Page 25 - Volume 17 Number 5

3 Leave shoulder harness attached (warning: disconnecting wrong straps will be fatal)3 Disconnect lap belt3 Disconnect G-suit hose3 Push up on seat stabilization pitot with one hand 3 Disconnect survival kit buckles3 Stand up, pull up on both seat stabilization pitot 3 Jump out away from approaching tail of aircraftCanopy and seat eject successfully, no seat-pilot separation:3 Leave shoulder harness attached (warning: disconnecting wrong straps will be fatal)3 Disconnect lap belt3 Push up on seat stabilization pitot3 Disconnect survival kit buckles3 Stand up3 Remove drogue by pulling both stabilization pitot 3 Push out away from seatSeat/pilot separation successful, no parachute deployment:3 Attempt to remove drogue chute manually3 Remove drogue by pulling both stabilization pitotParachute deploys partially, but lines are tangled:3 Pry hands between parachute risers at top of helmet 3 Pull apart until lines are straightParachute deploys with line or lines over top of chute:3 Determine which line(s) are over top of chute3 Remove knife from G-suit leg pocket3 Cut lines with line cutter blade (no more than three if possible)Landing on open ground:3 Remove oxygen mask prior to landing and discard 3 Open both visors (clear and tinted)3 Steer into the wind3 Perform PLF (parachute landing fall)3 Perform survival/evasion procedures(Author’s note: PLF training is an entire day of training, and survival/evasion training is an entire week.)Landing in water:3 Remove oxygen mask prior to landing and discard 3 Open visors3 Steer into the wind3 Verify raft is inflated3 Give a sharp tug on survival kit line if not inflated 3 Manually inflate raft (time permitting)3 Perform water landing and survival proceduresLanding in trees:3 Steer into shortest trees3 Before impact- jettison survival kit3 Leave mask firmly attached3 Leave visors down3 Put finger tips under visors by eyes3 Align thumbs with jaw3 Keep knees and feet tightly together3 Keep elbows in3 After stopping, climb onto support branches 3 Release shoulder harness3 Climb down from tree3 Perform survival/evasion proceduresAll of these steps must be demonstrated from memory during recurrent training. Can you imagine learning to this degree of detail? And then add the use, function and procedures for 15 or 20 types of ordinance, a radar system that does 10 times more stuff than simply looking at weather, an aerial refueling system, and the myriad other components and tactics, all to be mastered and used in a nuclear, biological, and chemical warfare environment? A daunting endeavor indeed and the reason undergraduate pilot training is for an entire year. Initial weapon system training takes another eight months, with follow-on, in-theatre training for another six months, and then two to three years of monitored progression.Hours in the SeatNot too long ago, a story in another magazine claimed that all flight training produced similarly competent pilots. If you can pass the check-ride, regardless of hours, you should be considered qualified, was their claim. A 400- hour ATP would be fine. I have a beef with that. We all pay our dues on the path to bigger, faster, and more capable airplanes, though, so before you go ballistic and argue that banner towing, crop-dusting, flying checks at night in IMC and ice with poor equipment; or that corporate, cargo, and commuter flying better trains you to operate in the GA or part 121 world, perhaps so.MAY 2013 TWIN & TURBINE • 23