Starting the day in military style
“Urgh waking up at 5 o’clock in the morning!!” This would definitely be the reaction of majority of the people, if they were asked to do a job that requires to get out of bed at 5 o’clock in the morning every day of the week. As a fighter pilot trainee, this is normal daily routine, and a day of excitement and enthusiasm kicks off.
Physical fitness is a must for any pilot, and for a pilot training to become a fighter jet pilot, it is even more important. Hence, it is compulsory for all trainees to take part in physical training for 45 minutes in the morning from 5.30 to 6.15 AM. PT would typically comprise of a 2-kilometre warmup run, pushups, sit ups, chin ups and strengthening drills. These are all extremely vital exercises for any pilot. Occasionally the PT instructor would allow us to play a little bit of soccer too. After all this, by sunrise, all fighter pilot trainees would be drenched in sweat, but we were ready both physically and mentally for the challenging day ahead.
Headed to the squadron
After a shower and breakfast, pilot trainees would change into their flying overalls and head to the flying squadron to begin the day properly. Morning briefing will take place sharp at 8 am at the squadron auditorium. All pilots of the squadron including the Commanding officer would take part in this briefing where daily flying program, weather forecast, emergency handling and flight safety aspects are discussed. This helps all the pilots to be current with procedures and create a safe environment for everybody. Furthermore, on the first day of the week, soon after morning briefing all trainees will have an aircraft knowledge spot test, which refreshes the technical knowledge critical for flying. The performance during these spot tests will all add up to the final grading and doing well in all of these is extremely important for prospects.
Getting into the real deal
Once the morning briefing is completed, the fighter pilot trainees who have flights scheduled for the day would meet their respective flying instructors for pre-flight briefing. This is a very short discussion between the two individual to clear any last-minute doubts, hence in-detailed briefing (mission briefing) must be conducted the day before (I’ll get to this in a bit). This will help the trainee to perform better in the air during the mission and achieve training progress. Soon after pre-flight briefs, they would go to the aircraft together as per the flying schedule and get ready for the real deal.
Whatever that happens during an actual training flight of a fighter jet pilot trainee will be covered in one of my upcoming post because it is worth dedicating a special blog post. Hence, I will continue from the place where the fighter pilot trainee completes his training sortie. Soon after the sortie, he will have a de-briefing session with his instructor. During this, they will go through all what happened during the mission. All the mistakes the which the trainee carried out during the sortie and the improvements he has made in his skills are all discussed and clarified. An in-depth analysis of what goes on in a flying missions de-brief will be brought to you soon in another post.
A bit of relaxed time
Next, the trainee fighter pilot will leave the squadron premises around 1PM and head to the trainees’ mess, where they will enjoy a filling lunch and take adequate rest. This also gives them an opportunity to socialize with the rest of the trainees, share experiences of the day, and even take a nap if one feels tired.
Different methods of preparation
At 3 PM, all fighter pilot trainees are required to report back to the flying squadron to carry out their ground preparations and studies for the next day flying sorties. Trainees have the opportunity to carry out “cockpit timing”, chair flying and logging simulator hours to get accustomed to the training mission. Cockpit-timing is where a pilot would go to the actual aircraft and sit inside the cockpit and carryout all checks and procedures and simulate him being in air and flying the mission while on ground. This process of imagination and practice is one of the best methods for any pilot to prepare for the actual flying situation.
Chair flying is another practice that all pilots do prior to flying as ground preparation. This is mostly done by pilots who have some level of experience in their respective aircraft as he/she needs to remember the position and appearance of each and every instrument, switch and button by heart and imagine a virtual cockpit in front of you. Once that is done, he could practice his flying sortie in his mind and prepare for any situation that may arise. During this time at the flying squadron, many trainees also utilize the time to complete their de-briefing books. This is where they note down all what happened in the sortie, they flew that day and write down everything they learnt. This helps them to refer to these notes in the future when faced with any questions.
Sports time
After studies at the flying squadron, at around 5 PM, the trainees would change into their sports kits and head to the grounds for some evening recreational sports. All of these aspects are crucial in the grooming of a fighter pilot because sports enhance coordination ability and teach team-spirit. Often, flying instructors would also join the trainees as that builds a good rapport between them and reduces the cockpit gradient when flying. One of the main aspects of attitude that a trainee needs to develop is honesty and not being afraid to take responsibility for your actions. All of these qualities are instilled into fighter pilot trainees as that helps to develop a safe flying environment from the ground-up.
Getting to the end of the day
With the end of the evening sports session, fighter pilot trainees would head back to the accommodation area (mess) to freshen up and have dinner. Having proper meals with good nutritional value is critical to maintain a good health and carry out flying training in the right intensity. After meals, the trainees would have their own free time to relax and do some self-studies in their dormitories. It is at this time that they will receive the flight training plan for the following day. This gives them sufficient time to carry out self-preparations and do the required groundwork prior to the scheduled training flights on the next day.
At 10 PM, all trainees will have a general rollcall where an officer-in-charge of them will arrive at the trainees’ accommodation area to talk to them and address any issues that may have happened during the day. Soon after, at 10.30PM all trainees are to switch off lights in their dormitories and get a good night’s sleep.
This is what a typical day of a fighter pilot trainee looks like. The nature of training and the program may change from country to country and from Air Force to Air Force, but the essence remains the same in most. It is not an easy journey to become a fighter pilot, and every step that the trainee takes has a notable impact on the outcome.
I hope you all enjoyed reading this blog post. If you have questions regarding anything that a fighter pilot trainee does, please reach out to me. I’ll be more than happy to answer each and every one of them.
Disclaimer: The images appearing on this blog are all generated using Artificial Intelligence due to the sensitive nature of real images.