Chris's Short Lived
JSUPT Diary
Sim 3…….
No more free rides. I was now on the clock and expected to perform. I was flying a sim, with a break and then another flight this day, so I would start to feel the crunch. But the Sim guys are still really cool and trying to help.
I got there at for stand-up, actually got tagged for the Stand-up EP and survived, We we’re still in a bit of culture shock and trying to adjust to the volumes of info we had to assimilate. I was only sleeping 4 hours a night but it was too soon for it to start wearing on me.
After the morning brief, I got a little studying in, and headed over to life support to grab my helmet and other gear.
The sim was at 9:15 am, and as we were leraning, I arrived at 8 to locate my instructor and start my brief. At this point the instructors are still doing the brief, as they are specialized to the Sim. Things like how to exit the simulator in an emergency etc.
The sim was standard. It was a full up viual sim, some of them are only night sims. We would fly a basic profile and introduce a lot of the procedures I would be applying in the airspace. The trick with the sim is that it is kinda like flying in a vacuum. There are no real issues affecting you, so it’s easier to fly straight and level, but it is also much more delicate inputs.
We did an entire takeoff and flight profile practicing fundamentals. My ground ops (i.e. my flow) still sucked pretty bad, so I got hammered. But my takeoff, departure, climb and level off were all graded fair. My airspeed, altitude, and heading control were also fair. My instructor briefed my beforehand that this is what I needed to concentrate on. By focusing on flying the sim, where I was flying in the sim fell into place. My straight and level were also good along with trim. Again, fly the plane, not the maneuver.
This all went to pot when I had t change airspeed. Both changing airspeed at straight and level and in a turn were graded Unsat. It was just too much input and I couldn’t focus on flying the sim. I got it back under control and did OK on turns and turns to headings, as well as steep turns. Constant airspeed climbs and descents were also graded fair. These were kinda tricky. Obviously as you climb, the jet wants to slow, so you have to lead the ascent and descent a little, it becomes almost like a feel thing. You have to cross reference your gauges and anticipate trends that the gauges are telling you.
The big problem I was having and would eventually haunt me out of UPT is that I was too much in the cockpit. I wanted to trust my gauges; even though at this point I should have been flying outside the cockpit. The end result is that I had no idea where we were in the area, royally screwed my letdown and traffic entry and missed my in-flight checks. This cost me an Usat on my communication, decision making, situaltional awareness, and task management.
I also tanked my GK and my EP were also Unsat. But I learned a lot, the big lesson I took from the instructor was to set the picture, then fly. Basically you have a pretty good idea what it is supposed to look like outside the aircraft, you know, how much ground, how much sky etc. So set the picture, then fly the aircraft to fir that picture. If you can do that most of the time then you’re OK. The trick is being consistent with it. The other lesson was to get into my checklist and inflight guides and et a lot more familiar with the local area .
The JSUPT page In the Beginning.. On the Flightline....... Avoiding Airsickness ....
So here it is, summed up in a few flights and a handful of sims, kinda depressing when I see it laid out so simply, so small, so short. I only made it a few flights after solo. But if it helps anyone or entertains anyone, then maybe it was worth it Sim 1 Sim 2 Flight 1 Sim 3 Flight 2 Flight 3 Flight 4 Flight 5 Sim 4 Sim 5 Flight 6 Flight 7 Sim 6 Flight 8 Flight 9 Flight 10 Sim7 Sim 8 Flight 11 Flight 12 Sim 9 Flight 13 Flight14 Sim 10 Flight 15 Flight 16 Flight 17 Flight 18 Flight 19 Flight 20 Flight 21 Flight 22 Flight 23 Flight 24 Flight 25 Flight 26 Flight 27 Flight 28
