The great part of this job is that the job actually entails having *fun*!
Granted, my idea of what constitutes "fun" sometimes differs markedly fromthat of a normal human being *your* idea, but how about playing an interactive video game on a really, really *large* wraparound screen?
The Huey II sims got here last week!
The cockpit's a dead-on replica of a Huey II's -- steam gauges in combo with digital readouts.
It took the better part of the weekend to get everything set up and the new database installed (the airports actually *look* like the real ones, not just generic clones with the runways oriented differently). On Monday, we tweaked the projectors, aligned the seams in the database, set up the performance monitors, and -- yours truly got to fire the first one up!
Ummmmm. "Fire it up" almost happened, too, because the sim folks evidently didn't know there's a throttle detent in the real beast that's there to keep you from dumping too much fuel into the engine and frying it on start.
The emergency shutdown procedures work like a champ. No fried engine.
After I figured out where the throttle detent *should* be, I tried it again. The engine spooled uplike Maggie on Friday night of Fleet Week normally, the gauges functioned perfectly, the "FIRE" warning light worked (more on that later) and the controls even *felt* like Huey controls, except for the sliding counterweight in the cyclic to simulate rotor system feedback.
Only one thing left to do -- see if it "flies" like one, right?
WHEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!
Oh, yeah -- the "FIRE" warning light.
Bassets triggered it from the console while I wasflying through the hangar making a low pass along the runway just to see if I 'd crash had the nerve for a low-level, high-speed auto.
Heh. Zero ground run, baby -- zero ground run...
Granted, my idea of what constitutes "fun" sometimes differs markedly from
The Huey II sims got here last week!
The cockpit's a dead-on replica of a Huey II's -- steam gauges in combo with digital readouts.
It took the better part of the weekend to get everything set up and the new database installed (the airports actually *look* like the real ones, not just generic clones with the runways oriented differently). On Monday, we tweaked the projectors, aligned the seams in the database, set up the performance monitors, and -- yours truly got to fire the first one up!
Ummmmm. "Fire it up" almost happened, too, because the sim folks evidently didn't know there's a throttle detent in the real beast that's there to keep you from dumping too much fuel into the engine and frying it on start.
The emergency shutdown procedures work like a champ. No fried engine.
After I figured out where the throttle detent *should* be, I tried it again. The engine spooled up
Only one thing left to do -- see if it "flies" like one, right?
WHEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!
Oh, yeah -- the "FIRE" warning light.
Bassets triggered it from the console while I was
Heh. Zero ground run, baby -- zero ground run...
I'm glad you are having fun, baby. But please remember there is *nothing* like "Maggie on Friday night of Fleet Week"! You should try it sometime. It's an experience not to be missed.
kisses...........Princess Crabby
And you get PAID for it! Can't beat that with a stick
Last week, I took a 135-slide, four-hour bloc of instruction down to four slides and fifteen minutes of teaching and didn't skip a single point...
THAT is the essence of effective instruction. That is why an op order doesn't put the troops to sleep, while an S-2 brief tells you everything except WHERE the enemy is, WHAT the enemy has, and WHY the eggheads want to send you there to die. Fortunately, my Bn. Commander was smarter than the S-2. (Wink, wink!) works wonders during a briefing!
After he succeded in annoying every WAC on post, including the CG's secretary, he wound up being my replacement.
Dating the CG's secretary may or may not have had anything to do wih becoming my replacement...
Bill's instructional development technique looks a lot like the one we used at Fort Sill. Take the 50 frame slide deck, plop the whole thing on the overhead, turn on the overhead and look at the students and say, "Got that?"
Then give them the 5-10 that mattered.
Ah, the joys of TRADOC-certified platform instruction.
He said I did everything 100% *wrong* -- walked between the desks, singled out students and asked loaded questions, took questions on-the-fly and made improper jokes about making tanks try to drive up their own -- uhhhhhh -- exhaust stacks to get away.
He also said he'd never laughed so hard or learned so much about weapons systems...