Well, since no one else is replying, I’ll take a shot. I am still in Phase I of Advanced, so I can’t talk about Phase II.
How much do I study? Not very much. You will study more for your first 4 FAM flights in the T-34, than you will in all of Phase I of the T-45. Briefs are scheduled to be an hour and a half long (including 30 minutes to get your gear on and walk out to the Jet). The briefs here are very different than the ones in Primary. In an hour long brief I will probably talk for less than a minute, the IP conducts the entire brief. Expect to be scheduled everyday, either for a Sim or a Flight. Being double pumped depends on whether your class is a priority or not.
The program is tough, but you do get a lot of free time. After your scheduled event, you have the remaining day all to yourself. Unlike Kingsville, we Meridian guys don’t get scheduled on the weekends. So you will almost always have your weekends off, unless you are on a cross country or you have duty.
The flying can get stressful sometimes (ball flying, anyone??). However, after you get done with the instrument stuff, most the flying is really fun. FAM’s are a blast because you are finally able to look outside the cockpit and do aerobatics, and Cruise FORM’s are a ton of fun.
It will probably take me about 13 months to earn my wings. But that winging time changes with every class. I don’t have any regrets about selecting Jets. The flying is very intense and the IP’s demand a lot from you right away. When you come here, you have to understand that this will be a challenge.
