March 3, 2004- April 16, 2004
If you're going to pilot, navigator or intelligence training, you'll most likely have the distinct opportunity of being a casual status lieutenant. I'm not going to lie to you, I didn't mind being on casual status. The majority of units you serve with will not have you around long enough to give you many large projects and so you will not have a lot to do. In my case, I went to lift weights most mornings and showed up to work at about 0930. I made sure that all my responsibilities were up to date and usually made it out of the office by 1300. That translated into more time with my wife and more time to study/goof off. If you have not already received your Private Pilot License, this is the time that you will receive it. This is one of the few times in your career that you will be in this situation--and believe me it feels awkward and downright wrong being brand new and not doing a lot--but there is very little you can do about it. So take advantage of it to the fullest. I spent several hours memorizing operating limitations and emergency procedures for the T-6.
I was stationed at Randolph AFB in San Antonio, TX with the 559th Flying Training Squadron. This squadron trains pilots to be instructor pilots for the T-37 Tweet. The cool thing was that the sister squadron, the 558th, trains pilots to be T-6A Texan II IP's. That's the plane I get to fly at Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training (SUPT). Lucky me! I have firsthand knowledge with IP's that have several years of experience. The aircraft sit right outside my office and all the literature on them is at my fingertips. I spent my time at Randolph AFB absorbing every little bit that I could about the T-6 and about pilot training in general. I was given the opportunity to sit in on formal briefings (one of the distinct experiences of SUPT where you stand at attention and give the solution to an emergency in-flight scenario), go to the T-6 simulators and sit in on IP meetings. The best thing was that I had all sorts of time to study. Here's what I found to be the best study material:
1. T-6 Boldface (The emergency procedures that must be memorized word-for-word)
2. Operating limitations (must also be memorized)
3. Air Force TO 1T-6A-1 (This is the Dash-1, or "pilot's operating handbook", for the T-6. If you can get a hold of it before SUPT, you'll be that much more familiar with it when you show up. Not as easy to find as the ones I'll provide links to.)
4. AFI 11-2T-6, V.3AFI 11-2T-6, V.3 (T-6 Operations Procedures)
5. AFMAN 11-248 (T-6 Primary Flying)
If you have any questions or comments, e-mail me at TRWeinert@hotmail.com.
