Air Force Reserves - MacDill AFB, FL

May 15th was my last day in the active duty Air Force and May 16th was my first day in the Air Force Reserve.  The process of transitioning from active duty directly into the Reserves is called PALACE FRONT.

Based on aircraft maintenance school starting the end of August at SMAT, I essentially had June and July to accomplish my 36 days of Reserve time for the year.  The Reserve position I have is called an Individual Mobilization Augmentee (IMA) position, which is highly flexible - I just have to complete my 36 days / yr sometime within the fiscal year whenever it works for me.  When applying to PMA, I asked if they would consider my request to continue in the Reserves and they were gracious to allow this.  Some of the benefits are:

• Cheaper medical / dental insurance
• Retaining a portion of Air Force retirement at 60
• Flexible work schedule (36 days can be completed together, or at separate times)
• Ability to continue serving the country
• The Reserves pays for my travel to / from work

As an IMA I am finished flying and will be doing staff (desk) work.  Fighter pilot staff positions are difficult to find, but God allowed me to find one at MacDill AFB in Tampa, FL. We are in Tampa currently for my 36 days for FY15. 

Lana and I drove from Michigan to Florida, stopping in Tennessee and South Carolina on our way.  We spent two days in Tennessee at Fairhaven Ministries to relax in the Appalachian Mountains as a family.  We've been living out of our suitcases since early April and needed some time together.  We then spent three days in Sumter, SC meeting our new renters, visiting with church friends from Harmony Church, and some Christian neighbors we had when living there.  We were able to share our missionary story with many of them and some are now missions partners of ours - we didn't go there with this goal in mind, but God continues to provide as He has been!

New Shingles

The first week of June we tore off the shingles on my parents old house and put new ones on.  It had been about 20 years since the last ones were put on, so it was time.  My brother Kyle, friends Kendall and Travis, my Dad and I did all the work and completed it in four days.  Lana even used the nail gun once...for photo purposes. ;-)

ATP & MEI Ratings

Towards the end of May I flew to Texas for a week to fly a twin engine Piper Seneca.  A friend of mine who used to fly F-16s has this plane and is a certified flight instructor (CFI).  As Lana and I were wrapping up our time in Germany, I was looking for a flight school to get my airline transport pilot (ATP) license and multi-engine instructor (MEI) license.  The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has military equivalency options for some ratings based on military flying training.  In order to get these ratings I had to take a knowledge test and practical test.  Once the knowledge test is complete, there's a 24 month window to complete the practical test and I had to complete them this summer with aircraft mechanics school starting in August.

Although the ATP and MEI are not required to serve with Pacific Mission Aviation (PMA) , it made sense to get them while I had the opportunity.  The MEI will come in handy to train PMA pilots who do not have much multi-engine time since 4 of the 6 airplanes they currently have are twin engine.

Flying a propeller aircraft is A LOT different than the F-16.  The lack of thrust and slower speeds are a given, but controlling RPM, manifold pressure, and fuel mixture are a bit of an art.  The instrument layout is different as well, but it didn't take too long to get the hang of it.  The 10.8 hours of training / checkride time will be a benefit as I transition to propeller aircraft.

My friend and I did the training in Corpus Christi, TX and then flew the airplane up near Houston, TX to meet the check pilot.  After 3.5 hrs of flying I was ATP and MEI checkride complete!  Thank you God for good weather and Air Force training that gave me the opportunity to get these ratings.