Category Archives: USAF

Quickened Pace

Posted on Thu, 08 June 2006 by Chris Penningroth

    Let’s see, what’s happened since Memorial Day? At "work," my classmates and I flew Tactical Intercepts (TI), Air Combat Maneuvering (ACM), Air Combat Tactics (ACT).  This week we moved on to the air-to-ground phase and have accomplised Basic Surface … Continue reading →

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BFM Complete

Posted on Thu, 25 May 2006 by Chris Penningroth

    Yesterday I flew my last BFM ride in the re-qual course.  It went fairly well.  The jet I flew was fairly heavy, and on a hot day with a Pratt & Whitney 220 engine, it wasn’t really as intense … Continue reading →

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Basics

Posted on Sat, 20 May 2006 by Chris Penningroth

     I flew two basic fighter maneuver (BFM) hops this week, one offensive, one defensive.  I’ve managed to prove to myself I can turn high-G circles in the sky and shoot down a bad guy or keep a bad guy … Continue reading →

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I-Check Complete

Posted on Sat, 13 May 2006 by Chris Penningroth

    Yesterday I finished my instrument checkride.  I’m once again technically qualified to fly an F-16C/D wherever I might need to go.  I won’t have another hurdle like that until my mission checkride, which ought to take place in late … Continue reading →

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More Flying

Posted on Thu, 11 May 2006 by Chris Penningroth

    Yesterday was the first formation flight I’ve done in awhile.  Today was the first flight in a C-model since January 2004.  Both flights were pretty vanilla, but it’s always a good day to fly!  

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Emergency!

Posted on Sat, 06 May 2006 by Chris Penningroth

     Today I knocked out the emergency procedures (EP) simulator.  That constitutes almost half of the instrument checkride.  I still have a pair of exams to take and a flight to make to finish the checkride.  After that’s all … Continue reading →

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We Have Liftoff!

Posted on Fri, 05 May 2006 by Chris Penningroth

     Tuesday was my first attempt at "TR-1," the first flight in the transition course syllabus.  The takeoff and departure were routine.  Once we got into the MOA (military operations area), my flight profile called for an 8-9G turn.  … Continue reading →

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Preparing

Posted on Tue, 02 May 2006 by Chris Penningroth

     Today was the last practice simulator (WST-flavor) I’ll get before my official instrument checkride emergency procedures (EP) simulation.  It went pretty well, probably because I can’t count the number of times I’ve practiced F-16 EP’s in my lifetime. … Continue reading →

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First Full Week

Posted on Sun, 30 April 2006 by Chris Penningroth

     It’s been a busy week.  My classmates and I had a lot of academics all week.  We also had two simulator sessions in Unit Training Devices (UTDs), which are fairly realistic cockpit simulators set in front of a … Continue reading →

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Back on Track

Posted on Sun, 23 April 2006 by Chris Penningroth

     As of Thursday the 20th, I began my F-16 transition course (TX2, in our parlance) along with six others.  We’re going to have academics on and off for at least the next month.  We’ll begin "flying" the simulators … Continue reading →

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