4 minute read
Building Your Foundation Should Be a Constant
By CAPT Jim Gillcrist, USN (Ret.)
As Naval Aviators (pilot and aircrew), we begin building our foundation at the training command and then add to it in the Fleet over the course of our careers. This all starts at NAS Whiting Field, NAS Corpus Christi, and / or NAS Pensacola. In fact, this was the theme of the 2024 Gulf Coast Fleet Fly-In (GCFFI) held at Whiting Field from October 28-31.
Without a doubt, undergraduate flight training and skills development during Primary, Advanced Helicopter, Advanced Multi-Engine, and graduate level FRS platform / warfighting training serve to produce the world’s best rotary-wing and tilt-rotor aviators. Follow on Fleet experience just refines every aviator and sharpens the sword.
After winging on July 1, 1983, I had the good fortune of flying in eighteen different type/model/series Navy, Marine Corps, and U.S. Army aircraft over a 27-year career. Flight hours and exposure to different aircraft and missions made me a better aviator. Sure, simulated time proved invaluable, but “reps and sets” in the aircraft gave me enormous confidence to execute the mission and return safely to mother. The takeaway is to recognize that we are all involved in building our own aviation foundation and that we add to it with every flight event, even if it is only a ground turn or a .2 hour FCF. Pursue every opportunity you get to fly in your Fleet aircraft as well as others. At GCFFI, I had a chance to jump in the TH-73A Thrasher Simulator with LT Evan “Wish” Key from HT-18. This proved eye opening for many reasons – most particularly, the exposure to an integrated glass cockpit and flight control system. Even with all the recent technology, you still need to aviate, navigate, and communicate. Continuously sharpening these critical priorities in the disciplined environment of Naval Aviation enables us to execute and succeed at sea. It was rewarding to see Navy, Marine Corps, and USCG Student Naval Aviators fully engaged in building their own foundations, receiving simulated and on-aircraft flight instruction from Instructor Pilots, and getting opportunities to fly with Fleet Aviators in various Fleet aircraft. A huge thank you goes out to Training Wing 5 for hosting GCFFI, to the leadership at all the VT and HT squadrons, and to our committed volunteer team who made the four-day event so successful.
Hope you enjoy RADM Brophy’s “On Leadership” Column and the “Commodore’s Corner” by Col. Krockel – you will NOT be disappointed.
Please keep your membership profile up to date (mailing address and region affiliation). If you should need any assistance at all, give us a call at (619) 435-7139 and we will be happy to help – you will get Megan, Mike, Allyson, or myself.
Warm regards with high hopes, Jim Gillcrist
Newly “Coined” Lifetime Members (LTM) in the Spotlight
