8 February 2003,

            So much has happened since my last journal entry.  I have finally completed the “Contact” Phase of the tweet program.  I took my Final Contact Check-Ride on Wednesday of last week and did very well.  I also had my first Formation Flight and my only Navigation simulator (of the syllabus) and finished Academics.

            My check-ride grade ended up being a 4E, which means that of all the things I was required to do, only 4 things were less than “excellent”.  It’s pretty cool, because that is the highest grade that anyone has gotten (myself and another flight member) so far.  The beginning of the week (pre check-ride) was terrible.  I had my return to flying ride (called an 87-ride) and then 2 more flights before having to go to check-flight.  I hadn’t flown in something like 18 days, so my skills were quite rusty.  I was very nervous and felt like I was less prepared for this check-ride than the one before it.  Also, to compound matters, we had our last academic test (mission planning) the day before, so I was busy studying for that too.  The way it went was, Monday -87ride, Tuesday 2 flights & our last test, Wednesday 800am check-ride.  I can never remember being so tired in my life as I was on Tuesday night.  I was exhausted and not in a very good mood.  I felt lke because I sat around for so long, being sick, that it was gonna screw up my flight.  

            When I showed up for my check-ride, I was nervous, just like everyone else is when they go to a check-ride, but I felt better because, at that point, I was just ready to get it over with. When I got the weather brief, it did not look good.  A cold front was moving in and causing some serious problems with clouds.  We ended up, cutting the profile short and heading for home early, so we could finish my landings.  We barely beat the clouds and as soon as I was done with my requirements, the airfield went to instrument status (meaning that if I hadn’t have gotten those landings, we would have been incomplete).  We were the last jet to get on the ground before it cancelled flying.  Thankfully, I was complete.  The only thing I had left to do, was to answer general knowledge questions as well as talk myself through an Emergency Procedure.  Those both went fine and, Wahoo!, I am done with the longest part of the tweet program.

            Academics are done!  We no longer have to go to class to learn about stuff (instruments, navigation, aerodynamics, systems, etc).   We are now just flying.  It is so nice to be done with academics, because they are just another stress that is added on you when you get here.  So, all that is remaining is Formation, and Instrument flights.  I still have to go on cross country but that should be fun.  I am only 5 simulators away from being simulator complete too!!!! Yee-haw!  We will be track selecting on April 3^rd.  Track Select is when the active duty folks find out what plane that they are flying next, T-38’s, T-1’s (like me), T-44’s, or Helicopters.  I can’t wait to see what everyone gets.   So, in less than 2 months, we will be Tweet-complete, which also means that we are halfway done with pilot training, and closer than ever to our silver wings. 

            My first formation ride was hell.  Imagine going from being a good pilot to sucking, all over again, right after you got the hang of the contact flying.  Two things sucked.  First, I got scheduled the day after my check-ride to go to a navigation simulator (takes A LOT of planning) immediately preceding my first formation flight.   So, not only did I have to prepare for Formation, but now had to scrounge around and get prepared for a Navigation-sim (found out after 7pm the night before).  I know that I am complaining but it was a large amount of stress right after I just got done being super-stressed out.  My poor wife had to deal with me that entire week, and I was like Donald Duck going berzerk at the chipmunks (obscure yes, but also true).  Anyway, so I get ready for my Formation flight and not 10 minutes before we are supposed to brief, the OG commander decides he wants to fly against me in the other jet.  So here I am, Mr. Stupid, unprepared and nervous, and I have to fly against a Lt. Col.   Sweeeet! Not really.  Well, I have heard that formation is supposed to be sooo much fun and yadda yadda yadda.  It scared the shit out of me.  You’re flying about 3 feet away from another plane and all you have to do is screw up just a wee bit and bam, your gonna hit the other guy.  I was tense the whole time.  I couldn’t figure out why I was so damn sore the next day, but it was ecause I was clenched the entire ride.  I know it will get better and I can appreciate the cool aspects of flying formation but damn, its like starting all over again.  I went from Zero to suck in like one day. 

            Oh yeah, and we got snow yesterday.  It’s still on the ground outside.   We live less than 3 miles from the Mexican border and we got snow.    Crazy.  It’s all good though, after everyone had been drinking at the O’club, we, of course, had to body slam some people into the snow.  My puppy attacked the neighbors snowman, that was pretty neat at 1am.  And let’s see, what else.  Oh yeah, I AM ALMOST DONE WITH TWEETS!!!!!