Double Time

As advertised, my operational tempo has been stepped up. Today I had not one but TWO simulator flights. The first one went extremely well. My altitude control was dead on for my constant-angle-of-bank turns. The instructor said he never saw deviation of more than +/- 25 feet, if that much. The course standards are 100 feet, so that was good enough to earn me my first "5" in my flight training career. A "5" is the highest score possible, and is reserved for performance clearly exceeding course standards. The rest of my grades on that flight were all 4s. I was having a good morning. The second flight, after lunch, wasn't as good. I got an even split of 3s and 4s. I guess I'm just not as sharp the second time around.

The "simulators" I'm flying aren't what you'd probably picture as a flight simulator. It's a T-34C cockpit mounted on hydraulic rams to provide some sensation of motion, but there is no outside visual reference. I perform all of the maneuvers on instruments alone. So far, though, I'm doing better with my basic airwork on instruments than I was in the actual airplane with a distinct horizon and a million miles' visibility. Go figure.

I'm scheduled for two more sims tomorrow. At least I don't start until 9:30. That'll get me almost three more hours of sleep than I got last night. If I get two more sims on Wednesday, I'll be done with sims and back to the airplane by the end of the week. Even if I only get one a day, I could still be back in the plane by Friday.

Two events a day is exhausting, but it's really nice to be bashing through the syllabus quickly. It may be hard for someone not familiar with flying to understand how a couple of "flights" in the instrument simulator can wipe you out like a full day's work, but I can't readily think of anything else that demands so much focus and multi-tasking as flying a plane on instruments. It's tough sometimes, but it's not lost on me what an amazing opportunity I've got here. This place really is the Julliard of aviation. Life is good!