I've recently been reading a biography on Neil Armstrong by James Hansen called First Man. Hansen dedicates a chapter on Armstrong going through primary at Whiting. I was a little surprised and even a little encouraged to see that the first man to set foot on the moon had a tough time in Fams. Included in the chapter are several of the grade sheet comments for the 18 flights that lead up to soloing in the SNJ. I thought some of you in primary (and many of you well past primary) would get a kick out of seeing the instructor comments Armstrong received.
Fam 2- Average to above. Student looks around very good &appears to be at ease. Applies instructions above average.
Fam 5- Good hop, satisfactory progress.
Fam 6- Good on procedures for stalls; however has difficulty maintaining constant attitudes. Coordination is weak.
Fam 7- Rough on coordination. Is slow to use tabs (trim) when attitude is changed.
Fam 8- Rough coordination, esp. in turns. Tries to level off at the 90 on approaches instead of making a continuous turn. Has a little trouble maintaining heading on touch and goes.
Fam 9- Doesn't use trim enough- coordination in general is rough. Poor speed and attitude control in the landing pattern.
Fam 11- Entire period, with the exception of spin and high altitude emergency, spent on landings. Good hop.
Fam 12- Aileron and erratic rudder pressures on recoveries. Slow reacting, improper procedures on low altitude emergencies.
Fam 13- Shows very god progress on landing pattern & landings. Mixed up on wind directions on first two high altitude emergencies. Poor pattern.
Fam 14- Unsure of himself on high altitude emergency.
Fam 15- Overall UNSAT. Unsatisfactory for landings: overshot centerline every time on approaches; levels off too high. Below average: taxiing uses too much power and rides brakes; recovers too low on stalls, over controls. Emergencies: no flaps on low emergency, too short on high emergency. Headwork: not thinking enough.
After downing Fam 15 Armstrong went through a training jacket review with the Ops O. He subsequently returned to training, got out of fams and soloed, selected jets, earned his wings, killed commies in Korea, and became the first man to set foot on the moon. Not bad for a guy who downed a flight in primary.
Those of you having a hard time in primary just remember that even Neil Armstrong had a tough time.
Fam 2- Average to above. Student looks around very good &appears to be at ease. Applies instructions above average.
Fam 5- Good hop, satisfactory progress.
Fam 6- Good on procedures for stalls; however has difficulty maintaining constant attitudes. Coordination is weak.
Fam 7- Rough on coordination. Is slow to use tabs (trim) when attitude is changed.
Fam 8- Rough coordination, esp. in turns. Tries to level off at the 90 on approaches instead of making a continuous turn. Has a little trouble maintaining heading on touch and goes.
Fam 9- Doesn't use trim enough- coordination in general is rough. Poor speed and attitude control in the landing pattern.
Fam 11- Entire period, with the exception of spin and high altitude emergency, spent on landings. Good hop.
Fam 12- Aileron and erratic rudder pressures on recoveries. Slow reacting, improper procedures on low altitude emergencies.
Fam 13- Shows very god progress on landing pattern & landings. Mixed up on wind directions on first two high altitude emergencies. Poor pattern.
Fam 14- Unsure of himself on high altitude emergency.
Fam 15- Overall UNSAT. Unsatisfactory for landings: overshot centerline every time on approaches; levels off too high. Below average: taxiing uses too much power and rides brakes; recovers too low on stalls, over controls. Emergencies: no flaps on low emergency, too short on high emergency. Headwork: not thinking enough.
After downing Fam 15 Armstrong went through a training jacket review with the Ops O. He subsequently returned to training, got out of fams and soloed, selected jets, earned his wings, killed commies in Korea, and became the first man to set foot on the moon. Not bad for a guy who downed a flight in primary.
Those of you having a hard time in primary just remember that even Neil Armstrong had a tough time.
