Its been a while since my first IOE flight. Looking back in the logbook brought back all sorts of memories though.

That first leg that day was a blur, the check airman did the walk around with me that first and for the last time, leaving me to do the walkarounds for the rest of IOE.

I remember hanging on to the horizontal stab by the fingernails for the whole day.

The first leg went quick - 25 minutes, it was my leg and less than a minute after second engine start, he had taxiied from the ramp to the runway, called taking the active on the CTAF and was rolling down the runway while I'm trying doing the after start and before takeoff checklist. Right after takeoff, I'm still trying to catch up, he asks me "you want to pick up our clearance or do you want to do the rest of this flight VFR?" "Oh, right..." Radar contact, cleared to Pittsburgh as filed, climb and maintain 7000, squawk xxxx. Ok my aircraft. Level off was okay - getting used to flying the airplane for the first time, very short cruise and now it's time to land... As I'm descending into Pittsburgh and get cleared for the approach, the check airman is laughing, and asking when I'm thinking about slowing down to configure for landing. I've been mentally so far behind the plane, I find myself coming down the ILS inside the marker at 248kts riding the barber pole. I call for a go around, and the check airman said to keep the needles centered, pulled the power levers to idle for me and pushed the prop levers full forward, and threw out all the flaps and gear on schedule. Uneventful landing, taxi to the A gates, 15 minute turn and bam we're off the gate again.

I don't think I was fully with the plane the whole day as we flew a Pittsburgh-Parkerburg-Pittsburgh turn, then a Pittsburgh-Hagerstown-Pittsburgh turn, then a through flight from Pittsburgh-Lewisburg-Washington Dulles. I remember flying into Dulles being painful as they kept issuing speed assignments, and I had no idea what power settings to use to get the speeds, so he gave me some pointers and general power settings. Did the first pushback in Dulles, and since then have never done another pushback ever again in the airplane with this airline. then another through flight back to Lewisburg and finishing leg nine and the day Lewisburg to Charlotte with a total 8.2 hrs and nine landings for day one.