Today, I have an instruments test. It is a strange thing to be studying for instrument flying before I have even got the hang of VFR (non instrument) flying. I have also heard that as soon as I solo and maybe even the few flights before solo, that I will start instrument simulators.
Later this evening, I have my 4th flight. Tonight is "night week," which means we start later in the day and fly later, so that the instrument rated pilots can keep up their night currencies.
Flying the T-6 is pretty amazing. It goes about twice the speed of the little planes I have flown before, and of course it goes inverted and can do aerobatics. But it is a rather uncomfortable plane to fly as well. Having to wear a g-suit, a helmet, and a harness, as well as, the seat seems to find my shoulder blades and slice into them for half the flight. However, when I am actually flying maneuvers or patterns, I hardly notice these things. It is the dead space in between that accentuates the discomfort.
12 hour days are standard during pilot training. Strangely though, this does not feel like a hardship. There is so much to learn right now, I don't know how we could learn it all if we had shorter days. The only hard parts of 12 hours at work is being so hungry at the end and barely seeing my husband all week. But we knew we would be busy, so even that is not so bad.
Overall, pilot training is quite different than what I expected. Yes, there is a lot of studying to do, and flying is not easy. But the frustrating things Josh had to deal with are not as frustrating when you experience them instead of watch them. There are too many things going on for the little annoying things they do to us to really bother anyone yet. Maybe when we are not so new to flying and want more time at home, then we'll notice those things more. But for now, we spend most of our time thinking of what is coming next and not what stupid thing we had to do a minute ago.
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