Firstly a massive apology for the lack of updates during the remainder of my line training, but given my priority was on getting the job done, I don't feel quite so bad!
Line training continued with some really great days out all over Europe, as well as some more interesting days closer to home. It's amazing how much I knew about the Airbus, but at the same time knew practically nothing and found myself very much at the start of a learning curve! The major difference from the simulators and the real world, is that in the sims the biggest distraction would maybe be a computer not doing what it was supposed to, and a simple reset was called for. In the real world there seems to be a continuous stream of dispatchers, fuellers, crew and passengers all offering distraction when it comes to getting off the stand, and given Europe's congested airspace sometimes it's not possible to get off the stand at all due to heavy slots.
Of the more interesting trips I had was a double up to Glasgow, as the weather and terrain made for approaches needing a lot of thought and very little scope for dawdling. Given the height of the hills surrounding the airport, ATC will only clear approaching aircraft to altitudes which keep them safe against the terrain, but if the heading they've given you isn't great you end up high of the glideslope and inevitably have to perform an intercept from above. This basically means you are descending on a path that is steeper than normal, and if the aircraft hasn't already been decelerated and dirtied up (normally to flaps 2), the speed is rapidly going to increase again and the approach is going to end with a go-around. Thankfully my training Captain was prompt to give me some advise and therefore avoiding a wasted approach, advise which came in handy on later flights to other destinations with similar challenges.
Training for me went well, and although not everyone's opinion I definitely enjoyed it. Yes there were moments when I ran out of ideas but that is why the Captain is in charge, and it is their experience that makes them the skipper. I suppose it just took a bit longer to get more creative with the approaches, and with experience I grew to understand what the aircraft could do, and at what point I had to intervene if the situation wasn't going as well as I initially planned.
Towards the end of training I had bad news which eventually became good news. Due to an aircraft arriving late, a four sector day became a two sector one, so my final line check was slipping back to a later date. However, after meeting with the head of training in the crew room but sheer luck, and him having a look through my training file, the decision was made that if I performed at the easyJet standard on my aircraft competency check, my final line check could go ahead two flights early. I am very pleased to say that the ACC went well, and I completed my line check down to Marseille with no issues to prevent me from being released to the line.
LIne flying has been the real learning experience for me, as the safety net of having a training Captain has been removed, and the amount of scenarios I have seen has rapidly increased. Compared to going into the big airports like Gatwick and Amsterdam, the reality is that smaller airports tend to be more challenging and there are significantly more things that don't go how you want. This tends to be due to a mix of airline traffic and smaller training planes, the result being shortened approaches and the threat of high energy approaches. That said the challenges just confirm to me that this job is the best ever, the exciting moments staving off any hint of complacency. I've also had a couple of night stops which have been great for getting to know more crew, as we're fairly isolated in the flight deck and it's nice to find out more than if my colleagues make a good cuppa!
Ironically as my training has come to and end, i've found myself disappearing back into the books. It took a long time to commit a lot of the required knowledge to memory, but almost word-for-word every Captain has said that if you leave the books too long, you'll find it impossible to get back into them.
My plan from here is to do the odd update, maybe every 4-6 weeks to keep updating those interested as to what it's like flying for the UK's biggest airline. For those of you that have followed me on here during training I hope you have enjoyed the blog, and hopefully there are more stories to come from the line. I also have a fairly busy Instagram account and you can find my stuff at @kieran615 so stop by if pictures take your fancy! Cheers
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