This whole beginning portion of flight school is broken down, essentially, into 3 parts (while here anyway.)
They are:
1. IFS (Introductory Flight Screening)
2. API (Aviation Pre-flight Indoctrination)
3. Primary
IFS:
Nick is currently in this phase. Basically, in simple terms, this phase is to weed out those that the aviation community isn't made for. They learn the very basics of flying, put in about 10 hours of flight time with an instructor and then they fly their first solo flight. Within this time, they can see who isn't cut out to be a pilot, who doesn't have what it takes (skill or knowledge) and who is possibly terrified of flying (yes, there are people who want to be a pilot but as soon as they fly, freak the crap out and decide this isn't for them.)
In the beginning, Nick did "modules" at home. What's a module? I don't know...to me it appears to be similar to online lectures and quizzes someone might do if they were taking a college online course. When I would walk in the office, I would see him watching/listening to things online and then I know he takes quizzes/tests after each one. Some take an hour, some less, some more.
Throughout this all, they have to go to base to take exams. Failing an exam can get you kicked out...and by kicked out I mean out of the Navy (they are so backed-up and are downsizing, especially within the aviation community, so they find excuses to get rid of people....crazy and scary!!!) They give you "pink slips" for anything and everything....failing exams, being late, missing a brief, etc. It's said that two pink slips and you're gone!
(Not that I was worried about Nick because he's beyond intelligent and this is his dream so he's not going to fail at it.)
Within IFS, you can get sent to one of a few different airports for flying.
Of course Nick would get Foley, Alabama. A freaking hour+ away from our house. But it's not bad at all because he carpools (it was also nice to have the car for multiple days!)
IFS should last about 4 weeks. The academic part is about 2 weeks and flying should take about 2 weeks. However, the flying portion can be much longer due to weather. They can have many days canceled for reasons such as wind, rain, fog, etc.
After about 10 hours of flying with an instructor, they fly a flight by themselves - what they simply call their "solo". They take off, fly in a traffic pattern, and land about 3 different times.
This solo marks the end of IFS.
API
After IFS, they class up for API. API is about 6 weeks of a mix of academics (usually lasting about 4 weeks) and survival/fitness type things (lasts the entire 6 weeks). The academic portion covers things like Navigation, Aerodynamics (I & II), Flight Rules and Regulations, Aviation Weather, and Engines. The physical side of it would encompass things like a helo-dunker (mock version of a helicopter that basically flips over in the water while wearing black out goggles and they must get out and swim to the surface), altitude chamber (chamber that is pressurized as if you were going up to certain levels of altitude), swimming for a mile, etc. (To me, it all sounds scary).
Primary
After API, Nick will go to Primary. We already know Nick will be stationed at NAS Whiting Field here in Milton (where we live and why we chose to live here). Almost all married guys get follow-on orders to Whiting but single pilots can go to Whiting, Corpus Christi, or Vance Air Force Base in Oklahoma.
Primary consists of lots of CAI's (Computer Aided Instructions) which are self-paced learning through powerpoints, simulator flights with simulator instructors, and actual flying.
But, as Nick says, Primary is where they "teach you how to fly the Navy way." Nick will be flying a T-6 Texan II, picture below:
Primary typically lasts about 6 months, but again, a lot of this depends on weather. I've heard a lot of pilot significant others tell me that their student aviator was in primary for 9-12 months.
Afterwards - Advanced Training
Following Primary, Nick will choose/be given his platform (similar situation to service selection...you put in your preferences and depending on the needs of the Navy plus your performance, determines what you get) His "platform" is what he will be flying. Categories are: Rotary (helicopters), Maritime (land-based meaning not landing on a carrier), and Carrier Aviation (planes/jets that land and take off from carriers). From there, in time, it'll be determined what specific aircraft he will fly.
Each of these after primary can lead us to some new base in the United States.
If Nick gets Rotary, we will stay here because Advanced training for helicopters is actually at Whiting Field.
At this point, there's a few different routes things can take and ways things occur. But in general, after Advanced, Nick will go to a Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) which is an actual fleet in the Navy where he will get even more training on this specific aircraft, but in the fleet setting.
After the FRS, he will be sent to his "real" squadron which could be somewhere new or in the same area as his FRS.
In between each of these phases, they sit in A-pool (the time period between IFS and API) and C-pool (the time between API and primary). This is when they are waiting to "class-up" (meaning to start the next phase.) They could sit in these "pools" for a week to months! It really depends on how backed up they are in each phase.
And as always, (and will be the entire time we're in the military), anything can change at the drop of a hat. We might be told we're going to San Diego and just a week before the move, be told we're going somewhere else. Nothing is really set in stone when you're in the military. So if we tell you something and then a week later you read something different, we didn't lie. They probably changed their minds on us.
Summary
- IFS is 4 weeks long: 2 weeks academic [They "teach" themselves at home through online modules and take the exams at NAS Pensacola] and 2 weeks flying (but weather can prolong it). Ten hours with an instructor over those 2 weeks, followed by one flight without the instructor, called their "solo" and that marks the end of IFS. [They can fly at a few different airports in the area.]
- API is 6 weeks long: 4 weeks academic with all 6 weeks having survival/fitness physical type stuff mixed in. All done at NAS Pensacola.
- Primary (for Nick) is at NAS Whiting Field (the base right by our house) and (from our understanding) is a lot of flying a T-6 Texan II mixed in with some classes and academic type stuff. This can last anywhere from 6 months to much longer depending on weather.
- In between each phase, there can be a short or long waiting period where he pretty much does nothing but muster (check-in in the morning) and possibly do a urinalysis here and there.
- At the very end of Primary, Nick will find out his platform (what category of aircraft he will fly) and that will determine where we head for the next phase, called "Advanced".
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To answer questions we've received a lot:
What will you fly? We don't know and won't know for quite some time.
How long will be you in Pensacola? Again, we do not know. It all depends on what Nick flies.
Where will you go next? We don't know. It depends on what Nick flies.
The theme here is "I don't know." More than likely, this will be our answer to 95% of the questions because that's how the military operates. They do things last minute. Things change all the time and sometimes even at the last minute. Close to nothing is set in stone. I definitely don't have the answers or even half of them. And a lot of the time Nick doesn't really know how things work or are supposed to until he's in the midst of them.
I know it's frustrating for you all when you ask questions and we don't really have the answers but just imagine how frustrating it is for us! We're the ones living this life of uncertainty!
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So, in a summary, (that may or not be 100% accurate. Don't judge me, I'm still new to this all and I was not given a handbook...although I think I should have been), that is how this first portion of flight training goes.
We aren't sure how long we'll be here. At the earliest, we'd move in June.
Here is a picture to show the ENTIRE Aviation Pipeline:
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