Multi-Crew Course with Jet Orientation

With the news in Ireland still full of stories concerning the future of PTC and it's deserted pilots we continue to plough on with our training.

The unique nature in which we're due to complete the training means we had to swap two parts of our course. The general progression is to complete the training in the twin-engined Seminole and then head to Dublin to learn to work as a team during the MCC. This has been the process for many years across the majority of flights schools within the European curriculum.

However, due to the problems arising with the school in Waterford and the availability of resources it was decided that we move to the capital first before heading to another college to complete the flying stage of the Instrument Rating. This was done to increase the chance of us meeting the magic date of the 29th July - the day before the start of the type rating.

We arrived at Simtech eleven days ago to begin the course. As said in the last post, the idea of the ten days is to introduce the theory of working as a team to a set of procedures set out by the airline which have been agreed by the manufacturer and authoritative body. It it designed in essence to reduce pilot error as well as create a consistency within company and industry.

It is something that has evolved over the decades with the enhancement in technology coupled with lessons learnt from events gone by. Today when you jump on board your aircraft to far flung destinations or even short hops to nearby cities you'll be taken care of by at least two crew members who will be working seamlessly to their company's procedures. For me, it's something very reassuring when I travel as a passenger.

We initially spent three days engaged in ground school with a significant amount of time spent in the simulator becoming familiar with the system we would be operating for a week.

The 'sim' is based on the world famous Boeing 737 with the most modern cockpit creating a very ergonomic and eye pleasing environment. Spending thousands of hours in such a flight deck wouldn't be the worst place to call "the office."

Over the seven sessions we covered many different scenarios that could be faced by a crew in a modern aircraft ranging from rapid decompression of the fuselage during cruise at 37,000ft (over six miles above the ground) to engine failures on the ground and in the air. With four eyes, four ears and two brains all being susceptible to the flashing lights, horns, sirens and flickering screens it is very easy for 'newbies' to come to terms with the problem they face within seconds so you can imagine how satisfying it is to know that two highly trained pilots who know the aircraft extremely well are facilitated with such fantastic warning systems.

We have always been told that safety is the number one concern for everyone and this past week has really put that into perspective.

Along with learning about teamwork we have also had a little insight into operating a jet aircraft, something with a lot of power and that boasts extreme performance levels both with one and two engines. To add to this the superb instructors (many highly experienced captains) were on hand to offer tips, advice and stories into the daily operations of a commercial aircraft.

So, having learnt a lot and had a fantastic time we are now in Cork with the small matter just ahead of completing the Multi-engine Instrument Rating (MEIR), one of the biggest hurdles on the road to the Airline Transport Pilot's License.

It's going to be intense coming to terms with a larger and more powerful aircraft over the coming days but it's a challenge we're all relishing, but not as much as getting a few days at home with friends and family. Something I think we're all overdue...

No time to think

It has been an extremely long week for all students and their families both across the pond in Florida and here in Ireland.

In Europe the Irish and British governments are sending representatives to speak to those in the United States about proceedings for getting them back to their respective homes. There is a very public argument going on between many different parties and it has spread through Irish aviation like a knife.

We are now here in Dublin two days into our Multi-Crew Course (MCC) and Jet Orientation Course (JOC). The company we're being trained by here in the capital are fantastic. Their facilities are state of the art being the main centres of simulator training for Aer Lingus, Aer Arann and CityJet.

The simulator that we are using is based on the Boeing 737-800 series, one of the most successful and modern aircaft in the sky. Those who fly with the likes of Ryanair, Continental or American Airlines will certainly know which machine I am talking about.

With it's glass cockpit encompassing more information and facilities that our brains can possibly take in in such a short space of time we will be taught the basics in how to operate this piece of kit. The main aim is not to master the plane, but to learn to work together as a dual crew. This is paramount in our future capacities as commercial airline pilots. In only a few weeks (if the training schedule is kind to us and we can finish on time) we will be jumping into the specific simulator for our future aircraft with our airline and it's now here where we learn to work as a team, the benefits, risk and responsibilities involved in creating a synergy on the flight deck.

The ideology is to create a slick, efficient and most importantly safe environment where all pilots within a company work towards one set of rules and instructions when operating their aircraft. These are called 'Standard Operating Procedures.' These are created by each airline in conjunction with the manufacturer and national authority of their home country.

The idea is that two pilots who have never met each other before can jump into the cockpit together and work seamlessly throughout the operation from gate to gate. It is something that has worked very successfully throughout many decades and with a lot of fine tuning over the years has become a stalwart in cementing commercial flight as one of the safest modes of transport available today.

We hope to be here for only another eight days before heading down to Cork to recommence our instrument training and finish up before the end of the month. Plans haven't been finalised yet so I'm not able to say what the training will involve.


I'm hoping that many of my friends and colleagues that I've come to know over the past fourteen months or so will be able to sort the remainder of their training out in the very near future. I know some are looking at continuing the same type of training while others are looking at different options with regards to their aviation career paths.

It really is a sad state to see so many people, their families as well, having to go through such a terrible time. We're the fortunate ones, we have a company looking over us and seeing us through to the end. The majority don't.

Unfortunately we don't have time to take in what is going on around us at the moment. We're on a strict programme with only limited time but maybe when it slows down in coming months we'll actually be able to come to terms with what has happened this past week.

A video from today when we had a 'practice' in the simulator.

United States - Complete

JAA Ground School                                         -     Complete

FAA Ground School                                         -     Complete

FAA PPL written exam                                    -     Complete

JAA PPL internal check ride                           -     Complete

FAA PPL check ride                                        -     Complete

14 JAA ATPL examinations                            -     Complete

JAA CPL qualifier internal check ride            -     Complete

JAA MEP/CPL check ride                               -     Complete

As trainee pilots we all learn the task of reading from checklists very early on in our training. They're our best friend. They detail everything we should be doing to make sure that the systems there to operate a safe flight are configured correctly at each respective stage of flight.

Over the past eleven months or so we have been working through that checklist of requirements we need outlined by both the training college and the national authorities. As you can see from above there have been quite a few and as I sit here, 35,000ft above the Atlantic ocean I'm ecstatic to say the final hurdle on the American adventure has been completed.

It's been about ten days since I've updated this page and this has solely been due to the amount of flying and ground study I have had to do to get out of Melbourne in time for the start of the next part of training on Monday morning.

I completed the flying programme on Monday evening and on Tuesday lunchtime I took to the air with the Chief Flight Instructor for my mock check ride. The flight went really well and he was happy to put me forward for the IAA exam the following day.

Preparing for the final flight in US airspace as well as preparing for a much larger flight later that evening if everything went to plan was extremely time consuming! The time passed over to 2am before my head hit the pillow. I was getting up on two hours and forty-five minutes later for the biggest test of the training so far.

4:45am. The alarm sounds. The last time my head would touch a pillow for over thirty six hours. Flight bag ready, the journey to the Flightline was as it ever was at this time in the morning. Very quiet and solemn. The fifteen minutes passed pretty quickly as I went through the emergency procedures which should be learnt to memory one last time.

Arriving early enough to complete the paperwork before the flight 7:30am soon came around and it was time to meet up with the examiner for a pre-flight briefing. He ran through everything very quickly and summarized the briefing we had had a couple of days earlier. Both happy we headed out to the plane.

The flight consists of around 2.5 hours in the air covering everything from a navigation route, flying solely on the instruments, dealing with unusual attitudes, system failures, emergency situations (engine fire, engine failures) and work in the pattern. 

It all went swimmingly (apart from a scary moment where I thought I'd lost me my during the navigation diversion!) and on parking at the ramp I was congratulated by the examiner on passing the flight. 

Over the moon I headed back into the Flightline to immediately book my flight back to the UK. With all the excitement the serious lack of sleep and thumping fatigue seemed to sit at the back of my mind bothering much less than it had at sunrise.

I now had a deadline where the car would be picking me up to take me one last time to Orlando International airport. Work to be done. Checking out of the United States was easier than expected. As with everything there is a serious amount of paperwork, most of it pompous and unnecessary but no less it was all complete, signed and delivered to the relevant persons.

Now was the hardest part. Saying goodbye to everyone. 

In the past eleven months I have had the great honour of meeting some of the most interesting, some of the kindest and most certainly some of the most talented people I could possibly wish to come into contact with. From school leavers and university graduates to those who have worked in the depths of central London. From professional sportsmen to photographers. Whatever the career path was, it was quite clear to see that everyone out in Florida is there to achieve that one goal and dream of becoming a commercial airline pilot. 

I do wish everyone still out in the US the greatest of success in the future and hopefully I'll see a number of them either in Ireland next month or in the air during the future!

With the goodbyes dealt with both in person and via email I was quickly descending on Orlando International airport. 

With the amount of luggage I was taking home I was pretty embarrassed when I saw the weight of the luggage as it was totaled up by the Virgin check-in staff. The kind lady smiled at me, gave me my extra legroom ticket and said "enjoy your flight." I can get used to these extra perks!

Through security and duty free and it was time to wait for the flight home. It was the first time since I had passed the flight test taken earlier in the day I realised what was going on around me. The rush of preparing for home blurred everything else and it hit me. 

"I'm a multi-engine commercial pilot." 

Looking out at the Boeing 747 affectionately named "Pretty Woman" by the airline that was due to carry me seven hours to the east very shortly; the perfect setting. 

The time I have spent in America will forever be remembered.

Seeing the sun rise over the Atlantic ocean from 8,000ft for the first time; visiting Miami and it's world famous beach; flying in to some of the US's biggest airports in one of the smallest planes on the market; being part of a world leading programme on hypoxia training and undertaking upset recovery training are just some of the highlights of an amazing eleven months.

So...what now? Well having been at home for a couple of days and catching up with some friends and family I'm back at the airport again tomorrow to catch a short flight over the Irish sea to Waterford. The Instrument Rating (IR) course begins on Monday morning and will take around six to eight weeks to complete.

It's time to continue packing for the next stage of training, maybe a few less pairs of shorts this time...

They're back...

Yesterday was the start of the third and final module of our ATPL examinations. This module we will be studying the following.

Meteorology
This is quite self explanatory. We'll mainly cover the relevant topics within the subject relate to our future careers such as weather formations, altimetry and pressure systems.

Human Performance and Limitations
Again another subject where the name is quite evident. This will hopefully explain all the different bodily functions, their strengths and weaknesses and most importantly the effects of working in a pressurized cabin.

Air Law
These seem to be quite obvious don't they? Well this is also the case. We're now looking into the world of aviation law from how it came about, how we use it today and what powers we have as flight crew.

Operations
Ah, a subject that's not blatantly obvious. This covers subjects related to law as well as things like dangerous goods, emergency landings, fire and smoke, cabin decompression, oxygen systems, flight tracks and commercial flight procedures such as pre-planning, take-off/landing etc. It's quite an ambiguous subject which starts to bring in theory for what we will actually be doing in future years.

Mass and Balance
This is the smallest of the five subjects and basically gives us an insight into the detailed calculations involved with prepping a Boeing 737-400 aircraft (something similar to an intra-Europe/domestic US flight sized aircraft with up to 160 seats). We'll discuss and calculate factors such as passengers, cargo and fuel.

So this being the final module I hopefully have a lot to look forward to before leaving the US including exam completion, spin recovery training, hypoxia training and of course the CPL course.

I'll put another post up at the weekend going a bit more into detail of the different subjects and what my personal opinion on each is.

Back to the books!