This Week At The Academy!
Club Hockey
USAFA's Ice Hockey Club had two home games this past weekend and we were able to catch the one on Sunday against NAU. The final score of the game was 9-1 USAFA over NAU.
Their next home game will be October 28th against UCCS at 6:30pm so if you live nearby and you enjoy hockey, definitely come cheer these guys on!
To view the rest of the pictures from our coverage of the men's Ice Hockey Club game go to; Galleries - Extracurricular - Cadet Clubs. Or click the link below.
Intramurals
It's the 2nd Go of Intramurals now and we were able to stop by this week on an M and T Day to catch the cadets playing Flag Football and Dodgeball.
At the beginning of November they will have the Intramural Championship for this Go so be sure to check back for our coverage of the Championship round!
To view the rest of the pictures from this weeks coverage of Intramurals go to; Galleries - Extracurricular - Intramurals. Or click the link below!
Intramurals 2nd Go - Dodgeball and Flag Football
M Day At The Airfield For Soaring and Powered Flight
We recently caught M Day Soaring and Powered Flight groups down at the Airfield. Jump is also underway and this weekend starts their aerial training!
We are hoping to catch T Day for both Powered Flight and Soaring so be sure to check back for updates on our coverage of T Day!
The weather this week took a bit of a toll on the airfield and cadets, they've had to deal with some pretty windy days toward the beginning of the week but all in all they're getting their flights in and the weather seems to have calmed down a bit.
Soaring
Most of the Cadets we will catch during the academic year with our coverage of Soaring are the 4 Degrees, as they fly during the morning and into the afternoon, but more than likely with our afternoon coverage you will see more of a range of all 4 Classes. The reason being is that while the 4 Degrees are going through AM 251, the upperclassmen (mostly 3 Degrees) are going through Airmanship 461 or AM 461.
AM 461 is a Cadet Instructor Pilot Upgrade program, which will run all semester long. Only a certain number of 3 Degrees are selected from the applicant process and those who are selected will be the next generation of Soaring IPs (Instructor Pilots). While the 4 Degrees in AM 251 only have to take 4 Flights, the 3 Degrees in AM 461 must complete a total of 80 or more flights, not to mention ground and flight evaluations. The Cadets who complete this program and get their wings are the Air Force's yougest instructor pilots. Once AM 451 is completed the Cadet IPs can take one of two programs. AM 472 where they would then become instructors for the AM 251 program. Or AM 473, where their main job would be to train the next group of cadet instructor pilots.
This current Go for Soaring ends on November 8th and then D-Go will begin the following day. So be sure to check back when we get coverage of the Cadets in D-Go!
To read more about the USAFA Soaring Program click here to read one of our earlier blogs from this semester.
To view the rest of the pictures from our M Day coverage of Soaring go to; Galleries - Airmanship - Soaring. Or click the link below.
Powered Flight
The Powered Flight Program started back in 1974 and until 2012 it only saw small changes in flight paths. In 2012, because of airspace conflicts there was a complete redesign of USAFA's airspace and how it was structured. From there, the Air Force and the FAA coordinated and created the "safest possible approaches, departures, training areas and flight patterns for USAFA operations," which were finally put into action in early 2013.
Powered Flight is a capstone course that serves as a culmination of a cadet’s aviation education. Lessons in Air Force heritage and principles of engineering are applied in real-life scenarios during nine flights in a single engine propeller driven aircraft. The training includes ground and flight instruction using T-53s, military instructors provide a basic introduction to Air Force pilot training and the experience of powered flight. Based on proficiency, approximately 50% of these students will solo. The training includes ground and flight instruction under an Air Education and Training Command (AETC) flying syllabus.
B-Go finishes up on December 9th, we are looking forward to catching the rest of the Powered Flight Go's in the Spring Semester!
To view the rest of the pictures from our M Day coverage of Powered Flight go to; Galleries - Airmanship - Powered Flight. Or click the link below.
Major's Night
Major’s Night for the Fall semester happened earlier this week on Tuesday Night. We were able to stop by and get some pictures of Cadets as they went table to table in Fairchild to learn about the different Major's the Academy offers. Mainly C3C's and C4C's are the ones Major's Night is geared towards, to help them choose a career path at the Academy.
For the C4C’s it’s an opportunity to see what types of majors the Academy offers them, some C4C's choose their major during their first year at the Academy - though they have till the end of their Sophomore year to decide or change their major. For the C3C’s it’s a chance to be able to get another glance at their options since they have to decide by the end of the Academic year.
To view the rest of the pictures from Major's Night go to Galleries - Academics - Academic Studies. Or click the link below.