The road to my wings
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| Date | 19-09-2008 |
| Location |  |
| Message | (Friday 0955) The exam is over and everyone made it ok but to be honest I'm quite pissed off. I got 98% which is a shared lowest position among us Danes. It really doesn't mean anything but it's still frustrating. My only wrong answer was one of the RTFQ. I hate when it happens because I obviously knew the answer but got mixed up in the words. If you've forgotten what RTFQ means, it means "Read the f***ing question." That's it for now. It's time for some more AOI (Aircraft Operating Instructions) which is basically about all the systems in the Harvard II. Next test will be on Tuesday and incorporates the first half of our Red Pages, also known as Emergency procedures. Stay tuned... /GEA |
| Date | 18-09-2008 |
| Location | |
| Message | (Thursday 1940) First week over soon but as you know, tomorrow we have the first exam at 0730. I feel quite prepared for it, yet I have experienced that the times when I feel most prepared are probably the times when I should be most concerned. So I'm going to study and restudy my stuff until I cannot hold my eyes open any longer. The amount of information that is thrown at you at school is unbelievable. It's basically like trying to drink through a fire-hose going flat out - you have no chance of getting all of it in, not in one go anyway! The Harvard II is a very complex aircraft and since it's powered by a jet engine, most systems are new to us so there's quite alot of new stuff to learn. The checklists are also somewhat longer than the ones we had back at flying school in Denmark. The good thing on the other hand is that the aircraft is over five times as powerful as the T17 we flew back in Denmark and will definitely be much more fun to fly - that in itself is quite motivating. TGIF is approaching rapidly and to be honest we all look forward to it. However I'm sure that we'll all be using most of the weekend on studying, at least the next few weekends here in the early stages of ground school. The weather is still great here, today we actually had about 30 degrees again. So yesterday, during our lunch break I took my GT for a spin. One of the guys asked me why I did it. "Well, just because I felt like it!" Oh by the way, TGIF stands for "Thank God It's Friday" /GEA |
| Date | 16-09-2008 |
| Location | |
| Message | (Tuesday 1615) Second day over yet it feels like I've been here for months already. The days are really packed and when you get off school you just hit the books for many hours and time just flies by. This Friday we have our first exam. It's in Aircraft Technical which is basically about aircraft systems such as avionics, electrics, hydraulics and I suppose we'll have a bit about pneumatics too, but I'm not sure yet. The subject isn't specific for any aircraft type, but covers aircraft in general, both civil and military. Otherwise we had some more aerodynamics and Meteorology today. Apparently we'll be having a progress test or an exam every week so we're on the edge all the time. The Canadian Forces are really professional and the school facility are fantastic, which makes it more enjoyable to attend and easier to learn I suppose. There are still some cultural differences we have to get used to - one of them is saluting. This morning COM and myself were on the way to school when an officer came across. COM asked me if I knew what rank he was and I couldn't see his rank from my position so I just said: "I have no idea, but let's just salute to be on the safe side..." We later found out he was a Captain so it didn't hurt to salute him. Some of the Canadians in class have a difficulty pronouncing my callsign in a Danish manner so some of them just call me Steve O, which is ok with me. Actually I'll order a name tag with that on just for fun. That's it for now. /GEA |
| Date | 15-09-2008 |
| Location | |
| Message | (Monday 2045) First day went good and I'm well in the process of getting prepared for the second one. After school we drove to Regina, which is about 45 minutes from here. Our container with our personal stuff has finally arrived and was being held at customs so we had to go there to clear it off and declare what's in it. It was good to get into the Mustang and wind up the engine a bit again. However the road itself was as boring as it could get. Completely straight and flat all the way. The weather is still really nice and warm, however the forecast seems to be predicting winter arriving this weekend. As soon as the jetstream moves our way we'll be getting polar air and winter hits suddenly. I don't look forward to it as i don't think I can prepare myself for it, no matter how hard I try. All I have to do is justtake it as it comes I suppose. Just come on and take your best shot at me! Hehe, let's see if I get more than what I gamble for... Some of our learning here at school takes place in the class room and some of it is called CBT (Computer Based Training) where we get the syllabus on the laptop which we borrowed from Bombardier for the duration of the course. Then we teach ourselves subjects like aircraft systems, topics of aerodynamics and other essentials. I have a feeling that the course in aerodynamics is going to be rather hard and in depth but at least I think it's interesting and exciting. Now I'm off to prepare some more for tomorrow and study the EP's. /GEA |
| Date | 15-09-2008 |
| Location | |
| Message | (Monday 1255) First day at ground school and things go fast here! Most of the other guys in class have flown privately before joining the Air Force, some even have Commercial license with Multi-engine rating and so on, so they're quite acquianted with the syllabus. We have had some of it back home in Denmark but it's always different to be in a new school doing things "their" way. We had a few lessons in Aircraft Technical where we learned a bit about the electrics of the Harvard II, a meteorology lesson and a briefing about stress. Next on the programme is Aerodynamics, probably the most demanding subject on the course, which will also fill the programme for the rest of the day. /GEA |
| Date | 13-09-2008 |
| Location | |
| Message | (Saturday 1055) Last time I mentioned something about the flights here at the school. As I mentioned there are four flights, namely Apache (A Flight), Bandit (B), Cobra (C) and Dragon (D). I'm going to be part of the Bandit flight when we get to the flying part of the course. A, B and C flights all fly the Harvard II and D flight flies the Hawk. So we're all hoping to make it all the way to the Dragon one day... The way it seems is that we're going to have ground school with ALOT of theory, tests and exams the next month or so, then we get into a stage where we'll have both ground school and flying and after that it'll only be flying. It's nice to think back at RDAF Flying school where our callsign on the radio was "Baby" followed by the flight number. Now it's going to be "Bandit" followed by the flight number. We went to the mess yesterday and had a great time. They have the best mess in the Canadian Forces here in Moose Jaw. It is really beautiful and apparently they have a big budget too. Afterwards we considered going downtown but we were all too wasted so I just went to bed instead. Tonight we have a BBQ at one of our Canadian class mates and his wife. We look forward to it and hope that it won't be too cold in the evening. Next weekend we also have a couple of arrangements. On Friday we have our intro party, arranged by the students who started a couple of months ago. The theme is "70's Olympic athletes." Any suggestions to what I should wear??? /GEA |
| Date | 11-09-2008 |
| Location | |
| Message | (Thursday 2205) Finally I got my car inspected, registered, and insured and it now carries Sasketchawan license plates. I also got them to install a block heater which will prevent the engine from cracking when I try to start it in the extreme cold weather. It's good to finally have it all in place and now I can actually enjoy driving it instead of being worried about getting pulled over all the time, not being sure if I'm actually completely covered or not...enjoy it until the snow hits us of course and then I probably won't be able to drive it, but let's wait and see. I also got a Canadian military ID, bought myself a mobile phone and internet in the barracks should work from tomorrow on. So it's great. Otherwise not much new here. The intro week is almost over and on Monday we start learning for real. I look forward to it, especially now that all the hassle with the car is over and I can concentrate all my energy on the flying business. This afternoon we played a bit of beach volley here at the base. The temperature was 22C today so we're trying to get the best out of the weather while it lasts. The weekend is coming up and we plan to take some "hero shots" in our flying suits with the cars in the background this Saturday. Let's hope the weather stays good - the forecast is promising, anyway. Stay tuned! /GEA |
| Date | 10-09-2008 |
| Location | |
| Message | (Wednesday 1525) Just got my helmet, harness and ALOT of winter clothing. They all seem over-warm but apparently I'll be needing them when the weather gets colder. When the temperature is below a certain point you have to wear all that clothing on top of your flying suit. Then when the temperature gets below -39C you don't fly at all as you would risk of freezing to death if you eject. Hmmm, made me wonder...so is -38C not cold enough?? All I left have today is an interview with my Course Director, which takes place in an hour's time. As you probably know, the Canadian AF aerobatic team, the Snowbirds are based here at Moose Jaw. They're obviously not here at the moment as they'll be doing airshows all around the North American continent in the summer time. However, a couple of their Tutors jets flew over the base today, trailing smoke and all - I don't know what the occasion was but I guess it'll be an everyday occurance in the near future when the airshow season is over. I've made quite a feq new friends here, mostly canadians. They're very nice people, no matter if they come from the French or the English speaking part of Canada. I also made friends with some Italians and they seem to like that someone else apart from themselves speaks a little Italian. However our class is made up of entirely Danish and Canadians. We Danes will do our best to get the top six places in class. There are 4 flights in all: A, B, C and D and we'll soon be part of the "Bandit Flight." /GEA |
| Date | 09-09-2008 |
| Location | |
| Message | (Tuesday 2205) Bed time soon. We had the day off today apart from a meeting with our Senior National Representative, who's an ex F16 pilot back in Denmark. He told us a bit about what to expect, do's and dont's. Afterwards we rushed down to Moose Jaw down town to get a bunch of practical things done. I got myself a Sasketchewan driver's license, got an appointment for my car to get inspected (it has to fulfill Canadian standards), got myself a bank account with a Canadian bank and ordered some internet, which should be up and running by the end of the week. For us, internet is almost more essential than food and water. We are the internet generation and being so far from home without a phone or internet is rather lonely and irritating. People down town are so relaxed. They don't seem to understand that time is a luxury we just don't have. At base we're all going full speed, busy like crazy and then you go to the city and get really frustrated as neither workers, nor customers seem to be in any hurry at all. It's ok that they're friendly and want to chit chat a bit but come on! Do your job and let's move on! Oh well, I suppose I'm just letting my frustrations out right now but anyway, I didn't manage all the plans so my car will be inspected Saturday and then the registering and Insurance office won't open before Monday, which means that I'm going to have a loooong time, where I'm unable to drive the car. I miss it already but I won't take any chances... Off to bed now. /GEA |
| Date | 08-09-2008 |
| Location | |
| Message | (Monday 2115) We had our first day today. All went ok inspite of not having our formal uniform. Fortunately we almost all had our flight suit with us and the one who didn't borrowed one from the senior students here at "The Jaw." It was a hectic day with plenty of briefings and introductions. Just the military way of living is a cultural shock here compared to Denmark. Back at home we're not used to saluting or saying "Sir" or "Ma'm" but here it's everyday practise. Normally after a week or two on holiday I look forward to go home. And this time it's no different. After two weeks in the states I miss my home but now I'm here in Canada. I look forward to starting the actual course and get on with the flying business. It's gonna be good! It's motivating to see the Hawks blasting off the runway all the time, yet it's distracting too when you're trying to study. Tomorrow we hope to get the cars registered with a Canadian license plate, get a Sasketchewan driver's license and get the cars insured. Apart from that we have to order internet and get a cell phone that actually works here. It's so frustrating not to have intenet or a phone. Every day we visit one of the senior students to borrow some internet and check our mails etc. I started looking at the aircraft EP's (Emergency Procedures) and have learned the first three of them so far. Tomorrow I'll take the next three and I hope that by the end of the week I know them all by heart. Welcome to Moose Jaw! /GEA |
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