Viper Pilot_ A Memoi..

currencies, and upgrades, must also take at least two check-rides per year. As
explained earlier, check-flights are comprehensive oral, written, and flying exams.
Normal pilots must take an instrument check that verifies his instrument rating and
professional qualifications to fly a military fighter. This involves a session in a flight
simulator, where all critical emergencies must be analyzed, solved, and taken to a
logical, satisfactory conclusion. Another day is taken up with written tests covering
aircraft systems, flying regulations, and the annual Instrument Refresher academic
course. The actual flight takes another day.
The check pilot, called a Standardization and Evaluation Flight Examiner
(SEFE), evaluates every aspect of the mission. Instrument Qual checks focus on
maintaining your instrument rating and advanced aircraft handling through
aerobatics and a few dogfighting setups. Several instrument approaches are flown,
followed by Simulated Flameout Approaches, since being able to land without an
engine is obviously crucial to a single-seat fighter pilot. Once back on the ground,
after an extensive debrief, the SEFE gives an oral examination of anything else he
feels is required.
Mission Qual checks follow the same format but the focus is on a pilot’s fighting
skills. The actual flight will be from a scenario provided by the SEFE, which
encompasses the specific missions a squadron would be responsible for in combat.
Strike squadrons may focus on laser-guided bombing, whereas a Wild Weasel
squadron would concentrate on Maverick missiles or cluster bomb attacks against
SAM sites. The oral debrief is just as thorough and equally unpleasant but
absolutely necessary. It’s all taken very, very seriously. The examinee is tested up
to whatever qualification level he holds and must demonstrate his proficiency at all
the inclusive skills. Every pilot, regardless of rank or qualification, is also subject to
no-notice check-rides. This occurs when a SEFE shows up at the squadron one
morning, points at a scheduled flight, and makes it a check-ride. The idea is to see
how ready and lethal a pilot can be with no time to prepare. Kind of like combat.
Evaluators are usually field-grade officers and always instructor pilots. Some of
the best SEFEs are Weapons Officers who’ve been off to staffs and schools, are
now majors, and are back in flying units. Evaluating others from your own jet and
knowing what’s happening in the other cockpit takes a great deal of experience—
judgment of critical, dynamic situations with lives and tens of millions of dollars at
stake doesn’t come naturally to everyone. In a fighter squadron, the commander
and the director of operations (DO) should always be SEFEs. This is a credibility
issue as well, since guys who lead should be the best, and credibility is essential in
fighter units. The Weapons Officer is also usually a SEFE, and at least one of the