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My feeling is go for the most demanding slot. As Fastcargo said - go carnivore, you can eat grass anytime. And as RSCol said, find the slots that are getting deployed and doing the interesting work.

LOOK AT THIS AS AN ADVENTURE AND GET THE FULL MEASURE OF IT.

Think of it as going to an amusement park. Ride all the rides, go on the scariest rides, stay out of kiddie land, stay until closing. Don't worry about time deployed - thats just a different park to ride the different rides.

I went for everything I could when I was in. My only regrets are the things that might have been. I always regret not having passed my Delta tryout. That was the only time I missed a ride.

25 years later that is what I regret. That is what you will regret when you are retired.

Ride every ride Sim. Go for the hard stuff.

I'm actually wondering how much current F-15C or Raptor Squadrons are being deployed. All the Iron Haulers obviously have a full schedule, but are the Fighter Jocks getting their fill? And where, doing what? I can see them using Raptors to ferry JDAMs onto target, but that would be like delivering Pizza with a Ferrari.

I gotta say that while I was initially a combat jet freak, the more I fly with Helo Squadrons I appreciate that these guys are often on the real business end. Peacekeeping and Asymmetric Warfare just do not demand much Air Superiority work. But the C-130 guys and Helo guys have their workload cut out, and if you look at where General Schwartz came from you have a fair guess where the budget is going to go.

Taco... I hooked my Mid-phase. It was a horrid flight full of stupid mistakes throughout my flight. First I got a "Spruce Goose" as an airplane. It is well known for its wonderful performance, hence the nick name. As I took off, I somehow managed to push in UHF button on audio panel silencing UHF in my helmet. Anyhow, my screw ups continued and snowballed. As this check was to see if I was prepared for area solo, I sure as hell didn't demonstrate that. Next is "88" ride with another flight's commander to see if it was a bad day or something else.


Also every person in our flight who took check ride today hooked. Bloody Monday. Statistically speaking, 50% of folks fail first check-ride...
This makes my first failure in UPT....
Big lesson learned...

Sim, like the others say, I'd go for the most exciting slots.
I've read a lot of books on Close Air Support flying in the Vietnam war.. and man, some of that stuff wouldn't even make good movies, it's too incredible. That's the sort of flying I'd go for without hesitation, if I had the chance. Spec-ops/down and dirty work.

Don't worry about it Sim. It's your first, it probably (statistically) won't be your last. The real tragedy would be to not learn from it. In addition, because it isn't a Form 8 check, after you graduate, no one will know or care.

A piece of advice...anyone can do anything at anytime to bust a check. Murphy's Law always reigns supreme on checkrides. I would say of all the checkrides I've taken, there is always SOMETHING that I've never seen before (different runway, odd clearance, pins still out of the seat by the previous crew, etc) The trick is what pilots call compartmentalization. If something happens during a check, clear it out of your head, and press with the checkride. If you dwell on it, I guarantee it will snowball! Hell, the SEFE may not have even seen it.

Finally, I was right where you are...the ride I busted during all of UPT was my midphase. Felt like crap, but got over it. Trust me, if I can, you can. You learn from it, and press on.

Ironically, my last military checkride I ever plan to have I have tommorrow...

FC

It sounds like you learned from the mistakes you made today.
You've been doing so well that I chalk this up to a bad day.
You will do much better next time.


Wheels

What sort of checkride is that?

Better luck on the next flight Sim. If you never fail in training you wouldn't learn stuff from mistakes, it must be part of the process.

The last one before I retire! Did it today...received a couple of 'Commendables'...pretty standard for me. Not the dull pencil, but not the sharpest stick either.

Hope your 88 ride went well today Sim.

FC

Thanks guys. 88 ride tomorrow.


As flying for SF, they require guys with a bit more experience than none. Same as with U-2. Those jobs are not available for folks straight out of UPT. Frankly, I'm not sure what I'd like to fly. I don't want to sit there on autopilot most of flying. Pointy nose would be nice, but extremely hard to get...

A-10

If you want a SF job after a while, I'd reckon you would be off to a good start if you display a good sense of thinking outside the box, while still flying safely. Safety, safety, safety, that's what aviation is all about. Still, being able to understand where rules in some cases can be rather too rigorous and binding shows you can handle unusual situations

I knew that the SF Guys want a tad more experience than fresh from School, but my point was that picking "less sexy" toys today could be the entry into cool toys tomorrow.

If you can't get a pointy nose and you don't want to fly instruments for hours, then picking a helo would be the clear alternative and put you on that path. Advantage being that average mission duration is also much lower, which usually means more comfort in between. And it's also a very valuable skill in civilian life, unlike turning airline pilots after retirement which is what most everyone else does.

A-10 would also be a pick with high chance of actually getting to shoot in anger.

It's clear that everyone and his uncle wants onto fighters, but sitting in a F-15C on a CAP somewhere over the Desert for four hours or more, with no real fighting going on - might not be as glorious as it seems. The demands on the body are much higher, consequently requiring a much stricter lifestyle and training regime (for example our EF-Pilots are not allowed to eat fresh bread - could cause problems). Not sure how the USAF handles their medical requirements, but I've seen a few Forces where it's much more relaxed for the Cargo and Helo guys.

I've also found that - a cliche, but somewhat true - Fighter Jocks are usually amongst the most competitive people on the planet. The atmosphere in a C-130 or Helo Squadron is a lot different (I would say: easier going) from a Fast Jet outfit, as far as people go.

When it rains, it....

Sorry, but only UPT grads will understand following...

My 88 went fine, except for two things. When recovering, I received vectors with heading and altitude. As I set heading to EFIS and turned, I slowly started descending and attempted to query ATC for altitude. Unfortunately, before I could reply to ATC with numbers, someone stepped on me and started to talk over me. As I waited for clear space on UHF to clarify my altitude, IP took jet from me. I descended by 300+ feet from my assigned altitude. Hook number one.

Then in pattern, I was past initial watching dude go from high key to low key. He was about to call low key and I heard RSU call "over numbers, break <step>". I was past 3,000 feet thinking they cleared me to break but as I started, they said "roll out". As I started rolling out, IP took jet. Hook number two. RSU said "over the numbers, break departure end". Throw SA as a hook and that's three unsats.

Monday I have 87 and probably next day 89. Extremely sad to see my dream being flashed down toilet...but I need to recover and quickly get my mental status under control.

I requested to do RSU tour to just monitor pattern and build SA. Also, now I'm going to quickly write down ATC directions before complying with them.

Also, if I'm not sure that I'm cleared to break - it will be "break point - straight through"

Unbelievable....unbefrakenlievable!

Sorry to hear that.

A tour in the RSU is a good idea, as you can listen to the radios, listen to the controller, and watch all the traffic at the same time. It can really help to improve your SA.

Most folks that wash out of UPT do not do so because they can't fly the jet. Most wash out because they can't properly prioritize all the competing noise going on in the headset with the everpresent requirement to fly the jet.

Sim,

First, like you said yourself, get your head back in the game. I would do that RSU tour, and then either Saturday or Sunday, study and chairfly...preferably chairfly. Use the other day of the weekend to forget about UPT for a day. Yes, I'm being serious.

What happened in the first part was what's called channelized attention. Focusing on a deviation to the detriment of flying the aircraft. Remember your priorities...aviate, navigate, communicate. Always in that order...and if you have any doubt...keep the crosscheck going first.

The second part in the RSU is understandable...if you have ANY doubt as to being a conflict in the pattern, don't break. Worse thing that happens is that you go around the container again. Verses if you break when you weren't supposed to...

Finally, keep a good attitude. As an instructor I will most always give the student the benefit of the doubt in a grey situation if I see he's working hard to learn and improve. Realize, even on your 89 ride, the IP isn't looking to wash you out...there's a lot of paperwork associated with that, and most real pilots hate paperwork. He just wants to make sure you have the potential to finish the program.

Things look a bit tough right now. Chairfly, study, then take a day off before your 87 on Monday.

Good luck!

FC

Best of luck, and don't give up.

Good luck Sim! FastCargo offers some good advice there.

Sim, sorry to hear you had a bad flight. Let me tell you that I had two less than good ones in a row a couple weeks ago. I felt really down about it. What I did was relax and chair fly some. Shook off that bad cloud and then went on with good flying. It was just a blip that I had to work through and put behind me.

People who haven't flown won't understand how much is going on all the time while you are flying and how comm can get garbled, choppy and stepped-on. Then while you are distracted trying to sort out one thing the plane starts on a flying program of it's own. Next thing you know you are a couple hundred feet down or 15 degrees off heading.

You'll get by it. Don't dwell on it. Just relax and chair fly a perfect flight. Then do it in the plane.

Sim, you're going to be fine. All the best in your quest.

So about that rain...my first EPQ failure. This makes three consecutive frak-ups. I'm not superstitious, but three is a number. I deem this as an end to screw ups!

I went to RSU but they didn't have enough headsets. It did give me good understanding of what they face. I managed to listen to 10 minutes of radio so even a little is helpful.

Over the weekend, flightmate will stop by to help me with ATC. I'll fly FSX and he will give vectors. This should assist me with that issue.

In squadron, I talked to few folks and everyone is supportive. It seems everyone thinks I will do fine. So far I have 23 sorties, almost 30 hours and 122 landings...I've done it many times over, I know how to do it and just need to show my ability on 89 ride.

Here are pictures from RSU...


Dude going touch-n-go

Usually folks tend to land at "captain bars" which is next to RSU. This guy is landing a bit long...

Observer and Upgrade observer is checking landing aircraft making sure no one lands with gear up.

Tomorrow, relaxing day. Sunday is study.

btw, thanks for support and suggestions. It really does help.