Chapter 3 T-38 Instrument Navigation

CHAPTER 3

T-38 INSTRUMENT NAVIGATION

300.

GENERAL

Your T-38 INAV flights will be done single ship most likely in a cross-country format. T-38

INAVs are going to be your first exposure to the "real instrument" world. You will be flying

real instrument approaches to airfields other than the ones you are used to at Whiting. The T-38

INAV syllabus is also intended to prepare you for operating on an IFR clearance in a single seat

aircraft. You will have to come up with a good information flow in the cockpit so that you can

resource manage effectively as the single crewmember. T-38 INAVs will also introduce you to

Air Force flying publications; while you are flying Navy aircraft you will still be operating under

Navy flight publications, but now is as good a time as ever to start getting into the Air Force

flying regulations. Remember, your T-37 peers in your class are already going to be able to

quote chapter and verse on Air Force flying publications, so you are already behind the curve

(and guess who they are going to call on in standup for questions?).

301.

PLANNING YOUR T-38 INSTRUMENT FLIGHTS

The T-38 Instrument Flights will not be much different from the INAV flights other students

go through in Intermediates. You will, however, use the mask on T-38 INAVs and you will be

hot mic, plus you will be in the front seat or usually be in the back seat under the hood. On

extended legs you can drop the mask to get a drink of water or something to eat (go cold mic for

that) other times, the mask must be on. T-38 Instrument Flights will also consist of going to at

least one Air Force Base and flying above FL180 for one of the legs so that you use jet routes at

least part of the time. Get with your IP the night before, at a minimum, to get the next day's

plan. If weather is a factor for the next day, then at least come up with some plan for the brief to

go through the exercise of computing a "Form 70" (the Air Force Jet Log).

302.

SINGLE SEAT CRM

The mentality on your T-38 INAVs is to fly the flight plan single seat. The challenge here is to

be able to execute the flight plan by yourself. Crew Resource Management (CRM) is typically

discussed in the crew format, but it does apply to the single seat world. Single seat IFR flying

has at least two pillars, a good information flow plan in the cockpit and proper task prioritization.

Remember, your cockpit is your office and you can set it up any way you want. What you want

to keep in mind is that you want to set it up so that it is standardized, so that everything is in the

same place every time, i.e., approach plates, checklists, kneeboard, pencils/pens, etc., so that

when flying gets busy, you know where to reach for what in a time critical situation. When

flying in the single seat world, you want to always keep busy brainstorming on how to be

prepared for not just what is going on at the time, but how you can make life easier later on in the

flight. An example might be droning along on the airway, "What can I do to help myself out?"

"Can I get the ATIS this far out?" Maybe you can brief the first approach, maybe you could call

a Pilot-to-Metro service or Flight Service to get the weather at the destination if convective

T-38 INSTRUMENT NAVIGATION 3-1