6:30 PM -- Last speedo... --

Now I basically have 3 flights left before my final contact checkride which will probably go on tuesday, just in time to have a super-nonstressfull thanksgiving in Vegas!

Anyway figure I will run down the typical profile I am flying these days. I depart Honcho (our inside runway) and fly to the aux field. I do a couple of patterns there and then depart and request clearance into one of the low areas (7000 to 12000 feet). I fly the departure to the area and then do a Gx maneuver (to get ready to pull gs) a stall series (power on and traffic pattern stalls) and then go into the acro. The final contact acro includes the baby acro (loop, split-s, aileron roll) but also adds the Immelman, Barrel Roll, Chandelle, Lazy 8, Cuban 8 and Cloverleaf. It all adds up to a lot of fun, especially by yourself with no IP.

 
7:11 PM -- Awesome day! --

It was really cool to look back in the mirror climbing straight up and realize I was really doing this! I got to stay out about an hour, did a bunch of landings back at the aux field and home base and landed to a full stop. It was kind of intimidating back at base in the pattern since my flight commander was the controller in the tower, watching my every landing! They were pretty crappy too, so I don't think I was too impressive. A touch and go where you never actually touch isn't very good right?

Icing on the cake was when I landed, ate lunch, and got to do the exact same thing all over again!! Yup a double turn solo, with about 7 of us this time all tripping over each other in the pattern. A poor dude took off for his initial solo and didn't know what he was getting into with 7 "Speedos" in the pattern (Our callsign when solo, other than our first solo, is Speedo XX. I was Speedo 60 and Speedo 63 today) I managed to not get "shot down" by the controllers so the day was a complete success. I just get one more solo in the area by myself before my final contact checkride which should be sometime next week (Can't believe how fast its going!). After that only once more solo in an air force airplane and that's in a formation, which is going to be a blast. Anyway, academics all this week in the early AM so I am off to bed (our last tweet academics, mission planning). Speedo 60 gear down, full stop!

 
8:20 PM -- Flossin --

Flew twice today, the first time to the area where I got my spin currency so I could go solo second period. It was cool to leave the confines of homebase and go somewhere else all by my lonesome. The flight went pretty well and me and the other guy who soloed from my flight got some props from the controller there (Although in my buddies comments from his landings back at base it said "CR/AP/PY", that's code for crappy heh.)

Non flying news I screwed up on monday and was late for a briefing. Because of that I have been wearing my blues all week! It is like a huge game of which of these things doesn't belong as I walk around 100 people in flight suits wearing my monkey suit. I have to change to go fly so I have been in and out of the bathroom to change like 10 times in 3 days. Pain in the butt, but I deserved it for being late.

More solo flights tommorow as I press towards my final contact checkride (about 8 flights away)

 
10:15 PM -- Crappy weather --

We had two other checkrides go, one guy got an 8E (for excellent) and the other a 24G. We are all pretty psyched since the average pass rate for the midphase checkride is 50%, and right now we are at 4-1. Still early but hopefully we can keep up the momentum.

Hopefully will get to solo out to the areas this week, but the weather is calling for more crap so who knows how much I will be able to fly. We are 8 days behind schedule right now so who knows what is going to happen if we don't get to fly soon, we are already coming in a few Saturdays from now to make up some flights.

 
7:50 PM -- Ouch... --

Not much else today, didn't fly again due to weather, hopefully tommorow.

 
8:09 PM

Then you get dumped...

Then you try and look cool...

Finally a random solo picture, this is my Kuwaiti buddy waiting for his IP to get out so he can tear up the pattern.

 
7:47 PM -- Nother dollar.. --

Other news the guy who hooked his checkride went back up today for his retake and passed with flying colors so we are all back on track! More checkrides for people this week and they have even mentioned possibly taking us off formal release!! In case I haven't explained that it's how we stay in the flight room for 12 hours a day regardless of whether we are flying or not. Once we are off of it we can go home, etc. once we are done flying for the day, or come in later if we have a later flight. Can't really even imagine doing that right now, it is going to be awesome if we ever get it!

Hopfully get to fly tommorow, more then.

 
4:42 PM -- Week 8 down. --

Also had a few more simulator sessions. Had my last EP sim where they throw a ton of emergencies at you and see how you react. Went pretty well, especially since it's a ride you can definitely hook, since you need to be at a "good" level on all the emergencies to pass. Also had another instrument sim where we flew a bunch of approaches. The instructor was really good and gave me some great techniques which are really going to help me stay organized when I start doing approaches in the jet.

Next week should be a bunch more flights hopefully as I get ready for my instrument and final contact checkrides which are 3-4 weeks down the road.