Purpose

So what is my goal with this blog?  Perhaps most selfishly, I wish to use this blog as a journal of my experience at Test Pilot School.  But, of course, this will be a very public journal.  I hope to use it as a way of sharing my experiences with family, friends, future-friends, and interested visitors.

I also hope that this blog can be used as a tool for other pilots and engineers who may be interested in attending TPS in the future.  Readers, never feel shy about asking questions about the prerequisites and application process for entry.  Also, please share your thoughts and experiences with me in the comments section of my posts.  Do not hesitate to contact me privately, if you wish.

For the first few weeks of the blog I will share information and insight about the application process in detail, including some thoughts about the flying assessment and interview.  Next, I will share my family's experiences moving to Edwards AFB and my days preparing for the first day of class.  Then the truly exciting part of the blog will start.  Starting from Week 0, I hope to share the highlights of each and every week at TPS through graduation.  Expect pictures of all different types of aircraft, from gliders to blimps, and fun stories about flying them.  You might even get a few mathematical equations thrown in here too!

Hello World

Is there a traditional “first post” for blogs?  Forgive my ignorance, I’m new to this!  I suppose I will begin with a simple introduction.

My family calls me Christopher, but my colleagues call me “SIN.”  Strange, right?  Fighter pilots have a long tradition of assigning callsigns to one another.  My callsign is SIN.  I’m sure you’ve already started to guess why my fellow pilots would assign such a name.  Calm down, it’s not nearly as bad as you may think.  But also in accordance with tradition, I’ll keep the reason a secret for now.  Feel free to track me down and I’ll be happy to share the story over a cold beverage at the O-Club.

I am originally from a small town outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  I spent my first 17 years in the same house in the Pennsylvanian woods surrounded by white-tailed deer and dairy farms.  Before my 18th birthday I signed “the dotted line” and in-processed as a cadet in the United States Air Force Academy.  Four years of intense academic study, relentless military discipline, and life-changing experiences followed.  Upon graduation I found myself with second lieutenant “butter bars” and official orders to attend graduate school.

Most importantly, however, I had a fiancé.  Nearly eight years ago I asked a young and brilliant neuroscientist for her hand in marriage.  Despite knowing we’d be moving all over the world, Melissa said “Yes!” and joined me on this wild Air Force ride.

Our first stop together was the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.  I spent two years at Cambridge earning an MSc via research in a field called model predictive control.  The long days studying mathematical theory, computer programming, and aerodynamics ended in 2009 when we moved to Sheppard AFB in Wichita Falls, TX.  I began the pilot training pipeline at Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training, where my long days were spent learning to fly the T-6A Texan II and the T-38C Talon.  Luck was on my side.  Upon graduation I was assigned to begin training in the F-16C Fighting Falcon, more commonly called the “Viper” by those familiar with the jet.

Melissa and I moved to Luke AFB, AZ in mid-2011 for me to begin the F-16 Basic Course.  Nearly one calendar year and 90 flying hours later I was deemed ready to join an operational fighter squadron.  The Air Force assigned me to the 13th FighterSquadron (Panthers) located in Misawa AB, Japan.  We packed up our belongings and moved our household around the world to northern Honshu.

The next three years were the busiest of my life.  I began my tour with a series of nine simulator and flying “checkrides” called Mission Qualification Training, emerging as a combat-ready Suppression of Enemy Air Defense (SEAD) wingman.  Battling never-ending snow showers and sea fog, I somehow managed to get through an upgrade to Flight Lead and Instructor Pilot as well.  The 13th also traveled to over a half-dozen temporary duty (TDY) locations and one very busy 7-month deployment to the Middle East during my tenure.  I left the Panthers after RED FLAG in the early summer of 2015 as an IP with 750 hours in the F-16, 240 combat hours, and a chance to go to USAF Test Pilot School (TPS).

Now it’s time for even more fun at Edwards AFB, CA as I begin TPS in Class 15B.