Advanced Fighter School 2 Special
A big 'Thank You' to Firesalamander for taking time out to answer a few questions about AFS2 and the recent course.
Flying Times: "What is Advanced Fight School 2 all about, the idea behind it / goal /aim?"
FireSalamander:
"It is hard to talk about AFS2 without first putting it into context with AFS1.
In AFS1 we provide the student a heavy dose of theory and some practical application for getting the most out of their aircraft and getting every advantage possible in a fighter verses fighter engagement.
In AFS2 we start with that foundation and introduce the element of teamwork in the form of wingmanship.
Like with AFS1, it is about providing the tools which the students can incorporate into their individual flight styles to become more effective fighter pilots. Often this means modifying their flight styles to eliminate bad habits, but at the same time there is alot of room for individual preferences depending on the stregnths and weaknesses of their aircraft and flying skills."
"Our objective in AFS2 is to provide a solid foundation of wingmanship skills. In BFS students are given one simple wingman technique but wingmanship is about more than techniques. Its a whole different way of thinking and cooperating in an engagement. In this class we try to teach the students how wingmanship differs from two pilots flying together."
Flying Times:
"Comparison to other courses, for example Advanced Fighter School 2?"
FireSalamander "Actually AFS2 and Advanced Fighter School 2 are quite similar......did you really intend to ask that?
lol"
Flying
Times "Sorry, I was thinking about AFS3 and got
confused... don't worry I'll edit it out!"
FireSalamander
"Actually I'd like to add that the subject matter, wingmanship, I think the one thing that differentiates AFS2 from any of the other courses Joint-ops offers is the large amount of time spent drilling.
While there is still a portion of the class devoted to lecture and theory, most is flying drills over and over again.
This is the only way to develop the habits and thought processes that differentiates wingmen from two pilots flying together.
Oen might think this can become boreing, but there is a progression of drills the students are brought through.
We also mix things up alot with students drilling against AI, sometimes students acting as bandits and I as instructor will jump in anyplace. In one flight I might act as the bandit, and then the next I might fly someone's wing against an AI or a student acting as bandit. My role as instructor becomes one of coach during these drills."
Flying Times: "Perhaps a little about what a pilot could expect who plans on attending said course?"
FireSalamander "A pilot attending AFS2 can explect some lecture time with alot of drilling as already mentioned. There will be homework assignments which consist of additional drills for which students will need to record track files. One might also expect a pop quiz which will count towards their final grade. As this is a pass or fail class there is a written final exam as well as a practical flight final in which students will be graded on how well they work as wingmen."
Flying Times: "The Students who took part - perhaps a little bit about how each one performed in a mini school report style?"
FireSalamander: "I do not wish to single out any students.
I do wish to say that as an instructor I couldn't have asked for a better set of students.
They all dedicated themselves to the class which is important. They all worked hard and did very well.
I was very impressed at how fast they learned. During the first wingmanship drills which were the simplest, there were too many students getting shot down.
A couple classes later, with more complex scenarieos, they were hardly ever shot down."
Flying Times: "Memorable moments, there must have been a few laughs along the way or some
mishaps!?"
FireSalamander: "I think the one memorable moment that stands out in my mind was during the paractical part of the final exam.
In a 2v1 engagemet, where I was acting as bandit, I found myself in a 1v1 low speed stall fight on the deck after having shot down one of the two pilots I was flying against.
That low speed engagement must have gone on for nearly 10 minutes without resolution till I called it off since we were beyond the part of the engagement which was being graded.
It was apparently quite the show for the students who were watching. We teach this type of low speed "discontinuous" flying in AFS1 so I was really happy to see how well he applied what he learned in AFS1."
Thanks again to
Firesalamander for the interview and pictures
