02/08

(Tuesday 0925) Just got up. Yesterday I bought a pocket digital camera to have with me at school. Like that I'll take pictures every time I have the opportunity. Perhaps I'll even have the possibility to upload them from school. Like that you'll be getting freshly baked bread.
Now I'm off to get some breakfast. Catch u later...
/Galucci

08/08

Today Stephen startet the flying school.He does not have acces to the internet yet, so he asked me to write the diary.
Today on the first day, they recieved books and maps and off course got their long awaited flying-name..GEA...hmm no comments.
They also recieved their rooms, and stephen hung up posters and shit.
Tomorrow they have to have their class picture taken, do physical training, get their flying-suits and has to get their heads messured for the flying helmet.
According to the traditions, they have to spend the first night, sleeping in the flying suit.
The class foreman will check while they are sleeping, and if one doesnt follow the traditiont, he will be fined.
Stephen will be back ass soon as he can get acces to net internet.
Over and out from Sara

09/08

(Tuesday 0945). Finally we can log onto the computers in the hangar. I just got back from the flight-equipment workshop, where I got all my equipment, including helmet, flying suit, summer- and winter jacket and some other flying equipment. In an hour or so, when everyone is back from the workshop, we'll be taking our class-photo. 2 aircraft are in position in the hangar as background in the picture.
It's strange to be here. I've been waiting for this all of my life. Now I got my room organized and I feel at home already.
So tonight, as Sara wrote, we have to sleep in the flying suit. What the other guys don't know is that I'll probably be using it as a pyjamas the rest of my life!
Anyway, tomorrow we start off with the first theory lessons and to be honest I can't wait.
That's it for now. Catch u later...
/GEA

10/08

(Wednesday 1530) Just got off. We had our first real theory lessons today in Flight-safety, Aircraft handling and Aircraft construction. It's good to finally get going, however we can slowly but surely, start to feel the pressure. We were told what things we have to learn by heart: Things like Procedures, check-lists, Emergency-procedures and other stuff, which the instructor called 'inhuman to learn by heart' but it simply has to be done anyway. So we look forward to many sleepless nights with reading and studying until we cannot keep our eye lids open any more.
It's going to be a big challenge, but strange as it may sound, I look forward to it!
Now it's time to play some flight so, with the other guys. All our PC's are connected so that our computer room can be used for a network, so it's great fun to practise formation flying and other fun manouevers.
That's it for now. Check six!
/GEA

11/08

(Thursday 0930) Here we in class between lessons. We were just introduced to the first emergeny procedures (EP's). At first impression they seem simple and easy to learn by heart, however it's going to be hard to learn them all in such a short period of time. We have to learn them precisely and one should not forget that EP's are only a fraction of what we have to learn during the course. I'm outta here, the lesson is starting soon, so I better be fresh and ready for it.
/GEA

11/08

(Thursday 1025) I forgot to mention that all pilots slept in their flying suit the night when we got it...or so we thought! KER mentioned the next day, that he took it off at about 0300 after he had been inspected. The moron decided to be clean with us...and he shall be fined today at the GFU metting. GFU stands for General Fuck Up by the way.
It's a tradition that the class holds a GFU meeting every thursday where pilots have to pay fines for fuck ups that they've done during the week...the money goes to beer of course.
/GEA

12/08

(Friday 1155) Almost weekend, but not yet. We need 2 more lessons and then we're done. We had a good 'meeting' yesterday and a few beers. We also had 2 tests yesterday. The first onw in English and the other one in Aircraft- and Emergency equipment.
Lesson is starting soon, so have a nice weekend.
/GEA

12/08

(Friday 1740). Home again and it feels great to sit at the computer again. At the school we all have a laptop which we borrow for the duration of the course, but there's nothing like your own home PC.
By the way, I forgot to mention that yesterday at the GFU meeting, a guy got the biggest fine you can get (a beer to everyone present!). He got it for having parked his car in the boss's parking space.
Perhaps I should explain how all this works: When someone screws up and someone else sees it, they will write an accusation and put the paper in the GFU post-box. Anyone can accuse anyone else for anything. Then, during the weekly meeting, the letters will be opened and read loud by our ticket-foreman. After thatm, the accused has 30 seconds to defend himself and argue for why he did what he did. Then we all vote on whether the accused should be found:
'Not guilty' or 'guilty' where we would then vote on whether he should pay a minor fine, major fine, monster fine or GFU fine.'
The fines are an amount of money which goes to the beer bank. A GFU fine requires that you pay a round of beer on the spot to everyone present...
However, when the accused is founf 'Not guilty' he can then accuse the person who accused him in the first place, so one has to think twice before writing an accusation. You have to remember that the guys are VERY thirsty during these meetings.
/GEA

13/08

(Saturday 1830). Cannot stop thinking about our first lesson in Aerodynamics yesterday. It's one of the 'heavy' subjects but I also think that it's going to be one of my favorites, if not my favorite. I took the T17 flight manual with me home so that I can read more. It's funny because if we didn't have to learn all the manual, I'd probably still do it out of pure interest. I feel lucky to be where I am. It's amazing that I'm doing what I love best and then getting paid for it at the same time! That's it for now.
/GEA

15/08

(Monday 0925) Here we are in the class room once again. Just had a couple of lessons in Flight theory. Next on the schedule is Aircraft construction. It's a civilian that teaches us in that subject. He is from the company that services our aircraft. They are all very professional, no matter if they're military instructos or civilian teachers on the school.
That's it for now.
/GEA

16/08

(Tuesday 0730) We start off with 2 English lessons and then it's on to Aircraft construction. Later on it's flying theory and then finish off with physical training. Well, that's the schedule anyway, then there's several hours of studying afterwards of course. Yesterday evening, PLA and myself sat and practised EP's and the 'Before starting engine' check list. All EP's and check lists have to be learned by heart of course...
Catch u later.
/GEA

16/08

(Tuesday 2130) I'm still at the school. MAU and myself decided to practise some cocpkit drills, where we sit in the mock-up cockpit of the T17 and practise check lists and procedures. It was good fun, but I'm sure that we'll get tired of it eventually...especially when we've tried it 20,000 times.
Today we had great weather and my fingers were really itching to get in the air. After work we were given the contracts which we have to sign. The contract has a binding period of 17 years! This means that I may not leave the Air Force before the end of year 2021!! It's a big thing to get yourself to sign it, because once you do it, the Air Force practically owns you. The thing that irritates me most is that you don't have much influence on what you'll fly after you finish the course. They will give you an aircraft after their needs.
Anyway, now I'm off to study a bit more (under the blanket) and then recharge my batteries.
Sleep tight!
/GEA

17/08

(Wednesday 0835) Sitting between lessons (Airctaft construction) where we're learning about the T17 engine. It's interesting (and surprising) how it works. Later...
/GEA

17/08

(Wednesday 0930) Lycoming Aero 4 cylinder reciprocating, 5.9L, 4 stroke engine, air cooled. Ok, I guess I've learned something. I'm really enjoying this...amazing that we get paid for learning about aircraft. These are great days!
/GEA

17/08

(Wednesday 1405) Between lessons again. This time it's Flight Safety that's on the schedule. Our instructor is an ex- Draken and F16 pilot who is now teaching us before he moves on to fly the new helicopter that the RDAF has ordered (EH101 Merlin). We're discussing the hair-raising video that we saw last time and trying to figure out why things went wrong. Anyway, right now I can see an F104 video playing on LOU's computer, so I just have to watch it!
/GEA

18/08

(Thursday 1320) Alsmot done for today...but not quite. We have cockpit drills the rest of the day. Tonight we have the weekly GFU meeting and to be honest I'm not looking too much forward to it. Someone (or two...) have accused me of a thing or two, so I'm prepared for the big fines.
I'm outta here and into the hangar to reserve an aircraft for practising cockpit drills.
/GEA

19/08

(Friday 1010) Sitting between Psychology lessons. We started off with a physical lesson this morning, where we were out on a run called 'Bingo run' where you run to different posts and see if they have your numbers on the card. We ran a few km's and it feels good.
On Tuesday we have our first flight, weather permitting, so we're all very excited indeed! The first ride is also known as the 'Dollar ride' where the student pays the instructor $1 after the flight. So now it's a question of learning everything before Tuesday so that I'm super prepared for the flight. Lesson starting again.
/GEA out

20/08

(Saturday 1325) It's good to be home, but it's not much different from being at school. I have been studying for several hours already today, and I'm far from over.
We have Roskilde airshow going on today and tomorrow (www.airshow.dk)
The weather is beatiful, it's finally summer! The airshow is only about 10km from here, however I'm staying home. It's the first time in my life that I'm missing an airshow I think. But now I have to prioritize studying over airshows, which is ok, because I'm really enjoying digging into the books and learning the check-lists and procedures by heart. I am a few chapters ahead in the books because I simply cannot put them away from me out of pure curiosity.
We got the results from the first 2 tests by the way. I scored:
English 99% and
Aircraft- and Emergency-equipment 83%
/GEA

22/08

(Monday 0920) We just had a couple of lessons in Aerodynamics, where we finished off with a video about lift, an old RAF video starring the Jet-Provost.
We can start to feel that the pressure is, slowly but surely, building up.
Tomorrow we have the dollar ride, however the weather doesn't look too promising.
Anyway, we just have to be prepared and hope for the best regarding the weather. Cross your fingers for me.
/GEA

23/08

(Tuesday 0910) The weather forecast doesn't look too good, however there seems to be a 2-hour gap in the bad weather later on.
/GEA

23/08

(Still Tuesday 1140) We just had some extra theory lessons and the estimated take off time has been postponed until the clouds lift a bit more. We're all very anxiuos and ready for the ride. It's the only flight where the instructor does everything and doesn't have any expectations from us. Fingers crossed...
/GEA

24/08

(Wednesday 0740) I got my dollar ride yesterday, and I was lucky to even get in the air! Weather conditions were far from ideal, however I was one of the first ones on the list, so shortly after I got airborne, the rest of the flights got cancelled.
It was great to fly a military aircraft for the first time, wearing military equipment and doind everything in their way. Next flight is scheduled on Friday where the instructor has some rather higher expectations...
The first flight is the only flight where there are no real expectations from the instructor's side...that's why you have to pay for the flight, because you get service as if you were at a 5-star hotel.
Anyway the lesson is starting in a minute. First thing on the program today is a test in rado telephony.
/GEA

24/08

(2 minutes later...) Change of programme. The weather is so good that an instructor just came in and postponed our Radio test. The ones that haven't been up flying yet are going up now! This is something that we have to get used to. Flying is very dependant on the weather conditions, so we'll be taking advantage of it when it's good and flights will be cancelled when it's bad. So it's good to always be prepared for your next flight. In my case I feel prepared for flight 2 and 3. I am familiar and confident with the manoevers and procedures that I have to perform in these flights.
By the way, a journalist from the defense magazine 'Up Front' was here yesterday and interviewed me and PLA. I hope he writes a good article and that the pictures are good...
/GEA

25/08

(Thursday 0745) Lesson is starting soon, so it will be a short message. We have a test in Aerodynamics today, so we're all slightly nervous about that. It shouldn't be too hard, but still, it's our first test in the subject so we don't quite know what to expect. But now we start off with our 'daily' subject: Flight theory, which is also our most important and demanding subject. Catch u later...
/GEA

25/08

(Thursday 1220). The test went well. On the 13 scale I got a 10, which is ok with me. I think I got a shared second place in class.
Just had a look at the flying schedule for tomorrow and I'm on! Only 14 of us will be flying and some of us haven't even had their first ride yet! We ran out of time when NIS was scheduled to go up yesterday, and JAS is temporarily grounded due to a cold.
Let's see if the weather gets any better. Today it's been raining all day, so we need some dramatic changes before they send us up again. Let's wait and see.
/GEA

25/08

(Thursday 1340) Done with the lessons for today. The only thing left on the official program is a visit by our team-officer from the RDAF officer academy. Then we have the usual GFU meeting with pizza and ALOT of studying and preparation for tomorrow's flight. Man I cannot wait for tomorrow!
I can't believe that we actually get paid for doing this! I'm so happy to be here.
This is life!! These are the days, I'm at home.
That's it for now.
/GEA

26/08

(Friday 0905) Just finished our physical work out lesson and took a nice shower and now we're ready to fly. Briefing is up at 0930 and then I'm number 2 to go up in the air.
Yesterday I couldn't believe my own ears. I got a monster fine during the GFU meeting. This was simply because I accused MAU for not knowing what a S61 SeaKing was (which is true!). The unbelieveable thing was that they voted him not guilty, where he then automatically gets the right to accuse me...and they voted me a monster fine. I couldn't believe that crap.
Then I tried to defend myself and for doing so I got the 'crying cookie', which I have to carry on me all day today. I even have to have it with me when I fly!
Anyway, catch u later...I'm off to check that everything is prepared for the flight.
/GEA

26/08

(Friday 1200) Just landed! It was a great flight, my face is just one big smile.
We didn't do anything special but it was great anyway. Right now the IP (instructor pilot) is flying with TIN so I'll be debriefed when they land. Right now I'm off to eat .
/GEA

26/08

(Friday 2310). Back home for the weekend. Not everyone flew today, only about half of us actually got the chance to fly. As you know, the dollar ride is the only ride where the instructor doesn't have any expectations from the student, but other than that first ride, every ride is a kind of exam where you get judged and graded.
Everyone got an 8 today (on the 13 scale) except for 2 guys who got a 9...myself being one of them.
So with a second place in the Aerodynamics theoretical test and a first place in today's flight, I have the lead. However, PLA can take the lead if he also gets a 9 during his flight, which he hasn't yet flown...
I got good feed back from the instructor, so I'm happy indeed!
Somehow I cannot upload any pictures in the gallery, so if you were wondering why, now you know why there haven't come any new pics lately.
I'm off to bed soon. I have a long day tomorrow, especially with preparing for the next flight. If I'm as prepared as I was today, then it can't go wrong.
Catch u later...
/GEA

27/08

(Saturday 1625) I just had a chat on the phone with LOD...and of course we talked about flying.
I got to think about yesterday's flight. My IP wanted to test me a bit while we were flying, so he started asking me questions like 'What's that village called?' to see if I knew where we were. I had the map strapped to my tigh of course and being used to navigating through gliding, I had no problem finding my way. In the end, I think the IP got a bit bored so he asked: 'What's that city called?' 'Ikast' I answered promptly after a quick look at the map. So he continued: 'Population?' I smiled and he said 'Well, you better start counting then!
Now I'm off to start preparing for the next flight. There's flying on the program Wednesday and Thursday. However they can change the schedule if the weather is good before...so we just always have to be ready for the next flight or two.
/GEA

29/08

(Monday 0835) Started off with flight theory...and we have 4 hours of the subject today! We learned a couple of new EP's (Emergency procedures). This Wednesday we have our first test in Flight Theory. Apart from that we will also be tested in ATC radio communication and in Aircraft construction this week. And then we have 2 days of flying of course, where every flight is an exam...
So it's going to be a hard week, but I'm ready for it.
Last Thursday we again discussed having a class online diary on the school's website. We have now decided (after encouregment from the class leader) to write a diary anyway. So I'll let you know when we start writing. It will be in Danish of course.
The lesson is starting again, so I'll catch u later...
/GEA

29/08

(Monday 1030) We had a lesson in CTS (Course training stardard) where the instructor emphasized that this is NO competition. So it's important that we work as a team and help eachother all the way...
Otherwise we just finished a lesson in Flight theory where we learned some aicraft limitaions; Engine limitations, temperatures, RPM, maximum G's, speed restrictions, manoevers and so on. Everything has to be learned by heart of course, so I can see a looong evening ahead.
We were told that we will probably fly 3 days this week. The weather ahead looks fantastic, so they'll try to send us up Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. It's going to be great!!! I can't wait to get in the aircraft again. Now it's just a question of being SUPER prepared for the flight.
That's it for now...
/GEA

29/08

(Monday 1250) We just visited the control tower here on the base and were shown around. Great facilities they have, even though they are slightly old fashioned. We saw the radar and the GCA radar and then all the way to the top to see the beautiful view of the airfield from the TWR. We saw an AWACS do a touch and go while we were up there. We were also told that we're welcome to visit them anytime, so I think I'm gonna get my camera ready for some great pictures from the tower. Lesson is starting now.
/GEA

29/08

(Still Monday... 1345) Just had a test in ATC radio telephony. It went ok but not as good as I had hoped for...let's just wait and see the result.
I just had a look at tomorrow's flight programme, and I'm on as number two at 0845. So now there's really alot of studying and preparation for tomorrow.
Now the Aircraft construction lesson is starting so I better go. I hope it's not another test...
/GEA

30/08

(Tuesday 0850) OK I'm going up in about 30 minutes, so now it's time to relax and get some peace before I go up. SER just briefed me and we discussed the coming flight. He also questioned me of course...
We did the exterior inspection of the aircraft and delayed our departure due to traffic. So now we'll meet by the aircraft again in about 20 minutes, ready for the flight.
I'll write again when we've landed...the weather is fantastic, so I'm sure it's going to be a great flight.
/GEA

30/08

(Tuesday 1150) The flight went fine. I got a 9 again, so I'm happy indeed.
Now it's time for a Flight theory lessona and then a game of volley ball during the physical lesson. Catch u later...
/GEA

30/08

(Tuesday 1730). Just finished cockpit-drilling for today. PLA and myself take turns in doing drills, where one of us plays student and the other one plays instructor and does all kinds of scenarios and tries to press the student in all kind of difficult situations. The 'IP' also plays Air Traffic Controller, so that we do all radio procedures too while in the cockpit. It gives us alot of confidence and it's a very good way of practising and preparing for the next flight. I've done cockpit drills every day so far during the course, and have tried it with most of the guys, however I enjoy it best with PLA.
I saw the flying programme for tomorrow, and I'm on it again! So I have alot of studying and preparation to do tonight. It's so great that we get to do what we enjoy doing best...and get paid for doing it! I'm so thankful for being here for every day that goes by.
Anyway, we're off to eat soon 'cos we're like a pack of starving wolves right now...
/GEA

31/08

(Wednesday 0910) Just had our daily lessons in Flight theory, where we learned a bunch og Warnings, Cautions and Notes in connection with normal operations of the aircraft. Tomorrow we have our first test in the subject, so we're rather anxious.
My departure time for today is set at 1330. I am kind of hoping that they won't send me up tomorrow...not because I don't want to or because I think that I won't feel ready, but because I want to use the evening for studying for tomorrow's test. Let's wait and see.
Next on the programme is Navigation with instructor TOR. The Navy guys on the team really excell in this subject...but then on the other hand, navigating is ALL they do.
Now it's time for a two minute break before the lesson starts.
/GEA

31/08

(Wednesday 1345). Damn, flight cancelled.
My IP was supposed to fly with TIN first, and then with me afterwards. However, he noted a problem with the auxiliary fuel pump while performing the 'Engine run-up check.' So they taxied back in and reported it to the crew chief and he said that it will take time to fix it, so both our flights are cancelled for today. Oh well, they'll probably send me up tomorrow I guess (I hope!).
MEY, LOD and myself just went for a quick visit to the control tower to have a look and see the other guys take off and land. I love the view from up there. Catch u later, now it's back to the books.
/GEA