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43 NSS needed to get into Primary

OUSOONER

Crusty Shellback
pilot
I think you misunderstood me. The wait after API is looking like 4+ months. And you aren't going to the TraWings, you're going to hold at NASC. Or that's the latest gouge.

Well either way, if you can snag a T-34 or T-6 pocket check list and glance over the EP's while on the pot every couple of days it will do you a lot of good.
 

Mr. Blonde

My ass is a motherfuckin' champion
pilot
Not really sure how much that'll help you before you take systems, maybe a little, but you're not gonna know what the hell half the things are in the EP's. To me the key to getting good at EP's was knowing where/why I was doing those things. I guess it's to each his own.
 

d3west86

New Member
Not really sure how much that'll help you before you take systems, maybe a little, but you're not gonna know what the hell half the things are in the EP's. To me the key to getting good at EP's was knowing where/why I was doing those things. I guess it's to each his own.

A friend of mine in told me that she had been studying EPs before starting primary (good on her!) She demonstrated her knowledge by reciting the emergency engine shutdown ep: Condition Lever...FUEL OFF. Emergency Fuel Shutoff Handle...PULL. To which I responded, "Do you know what a condition lever is?" NOPE! haha. I suppose every little bit helps anyway.
 

BarrettRC8

VMFA
pilot
Not really sure how much that'll help you before you take systems, maybe a little, but you're not gonna know what the hell half the things are in the EP's. To me the key to getting good at EP's was knowing where/why I was doing those things. I guess it's to each his own.

I had EPs and Notes, Warnings, Cautions memorized verbatim before classing up. Overboard? Probably. Did I really know what they meant or why I was doing them prior to systems? Not really.

But I can tell you that being able to state them verbatim on my first hop and from there on out paid dividends when the steps would just flow right off your tongue while you were simultaneously learning to fly.
 

OUSOONER

Crusty Shellback
pilot
I had EPs and Notes, Warnings, Cautions memorized verbatim before classing up. Overboard? Probably. Did I really know what they meant or why I was doing them prior to systems? Not really.

But I can tell you that being able to state them verbatim on my first hop and from there on out paid dividends when the steps would just flow right off your tongue while you were simultaneously learning to fly.

Exactly, and because of that...instead of spending 2+ hours beating the EP's into your head the night before your brief, you can draw out your system, find some little golden NATOPS nuggets to impress your IP (if need be, or he calls you out with NATOPS jeopardy), or plan a flight ahead even...I've found knowing my EP's has afforded me more time to kill other alligators that are getting close to the canoe....
 

wlawr005

Well-Known Member
pilot
Contributor
There has to be a better way. Like putting people in the reserves until they're needed. Why would you can someone who is mentally, morally and physically qualified? It'll save you lots of time and money to furlough guys, and push them a year group. Especially if you paid for their education. And someone with a 94 average (or whatever the moving target is) is someone who clearly demonstrates that they have what it takes.

The more I type, the hinkier the premise sounds, but I'm sure there's a higher purpose that hasn't been revealed.

They are doing that, every NROTC MIDN in YG 11 is commissioning IRR, unless they already have a class up date at their respective schools. SO, every SNA/SNFO is commissioning IRR...I don't think there is a big back up at SWOS ;)
 

Flash

SEVAL/ECMO
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
More and more, I am impressed with CNATRA as an organization. Think about it. Setting the bar at a 43 NSS rather than a 90 academic average ensures that the collective beehive of Ensigns spools up and gets their asses in gear. If you think about the overall tone of this thread, everyone is talking about doing their absolute best on every exam and PRT which is ideal anyway, right? I will readily admit that I didn't have to worry about competing to get into Primary, but back in my day as an Ensign in the T-37, only 2 of 4 Ensigns in my class made it to Intermediate. We were among the first studs to select Vance and went straight from Annapolis to Enid, totally bypassing API. So we got our asses kicked every step of the way (academics, stand up, the flight line) especially in comparison to our Air Force classmates who all flew T-3s in Colorado Springs. But we also didn't know any better. So we studied our asses off, drank like fish, and never looked back.

They were sending guys from API when I went through and I am pretty certain that was a little bit before your time, I wonder what was going through the Navy's mind when they did that to you and your buddies.
 

PhrogLoop

Adulting is hard
pilot
They were sending guys from API when I went through and I am pretty certain that was a little bit before your time, I wonder what was going through the Navy's mind when they did that to you and your buddies.

Thanks for catching that. I meant to say that we were among the first to select Vance from the Academy without ever attending API. I'm not sure they even realized what an awful idea it was until they started to see the ridiculous washout rate for those several classes.
 

usmarinemike

Solidly part of the 42%.
pilot
Contributor
Well either way, if you can snag a T-34 or T-6 pocket check list and glance over the EP's while on the pot every couple of days it will do you a lot of good.

This isn't a knock on you, because you're in Corpus, but the problem with this is that you won't know if you're flying T-34s or T-6s at Whiting. The orange bathtubs are everywhere out here. Wing can give you a best guess as to the week, thus squadron, thus airplane that you'll be in, but it's pretty much wrong most of the time unless your wait is very short.
 

wlawr005

Well-Known Member
pilot
Contributor
This isn't a knock on you, because you're in Corpus, but the problem with this is that you won't know if you're flying T-34s or T-6s at Whiting. The orange bathtubs are everywhere out here. Wing can give you a best guess as to the week, thus squadron, thus airplane that you'll be in, but it's pretty much wrong most of the time unless your wait is very short.

The point is...get a PCL, and get familiar with reading through one. Flipping from engines to systems, etc...seeing how one is laid out. Understand the difference between warnings, cautions, and notes. Be familiar with the start-up checklist...both of them if you have to. I could grab a PCL now, and without getting in a trainer, be able to give you a good idea of the troubleshooting process involved in using one...they aren't that different from aircraft to aircraft. And if you are one of those guys who really needs to see it to understand it, google it. There are cockpit photos available of the -34 and the -6.
 

HighDimension

Well-Known Member
pilot
Contributor
The point is...get a PCL, and get familiar with reading through one. Flipping from engines to systems, etc...seeing how one is laid out. Understand the difference between warnings, cautions, and notes. Be familiar with the start-up checklist...both of them if you have to. I could grab a PCL now, and without getting in a trainer, be able to give you a good idea of the troubleshooting process involved in using one...they aren't that different from aircraft to aircraft. And if you are one of those guys who really needs to see it to understand it, google it. There are cockpit photos available of the -34 and the -6.

I think thats excessive. Is a PCL really that difficult to figure out?
 

MIDNJAC

is clara ship
pilot
I think thats excessive. Is a PCL really that difficult to figure out?

+1. I have never seen a PCL with systems diagrams on it, save maybe a matrix with operable vs inop equipment with battery power. Maybe helos are different, but that is outside the scope of the primary study discussion.
 

VulcanRider

New Member
pilot
OVERKILL. The 60 PCL is a little larger and more complicated that the T-34 or TH-57 so I can see where your point is coming from. HOWEVER, if you don't know what you're going to fly you don't need to grab a checklist. You're just waisting your time. That would be like me grabbing a pointy nose PCL so that I can practice flipping to different pages. If that was your goal, go to a bar and flip through the beer list thing on the table. Enjoy your time off between commands.

With that said, if you do know what you're going to fly because you're in Corpus. Get into a static trainer and learn where switches are. It doesn't matter if you know your EPs cold, if you get in the plane and can't start the damn thing up because you don't know where the starter is.
 

Van

The Shipmate formerly known as AT2.
This isn't a knock on you, because you're in Corpus, but the problem with this is that you won't know if you're flying T-34s or T-6s at Whiting. The orange bathtubs are everywhere out here. Wing can give you a best guess as to the week, thus squadron, thus airplane that you'll be in, but it's pretty much wrong most of the time unless your wait is very short.

If you're waiting in C-Pool you will be API complete and know what aircraft you will fly in Primary (unless something drastic happens). There are different survival requirements for the T-34 and the T-6 (ejection seat vs bailout, koch fittings vs unstrapping harness). At that point, you'll know what you're flying and can start studying. I would recommend getting ahold of a Natops and PCL. You can study systems (and everything else) in the Natops and use the PCL for Checklists and EP's. You don't need to sit through systems class to get a basic understanding of what "PCL-Off" or "Firewall Shutoff handle-Pull" means. The sooner you can rattle that stuff off, the easier the firehose will be when they front load you with info.
 
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