UPT advice

[Hagar17]

The best advice I can give is learn from your mistakes at UPT (there will be many) and own up to them. My unit (before they went into C-17 conversion) was sending 4-5 guys/gals a year to UPT. About half were solid citizens. The other half are whiny little Embry-Ridiculous FLAPs that have an excuse for everything. Don't be one of those. Uunderstand that you are getting over $1m in free flight training and oh, yeah BTW, getting paid WELL for it. Never forget the folks that work on your jets, the ones that preflight your parachutes and oxygen masks, and make sure every facet of your training goes like clockwork make about HALF of what you do and they're fully qualified in their jobs. You are there exclusively to study and learn how to fly airplanes the AIR FORCE way. Never forget that.

Lastly, if you savor every day at UPT, it will be over before you know it. I had 20 classmates in UPT, all 21 of us made it. I still talk to/email half of them at least once a month. It will be the last time that your only job will be to fly. Good luck.

 

[FlyingHigh262]

The best advice I can give is learn from your mistakes at UPT (there will be many) and own up to them. My unit (before they went into C-17 conversion) was sending 4-5 guys/gals a year to UPT. About half were solid citizens. The other half are whiny little Embry-Ridiculous FLAPs that have an excuse for everything. Don't be one of those. Uunderstand that you are getting over $1m in free flight training and oh, yeah BTW, getting paid WELL for it. Never forget the folks that work on your jets, the ones that preflight your parachutes and oxygen masks, and make sure every facet of your training goes like clockwork make about HALF of what you do and they're fully qualified in their jobs. You are there exclusively to study and learn how to fly airplanes the AIR FORCE way. Never forget that.

Lastly, if you savor every day at UPT, it will be over before you know it. I had 20 classmates in UPT, all 21 of us made it. I still talk to/email half of them at least once a month. It will be the last time that your only job will be to fly. Good luck.

copy all...btw im a crew chief right now...the people that work on the jet will always be essential to me....

 

[VNugget]

9. You're getting a chance at the best training in the world. There are literally thousands of guys that would gladly trade places with you in a heartbeat. Make the most of it.

Seconded.

 

[SIG600]

The other half are whiny little Embry-Ridiculous FLAPs that have an excuse for everything.

Watch the generalizations... FRED makes for an awfully large target.

 

[Hagar17]

Watch the generalizations... FRED makes for an awfully large target.

bring it

 

[hammer2]

How about 10 bits?

1. If you were a civil pilot before, don't try to tell the military instructors that the military way of flying is screwed up. Just do it "their" way.

2. Make a real effort to get to know everyone in your class and help each other get through. You're probably going to see a 30% wash-out rate, so not everyone's going to make it, but try to help them anyway if you're able.

3. You're not there only as a pilot. You're a military officer too, so act and think like a leader . . . not some kid learning to fly cool airplanes. Have fun but don't act like an idiot at the bar. Take care of your classmates and friends that ARE acting like idiots at the bar.

4. Treat enlisted personnel with respect and courtesy, but not undue familiarity. Expect and demand respect and military courtesy from enlisted personnel.

5. If you feel airsick early on, tell you're instructor. 99% of the time you're going to get over it, but jet aerobatics wearing a mask and helmet can really get to some people. If you puke, do it in a bag and not in your mask or on yourself. If you puke all over the cockpit, it's not the crew chief's job to clean it up . . . . it's your job.

6. Academics are pretty easy. Sims can be deceptively tough. Flying is fun, but serious biz too. Be prepared EVERYDAY. I don't know if they still do it, but if, at the end of the course, they offer to let you take the FAA military competency test and get your FAA commercial license, (MEL Limited to CL thrust), do it. Don't be stupid or lazy. It's a freebie that you'll appreciate later on.

7. Sooner or later you're going to bust a ride. It's not the end as long as you don't make a habit of it. Get over it and drive on.

8. Don't get uptight about final assignments at the end. I got my dead-last choice out of UPT and it was the best flying assignment I had in 20 years of military flying.

9. You're getting a chance at the best training in the world. There are literally thousands of guys that would gladly trade places with you in a heartbeat. Make the most of it.

10. You may think that being a military pilot is very cool. That said, you should never act like it is, nor should you EVER brag about it. You don't have to. The wings that will be on your chest speak for themselves.

11. Know your EPs

 

[FlyingHigh262]

when you stand up in front of everybody to repeat the procedure do you have to put in all the punctuation marks? i heard a rumor they make you do that somehow

 

[Deuce130]

when you stand up in front of everybody to repeat the procedure do you have to put in all the punctuation marks? i heard a rumor they make you do that somehow

Not that I remember. Of course, when you leave something up to FAIPs or brand new Capt IP's who are barely aircraft commanders or 2-ship flight leads, who the heck knows what ridiculous things you'll have to do during your time in AETC. Not that those guys don't know how to fly or teach, many do, but sometimes "groupthink" can make a bad idea seem like a really good one. Especially when AETC is virtually bereft of operational experience.

 

[CobraKai]

11. Know your EPs

12. Don't ever reply to a debrief item with, "that's what I meant to do."

then why didn't you do it?

 

[Otto77]

when you stand up in front of everybody to repeat the procedure do you have to put in all the punctuation marks? i heard a rumor they make you do that somehow

no you are referring to the boldface and when you fill that out it has to be standardized. Someone in my flight kept f'ng it up so we were in blues for a month while on the flightline which sucks hardcore. After you get the hang of standups those are not a big deal at all. Just study the procedures, take your time and they are easy.