01/10

(Saturday 1115) Yesterday we probably had the best flying weather since we started flying school. No wind at all, perfect visibility and a clear sky. Too bad we had the party the day before.
On the way home from the base yesterday, I couldn't help thinking about how things are going to be in the near future. In a month or two, half of us wouldn't be on the team anymore if the statistics work. No matter who fails, wether it's me or the other guys, it's going to be hard! By now we really have a tight bond. Especially the 10 of us who have gone to sergeant school together. We're almost like brothers. A few days ago a day passed where I had hardly seen KER, since I was busy preparing for a flight and later on flying, and when I was on the ground, he was busy doing something elsewhere. In the evening I simply had to go and knock on his door to see how he was doing. It's strange but he said the same thing. It was so odd that a whole day had passed without meeting. We had almost missed eachother. So when we've been to solo-check and some have failed, it's going to be damn hard to say bye, no matter if it's me or them who fails.
Enough of that sad crap for now. We go to the world's best school and we're enjoying life as long as it lasts. All we can do is help eachother when in need and do our best to hang on. Now it's time to enjoy the weekend.
/GEA

03/10

(Monday 1440) Done for today. We had a couple of lessons in Aerodynamics this morning and then it was on to briefing and some of us were up flying. I did some cockpit drills while the other guys were flying.
I won't be writing as much as I've done and in as much detail as I've done in my diary from now on. So from now on it's going to be somewhat shorter topics. If you're interested in reading more (and can read Danish), you can also read LOU's diary or JAS's diary on their websites with the addresses:
http://spaces.msn.com/members/pilot-lou/
http://spaces.msn.com/members/JAS-FLSK/
They both have good websites and info about how life is on flying school. Apart from that, the flying school's online diary will soon be online on: http://www.flyveskolen.dk/
Now it's on to studsy some more Dash1 to prepare for the coming test.
/GEA

04/10

(Tuesday 1215) I was up today and flew the rest of TD10 with HAK. It was a good flight, there was no wind whatsoever so the conditions were good. The mission consisted of 8 landing patterns and a few SFO's (simulated flame out's). I did a few small errors but all in all it was good. I got an 8 which I'm pleased with. Tomorrow, the plan is to fly TD12. Then solo check depends on when we get the Dash-1 test done. It seems like we're going to have good weather the rest of the week so the fingers are crossed. Now it's time to study some Dash-1.
/GEA

05/10

(Wednesday 0930) I'm on today's flying programme where I'll be flying TD12, the last flight before solo-check. The plan is to fly solo-check tomorrow and solo will probably follow in the beginning of next week. This morning we had a test in Dash-1, the last one before the real Dash-1 exam. All went ok, and I think that most of us got close to 100% right answers.
Today it was my turn to brief the IP during pre-flight briefing. At this stage, the instructor says what he wants out of the flight and in what sequence things have to be done. Then it's up to the student to make a plan which includes everything and make sure to do it properly up there. The instructor will act as if he wasn't sitting in the aircraft, unless the student does something unsafe of course.
My take off time is set at about 1200, so I'm ready to go. Weather conditions are perfect once again, so that's just great.
/GEA

05/10

(Wednesday 1350) Just landed and debriefed. The flight went ok. I made a goof at one point where I landed short of the touch down point, which is unacceptable. The IP said that I would have gotten a 10 for the flight if I hadn't done that...so I got a 9 instead, which I'm also very pleased with. The IP and myself made a deal that I'll do it just as good tomorrow with the check-pilot and then go solo afterwards. Yes, that's right, we have the Dash-1 exam in the morning, then we have briefing and solo check afterwards...followed by solo flight if everything goes well! So MEY and myself are really excited about it. I don't think he landed yet, but when he does, I'm sure that we'll have a word or two together, since we both have solo check tomorrow. Catch you later...
/GEA

06/10

(Thursday 0720) The moment of truth has come! We start off at 0730 with the Dash-1 exam. The Dash-1 is basically an exam in the T17's flight manual, also known as T17-1.
Afterwards we have a couple of lessons in Navigation and Meteorology and then MEY and myself have to fly solo check. MEY's check pilot will be RØT, and my check pilot is going to be TAJ. It's important that your solo-check pilot is someone who you haven't flown with before, so that's why we got RØT and TAJ assigned for the checks. Later...
/GEA, nervous, excited and ready to go.

06/10

(Thursday 0835) Dash-1 exam over and it feels good that another obstacle is out of the way. Yesterday half of the class got 100% correct answers in the test, including myself. I'm pretty sure I got 100% in the exam this morning too. Next on the programme is a couple of theory lessons and then solo-check hopefully followed by a solo flight.
/GEA

06/10

(Still Thursday! 1125) Briefing is up at 1145. However things don't look too promising. We still have thick fog and there are no signs of improvement. The meteorologists are however optimistic about the situation and promise better weather soon, so we just go on with our plans and hope that it won't take too long before the conditions get better.
/GEA

06/10

(You've guessed it! 1245) TAJ has just briefed med and told me what he wants to see during the flight and in what sequence he wants to see them, so I made a good check-list for my knee board which will be used during the flight. The sun has started to burn the fog away, but it's expected to be good flying weather at about 1400. So now it's just a question of waiting.
/GEA
PS. I got 100% in the Dash-1 test, so that's just great

06/10

(Thursday 1620) The fog got burned away and TAJ told me to be ready in the aircraft 10 minutes before departure time. We started off, completed the schedule and after landing from the check-ride TAJ asked: 'So GEA, do you dare to fly solo?' 'Yes,' I replied 'but do you dare to send me solo?' 'You bet I do!' he said.
So we taxied in, a technician checked the aircraft and authorized it and I was ready to go. In the meantime, TAJ went to the control tower to observe my flight from there. So I did my checks as usual, did a landing pattern and a nice landing alone. What a feeling!!!
Then when I taxied in, I saw all of the guys waiting for me on top a hill doing 'waves' with their arms. I shut down the aircraft and got kidnapped without ever having a chance to touch the ground. They put me on the back seat of the special-solo-BMW and away they drove towards the water tank. I got some flowers too (local wild grass...).
Then they threw me in the water. DAMN it was cold!!!
Afterwards it was time to take a (hot) shower and then on to do the necessary paperwork and debrief at TAJ's office. I got a 10 for the solo-check, so I'm thrilled about that. TAJ told me to keep up the good work, since there's a long way to go still, with MANY obstacles ahead. I promised to do so and I will too!
/GEA, happier than ever

07/10

(Friday 0735) I got baptised in beer last night at the GFU meeting...and it wasn't fun at all! But traditions have to be kept you know. They also cut my uniform tie, where I afterwards wrote my name on it and hung it at the bar where it belongs.
No flying today. We start off with a swimming lesson, then we have English and Aerodynamics. On Monday we have a test in Meteorology, so there's alot of studying to be done this weekend!
That's it for now.
/GEA

07/10

(Friday 1940) I have rather mixed feelings. Yesterday was supposed to be a great day with the first solo flight and all, yet not all was great... Unfortunately MEY didn't make it through his solo-check. If it happened to him, it could happen to anyone of us. I truly hope that he gets another solo-check ride, where he can prove what a great pilot he is, and convince the check-pilot that he simply had a bad day Thursday. MEY and myself are the most experienced students on the team, when it comes to earlier flying experience. We both have the glider pilot's license and MEY has the PPL too. So that's why they took 3 flights from us before sending us to the solo-check. And that of course resulted in us going to the solo-check before the other guys on the team.
So it was strange to celebrate my solo flight yesterday, both for myself and everyone else, haveing MEY's check ride in the back of our head.
If you read this, MEY, you should know that we're behind you and we believe in you...100%!
/GEA

09/10

(Sunday 1645) Going back to the base soon. I used a few hours on studying Meteorology today, since tomorrow we start off with a test in the subject. I feel that I should do ok in the test.
I just checked and found out that this diary has had over 23000 hits since I started it. It's nice to see that alot of people enjoy reading about what life is like on flying school. Hopefully you're getting a good impression of what it's like, but also a realistic one at the same time. Now it's time to eat dinner before I head off to meet the other guys so we can drive the 4 hour trip to the base. Catch you tomorrow.
/GEA

10/10

(Monday 0845) We started off with a test in Meteorology. It wasn't hard, however there were a couple of things which I simply couldn't remember, but that's the way it goes.
Next on the programme is Navigation and then 4 lessons in English, unless they make a flying programme for the day.
/GEA

11/10

(Tuesday 1015) This morning we had a couple of lessons in Aerodynamics, where we mostly learned about rotary wings (helicopters) and did some repetition for the test that we have on Monday.
Now we have a couple of lessons in Navigation and afterwards it's on to briefing prior to the flying programme. I'm not flying today, so I'll use my time to study Aerodynamics and how to use the DR computer which we'll use for navigating in the near future.
/GEA

11/10

(Tuesday 1435) Flying got cancelled due to the gusty crosswind we have today. Intsead we had a lesson in Air Laws and then we changed into training clothes and spent an hour in 'the promised land' (the school's work out room). There's flying tomorrow. BLI will be flying his TD12, so hopefully he'll fly solo-check and solo flight on Thursday or Friday. Apart from that, there are a few others flying TD10 and TD11, so everyone is getting closer now...
MEY will be attending the commission Thursday, so he's quite anxious about that. All we others can do, is cross our fingers for him.
/GEA

12/10

(Wednesday 1150) As you've probably noticed, we've had many Navigation lessons lately. Today we started planning our first low-level navigation flight where we'll be flying at about 500 feet above the ground. It's going to be exciting to fly it precisely, yet the amount of planning seemes massive, considering that we'll normally only be given 1 hour to complete all the planning. lying got cancelled again today, so we'll probably fly tomorrow. Now it's time for some more navigation planning.
/GEA

14/10

(Friday 1030) Some of the other guys are up flying. Unfortunately, I wasn't one of those on today's flying programme.
This coming week we have a test in Aerodynamics, a test in Air Laws and preparation for the Aerodynamics exam which comes the following week. I'll be concentrating mostly on Aerdynamics this weekend, but also in Navigation, as the exam is also approaching and we'll be flying navigation flights soon. It's all about flying a pre planned track precisely while passing the waypoints at the exact time. If you're off by a few seconds on a turn point, then you try to make up for it in the next turn point so that the end result is the way it should be. So it's very important to know the exact wind directions and speeds at different altitudes and be as precise as possible in flight planning. The only problem is that we only have 1 hour to plan the flight. That's it for now. I'm off for lunch soon and then it's time to start packing for the weekend.
/GEA

17/10

(Monday 0915) We just finished the test in Aerodynamics. I had 1 mistake out of the 40 questions, which I'm quite pleased with. The mistake that I did was due to not RTFQ once again...damn! The exam in the subject will be held this Friday instead of next week. That way, we weon't have to study again because we forgot everything from today, so that's great.
The weather is beautiful today, so there's flying on the programme. I was supposed to fly but I've been taken off the programme, since we haven't had theory in some of the aerobatics that I was supposed to have in the flight today.
So I'll use the day to study extra well in Navigation, since we have a test in it tomorrow or Wednesday. Otherwise we have a solo-check today and hopefully 2 more tomorrow! I hope that they all make it so that we'll have a great week.
It's not at all fun when someone fails a solo-check and has to go to the commision. Fortunately, no one has been eliminated from the team yet...it would be great if it could remain that way, however it's probably slightly unrealistic, considering the past statistics.
Somehow I still think (and hope) that we'll do better than previous teams on flying school. Let's keep our fingers crossed and keep working hard together.
/GEA

18/10

(Tuesday 0735) Flying schools has it's ups and downs. Yesterday we had one of the downs. One of the guys failed his solo-check yesterday, which will mean termination from the course. As I've said before, it's hard no matter if it's yourself or others that fail.
When things are good, they're really good and you feel like the king of the world, yet when they're bad, then it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It feels like we're all hanging on strings which can break at any time.
Today we have 2 more solo-checks. Hopefully they'll both pass and get their solo flight afterwards.
Today's programme starts with a couple of lessons in flight safety with our flight safety officer, who has a background flying Drakens and F16's. Afterwards we have flying the rest of the day.
That's it for now, the instructor is here ready to teach.
/GEA

18/10

(Tuesday 1155) The solo-checks are due soon.
Last night the temperature fell to about -2 degrees, and to be honest I'm still quite cold, even though it's about 10 degrees now. I used a couple of hours on studying Navigation, as we have a test in the subject tomorrow. I'm not nervous about it, but it's very good to refresh the memory, since it's very easy to forget things when you learn so many new things all the time.
Now I'm off to Duty Ops to check whether I'm on tomorrows flying programme. Catch you later...
/GEA

18/10

(Tuesday 1455) Both solo-checks have been passed and solo-flights flown! 2 new student pilots in the EK0205 solo club. Well done, guys! We have 2 more solo checks tomorrow, so let's hope for the best once again. Now it's time to study before the Navigation test tomorrow morning.
/GEA

19/10

(Wednesday 1430) The test went fine this morning. There was nothing that troubled me...except time; We were really pressured at the end of the test.
The flight went well. It's hard work to fly low-level navigation. I'm totally wasted; So many new things, so many things to take care of while flying the aircraft. It's very challenging but it feels good when you fly a good leg. I got a 9 for the flight, mainly because of my landing, which was too short, so that cost me a grade 10. Well, no use weeping about it now, I just have to avoid it next time.
Most flights, including the solo checks, got cancelled today otherwise, due to rather heavy winds.
Now it's time to get some (late) lunch. Tonight we have GFU meeting instead of Thursday, since we have the final exam in Aerodynamics on Friday.
/GEA

20/10

(Thursday 1245) Almost done for today. We had repetition in Aerodynamics this morning, prior to the final exam tomorrow. Then we had a couple of lessons in flight theory, where we were introduced to instrument flying. It seems very exciting indeed, yet a great amount of precision is required in order to perform safely. I'm sure that we'll have many hard flights ahead...
I got an 11 (96%) in yesterday's Navigation test, so I'm happy about that. We're also approaching the final exam in the subject, so we're all doing our best to be prepared when the day comes.
Left on today's programme is getting vaccine against the flu, and to be honest I'm not looking forward to it one bit. Then it's digging into the Aerodynamics book the rest of the day to be as prepared as possible for tomorrow's exam.
/GEA

21/10

(Friday 0735) As on every Friday, we kick off with swimming. Then we have the final exam in Aerodynamics, which consists of 100 questions and takes about 2 hours to complete. After that it's time for weekend, and we're all looking forward for that. Have a nice weekend.
/GEA

24/10

(Monday 0740) We'll be starting off with our last lesson in Flight Theory. Then the programme is flying for the rest of the day. I'm not on the day's programme. I'm class assistant this week, which means that I have some extra responsibilities to take care of. We have 2 solo checks and hopefully solo flights today...if the weather is as good as it seems like it's going to be. Fingers are crossed.
/GEA

24/10

(Monday 1310) The 2 solo checks have been flown, unfortunately only 1 of them made it and got his solo flight. We threw him into the pond according to tradition...it must have been freezing! We had about -2 degrees last night, which is normal these days (nights).
We had our last lesson in Flight theory this morning where we learned some more about instrument flying and a bit about aerobatics.
Instrument flying is going to be very challenging I think. Anyway, while the guys were out flying, I did some preparations for my second navigation flight...the only problem is that I don't know what my next flight will be. It could be any one of these three:
-Navigation.
-Aerobatics and engine flame outs.
-Instrument flying.
So there's alot to be prepared for and too little time to be prepared properly. Apart from that, we have the Air Laws test tomorrow morning, so there's also a bit of studying to be done tonight. Now it's time for some cockpit drills with my friend, where we'll practise some of the things that we expect to fly in the near future. Catch you later.
/GEA

25/10

(Tuesday 0840) We just had our second test in Air Laws. It went ok I suppose, but it could have been better. Next on today's programme is Meteorology, which we haven't had for quite a while now. Last time we had the subject, we had a test, so I guess we'll get the result today.
I don't think we'll fly today though, as we have rain and it's rather windy. Now it's time to check my mail and find out what's going to happen to the flying programme...
/GEA

26/10

(Wednesday 0850) We just had the daily briefing in connection with the flying programme. There are still many questions about the weather. So I think that the first flights will take off and then probably abort their flight due to the winds. If not, I will be flying my first instrument flight. I look forward to doing some instrument flying with the foggles on (foggles are glasses with 'foggy' upper half ot simulate fog while flying. That way you can only see the instrument panel and nothing outside the canopy).
I think it's going to be quite demanding to fly precisely by looking at the instruments only. I'll do my best and see how it goes. I feel prepared for the flight so I'm ready when the weather's ready. We have a solo check on the programme today, but I have a feeling that it will get cancelled because of the weather... Let's wait and see.
/GEA

26/10

(Wednesday 1145) The solo-check has been flown and followed by a solo flight! So now we have a new member in the club, which also contributes to our team's good statistics. Hopefully we'll keep it going this way and have the best statistics ever.
My flight got cancelled unfortunately, due to technical difficulties. In a way it's ok with me, since the weather isn't exactly ideal. But as you probably know, one always looks forward to an upcoming flight, so it's not fun when it gets cancelled.
Tonight we have GFU meeting instead of Thursday, since we have exam in Flight Theory, so it's probably best to use Thursday night on studying and brushing up before the exam.
I got 87% in the meteorology test last time, which isn't all that good, but I guess you can't win 'em all...
Left on today's programme is physical training and then tonight's meeting.
/GEA

27/10

(Thursday 1245) We're between English lessons right now, which is the rest of today's programme. This morning we started off with some Air Laws where we repeated the last things before the exam, which comes on Monday. Then we had Meteorology where we learned a whole bunch about air pressure, and how to take it inot account when flight-planning.
Flying got cancelled due to rather thick fog which has covered the base since sunrise. Lesson is starting again now. Catch you later.
/GEA

28/10

(Friday 1140) We have just thrown one of the guys in the water tank for having passed his solo check and flown his solo flight. The spirit is up. It's so great when someone goes solo. It's like going solo yourself all over again.
We had the usual Friday morning swimming lesson this morning followed by a couple of lessons in English and now all that's left on the plan is the final exam in Flight Theory. Let's hope that we all do well so and have a great weekend.
Next week we start off with the final exam in Air Laws and on Friday we have the final exam in Naviagtion. So it's going to be a weekend packed with studying. Catch you on Monday.
/GEA

28/10

(Friday 1300) I'm done with the exam which (fortunately) was easier than expected. It's good to be well prepared and then get positively surprized than vice versa...
It's also great to finish the week off with a succesful solo ride performed by a good friend and a good performance in the Flight Theory exam. Now it's time to pack my stuff and head home for the weekend. Let's hope for some better weather next week- I can probably hardly remember how to fly the T17.
/GEA

31/10

(Monday 0730) A new day and a new week. We start off with the final exam in Air Laws. It's going to be greatr when it's over...
Then we should have a couple of lessons in Navigation, which will be used as the last brush-up before the final exam in the subject on Friday. Today, one of the guys will also be flying his solo check, which was supposed to be flown on last Friday but got cancelled due to the gusty wind conditions.
/GEA