Consolidation complete

Five exams done, five exams thankfully passed.

Consolidation exams took place over the past week in the Babcock facility here in Melbourne. All fourteen were conducted over four days.

Four long nights since the end of ground school interrupted by Thanks Giving and Black Friday proved fruitful as the results came out all above the 80% mark needed to be allowed to sit the real IAA exams which will begin next Monday (12th) running for three days.

All of the consolidation exams are designed to give each student not only a good idea of how each test will be set but also an understanding of their current knowledge level in that particular field.

Since completing consolidation I have had a few days off spare a couple of hours of Radio Navigation whilst watching the Manchester United game on Saturday morning. It is hard to describe going from constant hours of revising to almost 'slobbing' within a matter of hours.

Tomorrow is where the work starts again as I slowly get through the material again and again before the all important tests in seven days time. Having said that, having the ten days between mock and real examinations is more of a time to buffer and fine tweak the knowledge already gained over the previous five to six weeks. If it is possible to score highly with only four days of intense study before consolidation then the extra ten days are a great way to tune the already embedded material. Having said that, I am hoping to get a number of hours in daily.

I'm also hoping to get back into the air this coming week with the mock check ride. I have been waiting a number of weeks to finally get towards the FAA PPL and although it maybe touch and go (no pun intended) I am hoping to have this under my belt before departing the country for the Christmas period.

Talking about the festive season, it is great to be able to start organising to meet up with friends and family when I'm home for three weeks. Having started in May it has been almost seven months here in Melbourne and although we are living in a fantastic climate, doing something that thousands (if not more!) would love to do it; I know it will be nice just to return to a sense of normality for a short time and what better way to do that than over Christmas.

Consolidation and Thanks Giving

This week we concluded our five weeks of ground school for this module. We now have one week of Consolidation starting tomorrow followed by a study week and if all goes well during the mock exams the real IAA sitting in just over two weeks time.

This week was also a time for the United States to celebrate one of it's biggest holidays. As someone who lives in the UK we are well aware of the tradition but not a nation who takes part was a whole. So to be here in the US on such a day, I was hoping for an insight into the 'pre-Christmas' holiday - something a number of us certainly got! More on that later.

The time comes again where we must spend many an hour sat in front of the computer and books revising for the forth coming examinations. Round 2 is almost upon us as General Navigation kicks off tomorrow morning bright and early at 9am.

As it was eight weeks ago we all sit Consolidation exams to determine whether we are indeed ready to sit the IAA tests. We will be put forward for any or all of the subjects we achieve a score of 80% or above on.

The Consolidation papers take place over one extra day compared to the IAA running from tomorrow morning (Monday) to Thursday afternoon. All three modules will sit any of their respective fourteen subjects they're currently studying for. The results are usually distributed pretty swiftly within hours.

This week I have General Navigation on Monday, Radio Navigation on Tuesday, Flight Planning on Wednesday and the two Communication papers on Thursday.

Following this, assuming all are passed, we will have ten days to swat some more before the finals the week before leaving for Christmas.

As mentioned above, Thanks Giving is a big day on the American calendar where all families come together (maybe for the first time in twelve months) to say thanks, whether that be to their family, their friends or through their beliefs. 

Eight students from my class including myself were lucky enough to be able to attend a real traditional Thanks Giving in the home of a big American family. With what must have been over forty people coming in and out all afternoon the food production was run like clockwork. It was great to meet so many different people from so many different backgrounds who had all come together at one time.  

The evening was concluded by all gathering around in one room (I'd never imagine a family being so big!) to each say what they were thankful for. Overall it was a fantastic day and I can't thank enough the family for their hospitality.

The day following Thanks Giving is known over here as 'Black Friday.' Another national holiday (for those who don't work in retail anyway!) where the nation almost comes to a standstill...outside of their nearest superstore anyway. The country goes into lock down with consumers snapping up what I as a European can only describe as eye-watering cheap deals. Seeing people camping outside of Best Buy on Thanks Giving with tents it's the extent some will go to to make big savings and get their early Christmas shopping done. 

Needless to say I also took part in this tradition - it would after all be rude not to!

So...back to the books I go - less than twenty four hours to go...

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I'm not wanting to make a habit of these bottom post-blog comments but I think it's only right to highlight the sad news today of the death of one of the Premier League's all time greatest players; Gary Speed.

The Welsh football (soccer) manager was this morning found dead at his home, believed to have taken his own life.

I grew up with the Premier League and the entertainment it has brought to billions around the world. Up to only a couple of years no other player had contributed more playing time to the spectacle that is the greatest sporting league on the planet than Gary Speed - he will be a great loss to the game.

"The holidays are coming..."

Made famous by the drinks manufacturer the unofficial start of the Christmas period now seems to begin with the first showing of their adverts on TV screens across the world. Going by Facebook, during last week's X Factor the festive season was well and truly kicked into life.

Since the summer the majority of students have had their flights booked to return to their homelands for Christmas. A chance to catch up with family and friends and take a well deserved break from what, although it maybe enjoyable, quite stressful times along the Florida coastline. Something to look forward to at the end of this module in a few weeks time.

These past seven days saw the end of week four of the ATPL ground school for this module. We're now in full flow with all five subject and we again took another three weekly tests to help determine our credibility for the Consolidation exams coming up in only eight days from now. Thankfully all went to plan.

This weekend is also a landmark in that we are exactly half way through the whole ATPL programme. Twelve weeks down, twelve to go.

There is not much else to report actually. I'm currently awaiting a date to go flying with one of the senior flight instructors before my FAA PPL check ride but other than that the head is now solely focused on the forthcoming exams.

This coming week our timetable changes bringing forward the lectures by two days due to the holiday of Thanks Giving on Thursday followed by 'Black Friday' where all shops seem to drop their prices exponentially for only hours. A bit of Christmas shopping maybe a necessity...

Finally, I've had a few emails over the past few weeks about people who are planning to take the assessment day with PTC asking advice etc. I have added a page which can be found on the navigation bar at the top giving a bit of information on my assessment day and the weeks following that if that is of any help to anyone.