For me it wasn't the instrument stuff or the speed, it was understanding the autopilot. I came from a place where I basically flew single-pilot IFR a lot with no autopilot so my instrument skills/scan were fine, but my autopilot understanding/usage needed work. It's something different for everyone.

 

I have my class date in March for AWAC. When I Interviewed they said that the speed, automation and just basic Instrument flying are the common weak areas.

 

I've heard the FMS is where most struggle, even at the majors. What do military usually have problems with at AWAC?

 

Are people just enjoying downtown Charlotte on the weekends too much or is there issues with the training department?

 

New-hires are in St.Louis. The issues probably stem from guys being sent home for several weeks, then come back to training rusty and in worse shape then before they left.

 

I know for the last class at least they all went to Cincinnati or Charlotte, a friend of mine is in between class and sim, more senior guys had a week in between and less senior, including my friend had 6 weeks in between.

 

As a guy who left awac during Sim the biggest problem there is the gaps in training... I liked it a lot but by the time I could have taken the check rode my oral knowledge was shot, but I could fly the plane, there were 4 months between systems and the sim, I opted out of the check ride and quit the next day. Only 3/8 guys in my class are flying the line now. Awac does a good job in training, but their time line is ****ed up. You never know when you are going to sim and usually you have 1-2 days notice

 

I'll agree that the gap between training an extra training is counter productive to what is it is trying to accomplish. However, passing the oral is 100% memorization of limitations and IAC, systems knowledge questions are mostly an afterthought. Not to be blunt but if you didn't pass an oral you didn't memorize the stuff everyone from day one told you to memorize. Plus during youre four months off you're being paid to doing nothing, you're not sitting reserve, or being junior manned or any of the other BS that happens when you blow right through sims, so opening a book prob ain't too much to ask.

Definitely not trying to defend the training process as a whole, so I'll say once again that the gap between training and retraining/extra training is more harmful them helpful. Just complaining about lack of knowledge for the oral is kinda annoying.

 

I was not denying that I wasn't on me as well, I should have been more prepared, I did not take the oral or checkride. But when going over stuff on evaluation I felt like I had lost a ton in 4 months. And I did study, just not enough, during my gaps I focused more on the flows, profiles and callouts.

 

what is on the oral?