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. 

Flying In the Clouds - Instruments

UH60M Above the Clouds

In Primary, you learn how to fly while referencing the horizon and other cues outside the aircraft.  Right when you think you're starting to get a feel for how to fly the aircraft, they throw you into instruments!  Instruments is where you learn to fly the aircraft solely by reference to the instruments, without any outside reference.  They accomplish this in 2 ways.  First, they make you sit in the simulators with a gray screen on (simulating clouds) and fly like that.  Second, when you get to the aircraft, they put a vision restrictor on your clear visor of your helmet and curtains on the windows of the aircraft to simulate instrument conditions.

For Instruments, you spend the first 5 weeks in a simulator, and the final 2 weeks and a few days at the flight line.  The schedule is pretty much the same as it was during Primary, except that for the final week or two of simulators you can drive yourself instead of taking the bus.

"Flight Line"
Most of your time in instruments is going to be in the simulator.  Some people really hate it and some people just put up with it.  I don't know anybody who actually likes it.  One thing to remember is that it is primarily to help you learn instrument maneuvers, it is not to teach you how to fly the aircraft.  It reacts differently than the actual aircraft does, and you don't have your full field of vision that you normally rely on in the aircraft.  However, it is a great simulator.  The simulator I used on the civilian side was a toy compared to these ones.

ILS 6 at Cairns AAF

The first 1.5 weeks are called BI (which I think stands for Basic Instruments).  You won't do any instrument procedures, you will only learn how to fly by reference to the instruments.  They'll grade you on being able to hold airspeed, altitude and heading (or track).  It's pretty weird at first.  At the end of BI you'll have a check ride and then go to AI (Advanced Instruments).  The biggest advice I have is to use the instruments as they tell you to.  I used the VSI as my primary altitude instrument, but once we actually started flying, the VSI was unreliable.  You may not know what this means yet, but remember this...use your attitude indicator as your primary instrument!

Once you get to AI, you get into real instrument flying.  You'll learn all about regulations and publications for instruments, how to read charts and approach plates, how to talk to ATC, and how to get from flying 5000' to 200' above the ground at the approach end of a runway all while in the clouds.  There's a lot that goes into this portion.  I'm not going to go into all of it, but just know that you'll probably learn something new every single day.  It's a very challenging mode of flight to learn, but once you learn it, it's actually very easy.

Your last 2 weeks or so is putting it all together in the actual aircraft.  There's a little bit of a learning curve going to the helicopter but it's all the same as in the simulator.  The biggest thing that will cause a problem is probably the weather and wind.  In the simulator the wind is constant, but in reality it's actually always changing; especially when you are descending on an approach.  And then there are updrafts and downdrafts that make it pretty difficult to hold altitude.  Once you figure that out, you'll take your final check ride and be on to BWS.

During flight line you will still have daily questions everyday, but it is different than primary.  You'll get a packet at the beginning of instruments that has the questions for the entire course.  They are much more in depth than primary (which was mostly 5s and 9s), and they really help in studying for the oral portion of the check ride.  They will be asked during the daily brief, and you'll have to stand up and answer them from memory.  Also, don't forget 5s and 9s.  They will be tested on the check ride.


Academics
You'll have academics every day in instruments just like in primary.  The only difference is that in instruments the tests are cumulative.  Meaning that information from day 1 of instrument academics will be on the last test of instrument academics.  If you do all of the practical exercises (PEs), you will be able to get 100% on the test.  The tests are open book, but keep in mind there are about 10 books that you can get your information out of!


The biggest thing I underestimated going into instruments was the amount of new knowledge that there was to learn, and the amount of planning that goes into preparing for an IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) flight.  I spent more time studying than I did in primary, and I also spent a lot more time planning (since there is nothing to plan in primary!)  The more in depth planning you do, the easier your flight will be.  Other than trying to hold airspeed and altitude, knowing what to do next is the hardest part of instruments.  If you get behind it becomes very difficult to catch up and that's usually what causes problems on checkrides and on IFR flights in general.

I like to chair fly every flight before I actually do it.  What I mean by that is to go through the entire flight and what I'm going to do at each portion before actually getting in the aircraft.  I get all of my frequencies written down in the order that I'm going to use them (both COM and NAV freqs), and I make a plan of how I'm going to set up the GPS if it's going to be used.  Then, I run through what I'm going to to do and the radio calls I'm going to make at each stage of the flight.  If you've run through it once or twice before you actually get in the aircraft with your IP (or check pilot), it makes it much, much easier and relaxed.

Of course though, this is flight school and you won't always have the luxury of planning every flight in advance.  Often times my IP would give us our route in the morning when we arrived, making it that much more difficult.  Still, I would ensure that I knew generally what I was going to do on each leg of the flight, and I would still plan out my frequencies before going to the aircraft.

Well, that's about it for instruments.  8 more weeks of flight school down and only 1 more course before you get to select your aircraft.  By this point, most of your OML points have been accounted for.  All that's left is BWS and your PT test.  Also, this is the last time you'll fly the TH67 (until the Army transitions to the LUH-72).  You should have a few days to a week off before you start BWS....and you're going to need it.  I'll tell you why in the next post!