Welcome to Fixed Wing Instructor Training Unit (FITU)

A Message from the OIC

Welcome aboard!

1. You are about to embark on one of the most professionally rewarding and demanding experiences in your naval aviation career. Few assignments in the Navy, Marine Corps or Coast Guard offer the opportunity to directly influence Naval Aviation's future.
2. Keep these things in mind as you prepare for the T-6B Instructor syllabus:
   
   
   1. Come prepared to work every day! The FITU is NOT a break.
   2. This is a "production" tour vice a "shore" tour.
   3. You will be given temporary reprieve from ground duties to learn the T-6B, understand applicable publications, and develop instructional skills. Arrive to each event with a plan, well-versed in the training material, and well-rehearsed in flight procedures. When you come to fly with less than your best, you forfeit the opportunity to glean the most you can from FITU Standardization Instructors.
   4. Be proactive. Once you hit the flight line, the pace is fast and the learning curve steep. Seize any chance you get, particularly early in the syllabus, to knock out events not requiring a simulator or an airplane. Nothing is more frustrating or wasteful than losing an opportunity to fly because you have not completed a prerequisite ground event. Before you ‘cut-out early' remember – there is no down-time in the FITU.
   5. "You can't teach what you don't know." The instructional level of knowledge required to be an effective flight instructor demands dedication. While the depth and breadth of your fleet experience will provide essential perspective, there is no substitute for getting in and staying in the books.
   6. The mission of Training Air Wing FIVE is to train warriors and develop leaders. Strive to be the professional naval aviator who, by your actions, inspires those around you – both students and fellow instructors – to uphold our standards in the air and on the ground. Your conduct must always remain above reproach.
3. Show up prepared and bring your best. Nothing less will do.

LCDR J.W. HOFIUS, USCG