It’s been a while since my last update, and quite a lot has happened since! For starters, we finished Module 1 of exams, then sat our mocks and our real CAA exams - a very stressful period of time. I came out of the exams feeling relatively happy, until everyone started talking about them and trying to find out if we got the same questions! In Module 1, we had 4 subjects;
General Navigation - Learning all about time, distance and how we locate ourselves on the earth. An incredibly math filled subject (which is why I liked it). We looked at coordinates, different types of map projections, the solar system, altitude and generally how we find our way around.
Principles of Flight - Basically how aircraft fly. We looked at how a wing works, how the way a wing is designed affects its characteristics, lift and drag, flaps and control surfaces, subsonic and supersonic flight, stalling and forces in different stages of flight (climbing, turning etc).
Human performance - A very interesting subject, looking at a whole raft of topics. We covered basic human anatomy, such as how the eyes and ears work, to the psychology of how people interact, especially on the flight deck. We looked at several case studies, trying to understand how different factors acted together to cause accidents, and how the aviation industry has reacted to these different occurrences to mitigate future risks.
Mass and Balance - Another practical subject, this time with lots of graphs, and again a lot of maths. We looked at how we load an aircraft to provide optimal performance, take off and landing limitations and fuel planning, different regulations governing the maintenance of aircraft, and how very minor things such as a new paint scheme can actually add a lot of weight to an aircraft, degrading its performance.
Module 1 was incredibly hard work at first, but we all seemed to get into the swing of things relatively quickly. There’s not much time to do anything other than revise, which makes eating and sleeping difficult, but being efficient with my time definitely helped me. In all honesty, the 2 months flew by, and before I knew it we were sitting our mock exams. After that were the real ones, and I’m happy to say that I passed them all!
General Navigation - 96%
Principles of Flight - 95%
Human Performance - 96%
Mass and Balance - 97%
This gives an average of 96%, which hopefully I’ll be able sustain throughout the rest of my exams!
We’ve also started Module 2, and have almost finished 3 of the 4 subjects that we encounter;
Performance - Affectionately known as PoF2, this is all about how an aeroplane performs (e.g take off distance and climb performance) in different weather conditions and temperatures, and has lots of graphs to get stuck into.
Instruments - All about the different instruments we find in the cockpit and how they work, from light training aircraft to large, modern airliners. One of the more interesting subjects, as we learn specifically about displays and controls we are likely to find on the aircraft we will (hopefully) be flying in a few months time
Flight planning - Lots of maths, requiring us to calculate safe return points in case an engine fails, range and endurance calculations and lots of fuel planning. We also have to be able to understand approach and departure procedures, enroute charts and get our heads around a lot of regulations.
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| Airway manual, very useful for flight planning |
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| One of the approach charts for London Heathrow that we have to understand |
Radio Navigation - This involves learning about the various radio navigation aids and instruments that we will be using throughout our careers, how they work and what limitations they have. Another very interesting one, as this will be a huge part of our flight training, when we eventually come to it!
Along with starting Module 2, I also had the pleasure of attending an open day at CTC, with a great opportunity to speak to lots of aspiring pilots. It’s funny really, thinking that only a few months ago I was in the same position, desperately hoping that I would be able to have the opportunity to train at CTC, and now here I am, offering advice to others. It was an incredibly worthwhile and eye opening day, and I was able to meet some genuinely lovely people, who I sincerely hope are able to have the same opportunities as I have. I was also able to jump in the 737-800 sim for an hour or so, which was incredible after having to walk past it every day for the previous 2 and a half months. Besides being able to have a chat with the aspiring pilots whilst they flew it, I also got to fly a circuit at geneva, and take a few snaps on my phone (incase I don't get to go in again for a while).
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| A320 sim |
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| 737-800 sim |
I managed a couple of trips home over the past 3 weeks, and got to catch up with some friends and see my girlfriend, which was a long deserved treat after her months away in Scotland! I also managed to surprise her on her birthday, as I told her we were in lessons all weekend so i wouldn't be able to come home - the look on her face was worth the 3 hours stuck in traffic!
I’ve also had some big news in the past couple of weeks - I’m now going to be doing my flight training in Arizona, at Goodyear Airport, instead of New Zealand. There’s 4 of us from my course going, and a large part of our decision was that it is 2 months faster going to Arizona, which hopefully will mean we’ll get a job that much sooner. It also means we get to fly the brand new DA40’s, which are an absolutely beautiful bit of kit, and of course we’ll be able to explore the vastness that is the USA. I’ve been trying to convince the guys that we need to get a mustang and travel Route 66, but I'm not sure they're so keen - at least I’ve still got a few months to convince them!
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| Phoenix Goodyear Airport |
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| One of the pools |
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| The DA40 I'll be flying |
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| Another DA40 |
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| DA40 cockpit |
The industry seems to be in a good recruiting position at the moment too, with easyJet, Ryanair and BA all recruiting quite a lot of pilots onto the A320/737, so hopefully the future is looking bright for us, and there shouldn't be too long a wait in the hold pool before we get to start our careers in earnest!
Hopefully I’ll be posting more frequently soon, but we’re now half way through groundschool! Things will get far more interesting when I actually start flying, but before you get to read about that you have to get through ground school with me! Only 3 months to go!!
Adam
