Air Law, Comms and Mock exams!

Eight weeks have flown by (pun intended!) which means that our mock exams are literally just around the corner. CTC require us to pass a set of mocks, starting on Monday, before they let us take the real ones. It's all good practice though, so there isn't much inconvenience to us and it gives us a chance to find out where we are with our learning. The real ones are in two weeks, so still plenty of time to iron out the creases in our knowledge.

International Rules of the Air

Today brought to an end the taught aspect of the first seven topics, having finished Air Law in a flurry of seemingly random numbers and letters. I have heard it referred to as Air Bore, and I can see why as it is just a lot of facts to learn. There is no rhyme or reasoning to it either so it is just a case of going through as many practice questions as possible. Studying for ATPL exams is made considerably easier by the existence of "question bank", various online databases of actual/similar questions to the exams. It's a great tool for us to pass our exams but it isn't the best way of truly learning the material. There are differing opinions on the use of question bank but considering the short space of time in which we have to learn it all, it's unavoidably invaluable to us.

Next thing. We finished both VFR (visual flight rules) and IFR (instrument flight rules) communications last week. They are both very small topics with only 150 possible questions each in the question bank and two timetabled teaching days. Very important none the less and impossible to fly without communication, especially with the number of aircraft flying through our skies. It is also something that has to be demonstrated to high standard to get onto a pilot training program, so if you want to be an airline pilot learn how to communicate effectively.

Unfortunately, due to them being fully booked with cadets in their final stages of training, there has been no trip in the simulator. Having a background in Aerospace engineering, and a relatively large amount of flying experience, this doesn't bother me so much as I can relate what we are doing to the flying I have done. For the less experienced on the course it's a pretty important thing to do so that what we have been learning in lessons can be seen in practice, rather than just theory written on a piece of paper. It would also have helped to make sense of the more complicated principles. It's a bit late now as we have to revise, but hopefully we might get a go after our exams. Speaking of which, I'm going back to revision, so wish me luck!

Rest and Relaxation

Unfortunately I haven't been here!

Slightly off topic from the training today, but taking time off every now and then to recuperate is very important no matter what line of work you are in. Flying especially when a Pilot's ability to safely handle the aircraft are hugely dependent on his, or her fatigue, or lack of! My logic here brings me to the conclusion that it's only right, that even during intensive studying during this ground-school phase, that I too take a break every once in a while to rest and generally recharge the batteries, as well as let the material settle.

Anyway, there have been a few instances reported recently of Pilots falling asleep at the controls, one flight subsequently overflying it's destination by 150 miles. Worrying isn't it that the safety of potentially a few hundred people is being compromised by pilots having long working hours.  Fortunately, thanks to the help of our MEPs, in the last week, plans to change the rules on pilot working hours have been rejected. The plans, which according to the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) would "almost never happen", would see a potential for pilots to be landing after 22 hours awake. I'm pretty sure that you as the passengers wouldn't be happy with that, let alone the pilots. Here is the link if you wish to go and read about it: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24327366

As much as us trainee pilots like to think that we aren't going to fall asleep at the controls, reality and statistics suggest that we might! The result of this vote was certainly a good thing to safeguard the relatively high safety standards we currently enjoy.

Well that's my break over, it's time to hit the books (computer software) again! Until next time, Adios!

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The Great British weather

Disclaimer: Not representative of normal British Weather!

The weather is a peculiar thing that us Brits never seem to be happy with. We love to complain about it but in reality there is absolutely nothing we can do. We can however learn how this planet throws up such contrasting conditions and use this knowledge to try and provide the passengers the smoothest and safest ride possible.

Meteorology, arguably the most important of the topics covered, is a monster, with the longest exam and six days to get through a list of learning objectives the length of an Airbus. It, like the other topics, is actually fascinating, but without a geography degree this very full on crash course in Met seems pretty complicated. Topics covered include altimetry, cloud spotting, humidity and wind among other things and once you sit down and get to grips with the content I find it surprisingly straight forward. That said there is still a lot of it and by no means to be underestimated.

Admittedly I have acquired some knowledge of meteorology from the amount of gliding I have done, which makes things a little easier. It also means that I have seen a few of the plethora of charts that can be used for deciphering the weather conditions at particular times. It's great now being able to understand these (and more), be able read them properly and do a little amateur weather forecasting in my spare time! The weather conditions are a very important part of gliding, and aviation in general, so having a good understanding not only makes you a better and safer pilot, but can make for some very enjoyable experiences. More on that another time! I am often asked about the best conditions for flying gliders. Well the picture above is just that! Lots of fluffy cumulus cloud and lots of blue sky for the sun to shine through. Just beautiful!

As the nights draw in and the day gets noticeably and depressingly shorter, the reality that our exams are only a month away is starting to hit home. I have definitely started to feel the pressure, even being on top of it all. Slowly but surely everything seems to be falling into place which is helping to carry that motivation through the long hours of study. Don't let that put you off though, as if you have a passion for aviation you will find ground school really interesting and actually rather enjoyable. Enough from me today, so Au Revoir!

Ps. Quite a few people asked me how they can follow the blog, so there is now a facebook page www.facebook.com/cwbpilot where you can follow the blog and where I will put additional interesting stuff. So please go and "like" the page to keep updated!