• Please take a moment and update your account profile. If you have an updated account profile with basic information on why you are on Air Warriors it will help other people respond to your posts. How do you update your profile you ask?

    Go here:

    Edit Account Details and Profile

My Overall Primary Experience

That's what I don't get. If you have the skills, then you're earning 3's and 4's when MIF is 2's and 3's, so it seems like it would help to just play the game rather than advance. Yeah, more graded events, but if you truly are as awesome as you think you are (and spoiler alert, often times you're not), then why not take the early good grades.

That said, I'm guessing studs think it might help them, but IPs are actually protecting them. The studs just don't realize it. But what do I know?
The reason prof-advance is so advantageous now is that the events you skip are now the 4200 and 4300 events with the higher MIF. For instance, I was one of the first non-instrument rated studs to profadvance in instruments in my squadron about a year ago. I flew 4 I4100 events with a low MIF, 2 I4200 events with a moderate MIF, and 2 I4300+inst. check events with a MIF of 4. Compared to a normal syllabus flow, with 4 of each, especially 5 flights with a MIF of 4 instead of 3, the difference in NSS/multiplier is really dramatic. I finished with an upper 70s NSS, despite having a brand new MIF monster onwing in contacts. Great guy, but when you're someone's first onwing they really don't want to look like a Santa Claus.

As far as asking for profadvance, I did end up asking about it, because it really won't 'just happen to you', unless you've already got an instrument rating. It helps to phrase it as "what do you need to see on our next flight to recommend me for profadvance". It's not a super comfortable conversation, and when I asked that question in a debrief, I was pretty openly laughed at. This was just after puking my guts out in the pattern at Goliad on C4101, so I don't blame him. But one week later, he did end up deciding to recommend me after some solid flights where I didn't puke. I skipped one 4200 and two 4300 flights in Contacts, did well enough to advance in instruments, and was really fortunate to get my first choice.

I can say pretty confidently he never would have considered recommending me if I hadn't brought it up. With the pace of scheduling, its entirely possible to finish all of Contact flights in 2 weeks or less. If you don't get that ball rolling really early, it's very hard to get the paperwork in before you end up getting told 'the schedule's already written, so you're going to fly those events anyway'.
 

JMT865

Well-Known Member
+1 on the fitness/diet and exercise thing and +1 on the live with people thing.

If you're sweating the time management thing and you fall into the mental trap that an hour of exercise is taking away an hour from study, don't forget you can still run through memory items while you're doing cardio or weights. If it helps you can double check stuff on your phone on one of those flashcard apps while you're out running or using a machine at the gym- or leave your phone at home and go purely by memory, it all depends what works for you. EPs/boldface, your pattern entry procedures or that NATOPS brief. Same thing while you're driving to work.

If your gym time or your driving to work time is your "clear your mind" time and studying is the last thing you want on your mind, that's fine too. Again, this all depends on what works for you.
I'd also argue, too, that eating healthy and working out consistently can absolutely improve cognitive function and mental health. Totally worth that 90 minutes a day.
 

Gatordev

Well-Known Member
pilot
Site Admin
Contributor
The reason prof-advance is so advantageous now is that the events you skip are now the 4200 and 4300 events with the higher MIF. For instance, I was one of the first non-instrument rated studs to profadvance in instruments in my squadron about a year ago. I flew 4 I4100 events with a low MIF, 2 I4200 events with a moderate MIF, and 2 I4300+inst. check events with a MIF of 4. Compared to a normal syllabus flow, with 4 of each, especially 5 flights with a MIF of 4 instead of 3, the difference in NSS/multiplier is really dramatic. I finished with an upper 70s NSS, despite having a brand new MIF monster onwing in contacts. Great guy, but when you're someone's first onwing they really don't want to look like a Santa Claus.

Makes sense. I guess I was thinking about it the other way.
 

JMT865

Well-Known Member
I ate and drank like a 55 year old steel worker with three divorces when I went through and I did pretty well. Different strokes I suppose.
You might be one of different breeds I've been hearing about. Born different. Few and far between, though, my friend. If I did that I'd be 275lb. & in a less-optimal state.
 
Top