Jet
I HAVE THE By Dr. John Marselus
The maneuver was a pitch to slice starting at Mach 1.1 in a slight dive. The aircraft was then pitched up, and when decreasing speed through Mach 1, a roll to a 45-degree bank slice with maximum G and the greatest turn rate would be executed for 180 degrees. Once the 180 turn was complete, the pilot would unload to accelerate through Mach 1 for a separation. This maneuver was practiced in the F-15E Flight Training Syllabus for all new “Eagle Drivers” to execute maximum performance. The student executed the pitch-up and then over-rolled, pulling directly vertical toward the ocean in a 90-degree dive instead of the 135-degree pitch-back bank. Alerting the student pilot to check his dive angle, he performed a series of aileron rolls about the longitudinal axis to various headings, all while maintaining a 90-degree dive angle toward the ocean. After directing a pullout without any reaction, I stated, “I have the jet,” and pulled out of the dive, ensuring we would not be an oil slick in the Atlantic Ocean in a few seconds. The student later stated, “I was trying to figure out which heading to pull to.”
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It really did not matter much at that moment as we were in a direct 90-degree dive towards the ocean. Despite the seconds in which all of this took place, three steps followed. It is important to go through those three steps before taking an aircraft from a student to allow them the maximum opportunity to learn. Those three steps are descriptive communication, directive communication, and taking the flight controls. A disciplined approach of descriptive communication then directive communication is important to affect maximum learning. Only after they have been attempted should the flight controls be taken. There are times more critical—such as landing—where one has little time to react, but most of the time there is sufficient opportunity to help your students learn by first going to descriptive and directive communication. The first step, descriptive communication, is when you point out where the student should be looking. This is primarily due to misplaced priorities or a lack of correct scan technique. A student who is getting slow
