Christmas Morning - On Steroids

Yesterday, we heard our son had passed his last of six examinations for Aviation Preflight Indoctrination - API. That meant that today he was issued all of his flight gear. Along with one of the photos he took with his iPhone in the mirror was the comment: "Leathers is a nice touch, too. Gear issue day is like Christmas morning on steroids." After the upcoming real Christmas leave, it will be two more weeks in Pensacola, and then a move to Corpus Christi, Texas for Primary School. Likely the training platform will be the Beechcraft T-34C Turbo Mentor. I have only been in a Cessna 150 for about 10 hours of flight school back in high school, and that general aviation machines like that didn't hold a candle to the T-34 - at least that is what my son has said. From what I have been told, once your fly in this, submarines don't hold a candle to the T-34.

During his Plebe year at the Naval Academy, we would visit our son on Sundays and bring along a picnic basket with hot dishes - roast beef, vegetables, mashed potatoes - comfort food. We would pick him up at Brancroft Hall and then go over to the Drydock Restaurant in Dahlgren Hall to the downstairs cafeteria. Our favorite booth was in the far corner of the eating area. On the walls and handing from the ceiling are all kinds of Navy memorabilia - even the dividing headboards around the booths had photographs of Naval personnel from the past. The "theme" of our both was formal naval aviator and president George HW Bush, a very young Lieutenant Junior Grade who was once shot down while in combat. When I first looked at photographs of the T-34, it reminded me of Naval aircraft from World War II, such as the Avenger bomber that President Bush once flew (click here).

With our son soon-to-be-moving to Corpus Christi, we are glad that we at least we got to see Pensacola and the Naval Air Station at Thanksgiving time. Primary School will be six or seven months. I am sure we will be making a trip down there after things get settled. It will be fun to hear more stories once he gets off the ground and into the air. It will be interesting to see where he ends up landing - fixed wings, helicopters, and the coveted F-18. With the F-18, should he be fortunate, it will mean landing on carrier decks - not at least understanding the physics of yaw, pitch, and roll are in place.
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Specifications for the Beechcraft T-34C Turbo Mentor (* data not verified):

Engine:	PT6A-25 Turboprop
Empty Weight:	2210 lbs*
Max Horsepower:	425 hp
Max. Speed:	322 mph
Normal Cruise Speed:	246 mph
Range:	500 miles*