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My Overall Primary Experience

Pcoola19

Member
The T-6 does not have a canopy drape/hood for the rear seat? guessing it has something to do with the seat. So what kind of view limiting device is used for simulated instrument flight?
Hoods would FOD the aircraft, so of course having studs using their imaginations is what the Navy came up with.
 

Jim123

DD-214 in hand and I'm gonna party like it's 1998
pilot
The T-6 does not have a canopy drape/hood for the rear seat? guessing it has something to do with the seat. So what kind of view limiting device is used for simulated instrument flight?
I always figured it had something to do with the seat, and maybe the T-2 had one before somebody in authority decided it was too risky. My opinion is that it was a laziness issue, not an engineering issue, to simply build a frangible hood that wouldn't obstruct the seat on its way out.

We didn't use a vision limiting device the whole time I was instructing (up until 2018). I'd take my students into the goo any chance I could get. If there was convective weather then we probably weren't flying anyway but if it wasn't convective then I'd be all about getting them IMC time. That did put a lot more burden on the instructor and having a good mental playbook of the local flying area was necessary if you were going to do it safely and in a way that the student could learn the most.
 

RoarkJr.

Well-Known Member
Agreed, especially in contacts. We had some people ask to be prof advanced in instruments but ended up not being able unless already instrument rated coming in.
I don’t think it’s odd because I think proficiency advancing is a bad idea, I think it’s odd because it seems like one of those things you don’t ask for, you just accept it if it comes.
 

ChuckMK23

FERS and TSP contributor!
pilot
I always figured it had something to do with the seat, and maybe the T-2 had one before somebody in authority decided it was too risky. My opinion is that it was a laziness issue, not an engineering issue, to simply build a frangible hood that wouldn't obstruct the seat on its way out.

We didn't use a vision limiting device the whole time I was instructing (up until 2018). I'd take my students into the goo any chance I could get. If there was convective weather then we probably weren't flying anyway but if it wasn't convective then I'd be all about getting them IMC time. That did put a lot more burden on the instructor and having a good mental playbook of the local flying area was necessary if you were going to do it safely and in a way that the student could learn the most.
Is there an AP/FD in the T-6?
 

Jim123

DD-214 in hand and I'm gonna party like it's 1998
pilot
Is there an AP/FD in the T-6?
No, raw data only. The HSI gives course guidance on an LNAV-only FMS flight plan, and that's about as automated as it gets (which is appropriate at this level). There's a wind-corrected caret, which is really GPS ground track, so you don't really need to figure out your wind drift if you just "fly" the caret whether you're enroute or on final approach (but obviously if you're assigned a heading then you fly heading). Beating up the landing pattern you can mix both techniques, and runway heading is not always exactly the runway number times ten. Aerobatics work best with ground references and section lines. The HUD has a flight path marker (the PFD does not, it's a pipper only) and it is briefly introduced on one of the aerobatics flights, though not really in depth; it's optional on cross country flights. The HUD and PFD get a lot of their data from an IRU (similar to an AHRS) that is quite excellent- I never saw one tumble, not even in a ~15 turn spin :D

The airplane trims out very nicely on instrument approaches, although part of that is because we fly them somewhat "fast" on instrument finals. 120 knots typically works out to about 1.5×VS (rather than 1.3~ish) and the airplane has a lot more speed stability going that fast with gear and half flaps, as well as holding heading quite crisply.
 

sickboy

Well-Known Member
pilot
I don’t think it’s odd because I think proficiency advancing is a bad idea, I think it’s odd because it seems like one of those things you don’t ask for, you just accept it if it comes.


I think we prof advanced maybe three people during my IP tour? All of them had commercial/instrument ratings coming in and the recommendation came from STUCON, not the students.
 

insanebikerboy

Internet killed the television star
pilot
None
Contributor
I think we prof advanced maybe three people during my IP tour? All of them had commercial/instrument ratings coming in and the recommendation came from STUCON, not the students.

How does prof advancement affect the NSS? I could see it really hurting or helping based on how the rest of the stages went.
 

Gatordev

Well-Known Member
pilot
Site Admin
Contributor
How does prof advancement affect the NSS? I could see it really hurting or helping based on how the rest of the stages went.

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?
 

hdr777

Well-Known Member
pilot
The T-6 does not have a canopy drape/hood for the rear seat? guessing it has something to do with the seat. So what kind of view limiting device is used for simulated instrument flight?

Honestly sitting in the back felt pretty view limiting in the t-6. The 44 doesn't have any view limiting device, the view is great because you have the same view you had during contacts, but you could easily use civilian foggles because you don't have a helmet or anything else. The hood in the 45 sucks, and it was definitely rough doing IRs in it after sitting in the front with the hud in ANs and Fams (they did make a change so that you can be up hud repeater iin back if you want as long as the IP didn't fail the hud)
 

Python

Well-Known Member
pilot
Contributor
I did the prof advance and I did it happily. Less chances to screw up. And if it was too much to handle then I thought there was a way I could revert to the standard syllabus. And if my NSS dropped below 50 it would automatically revert me anyway (at least back in the day when I did it).

Not sure why everyone thinks wanting the PA is weird. I was ecstatic to do it.

Edit: I also recall (but don’t know if it’s true) that the lower number of events decreased the denominator in the NSS calculation, thus giving the NSS a boost. So under that impression, I thought that was another advantage to it.
 

RoarkJr.

Well-Known Member
I did the prof advance and I did it happily. Less chances to screw up. And if it was too much to handle then I thought there was a way I could revert to the standard syllabus. And if my NSS dropped below 50 it would automatically revert me anyway (at least back in the day when I did it).

Not sure why everyone thinks wanting the PA is weird. I was ecstatic to do it.

Edit: I also recall (but don’t know if it’s true) that the lower number of events decreased the denominator in the NSS calculation, thus giving the NSS a boost. So under that impression, I thought that was another advantage to it.
That’s what we’ve been told - Less items to grade, higher score. Even on a single grade sheet. My assumption is that if an IP recommends prof advance, then it’s probably because they think you’re fine moving on to advanced a little early, and it helps your grades out tremendously.

Prof advance doesn’t necessarily mean accelerated syllabus though. I prof advanced a single flight. My buddy PAd 2 entire blocks in Primary but I don’t think he was ever officially on a different syllabus.
 

Python

Well-Known Member
pilot
Contributor
That’s what we’ve been told - Less items to grade, higher score. Even on a single grade sheet. My assumption is that if an IP recommends prof advance, then it’s probably because they think you’re fine moving on to advanced a little early, and it helps your grades out tremendously.

Prof advance doesn’t necessarily mean accelerated syllabus though. I prof advanced a single flight. My buddy PAd 2 entire blocks in Primary but I don’t think he was ever officially on a different syllabus.

Yeah I guess I meant to say accelerates syllabus. Which is what I was on and what I wanted. It is basically the exact same thing as prof advance. I recall that XYZ events in certain blocks were just going to be N/A for me.
 

SynixMan

HKG Based Artificial Excrement Pilot
pilot
Contributor
Hard disagree on foggles in the T6. Studs were so busy in the back flying the the PFD I doubt they were getting much more than peripheral horizon cues. And much like @Jim123 I regularly took SNAs into IMC outside the gulf coast convective areas, as well as busy TRACONs like Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago, etc.

As far as prof advanced, SNAs who rated that were well ahead of the curve in terms of experience, BAW, comms, etc and not at risk of getting below a 50. If they did struggle it was probably an attitude issue which we were more than happy to let the VTJ IPs handle by dosing out some humility.

I think studs who whine a lot about grades don’t realize how much they (like everyone else) sucked in FAMs. They almost all get better, that’s what the syllabus is for and why MIF in the fist block is mostly 2s.
 
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