A student who takes soaring during the fall semester and gets selected for IP upgrade will be enrolled in AM-461 (Soaring Instructor Upgrade) during the spring semester. This class takes place every other afternoon and begins with a 1200 bus for a 1230 brief followed by a 1300 takeoff. Students will fly until just before sunset. Each upgrade class consists of approximately 20 students. Since they fly every other day, there are two upgrade classes per semester; this allows for about 40 upgrade students per semester.
The training route can be stressful at times because there are bound to be lots of days spent studying at the airfield when weather grounds flying ops. Students will not have time to work on other academics while the airfield; when they're at the airfield, they will either by flying or studying for their upcoming sorties.
IPs can teach three different courses: AM-100, AM-251, and AM-461. AM-100 is a course during the 3rd period of the summer for basic cadets. When basic cadets go through 2nd BCT Jack's Valley, they get a day at the airfield to ride in the UV-18 Twin Otter (the plane from which the Wings of Blue jump) and also get an orientation ride in the gliders. IPs lucky enough to teach AM-100 during the 3rd summer period will show off their flying skills to basics all day long. It's an awesome opportunity to get some stress-free flying in and give the basics the best day they've had in over a month.
AM-251 is the bread and butter of the soaring program. Offering 14 sorties or a solo - whichever happens first - AM-251 is designed for students with zero flight experience to become familiar with flying a glider. It is also a prerequisite for applying to be an IP. Teaching AM-251 is both fun and stressful; fun because you can watch a student progress from a flying death machine to a solo-able pilot, stressful because students always keep IPs on their toes and force them to recover from some sticky situations.
I've already talked a bit about AM-461, so I'll just add on that teaching IP upgrade is much easier than going through it. AM-461 offers plenty of flying time for IPs and is also less stressful because students are generally very skilled past the halfway point in the program and do far less to scare their IPs.
IP selection is based on GPA, MPA, PEA, and an interview with a board of cadet IPs and one officer. Soloing is NOT a prerequisite for becoming an IP! The questions IPs ask themselves when making selections are "Will this person be able to devote sufficient time to their airfield duties without compromising his or her ability to succeed in other cadet duties?" and "Does this person have the aptitude to succeed in the IP upgrade program?" A 2.6+ GPA, 2.6+ MPA, and a 2.3+ PEA are the rock bottom minimums I would ever consider for an applicant. Probations are a no-go. The interview gives cadets a chance to explain away some lackluster performance and also to discuss why they deserve to be picked over their peers.
I hope this answered your questions well. Anything else, please let me know.
