The other day my stick buddy and I flew up to Fort Benning, GA. Having never been in the Infantry (thank God) it is somewhat nostalgic flying into Lawson Army Airfield. I imagine the hundreds of thousands of soldiers who have been through that installation and trained to become infantrymen (no women in the infantry) earned their jump wings, and completed ranger school just to name a few. My contribution to any nostalgia associated with Fort Benning is pretty much insignificant. But, I like the fact that I can say that I was there,.. way back when. While setting up for the approach into Lawson the approach controller called us and said, "Army 22698, ILS runway 33 unable, we have jumpers in the vicinity South Southwest of the airfield." Personally, I didn't mind,… One, I wasn't flying. Two, it meant I would get to see a couple C-130's do a pass over the DZ (drop-zone) and watch a bunch of parachutes fall gracefully from the sky. We had already parked and shutdown by the time they were jumping. As I stood on the ramp next to my Blackhawk near the runway I thought to myself,…. "Are you kidding? I'm getting paid to do this?…. No freaking way!!!". It was a good day and for a moment I didn't mind being stuck in the middle of nowhere Alabama/Georgia. I'll be home in a couple of days for Christmas and then I should only have a few more weeks until I can close the Army flight school chapter of my life. What a journey this has been. Hard to believe there is so much more to come. Wednesday, December 14, 2011
A little refresher on instruments...
The instruments phase of the blackhawk course isn't too bad. We aren't necessarily learning anything new about flying instruments. However, we are learning how to utilize specific systems unique to the Blackhawk in order to fly in IMC (instrument meteorological conditions).
The other day my stick buddy and I flew up to Fort Benning, GA. Having never been in the Infantry (thank God) it is somewhat nostalgic flying into Lawson Army Airfield. I imagine the hundreds of thousands of soldiers who have been through that installation and trained to become infantrymen (no women in the infantry) earned their jump wings, and completed ranger school just to name a few. My contribution to any nostalgia associated with Fort Benning is pretty much insignificant. But, I like the fact that I can say that I was there,.. way back when. While setting up for the approach into Lawson the approach controller called us and said, "Army 22698, ILS runway 33 unable, we have jumpers in the vicinity South Southwest of the airfield." Personally, I didn't mind,… One, I wasn't flying. Two, it meant I would get to see a couple C-130's do a pass over the DZ (drop-zone) and watch a bunch of parachutes fall gracefully from the sky. We had already parked and shutdown by the time they were jumping. As I stood on the ramp next to my Blackhawk near the runway I thought to myself,…. "Are you kidding? I'm getting paid to do this?…. No freaking way!!!". It was a good day and for a moment I didn't mind being stuck in the middle of nowhere Alabama/Georgia. I'll be home in a couple of days for Christmas and then I should only have a few more weeks until I can close the Army flight school chapter of my life. What a journey this has been. Hard to believe there is so much more to come.
The other day my stick buddy and I flew up to Fort Benning, GA. Having never been in the Infantry (thank God) it is somewhat nostalgic flying into Lawson Army Airfield. I imagine the hundreds of thousands of soldiers who have been through that installation and trained to become infantrymen (no women in the infantry) earned their jump wings, and completed ranger school just to name a few. My contribution to any nostalgia associated with Fort Benning is pretty much insignificant. But, I like the fact that I can say that I was there,.. way back when. While setting up for the approach into Lawson the approach controller called us and said, "Army 22698, ILS runway 33 unable, we have jumpers in the vicinity South Southwest of the airfield." Personally, I didn't mind,… One, I wasn't flying. Two, it meant I would get to see a couple C-130's do a pass over the DZ (drop-zone) and watch a bunch of parachutes fall gracefully from the sky. We had already parked and shutdown by the time they were jumping. As I stood on the ramp next to my Blackhawk near the runway I thought to myself,…. "Are you kidding? I'm getting paid to do this?…. No freaking way!!!". It was a good day and for a moment I didn't mind being stuck in the middle of nowhere Alabama/Georgia. I'll be home in a couple of days for Christmas and then I should only have a few more weeks until I can close the Army flight school chapter of my life. What a journey this has been. Hard to believe there is so much more to come. 
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