Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
The Pilot Project Podcast is an aviation podcast that aims to help new pilots learn what it takes to succeed in the world of flight, to help people in the flight training system learn what they may want to fly, and to give Canadians and the world a peek into life on the flight deck in the RCAF. We want to help pilots succeed and thrive! We interview real RCAF pilots for their exciting stories as well as the lessons they've learned along the way. We'll learn their tips to develop resilience and the tools it takes to make it in flight training.
This podcast is presented by Skies Magazine. If you're interested in the Canadian aviation industry, Skies is your go to multimedia resource for the latest news, in-depth features, stunning photography, and insightful video coverage. Whether you're an aviation professional or enthusiast, Sky's is dedicated to keeping you informed and bringing your passion for aviation to life. Visit skysmag.com to learn more and subscribe to stay updated on all things Canadian aviation.
Bryan:Alright. We're ready for departure here at the pilot project podcast, the best source for stories and advice from RCAF and mission aviation pilots brought to you by Sky's Magazine. I'm your host, Brian Morrison. With me today is someone I've been working with for a while to line this up, major Ian Wookie, a tac hill pilot on the CH one forty seven f Chinook and current executive assistant to chief of Air and Space Force Development in Ottawa, Ontario. Ian, it's great to finally get you on the show.
Bryan:Thanks for being here.
Ian:Thanks, Brian. It's an absolute pleasure to be here.
Bryan:Today, we will be talking about Ian's career in the RCAF, including his early days and time in flight training up to when he was selected to fly the CH one forty seven F Chinook. But before we jump into any of that, let's go through Ian's bio. Major Ian Wookie was born and raised in Sarnia, Ontario. He enrolled in the RCAF as a pilot through the ROTP program at the Royal Military College and was commissioned in 02/2010. Following his commission, he was posted to four two seven special operations aviation squadron and deployed to Afghanistan with a special operations aviation detachment in support of Op Enduring Freedom.
Bryan:In 02/2013, he received his wings and joined four fifty tactical helicopter squadron qualifying on the CH one forty seven f Chinook helicopter. As a member of four fifty squadron, he participated in numerous operations including Optinook in the Canadian Arctic and multiple Oplentis deployments to aid in wildfire and flood response across Western Canada. In 02/2018, he was posted to Fort Bragg, North Carolina where he flew the CH 47 f Chinook with the eighty second Airborne Division as a foreign exchange officer. There, he served as a senior air mission commander, tactics adviser, unit trainer, and battalion operations officer. He deployed with the eighty second Combat Aviation Brigade in 2021 on Operation Freedom Sentinel, where he coordinated the retrograde of US and NATO forces from Afghanistan.
Bryan:During the evacuation of Kabul, he flew as a CH forty seven f aircraft commander in support of OP Allies Refuge. Returning to four fifty tactical helicopter squadron in 02/2022, major Wookie held various leadership positions and served as deputy commanding officer. Ian currently serves as executive assistant to chief of air and space force development in Ottawa, Ontario. Ian's awards include the Canadian Forces Decoration, General Campaign Star, Southwest Asia, and The US Presidential Unit Citation. He is a graduate of the advanced tactical aviation course, the Canadian Army Operations Course, and the US Marine Corps Command and Staff Program.
Bryan:He has accumulated over 1,800 flight hours on both RCAF CH one forty seven f and US Army CH 47 f helicopters. Additionally, he holds a bachelor of arts in psychology from RMC and has represented the Canadian Armed Forces as a member of the CISM men's volleyball team. Ian currently resides in Renfrew, Ontario with his wife, major Andrea Wookie, and their dogs and horses. Ian, we always like to start with this. Where did aviation start for you?
Ian:I I don't wanna say I came by aviation by accident, but I I was, I did not come up through say the Air Cadet stream that, that you followed or that a lot of my peers have followed. I was inspired to actually join the CAF through the ROTP program at Royal Military College. As I was finishing high school, I was trying to figure out what I was going to do with my career. I was always an athlete. I was always into sports.
Ian:And I found out that the Royal Military College had opportunities to play varsity sports at a high level. One of the pillars of RMC is athletic excellence as well as academic excellence. So I was really interested in joining the military college. And as I was going through the recruiting process, my recruiter happened to be a pilot. And as I was trying to decide on what trade I wanted to pursue, what career path I wanted to go through in the CAF, I got steered toward piloting in aviation.
Ian:And that was kind of my, my initial thoughts at aviation. I was a bit of a nerd growing up. Always watched the air, watched the airplanes flying overhead. I do remember going to the top of the parking garage at Toronto International for a couple hours at a time to just watch the planes landing. I always thought it was really cool, but I, I never had any sort of dreams or aspirations for it until it, I, the opportunity presented itself to me and I jumped at
Bryan:it. That's pretty lucky that that recruiter kind of pushed you in that direction because pilot typically is a difficult trade to get into. It's typically like, there's only been rare times where it's been a high demand trade because typically, it's chock full of applicants. So it's pretty awesome that you got pushed in that direction.
Ian:Yeah. I I feel really fortunate to have been there.
Bryan:Yeah. You attended Royal Military College or RMC under the ROTP program. I know some people who loved it and some who really didn't enjoy it. So how did you find your time at RMC?
Ian:I absolutely loved my time at RMC. As as I mentioned before, I was there as kind of a not a scholarship athlete per se, but I joined a varsity team. I played volleyball for the, for the entire time that I was there. Met a lot of people that way that the relationship building at RMC is, is outstanding. The academic programs at RMC are outstanding.
Ian:I had the opportunity to study under a lot of really senior officers, especially in kind of in the military history program, who were a wealth of knowledge and experience. Some of the peers in your groups ahead of me, they're now kind of the senior leaders, unit leaders of the CAF. So being able to get to know them on a personal level and build some of those relationships, I think was really beneficial to how I advanced in my career. But as well, moving through RMC and understanding the importance of teamwork in a military setting, that's something that's followed through my career all the way along As I moved into flight training on deployments, working with foreign militaries, we had foreign exchange students at RMC while we were there. So we got to learn some things about how the US Air Force works, how the US Army works before we were ever exposed to that in any sort of operational sense.
Ian:Those are some of the things I really enjoyed about going to
Bryan:office That's pretty cool. I didn't realize we had international students at RMC.
Ian:Yeah. Specifically, with The US, each of The US service academies have exchange programs at RMC. And we send, as Canadians, we send RMC cadets to, to the American academies as well.
Bryan:Oh, that's cool. I didn't know that. What would you say was the best and worst parts of going there?
Ian:Best parts, I think I already mentioned was the relationships you build.
Bryan:For sure.
Ian:And the people you get to know. I I've still got some of my best friends, and some of my the peers I'm still working with, are my classmates from RMC, especially the ones that we bonded with in our first year orientation program, under the stresses and rigors of that program. I'd say the worst parts was worst part was also the best part, feeling failure, like being allowed to experience learning through failure, being allowed to make mistakes and do things wrong. I mean, most of the folks at RMC, you're probably 18 to 22 years old, you're still learning your place in the world, learning your place in the, in the CAF, but having the mentorship of some, some senior leaders, at the at the college, squadron commanders who are, second, third tour officers who come back to to be able to mentor you. You learn through failure, which are some of the worst parts, and they being given the opportunity to fail is, is a humbling experience.
Ian:And that's, that's probably the worst feeling you can have, but being able to build yourself up back through it, lean on the people around you, lean on some of the mentors you got there to be able to to pull through it and and learn what success is. I I think that's that's the combination of the best and worst part of RMC.
Bryan:Yeah. Yeah. And honestly, learning to fail and having that opportunity to learn to fail before you go through flight training is is probably like a huge benefit because if you don't like I think one of the it's great to do well in flight training, right? But it can almost be a hindrance if you never have a failure or a setback because you will one day. And I think the sooner the better because it gets tougher and tougher because you start to believe like, hey, I'm maybe I'm exceptional here.
Bryan:Like, I'm doing pretty well. I haven't had any failures or or whatever, however you process that. And then all of a sudden, one day you will be faced with a setback and that can be a pretty big, you know, wake up call.
Ian:Well, it's not even failing per se. It's it's dealing with pressure. Yeah. Our our RMC, there there is pressure to pressure to succeed, pressure to be a a team member who's actually having effects on team outcomes. And the pressure that you sense at RMC, when you're combining academic, athletic, bilingual, and military training all together in a very compressed schedule, it it does transition right into all of the military training, whether it's pilot training, whether it's infantry training, whether it's naval officer training.
Ian:Having that sense of pressure and being able to cope with that and manage that, it all works together to to really teach a lot about yourself and and how you react to those pressures.
Bryan:Mhmm. So let's talk about your phase one flight training. You completed phase one training on The Grove during the 2007. How did you feel as you arrived for your first flight training course in the RCAF?
Ian:Equal parts nervous and excited. I I was I was terrified just like everybody. Right? You you kind of realize showing up to pilot training that it's it's of make like your career is on everything you do in pilot training feels like your whole career is on the line and the rest of your life is on the line. Yeah.
Ian:So you have that sense of impending doom, But at the same time, you're excited because you're going flying. Yeah. You're going to get paid to go sit in an airplane and do some really cool maneuvers. Get opportunities to go solo, get opportunities to go to go alone, do some aerobatic flying. So it was excitement and fear.
Ian:Once I got into the training though, and once you actually get into that routine and build your routine of studying in the evenings, getting up in the morning, going for your workout, showing up to the flight line to do whatever class instruction you've got, followed by whatever flight you've got, and just repeat that routine. Once you're into that routine, all you can really focus on is actually getting the training done. And it takes a lot of the anxiety away once you actually start to really get into the flow of the training system. So showing up, yeah, really nervous. Kind of by day three, completely felt like I'd settled in.
Ian:And with all of the people you've got on your course with you, everybody's in the same boat, right? Right. So you've got 12 to 15 people who are all kind of look at each other aiming for the same objectives. So nobody else's success determines your success. So it's a it's an area where everybody can build each other up and you can you can have a really strong team environment where everybody's learning from each other as they go through the course.
Bryan:Right. Like, if you have 10 people, it's not like you only have seven slots for people to pass. Like, you know, hopefully, 10 out of 10 are gonna pass. So, like, everyone succeeding together is is mutually beneficial.
Ian:Yeah. And the better everybody's doing around you, the more you strive to be as good as they are, right? So if you see somebody who's got some really good studying techniques, or so or some really good tips and tricks for whichever maneuver they're flying, you can learn from that. You can take that on to your next flight, and be able to it it helps build your breed your own success.
Bryan:Yeah. For sure. Once you actually got into the flight training, what was your first impression of your flight training in the RCAF?
Ian:It was it was rapid. Like, the the learning curve was steep. Like, there's there's not a lot of room to kinda get your feet under you. It's either like like, you're ready or you're not. So it was really on you to be prepared for every single flight.
Ian:Because I think we're less than twelve hours. At that time, I mean, did phase one in 02/2007. So it may have changed slightly by now. But at that time it was less than twelve hours from first flight in the aircraft to first solo. And after your first solo, you were probably only about another twelve hours from getting ready to do your final test.
Ian:So it's a six, seven week course that's got twenty five flight hours and it's a make or break there. So that's what really stood out to me was how quickly everything came at you and the expectations to improve on every single sortie.
Bryan:Yeah. It's kinda like running on a treadmill. Like, if you keep moving and keep going, you're gonna keep up. But if you you'll never get a chance to rest. Like, you you can't stop.
Bryan:You have to keep going.
Ian:Yeah. No. And don't look back.
Bryan:Yeah. That's a good one for sure. You had a few OJT opportunities, including your first time in the tac hell world working at One Wing in the 2009. Can you tell us about that?
Ian:Yeah. 2009, I had an opportunity to do my, on the job training at One Wing headquarters out of Kingston. It it was the first time I'd ever been around tactical aviation, but it was a good time to be around tactical aviation. Mean, there were units deployed to Afghanistan. We were dealing with a true combat focus in that environment.
Ian:Wing headquarters was busy. There were aircraft all over the world. There were pilots training down in The US. We were getting ready to push Chinook helicopters over to Afghanistan with the D models. And I actually had one really cool experience while I was there, where four thirty Squadron out of Elkhart.
Ian:Were going down to Fort Sill, Oklahoma to do a door gunnery camp in preparation for their deployment to Afghanistan. But all of the weapons they needed were in Edmonton. And four zero eight was deployed currently. So there was nobody in Edmonton to actually move these weapons down for the Dior gun training. So while four thirty was flying their helicopters from Quebec to Oklahoma, I was tasked to fly from Kingston to Edmonton, pick up a bunch of these machine guns in a van, with one of the of the drivers from Valkarce.
Ian:And the two of us ended up driving across the continent from Edmonton down to Oklahoma to bring these weapons to the door gun camp so that four thirty was able to get their door gunning training complete. And my task per se for the duration of that X was to be the weapons manager, to be able to make sure they got from the vault to the aircraft by the time first launch occurred at six in the morning. And then to retrieve the weapons every night at midnight, make sure they got back to the vault and into the right storage location. And to make sure that anytime that the aircraft were on flying, they had the weapons mounted in the right place at the right time. And while I was doing that too, I had a couple of opportunities to actually get airborne with those aircraft and see live shooting from the back of a Griffin.
Ian:Wow. Doing CCA close combat attack sorties with live fighters flying in the ranges as well. So they were doing target prosecution where the fighters would come in. They would a gun run live. And then the Griffins would turn in and do CCA cleanup activities.
Ian:So the close combat attack, crude machine gun from the side facing door of the helicopter onto a target. And that was kind of where I fell in love with tactical aviation, being able to to see machine guns shooting from helicopters. I I still to this day, it's still the coolest thing I think you can do in the cast, shoot a machine gun from a helicopter.
Bryan:Yeah. Those door gunners have a pretty awesome job.
Ian:Yeah. It's it's unrivaled.
Bryan:Yeah. What an adventure to go from Edmonton to Oklahoma. Like, were you guys this is kind of a silly question maybe, but, like, did you guys have any form of, like, defense or anything where you're had these weapons being transported through the country? Like, was there any security concerns?
Ian:Well, the CAF has protocols. Right? So we we have to do, route analysis anytime we're moving weapons across country. We have to give notification to local law enforcement. When we're stopping overnight for these tasks, we were leveraging local law enforcement.
Ian:So when we stopped in Casper, Wyoming for one of our night stops, we actually drove the weapons to the vault of the local police office and left them there overnight. So we were taking all the all the correct security protocols. But, yeah, it's it's just not not kinda your your routine officer cadet OJE pilot experience.
Bryan:That's a very unique experience. So you graduated from RMC in 2010 and as is tradition, had to wait for a moose jaw. After a few months at One Wing HQ, you were offered OJT at four two seven Special Operations Aviation Squadron. What was it like to arrive as a second lieutenant in Canada's Special Operations Aviation Squadron? And can you tell us about your job at four twenty seven Squadron?
Ian:Yeah. It it was interesting. In 2010, after I graduated, I went back kind of into the same role I was at, at One Wing headquarters. And late in the summer, I was offered an opportunity to actually go to a line unit where there are helicopters. There's no helicopters in Kingston.
Ian:So the OJE is, it's mostly spent behind a computer working on, taskings, calling the units and asking them what they want to do. So when I had the opportunity to actually go to a line unit, drive a few hours up the road to Petawawa and see what four twenty seven was doing, jumped at it. I did not hesitate. When I actually got to Petawawa and I got into four twenty seven, job was kind of what you'd expect of a typical OJ at a unit. It's not much different from any of the other OJs you'd see at other units.
Ian:So you're kind of working in the op cell, doing daily coordination for routine sorties. So flying schedule management, crew management, making sure the crews have the right equipment to get on the right aircraft, that, doing the coordination between maintenance and ops to make sure that the right aircraft are on the line for the right mission, and kind of just being a first point of contact within the op cell for any of the current ops that are going on. Not necessarily a decision maker, more of a coordinator. But it's what I find about those kind of roles in in on the job training is it's best way to actually get to know everybody in the unit. Yeah.
Ian:Because if you're looking for a point of contact, you're you're gonna call the ops desk and sitting at the ops desk is, well, if it's the second left tenant OJT, well, now they're going to be calling the next person you need to go to. And it's kind of the first place you come if you've got a question about what's going on for the day. Yeah. So you get to you get to you get to have that face to face with with everybody from the maintenance side to logistics side to the to the flight crews. And it's a really good way to to learn how the unit functions and how the Air Force functions.
Bryan:Yeah. Working in operations can be pretty hectic. And sometimes it can be pretty tough because when everything's going great, everyone just goes and does their job and, you know, takes it for granted. And when things grind to a halt or something goes wrong, people are showing up at the desk red faced and, you know, demanding answers. So that can be tough.
Bryan:But the upside of it is, like you said, you pretty much get to know everybody in the unit and you really learn a lot about the operations, the day to day of how things run and and all that stuff.
Ian:Yeah. I I really enjoyed it there.
Bryan:Now this is kind of crazy. When you were still an OJT second lieutenant with four two seven, you deployed to Afghanistan with the special operations aviation detachment in support of Op Enduring Freedom. This is basically unheard of as an untrained second lieutenant. So what's the story here? How did you end up on this deployment?
Ian:Well, I like to think that I was doing such a good job that they had no choice but to deploy me. But no, it was one of those, there's certain things, certain things that happen in your career where you kind of think right place, right time. And, and I don't say that as I didn't deserve to do it. I just mean you make your own luck. But if if opportunities present themselves, you gotta take advantage of them.
Ian:And in this case, four two seven was, had the special ops aviation detachment deployed at Kandahar, flying the MI 17 helicopters over there. And they were a little bit short on the ops staff. So it was a it was a small detachment. And they basically took the OJT role I was doing with the current ops coordination, and transplanted me forward to do the same thing with special ops aviation.
Bryan:Okay.
Ian:So I ended up deploying with them from early twenty eleven, kinda through summer twenty eleven, doing a very similar OJ role, just doing a forward at Candahar Airfield. So I was in the upsell of the SOAD, doing daily flying schedule coordination, making sure that we have the right aircraft and the right crews in the right place with the right maintenance done, doing some mission coordination. So if there was a if there was a mission ongoing, I'd be taking the details of the mission, making sure that, the right enabling agencies who needed to know what was going on, knew what was going on, doing coordination with airfield management to make sure that we we knew what was going on in the in the rest of the AO at Kandahar. Because at that time, 11, Kandahar was quite the place. It was right at the height of The US surge.
Ian:So there were probably 40,000 to 50,000 people on the base.
Bryan:Wow.
Ian:So it was running like a true airbase. So there was a lot of coordination of management to make sure that we were still operating correctly on the airfield while we were doing our mission stuff as well.
Bryan:Wow. What were your feelings about going to Afghanistan? Obviously, this is something you wanted because you had to get a waiver from the deputy commander of the RCAF.
Ian:Yeah. It was the the waiver had more to do with the the training level. So because I wasn't trained as a pilot, I was not at my, OFP, the operational functional point. Right. So I I was not fully qualified to, to be in a, deployed position.
Ian:So the waiver was really was specifically related to that training. But the waiver request stated that the the roles I was fulfilling did not require me to be a pilot necessarily. They just required me to be able to to do the ops management piece that I had been trained to do.
Bryan:Mhmm.
Ian:I also had to do, like actual pre deployment training, the theater mission specific training, which was its own adventure, because I had to fly out to Edmonton for three weeks in December, to go. I ended up doing my combat first aid, my ID awareness training, all of the kind of combat, preparation training in the middle of Edmonton, in the training area, in the December, when it was about 35 below to get ready to go to Afghanistan, where I was never going to see a snowflake. So that was, that was a little bit unique.
Bryan:That's pretty funny.
Ian:But, but in terms of actually getting, getting over to Afghanistan, it again, almost a little bit like pilot training, like equal parts, anxious and excited. Excited because I I mean, who's not excited to actually go into being able to be on a mission to be able to to to be in the fight, if if you wanna call it that. Anxious because you have no idea what to expect. And that's that's something that that was a really good framing opportunity for me early in my career to recognize that no matter what deployment you're going on, whether it's a combat deployment, whether it's a domestic deployment, it's never going to be, you never know what to expect and it's never going to be anything like what you expected. And that's the piece I give to anybody who's going on their first deployment is don't set expectations because if you do, they're going to be wrong.
Ian:So my feeling was just, I want to be able to go over there and learn. And I luckily, I had some really good mentors over there, people who are still still surround me in my career to this day, who I was able to learn a lot from, and be able just to just to absorb what happens in that kind of environment and how operations are are supposed to look for tactical aviation.
Bryan:We've talked a bit about what your role was within the SOAD or special operations aviation detachment. What was the role of the SOAD itself in Afghanistan?
Ian:So the SOAD was in direct support to, the SOAD. So the combined joint special operations task force that was operating over there. So that was a multinational special operations forces organization that had Canadians, embedded in it. And the role of the SOAD was direct support to those assets. So if they were going out on a mission for whatever particular task they were assigned, those helicopters would be in direct support of those assets.
Bryan:Okay. So if troops need to get somewhere, getting those troops there and and that sort of thing?
Ian:Yeah. True. If troops need to get there, if equipment needs to get there, if you if you require any sort of, Overwatch. Now we we did work in conjunction with some of the, some of the other coalition assets that were there too. We were able to work a lot with, with the US Army aviation assets that were there with, their their Kiowa and Apache helicopters, so specific fires platforms, which also supported the missions.
Ian:But for the, for the purpose of the SOAD, those MI seventeens, they they were they were a lift platform. Yeah. So kinda similar what the Chinook does. They they they move people and stuff to get to the right place to be able to put effects downrange.
Bryan:Right. Did you have any crazy experiences during your tour in Afghanistan? Like any rocket attacks or did you ever go on any missions or anything like that?
Ian:No. One one of the, one of the very specific restrictions I was given being untrained was that I I I will not leave the airfield.
Bryan:That's fair.
Ian:So that that was that I I kinda went in knowing that I was I wasn't gonna get to get to do any of that that kinda cool stuff. But in terms of, force protection security, I mean, that that that was part of being on Candahar Airfield was that rocket attacks did occur. We did have one occurrence where we actually had a rocket land on our ramp underneath one of our aircraft
Bryan:Oh, wow.
Ian:That did not explode No. Conveniently. So we were able to, to have the EOD folks secure that and carry on carry on within a couple hours like it never happened. And we there were some there were breach attempts on the airfield. There were rocket attacks on the airfield, but nothing that was, I would say, any anything crazy or unique that's, that's different from anybody else's Ganahar experience.
Bryan:Which is funny. Right? Like, it shows you when you're deployed the sliding scale of normal because, like, most people listening to this have never experienced a a have never lived somewhere where a rocket attack could be a a daily part of your life or, you know, you talk about a breach attempt very casual casually, but what that is is like the Taliban trying to breach their way onto the airfield and, you know, kill people. And that's just like your sliding scale of normal. Right?
Ian:Yeah. And that's a sliding scale of normal for for anything you're gonna be involved in, but it's it's all based on your expectations. Right? If if you show up knowing that you're at a location where you have to take force protection seriously, where you have to be prepared, where you have your own security forces engaged in defending against those things, then know how to be able to deal with it. Yeah.
Ian:Right? So you know what to expect. And if your expectation is that there will be a rocket attack siren at some point while you're there, and the siren goes off, well then it's not a panic. You've already discussed and rehearsed what the drills you're going to do. Where's your safe location to get to?
Ian:And how do you continue to support operations while that's occurring?
Advertisement:Yeah. KF Aerospace, Canada's largest MRO and founding partner in Skyline for the future aircrew training program, is proud to be the exclusive North American dealer for the Grove 120TP. The Grove 120TP is a world class training aircraft, combining turbine power, advanced avionics, side by side seating, and full aerobatic capability. Already trusted by the German Air Force, Canada's Future Air Crew Training Program, and militaries worldwide, it's built to deliver performance and reliability. With its versatility, the GROBE 120TP is the ideal platform for both military training and civilian programs, including upset recovery training.
Advertisement:Go to kfaero.ca, that's kfaer0.ca, to learn more and get in touch with us.
Bryan:So how did this experience influence the way you approached your flight training in the coming years?
Ian:The biggest influence that this had on my flight training was that I was 99% sure that I wanted to fly helicopters as a pilot. Yeah. And green helicopters. It wasn't just the aviators I was surrounded by. But working closely with, with some of the folks at, CHFA, like the the Canadian helicopter force Afghanistan that was there, working with some of the some of the special operations members who were there, seeing it from like a support to the land force perspective and building relationships with the troops who are on the ground and the people who you're actually supporting and having that face to face relationship and getting to know them really well and seeing the direct connection between, your role as a helicopter pilot and the effect that has on the troops on the ground.
Ian:That was that's really unique in Tackle. And and that that exposure that I got in that experience was what really drove me to continue to want to do that through my career.
Bryan:Okay. So we'll get back into your flight training experiences. You've safely returned from your tour in Afghanistan, and you're arriving at Moose Jaw to fly the CT one fifty six Harvard two. How did you feel arriving for this course? And did it feel like no big deal after being in Afghanistan?
Ian:It probably felt like a bigger deal.
Bryan:Oh, yeah?
Ian:Because now now I've got the operational experience or I'll put that in air quotes, operational experience.
Bryan:Yeah. Yeah.
Ian:I I I've seen what it looks like. Now I'm more motivated to succeed.
Bryan:Right.
Ian:Now I now I want it more.
Bryan:So the stakes are higher.
Ian:So now I'm putting more pressure on myself to succeed. The stakes are higher. Yeah. So I I don't want to say it was no big deal, but it it definitely brought a different perspective of my flight training that I I was committed to being successful and and getting through that course.
Bryan:Yeah. How did you find flying the Harvard two?
Ian:Harvard was so much fun. Yeah. It was it was so much fun. It's such a, like, again, I didn't come up from an aviation background. So I have no frame of reference to say I had two hundred hours in a Cessna.
Ian:So to go from something that's got 12 horsepower to something that's got 1,200 horsepower, those aren't those aren't the real numbers. Don't quote me. But to be able to to get into that aircraft, go to a fully aerobatic aircraft, fly in formation, go up to 24,000 feet, come back down, it was just really cool. It was a really, really awesome exposure to to what flying is. And being an eight month course instead of an eight week course, you actually got to breathe a little bit during the course.
Ian:And you actually get to enjoy the experience you were having. And just like phase one, you're still there with a team. You've got more people at the school, right? Because you've got courses ahead and behind you and everybody again is still working toward the same objective. So I I had a lot of fun on on phase two, I'll be honest.
Bryan:Yeah. Phase two is a funny thing. Like it's a very high pressure course still. It's very intense and there's still the fire hose of information and you're learning a ton and like every single day you're learning new things and that can be really challenging. But if you manage to like take a step back, breathe, I know for me a turning point was having the mindset of like, okay, I'm just going do my absolute best and if it works out, that'll be amazing and if it doesn't, I can walk away with my head held high.
Bryan:And then I was able to like enjoy my time off on Friday and Saturday, like Friday night and Saturday and, you know, hang out with my friends and and find fun things to do. And yeah, it it it can be very fun, but it you have to get into the right mindset.
Ian:Yeah, absolutely. And and once you build and establish that routine, you're gonna you're gonna find success in that as well. Right? So you when you know that, hey, you know what? The the weeknights are to make sure that I'm prepared for the weekdays And the weekends are to make sure that I'm still having fun and I'm relaxed and I'm ready to go for and fresh for the next week.
Ian:Once you once you figure out that routine, then then you're going to have more success. The other thing I had in Moose Jaw was the benefit of having some really good instructors really early in the course. My two, I'd say primary instructors for my first phase of the course were both former helicopter pilots. One of them was actually a former C model Chinook helicopter pilot, who was still teaching at Moose Jaw. And the other one was a former Seaking pilot.
Ian:And knowing that I wanted to fly helicopters and being able to kind of relate to them and have that kind of human to human conversation with your instructors instead of it being, a very authoritative relationship also benefited me in that course. And I don't know if that speaks to them being helicopter pilots. I think they were just genuinely really awesome people. Yeah. But I got lucky in that way too.
Bryan:Yeah. Most of the instructors there are pretty amazing, but it really makes a difference when you get those instructors who take the time to invest in you and to mentor you.
Ian:Yeah. And and can look at you and and like be invested in your success. Mhmm. I I felt that.
Bryan:Yeah. And I think most of them are. Like, most people don't end up instructing at Moose Jaw and they're they can't really be blase about their students' success. Like, they just won't won't be successful as instructors. Like, all the instructors I've spoken with are very invested in their students' success.
Bryan:Like, they're especially when they're when they're early in. Like, they're nervous when their first students are going up for tests because they really want them to succeed and yeah. They they care.
Ian:Yeah. Well, success on a student is a direct reflection on the success of the instructor. Right? So I I True. I I never I did never I did not ever have an experience with an instructor in Moose Jaw who I did not feel like they were invested in my success.
Ian:I I just highlighted those two because I I got along really well with them and they were formative Yeah. In kind of like the first the first clear hood phase that I was going through.
Bryan:Yeah. For sure. Did you have any particular challenges while making your way through phase two?
Ian:Yeah. I I'd say my biggest challenge was getting the small stuff right. I get it's it's one thing to to know your numbers, know your red pages. Be strong in the classroom, be strong academically. But then when you get in the aircraft and you know the maneuvers, you know what you're expected to do, you know what an, what a before landing check is, you know what an after takeoff check is.
Ian:But if, if you, if you forget the gear in the flaps and the right sequence of the before landing check, and that's, it's just one of those things. Sometimes you just get that mental block where you just, it just doesn't come to you right away. That I think I had a couple of flights right in the middle of my course, where it was like back to back to back flights where I just, for some reason I had a mental block where I just could not get over the hurdle of getting the right checks and the right sequence at the right time of the flight. Not that I didn't know what I was doing, just that it just did not come to me as I was going through the sequence, no matter how much chair flying I did, no matter how much I practiced, no matter how much I tried to remind myself, I just had those one sequence. And as soon as you have that one level that doesn't, doesn't quite meet the standard for that flight, then you put more pressure on yourself to fight through.
Ian:Now, I was successful. I never really was put in a position to do any remedial training, but it's getting over those mental blocks of making sure that you're appropriately focused on the right task at the right time. That was the real struggle I had in Moose Jaw.
Bryan:How did you work through that?
Ian:I actually I got some techniques from some of my peers, some of the folks I was on course with. Then having those relationships absolutely essential going through pilot training, to be able to talk to them and bounce ideas back and forth and let them know, let them know what your weaknesses are. They'll let you know what your weaknesses are and you can help each other work through it. And I actually had, one of the other guys on my course gave me just like a a quick mnemonic that kinda he, I don't remember specifically what it was, but it was it was just one of those things that just clicked in my brain. Yeah.
Ian:And I I never forgot it again after that because it was I'm sure it was something funny or crass Yeah. He said that just
Bryan:They usually are.
Ian:Just got stuck in the back of my brain that I just could not forget once, once we had that conversation. So it was leaning on Pierce. Yeah. That's that's how I got through that course.
Bryan:What would you say was the biggest lesson you learned from phase two that continues to influence you as a pilot today?
Ian:Just being genuine. Being yourself. Being able to have those, like just real life conversations with your peers, with your instructors, recognizing that the people around you are all working toward the same goal. They all want to be successful. And the fact that we mentioned earlier that the instructors are, they're invested in your success.
Ian:So be honest with them, be upfront, be able to have those conversations that to allow them to help you. Yeah. Right? It's if if you feel like you're if you feel like you're struggling or you or you just can't get that one technique down that you want to get, have that conversation. And I think that's something I'll always bring forward too is don't be afraid to reach out to the people around you or the people who are built to be in a position to help you succeed.
Ian:Lean on them, talk to them. Don't don't try to do it all yourself.
Bryan:Yeah. So when you finished your course, you were selected to go helicopters. We know that's what you wanted. How did it feel to get that?
Ian:It it felt good. It it was definitely, it was definitely gratifying. I I don't know if, I don't know if the commandant felt the same way. The commandant was a was a jet guy and wanted wanted everybody to to really want to be a to be a fighter pilot.
Bryan:Yeah.
Ian:But I I was, I I had my my eyes set on the green helicopters for sure.
Bryan:Moose Jaw, I don't know about now, but certainly at that time period was definitely, like, run as a jet school. Like, it was a very jet pilot atmosphere.
Ian:Yeah. It was. And I I did actually, have an interview with one of the senior leaders in Moose Jaw at some point when they found out halfway through the course that I was already deciding that I wanted to go helicopters. I kind of got called in and just, just, just ask just to be like, Hey, what, why don't you want to fly jets? And, I honestly just talked about my motivation for flying helicopters.
Ian:Didn't, I didn't mention that, you know, I don't, I don't want to go fly circles at left hand orbits at 30,000 feet and, and watch the world through a straw. And I say that tongue in cheek because all of the folks that I went through pilot training with within a year after finishing Moose Jaw, they were dropping bombs in Libya, right? So everybody has their own experiences and the the the timing works out. But, but, yeah, I was I was always set on going taco.
Bryan:Yeah. So next up is your phase three flight training on your helicopter course. When you arrived at phase three helicopter training in Port Orchard Prairie, did you find it was more relaxed than phase one? I can't speak for helicopter training, but I know that multi engine training is a much more relaxed environment than Moose Jaw.
Ian:I think that the school is smaller. So I think it's a it's a bit of a different atmosphere between 3CFFTS and 2CFFTS. I mean, in Moose Jaw, there's 15 Harvards launching in three waves a day, right? So it's just Yeah. It's constantly going.
Ian:It's constantly moving. It's a little bit slower that way, not as not as many aircraft, not as many students in house. But the difference between the helicopter and multi engine training is is is notable to the the multi engine guys always seem to be super chilled out, getting ready for their for their next, know, for four hour out back sortie. Whereas the helicopter courses about to go learn on go learn something completely new.
Bryan:Yeah.
Ian:Flying a helicopter is not flying an airplane. Yeah. Now there are things that overlap and there are things that relate. And having flown the Harvard before definitely helps give you the air sense to be able to be an effective helicopter pilot. But physically flying a helicopter is unlike anything else that you can really do.
Ian:So there's no way to get good at it without doing it. Yeah. So there's a lot of pressure to, a lot of self induced pressure again to be successful doing something you've never done before. And especially if you've had success in a place like Moose Jaw to show up and be put right back to zero again on phase three, because nobody can hover a helicopter on their first try
Bryan:Right.
Ian:Is is very humbling and and definitely definitely induces some stress that I don't think the the multi engine side had.
Bryan:Yeah. You know, it's funny now that you say that and I look back, I do remember, like I said, multi was I won't say it was like a chill course, but it was much more relaxed than phase two. And I think back to my peers on the helicopter course, and they were definitely carrying a little more stress than we were, like, for sure. And I mean, around that time was like some dark days in the helicopter side of the house. Like, there was a course while I was there where only one person graduated.
Bryan:So, like, it was a it was tough times in the helicopter school. So, yeah, I guess I guess now that you mentioned it, I can remember that.
Ian:Yeah. And it it it's not I mean, it's completely different kinda learning atmosphere and but it's everything is new on the helicopter side. Like, even the aerodynamics a wing is a wing is a rotor aerodynamically, But how the aerodynamics of a rotor actually function compared to just air over a wing is is a little bit mind bending when it comes to, like, the academic side too. So even even the academics and the ground school are just a completely new and different thing that you're going to experience that you you just have to you just have to be prepared to know absolutely nothing, to be humbled that you know absolutely nothing, and be prepared to learn it. Yeah.
Ian:Yeah. What did you
Bryan:find was the most challenging part of phase three?
Ian:The most challenging part was honestly what I just mentioned before. The humbling experience of realizing that you're terrible at flying helicopters.
Bryan:Yeah.
Ian:To to go sit in the cockpit of a really fascinating machine, even if it's a two zero six, just like little little jet ranger. The the experience of being given one flight control and barely being able to keep yourself in one position is is wildly challenging until you get it. And there's no knowing when you're going to get that moment where it'll just click for you. But at some point between kind of like hour one and hour ten, you actually figure out how to make both hands and both feet work in coordination. And, and you actually have that sense of accomplishment, which is, the most rewarding part of phase three, I would say is having that sense of accomplishment from going in the span of a few months from, I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing to, I am flying a multi engine glass cockpit helicopter, across an international border.
Ian:And I know what I'm doing and I'm being successful. So I think just helicopter training in general has that challenge of going from absolute zero to success. And the the transition and the curve you see in that is is really rewarding.
Bryan:Right on. So you passed phase three and got your wings. You were selected to go to four fifty tactical helicopter squadron to fly the CH one forty seven f Chinook. You were only the second person to be sent directly to the Chinook from pilot training. Before that, people first flew on another platform.
Bryan:Were you intimidated by this at all?
Ian:A little bit. But again, it's that same feeling that you always get in your career when you do something new, equal parts excited and equal parts anxious. I was really, really excited to be given the opportunity to fly the most modern piece of kit in the Air Force. Like the fact that it that I was going to a place where the helicopters were going to be brand new, where they were purpose built to be the workhorse of the RCAF. That was super, super exciting.
Ian:And honestly, that helped overcome any of like a nervousness or intimidation that I would have felt. I knew I was going in completely cold. Knew that there were people with combat experience on Chinooks that I was going to learn from, but that was exciting because I was going to learn from them. Yeah. It wasn't it wasn't so much intimidating.
Bryan:Yeah. You felt confident after the training you'd received and just excited for the new the new job?
Ian:A 100%.
Bryan:So switching gears a little, you have a brother who is also a pilot in the RCAF. Can you tell us a little about him and how your family ended up with two pilots serving in the RCAF?
Ian:Yeah. My brother, Matt, I think he probably had a bit of a similar introduction to the military as I did, where we don't come from a military family by any means. I mean, my uncle was an artillery officer in the CAF for about twenty years. But outside of that, growing up in Sarnia, it's not a military town by any means. We're not surrounded by it.
Ian:But I think after him seeing my first couple of years at RMC, he also decided to go to RMC. Also was a bit of an athlete. He played varsity basketball there. And when we were talking about joining and he asked me questions about what the application was like and what career paths were, I was pretty quick to tell him that pilot was the way to go. And he had a similarly successful application.
Ian:And through that process, he was always kind of a couple of years behind me in training system, But we had the opportunity to go through very similar training. He went, did, did phase one portage, phase two Harvard, phase three, portage again, and ended up coming to four fifty Squadron as a Chinook
Bryan:in
Ian:2015. So we ended up flying Chinooks together for a few years, at four fifty, which was a really, really cool experience to be able to share that. And went from, not to jump ahead too far, but went from, me mentoring him as an AC as he was coming up as a junior first officer in the unit, to eventually when I came back to the unit twenty twenty two, after some time in The States, he was a fully full fledged instructor on the Chinook by that point. And now he was teaching me on my re qualification course when I was coming back from The States. So we've, we've had a a really cool opportunity to both be Chinook helicopter pilots.
Ian:He's since moved up to, up to Yellowknife. He's now flying Twin Otters at at four forty Squadron, and is is loving his RCAF career. Still again, still being on a cockpit, all these years later after he got his wings in 2015, I think.
Bryan:That's awesome. That's really cool. I hadn't I didn't realize that he also flew the Chinook and that you guys had flown together. A really cool story.
Ian:Yeah. It's it's a really, really unique experience that I'm I'm really happy to have had.
Bryan:Yeah. For sure. You're also a member of a service couple. In other words, your wife is also a serving member. Andrea is an army logistics officer in Petawawa.
Bryan:How do the two of you navigate two busy careers as majors in the CAF while still maintaining a healthy relationship?
Ian:Communication and compromise, for sure. I mean, you we kinda went through my career a little bit and it's, it's been deployment after deployment, after operation, after exercise, after operation, after exchange. And hers has been similarly chaotic with moves, career courses, deployments. She's also did deployment to Afghanistan at one point. So we just, we have to communicate a lot to be, to make sure that we're always on the same page with, with who's doing what and where.
Ian:Yeah. But also being able to disconnect from work. I'm a better officer because she's a phenomenally smart and outstanding officer. But when we come home at the end of the day, and we can just kind of, disconnect from work and just be in our space with the horses, with the dogs and be kind of home, home on the farm and be able to disconnect and have the ability to to be each other's best friend without having it be specifically about work or specifically about being a military service couple. I think that's that's what helps make us better people together.
Bryan:Yeah. To not just come home and talk shop, like have a chance to disconnect and have your own space.
Ian:Yeah. A 100%. Yeah. But at the same time, it it definitely benefits us that we can have those conversations about work and bounce ideas off each other.
Bryan:Yeah. That makes sense. It must be super busy between careers. And then like you said, you guys have what I imagine is a hobby farm and that must keep you quite busy outside of working hours.
Ian:Yeah. It keeps us busy. And there was a there was a period for a couple years there where we were both deputy commanding officers at the same time in Petawawa. So it's it's, it's definitely a unique situation to to be in, but we love it. Yeah.
Ian:And it's we're we're both career military officers at this point.
Bryan:Yeah. So let's close part one with a piece of advice for our listeners. Thinking back on the unique opportunities you've had and knowing that new pilots are now facing some training delays, what advice would you give to someone who is joining the RCAF as a pilot or is currently working through those delays?
Ian:First things first, and I I definitely say this to the to the folks who are waiting for training at 04:50 that I that I see on a daily basis is one, like, go flying. Like, if you're if you're at a unit, if you are if you do have the opportunity to be at a unit that has aircraft, get on the aircraft. Like with at the Chinook unit, go sit in the jump seat of the helicopter. Go sit in the back seat of a 146. Go ride, put a headset on, listen to what the crew is doing.
Ian:Get that idea for what's going on in the airspace. What's going on on the comms, how the crew is interacting with each other. If you're on a crude aircraft to be able to just get that sense of what the expectation is going to be, because you're always going to learn something. The more you're around it, the more you're going to learn. The other thing too, is get, get down on the floor.
Ian:Like go, go talk to people who aren't pilots there. Yes. This is a, this is a pilot centric podcast, But the smartest people that I learned from are the people who aren't just like me.
Bryan:Mhmm.
Ian:It's the logisticians. It's the maintainers. It's the it's the area officers. It's the n it's the NCOs. Like Yep.
Ian:Go talk to them. Figure out what they do, how they do it. Go spend a day with them. See what a day in the life looks like. It's one thing to be at the ops desk and get to know everybody and get to know how the unit works through absorbing the people that come into your orbit.
Ian:But it's another thing to go down and spend three days on the floor and just follow the technicians around and see what they do on a daily basis that helps the unit function. Yeah. The other thing I'd say is if you have opportunities that pop up, I I'm I'm a victim of opportunity in my career. Maybe victims are wrong word. I'm a product of opportunity in my career.
Bryan:Yeah.
Ian:I I've had the benefit of being, as I said, in the right place at the right time for a few of these events, even being able to get onto the Chinook at a flight training. It just so happened that I was finishing flight training at a time when they were beginning to, accept pipeline pilots. But I also advocated for myself. I knew that there was going be a training delay. I said, Listen, I, I am motivated to go fly this aircraft.
Ian:And I'm okay with accepting a training delay if you will give me the opportunity. So you, you do have to advocate yourself, but take those opportunities. If, if it don't close doors to yourself. If, if for some reason your OJE says, Hey, we need you to fly them and tend to go grab a couple of boxes and drive them to this other place. Don't immediately poo poo it as like, oh, no.
Ian:Somebody else can do that. Because next thing you know, you'll be driving machine guns across international border. You'll sit in the back of a helicopter while they're shooting machine guns Yeah. Out the door beside you. Right?
Ian:So don't
Bryan:Which ended up being a formative experience for you.
Ian:A 100%. So so make sure that if an opportunity presents itself to take it, get get on some of those deployments, get on some of those exercises, go sit in the back of an aircraft, go go sit in the field for for a week with one of the field exercises that the unit's doing. Just yeah, do do whatever you can to to maximize whatever opportunities you're given and whatever OJT you've got.
Bryan:Yeah. Yeah. I I love that. That's a great piece of advice. And I totally agree with you also.
Bryan:You mentioned this is a pilot centric podcast, but I completely agree with you in terms of the importance of learning the world around you, learning from various different trades, NCMs, like good NCMs will will mentor officers. Like, off officers need to be listening to their NCMs and learning from them because every strong military is built on a core of of experienced NCMs. Like, know, you know, the only reason I knew a bunch about the sensors on the Aurora was because the Ace Ops mentored me and taught me about them and the flight engineers taught me about the systems of the Aurora. So you have to listen to those people. You have to learn from them.
Bryan:Plus, they're great people. It's great to get to know them.
Ian:Yeah. And you and I have the benefit of being experienced on crewed aircraft. Yeah. Where you you you don't go flying without the entire crew. Right?
Bryan:That's right.
Ian:It's not a it's it's it's not a single seat jet. It is it is an aircraft that only flies and only works because you have three to four people in that aircraft who are all working together to achieve an aim regardless of rank. Yep. So you gotta be you gotta be able to build those relationships with everybody around you. Yeah.
Ian:For sure. Okay.
Bryan:Ian, that's gonna wrap up part one of our chat for today. It was great to hear about your time in flight training, and it was really, really interesting to hear about your time in Afghanistan. I'm excited to learn more about your time with four fifty Tackhill Squadron. So thanks for being here today, and I'm looking forward to the next one.
Ian:Thanks, Brian. It's been great.
Bryan:Alright. That wraps up part one of our chat with Ian. You can tune into our next episode to hear all about his experiences flying the CH one forty seven f Chinook with four fifty tactical helicopter squadron. Do you have any questions or comments about anything you've heard in this show? Would you or someone you know make a great guest, or do you have a great idea for a show?
Bryan:You can reach out to us at the pilotprojectpodcastpodcast@Gmail.com or on all social media at pod pilot project. And be sure to check out that social media for lots of great videos of our RCAF and mission aviation aircraft. As always, we'd like to thank you for tuning in and ask for your help with the big three. That's like and follow us on social media, share with your friends, and follow and rate us five stars wherever you get your podcasts. That's all for now.
Bryan:Thanks for listening. Keep the blue side up. See you.
Ian:Engineer, shut down all four. Shutting down all four engines.