had the opportunity to fly it a couple of times in the sim, but it was always just a landing or two.  It was fun, but nothing super memorable.  Going through pilot training, and knowing I would be going back to my beloved C-130 gave me a lot of motivation to do it right as well as something to really look forward to.

We learn some basic procedures on stuff like this that is worse than the flight sims many people have at home. lol

I started my training on the C-130H last November which followed the same pattern as all flying training in the Air Force.  There was a lot of academics, executed either through CBTs or classroom training from an instructor.  After the initial academics they start to mix in some procedural trainers where you learn checklists and some of the basic procedures like starting the engines.  Then you get in the full motion sims, which are always fun, and relatively realistic, definitely better than the stationary stuff at pilot training.

The first checkride actually takes place in the simulator.  Your instrument/qualification checkride is a handful of approaches, circling, holding, a few landings, and three-engine work.  It was not overly stressful as they prepare you very well with more practice sims than may be really necessary.  It was pretty awesome to have that first checkride done and be qualified to fly the plane I love so much.  It is a little weird to be qualified to fly a plane you have never actually flown, but I guess it is no different than airline pilots who get their first flights with passengers on board.

This is one of the full motion simulators that we use for most of our initial training. We do 36 sims in these to make sure we are ready before we go to the flightline.

After that checkride you move on to more sims that are focused on the tactical side of flying that we do, which is the more fun stuff.  This involves flying low levels, formation, and airdrops.  There wasn’t as much for me to learn in this phase since the job of the nav is actually much more in depth than the copilot.  The copilot is more of a backup for the nav and pilot when we fly tac, but it was still fun to get back into the more enjoyable part of our flying.

It has been really interesting going through this training from a different crew position.  You wouldn’t think it would change that much from standing behind the co-pilot’s seat, to sitting in the co-pilot’s seat, but it really is a significantly different perspective.  You don’t see as much of what is going on outside because of where you are sitting, and the fact that you are stuck in one place.  As a nav I walked back and forth between both sides of the flight deck on a regular basis to get a better view of whatever I may have been looking for, but now I am left craning my neck and body to try and see things.

My crosscheck of scanning instruments and outside is also much different because as a nav I would often look at certain data on the pilot’s side versus the copilot’s side just because it was more easily seen based on the yoke or where they were sitting, or just because of where I was looking at any given time.  Now the only reason I even look at the pilot’s side is because on the H2 only the pilot has a radar altimeter.  It will be nice having that on my side as well when I get back to our H3s in Reno.

Ultimately, all of the training made me even more anxious to get back on the plane I hadn’t been on in almost two years.  My last flight before leaving for pilot training had actually been giving a checkride, so I wasn’t even in the seat.  It is a little disappointing looking back, but the fact that my next flight would be in a pilot’s seat makes it a lot easier to tolerate.  After fives months of training I was super ready, and super pumped, to be getting back on the C-130H for a real flight.

June 12, 2021 I Written By

I'm Dave and I am a proud Avgeek. It goes way beyond liking airplanes. It is a passion that cannot be subdued.

Musings After Completing Air Force Pilot Training

Do you ever feel like months or years at a time go by and you know that a lot of things have happened, but when you stop and think about it, or sit down to write about some of the cool things you have done, you really just don’t know what to say?  That’s kind of where I am at right now.

As you are likely aware, I attended Air Force Pilot Training over the last year or so, which I completed back in September, earning my wings, and furthering my lifelong dream of being a pilot.  I still count finishing my private certificate back in 2008 as when I became a pilot, but this was a big deal and an even bigger step on my career path, wherever that may lead.

There is no reason to give a play by play of everything that happened at pilot training, especially since I am sure someone else already has, and they probably did it better, but I figured I would put some of my own thoughts and experiences down for my own benefit, and maybe it will help someone else in the at the same time.

One of the things a lot of people ask is how they can best prepare for pilot training.  The reality is that every single person is different and would benefit from different preparation.  The one thing that I feel is universal is getting as much aviation experience as you possibly can.  Ideally that means spending as much time in any flying aircraft you possibly can.  There is simply no substitute for time in the seat and in the air hearing and seeing and smelling and feeling all of those different inputs.  That may not be feasible in many cases, but beg, borrow, or steal your way onto any flight in a cockpit you can get.  It doesn’t have to be formal training.  It could be bumming a ride for a $100 hamburger, or just beating up the pattern, but any time you can get in the air will help you.

All of my experience in the Air Force flying was a definite advantage in many aspects of the training.  If nothing else I was familiar with many of the terms and expressions that made me feel more comfortable in the environment as a whole.  I am not saying you should spend 8 years as a Navigator before going to pilot training, though honestly it is not a bad way to go, but

Right before I took the T-6 solo in formation. What a ride!

I am saying that every little bit of comfort you can gain from experience is worth it to help you get through what will inevitably be an uncomfortable year.

In the theme of the Thanksgiving season, I am incredibly grateful for the chance I had to fly such a dynamic plane as the T-6.  I realize what a special opportunity it was to fly an fully aerobatic, complex, turbine, bad-A airplane.  I even got to fly it by myself, which is even more cool when I look back on it.  The one part I was really not looking forward to was the formation phase because frankly it is uncomfortable being that close to another plane doing the maneuvers we do.  By the time we finished the phase and I had the opportunity to solo in formation I had a little idea what I was doing and I actually really enjoyed it.  It was a huge confidence builder for me, and just a great time in the air.

All of that being said, I am perfectly content never flying the T-6 again.  That probably sounds a little contradictory, but it is just not my type of flying.  Sure it would be fun to go out with a buddy and range around for an hour in the mountains with such a high performance aircraft, but having to fly with an instructor with syllabus items to accomplish would not be as fun.  I’m also old and grumpy and having to wear all of that extra gear is not my style anymore.

View from the backseat of the T-1 enjoying my time with a crew.

Moving onto the T-1 after the T-6 brought me back to my type of flying.

I LOVE flying with a crew.

I love being able to interact with other crewmembers.  I love that we are there to back each other up and keep each other safe.  I love the more laid back environment where we get the mission done, but we can also have a good time doing it.

The T-1 is a massive pig compared to the T-6, but it was still a lot of fun to fly.  I had to keep reminding the people in my class how lucky we all were to get this training.  Not many people in this world get the opportunity to fly a business jet with less than 100 hours of experience, but that’s what we were doing.  It is not the flashiest plane, and like I said, it flies like a pig, but it was still a great time learning a more complex aircraft and adding to my skillset.

It is worth mentioning the importance of the people you go to pilot training with.  I had the unfortunate experience of being at pilot training not only during Covid, but during massive class shifts at UPT.  Shortly after starting pilot training my class was split up into multiple classes with me personally rolling back three classes.  Over the next year or many of those people changed classes again both backward and forward.  As it turned out I ended up graduating with only 2 of the 22 people that I originally started with.  No one graduates with the exact class they started with for any number of reasons, but it was a real bummer having the whole thing blown up like that.

One of my last flights at pilot training. Enjoyed getting back into the low-level environment.

At the same time, all of the people I had the chance to interact with were exceptional people.  We had great laughs, and worked hard, and got through to the end together.  It was truly a pleasure to work with such exceptional people, and I look forward to following them all through the rest of their careers.

UPT was also a unique experience for me because of my own personal circumstances.  I have mentioned it previously, but being 38 when most of your classmates are in the early 20s made for a slightly different dynamic.  I also was married with three kids, one of whom is almost a teenager, added to the dynamic.  I am also a winged navigator with a fair amount of experience.  Not to mention that I am also a Major which meant I outranked almost all of my IPs.

Some of these things people said were a disadvantage, and others an advantage, and they are probably right.  There is no such thing as a normal UPT experience, and everybody has their weaknesses and areas that require special effort.  At the end of the day, getting through UPT is all about your attitude and your effort.  Anybody can be taught to fly, and anybody can be taught to fly the Air Force way, if they are willing to put in the time and the effort.  It was amazing to watch the effort that some of my classmates put in to become pilots.  Like anything in life it was easier for some people than for others, but at the end of the day we all walked away with our wings, and we all get to have one of the coolest jobs in the world: pilot.

Hello again beautiful!

This last week I got to start my C-130 specific training back in Little Rock.  It felt a lot like coming home since I was stationed here about five years ago.  We still have some friends that never left, and others that we got to know during our time in Japan that have since moved here.  It is so awesome going somewhere that you already have friends.  On the first day of class we went out to walk around the plane, and it was a beautiful reunion to be back with my beloved C-130.

I will spare you the love story which you can read about in previous articles I have written (here, here, and here), but suffice it to say I am thrilled to be back here on the plane I love.  There is still a lot of work to be done to learn a new job on the same plane, but I already feel so at home in so many ways.  I think it is one way of knowing you are where you are supposed to be, doing what you are supposed to be doing, when it feels like coming home after far too long apart.

Hopefully, I can do a better job putting my thoughts down because I know it is good for me, and I hope that others can benefit from it too.  I have said it before and I will say it every time I write.  If there is ever any question I can answer, or anything I can do to help you in your aviation journey please don’t hesitate to ask.  We are all a part of the best community in the world, and it is the people that make it that way.

I hope you all have a fantastic Thanksgiving, and get the chance to get out and fly as much as possible.

November 22, 2020 I Written By

I'm Dave and I am a proud Avgeek. It goes way beyond liking airplanes. It is a passion that cannot be subdued.

Why the C-130 is Better than the P-3

A C-130 preparing to do what it does best, mountain flying.

After a lovely discussion a few days ago with some new friends from Australia I figured it was worth some time to definitively list some of the reasons why the C-130 is better than the P-3.  I say some of the reasons because I simply don’t have time to list them all, nor is it necessary.  The comparison is worthwhile as the aircraft share some similarities, which we will discuss later.

The first reason is that it is simply better alphabetically.  C comes well before P because it is for better planes.  On a similar note C also comes before F, but that is a different discussion.  On top of the alphabetical argument, it is also better numerically since 130 is clearly bigger, and therefore better, than 3.

An air-to-air left side view of an Australian P-3C Orion aircraft flying over Thailand.
By Camera Operator: Butterworth – US Defense Visual Information Center

Continuing with the theme of numbers, there have been more than 2500 C-130’s built while there were only 757 (tell me this was not an accident) P-3’s built.  Obviously if you build more of something it must be better.

The C-130 has been built in 40 different variants because it is just that versatile.  The P-3…only 5.  So by an order of magnitude of 8, the C-130 is better.  (not to mention that 130 is 43.3 times bigger than 3)  There is also not much cooler than the flying tank that is the AC-130.  It’s like something you would build in a video game or discuss while you are drunk with friends.  Let’s take a Howitzer and stick it out the side of a plane.  And, just to be safe let’s also put a 40mm cannon and a gatling gun on there too.  At least the P-3 has an antenna sticking out the back.

The C-130 has been around longer.  While both aircraft are in the prestigious 50 years of continuous flying club, the C-130 was first flown five whole years before the P-3.  As I am demonstrating to the guys in my UPT class, when it comes to flying, older is better.

The P-3 needs more than 4,000 feet for its takeoff run.  I have seen a C-130 take off in around 1500 feet. Better.

The service ceiling of the P-3 is 28,300 feet, but I have personally been over 30,000 feet in a C-130.  Better.

When Batman needed to extract a bad guy out of Hong Kong, what plane did he use?  A C-130.

When Paul Walker and Vin Diesel needed to airdrop cars to stop bad guys, did they use a P-3?  Nope, they used a C-130.

One is named after the son of a god, the other after a guy who is a constellation that people can only ever find the belt of.

Shoot, despite being a maritime platform, a P-3 has never landed on an aircraft carrier…but a C-130 has.

Next let’s talk about looks.  Despite some fat shaming that may have taken place in this discussion with my misguided Aussie friends (the C-130 has a max takeoff weight 20,000 lbs higher than the P-3, again bigger is better), the C-130 is simply the sexier plane.  If it wasn’t, would the Blue Angels, who are the face of the Navy, have picked it to be part of their demo team?  Just saying.

The 1891 patent from Seth Wheeler shows that the toilet paper should go up and over. Google Patent Database

I will end with the point that started our discussion on Twitter, which really just tops the cake.  The C-130 and the P-3 share the same engines, which is a fun similarity.  The difference is that one of the planes has them on right side up (C-130), and the other has them on upside down (P-3).  This is evidenced again by which one was built first as to which way is correct.  Much the way that the patent for toilet paper shows the correct way for a roll to be inserted is with paper to roll over the top, the C-130 shows the proper way to hang T-56 engines.

Come to think of it though, they are from down under, so maybe they are just looking at it upside down?

In all seriousness, they are both excellent planes that have served many countries well for many years.  So well in fact, that only one of them is being replaced by what is essentially a 737.

By Camera Operator: Butterworth – US Defense Visual Information Center

 

July 21, 2020 I Written By

I'm Dave and I am a proud Avgeek. It goes way beyond liking airplanes. It is a passion that cannot be subdued.

Overcoming the Mental Side of Flying

It has been an interesting week of flying here in beautiful Del Rio, TX.  The weather was forecast to be pretty crappy, and the forecast proved to be quite accurate.

That really sucks when it comes to pilot training, because a lot of the things we do require VFR conditions.  Outside of the training arena, the weather would not have been that big of a deal, but for all of us newbies it was less than ideal.  It was also a great learning experience for me of just how important it is to keep your mind ready when it comes to flying.

Early this week I was scheduled for a simulator session in the morning, and a flight in the afternoon that was not looking real promising when the day started due to crappy weather.  As the day went on I started to check out on flying because most of the flights had cancelled for weather.  I got my paperwork ready to fly, but I was really just going through the motions and wasn’t putting in the effort that I should have.

We got to brief time and I sat down with my IP already convinced we were going to cancel, but even then I knew better.  I personally said we should probably still brief because you never know what will happen with the weather.  We went through the brief, and as we did we heard updates that the weather was improving and it looked like we would be able to fly.  I now found myself in a bad spot because I had already started to checkout, and now needed to go fly.

I won’t go into all of the details of the flight, but suffice it to say it was not a very good flight.  I missed a handful of small things that were not terribly critical, but were things I should not have missed.  I got behind the plane, and while I eventually caught up, I wasted training time because my mind was not in it.  I also got spatial disorientation, which did nothing to help the situation.

By the time we landed I was pretty down on myself, with only myself to blame.

Fast forward two days and I was in almost an identical situation.  I had a simulator session in the morning, followed by a flight in the afternoon.  Pretty much everyone had cancelled their flights due to weather, and right up until the brief I thought we would cancel too.  The difference yesterday was that I forced myself to stay in the game mentally.

As I prepared my paperwork the weather actually kept getting worse but I just kept telling myself that I was not going to let the same thing happen again. We were still going to fly and I was going to be ready.  With the weather as crappy as it was I was honestly at a loss of what I was going to do even if we did take off.  It had been cloudy for days and the people who had flown did not bring back great reports that would allow for the aerobatic training that I really needed.

But I just kept running through ideas in my head.  I could just go and do some instrument approaches, but then the nearby airports were also below minimums.  I could also go up into the MOA and practice some of the instrument maneuvers in actual IMC.  That would be better than nothing, but I really needed pattern work, and that just wasn’t going to happen.  I also didn’t want to get stuck in the air and have to divert to San Antonio for the long weekend, but that was just my mind trying to find reasons not to fly.

It came time to brief and my IP wasn’t even in the room so I was further convinced we would not fly, but I just kept telling myself we were going flying.  Even after we sat down to brief another student walked in and my IP told him he would likely have to weather cancel, so I was sure I wasn’t going flying.  But we kept briefing.

Halfway through our brief an announcement came out that the T-38s would not be flying as long as expected so there was a larger time slot for us.  What happens here when the weather is marginal is a status referred to as alternating instruments.  Essentially, when the weather is bad we set specific times for the T-6s and T-38s to recover.  Because we fly at such different airspeeds this is simply a safer situation when the weather doesn’t allow for a VFR pattern.  The fuel capacity of the T-38 also makes this a smarter solution.

It wasn’t until that announcement was made that my mind finally started to convince the rest of me that I was actually going flying.

We finished our brief and got suited up before going to the step desk.  That is the last stop before we fly and the last chance for someone to stop us.  Because of the weather, we were the only ones up there waiting to fly.  Even the other flights that had been scheduled from my class had cancelled for weather.

While we waited to get approval to go my IP made the comment that, “When I’m the only one stepping to fly it makes me question my decision of whether I should go or not.”  This is a very true statement, and is something every pilot should remember, but ultimately proved to be not true on this day.

After some reassurance for the weather shop, the Operations Supervisor cleared us to go and fly.  We got out to the plane not in a rush as the weather was only supposed to improve at this point.  We taxied out to the center runway, which is not what we normally use, but had much less water and was thus safer.  We ran our pre-flight checks, and took off, going into the clouds within the first few hundred feet.

We ended up climbing to near the top of the MOA in the hopes the sun had burned off some of the clouds because they were not super dense, but as we got to 21,000 feet we were still in IMC.  Instrument maneuvers it would be apparently, and that is just what we did for the first fifteen minutes or so.  We had noticed some VFR layers on our climb up and decided to drop down and see if we couldn’t find a gap.

A brief aside on the super fun capabilities of the T-6.  Needing to descend about 10,000 feet my IP suggested I try an idle/speed brake descent just to see how fast this plane can drop when you need it to.  It sounded like fun to me, and I pulled to the PCL to idle, extended the speed brake and pitched the nose down.  I can’t tell you what our actual descent rate was because our VSI pegs out at 6,000 ft/min.  Let’s just say about a minute and a half later we were at 10,000 feet and that was with pulling in the speed brake a few thousand feet early because we broke out of the clouds and seeing the ground rushing towards me that fast was intense.

As luck would have it, there was actually a pretty substantial area of VFR conditions, and we were able to get a bunch of good training in.  I did my first split-S and aileron roll.  I also made great progress in some of my other VFR maneuvers.  I was shocked at how much we got done on a day when I didn’t think we would even take off.

To cap off the flight I also got to hold because there was so much traffic coming back in at the same time, and then flew an ILS (poorly), back home to a pretty nice landing if I do say so myself.

All in all it was a much better flight than earlier in the week because I forced myself to stay in the game.  Even as I looked for safety concerns and reasons why we wouldn’t be able to fly, I just kept telling myself we were going to fly, and it paid off for me in the end.  I got fantastic training, and continued to move towards the ultimate goal of getting my wings.

I expected the physical action of flying to be my biggest challenge at UPT because I already have a lot of experience in the air, but this was a great reminder of just how important the mental aspect of flying is.  I didn’t do much that I hadn’t already seen, but I did it so much better because I was mentally ready for it instead of quitting like I did earlier in the week.

Flying is challenging under the best conditions, but it is even more important to be completely on your game when the conditions are not ideal.  There is a time and a place to call it and not fly when the conditions are bad, but I am grateful I listened to my IP and pushed through (the second time this has happened with the same IP) because I would have missed some good fun, and some valuable training.  There is just so much to learn in this industry and I am grateful for all of the lessons I continue to learn every day.

January 18, 2020 I Written By

I'm Dave and I am a proud Avgeek. It goes way beyond liking airplanes. It is a passion that cannot be subdued.

What a Year 2019 Was

I know it is completely cliche to write a post about the last year on New Year’s Day, but I am nothing if not socially trendy.  So here we go.

As I look back on the year, my first thought is simply that I don’t know where the year has gone.  I started the year deployed to Kuwait where I was able to fly to Iraq, Iran, Oman, Jordan, UAE, Bahrain, Afghanistan, and Qatar.  As much as being away from family while you are deployed sucks, being able to just fly and not worry about all of the other stuff at work is awesome.

On the way home from the deployment we got to spend some time in Greece, Northern Ireland, The Azores, Canada, and Minnesota before making it back to Reno.  It was so fun to decompress on the way home and make some good memories.  I also had one of the scarier events in my career when one of the panes of our windshield shattered halfway across the Atlantic.  In hindsight it was not as big of a deal as it seemed at the time, but it was still not very comfortable.

A few days after getting home I was lucky enough to go with my family to Hawaii for the first time.  It was nice to just relax on an airliner for a change after the deployment.  It was also some much needed family time after four months away.

A few days after that trip I was back on a plane heading East to Ohio for my flight physical as I continued the process to go to Air Force Pilot Training.  Even though I am pretty healthy it was quite the nerve wracking trip as a bunch of doctors and nurses would determine my Air Force future.  Fortunately, everything went off without a hitch and my package was submitted a few weeks later.

Before I knew it, I was back to work and trying to get caught up after five months or so away from the office.  It didn’t take long for me to miss the flying from the deployment, but it was still good to be home and settled again.

Spring training for the MAFFS season ended up being a weather mess in Colorado Springs with some unseasonably late snow that delayed a lot of the training.  We ended up getting almost all of it done, but as luck would have it, we didn’t get called out at all this year to fight fires.  As much as we love doing our jobs, it was a needed break for everyone after the crazy fires we had last year.  Here’s hoping our Aussie brothers and sisters get some relief from their fires soon.

I had a fun little trip with a great group of guys down to Mississippi to drop off a plane for some upgrades.  There was nothing special about the trip, but sometimes it is fun to just have a simple trip with great people that equals a great time.  It would also prove to be my last trip before leaving Reno.

In late July I gave a checkride, not realizing that it would be my last flight on the C-130 as a navigator, and possibly my last flight ever on a C-130H.  Just a week or two later I got word that I had gotten a fallout slot at UPT and within a week was headed to Del Rio, Texas, and Laughlin AFB.  It was a whirlwind of events that included packing everything we owned, and driving halfway across the country.

It bears mentioning at this point how lucky I am to have the family I do.  My wife has come with me all over the world pursuing my dreams.  She has done it all with minimal complaint and always with the utmost support.  My kids are also amazing troopers as they have had to change schools, make new friends, find new dance studios, and they have done it all with a deep love for me that I can never fully repay.

Pilot training started off as rapidly as advertised, but due to some unique circumstances I ended up with almost three weeks off about a month in.  Things started to pick back up through my simulator checkride before I once again had a long break in training.  During that time my class and I have stayed busy studying and practicing in the simulators, but all of us are anxious to get out and actually fly the T-6.

Barring any crazy unforeseen circumstances, which can happen when it comes to flying, we should all be flying next week, and may be wishing for a little more of a break.  I am super excited to get up in the air again, and continue on this long journey of becoming a better aviator.

It has been more than six months since I was last able to fly, and it pains me a little every time I think about that.  I often think about what my passions are, and what the most important things in life are to me, which is pretty much standard for everyone at this time of the year.

I count myself incredibly blessed that I actually get to do what I love most for a living.  I get to spend my time in the air doing something that is completely unnatural for a human being to do.  I can’t think of anything more liberating and calming than flying is for me.  It is where I feel most at home, and it is where I feel most like myself, whatever that may be.

As I look forward into the new year many of my ambitions will be dictated by the Air Force and the rigorous training schedule of UPT, assuming there are no more delays.  Sometimes I get disappointed when I think about that because I would love to go to Airventure, or the Reno Air Races, or any number of other awesome aviation events around the country, but they will all have to wait for future years.

So now I am trying to focus on the other awesome things that I will get to do.  I get to spend the next three months or so flying the T-6 Texan II.  I don’t particularly enjoy pulling G’s, but it will still be so much fun spending pretty much every day at the controls of an extremely powerful and nimble aircraft.  It is an opportunity that not everyone gets to have, and I count myself blessed that I get to experience it.

Then I will move onto the T-1 for about 5-6 months after that.  While it may not seem exciting to spend so much time learning to fly what is really just a business jet, it is more time I get to spend in the air, honing my craft and learning the skills I need to safely operate in the air for years to come.  It is also a good reminder to me of all the different skills that there are to learn in aviation.  You should never pass up an opportunity to broaden your skill set because you never know when those skills may come in handy.

A year from now I should be back in Little Rock, Arkansas for my C-130 specific training.  I can’t wait to get back to my beloved Herk, but it remains to be seen which version of the old girl I will be training on.

The National Guard is set to announce this month which two units will be converting from the C-130H to the C-130J.  That conversion will then take place over the next few years.  It is hard to tell what will happen when it comes to the politics of such a decision.  There are about 10 different units that could make the change, and Reno is one that makes a lot of sense from a practical perspective.

Ultimately, I have no say in the decision and will simply play the hand I am dealt.  If I did have a say, I would hope we stay with the H.  Having flown on both, I really enjoy the crew dynamic of the H better.  With all of the new modifications they are making to our old planes, they get much closer to the performance of the J, and once they do all of the avionics upgrades, they will be closer in that arena as well.  At the end of the day it is probably mostly a nostalgia thing for me.  It is the plane I grew up on, and I hold on to tradition as long as I possibly can.  They are both incredibly capable planes and I will be happy to fly either one.

It’s funny as I think about my love for the Herk now compared to how I felt when I first joined the Air Force.  I really thought I wanted to be on the F-15E and go fast and pull G’s, but a bomber would be an adequate place to land if I couldn’t get on a fighter.  I clearly remember thinking that as long as I didn’t end up on the C-130 I would be happy with whatever I got.

Now I can’t imagine being anywhere else.

It has been a fun year of flying, and even fun with some of the time I haven’t been flying, but this year will be even more fun as I finally fulfill my dream of becoming an Air Force pilot.  I am having to delay some of the other things I would like to pursue in aviation, but that is part of the deal.  You can’t do everything in aviation all of the time, because it just isn’t possible.  You have to enjoy where you are at right now, and then keep working to experience as many of those other things as possible.

So wherever you are in your life as an aviator, because it is a life and not just a job or a hobby, keep enjoying the moments you have, and always look for new ways to spread that joy.  It is a great aviation family we are all a part of, and I look forward to getting to know more of you, and enjoy watching your adventures in the coming year.

January 1, 2020 I Written By

I'm Dave and I am a proud Avgeek. It goes way beyond liking airplanes. It is a passion that cannot be subdued.

What I Learned in Pilot Training: Crew Resource Management

Crew Resource Management (CRM) may be one of the most important, but least talked about topics in aviation.  This is not to say that it is not talked about at all, but that I think many people underestimate the value it provides to every single person that is flying in the world.

To their credit, I am pretty sure every airline out there now talks about CRM as part of their initial and recurrent training.  There are more than enough accident investigation reports out there that could have been completely avoided, or made much less worse if CRM principles had been embraced.  So this principle has been widely adopted, though possibly under a different name.

Amongst the many examples out there, the worst would have to be the Tenerife tragedy.  If you are not familiar with it, and work in aviation, I would strongly recommend doing some research into it, because there are a lot of great lessons to be learned.  Unfortunately, more people died in this accident than in any other accident in history, and it was 100% avoidable.

Just to give the condensed version, two 747s collided when one tried to take off before the other had vacated the runway during reduced visibility conditions.  The first officer of the plane that was trying to take off tried to stop the captain from doing so more than once, but the captain ignored him and tried to take off anyway.  This is obviously a massive shortening and simplification of a complex situation, but will do for our purposes today.  The point is that hundreds of people would not have died if the captain had listened to the other pilot.

So what is CRM?

The best way to describe CRM is utilizing all of the members of your crew to safely and efficiently operate your aircraft.  This reinforces the idea that every crew member is vital to the safe operation of an aircraft, and that only when we work as a team can we operate at our best.  While there are plenty of accident investigation reports that could have been prevented with better CRM, there are countless reports that were never written because the crew properly utilized CRM.

When we get into an unexpected situation, which in most cases means an emergency, it is essential that the crew work together to get the plane safely back on the ground.  This could be asking other crew members what they are experiencing, or seeing around the plane, or even on the instruments, that both pilots can generally see.  On the C-130H, it is often the flight engineer who is first to notice issues with the engines, that is because they have the best seat in the house for such a diagnosis.

A pilot who ignores the input of their crewmembers has no business being in the air at all.  There is no room in the air for ego and arrogance.

To their credit I have had great experience with pilot’s and their willingness to listen to their crew.  That does not mean that the aircraft commander or captain or pilot in command is giving up their responsibility or authority, because that is equally important.  After listening to the feedback from the crew, it is essential that the pilot in command take decisive action.  This may mean that someone isn’t happy with the decision that is made, but that is the responsibility that you accepted when you took command of that plane.

But, what about single pilot flights?

I don’t have any official data, but I would be willing to bet the number of flights with only one pilot exceeds the number of flights with more than one, or a crew of some sort.  In those cases, the acronym CRM still applies, but instead the C changes to “Cockpit” Resource Management.  Even as a single pilot you have tools at your disposal to get back on the ground safely.

This starts with understanding what you have in your cockpit.  This varies if you are flying a single seat F-16 versus a 172 by yourself, but the principle is the same.  Know what equipment you have and know how it works.  This could be GPS, radios, or even ForeFlight on your iPad.  For that matter, it could be a cell phone that will work if you are low enough.  When an emergency hits, the priority is getting back on the ground safely, and you want to use all of your resources to make that happen.

Even when people fly by themselves, they are rarely alone.  Radios provide an opportunity to seek help outside of your airplane.  This could be ATC, or it could be another pilot flying in the area that can help you get back on the ground.

Here at UPT, we have had a couple of classes about emergency procedures and they regularly refer back to contacting people on the ground  to help you get back safely.  To be clear, the priority is always aviate, navigate, communicate, but once you get the situation under control, and you are headed in the right direction, you should reach out for help from outside sources.  These people then become a part of your crew.

They can read checklists, or make sure you have considered all of your options to make the right decision.  They may even just be able to calm you down and provide some reassurance that you are doing fine.  In many cases, people do a pretty dang good job handling bad situations, because we learn how to handle our planes, and all we may need is some reassurance that it will be okay.

CRM will not prevent every emergency from happening.  There are so many factors involved in flying that inevitably the unexpected will occur.  But, when it does happen, the most valuable resources you have are the people in the plane with you, and in the aviation community, that all want the same thing as you, and that is to get back on the ground safely.

October 27, 2019 I Written By

I'm Dave and I am a proud Avgeek. It goes way beyond liking airplanes. It is a passion that cannot be subdued.

My First Week at Air Force Pilot Training

It’s been almost a month since I last posted, and I can’t believe how fast that month has gone.  I feel like it has been much longer with everything I have done since then.

It was kind of nice to have a little bit of free time with my family for a couple of weeks after we got here, though free time is probably the wrong word.  It was nice to not have work requirements because I was able to help my wife get the house unpacked, take the kids to dance and swim lessons, and enjoy a couple of lunches with my Queenie before my life revolves around flying for the next year.

It makes me laugh a little as a type that because many people would probably say my life has always revolved around flying, but it had increasingly become more about desk work before I left.  It is super nice to just be learning about flying again, though I know that will change again when I get home, and that’s okay.

So what is the first week of pilot training like?

In a word, fast paced.  (okay, that is two words)

The first day was just briefings to get us ready for the year ahead and what the policies and procedures of the unit are.  Then starting the next day we were right into full days of academics.  With the pilot shortage they are trying to get through as many people as they possibly can.  That has led to them shortening the course by a few weeks by deleting some of the topics they deemed non-essential.  I won’t complain about getting done here sooner and getting on to C-130 training.

In the first week we have been mostly focusing on aerospace physiology, which is probably one of the least studied topics that has immense impact on effective flying, if that makes sense.  We covered topics ranging from hypoxia to G-tolerance to egressing from the aircraft.  While none of the information was new to me with my background, it was a good reminder of the importance of these topics.  It was also eye-opening to some of the guys that don’t have a background in aviation.

If we needed a reminder that this is not a take your time kind of course, our first test was a week to the day after we started and covered the full range of aerospace physiology topics.  I was happy to have done well and crossed the first hurdle in training.  I was confident about the whole thing because, as I said, none of the information was really new to me, but there is still always that little bit of fear that I won’t give something the time it deserves and I will blow it.

No time for a break though as after the test we were right back into class and CAI’s.  It is worth explaining the different ways in which we get instruction in formal courses like this.  There are basically three different methods of training: Instructor Based Training, hands-on training, and Computer Based Training.  My entire career the computer based training has been referred to as CBTs, but here it is referred to as CAI’s because why leave something alone when you can change the name for no reason.

My favorite training, like most people, is the hands-on training, but they actually have a pretty good system set up here.  Generally speaking, you spend some time learning about new topics on the computer, then you have a class with an instructor to clarify and expand on the topic, then you get into some sort of simulator, or part task trainer, or eventually the actual aircraft, to bring the whole thing together.

Now that we are mostly done with aerospace physiology, we actually have to do the altitude chamber on Monday, we have started to get into the aircraft systems of the T-6 which has been super interesting.  While we did utilize the T-6 in Nav school, that was 8 years ago, and we are going a lot more in-depth than we did back then because now I will be in control of the plane and not just sitting in the back seat.

If that sounds like quite a bit for a first week, it is, but the pace only quickens from here.  Monday will mostly be taken up by the altitude chamber, then Tuesday we have our first sims, and Wednesday is our next test.  From there it just keeps going, and I am loving every minute of it.  I’m not worried about scheduling people for stuff, or tracking training, or writing memos, or going to meetings, I am completely focused on learning to fly, and it is awesome.

It really hit me this week just how blessed I am to be here.  I am 37 years old, when the age limit was 30 when I was selected.  I started this journey to become a pilot 16 years ago when I enlisted, and now I am here.  Don’t let small hiccups or speed bumps get in the way of you getting where you want to be.

To be clear, there are some things that there is nothing you can do about, like being blind or something of that nature.  But, if something like money, or age, or scores, or even just doubt are holding you back, then don’t give up.  You can find a way, and you can get there, just don’t give up, and ask for help.

There are doubters and haters out there, but there are also a ton of people out there that would love to help and return the favor for the help they received.  So reach out to anyone and everyone and figure out how to make it happen.

If you have any questions about the stuff we are learning or how you can get here too, let me know and I would be happy to help you.

September 14, 2019 I Written By

I'm Dave and I am a proud Avgeek. It goes way beyond liking airplanes. It is a passion that cannot be subdued.

Short Notice Off to Pilot Training

Well, sometimes life comes at you faster than expected. I haven’t had the chance to write much recently because I had to quickly move across the country.  A lot has happened in the last three weeks.

Since I started waiting for UPT class dates a few months ago, I have religiously emailed the lady that is in charge of assigning class dates every single week.  She never responded, nor did I expect her to as I know how busy she is, but I continued to ask in the hopes that a class date would come available.

Then three weeks ago I went into work on an off day and sent my typical email asking if there were any dates available and thanking her for all that she does to support us.  About five minutes later I got a call from Maryland on my cell phone and I was just about to ignore it, assuming it was a solicitor, but decided I better answer just in case.

Sure enough it was the lady who gives out class dates.  She asked when I was ready to go, to which I responded, immediately.  She told me there was a date available but that I would need to leave in about 10 days to get there and get in-processed.  This was exactly what I had been hoping for, so I jumped on it.

I had to call my wife and give her the good news, to which she freaked out a little because that meant we had five days to pack the house, and five more to drive all the way to Del Rio, TX.

Since this is not a moving blog I will spare you the boring details of driving a long Uhaul truck 1600 miles across the hottest part of America in the middle of August.  Let’s just say it was hot, and not overly exciting.

After four days of driving we arrived at Laughlin Air Force Base.

It was the weekend when we arrived, but Monday morning I was greeted by the sound of airplanes flying overhead and I felt right at home.  Everyday since I have to pinch myself a little when I see the T-6s, T-38s and T-1s flying overhead.  I can’t believe that I am actually here and about to embark on the dream I started ten years ago.

There is still a lot to do, but I will get into more of the details of what I’m doing here soon.

August 19, 2019 I Written By

I'm Dave and I am a proud Avgeek. It goes way beyond liking airplanes. It is a passion that cannot be subdued.

Lessons Learned: Sometimes Our Mistakes Fix Our Problems

This experience was one that I observed rather than experiencing myself as I was giving a checkride. However, I have experienced the exact same lesson numerous times.

A large part of my job as a navigator on the C-130 is time control. This entails ensuring that we execute our airdrops at the correct time. If the route is being executed in IFR then the window is +/- 90 seconds. If it is a visual route then the window is +/- 60 seconds.

For the most part it is pretty simple if you take off on time and then execute the mission the way it was flight planned. It is more complicated when there are external factors such as ATC, other traffic, weather, or threats that we simulate for training.

In this instance the navigator I was observing took off late due to airline traffic, both arriving and departing, that always takes priority over us. This could have been avoided, but that is a different topic for another day.

We ended up departing about three minutes late, which sucks because it is always harder to make up time than it is to kill time. Once we leveled off the clock was showing us 6 minutes late, though we were not yet at our enroute speed.

The nav wisely accelerated immediately rather than waiting for his planned acceleration point which got him to within 2 minutes of his desired TOT. Still not within checkride parameters, but getting closer.

He then wisely decided to turn inside of course to kill even more time. He initiated his turn about 30 seconds early which at that speed is about two miles early. He expected to roll out about two miles left of course and hold that to shorten the distance of the route he was flying. But, when we rolled out, he was exactly on course, and right on time.

So what had gone wrong?

What he had not accounted for was the fact that he was already inside of the turn he was making so the numbers he was seeing were not reflecting what he was trying to execute. By being inside of course he was getting a distance to go to the turn that was actually much closer to the following leg centerline than he was expecting. So when we rolled out on the next leg he was on centerline and not two miles left of course like he wanted.

But, I also said we were now on time, so how was that possible if he hadn’t cutoff the corner like he intended? Ironically, it was also because we were already inside of course that we ended up on time. While we didn’t roll out left of course, we did roll out farther up that leg than expected. We expected to roll out with 16 miles to go to the next point, but we actually rolled out with only 12 miles to go to the next point. Shortening the leg by 4 miles allowed us to shorten the route by about a minute, and we were now on time.

It was a good reminder to see that sometimes even when we don’t see everything, it can still work out for us. I also don’t believe that it is all luck either. I think some of it has to do with putting ourselves in a good position, and then even when we don’t see everything it can still work out for us. At the same time, it can just as easily go the other way, which is a topic for another day as well.

I have been far too lazy in analyzing how I have been doing on my flights recently. It gets easy to do that when you become pretty adept at doing your job well. That can also be a dangerous combination.

I’m glad I had the chance to evaluate someone else, because it reminded me that I need to do a better job evaluating myself. If I get too lazy I will quickly regress in my abilities, and that is not what I want to do.

July 19, 2019 I Written By

I'm Dave and I am a proud Avgeek. It goes way beyond liking airplanes. It is a passion that cannot be subdued.