GENERAL INFO: When you receive your orders from your commissioning source, it will have a UPT start date. That will be the first day of Phase 1. Each start date is assigned a class number- for example 12-08 would be the 8th class to graduate from that base in Fiscal Year (FY) 2012. You could report to your base several months before your start date. When you're not TDY for
IFS or
ASBC, you will most likely be assigned a casual job- could be anything from filling prescriptions to checking IDs to watching people pee for the drug test to moving desks, etc. Currently, you can attend UPT at
Columbus AFB (MS),
Laughlin AFB (TX), or
Vance AFB (OK). You can also attend Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training (ENJJPT) at
Shepphard AFB (TX), or complete Phase 1 and 2 at
Whiting Field (FL) with the Navy then go to Vance for Phase 3.
PHASE 1: Is the academics portion of UPT. You will have classes and take CAIs (Computer Assisted Instruction) to learn about the T-6 systems, emergency procedures, checklists, aerobatic maneuvers, aerospace physiology, airfield driving, etc. Typically, you will have a lot of downtime during Phase 1. Try to set aside a few hours each week to study ahead. You could start reading the Dash-1, and the
11-247 (the reg on all things T-6). A few days before Phase 1 starts, you'll be issued notebooks with all your pubs. You can also find a lot of them
online. During Phase 1 you will also begin simulator training. Your first few sims will start with just running checklists, and you'll get to fly some straight-in patterns and maneuvers before hitting the flight line.
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| T-6A Texan II |
PHASE 2: When you hit the flightline to start Phase 2, you life will change drastically. Each student's experience is a little different and each flight's experience is a little different. Most flights will be on "formal release" (where you're in the flight room all day until an IP formally releases you) for the first several months... at a minimum. Some flights never get off (so to speak). Expect 12 hour days and exhaustion to be the norm. Double-turning (flying two flights in one day) is especially tiring; some students may experience triple-turning too! You'll continue to balance flying, chairflying, studying, reading, EPQs, standup, sims, and academics for most of Phase 2. The biggest thing you can do is put in the effort. If you show up prepared for your flight, IPs will teach you how to fly. However, they can't take someone who is not putting forth any effort and make him a good pilot. You will have 4 checkrides during Phase 2: Midphase, Final Contact, Instruments, and Formation. The Midphase tests your proficiency with Traffic Pattern stalls, Power On Stalls, Slow Flight, patterns, landing, and "baby" aerobatics. Final Contact tests those things again but adds a few more advanced aerobatic maneuvers. The "i-check" tests proficiency with a few precision maneuvers, but it mostly covers instrument approaches, navigation, mission planning, holding, and full procedure approaches. For the "form check," you're usually paired against another student (or IP) where you go into the area and do a bunch of maneuvers and turns as a formation. Expect to get around 85-90 hours in the T-6.
TRACK SELECT: As you approach the end of Phase 2, you'll fill out a dream sheet. The four options are T-38s (typically the fighter/bomber track), T-1s (the airlift/tanker track),
T-44s (training with the Navy in
Corpus Christi; prep for C-130s or spec ops), or
UH-1s (flying helicopters at
Ft Rucker with the Army). The T-44 program is rumored to be closing soon, but no official date has been released. If you get selected for T-38s, you're not guaranteed a fighter or bomber- you can still drop a cargo or refueler out of 38s... or even an RPA.
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| T-1A Jayhawk |
PHASE 3: The morning after track select (unless it was on a Friday night), you'll begin academics for Phase 3. You'll go back to learning about systems, T-1 or T-38 maneuvers and emergencies, etc. You'll start sims again, and take more tests. T-1 academics is about a month while the T-38 guys will have about 2 weeks before hitting the flightline again. (For T-1 academics, it is possible to maintain a 100% average on all the tests. In some classes, half of the students may do that. If you end up missing 4 questions during academics, you will probably be in the bottom 3rd in the academic category.) Again, you'll have to balance academics, tests, EPQs, checkrides, standup, etc while preparing for flights. Rumor has it that the Air Force is looking to re-combine Phase 3 and send all studs to whatever aircraft they choose to replace the T-38.
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| The T-38C Talon |
In the T-1, you and another student will be paired up as buddies for sims and flights. One of you will fly while the other watches from the jump seat, then half-way through the flight, you'll switch seats. You'll have about 12 flights until your first checkride- the Transition Check. This tests you on stalls, slow flight, steep turns, patterns, landings, and a few other basic maneuvers. "At IP discretion," full use of the autopilot is authorized except for a few phases of flight- traffic pattern, MOA work, and base and final for your instrument approach. :) After you pass that, you're on to the Nav Phase. You'll be flying a lot of Out-and-Backs (also called Out-and-Snacks or Fat-and-Backs because you'll be eating some good lunches for the next several weeks!). The Nav Check is a huge part of the flying portion of your ranking in Phase 3! It's a long day because you will be paired up with an IP, and you'll fly out to an out base and back. You're being evaluated for probably 8 hours or so non-stop, and because of that, there's a lot of opportunity to make errors. Some classes have a pass rate below 50%. Also during the Nav phase, you'll get one "co-pilot ride" where the IP will fly and you'll be acting co-pilot. After Nav, you'll move on to Mission Familiarization (or Mission Fam). You'll do 4 flights of "baby form,"
(video) 4 of air refueling (
video), and 4 air drop. After these, there's on more checkride. The Mission Fam check typically has a very high pass rate, and it will, if you pass, be the last ride of UPT. Expect about 85-90 hours in the T-1.
T-38 side info coming soon! And don't worry- not all sorties are like this:
ASSIGNMENT NIGHT: (aka Drop Night) Is similar to Track Select, but here you find out what plane you're going to fly and at what base! A week or so before assignment night, you'll have to fill out a dreamsheet again. If you're on the 38 side, you'll have to list all aircraft in the USAF inventory and base preferences in order. On the T-1 side, studs will get a list of planes and associated bases that have dropped for their class at any of the 3 bases. So it may say, "C-17 Charleston," but there could be 3 of them available. If it's on the list, it can drop to any stud at any of the 3 UPT bases. (The three bases usually all have their assignment nights on the same night.) On the T-1 side, many students will complete their syllabus before drop night. On the 38 side, you'll have about 6 more flights after assignment night due to the syllabus flights being focused on what kind of assignment you got.
GRADUATION: About 13 months after you started out as a no-nothing T-6 Phase 1 stud, you'll walk across the stage and earn those silver wings! After graduation, you'll have to head to learn how to fly your new plane, SERE, and water survival. Once you get to your new base, you'll have to be certified as mission qualified and you'll always be working towards the next upgrade.... the fun never ends! :)
Last bit of advice- Be confident in your ability, hold yourself to high standards, and don't sell yourself short-- you're now standing on the shoulders of heroes and legacies like Billy Mitchell, Chuck Yeager, Curtis LeMay, etc. One of my Phase 2 IPs challenged me with this-- Do you think Chuck Yeager would accept being off course or off parameters for a maneuver? If you can remember that, it will certainly improve your precision in flying by leaps and bounds... I promise!
