The road to my wings
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| Date | 10-03-2008 |
| Location |  |
| Message | (Monday 1925) Stud.Luft went really well, even though the weather could have been better, but I suppose bad weather's the rule rather than the exception. I was assigned as photographer during the whole arrangement so I did my best to take some good pictures. I will upload them on studluft.dk as soon as I've sorted them out (there's quite a few of them!). I will also upload some of them (with only aircraft on) to my own website gallery. In the meantime I've uploaded a couple of new videos to the "Looking back" section. This week we have alot of lessons in Air Operations and War theory. It's not that suprizing as we only have 3 subjects left for the next four months and the next exam is approaching fast. I test flew my T38 Talon model today and had some hairy moments but it's still in one piece, which is always good. It needs some modifications before it can get in the air again... Anyway, it's dinner time, so I'm outta here. /GEA |
| Date | 04-03-2008 |
| Location | |
| Message | (Tuesday 1225) We'll be heading over to Jylland soon. So far the day has consisted of 4 lessons of State Knowledge... Otherwise, I uploaded a short clip of my 6g profile from the centrifuge test. The reason why I haven't uploaded the whole video is that I've been having trouble editing the video. I think I'll have the proper one done during the weekend, even though I have a million other things to take care of. You can find the video in the "Looking back" section. That's where all videos will be placed in the future. /GEA |
| Date | 03-03-2008 |
| Location | |
| Message | (Monday 0920) This Wednesday and Thursday we have Stud Luft again, which is the yearly recruiting campaign of the Air Force. My job during the whole arrangement is to be the "photographer" documenting as much of the action as possible. It's always nice to meet alot of young people with the same interest as myself. I can clearly remember what it was like when I went to Stud Luft as a high-school student. The T38 Talon model that I'm building is almost ready. The parts from Hong Kong arrived last week so there's just a few finishing touches to do and it's ready for the first test flight. After that I'll start building the A4 Skyhawk straight away. This Friday, the officer responsible for our pilot training will come over to brief us on what to expect. In my case there shouldn't be any surpsises. I was assigned to the fighter pilot training and having passed the centrifuge test means that I get to keep it. But anyway, it's always exciting to get such a briefing and see who's going where. Later... /GEA |
| Date | 26-02-2008 |
| Location | |
| Message | (Wednesday 0005) Just got back home after a looong (9 hour) drive from the Netherlands. The centrifuge training and test went well so I'm cleared to go on with the fighter pilot training. First we had about 1 hour of academics where we learned about AGSM (Anti-G straining manoevers). Afterwards it was time to rock and roll in the sling shot. I was really nervous about it and it didn't help at all that they guy before me had a G-LOC (G-induced, loss of conciousness). Anyway, when it was my turn I got into the "torture chamber" and got ready for the first profile where you simply sit relaxed and breathe normally without any straining manouevers. This way they can measure your passive g-tolerance. Mine was at 5.5 which is above average so I was happy indeed! The g's come on at an onset of 0.1g/sec, which means that after 30 seconds you're pulling 3g's, after 40 seconds 4g's and so on. Then afterwards it was time to work for the money. The next profile was a steady 30 second 4g run with an onset of 0.33g/sec. After that it was on to 5g for 15 seconds with an onset of 1g/sec. The last profile was a steady 15 second 6g run with an onset of 1g/sec. You can really feel the g's and you have to work to stay awake as you don't even have a g-suit on! All in all I'm happy that it's over and I had no problems with it. Our Dutch instructor said that I had a very good straining technique, so I'll stick to it. Now I'm off to bed! /GEA |
| Date | 25-02-2008 |
| Location |  |
| Message | (Monday 2100) On my way to bed soon as tomorrow is a very decisive day that could turn my life upside down. As you probably know, we have the centrifuge test tomorrow, so it's quite exciting indeed...and nervous wrecking to be honest! We arrived here at the hotel in Holland late this afternoon and now it's time to rest to be ready for tomorrow. Cross your fingers for me; I'll need it! I'll let you know how it went. /GEA |
| Date | 21-02-2008 |
| Location |  |
| Message | (Friday 0245) It's late and I'm on my way to bed but I thought I should drop a few lines before I sleep. We had a great time here and alot has happened since Monday. Tuesday we visited the Saab development section where we saw and learned a bit more about the JAS39 Gripen. It was a nice experience and we even got to try the Gripen simulator. It handles quite nicely. I felt, however, that the F16 has better roll rate than the Gripen. On the other hand, the Gripen has a significantly better Instantaneous-turn rate, most probably due to it's canard configuration. Another thing that I noticed was thar the Gripen seems to bleed alot of energy when turning at slow speed... not too different from the F16 on that aspect. Anyway, Wednesday we visited the Swedish Navy and even got a ride on some of their combat speed-boats. It was good fun and it's amazing how manoeverable they are. The 16 meter boat that sails at over 35 knots can stop in it's own lenght! It was fun to sit there and see the nose of the boat go under water when the trim tab settings are changed. Today we visited the Air Force combat school here in Upsala and had a great time with the Swedish cadets. All that's left now is the trip home tomorrow. Now I'm off to bed. Catch you some other time before too long. /GEA |
| Date | 18-02-2008 |
| Location | |
| Message | (Tuesday 0010) Late Monday night and I'm on my way to bed soon. I'm in the hotel room here in Linköping. We had a great day today even though it was used mostly on transport to here. First we started off with a breakfast at school. Then we went winter-swimming. Yes, that's right we drove to the sea and jumped into the icy water. It was an experience hard to explain. When you jump in the water your body simply feels numb but the pain really hits when you get out of the water. The funny thing is that when I got out of the water and into the cold air where it was even windy, the air felt extremely warm compared to the water. The water was only a few degrees over freezing so you can only imagine what it was like. Anyway it was a nice experience and I'm glad that I didn't chiken out. After that we were picked up by 3 speed boats and sailed across Øresund to Sweden. The speed boats were each powered by 2 outboard engines rated at 275 horsepower each! Yes, that's 550 horsepower per boat! It was good fun, especially to sail under the bridge that connects Denmark to Sweden at just over 100km/h. Now I'm off to bed. Tomorrow's a long day starting with the Gripen development centre at a base close to here and a visit to a helicopter squadron at the same base. Afterwards we head on to Stockholm for the next 2 days. Stay tuned! /GEA |
| Date | 15-02-2008 |
| Location | |
| Message | (Friday 2115) Just added a video section to the website. So far there are 3 videos, all from my F16 rides in 2006. You can find the videos in the "Looking Back" section of the website. The videos are hosted at Youtube and embedded into my website. I hope you enjoy them! Best regards GEA |
| Date | 12-02-2008 |
| Location | |
| Message | (Tuesday 0945) We (finally!) delivered the assignment yesterday and what a relief it was. Now it's back to "normal" school, for this week at least. We all look forward to next week's study trip to visit the Swedish Forces. It's going to be interesting and hopefully relaxing. The centrifuge test is approaching fast and to be honest I think about it quite alot. It's a big thing that could cost the fighter slot so it's a bit nerve wrecking. Now it's time for a couple of hours of State-knowledge followed by 4 hours of Cutural Understanding. Yesterday evening I started building the T38 Talon model aircraft and hopefully it should be ready by next week, depending on when the missing parts arrive from Hong Kong and from England. Catch you later. /GEA |
| Date | 10-02-2008 |
| Location | |
| Message | (Sunday 1950) It's been over a week since I last made an entry in this diary. As you can imagine I've been rather busy lately. Tomorrow's the day when we have to deliver our bachelor assignment, so tonight I'll make a last effort to make sure I deliver a good product. Otherwise I've flown my T33 model almost every day lately - it's good fun and I can't wait to get the next project going, but I'm waiting for some parts to arrive before I can start building it. I uploaded some pictures from Aalborg airshow, some from spotting in Holland and a couple of the T33 model. When I get some more time I'll upload a few more. This week shouldn't be too hard at school which is something that we need at the moment. Then next week we go for our long-waited study trip to Sweden...we're going to have a blast! Catch you later- I promise to write a bit more often than I've done lately. Best regards GEA |
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