I'm Finished!

Hello again!

I apologize for not blogging for the past six months, but I can assure you those months were not wasted. They were six very stressful, very busy month! I don't even know where to begin because there is so much catching up to do!

First off, I am proud to announce that I am graduating next week from C-2A AWF Fleet Replacement School (the school I was talking about in my last blog)! It's so exciting to look back at that blog, and see how far I've come and how much I've learned. So I suppose I should tell you a little about what I did in those six months of school.

There are three parts of this school: ground phase, flight phase and getting qualified in a variety of different things. In January, I began ground phase. Ground phase consisted of eight tests in nine weeks. It started off pretty simple, just learning the basics of the aircraft. Then, it got pretty in depth and we had to learn everything about every single system; hydraulics system, power plant systems, environment control system, electrical system, cargo loading/unloading, passenger handling, aircraft limitations. It went from knowing all of the components of the engine, to memorizing every switch in the cockpit, to knowing what to do in every emergency procedure, and so much more! For me, it was sooo interesting to learn about, and I always found myself wanting to dig into the information even deeper than what the instructors taught us. I believe that's why I did so well in this school, because I found a passion for it.

After our sixth test, my class (there are six of us) and I went on a 10 day detachment where we learned how to use support equipment, do fuel surveillance, oil consumption, and how to be a plane captain. We actually got to do some launches as a plane captain. A plane captain is the person who stands out in front of the aircraft, working with the ground crew and telling the pilots when to taxi forward, check certain lights, spread wings, move the flight surfaces, and so much more. It was one of the coolest things I've done in my life. You feel so import, everyone's eyes on you. everyone watching your every command. I loved it. Sadly, those 10 days had to end and I had to fly back to Norfolk to finish the rest of ground phase and then move into flight phase. I learned so much on that detachment, and it was the first time I really got hands on training with the C-2! I came back with a whole new understanding of the aircraft and what my job was really going to be like as a C-2 aircrewman.

So we flew back to Norfolk, finished our last two tests of ground phase, and officially started flight phase. I was so excited, but so nervous.This was the real test. It's easy to be book smart and know the answers to questions, but that's not what flight phase is about. It's about actually performing your duties as a C-2 aircrewman.

Flight phase consisted of 17 flights. With each and every flight, there was a flight syllabus. On the syllabus, it had 4 or 5 subjects to take notes on and certain duties and emergency procedures to perform. On the day of the flight, I would show up two or three hours before brief (where you sit and talk with the pilots about the mission), and make sure I had all my gear and materials needed for the flight. Then the instructors show up and the hell begins. Before the flight, they would grade us on how well we knew the subjects that we had to write about. They could also ask us anything about the aircraft that they wanted to. ANYTHING. On a normal flight I would talk to the pilots over the Internal Communication System (ICS), do in-flight inspections, and perform whatever emergency procedures that my instructors told me to do. Each flight was a new adventure and challenge of it's own.

One flight, I actually got to fly down to St. Augustine, Florida to stop at a private airport and drop off some passengers. We shut down there and went to the downtown area. Driving through St. Augustine was so stunning! Just thinking about breathing in that rich Florida air brings a smile to my face every time. The architecture looked so foreign, and the streets looked like scenes straight out of a movie. We ate lunch at an adorable little outdoor restaurant, draped in vines and flowers. And the food there.... it was so incredibly delicious! One of the coolest parts of the trip was walking around in our flight suits, and getting strange glances from people on the streets. Haha. Unfortunately, we didn't get to explore the city or stop anywhere else other than the restaurant. We had to get back to our plane to fly back to Norfolk. It was a refreshing little trip that awakened the travel bug in me again.

As the flights progressed, they got harder. The instructors expected me to know more, and be more efficient at the duties and emergency procedures. By my last few flights, I began to study so hard that I didn't even leave my room on the weekends. The only times I did leave was for the gym and church. The last few weeks of flight phase were easily the hardest and most stressful days of my life, but I'm thrilled to say that about a month ago, I finally finished flight phase. I cannot tell you how relieved I was and still am to have finished what once felt like a distant dream!

Since my last graded flight, I've been getting officially qualified with support equipment and as a plane captain! Now that I am qualified in all the fields I need to be, I am just waiting for graduation next week Friday!