CSO FTU info

[moto]

Down here at the school house we hear a lot of rumors about the FTUs. I'm looking to grab some/ any info about how the separate airframes are receiving the new Pensacola grads, and any tips about the local areas around the FTUs that might be useful.

[nsplayr]

View from my community: Don't DOR once you get to the FTU. Your wings will be taken away and you will have seriously F-ed your buddies. Enough said on that but it has happened recently so don't be that guy.

I don't think the instructors over there are seeing much difference between P-cola grads vs RND grads. In terms of area, we're right down the road at Hurlburt so the area is pretty much the same, so bonus if you like the P-cola area.

Edited November 6, 2011 by nsplayr

[Disco_Nav963]

No idea how the new students are performing other than the different skillsets have been noted, but no drastic changes are being undertaken until several more classes go through so the FTUs/TRSSs understand what differences reflect individual student differences vs. differences between RND/Pensacola vs. initial set of P-Cola classes/later P-Cola classes after the kinks have been worked out.

As far as the FTUs I know something about...

B-52: Get your PRP admin certification knocked out before you get here if at all possible (I thought you had to have it done before you could PCS, but apparently some people make it over without it). Course is 9 months long. Seems like most people spend anywhere from 2-6 months casual here (I got here 3 weeks before I started, but that is the exception). Academic phase lasts about 3 months and the days are fairly short offering plenty of opportunity for individual study/recreation with the exception of a few weeks on specific weapons. The flying phase seems like it starts slow and ramps up after the class ahead of you graduates and more sorties get freed up. Sorties range from 2-6 hours in length with 5.5 being about the average. The course builds not only to a Form 8 checkride but also a Conventional Verification capstone brief, so they focus a lot on 3-3 tactics/techniques in addition to the T.O. procedures. Mission planning days are consequently long... Often longer than the flying days. You will fly on average once a week with copious sims in between (total of 20 sorties with the Form 8 check on the 18th). Before hitting the flightline, recommend reading the 3-3 sections on mission planning (i.e. defining training objectives) and crew standards. Students here have a lot more individual responsibility for planning their training than the other FTU I'm familiar with...

E-3s: Course is about 4 months long, with about 4 weeks of contract academics (half days on average; copious self-study time), and 6 FTU sorties including the Form 8 check. Two weeks of Mission Qualification Training culminating in a capstone brief follow. Most navs get two MQT sorties in the gaining squadron under supervision of a squadron instructor before being signed off CMR. The FTU sorties range from 5-10 hours; 6-7 is about average. The major limfacs are tanker availability (must get air refueling on 2 of the first 4 flights, and on the pre-check and checkride) and maintenance. As a B-52 student I've never cancelled or been more than a half hour late taking off. As an E-3 instructor, we cancelled lots. Compared to BUFFs, the focus is much more on T.O. procedures and 11-2E-3V3/11-202V3/11-217 type knowledge. We generally let the ABMs worry about tactics. Show up with a good attitude, a willingness to study a little, and figure out when to talk and when to STFU on the net and you'll excel.

[FlyingBull]

I'm at the MC-130H school house right now as a recently graduated CSO. The instructors here are still kind of figuring out how to adjust the syllabus, or if to at all. There are only two Pcola CSO's here, both obviously EWOs (Talon's can't be a first assignment as a Nav). I don't know how we compare to RND grads, but so far there haven't been any major hiccups/setbacks. Lots of questions about what was/wasn't taught at Pcola from the instructors.

The flow of the FTU will be very familiar. Start out in Qual academics and sims taught by contract instructors. Then you hit the flight line for your Qual flights. After that you return to academic/sims for the Tac phase. Then return to the flight line for Tac flights culminating in your check ride. On average the whole process takes about 6 months depending on many factors. The community has been very welcoming. They will give you as much help as you ask for, but also expect a great deal of studying on your own.

View from my community: Don't DOR once you get to the FTU. Your wings will be taken away and you will have seriously F-ed your buddies. Enough said on that but it has happened recently so don't be that guy.

I don't think the instructors over there are seeing much difference between P-cola grads vs RND grads. In terms of area, we're right down the road at Hurlburt so the area is pretty much the same, so bonus if you like the P-cola area.

Was there a DOR from a Pcola grad?

[nsplayr]

Was there a DOR from a Pcola grad?

I think so, yes. May have been a cross-flow student though, I'm only about 75% on my info quality.

[pawnman]

B-1: Expect 6-9 months. Again, classes, and sims with contract guys (all retired B-1 guys), followed by hitting the flightline. You don't do too much in they way of sims after getting on the flightline. Overall, the academic phase is fairly easy, short days with time for self-study and such. I encourage you to use the CPT ("cockpit familiarization trainer", or stripped down sim) early and often to figure out where the buttons are and what they do.

After you go to your gaining squadron, MQT is advertised as 6 rides, each with its own focus (defensive tactics, guided weapons, stand-off weapons, flex targeting, unguided weapons, and dissimiliar air combat training). The pace for an MQT student will be reasonably laid back as long as you keep the snack bar stocked and the taps filled with beer. MQT culminates in a verification, where you get a day one scenario, spend a week planning for it (both the B-1 mission and the package assets), and execute in the sim. The grand finale is debriefing the scenario to the squadron, including WG/CC, OG/CC, SQ/CC, and the rest of your bros.

Study hard, ask questions when you have them. Its rare to have an instructor tell you "go look it up" instead of helping with a question. Even when someone told me to look it up, they came with me to show me which TO it was in, and to translate the engineer-speak so much of our TO seems to be written in.

[Cap-10]

First F-15E class with CSO's is in academics right meow....we'll see what happens when they hit the flightline.