Forum: Air Force Life

Curious about something, what are some common things during UPT and B-Course that every student fears ... or maybe not fear but anxious about? If you'd like to answer on a personal level, during your training becoming a viper driver or maintainer, what part/test/exam/checkride worried you the most?

F-16.net Sponsor

Noone? I thought we had many pilots posting around here....

Ah come on...let's see a show of hands of those of us who sweated out a check ride or QVI. Salute

Having to memorize the bold face word for word in engine run school was a challenge. The class dealing with "crowd pleasers" had a lot of pucker factor cranked in.

Anyone else???
Be honest.

I actually had a nightmare once where I was sucked up into the intake of the 16 and eaten by a GE! Shocked

Other than that it's been smooth sailing. I did get very, very nervous when I had to do my first cert run. It was fun as hell, but I was nervous. Ended up acing the PE portion and the general knowledge questions and flying though the cert run with no problems.

Let's see... (UPT)Walking in at 0500 for the morning brief and being chosen to do the standup EP. Just hesitating a little on the boldface or saying throttle when you meant to say throttles meant you'd sit down, not fly, and generate paperwork. Also it meant someone else who was probably not optioned into a flight at that time just got slammed into it. Standing up and screwing up infront of your peers and IP's always seemed worse than any EP. After the 1st week in the squadron, though, the jitters went away because you figured out what the format and flow of the training was going to be. Looking back now, UPT studs don't know how easy UPT is compared to the follow on training and expectations.
As for anything in the Jet now being scary...yeah...teaching the youngins how to fly, and realizing how much they don't know. Then thinking back to my training and realizing I was the same way and didn't know any better.
Now other than having my jet catch fire and ejecting or screwing up something I know, the worst thing is dropping my pencil in the cockpit and not being able to get it before the crew chief.

Why do the young ones expect a case of beer when they can't legally drink it? Why do the old ones expect a bottle with a handle when no pencil costs $40? Don't worry, I always pay up for wasting CC's time. Some how they don't pay up when my time is wasted though...Hmmm. Razz

Sorry off Topic.

VMA 513

http://www.3maw.usmc.mil/MAG13/VMA513/history.asp

F16guy wrote:

Now other than having my jet catch fire and ejecting or screwing up something I know, the worst thing is dropping my pencil in the cockpit and not being able to get it before the crew chief...

I thought that's what the inverted cockpit FOD check was for. Wink

That doesn't work so much any more. Infact its not standard procedure in F-16's, some guys from other older airframes have talked about it but in the Viper it just puts the pencil or objected dropped way......way at the back under to most difficult spot to reach under the seat. Mr. Green

Asiatrails,
Copy, the Marines are Flying Nightmares!

F16guy wrote:

Asiatrails,
Copy, the Marines are Flying Nightmares!

Correct, they deliver as advertised.

I got to listen to a "Cockpit switch position check" during a UPT launch. Shocked

Anybody who has been to UPT want to tell the yutes what it is?

Salute!

All you wannabes listen to the dog and other yutes here. My flying days are long over, but a lotta lessons are still valid.

- The six 'p' saying: Prior Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance. So one nightmare is having to cope with something you have not prepared for.

- A big nightmare is, "outta airspeed, outta altitude, outta ideas...."

Seriously, my biggest nightmare was something that maintenance had failed to do, or did incorrectly. My LEF failure was one of those. I managed to get the jet back on the ground, and the guilty bastiges paid dearly (although I didn't hunt them down and disperse with them). It only happened once in my career, but it was a heartbreaker, I tell ya. Being the noble and forgiving soul that I am/was, I forgave. And I had the best damned prep for every mission I flew for another two years, heh heh.

Gotta go...

Gums

Keep this alive guys... One's -maybe humiliating- situation could be great lesson for others....

Here is a good one .. .

http://safetycenter.navy.mil/media/gall ... n/VT-9.wmv

There is a lot of publically available information on this site.

I could say Q3'ing a check ride would be a big fear, but that's a pretty obvious one. One thing that I always fear will happen (and has a few times) is when someone points out a mistake that I've made that I made because I wasn't paying attention to detail. You know, one of those that make you go Doh

Fortunately, as my experience has built up, I make less and less of those. Doesn't stop me from getting p*$$ed when it happens though.

Now, my biggest fear would probably be an MX or severe weather issue over the ocean. Have had both over the pond and it wasn't cool.

Forum: Air Force Life

Nightmares?