Week 17: New Zealand's getting closer!

Not a huge amount to talk about this week, asides from moving onto our fourth subject of module two, Performance. It follows on quite nicely from Principles of flight, but with more focus on the sections of flight that are normally restricted due to variable factors like load, the weather and legal regulations. Put simply there's a huge amount of time spent using performance charts (such as the one pictured) to decipher how much runway is required for a take off or landing. Fortunately, easyJet have taken an electronic approach to this, so when I do eventually start line flying performance calculations should be significantly more straightforward!

On a more exciting note, we have started to complete our Student Visa paperwork, which is mad as it genuinely doesn't feel that long ago I was on my first day at Nursling. Fortunately the form isn't that complicated, especially when you compare it to the United States. Back in 2006 I was fortunate enough to take part in Camp America, and that required a monster application form plus a visit to the embassy in central London, where I was then grilled and genuinely felt I was putting someone out by wanting to visit!

So I find myself up late again, studying hard as there don't seem to be enough hours in the day! On the upside, we only have 14 days of lectures left then we are into our mocks and revision period. Get on with it I say!

Week 16: 2 down, 5 to go!

By Wednesday cp112 had completed their second subject of module 2, Radio Navigation. It feels good to have made a dent into module 2, but it's also quite sobering to know we have 5 more subjects to complete, with only 19 days of instruction before the mocks are upon us once again!

Friday brought our third subject, Human Performance and Limitations, which most students find quite interesting as the material requires mostly common sense, as well as a brief examination of human physiology. As a subject there is also a significant amount of time spent watching video documentaries; air crash investigation it is!

Initially we've looked at some physiology, but also failures due to human error (which for the stato's account for 70-80% of accidents). Time and time again 'Reasons Swiss Cheese Model' is used as a foundation of discussion, the first accident we looked at being the collision of two Boeing 747's at Tenerife in the late 1970's. The theory suggests that no accident is ever attributable to one single occurrence, and investigators can normally follow a reverse time-line from the incident with many factors contributing to the final outcome. Put simply if one of the slices is moved/altered and the path is stopped (path of opportunity), the final outcome can be significantly different.

In the case of the Tenerife disaster, there were a significant number of 'slices' (listed below) which all had some bearing on the final outcome, and a cursory look at the list shows that removing any one of them could have avoided the catastrophe.

• Bomb Scare on adjacent Island:- No bomb scare, neither aircraft would never have been there
• Crew Hours:- KLM flight crew running short on hours may have caused rushing
• Last minute refuel:- Captain of KLM elected to take on additional fuel following a delay, when his 747 had sufficient for the planned leg.
• Fog:- During the refuel a bank of fog covered the airport preventing the crews from seeing the potential collision. No refuel = no fog = visual contact with threat!
• Taxi Ambiguity:- PanAm crew misinterpreted which exit taxiway to use, putting them on the runway for longer.
• Lack of take off clearance:- KLM Captain commenced take-off roll without proper clearance
• Call stepping/blocking:- When ATC attempted to tell the KLM to hold position, the PanAm also transmitted reporting they were on the runway Unfortunately as both transmitted simultaneously, they cancelled each other out.

Away from being tied to my desk I went for a run around the Itchen valley country park. It's quite an intriguing place as the approach lights for Southampton Airport are mostly in the park, so the aircraft on approach are quite close as they descend on short final overhead. Below are a few of the pictures I took.....

Approach lights heavily guarded by fences and razor wire (i'm sure much to the annoyance of the metal thief's!)

The Localizer. Basically a bright orange aerial used to give guidance in azimuth to arrivals from the opposite direction. As a guy if you sit on it, you're not having children!

Week 15: some context

Happy new year to all of you, hopefully you all overindulged on New Years Eve! 

RNAV has continued to develop our knowledge of navigation but from a more practical sense, and as much as it seems to be saturating our brains with a long list of facts, it's a more interesting subject as we can see how it will be applied practically. For those budding pilots similar to me who have done a lot of visual flying, you have to accept that 99% of the flying done for the airlines is based on information read off the instrument panel rather than which way up the houses are!

Virtual Flight Deck (VFD)

MCP across top, two CDU's facing upwards

Thus far we have learnt about the various ground based beacons, as well as the instruments within the cockpit used to interpret them. Learning from a powerpoint presentation makes things difficult to appreciate, so CTC use a computer programme that brings together all of our knowledge into a single scenario. From a technical stand, as a class we used a control display unit (CDU) to initialise the flight management computer (FMC) and the Inertial reference system (IRS), for a flight from Heathrow to Dublin. We then were able to operate the Mode control panel (MCP) (the source of most autopilot inputs), following on the glass screens and operating a real flight from the moment we applied take off power to touchdown in Dublin.

For myself and my course-mates on the MPL, the use of glass cockpit style screens will also become our main source of information from the moment we start flight training in Hamilton. These are a few images of the Cessna 172 instrument panel, starting with the traditional 'steam driven' dial panel (right), followed by the Garmin G1000 glass cockpit (below). Even the most clueless amongst you will notice the lack of separate screens, with information more easily accessible from a single source.

On closer inspection the observant will notice three standby dials just above the throttle/mixture levers (Airspeed, Attitude and Altitude), but the main screen for normal operations matches closely something found on a modern airliner. This is where the MPL and Wings courses start to differ; the Wings cadets will fly the DA20 with conventional dials, then if necessary can fly the conventional paneled Cessna 172 before moving onto the glass cockpit Twinstar. However, due to the nature of the MPL course the cadets are exposed to glass cockpit operations from the outset, so that the transition through the various competences is almost seamless! Hopefully during my time in New Zealand ill be able to post a fair few videos/pictures whilst flying, but for the moment you'll have to accept the one I pinched off the CTC website!

Week 14: Rest and recuperation

After a pretty intensive few months, it was a welcome relief to get 6 days off from lectures to enjoy the Christmas holiday season. For the first time in a long time I was able to stay in bed beyond 8am without feeling guilty for getting behind on my studies; that's not to say I didn't do any during the week off, but the pace was a lot more leisurely, more to keep my brain ticking than anything else.

Unfortunately for most the time off didn't start brilliantly, the terrible weather Britain experienced being the main culprit. The drive to my parents normally takes about 2 hours, but 4 became 6 due to the high winds/driving rain closing the QE2 bridge at Dartford, forcing 8 lanes of motorway traffic on the M25 onto just 4 for both directions. For some of my course mates journeying further afield, their flights were cancelled, a trip up to Heathrow their only hope. Not the best start!

Meanwhile, on Christmas eve Gatwick experienced a major power loss due to flooding, which inevitably caused chaos for anyone trying to get away before Christmas day. Fortunately for Gatwick the loss was restricted to the North terminal, but given easyJet's significant presence at the airport and the fact they have to split their operation between the two terminals, just over 80 flights had to be cancelled. Apparently at one point there were Police Officers manning the information desks in an attempt to achieve some semblance of order, as customers became increasingly frustrated (as is expected) as some had lost out on flights the previous day due to the adverse weather. Not a good day to be in the firing line at Gatwick airport!

This week the MPL students received their first Ops newsletter that goes to all crew at easyJet. For the moment a lot of it goes well above our heads, but a section about the various anti-icing scenarios at airports was quite interesting, and it gently demonstrates the number of factors a crew balances when chasing an on-time departure. 

So back to lectures tomorrow where cp112 continue with Radio Navigation, chomping into another big module 2 subject. This week we're fortunate to have New years day off (Wednesday), but given the fact we've just had a week off most are staying in Southampton, and by the sounds of things the majority of the course will be in Oakmount Avenue to celebrate the end of another year. I'm a big fan of that plan.....my walk home will be a matter of metres! Happy New Year all, and you'll hear from me early in 2014.

Week 13: Pressing on and results

During week 13 we continued with General Navigation, finishing up the first of our module two subjects on Friday. In a similar vain to to the first week there were a few more concepts to get our heads around, but again thanks to our instructor Steve everyone seems to be fairly confident of the subject material. However, as engaging as he is, nothing could prevent the inevitable constant email checking on Friday, the first day exam result could be expected!

Basically to cover themselves the CAA (Civil aviation authority) who conduct the exams stipulate the results will be posted a minimum of 10 working days from the final exam, and there is no allowance to collect in person as it would be unfair to those with a "geographic disadvantage". Therefore we were reliant on the Royal Mail bringing their 'A' game, and the millions of Christmas cards not slowing Postman Pat down........and for the patient we were rewarded with our results at 1430 on Friday. I am very chuffed to say I got an average of 96% across my seven exams, and many of my course mates received similar scores proving that hard work pays off. Now about the next seven.....

In addition, for those on the easyJet MPL course (EZM03) we also found out that following our exams we'll be visited by our liaison pilot prior to heading off to New Zealand, and on our return we'll also have the opportunity to tour headquarters up at London Luton, gently bringing us under the bright orange banner. This may seem something of a non-event, but given the monotony of ground school it's very easy to lose sight of the end goal, so a chance to visit my 'office' for the next 30 years can't be bad!

Finally, today I actually had lectures (yes on Sunday) for our first day of Radio Navigation. As horrid as it was to have a one day weekend, our new lecturer Caroline kindly offered to teach today and tomorrow so we get Tuesday (Christmas Eve) off. Unanimously the class thought this was a brilliant idea, so tomorrow afternoon ill be heading straight to my parents for six days off to celebrate Christmas. I intend to eat too much, catch up with friends, and probably enjoy a few jars at the pub, leaving me only to say Merry Christmas and I hope Santa's good!  

Week 12: No rest for the wicked

After a rather boring week of revision, followed by an equally dull week of exams, it was a welcome relief as mentioned to take a weekend out and think of anything but ground-school. My housemate Andy and I found that we were having dreams about exam questions, which has got to be anything but healthy! However all good things come to an end, and on Tuesday cp112 were back at Nursling where we started general navigation. Yippeeeeeeee!

   'GNav' is different to many of the subjects we completed during module one, as there is no way near as much to learn so quantity isn't an issue. That said, what you do learn can at times be complex, or so easy your brain finds a million and one ways to the answer because you refuse to believe it could be that simple! On a personal level, I hadn't used Trigonometry or Pythagoras for probably 10 years yet amazingly my brain still remembers it, so clearly my teachers did a great job hammering it in........and for those of you considering joining, yes i'd recommend reminding yourself how it all works!

As a class, we've also been lucky enough to be taught by one of CTC's newest ground school instructors, Steve Barnes. Without any doubt he's one of the best instructors we've had, not just due to his knowledge of the subject, but also the fact that if someone's wearing a face that says "I have no clue what's going on", he'll spot it and get everyone up to speed before moving on. The other nice thing about GNav is the necessity to draw diagrams rather than just trying to work things out in your head; you don't exactly need to be Michaelangelo, but a picture really does say a thousand words...

On Friday, CTC again had their doors open but for a very special occasion, Pilot Graduation. Given the effort graduates put in to completing the course it's nice to see that at the end there is a celebration of success, as well as an opportunity to show family around the facility. The highlight for most was probably the fact Carolyn McCall (easyJet CEO) was the guest of honour, making a speech and also handing out the various graduation prizes. Unfortunately I was in lectures so couldn't listen in, but it's nice to see the pomp and ceremony that await me in the tail end of 2015. After the ceremony there's a black tie evening affair with guests which is normally held in the function hall at Nursling, but given CTC's increased use of Airbus simulators, by next years ceremony the hall size will have been halved as a new fixed base simulator will be taking up real estate. Therefore by the time I graduate the graduates dinner will be off site (likely in a Marquee), further sugar-coating a special occasion. 

As with module one I find myself back at my desk, either working through notes, Bristol Computer lessons, or using one the question banks for testing. It's not all doom and gloom though; given I've completed  module one plus a week i'm over halfway through ground-school and therefore only a few months from disappearing to the southern hemisphere. Hopefully by the end of next week I will also have my module one results in hand, so Christmas this year could go one of two ways!

Week 11: module one finally over

Finally the week of exams arrived and has passed, and as a course cp112 appeared to be in good spirits with regards to how things went. There were a few questions that the group as a whole struggled with (myself included!), but nothing hideous so hopefully the results aren't too devastating! What I have learnt is to stick with my original answer; in the final question of the final exam I managed to talk myself into switching answers, only to find out 30 seconds later that was a massive mistake!!

As we got a long weekend off I came back up to Essex to see my family, whilst also popping to my old rugby club to watch my friends play (followed by a few cheeky beers). So another day of relaxation, and module two starts with a bang on Tuesday introduced with a monster subject, General Navigation. On the upside, the quicker we get going, the quicker our departure for the Southern Hemisphere arrives!