Tech School - 1-1/2 months in

Hello from Texas! I must admit, I'm a fish out of water down here, almost literally. It's been over 100F each day for the entire time I've been down here, with the max temp around 114F. Tech School is full of very interesting and challenging information to learn, and I'm certainly up to the challenge. I guess I don't have a choice :).

I'll give you a tour of the base (the parts that are remotely interesting) to give you an idea of what I see and where I'm living. First off, here's my building/room. Nicer accommodations than I've had in the Army, so certainly no complaints here. I'm living in a housing complex for only prior service students. We don't have to live with those coming straight from Basic Training. The maturity level around the area I'm living is a perk, for sure.

There are lots of static display aircraft on base for me to drool over. Since I'm the one writing the blog, I've decided to give you some mild Air Force aircraft education. Starting off first with the 4 aircraft on each corner of the parade field, right across the street from my building:

F-15 Eagle - Still one of the most powerful aircraft in the world, when considering both thrust and armament. That's amazing since it came to life in the 70's.

T-37A - Training aircraft that use to be flown at Sheppard, but has since been retired because they're expensive to maintain. Aka, the "Tweet" because of it's high pitch engine noise.


T-38 Talon - Current use as a trainer aircraft at Sheppard for NATO fighter pilot school. A similar version of this airframe, called the F-5 Tiger, is still being used by some Air Forces around the world. It was used in Top Gun to portray Russian MiGs, but it doesn't look anything like a MiG.


F-16 Fighting Falcon (also called the Thunderbird) - Currently the airframe of choice for the famed Air Force demonstration team "The Thunderbirds". Also from the 70's era and designed by Lockheed Martin. The Air Force desired a single engine fighter which was less expensive to maintain than the F-15, and here it is.

There are other aircraft placed on display around the base. Here are the majority. I may have missed one or two. It was over 100F when I was walking around taking the pictures, so I was in a hurry to get back into the air conditioning, haha.

F-111 Aardvark - The first operational variable sweep wing fighter in the USAF arsenal. Its primary mission during the cold war era was for ready response in case of a nuclear attack/counter attack.


F-100 Super Sabre - The first Air Force plane capable of supersonic speed at level flight. One of the last fighters the USAF had in which the jet engine intake was also the nose of the aircraft.

F-105 Thunderchief - Highly successful in the Vietnam War for taking on enemy missile batteries while traveling at high speeds and low altitude. The first to be nicknamed the "Wild Weasel". Bonus points for who can tell me the next plane in the USAF arsenal that was called the Wild Weasel.


F-102A Delta Dagger - Was used primarily as a fighter in the 60's, but spent much time in the Vietnam War escorting B-52's and F-105's on their bombing missions. Only one F-102A was shot down by a North Vietnamese MiG-21 during the war.

B-52 Stratofortress - The most successful and long-lived bomber the USAF has ever had. It was first introduced in 1955 and is still successfully flying missions today in the form of the series B-52H.


F-4D Phantom II - This highly successful aircraft was used from the 1960's through the first Gulf War. One of my co-workers was a navigator (back seater) in this aircraft. I asked him one day about the challenges of that job, and he said (jokingly) it wasn't hard to hold the stick with the carrot on the end of it to lead the pilot around.


F-104 Starfighter - Nicknamed the "missile with a man in it" for its high performance capabilities during its operational period (introduced in 1954 and last flown by the Italian AF in 2004).

My classes are held in a large structure that acts as three hangars and two floors of classrooms. This will be the only building I'll be in for the duration. (below)

Here's a picture of me learning how to safety wire an electrical connector. We do this to prevent electrical components from coming loose or apart during flight, caused by constant vibration.

So far I've learned the topics of Aircraft Fundamentals, Aircraft Documentation/Discrepancy Reporting, DC Power Fundamentals/Troubleshooting, and now we're in the middle of AC Power Fundamentals/Troubleshooting. In a few weeks I'll be able to get hands on with the nose gear of an F-16, the electronics systems in a C-130, and then start working on the F-15 and F-16 to finish out the course. I'm looking forward to the hands on portion. It's not something I'm allowed to do at my regular job.

Here's a picture of me and my new friend, Keith Stone (from the Keystone Light commercials):


I wouldn't have been able to attend this training and remain focused, leaving all of my responsibilities in WA, without the support of my amazing wife. She's doing an incredible job of holding down the fort at home. Thank you Carissa for your juggling act with the car problems, our two crazy pets, taking care of the house, and balancing school and clinicals (and doing very well in both). I know I wouldn't be able to handle all of that by myself. When I get home I'll take on a lot of the chores so she can hang up her super woman cape for a while.

Until next time, enjoy the rest of your summer! See you all soon (I hope!). - Chris