Sergrad - How does it affect your career?

[insanebikerboy]

I got into the T-38 at about 3,300 hours between helos and light and heavy fixed wing. I never failed a flight until the 38. It wasn’t the stick and rudder, I could fly the jet fine. What was tough for me was the mindset shift of having to do everything myself. Ironically the flights I failed were instrument hops because of the single pilot task saturation.

I say that to say, non-pointy nose types can learn fast jets, but I’d be willing to bet there will inevitably be a learning curve.

 

[Gatordev]

but I did hear the feedback that while it’s absolutely true some helo folks can struggle when returning to the FW mindset

I've mentioned this before, but for every NATOPS 1 event I did with a RW IUT in the FITU, I'd brief that for their first landing, they were going to try to kill us. I'd then brief why and how to counter it. And then on every flight, on their first landing, they'd try to kill us on short final at 50'. After the first couple of landings, generally speaking, the RW guys would progress normally.

The other struggle bus event (besides just getting acclimated to not getting airsick) was NATOPS 2 which consisted of shooting 7 approaches under the hood, mostly back-to-back. The intent was to do it single-pilot (although the IP would run tune the VHF due to it being up front). The event is a handful as an IUT, like IBB is saying, but it's a good introduction to understanding how as a future IP, you will be truly single-pilot...at best. Sometimes you might be even less than that with Junior.

 

[MIDNJAC]

Can confirm. My incoming PXO was a sergrad. He's had some pretty accelerated tours but he caught up to his peers and he'll be my XO this fall.

Easy to accelerate JO shore, second JO sea, and post-DH gigs. They make it work if they want it to work. Plenty of slop for those who made nominal progress through the VT's as students. Doubly so for any NFO types.