UPT Phase I
This is my online journal of my experiences in UPT Phase I. I am in Class 06-02 and my class start date was 04 November 2004.Thursday, December 16, 2004 Day 27
Well this is it...the last day of Phase I. The time has gone by fast and we hit the flight line tomorrow. Our class is the first in about a year to make it through all of phase I with no failures on anything. The instructors have seemed quite impressed with that. Today we had briefings from the 85th Squadron commander and the DO. They gave us a safety brief and a rundown of how the competition steps up now. Today we also had 5 hours of emergency classes where we went over in flight and landing emergencies. This afternoon we had our PT test and I scored an excellent. Tonight Mike and Joe came over and we read over some notes, warnings, and cautions from the Dash-1 for tomorrow. I called ATIS (the answering machine in the flight room) and it said we have a 07:30 show tomorrow and I have a sim at 09:45. We found out today that Saturday is going to be a duty day so that is not going to be too much fun. See you in Phase II.
Wednesday, December 15, 2004 Day 26
Today I went to CAI around 7:45 to review for the Aero test. I then had a 2.5 hour class on in flight emergencies before lunch. We got 2 hours to study before the test which was nice. I ended up only missing one on the test and getting a 97.87%. I then had a little bit of a break before my sim tonight. My sim was to start at 18:00 and then end around 20:30. This wouldn't have been a problem if I had 12 hour crew rest but since we are in Phase I we do not go by that. The instructor for the sim however had a problem with it and documented it. I understand that he did it as a C.Y.A. issue but we were told that we were able to review without it busting crew rest. I completed the sim with and excellent and learned a lot since my instructor is an assistant IP in Elvis flight. This was the first real long day of many to come and there was word out tonight that Saturday might be a duty day for us. Oh well, I am here to be a pilot and have to jump through the hoops I guess.
Tuesday, December 14, 2004 Day 25
This morning I had two classes in the classroom about stalls and spins. I then had to go complete a CAI on wind shear and wake turbulance. Our final review for the test tomorrow was then in the classroom and I was done for the day. I came back to my room and took a nap before studying. Adam, Joe, and Phil came over for a couple hours and we went over the CAI and some practice questions.
Monday, December 13, 2004 Day 24
Today was the longest day yet. I had a review session at 9:30 that went over aerodynamics and then had to go to the CAI lab to learn about performance and manuvering. That lasted 2.5 hours and then I went with Adam to Chinto's Mexican resturaunt downtown for lunch. As we came back on base the traffic was backed up outside the gate about a mile due to an exercise FPCON Delta. They blocked off all the gates and almost all the roads on base. When I finally got back to my room I flew a quick practice simulator and then went at 16:45 for my sim ride. The sim went great and I scored an Excellent. After the sim I grabbed some dinner and then went to another aerodynamics review from 20:30 to 21:30. Tonight some of the guys came over and we tried to study all we could before we could not take anymore studying for today.
Sunday, December 12, 2004
Today did not feel like December. It was about 75 degrees and I was wearing shorts and a tshirt. I went over to Adam's to wash my car and then I helped Joe install a nitrous system on his 350z. That was cool to see how that actually works. Then we went to pick up some steaks to grill out. Tonight we watched the Packers game and I flew a practice sim on Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 for my ride tomorrow where I practice the departure and arrival procedures.
Saturday, December 11, 2004
This morning I woke up around 9 am to help Karen study for her anatomy exam but since I stayed up till 4 am last night playing Halo 2 with Mike I went back to sleep for a couple hours. At 14:00 we all met over at Matt's house and practiced the pattern. They set up a pattern in the backyard with hoses and stones to represent the runway and ways we fly around the pattern and we each got a chance to practice radio calls and walking around to learn what to do where. Tonight we went to TB's Bar and Grill for BBQ and came back to my place to watch the ESPN movie 3 about Dale Earnhardt.
Friday, December 10, 2004 Day 23
Today we had signaling lab in the morning to set off flares and use signaling mirrors. After that we started aerodynamics CAI lessons. This afternoon we had two local procedures classes in the classroom to learn about ground and takeoff emergencies. This let us go over what to do that could lead us having to do an emergency ground egress or possibly eject from the aircraft. Tonight I went with a group of guys to see Oceans Eleven.
Thursday, December 9, 2004 Day 22
Happy Birthday Karen! Today I woke up and went to my simulator ride for the day. I was in an OFT today so I was able to have a huge circular screen around me. This allowed me to be able to see my wings and it felt a lot more real. I finished the checklists and the instructor let me fly to area one and practice there and then I came back on the Rio One Arrival which took me up the Rio Grande and back into the pattern. He let me do an overhead pattern and then touch and go into a closed pattern. I was graded excellent today and felt more confident in the cockpit. I then had time to study a couple more hours for the test. This flying fundamentals test ended up being the hardest so far for the class. We all passed or so I think but there were a lot of tricky questions that were misleading. It turned out the review yesterday that we all thought confused us actually did. I ended up getting an 89% on it. I felt I had done better but turned out the little things got me. Tonight the guys and I relaxed and played a little Halo 2. Tomorrow we are going to make up the signalling lab and then hit the grindstone again in aerodynamics. Fun stuff...
Wednesday, December 8, 2004 Day 21
This morning I had my first sim ride where we practiced checklists. I was able to be in the IFT and have a screen in front of me. This made me able to taxi and take off then practice landing. The plane is so much more powerful than the planes I am used to flying. I did well overall in the sim and on the emergency procedure he asked me after the ride. After the sim I studied the CAI and then we had a 2 hour review session that was so rushed I did not get much out of it. Tonight Adam and Joe came over and we went over the patterns and a quick review of other stuff on the test. Tomorrow is my second graded simulator ride and Karen's 21st birthday!
Tuesday, December 7, 2004 Day 20
Today we had a good bit of CAI work to do on traffic patterns and landing. This afternoon we were able to go out to the hanger and see the aircraft up close again to work the exterior checklist. This allows us to make sure there is nothing wrong with the plane before we get in and are ready to fly. This afternoon we had more CAI to do and then an IP came up and talk to us about the local pattern and procedures here at Laughlin. Tonight a group of us studied and tommorrow I have to get up early for my first graded simulator ride.
Monday, December 6, 2004 Day 19
This morning we started operating procedures in the class room and then had CAI lessons on procedures like the preflight inspection and ops limits. This afternoon we had a boldface class where we went over emergency procedures and then had more flying fundamentals CAI. This evening Phil and I went to the simulator to practice our checklists and then I went over to Phil's place for dinner.
The simulator
Me in the simulator
Sunday, December 5, 2004
Today I went to the CAI lab to finish up the first lesson on flying fundamentals. We learned how to use the flight computer and how to do other in flight calculations. I then came back to the room with some of the guys and watched the Packers get stomped by the Eagles. Tonight we went to walmart and I bought a small Christmas tree to help get in the Christmas spirit.
Saturday, December 4, 2004
I got to sleep in a little today and then got up and relaxed. This afternoon I went with some of the guys to True Value to pick up supplies to make a shelf for my prjector and screws to hold up the screen. We made that and then went to the Wild Game Dinner downtown There were a couple thousand people there. They had a raffle for 75 guns and we bought some tickets. I don't think we won anything by the time we left. The dinner consisted of buffalo, deer, beef, feral pig, and some other meats and vegetables. Tomorrow I will go to the CAI lab to try to get ahead with a couple lessons.
Friday, December 3, 2004 Day 18
This morning I we met with my Elvis flight commander. He told us about some of the squadron policies and regulations. After that we went to take the systems 2 test. I ended up making an 89% on it. I did not feel as confident going into this test as the last one and I think yesterday had a little to do with it. No one failed it so that is an awesome streak we have going so far. After the test we were done for the day. Tonight about 30 of us went to Avantis to eat and then went bowling afterwards. I like the fact that we can all do stuff as a class and we get along so well.
Thursday, December 2, 2004 Day 17
Today sucked to be blunt about it. We had a simulator orientation this morning but had to have the ejection seat CAI done before we could do the sim. A lot of us had not completed it and some had. We had five that had to complete the lesson after the sim which would normally lead to a syllabus deviation. The instructors were able to fix four of the people's issues but one guy was hit with a dreaded syllabus deviation so he will be under review of the wing commander. We will all have to wear blues tomorrow because of this. This afternoon we had another review session and then some of the guys came over and we went over the lessons for the Systems 2 test tomorrow. On a better note I recieved my projector and home theater audio system today. Karen got me the speakers early for Christmas so I will get to start enjoying them. I guess I should go get my blues ready and get to bed.
Wednesday, December 1, 2004 Day 16
Today we went out to do parasailing in the 34 degree weather. I uploaded a video on the pictures page of me doing the 300 foot ride. After parasailing we had to finish up CAI on propulsion and fuel. This afternoon we had a review over that stuff and then went back into the CAI lab to learn about environmental systems and the canopy. Tonight Adam, Joe, and Phil came over and we studied while I watched Clemson beat OSU in basketball.
Tuesday, November 30, 2004 Day 15
Today we had CAI in the morning to learn about the Electric and fuel systems. This afternoon we had a review over the material and then the assistant flight commander from Elvis flight came up to our classroom and went over our pubs with us. This was 3 hours of her calling out every page number and us making sure we had them right. Tomorrow if the weather is nice we will be parasailing and I can finish my second ride.
Monday, November 29, 2004 Day 14
I took the systems 1 test today which is the most failed test of UPT and passed with a 97.87%. I definately overstudied for it but am glad I did so well. The one question I missed, I had right the first time through and then second guessed it when I went over my answers. Everyone in the class passed so no one has to take the retest tomorrow. After the test we had a full day of briefings. These included OSI, Fire, Airfield ops, Weather, and more. This afternoon Adam, Phil, and I went to the copy shop to print out our updated pubs which saved us hours of cutting and pasting tonight. I then came back and watched the Packers game before going to bed. Tomorrow we dive straight into systems 2 and have that test on Friday.
Sunday, November 28, 2004
This morning Karen took me to the airport and then she drove home. The flights were uneventful and Matt met me at the airport with my car. On the drive back to Del Rio, Karen quizzed me over the phone on the stuff I need to know for tomorrow. Tonight Phil and Joe came over and we went over the stuff one more time to make sure we had it down. Then I helped Karen study for her anatomy test tomorrow.
Saturday, November 27, 2004
Today I woke up late and went with mom and Karen to shop in Clemson and Greenville. We shopped until we could not stand it anymore. I was able to buy some gifts as well as see what I want for Christmas. Tonight we got back home and went to bed early. Tommorow I fly back to Del Rio to hit the grindstone once more.
Friday, November 26, 2004
Today I got up early and flew with Eric, Karen, and Desiree to Charleston. The weather was perfect and you could see as far as the eye could see. We then saw Paw Paw and he was very glad to see us. We then flew back and I met up with mom to pick out some Christmas trees. Tonight we went to eat sushi at Irashiai, my favorite resturaunt, and then went to visit grandpa at his house. It was so great to see him at home and I hope he regains strength quick. After visiting with him we went to Crystal Breeze to play darts with one of mom's friends.
Thursday, November 25, 2004 Thanksgiving Day
This morning Matt and Courtney drove me to the airport to fly home. My first flight was delayed 1.5 hours due to the crew getting in late last night. I met a T-38 pilot on the flight that flew the T-6 at Moody. He helped me study and gave me tips about the upcoming few months. I then caught a later flight from ATL to GSP due to missing my connection with the layover. Karen picked me up that the airport and we went to visit grandpa. He is going to be able to go home tomorrow so that is awesome! He has been through a lot with surgery and all and I am glad he will be back home. Tonight all the family came over for dinner and I ate so much good food. Tomorrow I am going to fly down to Charleston to visit Paw Paw since he seems to be taking the loss of Maw Maw not so well. I will continue to pray for him since I cannot imagine what he is going through right now.
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Today I was able to sleep in till noon. At 13:00 we had to go to an AETC Wingman Day speech by the Wing Commander. The main focus was on suicide rates in the Air Force. They focused on how we have to watch over our troops and notice signs of stress or depression. After the meeting we all meet on the runway and ran the length of it. That was fun and a decent workout. This afternoon I drove Matt to San Antonio and I stayed with his family. I am glad I can stay with them so I don't have to wake up at 3:00 am and drive to San Antonio.
Tuesday, November 23, 2004 Day 13
Halfway through phase I and loving it. Today I had a 06:30 show at the sim building and was able to sit in the cockpit and run through checklists and become familiar with the instruments. I then came back and took a nap until lunch. After lunch we met in the classroom for another review session. We then had another Boldface quiz and I hope no one missed anything so we can win the bet with Major Tonnesen. Tonight I went to the gym with Phil and played raquetball for two hours. I managed to get hit by the ball three times and have bruises to prove it.
Monday, November 22, 2004 Day 12
Today I had to go to the Sim building to see the instrument sims and get to ride in it for a little bit. It gave me a feel for the aircraft as well as what random malfunctions feel like. This afternoon I studied in the CAI lab for a few hours to review. Tonight I went with Phil and Joe to play basketball and raquetball. It was my first time playing raquetball and I enjoyed it. I cooked dinner for Mike, Phil, and Joe and then we studied some more.
Sunday, November 21, 2004
This morning I went to the computer lab to finish all the lessons for tomorrow so I can use the time tomorrow to review and study. I then went into town for lunch and came back to watch the Packers game at Phil's. This week is only 2 days of classes and then I fly home on Thursday. I am really looking forward to being home for that little bit with all that has been going on back there while I have been here.
Saturday, November 20, 2004
Today I woke up around noon to find the Clemson vs. USC game not on television. Karen found a link that had a live video stream though so I was able to watch the game. Clemson ended up winning 29-7 making them bowl eligible. I then went with Adam, Matt, and Joe to the Chinese buffet for some dinner and then to Adam's place to watch Florida beat FSU. Tonight Desiree called and told me she had gone to the visitation for Maw Maw and that the family missed me being there. After Adam's Joe and Phil came over and we watched Secondhand Lions. Tomorrow will be a day of studying and working in the computer lab.
Friday, November 19, 2004 Day 11
Maw Maw passed away at 2:30 this morning. I know she is in a better place now and not suffering. They will have her funeral either Sunday or Monday and I will sadly not be able to be there. I will miss her dearly since she was the dearest lady that you could ever meet. I will continue to pray for Paw Paw as he has to go through this. Today I went to the graduation of 05-02 and we were recognized as the newest class on base. After that about half the flight went to Martha's to eat lunch. We had a review session and then a CAI lab this afternoon. Tonight some of the guys came over to play video games.
Maw Maw, Paw Paw, and I 29 August 04
Thursday, November 18, 2004 Day 10
Today we met in the classroom for a Systems 1 intro class and then were dismissed till 12:30. We then met back up and were able to go into the hanger and talk around the T-6 Texan II. It is an awesome airplane with a lot of bells and whistles that the T-37 does not have. After the hanger we all went to do CAI (Computer Aided Instruction) where we learned about the control surfaces and hydraulics system. I then got an unexpected phone call from mom saying that she had made a detour on the way to the beach to go visit Maw Maw and Paw Paw in Charleston. When she got there Maw Maw was incoherant on the bed and in her last hours it seems. I was able to tell her I loved her when mom put the cell phone up to her ear but there was no response. I will keep praying for her and I do not want her to suffer. After finding this out I had to go back to the classroom and take a Boldface quiz. Not everyone got it correct so we lost our bet with the instructor. Tonight the class went to the O club for Mongolian BBQ and then some of the guys came over to play some Halo 2. I also recieved some good news that Grandpa was able to eat solid foods today and walked around with a walker for a bit. Hopefully he will be able to be discharged from the hospital before I come home for Thankgiving. Tomorrow I get to sleep in and then go to the 05-02 graduation at 10:00.
Wednesday, November 17, 2004 Day 9
Well Aerospace Physiology is over now except for a make up parasail ride and signaling lab. Ended up getting a 95 on my survival test today by missing one. After that I took a break and came back to take the FACT test. It was physically challenging but I did better than I thought. I scored a 209 giving me an outstanding on it. After that I went with Adam and others to a Chinese buffet for lunch. This afternoon I came back to my room and Adam and I beat Halo 2. Tonight I went over to Matt and Courtney's place for Cajun burgers with the rest of the class. Tomorrow starts System 1 so I will have to start studying a lot more since this is the most failed test of UPT from what I have heard.
Tuesday, November 16, 2004 Day 8
Today was filled with land survival classes. We learned everything from medical to personal protection. For lunch I went with about 10 of the classmates to Gatti's for pizza buffet which was good. Then I stoped by EB Games to pick up Half-Life 2 which is awesome. Tonight I hung out with Phil and Joe to study for the survival test tomorrow. It should not be too bad. Mom called and said she was at the emergency room till 02:45 and her hand is sore but recovering. I hope these thunderstorms end soon beccause I am missing the sunshine here.
Monday, November 15, 2004 Day 7
Today I got up and went to take the test. I missed one question and got a 96 on it. It was a stupid mistake but that is still good. After the test we had crew resource management training and learned about some mishaps. For lunch I went with some of the guys to Subs and Clubs by Walmart since we had 1.5 hours for lunch. After lunch we came back and because of the weather they decided to let us go home. We stayed there for a bit to complete the boldface until everyone completed it perfectly and that took 3 tries. This afternoon Phil came over to fly flight simulator with me and then we went to Walmart to get some groceries. Tonight I started looking over the land survival stuff since we have a test on Wednesday over that stuff. Mom called earlier and Kitty clawed her hand and blood was clotting in a vien so Desiree was rushing her to the hospital. I hope she is alright. I also found out today that the hospital overdosed grandpa last night so he was rushed into a CAT scan and came out today alright but weak. I hope all this will be over soon since it is hard to focus on training with family medical issues.
Sunday, November 14, 2004
I woke up around 10:30 today and started studying up until going over to meet a study group at 14:00. We went over all the objectives for about an hour and a half. I then came back and went over to Phil's to see the Green Bay game. After the game I came back to the room to study some more and watch the season premiere of The Simpsons. I wish they would fix the heating and air conditioning system in here because it is burning up in here. I have the door and window open but need to go buy a fan I guess. Test at 08:00 tomorrow and then hopefully we will be able to make up the parasailing. Too bad the weather channel calls for rain tomorrow.
Saturday, November 13, 2004
Today I got up around noon and listened to the Tigers get beat by Duke. After the game I watched some other football games and studied for the test on Monday. Tonight Joe and Phil came over and we watched some car videos. Phil and I then played flight simulator for a little bit before I went to bed. Tomorrow I have to go to a study session at Jonas' place.
Friday, November 12, 2004 Day 6
Today we had classes on noise and vibration and stress awareness and then after lunch went to the altitude chamber. In the chamber we had to go up to altitude and then remove our oxygen masks. When we did that we got to see what it was like when your body starts to get hypoxia. I started to feel lightheaded and then my feet started to get real cold. After seeing these two symptoms I went back on oxygen to return to normal. We then went into another part of the chamber and experienced a rapid decompression which felt really wierd when we gained ten or so thousand feet in a second or two. This weekend I have to do a ground evaluation of Cipro to see if I have any reactions. Tonight I met class members at Avantis for dinner. They had some great Italian food. We were a bit rowdy in the resturant but I think the owner liked our business. When we left he gave Adam a gift certificate for 4 free bottles of wine next time we come in. After dinner I went over to Matt's house to hang out with the guys and play some Halo.
Thursday, November 11, 2004
First I would like to thank all veterans of the armed forces for what you have done for our country over all the years. Today I was able to sleep in and then meet the class over at the volleyball court for some sand volleyball. We played a couple games and then went over to Trey Sim's house to celebrate his 30th birthday. Tonight Joe came over and we played a couple hours of Halo 2. Aaron emailed us a study guide for our test on monday so I will start tomorrow studying hard for the first test of pilot training.
Wednesday, November 10, 2004 Day 5
After sleeping in till 06:30 I went to class to learn about altitude threats and vision. We then had lunch and cmae back for another lesson before spliting into two groups. The first group went to the night vision room where they turned out the lights and we learned about how your eyes trick you in darkness and how to compensate for it. We then went from there to a chair that they use if you become air sick during flights. I got to take a turn on it and a video of it is in the video section. After these sections we went to the ejection simulator and shot twenty feet up a rail in a T-37 ejection seat trainer. There is also a video of this in the video section. I then sat through a class on noise and vibration before we were let out for the day. Tonight a lot of us went over to Adam's place to play some Halo 2 since we have tomorrow off for Veterans day.
Tuesday, November 9, 2004 Day 4
Bright and early we started today by doing two more PLFs before heading to the parasail field. Once we got there everyone was able to go up to 150 feet and get dropped gently back to the ground. Other than a few hard landings by people all went well. I had a blast doing it and there are videos on the new video/picture link above (thanks karen). After the 150 foot parasail we started to do the 300 foot ride but it was canceled due to high wind gusts. We had a burger burn out there for lunch and then came back to do academics. After two classes we split up the flight and I went to get checked out in straping myself into the seat and practicing emergency egress out of the T-6. We then had a break till 16:00 and met at the officers club for an organizations brief as well as a brief by Del Rio residents and business owners. Also at this meeting we met our class sponsor. He is the owner of the local Dodge dealer and link to the local community for us. He told us we would be able to test drive his Viper so I will definately have to take him up on that. A small buffet was also served there and then I went with Clark to pick up Halo 2. Tonight I went over to Adam's place and played it for about an hour or so and now back to read some of the material for tomorrow. Showtime is 07:30 so I get an extra hour to sleep in!
Monday, November 8, 2004 Day 3
Today we went out to the parachute practice area and learned how to do proper parachute landing falls. We started on the ground and worked our way up to a 2 and 4 foot platform. After that we got on a swing tower that let you simulate hanging in the harness. We then had a class on respirarion and lunch. After lunch we heard from the Commander of the T-38 squadron, Chief Master Sergeant and the Wing Commander. I then went over to the simulator building to learn how to use the computer lab for instruction. Tomorrow we go out to the parasail field so I am looking forward to that.
Here are some videos from today:
Me doing a parachute landing fall off the 4 foot platform
Me getting drug across the ground to simulate a wind touchdown
Sunday, November 7, 2004
I got up today around 10:30 and did some studying before going over to Jonas' house to get our pubs squared away. We did that for about an hour and made sure our checklists and dash 1 were updated with the changes. After that I came home and took my laptop and study material outside and filled out some blank boldface sheets. For dinner Phil, Luke, Joe, and I went over to Subway and then went to Walmart after for binders. Tomorrow showtime is 06:30 but I will go over with Phil to pick up my helmet and mask from life support. I have a little bit of reading to do before I go to bed.
Saturday, November 6, 2004
Go Tigers!! Beating Miami in overtime!! Today I got up around 10:00 and went with Phil, Joe, and Jonas to the skeet range. I had never shot a shotgun before so that was fun. I probably hit 3 out of like 40 skeets but had a lot of fun doing it. After that Dave came over and we played video games for a couple hours. For dinner Phil invited some of us over to watch the Clemson game and eat spaghetti with a homemade meat sauce which was awesome. After that I saw Clemson come from behind to beat #10 Miami in overtime!! Tomorrow I have some studying to do but plan to sleep in.
Friday, November 5, 2004 Day 2
Today showtime was 07:00 and we went to Aerospace Physiology for classes. We had classes on ejection and the parachute in the T-6. We also learned how to fall on landing which we will practice on Monday. At lunch I met the guy from Time Warner Cable and he installed my cable and internet so that is awesome. After lunch we had a class on how to get out of the plane on the ground in an emergency and how then watched a video on the landings we will do on Monday and parasailing on Tuesday. I am looking forward to that a lot. After class I went over to Adam's for some Halo and then to the officer's club for Class 05-02's drop. More than half of them are coming back to Laughlin as instructors and the rest got heavies with the exception of an F-16 and F-15 Strike Eagle. I am going with some of the guys to see The Incredibles at 10:00.
Thursday, November 4, 2004 Day 1
Wow, I can't believe this day is already here- the first official day of pilot training. We had briefings from about 8 hours of briefings today and got assigned about 40 pages or so of reading to do for tomorrow. I also found out what flight I will be in for the flight phase starting in January- Elvis- the married man's flight (all married guys except for me and 3 others)- which is gonna be nice b/c of all the cooked dinners we'll get. Speaking of dinner, we all went over to Matt and Courtney's tonight for dinner, then I did my reading, and I'm off to bed early since we have class at o-dark-thirty. Tomorrow I get my internet installed- Courtney has to come over and let them in so that means I will be giving her my cell phone at lunch tomorrow so she will know when to be there. Happy Birthday Sam (Karen's bunny)- she is 1 year old as of yesterday.
Wednesday, November 3, 2004
Just found out that Bush won the presidency. I'm going to find some place to watch Kerry's concession speech in a little bit. I talked to Grandpa this morning- he's not doing so well. Apparently when he talked to me it was the loudest he had spoken all day. They drained some of the built up blood today and are going to give him a transfusion later. Please keep him in your prayers, I know I am. We don't have anything going on today since class starts tomorrow- I'll give more of an update of what goes on today later tonight if necessary.
A few photos:
Blackie, Adam's kitten
The US/Mexican border
[These photos were sent to Karen via camera phone, apologies for the poor quality]
Tuesday, November 2, 2004
Woke up, went to pubs issue. We received the Dash-1 and a lot of manuals and stuff - about 4000 pages. The captain that was in charge of us in transitional got a brick thrown through his window and we think it was due to him being a Kerry supporter (don't know for sure, but we're thinking so)- that kinda threw our schedule off a bit. Then we had a welcome briefing from the commander of the squadron. This afternoon we went to help civil engineering put up 3 big tents for a deployment exercise and tonight we are hanging out at Adam's having an election party. Hopefully Bush pulls it off.
Monday, November 1, 2004
Only 3 days left until the first day of pilot training...I woke up today to have my helmet and mask fitting at 8:30 and then I went to the transition office and hung out with some of the flightmates. This afternoon we had to move furniture into another office and then I went with Phil, Joe, and Luke to Applebees and Walmart and now I'm gonna study some boldface before I go to bed. I typed up my autobiography and booked plane tickets to fly home on Thanksgiving too. Tomorrow is pubs issue day.
Sunday, October 31, 2004
Today I slept in a little bit and then went over to Phil's place to watch the Cowboys game. We went over to Adam's apartment for a Halloween party tonight- I dressed up like white trash. There weren't very many people there and hardly anybody dressed up. We found out that Adam's cat, Blackie, belonged to some neighbors and once they saw it, they wanted it back even though he's had it for over 2 weeks now and has put money into getting its shots and feeding it and all of that. Messed up to say the least.
Saturday, October 30, 2004
Got up and went to a barbecue at Todd's place- almost everyone in the class went. Then we went to Mexico to the Corona Club where Desperado was filmed. After that we went to the Up and Down Club where I rode a mechanical bull. Mexico is a very dirty place and it smells awful. Came back across the border around 1 or so and I went to sleep. Great day.
Friday, October 29, 2004
Did some moving for the civil engineering squadron this morning. After lunch, we came back and there was nothing else to move. Tonight, some people in the flight are going over to Adam's house to play video games and stuff. We are planning on going to Mexico tomorrow after a lunch bbq. Clemson plays on ESPN2 at 11 so hopefully I'll get to see some of that. There may be a Halloween party in the works for Sunday- we'll see. More updates on today later tonight and apologies for the delay in getting yesterday's entry up.
Thursday, October 28, 2004
I had to go to the dentist today- they did a complete cleaning and cleared me. Unfortunately, they don't have nitrous- so here's to hoping I don't get any cavities while in the Air Force. After that, I worked in the wood shop for a few hours with the flight. We are building a mock up of the T6 cockpit so that we can practice. We went to dinner at Julio's and then went to a sports bar and to D&D (diamonds and ?) some country/western bar type place.
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
I spent most of the day at the doctor's office today. I had to get my physical and they had the results back from the blood they took yesterday. After that, I played a lot of GTA:SA and in the afternoon, Phil and I played a round of Mario Golf on GameCube. We ended up going to the golf course and playing 5 holes before it started to get dark after that. Spent the evening out at Adam's watching Game 4 of the World Series and playing video games. Adam named the kitten Blackie...photos soon. Also had a complete lunar eclipse tonight. Don't know how well the pics will turn out, but maybe eventually I'll get some up of those up here too. Karen added some stuff to the Links page today- mostly stuff about the T6 (ops limits, boldface, etc) and 2 new links (baseops and a new UPT journal).
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
I had to fast starting last night so I could go get my bloodwork done today. Also got a urinalysis done. Those were the only "official" things to do be done- then went over to EB Games to pick up my pre-ordered copies of GTA: San Andreas and Ace Combat 5. I ended up getting the Ace Combat 5 that comes with the controllers just like the ones I use for flight sim on the computer. Both the games are great- I've been playing them all day...just being a bum. I'm headed over to Matt's place now to watch the rest of Game 3 of the World Series.
Monday, October 25, 2004
I spent my time today finishing up the inprocessing checklist. I had to go to vehicle registration and register my car here- I was sad to see my Charleston sticker go. I also had to make an appointment for my helmet and mask fitting (next Monday at 0830). Tomorrow I have to have blood drawn for labs and so I have to fast starting tonight- no food or even water. I also went to Walmart today and I am spending the evening watching Monday night football over at the captain (adam)'s house. I went over there last night too to play Xbox and there was a big storm. Somehow a little kitten ended up at Adam's house so maybe he's found himself a new pet.
Sunday, October 24, 2004
{I won't have internet access for the next few weeks so Karen will be updating this for me until further notice} I woke up this morning at 8:00 and found a letter from the hotel on my floor which was a current bill. It said $553.85. It turns out that the internet that I have been using to update this page has been long distance all along. I put in a phone dispute form, but who knows what will come out of that. NOw I am back in my dorm room and trying to finish setting things up. It is raining out today so maybe I will go to the BX and Walmart and buy a TV or just hang out and be a bum. I have to go get my labwork done tomorrow morning so that should be fun.
Saturday, October 23, 2004
Today I woke up and worked my hour watching the contractors. They did nothing and gave me some time to look over the boldface. I then went to the BX and Wal-Mart to buy stuff to make my dorm livable. I spent a couple of hours unpacking and setting stuff up and then came back to the hotel. I will checkout tomorrow and then go a couple of days without internet. Clemson beat Maryland today so that was awesome. Now they only have to win 4 of the next 5 games to be bowl eligible. I also found out that Maw-Maw (the lady that took care of me when I was little) and was diagnosed with cancer 6 years ago has spread to her ribs. She is in good spirits, but she says that the treatments are painful.
Dorm Room Photos
Friday, October 22, 2004
Today I had to finish up most of my inprocessing. I went to the dental clinic and flight medicine to make appointments and I had to get one shot at immunizations. After that I met a flightmate for lunch and then went to get my housing assignment. We spent an hour signing paperwork and touring the dorm area and my room. It is a decent sized room with nice furniture. I will take pictures and post them maybe tomorrow. There is no phone line or cable so I called and they said it will be 5-Nov before they can install cable and internet and Monday before they can install a phone line. I then went to meet some flightmates at Chili's and then we were going to go the rodeo, but it ended up raining so we went to see Team America instead. I have to watch the contractors work on the flightline for an hour tomorrow and then watch Clemson play UMD. Go Tigers!!!
Thursday, October 21, 2004
Today I checked in around 10:00 and picked up a checklist of stuff to do over the next few days. I started knocking some of the stuff out like inprocessing at the MPF and buying rank at the BX. I then went to check at housing to see if I could get a dorm room. He gave me a big packet of stuff to read and told me to come back tomorrow. I have to finish up my medical stuff tomorrow since they were training today. I also went to pick up my flight suits and jackets. I was also given a helmet bag with some cool stuff in it like aviator glasses, a watch, pilot tools, gloves, a flask, and some other little things. After all the running around I am a bit tired, but some of the flightmates asked me if I wanted to go play volleyball at 1830 and it will be a good opportunity to meet some of the guys I will be spending the next 6-12 months with. Well, the volleyball was fun, but Texas has these small prickly balls in all the grass so I got them all over my bare feet. My grandpa went through surgery today to remove 7 inches of esophagus and his spleen. Mom called and said that he came out of surgery well and is on a feeding tube and ventilator. I will continue to keep him my prayers. After volleyball, I came back to the room and ordered a pizza from Pepperoni's and watched the Astros get beat.
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
I left Lake Charles this morning around 10 am and started off toward Texas. I passed through Houston and on to San Antonio. When I arrived at San Antonio I decided that I might as well drive the extra 140 or so miles into my new home. The drive was uneventful. Texas is a boring state to drive through once to you get west of San Antonio. Almost every car that passed was a border patrol vehicle and I was buzzed by a cropduster. As I got closer to Del Rio I knew I had to be close to the Air Force base. There were two T-38s, a couple T-6s, and a T-1 in the pattern or on final. I arrived here at Laughlin around 17:00 and it is around 92 degrees. I checked into my room and found that it is dial up internet. I am going to hate that but make do with what I have. I have not explored the base yet but will do that hopefully this evening. I took pictures on the ride down but on dialup it is going to take a while to upload so I am going to pick out a few for now and upload them.
Photos from the trip
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
I started my drive yesterday to Texas from Clemson, SC. I drove about 4 hours to Maxwell AFB in Montgomery, AL to stay with 2 of my friends from college. We went to eat Thai and watched some of the baseball playoffs. Today I drove from about 9:30AM to 5:30PM. I am now near Lake Charlie (or Charles) Louisiana. I plan to drive on to San Antonio tomorrow and then Del Rio on Thursday morning.