"The greatest show on earth..."

A post I really wanted to get done at the weekend but I never got chance.

Last week, and indeed over the past couple of days we've been working towards finishing the material of the final five of fourteen ATPL subjects. With only eleven more classes to complete in total and considering the amount we have completed over the past five and a bit months it's that final push that I feel is going to count so much.

Since starting in August I know we have all seen, certainly not intentional, a come down from what we expected. During the first few weeks of the first of the three modules we would spend many hours every night studying the material completed that day. As we have moved on, I would say that we have all learnt how to revise the fourteen subjects much more effectively. I'm not saying we do any less revision in terms of hours - more so we know what to revise and how to answer the questions.

Having said that, the exams are now fast approaching and it's that time again where we all start to feel that little bit of pressure creeping up behind us. The brow starts to sweat and with the benefits of finishing so close it's almost impossible to stop thinking about them...

So, as I write we have another eleven classes to complete followed by five consolidation exams and then the real IAA sitting.

Last week we all received the timetable for the exams and I must say, it could have been better. We have the following:

Monday 27th February


Air Law
Meteorology

Tuesday 28th February


Human Performance and Limitations
Operational Procedures

Wednesday 29th February


Mass and Balance

The hardest day is most certainly the first which does come with the benefit of getting them out of the way early on to concentrate on what I believe to be the easier of the five on the Tuesday and Wednesday.

As I've said before; there has been a change in the way the exams are conducted this module. Instead of having the week of Consolidation followed a week to revise before the final week of exams; this time PTC have extended the ground school to six weeks removing the revision time in between the two sets of tests.

Personally I think that this is a good idea. Although it will be extremely tiring, to stay in that revision/exam mode will certainly be of help and from my own personal point, require a lot less motivation the following week to start revising all over again!

I'm sure I'll be keeping you posted over the next couple of weeks.

Other than knocking ground school hours off one by one and completing the PPL we got to again experience something that only America can do - the 'Super Bowl.'

Self-proclaimed at the 'greatest show on earth,' it certainly had something to live up to! Now those of us who made our way to Smokey Bones (a chain restaurant here in the US) for an all you could eat feast consisted of a significant number who were keen rugby and football (soccer) fans. How was this sporting event going to contend with what we have to offer in Europe?

The game began with the glits and glammer we had all expected and although it is very much a stop start game it was, surprisingly, quite entertaining (even if I didn't know what was going on!)

The game was concluded with a winning touchdown (I think I'm right in saying that?) with only minutes to go.

In conclusion, I wouldn't go as far as to say it's the 'greatest show on earth' but I guess that very much depends on what each person is interested in. I will say that I did enjoy the experience however I'll stick to the real football I think (sorry NFL fans!)

Other than that, this week there are a few highlights to point out.

Advertising in any industry nowadays has to be innovative, eye-catching and in many cases funny. It's not something I see very often in the US where they seem to be more direct with their promotions but in the UK (and now evidently elsewhere in Europe) this is the case.

Airlines are no exception to the rule and I would imagine all reading will remember BA's campaign a few months ago featuring the pilots of the company through the ages. Well, Lufthansa have recently released their latest domestic advertisement which has been going viral on the social networks.

Staying on the subject of videos, and more specifically YouTube videos (and my instructor is going to kill me for this) but recently a video of him came to light in a previous job. That is all I am going to say...