My soon to be office

Flight deck lit up at night (dawn to be pedantic) Photo courtesy of Bristol Ground-school

This is where, all being well, I will end up working in approximately thirteen months time.  Now it may look like the Starship Enterprise and with all the electronic and automatic systems in modern aircraft, comparisons to Flight Simulator computer games can be drawn, but this is the office window I have dreamed of for many, many years.

Yesterday brought an end to the Instruments topic, pretty much covering the entire inner workings of the flight deck and getting to grips with how all of those computer screens work. All of this electronic gubbins is actually quite incredible. The flight management system controls the autopilot which can fly and navigate the entire flight, even down to the landing, so us pilot's don't have to do anything more than read the paper and talk to Air Traffic Control! On the face of it, it all seems fairly straightforward, but I dread to think of the complexity of the electrical systems behind the scenes. The two large square screens on the very right of the picture are two of the three most important instruments. The one on the right with a blue top half and brown bottom half is called the Primary Flight display (PFD), and the one left of that with the big splodge of red in the middle is called the Navigation Display (ND). The PFD gives the main flying data, airspeed, altitude, vertical speed and an attitude indicator known as an artificial horizon. The ND, as the name suggests, provides aircraft navigation. It's the flying version of a Sat Nav which can also display weather obtained from the on-board radar and collision avoidance from something called TCAS (Traffic Collision Avoidance System). The majority of the other lights you can see in the picture are autopilot controls.

Our job as a pilot is to monitor this bank of screens and make sure that nothing goes wrong, and deal with it when it does. It has been really interesting to learn how all of the computers work and finally understand what is going on when watching videos on youtube or playing flight simulator. It's also been pretty motivating to be honest. It really feels like I am close to getting my paws on the airbus!

Ground School

Apologies for the lengthy and boring nature of this post, but I was asked a question about what I actually have to learn during Pilot Training. I'm now three weeks in and havn't actually revealed what Pilot training entails, so I thought that I would give you a run down of the course here at CTC. 

There are 14 ATPL (Airline Transport Pilots License) theory exams, the material for which is taught during the ground school phase over the first five months. The material is delivered via the classroom and the previously mentioned CBT (computer based training).  The topics are:

• Aircraft General Knowledge
• Principles of Flight
• Instruments
• Air Law
• Meteorology
• IFR communication
• VFR communications
• Mass and Balance
• Flight Planning
• General Navigation
• Flight Performance
• Operational Procedures
• Radio Navigation
• Human Performance 

Yesterday we started the Instruments topic, but only after we had all filled in our exam registration forms.  It's quite scary thinking that in six weeks we will have completed half of the ground school.  It's also amazing to think that in that time we will have consumed all of this knowledge.

Time for some more advice, when it comes to academia, always try and do things that you enjoy.  It will make a massive difference to the outcome of your learning.  I spent three years at University and really didn't enjoy my course, and as such I achieved a relatively poor grade at the end.  Now I'm here studying for what I have wanted to do for such a long time, I find it so much more enjoyable and as such I find it significantly easier to study long hours and learn all of the material.  That said, ask me again around exam time and I will probably tell you otherwise.

How do aeroplanes fly?

Not a lot has happened since last time, but we have now completed the Principles of Flight material. One exam's worth of material in five days. To put this into context, in those five days we have covered the majority of the Aerospace-y stuff in my degree, which took three years.  Well, two if you take into account the ludicrously long holidays! So in answer to my question, some strange airflow causing pressure differentials over the wings. Its all very complicated, so I won't bore you with the long winded scientific explanation and just call it magic.

Proof of my magic explanation

Having done Aerospace engineering at University this topic doesn't cause me any undue anxiety, especially with all the abbreviations to be learnt.  Having said that, it is perfectly manageable even if you don't have a background in Aeronautics. The majority of people on my course don't have scientific degrees, so don't be put off by this seemingly complicated subject and the technical knowledge that needs to be memorised to pass the exams. Now, top tip number 2; if you are thinking about a career in aviation make sure that you learn to love Maths and Physics as soon as you can. It will make life for you a lot easier! When I first wanted to be a pilot I hated Maths and Physics but I learned to love them and they became my favourite subjects at school, hence the degree in Engineering.

So last night a bunch of us went for a curry! It was a great evening with good food, good company and a chance to spend the evening away from the books.  True free time is hard to come by here, so it is wise to make the most of an evening off. Plus, studying 24/7 will make you soon want to throw the books out of the window. It really is a case of work hard, play hard. But hey, I'm still loving it. To be honest, I have been given such a wonderful opportunity that I just want to make absolute most of it, do as well as I can, and set myself up for the best career possible.

It has been mentioned a few times that we are going to get a go in the Simulator before too long. So hopefully in the next update I will be able to tell you how CP111 got on in our first attempt at flying an airliner.  Until then, bye bye!

Oh, and feel free to ask me any questions you wish about any aspect of the training, CTC, flying, or even career advice. You can use the Contact me form on the right  --->

1 down, 23 to go......

Not that I'm counting! The first week is over and I am settled into life here.  The early mornings took some getting used to, but it's been great so far. 

Last week during APD 1, a bunch of cadets that are further down the road than we are had a chat with us, and they all told us that the difficult thing about the ground school is the quantity of material not how difficult it is to learn.  Well they were certainly right. This week has been spent doing the first half of AGK (Aircraft General Knowledge) and while the subject matter is really interesting and I have enjoyed it so far, there is a lot of it and my brain is now overloaded with aircraft hydraulic systems, flight controls and de-icing systems among other things. To those with a sweet tooth like me, that's not cake icing unfortunately!

Motivation or Procrastination.....?
 

Flybe Embraer departing Southampton

Today was a scheduled "day off" for us to do some CBT, so Darryl, Josh (two of my housemates) and I went to Southampton airport to do some study while being provided with some motivation.  They didn't seem keen on providing viewing areas, so after a bit of discussion of where we could get cheap flights to and subsequently through the security barriers, we decided to go home. So in conclusion a bit of both!


Right enough of that, we're off to the pub!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Now I apologise in advance for the title of this post because I hate any mention of Christmas before at least the start of December, but today it did feel like Christmas.  We all received some rather important goody bags! I say goody bags, flight cases with some rather important items that we are going to use for our training, and later on in our careers, meaning that we all left the training centre today feeling a little more professional than we did this morning.

Flight case and it's contents

So in this case of tricks we have; a calculator, a pair of dividers (compasses), a knee board, a ruler, a logbook and a flight computer.  The flight computer is the white item on the left of the picture that is used for various maths problems that are encountered on the flight deck.  But we will get taught how to use it properly at a later date.


Right, I'm now heading back to the CBT (computer based training). There is one heck of a lot of material to cover and its only been two days! Oh well this is what I signed up for. Just keep thinking about New Zealand.  Ciao!

First Day at School

So I find myself wandering along a beach (admittedly a fairly scruffy pebble beach), watching some sailing on the south coast having moved house and all my worldly possessions for the third time in as many years.

Earlier this year I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to train to be an easyJet Pilot down here in Southampton at CTC Wings and yesterday, with a smile the width of the Grand Canyon, saw me finally start this hugely exciting 18 month course.  Becoming an Airline Pilot has been a dream of mine, like many people, since I can remember and has been something I have tried to prepare myself for my whole life.

What I shall be flying in 18 months time, all being well.

Having spent three years at University studying Aerospace Engineering, hating it and spending most days wishing I was at 35,000ft admiring the view, watching youtube videos for motivation, it is a very welcome change for me to be here about to embark on the mammoth task of learning 14 ATPL (Airline Transport Pilot's License) ground school subjects in 5 months.  The thought of flying that jet and the trip to New Zealand in February is definitely helping to get settled down and ready to crack on with the classroom based learning.  I only hated my course, the friends I made, the people I met and the things I did made for a fantastic time in Liverpool.  The course, and social life, gave me a lot of life experience and having gone through a few Pilot Training and airline selection processes in the last couple of years, I don't think that I would have done so well without my time at University.  So I can't complain too much, and I do now have a degree, which can't be a bad thing.

Anyway, how did I get into flying?  At the age of 15, I took up gliding.  It was the easiest way for me to learn to fly, it was also relatively cheap.  I was also a member of the Air Cadets, giving free flying.  One of the best pieces of advice I can give anyone thinking about a career in Aviation as a Pilot is to join the Air Cadets.  As well as it giving you the chance to have some free flying, it starts to instil many non-technical, interpersonal skills that are vital if you are to succeed as a pilot, such as teamwork and leadership.  So I flew solo (gliding) at 16 and have continued to do as much gliding as I can.  I now, 6 years later, have just under 200 hours, a Silver badge and fly competitions when/if I can, such as the Junior National Championships.  I love the challenge of cross-country flying and competitions and I'm sure that some of this will help with my flying and training later on!

Me Finishing a task at 2012 Junior Nationals, in Discus SH3

Yesterday was the first official thing on the agenda, Airline Preparation day 1 (APD 1).  It was the first day in Uniform, which felt great, with a chance to meet all of my fellow course mates, CP111 (our course number), and start to prepare and equip ourselves at this early stage with some of the skills needed to work well as a crew.  Everyone seems really friendly and the different backgrounds we have all come from should make for an interesting discussion and some fun times ahead.  Last night we all went for a few drinks in Southampton, so now just having a lazy weekend getting ready for Monday Morning.  I will try and keep you up to date with progress and anything interesting that happens, and please feel free to ask me any questions you wish about the training, gliding, selection etc. 

So until next time, Cheerio!