Flight Training

Overview

The introductory flight medicine course is six months long and consists of several components, including flight academics, hands-on flight training, survival training, general operational medicine academics, and flight medicine academics.  For physicians who have not previously completed an operational flight medicine tour, you must complete this training immediately before starting the residency in June.  Returning flight surgeons will begin the RAM program immediately, having already completed this training in the past.

Survival & Physiology Training

Water Survival

During water survival you will first learn to tread water wearing boots and a helmet, jump of a 3 meter platform, and swim a mile in a flight suit.  Once you have demonstrated this basic proficiency in the water, you will further learn techniques to escape if your helicopter makes a water landing.  This last phase is affectionately knows as "the dunker."  

Student flight surgeons prepare for the next phase of water survival (top).  The proper technique of survival backstroke is explained via video prior to entering the pool (bottom).

The fabled "Helo Dunker," technically called the Modular Egress Training Simulator (METS), was carefully designed to instill fear in hydrophobic flight surgeons.

Life Support Equipment Training

Life support equipment training includes classroom and practical education.  You receive lectures about the various pieces of survival equipment.  You practice parachute landing falls "PLFs."  You go for a 3.5 G ride in an ejection seat trainer.  And finally you return to the pool to practice escaping from your parachute over water.

"Green ring" trainer.

Ejection seat strap-in trainer.

Parachute landing fall (PLF) training.

Flight Training

NIFE

Flight education starts with Naval Introductory Flight Evaluation, abbreviated "NIFE."  This is a compressed version of what used to be called aviation preflight indoctrination (API), shortened to accelerate the flight pipeline toward the in-cockpit experience.  NIFE consists of the following modules for flight medical personnel:

Successful completion of NIFE is marked by the class holding a "flight suit Friday" social at the old officer's club on base. 

First day of NIFE.

Learning the turbofan engine during a visit to the National Naval Aerospace Museum.

Tools of the trade for Navigation.

Ground School

Completing NIFE gives students a basic theoretical understanding of flight.  Ground school builds on that knowledge with practical, real-world training on the systems and operation of the T-6 aircraft.  As the name suggests, this training all occurs at sea level, in the classroom, and various simulators. 

Immersive T6 trainer.

Instrument only T6 trainer.

Practice "dump sheet" for the Navy landing pattern.

Primary (fixed wing)

Finally, you are ready to go up in the sky!  Although you will not get nearly enough flight hours to qualify on the aircraft, the four flights expose students to various flight conditions and experiences.  You must complete a familiarization flight, a navigation flight, a night flight, and an acrobatics flight.  Students either complete this training with Training Wing 6 at Naval Air Station Pensacola, or with Training Wing 5 at Whiting Field.

Advanced (rotary wing)

Students will spend a short time with the rotary wing advanced training squadron to ensure exposure to both fixed and rotary wing platforms.  This training occurs at Whiting Field, with brief exposure to the simulator and training flights.

NAMI Academics

After successfully completing flight training, students will return to the Naval Aerospace Medical Institute (NAMI) for medical academics.  This combines a basic medical refresher, operational medicine education, and Navy flight-specific medical education.  This takes up approximately three months, half of the training time completed by students.  General topics covered include: