1st MO flight advice

[Walkman]

I just finished my F&P tasks and get my first flight as a MO trainee this weekend. Looking for any and all advice.

What should I bring? Do I need to put together a flight bag?

I'm not a pilot, so I've specifically requested to be able to focus on learning the comms/nav instruments which I haven't had much experience with. What are some tips for working with those for a first-timer? I just attended the G1000 ground school, and we might have the plane there for the training as well.

Thanks!

[lordmonar]

Charts, an aviation ruler, a copy of the checklist, copies of the operations manuals for the ELT, GPS and radio.

See if you can't get some time in the cockpit prior to the flight with external power so you can familurise yourself with the equipment.

Have fun.

[Eclipse]

If you're going to be active enough, your own set aviation headset would not be a bad idea.

A knee board is a good investment, and I always use my own hand-held GPS in order to record flight tracks and other info.

[Al Sayre]

Barf Bag

[JeffDG]

I strongly recommend the Operational Mission Inflight Guide from NESA:
http://nesa.cap.gov/Documents/MAS%20Uploads/Operational%20Mission%20InFlight%20Guide%20APR%202010.pdf

Has a lot of great mission planning and mission re-planning (while in the air) resources for you.

[Walkman]

A knee board is a good investment

I was thinking about that in the future. I'm lucky enough to be in a very ES active wing and while my unit doesn't have a plane (yet  ) the neighboring unit is always very willing to help us get air time.

Barf Bag

A 1-gallon Ziplock is already in my gear!

I strongly recommend the Operational Mission Inflight Guide from NESA:

Has a lot of great mission planning and mission re-planning (while in the air) resources for you.

I saw that recently. but haven't downloaded it. I have the Aircrew Taskguide. Should I use both, or is the Inflight Guide more useful.

[vento]

The inflight guide is a lot more useful for the bigger picture. The task guide is, well, a task guide.

[JeffDG]

I saw that recently. but haven't downloaded it. I have the Aircrew Taskguide. Should I use both, or is the Inflight Guide more useful.

The Aircrew Task Guide covers the specific items for your SQTR.

The Inflight guide is the book you want with you when you're planning a mission or while in the air and you get retasked!  It's got stuff in it like Air-Ground coordination signals when you don't have radio comms, that for the life of me I never seem to remember (and as an ES Training Officer, I'll tell you...we WILL instruct ground crews to ignore the radio sometimes...just so the aircrew has to communicate without the radio!)

[EMT-83]

A CAP-gridded sectional is handy, along with a road map. If there is a Delorme Gazetter available for your area, it's a good investment.

I always carry a cheat sheet for the Becker and radios. Call it brain-fart insurance.

[Pylon]

What should I bring? Do I need to put together a flight bag?

Resurrecting an old thread, here's what I had in my flight bag when I was active as an MO: http://captalk.net/index.php?topic=8526.msg153334#msg153334

[Walkman]

A CAP-gridded sectional is handy, along with a road map. If there is a Delorme Gazetter available for your area, it's a good investment.

I always carry a cheat sheet for the Becker and radios. Call it brain-fart insurance.

I just bought a DeLorme for Christmas.

For cheat sheets, where's the best place to get those?

Resurrecting an old thread, here's what I had in my flight bag when I was active as an MO:

Reading through that thread, I kept seeing "E6B" listed. What's that?

[JeffDG]

Reading through that thread, I kept seeing "E6B" listed. What's that?

[lmgtfy]e6b[/lmgtfy]

[Walkman]

[lmgtfy]e6b[/lmgtfy]

LOL. 

[peter rabbit]

We're assuming you've already completed the MS SQTR and been approved for that, since that is a requirement to begin MO training.

[Walkman]

We're assuming you've already completed the MS SQTR and been approved for that, since that is a requirement to begin MO training.

Correct. I've been MS for over a year.

[SarDragon]

Barf Bag

A 1-gallon Ziplock is already in my gear!

Use a quart bag. It's more manageable when you need to use it. Also, stuff a paper towel in it to soak up the liquid. BTDT. Recently. Keep one in your flight suit thigh pocket, and a couple more in your flight bag.

[peter rabbit]

We're assuming you've already completed the MS SQTR and been approved for that, since that is a requirement to begin MO training.

Correct. I've been MS for over a year.

If you would like to PM me with your email address, I'll be glad to share a Dropbox folder with aircrew materials.

[Walkman]

If you would like to PM me with your email address, I'll be glad to share a Dropbox folder with aircrew materials.

Sent.

[ProdigalJim]

Concur with all of the above, plus...

Pre-drawn grid square worksheets for grids in which your wing operates frequently. For us in VA, for example, seems we're always doing something in 140 Charlie...so having a couple of photocopies of a grid square worksheet for that box saves A LOT of time, particularly when retasked in flight.

Kneeboard-sized cheat sheets for MI wing frequencies, repeater names, the Becker, the G1000. Pre-made blanks, kneeboard-sized, to record things like Mission Number, sortie, starting Hobbs and Tach numbers, engine start time, wheels up time, ops normal/radio check times, on-station/entering grid times, target/objective located times, wheels down times, engine off times and then ending Hobbs and Tach.

Extra CAPF104s of all flavors (a, b, etc.).

A granola bar or some such pocket-sized munchie...


Also, if the G1000 ground school used only the CD-based training tool, without the actual hardware, you really owe it to yourself to sit in the airplane and get used to the buttonology before flying. Mouse-clicking doesn't really train your muscle memory, and even after 12 G1000 sorties as an MO, my fingers keep wanting to "click" the small, inner-ring button on the display rather than hit the ENT key. My brain knows it's wrong, but the fingers...

[EMT-83]

For cheat sheets, where's the best place to get those?

I did a Google search for the appropriate equipment (there's tons of it out there), did a copy/paste of what I wanted, and printed and laminated the pages.

For CAP-gridded sectionals, I did the copy/paste onto an Excel sheet, and then added lat/long lines around the edges. Printed double-sided and laminated, it's a good resource that doesn't take a lot of space.