Advance Airframe - UH60M

After instruments in the A/L course came the M model course.  The flow is like the A/L course only shortened.  We started in academics for a week or two.  Most of the academics focuses on using the avionics since most of the other systems are the same as the A/L.  Basically we learned all of the differences between the A/L and the M for a few days and then worked with the FD/DCP (Flight Director/Display Control Panel) which is essentially the autopilot controller, and the FMS (Flight Management System) which is a very robust flight computer that integrates into almost everything.

After academics we went back to the flight line for contact which was about 2 1/2 weeks long.  Again, there was a 5&9 test on day one.  Everything else was about the same (table talk, daily questions, etc).  Since we already knew the standards for all of the maneuvers we were supposed to perform, all we were really learning was how to use the systems (FD/DCP and FMS) to do it for us.  It was about learning how to use the "autopilot" system in the helicopter and the quirks that go along with it.  In the M model you become more of a systems manager than a pilot.  At the end of contact, of course there is a checkride.

Instruments in the M model course was extremely short and extremely easy.  I think it was 2 days in the sim and 2 days in the helicopter followed by a checkride.  Again in instruments, it's about learning to use the system to fly instruments for you, since you already know how to fly instruments.  The M model instrument checkride was the easiest checkride of my life.  All I had to do was an ITO (instrument take off) on the controls, and then I didn't touch the controls again until I was ready to land.  The M model will do everything else for you.  It is an amazing helicopter with amazing capabilities.  Unless you really screw up a procedure, they're really testing you on using the systems.

After instruments is the night/tactics phase.  It's about 3-4 weeks.  Again, we started with academics.  this time it was NVG (Night Vision Goggle) academics to learn about and how to use the NVGs.  After that we went to the flight line and started flying "nights".  Depending on the time of year, nights can be pretty late.  I went in the winter so I don't think we ever left after about 11pm or midnight.  However, in the summer when the days are longer, you can expect to be there until 2-3am.  There is a bit of a learning curve when it comes to flying with the NVGs.  Distance estimation and depth perception are much harder under NVGs. Nights is a mix between going to the stagefield and planning routes and going to RTs (like in BWS).  However, unlike BWS, flying a route is much easier since you have autopilot and a moving map in the cockpit.  At the end of nights there is the final checkride.  This checkride is very comprehensive.  The oral evaluation can cover anything you've learned throughout flight school, but will have a large focus on night/NVG stuff.  The flight consists of manuevers at the stagefield, and a tactical route to a couple of RTs.

Overall, the Blackhawk course was a lot of fun.  I obviously built a base foundation for what I will need to continue to learn throughout my entire career.  I spent a lot of time at the tech library studying and it really helped me out.  I didn't score lower than a 91% on any of my checkrides.  As I was writing this I was trying to think of a few things I could pinpoint to tell you to really focus on for the course, but honestly, I can't.  I don't really think anything is skimped on.  You have to study and try to understand everything at least at a base level.  I guess if there was one thing it would be EPs because those could save your life.  But as far as the course goes, everything will be evaluated. 

So, I was done flying at Fort Rucker for flight school, but I couldn't graduate yet.  There were a few more things that needed to happen, and I'll get into those in my next post.

Advanced Airframe - UH60A/L Part 2 - Flying

Me and My Stick Buddy in the A/L Course

We went through prep phase and learned how to start the helicopter, emergency procedures, limitations, how the systems work, and performance planning.  Now it was time to start flying.  Before I get into that I'll mention a couple of the differences between Primary/Instruments and the UH60 course.

First off, you do not have academics and flightline on the same day.  That means your days are a little bit shorter.  However, there is so much more to learn that I actually spent more time in the library in the first few weeks of the 60 course than I did at any point up until then.  Also, you will get put on either a morning or afternoon flightline schedule and it will stay that way the entire course.  You don't have to flip flop every other week like in primary.  Another big change is that you can drive yourself and you don't have to wait for that stupid white bus anymore!  Oh, and remember all those daily questions you had to do in primary and instruments and answer from memory in front of the whole class?  Yeah, you still have to do those.  Every. day.  They are actually pretty in depth and really make you get into the books and study.

The first part of the 60 course is called Contact.  It's like Primary for the 60.  It's 5 weeks long and
you'll spend a lot of time at stagefields.  You'll learn how to do all the maneuvers that you already learned in the TH-67 or LUH-72 in the UH-60.  You'll also learn new maneuvers and of course EPs (Emergency Procedures).  You'll continue to do table talk with your IP every day.  The first day on the flight line also includes a 5&9 test.  Unlike the 5&9 test you had in prep phase, this one requires a higher score to pass and you are actually making your first impression on your IP.  The standard for passing a 5&9 test is 90%.  We also had a surprise 5&9 test on a weather day where we couldn't fly.  

After about week 3, you start leave the stagefield a little bit and work in RTs and do multi-ship flights.  At the end of contact, your class will plan a multi-ship air assault.  Every other class gets an actual mission while the other class just has a notional mission.  If you get the actual mission, you will be moving Ranger Students for the swamp phase of Ranger training in Eglin, Florida.  I didn't get that mission, unfortunately, so we just planned as if we were going to be picking up passengers, and then did the air assault picking up notional passengers.  At the end of contact, there is a checkride which consists of maneuvers at a stagefield.

After contact, you move on to instruments.  Instruments is only 2 weeks long and it's mostly about learning to use the GPS and the Command Instrument System (CIS) to fly instruments efficiently in the Blackhawk.  At the end of those 2 weeks there's another checkride and then it's on to the M model.

UPDATE: As of 2016, there is no longer a combined A/L and M combined course like there was when I went through.  Selection includes either the A/L model or the M model, and you do all of the advanced airframe course in that model of aircraft. 

Advanced Airframe - UH60A/L Part 1 - Prep Phase

Selection was finally over and I knew what I was going to fly for the rest of my Army career.  I felt a sense of relief since I no longer had to stress about possibly flying an aircraft that I didn't prefer (although flying anything at all is amazing!)  As I said in a previous post, I took some time off to relax for about a week.  After that, I got right back in to studying before my class actually started.

There's a lot to learn when you get to your advanced airframe.  If you have a lot of time between selection and starting class, use it wisely!  I spent my time learning 5's and 9's (limitations and emergency procedures), and learning the startup procedure for the helicopter (since it's about 10x longer than the TH-67!)  Learning 5's and 9's and startup before you even go to class is slightly difficult, because just like when you did it in Primary, you don't know what a lot of the acronyms mean or even where most of the switches are in the helicopter.  I spent a lot of time at the technical library and got help from a few of my friends that started the class a couple weeks ahead of me.

The first couple of weeks of the UH-60 course are spent in academics.  You learn mostly about systems of the helicopter and malfunction analysis (this is where emergency procedures come in to play).  This part of the the course is called prep phase.  On the first day, after an introduction brief, you will receive your first 5 and 9 test.  It will have most of the limitations (at least all of the quantifiable ones), and ALL of the underlined emergency procedures on it.  You have to get at least 50% to pass the first one.  As I said before, study and learn your 5's and 9's before you even start class, it will make your life a whole lot easier.  We had 2 guys that were held back a class because they didn't bother to look at 5's and 9's before we started.  They tried to play catch-up but trying to study for academics and the start up at the same time was too much and they got set back.

There are a few tests during academics as well.  After the first couple of weeks of academics, you'll spend a week at the CPT (Cockpit Procedural Trainer) learning the start up procedure and the learning about performance planning.  In hindsight, I'm glad that I took the time to try and learn the startup procedure before starting class, because it made that part of class a little bit easier.  There were a few guys that never looked at it, and they were definitely feeling the pressure of trying to catch up.

In addition to just learning the start up procedure, you also must memorize every single Warning, Caution, and Note associated with the startup procedure.....there are 43 of them.  You can write W,C, or N in your checklist to help you remember where they go, and how many are associated with a step, but you cannot write any other notes in your checklist to help you remember.

So....only a couple of weeks in to the 60 course and we had already jammed our brains full of new information.  Even though we had learned all this new information, the hard part is continuing to remember it as you receive even more new information, and especially remembering all the stuff that you learned at the beginning of flight school, like Aeromedical, Airspace, Aerodynamics, etc.  A lot of times they'll refer to your brain as an iceberg and the information as penguins.  The iceberg can only contain so many penguins.  Once you start putting more penguins on the iceberg, others will start to fall off!

Even though we had so much to learn and continue to learn in a short period of time, I was much more committed to learning it for the 60 course than I was during primary (at least in regards to the aircraft specific things).  In primary, we were required to learn the 5s and 9s for the TH-67, and although I learned them, I didn't spend a ton of time really committing them to long term memory, because I knew I'd only need to know it for a few short weeks.  When I started learning Blackhawk stuff I wanted to make sure I committed it to memory since I needed to know it for the rest of my career.

That was prep phase for the 60 course.    A ton of information in a short period of time, all to prepare us to fly the best helicopters that the US Army has to offer.