Week 1, DONE!

My first week in UPT has now come and gone.  Overall, so far it isn't too bad.  This first phase of training is all academics and everything is scheduled for you.

For the first 7 training days you are with the Aerospace Physiology department on base.  These people specialize in the medical effects on humans in the flying environment.  So the last 3 days of the week, we spent with them (day 1 was all intro briefings).  We learned all about the different hazards in the air that we may encounter to include, hypoxia, spatial disorientation, and Gs.  It was all classroom type stuff learning and whatnot.  On Friday morning we took the first of seven academic tests in phase 1.  Minimum passing score on all these tests are 85%.  Needless to say, I passed.  After lunch we did the FACP assessment which is a physical assessment that lets you know how tolerant you might be in a positive G rich environment.

We also learned how to do an Anti-G Straining Maneuver, or AGSM.  It involves tensing of your entire lower body and controlling your breathing to keep as much positive pressure in the chest area as possible.  The idea is that because everything is tensed up it will be more difficult for blood to pool in the lower areas of your body because when that happens your brain is starved of oxygen and you can no longer remain conscious.

Anyways, that's pretty much all for now.  Next week we get to do the fun stuff like basic survival, and ejection seat training.  The most fun thing however will be done tomorrow, which is the altitude chamber where high altitudes are simulated and you feel the onset of hypoxia before putting your oxygen mask back on.  Be on the lookout for my next post, it should have some fun pictures, and maybe a video or two.

For now, here is an older video from a Pilot training base and a demo of what happens when you become hypoxic.  Hypoxia - UPT altitude chamber