Week 1

01Sep00 TD-0

    Well I have finally officially begun pilot training. The day started with an inspection at 0700. It was raining so we just did it inside the API building. A Marine captain walked in to inspect us and he was pretty cool. He would ask us questions such as what we wanted to fly or where we came from as he got to each of us. Some people had scuffs and scratches and lint etc. but those things were only pointed out and everyone passed. I have heard in the past that one scuff on your coraframs could get you a pink slip. There are so many people to get through and so many slots to fill that they don't want to lose anyone. The obstacle course has even been taken out because people were getting hurt on it and they couldn't stand to lose anyone. Everything changes though so if you are coming here in the future, things might be more grim.
     After the inspection, we filled out paperwork then we had briefings. They consisted of tricare, study skills, finance, fitness, hurricane, and suicide awareness. They weren't too long and the only reason it took us until 1230 to get out was because of all the breaks we had in between.
     I've talked to some API instructors while I worked at the quarterdeck and they seem pretty cool. The tests are not exactly tricky, but the answers are full of "distractors".  In other words if you study by recognition, you will be at a loss because all the answers will light your bulb and you'll be confused. On the nav tests, common errors are examined and you will find that answer that matches that mistake to make you think you calculated it right. And of course the reciprocal heading will always be on there. This kind of sucks because I've calculated answers on tests in college that I thought were right but weren't one of the choices so at least I knew I was wrong and to try again. So you get the idea of why people say these tests are tricky. Just know what you need to know and cover up the answer when you read the question and solve it that way so that the distractors in the answer choices don't confuse you. After you come up with the answer in your head, look at the answer choices and it will be there.
     We have Monday off since its a holiday which to me is not such good news since we miss an entire day of learning for the test we have the next Monday. Tuesday will be our PRT also. The new standards for this test for both guys and gals 20-29 are:

Pushups: Guys 47                     Max: 67
                 Gals 21                      Max: ?
Curl-ups: Both 58                       Max: 100

1.5 mile chip trail: Guys 12:00  Max: ?
                               Gals ?

     I'm going to try to write once a week, probably on the weekend to give you the whole week's summary. 

Week 1 

08Sep00 TD-4

     One week down, 3 more to go (as far as academics go). Tuesday I took the PRT had some briefings such as safety and the welcome aboard ones, and then had the first two lessons of aero and weather. The Monday night before I couldn't fall to sleep until about 1 or 2 and had to wake up at 0500 for the PRT at 0545. Lack of sleep and physical exertion had me almost falling asleep during class and didn't let me study when I got home. I was thinking API was going to be hell since I guess in my tired state I didn't realize why I was feeling so miserable. After a good night sleep (since I went to bed at 8 and woke up at 6), things were a lot different. Wednesday we had our first pool session and it was just the same screening we did when we first got to Pensacola. We did the four strokes (breast, side, back, and crawl) and we jumped off the tower again. The tower jump is my favorite part but some guy DOR'ed b/c he couldn't get himself to do it again (he was a couple of classes before me). After that we got to go and since we had a lot of time on our hands, we got our class leader to move our academic courses up. This is something that will be done over and over during API. The schedules are really lose except the swimming. If you have time you can always start earlier or stay later to cover more lessons. My class lucked out with our teachers. Our weather teacher tells us exactly what we need to know and to forget the rest. This is extremely helpful since there is a significant amount of information in the text. Our aero teacher is a pretty cool guy also. He goes over everything, but he does it in an interesting fashion so he keeps us interested. Anyway, the days so far have pretty much been the same. There are 49 students in my class which is more than double the normal class size. 2 guys are from Danmark and 3 are from Spain. About 8 of us are USAF, with another 8 being USMC and the rest Navy. Class is a relaxed atmosphere and we don't need to cal the room when the teacher comes in. Thursday in the pool, we had our strokes test which wasn't too bad. Only one guy failed so he goes to remedial with a pink slip. Today in the pool, we got out since it there was water leaking into the pool from outside and lightning was everywhere. We had 3 hours break and then went to class at 10. Since we had been advancing our schedule and covering more lessons in the past couple of days, we only had about 50 minutes of class on the last part of aero and were set free for the rest of the day. You get a lot of free time during API so don't sweat it too much. The material is easily understood especially when you have good instructors. Some of my friends weren't so lucky and got stuck with a really bad instructor and 8 people wound up failing weather this week in their class. Usually 1-4 people will fail a test. The tests are all scantron and grades are posted shortly after you take them. If you fail a test, you must retake it the next day at 0600 and you get a pink slip. The highest grade you can get on a retest is an 80%. If you get two pink slips, you must go before a progress review board and they try to find out what's going on. You also have to go before the CO and XO and he decides whether you stay or not. Right now just about everybody is getting a third chance. You also get rolled back which means you now have to take the whole last week over again with the class behind you. If you fail a third time, there is a 98% chance that you will be on your way to a new career. 
     So far all I have been doing is reading ahead for the next day which helps a lot in class. I haven't actually sat down and read over everything yet since I pretty much understand it all and its all seems to be sticking in my memory. Tomorrow I will have a study group session probably followed by another on Sunday to get ready for our first aero test on Monday. Something that is pretty cool is that before each test, we get 5 minutes to write down all the information in our short term memory on a blank piece of paper.  

Week 2

11Sep00 TD-5

     Today was our first test, Aero !. I found it to be pretty much straightforward except for about 4 questions which were a little tricky. It was 50 questions as they all are and we had 50 minutes to take it. The first person was done about 20 minutes into the test. The mean score was a 92. The USCG led the group with a 98 avg (there are only two of them). The USMC came in second with a 93 followed by the Navy with a 92 and the USAF with a 91 avg. There were 3 100s (with me being one of them, yay!) and 2 failures. Our class size is 48. So there you have the score break down. Weather is on Thursday and the last class had 7 failures which is not good. BTW, the test scores are posted in less than an hour after the last person finishes and we get a break in our next class so we can check them out. Then again we get 10 minute breaks every 30-50 minutes anyway.
     Anyway after the test today we had 2 hours of Aero 2, 1.5 hours for lunch and then swimming in which we treaded water for 2 min in just our bathing suits followed by that dead man float thing for 3 minutes and then 25 yards of each stroke. Then we donned on flight suits and boots and did all of it again. Wow, treading water with boots on is a whole other ball game. Tomorrow we will be putting on the helmets and gloves also.  
     After swimming we had 2 hours of weather and we were done by 3:30. 

Week 2

14Sep00 TD-8

     Today we had our weather test which wasn't as bad as I thought. I studied WAY too much for it but because of two stupid mistakes I missed two so there goes my hopes for a perfect 100 average(98 now). Remember not to change your answers. 85% chance of the first one being right. Damn it. Anyway. Tuesday we put on our helmet gloves and that heavy vest type thing. I think that helmet was doing a better job of keeping my head out of the water than I was. We also swam 3 strokes and I developed a huge blister on the back of my foot b/c of bare feet in wet boots...not a good combo. After that we had more aero, lunch, then weather. You get plenty of time after the pool to go back to the BOQ and change. Usually its about an hour in between even though the schedule says 10 miunutes. 
     Wednesday was a bit different. We had to be at the gym at 0800 and all we did was 30 minutes of work out and were set free. We then had 1.5 hours off and 2 hours of class and were done for the day. 
     Today we had our weather test in the morning as I have already mentioned. The average was an 88.9. USCG had a 94.0, USAF 91.3, USMC 90.4, and USN with an 88.3. Two people got 100s and 2 failed. I think the trick to API is to just read before each class and not to use gouge. I still have yet to look at any gouge before a test. I just read the chapter before the class which reinforces it and shows us what to concentrate on (if your teacher is good) and study like 2 hours two days before the test, and about 4 hours the day before. Some people here spend 5 hours studying every single night and I think that is total overkill. I have friends who don't even read the day before, only study a couple of hours the night before and they have high 90s averages. I wish it was that easy for me. Today was our last class of aero 2 and our test is Monday. Tomorrow we have our first three classes of engines. I'm looking forward it since I think its the most interesting subject especially since its the one I know the least about.
     The swimming today was kinda tough. We had to jump off the tower and swim 15 yards with flight suit and boots....underwater. The problem is that first they make you jump off the side and swim under in just your bathing suit, then off the tower and swim in just your bathing suit, then off the side with flight suit and boots and finally off the tower with flight suit and boots......by the time you are at the last stage, you are so tired and out of breath from the first three that its so much harder. Some guys didn't make it the third time and were given 2 more chances. Those who didn't pass it then, had to come back the next day and try it until they got it. I was completely out of breath halfway through the swim and felt like I was drowning already as I crossed the line. Its the weirdest feeling. Kinda scary. I'm glad I never have to do that again. So far that is the worst part of swimming.

Week 3

18Sep00 TD-10

     Friday was a nice day, we had team sports for two hours (which was really only one hour). We then had 2 hours of engines and were done at 1100. Free for the rest of the day. Not too bad.
     Today we had our aero final. A lot of people complained about this one saying its harder than weather. The thing about this exam is that it is very conceptual. You really have to know the relationships....not just memorize definitions. The avg for this one was an 88.3 USCG: 95, USAF 90.7, USMC 89.1, and the Navy sunk it with an 85.6(ouch). There were 7 failing grades and 4 100s. 
     After that, we went to the pool for our final swim tests before the mile swim which is on Wednesday. We did a 200 yard strokes test (50 yards each stroke) in our bathing suits, followed by 75 yard swim with full gear on in which I thought I was gonna swallow the entire pool. 
     I have a digital camera now so I will be posting pictures up as soon as I take a few and figure out how to make thumbnails.

22Sep00 TD-14

     Today we were supposed to have our engines test but because of a tropical storm that never came, classes were cancelled. Now I have 3 tests next week. Oh joy. Anyway, Tuesday we got to the gym at 0700 and were told we can stay and play volleyball or go home and sleep. Cya. At 0900 we had an hour of engines followed by an engine tour at the museum which was pretty cool. We then stayed for lunch and met up later at 1200 for our first lesson of navigation. I have learned to hate navigation. You have to be so incredibly precise, its almost impossible. If you are one millimeter off on one plot, it will put you a couple of millimeters off on the second plot which is enough to give you an answer out of the error margins. I was getting a lot of plots wrong because I was off by two minutes usually. The margin is +/- 1 minute. 
     Wednesday we started off with more navigation and we started using the CR-3 (whiz wheel...you are given all this stuff the first day of nav). The CR-3 is almost worse than the plots. Make sure you get one as straight as possible. If its warped a little, you won't get even close to the right answer. Eventually I learned how off the thing is so I offset it a little to make up for its inaccuracy. 
     After 3 more hours of navigation, we had our mile swim. Talk about road rage. We had 10 people per lane. Some poor bastard kept getting his nuts kicked. I kicked some people in the face a couple of times and the same happened to me too. Its a bit  crowded. Don't try to pass someone unless you are much faster because you will waste all your energy passing them, have to really slow down and then they will pass you right after. Its just not worth it unless they are significantly slower.  Anyway, its 36 laps (72 lengths) and it took me 59 minutes to finish. There were only 12 people still swimming when I go out so I was one of the slower ones. After you get passed the first 10 laps, its not too bad. Its not boring because you are constantly trying to fend for your life trying not to get kicked and avoid kicking anyone. This swim is done only in a flightsuit and I recommend either putting vaseline on yourself as some people did or opting for a t-shirt under the suit. Some of these flight suits will start irritating your skin after an hour of sawing on your skin. A couple of guys from the class ahead of me know that pretty well. After the swim we had lunch and then two more sessions of engines. 
     Thursday was a better day in navigation as the wind correction and point to point problems seemed to be coming out right on. After three sessions of that we had two sessions of engines and then it was Christmas time. Gear issue! Depending on what you are you get different stuff. USAF pilots get a helmet and a mike boom, a helmet bag, 1 pair of gloves, 4 flight suits, 2 sets of thermal underwear, 5 pairs of thermal socks, 1 pair of flight boots, 1 nomex flight jacket, a wrist watch, a stop watch, a metal E6-B (CPU-26A), protractor, a kneeboard with light built in, switchblade, flashlight, ear protectors, and a navy logbook (get your own). You can see a pic of all the stuff minus the suits here. USAF navs did not get a helmet. They got a skull cap instead (kinda funny). They also get one of those big hard leather suitcase looking file things which I guess is to store all the charts (they aren't maps!) they'll be dealing with. They also get a slightly larger version of the whiz wheel and plotter.  There might be a couple of more differences between the navs and the pilots. The Navy is another story. The only difference I know is that they get a dark brown leather jacket instead of the green nomex one. 
     I would tell you how the test went today if we had one, but oh well. Its at 0700 Monday morning and they had better move that navigation test from Tuesday to Wednesday. 

Week 4 

25Sep00 TD-15

     Well now I can tell you about the engines test. For some odd reason they made us come in at 0600 to take this thing. The information for engines is really easy, but the test had the more oddly worded questions than any other thus far in my opinion. The average was an 89.7 with 4 failures and only 1 100 this time. The averages were: USMC 93, USCG 91, USAF 87.7 USN 87.4. I came out with a 98 bringing my avg down to a 98.5. Which I'm sure is going to go down further after the nav test. On a side note, the class that took the aero final today had zero failures. 
     Since we had to take our engines test today, the instructors let us vote on whether to have the nav test tomorrow or Wednesday. Well obviously the latter won. In my opinion the nav test is by far the toughest. Its not that the material is hard, by no means. Its very simple. The problem is that it is so extremely easy to make a simple mistake and screw everything up, that it happens a lot. Everybody keeps making small mistakes such as aligning the wrong indexes or making a power of ten error (391 instead of 39.1). On the jet logs (just like a civilian flight log), tiny errors add up quick. Sometimes I find myself forgetting the order in which to solve problems.  The one thing I can recommend with navigation is practice practice practice. The book has a ton of practice problems and a practice test in the end. We are the second class taking the new version of the nav test. Today we were explained that they tried to make it easier. Instead of asking for only the final fuel in the jet log problems and hand grading it with a +/- 30 margin for error, now the new jet logs are multiple choice also but there are 5 questions for each jet log with like a +/-2 margin for error. So instead of one question being worth 10% of the test, its broken down more. The problem is, if you miss the first one, you will probably be off for the others also and with a much smaller margin for error, you are screwed. The class ahead of us was the first to take it and over 25% of the class failed! A lot of them didn't have time to finish either. You have 2 hours for 40 questions. 
     Anyway, after 3 hours of nav today, we had 1.5 hours of lunch, then we came back for 2 hours of FRR and were let go at 1345. FRR is pretty much everything you learn getting your PPL. If you want to read ahead for some odd reason, just read FAR part 91. Straight memorization, nothing you need to understand for this one. Well this is my last week of academics until primary and I'm looking forward to the two week break from studying. This is also my last week of wearing blues which is a welcome relief. I got my flight suits back from the tailors and if you want to get all 4 done with all the patches it comes out to about $60. The best place to get them sewn is Wings N Things which is on US98, but get your nametag at the place right after the bridge when you are leaving base so you get your service symbol on top of your name.

27Sep00 TD-17

     Well we took our nav test this morning and the average was actually better than on the aero final. I believe this to be in part to the fact that you either do really well or really poorly on the test. Two questions are worth 10 points a piece and if you can do those you can usually do fine on the first 40 questions since they are just mini problems of the big two (jet logs). Anyway, I almost had a heart attack before this test since I was incredibly inconsistent with the problems. Somehow I pulled a 95 out of this one. My lowest grade but the one which has made me the happiest. The class average was an 89.7 with 8 failures and 5 100s. Oh, they changed the test back to the old format for us since they deemed something must have been wrong with the test given to the class ahead of us (since over 25% failed). Our failure rate was around 16%, a significant difference. We had our third and last class of FRR today which took an actual two hours to go through and our instructor pointed out how tricky the questions can be. FRR is thought of as an easy test, but the questions can be presented in a not so nice manner. After that we had another safety briefing and then finally at 1330 we were free. One of today's milestones is the end of blues. From now on we wear our flight suits! Tomorrow is an all day course on CPR and then Friday we have our FRR test. 

29Sep00 TD-19

     It was a sad day this past Wednesday as a T-34C with an IP and a USAF nav student went down and killed both occupants. Today a formation of 4 T-34s flew over NAS Pensacola with the 3rd guy breaking off for the missing man formation. They did it twice for the two crew members. 
     Yesterday (Thurs) we had CPR and first aid day. We trained for a few hours on how to resuscitate people and administer first aid. We all got our cards for both. Today we had our last test; FRR. This is supposedly the easiest test, but there are about 5 really tricky questions. The rest are super simple. The average was a 90.3 with only one person failing and 5 100s. The service avgs were USCG: 95 USMC: 93 USN: 90 and USAF 89. I missed 3 and came out with a 94 which gives me a final 97.2 avg.  After the test we had a 2 hours break, played ultimate frisbee for an hour, then had a 3 hour break until our cockpit resource management briefing which was watching a lot of airplane crashes on video, and an explanation of how they could have been avoided.  Something that was really good to hear in this briefing was that the squadrons have gotten rid of the "screamers" you know....those IPs who just scream at the top of their lungs when you screw up. They are history. Thank God because screaming too often kills the student's learning ability. 
     Now comes the fun part. Over the next two weeks, we will be doing physiology and survival exercises. This includes altitude chamber, parasailing, getting picked up by a helo in the bay, spatial disorientation, the dunkers and more.  

Click here for the last 2 weeks of API