Week 25: The end of part one of the Southampton Chapter

As I write, I find myself back in my beloved Essex where I am staying with my parents, nicely relaxed and enjoying a couple of weeks off. That said, my first week off started with plenty of excitement, keeping up with the general theme of my journey through training being anything but dull!

On Tuesday I had my ground-school closing interview with the head of Theoretical training Kevin Maloney, marking what will hopefully be the end of my ATPL studies (results to follow this Friday!). Following my interview I joined my easyJet MPL collegues for a group session with one of the training directors from Luton. It was an enjoyable session as the chap was nothing but honest about which direction our training would take us, and it was also quite pleasant to hear that the company are taking the MPL very seriously, our existence even known by CEO Carolyn McCall. Tuesday also marked my last day sharing a flat with three of my course-mates Andy, Adam and Ashton; I can honestly say the three of them have made the last 5 months of training an absolute pleasure, and it's a shame we won't be sharing as a group of four again. I hope that any of you joining the course are as lucky to get housemates that you can muddle through the tough times as well as enjoy the good!

Unfortunately for me, I couldn't disappear home after we finished on Tuesday as I had a wisdom tooth extraction booked for Wednesday, and therefore needed to hang about. Annoyingly the surgery was cancelled at 10.30am due to an x-ray machine breaking, but after going to talk to the clinical manager and explaining how vital the surgery was before heading to Hamilton, I was able to get the x-ray sorted in a different department and get the tooth pulled that afternoon. Asides from feeling the pain halfway through and needing a top-up of anesthetic, the procedure was fairly straightforward and I avoided the dreaded facial bruising which is so common! Phew

 

Finally (and because I hadn't been for years) today I visited the Imperial War Museum at Duxford. For those of you that have never been it has an incredible collection of aircraft from the awesome Spitfire right up to one of the Concorde flying test-beds. At 28 years old I can't help turning into the worlds biggest child, and any of you living anywhere near Cambridge I advise you enjoy a day up there. And if your partner's not into being dragged around a museum full of aircraft, the amount of walking's good for anyone!

So I find myself with a little over a week until I leave for the other side of the world, and also 4 days until I find out how I performed in my last 7 ATPL exams. Still with plenty of people to catch up with before I disappear, this week will be busy I'm sure!

Week 24: ATPL examination time

Finally after months of hard work I sat my final 7 exams, and it is nothing but a relief to be finished. The seven exams were:-

1. Mass and Balance
2. Performance
3. Flight planning and monitoring
4. Operational Procedures
5. General Navigation
6. Radio Navigation
7. Human Performance and limitations

Unfortunately the first two exams were absolutely hideous and it would appear the CAA are really pushing the boundaries of what is acceptable to be tested on within the learning objectives. The performance paper for me was particularly challenging and one of the questions (which was previously successfully appealed) still has me completely dumbstruck! It seems the CAA adjusted the question after the appeal but failed to adjust the answers, and no-one arrived on the exact answer, so it was a case of "closest answer works". So now I have the torture of waiting until the 21st for my results. That said i'm sure time will fly by, as my journey to Hamilton starts two weeks on Wednesday! 

Two of my housemates and I were really fortunate to be invited in on Friday for a simulator session, and as beneficial as it would have been during ground school, it was nice to learn something in a practical environment. Above is one of the videos I took of the Boeing 737 performing a complete auto-land.

Finally on Saturday the sun made an appearance, so a friend and I went down to a spot called Hengistbury Head near Bournemouth for a wander. It was just nice to not have the irritating feeling at the back of my mind that I should be at my desk working away! Annoyingly the warm weather also brought quite a bit of haze so the views from the top of the hill weren't quite up to their normal selves, but a walk on the beach in the sunshine put me in the best possible mood! And the following day some of my course-mates took the opportunity to enjoy the England vs Wales match, which we preceded with a few ciders in the sunshine. 

Then finally (as the blog's a day late) I had Airline preparation day 2 (APD2) today where we got more into the nitty gritty of flying in New Zealand and what sort of skills we'll need to achieve success. I have a visit from the easyJet liaison pilots tomorrow, then I find myself free until the 26th when ill be jetting out of Heathrow. Rooms packed up, house is tidy, and ground school appears to be at an end! YEEEEESSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!

Week 23: Ground-school....the final push!

For those of you who've been following the blog you'll be aware that tomorrow afternoon I start a four day brain drain session, which will see me having attempted all 14 ATPL theory examinations. Obviously i'm hoping that there are no additional attempts to that magic number, so hopefully the knowledge sitting in my brain as well as the past 12 days revision has been beneficial! 

might get some use out of these this week....

Unfortunately my week has been rather dull as it's consisted of 12 hour days either at my desk, or in one of the classrooms at Nursling. And I am not alone with that level of commitment; on a daily basis there were quite a few cadets from cp112 (as well as cp115 who have their first module exams) all working away putting in Herculean efforts to ensure they're best prepared for the exams, and those that didn't venture in I can guarantee were working just as hard at home. So for those of you that think ground-school is just a bit of a hurdle and that the only area of importance is pinging a Cessna about, THINK AGAIN! Ground-school is tough and has taken a vast amount of self discipline from every cadet who successfully completes, so if you don't think you're up for the challenge, perhaps take a moments pause before piling into an application! 

All I can say now is good luck to all my course-mates on both cp112 (as well as the guys already in Hamilton taking their exams 12 hours earlier!) and cp115 getting a taste of the real thing. By this time next week it'll all be over, ill probably have had too many glasses of grandpas cough medicine on Thursday after my final, and for once ill be able to watch the rugby without the overwhelming guilt it shouldn't even be on in the background! Here we go....

Week 22: Mocked for a second time!

Common to module one, cp112 this week had their mock examinations ahead of the real exams (which I will unfortunately be sitting one week tomorrow), so we had the opportunity to once again discover where there were gaps in our knowledge, as well as the hideous feeling of time pressure that only exams can create! Most of the course did pretty well and i've come out with a good average so it's a relief to know my brain is retaining knowledge, but I still have some areas that need work. Accordingly, I've spent the last few days going into Nursling for study and as much as I hate sitting there for 8-10 hours at a time, I can honestly say it's working! So next week my blog will mostly consist of me describing how much i'm cacking my pants before my first exam, and how adult nappies aren't a bad thing.....be warned!

This week I had some interesting (but as yet unconfirmed) news concerning my course, specifically the length of time I will be in New Zealand. easyJet requested that the MPL students got some time flying in the UK (so I will get to zoom about in the twin star!), and this was mostly due to the specifics of the course being slightly different. Whereas the wings students get time in Bournemouth to get acclimatised to the busier, faster-paced radio activity in the UK, MPL students would get very limited practice and may be a little overcome on their first day at Gatwick when the controller is firing instructions like a machine gun. However, given we need to work through all of the Airbus stuff prior to March as well as spend a few weeks in Bournemouth, the only way we can achieve this is by spending a month less in Hamilton, which means our flying schedule is going to be a lot busier to say the least! But then more time at the airport means less opportunity to spend money doing silly things, money which is rapidly running out!! 

So thats it from me, another week of revision to keep me occupied and another week closer to getting back flying. yippeeeeeee!!

Week 21: Sods law is a real thing!

Finally I have finished all instruction required for the ATPL ground-school element of the course, and I can honestly say it is a huge relief to be in the home straight! The week ended with a really interesting lecture from the UK's leading mind on pilot disorientation, tying together our knowledge from both the physiological as well as psychological elements of human performance. The day ended with an exercise involving reverse glasses to prove how quickly the body loses it oritentation, and how the mind can be readily tricked by confusion from the visual cortex. In essence, the glasses have two prisms which reverse each eye, so what you see on the right is on the left, and vice versa.....

And on to the more entertaining part of the week.....as our mocks start tomorrow, cp112 were given the rest of the week off to study, so in a similar vain to module one I went in to make use of the quiet classrooms at Nursling. I had woken on Wednesday with something of a sore throat, thought nothing of it and went into CTC armed with a pack of Halls Soothers (which solve everything!). However, by about midday I was struggling to concentrate and found myself reading questions more than once as apparently my brain didn't pay attention the first time. This continued throughout the afternoon, and by 7pm my sore throat was giving me problems swallowing, and on closer inspection my tonsils were covered in white spots, a red flag for tonsillitis. Sod's law had decided to join the revision party!

I decided to go to bed around 10pm with the intention of taking myself to the Doctors the following morning, but at midnight was rudely awoken by my throat being completely closed as the two tonsils had met and stuck together! This seemed reason enough to see some sort of medical professional a bit sooner, so I went to Casualty only to find I was running at 39.6deg which needed sorting before anything else. After an hour enjoying a saline drip to sort my dehydration and various bloods being taken, my temperature was going in the right direction and I was confirmed as having tonsillitis which unfortunately for me had come on quite rapidly so my body didn't know what to sort first!

So for the weak stomached among you, try to concentrate on this side of the page, because I took that picture in my bored state whilst plummed in. Eventually I was released to go home at 4am, so back to bed for me and there I stayed all day trying to catch up on sleep and recover a bit! Proof enough for me that if something is going to go wrong, it's going to happen at the most inconvenient time!

Thanks to those that came and chatted with me whilst I was studying at Nursling during CTC's Career event yesterday, and i'm glad to hear the blog's of some use. Unfortunately after losing a days study I couldn't volunteer, but was able to chat during breaks so not the worst day ever! For now, back to study ahead of my mock tomorrow!

Week 20: All in a days work

This week we looked at one of the most relevant topics in the day-to-day life of a pilot, Operational procedures. Unfortunately it is an incredibly dry subject to learn as it mostly consists of learning facts (very similar to Air Law in module one), but some of the information is incredibly vital and therefore needs due attention. To give a flavour of what's covered, some of the subject matter includes:-

• Minimum equipment lists (MEL)- the list telling you what bits of the aircraft need to be working to operate a flight
• De/Anti-icing- holdover times and the danger of neglecting proper winter ops
• Dangerous goods- special information concerning the transport of something that ultimately carries a level of risk (i'm sure a wild lion would come under that)
• Cabin Decompression- Oxygen systems required on board
• Fuel Jettison- what to do when the plane needs to be back on terra firma but is too heavy to land
• and the list goes on......

As the subject is very much one tested by regurgitation, the easiest way to learn is via the online question bank. This isn't a suitable learning tool for certain subjects like navigation where a thorough understanding is required, but as ops is a subject of facts it's the most sensible course of action. And very shortly I will be back in revision mode, as I have two days of lectures left closely pursued by mocks next Monday!!!

As of Thursday cp112 are now the most senior course in ground-school at Nursling. Cp111 had their final exam and are now waiting anxiously for their results from the CAA, a position I will find myself in very shortly. To mark this cp112 had their course photos taken, a photo which will proudly hang on the corridors of CTC for many years to come. 

Finally next Saturday is CTC's next careers day which i'm sure some of you will be attending, and to break up my revision I will be there helping out (in the hope ill get some sim time too!); so if you've been following the blog and see me there, come say hello and let me know what you think. Criticism on the back of a postage stamp please....

Week 19: Best laid plans....

Pressing on with Module 2, we moved onto Flight planning and flight monitoring. In a similar vain to the other subjects we have studied in this module, there is a lot more practical application and the majority of our learning is geared towards the day-to-day  aspects of the role. 

For those of you that think a pilot fills the tanks to the brim, boards the self loading freight, then simply points the nose of the aircraft in the right general direction, there's a lot more to it! In very simple terms the subject encompasses fuel planning for the climb, cruise and descent, planning routes using the different types of en-route charts, as well as looking at points of safe return (ie. to go past it you've gone past the point of no return!). However, the most important aspect was working through the various section of the Jeppesen Airway manual, to gain a working appreciation of the different types of chart we will use on a daily basis. 

Even though many flight deck documentation is now computerised, some carriers still have a requirement to carry hard copies of the airways charts, either because their computer system is still in proving, or there is a requirement for increased redundancy. Regardless, it is a learning objective of the ATPL exams that we have a full understanding of the charts, how to interpret the not insignificant amount of information they contain, and how to utilise them with confidence. Eventually we will use similar charts in New Zealand (although a lot less cluttered), and on our return will get used to using the current European charts, known for being incredibly congested. Think of it as a road map, but if you miss your turning you best find out where you are pretty quick, as you're probably shifting at 6 miles a minute!

As the SuperBowl is on tonight and I intend to watch it (finishing around 3am) I best get back to doing some more work. Fortunately we've got the day off tomorrow for self-study, otherwise i'd be catching the result in the morning! So enjoy the week...