37th FTS teaches aviation basics to new pilots

Second Lt. William Groff, 37th Flying Training Wing student pilot, prepares for a solo flight Oct. 11, 2017, on Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi. Students complete solo flights in order to progress through the Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training course; however students will fly with an instructor pilot a majority of their flights. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Keith Holcomb)

37th FTS teaches aviation basics to new pilots

Second Lt. William Groff, 37th Flying Training Wing student pilot, prepares for a solo flight Oct. 11, 2017, on Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi. When students aren’t in the simulators, on computer-based training, or studying, they fill their time with flights; in a single day students can potentially fly three times. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Keith Holcomb)

37th FTS teaches aviation basics to new pilots

Second Lt. Kason Pifer, and Zachary Tarbox, 37th Flying Training Squadron student pilots, help 2nd Lt. Rachael Grant, 37th FTS student pilot, into a pool Oct. 13, 2017, on Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi. Student pilots swim in their squadron’s pool when the student successfully completes their first solo-flight. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Keith Holcomb)

37th FTS teaches aviation basics to new pilots

An instructor pilot and student pilot from the 37th Flying Training Squadron prepare for a flight Sept. 28, 2017, on Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi. Instructor pilots fly with the student pilots on almost every flight to provide immediate feedback and help with any grading and teaching the students may need. An IP can fly up to three times in one day, with each flight reaching almost three hours of total flight-time. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Keith Holcomb)

37th FTS teaches aviation basics to new pilots

The 37th Flying Training Squadron is where half of the student pilots from Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi, learn the basics of military aviation. Seated with an instructor, each student receives about 81 hours of training in the T-6 Texan II trainer aircraft. Students learn basic aircraft characteristics and control; takeoff and landing techniques; aerobatics; and night, instrument and formation flying. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Keith Holcomb)

37th FTS teaches aviation basics to new pilots

Published Oct. 19, 2017
By Airman 1st Class Keith Holcomb
14th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs

COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- The 37th Flying Training Squadron on Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi, is where roughly 50 percent of Columbus AFB student pilots will learn to fly the T-6 Texan II trainer aircraft.

Instructor pilots work constantly with students on a daily basis, helping them study and advance to their next phase of training.

“Day to day, I fly and interact with the students constantly,” said 1st Lt. Michael Crampton, 37th FTS instructor pilot. “It’s rewarding, you get a bunch of guys with various backgrounds and it is rewarding to see the whole class through and see how they’re growing as pilots.”

Student pilots must balance their time wisely as they’re required to attend briefings, perform flights and flight simulations along with their studying.

“Flightline IPs fly at least two a day if we are able to; our first priority is with our students and after that we’ll help other classes out,” Crampton said.

With a high operations tempo at the 37th FTS, instructor pilots are consistently out-numbered and need other pilots from the squadron to fly and brief students.

“My initial job is to facilitate what the squadron and commander and director of operations needs for the squadron to function from an administrative perspective so they can continue handling the big picture,” said Capt. Jonathan Skinner, 37th FTS Assistant Director of Operations. “We fly about 96 students a day so I can help with the students’ check rides or other flights if we are short on instructor pilots.”

With the help of other pilots on staff, some flights are flown with pilots from around the entire squadron, and almost every pilot is able to aide in the training of students directly. Teamwork is a key ingredient for student pilots to pass through their Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training and is an invaluable tool for them to be successful as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force.

With instructor pilots showing students how they should pull together to create team cohesion, understanding and success, students will hopefully carry on that sense of teamwork as they go through their career.

“They fly and teach, and they really are very patient. The instructors will explain in very different ways hundreds of times to help us out, especially the international pilots,” said Capt. Yasir Alobaidi, 37th Flying Training Squadron student pilot. “It’s even harder with the language issue, but they really work hard to get us to where we need to be.”

Every IP started where the students are today, working day in and day out to emulate their own instructors.

“Any one of us would be more than happy to be like them,” Alobaidi said. “They have so much knowledge and experience and we learn so much from each flight, I know we all look up to them.”