The journey is complete

Just over two years since I first published this blog, it is time to draw it to a close. After over 27000 page views (amazing - thank you all so much!), I have just been signed off on my line check to fly as a first officer for British Airways. The last three months have been the most enjoyable and the most challenging of the entire two years and while this title says the journey is complete, I only mean that in the sense of the formal training - the development of a pilot goes on throughout the whole career so I don't think you can ever truly say it's complete.

After the type rating, I started at BA with a three week induction course, covering all the basic admin, training for the safety equipment and procedures, some extra sim sessions and then base training. After that it was on to the line with training captains, and initially a safety pilot, flying passengers all over Europe. That concluded last week for me and my first 'regular' flight was yesterday to Larnaca in Cyprus.

Safety training was a mixture of fun and sobering reality checks. We learned all about the equipment we have on board to keep everyone safe as well as the procedures for the very rare occasion when anything goes wrong. 

Serious stuff but actually quite fun in this context!

The sims just tidied up a few loose ends from the type rating and consolidated the BA procedures (or SOPs). Then it was on to base training where we take an empty A320 to a quiet airfield and for the one and only time in our lives, fly circuits for practice in take off and landing. This is led by the most experienced captains on the fleet, the Training Standards Captains (TSCs) who have nerves (and the rest) of steel as we inexperienced trainees drive a £30m aircraft towards a real piece of tarmac at 130mph. 

My fellow trainees in front of our first real A320

The classic posing picture

So after base training I had my first ever flight to Venice with a terrific training captain who guided me tirelessly through the job in the real world. No matter now well prepared you are, the first day is a blur of activity and, though progress is quick, the amount to pick up in the first few weeks is simply vast. The challenge is hugely invigorating though and I felt myself settling into the right hand seat very well. On some of the longer sectors, in between tasks, there was a chance to take a picture of some of the truly stunning sights from the flight deck window. Here are a few of my personal highlights:

Central Spain on the way back from Malaga 

A fabulous view of the Alps

The southern French coast with Nice in the centre

The sunset on one of my first trips

On the way to Cyprus last night

So that's it from me really - once again thanks to all of you for reading the blog. I hope it has been informative to those wanting to pursue a career in aviation and interesting to those who just love flying! I've certainly enjoyed writing it and sharing the journey. Here's one final picture that just about unites the two pictures that began the whole blog two years ago!

A320 type rating

Over halfway through the type rating seems like a good time to give an update on the process. The structure of the course here at CTC, on behalf on BA, is three weeks of groundschool followed by 12 simulator sessions, each of 4 hours' duration, the last of which is the Licence Skills Test or LST conducted by a CAA appointed examiner.

The groundschool for us was delivered by a mix of pilots and engineers, giving a useful look at the aircraft both from a practical and a technical perspective. The actual learning is largely self-study using the pre-loaded iPads. This has software that talks you through each of the key systems on the aircraft and has questions at the end to help focus the learning. It is such a fantastically complicated aircraft that even pilots and engineers who have worked with it for years do not know every single system inside-out so the training has to direct our learning towards the essential knowledge required to operate it safely and efficiently. The groundschool culminates in an exam (doesn't it always) which is the usual CAA multi-choice format. 

Interactive graphic presentation of the overhead panel from the CBT

We then travelled up to Cranebank, BA's training headquarters, for two days of CRM training. This was essentially refreshing much of the material from the JOC in terms of how to most effectively function as a two-person crew. We studied various incidents or near-incidents and looked at ways in which the crew could have functioned more successfully together to avoid getting into those situations at all. As usual we walked away with another batch of acronyms and abbreviations to learn and use but they are the cornerstone of successful daily operations so are well worth spending the time to assimilate.

Last Tuesday we finally began the simulator sessions and got our hands on this:

 (Note: this is a screen shot from Google streetview - click here to explore the sim hall more fully)

I remember 18 months ago in the early phases of ATPL groundschool being in awe of the stream of cadets going into these massive machines and felt a little overwhelmed to say the least to finally get my turn. However, sadly the novelty factor wears off surprisingly quickly as the focus of the training becomes paramount. The sim is around a year old so is in excellent condition (even considering it is used around 20 hours a day, 364 days a year) and has very accurate full motion. Today we were practising windshear recovery (where the flight path becomes unstable at a critical phase of flight owing to sudden changes in wind strength/direction) and it is extremely convincing! It is a remarkable feat of engineering that the hydraulic struts can take the hammering that they do day in, day out. 

My colleague setting up the FMGC with the instructor in the Captain's seat

The type rating sessions differ from those of the JOC in that they are more focussed on handling the aircraft and its systems as opposed to the multi-crew, line-orientated sectors in the JOC. This is to give us a firm basis for controlling the aircraft before moving on to BA next month and beginning line-training where it is really all put into practice. I've found the A320 quite hard to control initially but I am gradually improving. The sidestick input is very different to a conventional aircraft and more often than not is best left alone! If the aircraft seems to be wobbling about uncomfortably it's probably best to let go of the stick (it will continue on the most recent flightpath automatically with no need for constant input) and then make some small corrections. Constantly moving it, as you might with a conventional yoke in a Boeing 737, will just lead to everyone feeling sick and very little success in actually achieving  the flightpath you want!

Some very early starts!

Next event will be starting at BA itself so get ready for cheesy uniform posing pictures and shiny BA A320s at Base Training!

JOC and MCC

More acronyms for you! I am one simulator session away from finishing the BA JOC/MCC course at CTC - this is known as the AQC by CTC under normal circumstances but for the first time since we started, we have been given a slightly more BA focus to our training. This is derived mostly from the use of British Airways SOPs. In simple terms, this is a set of guidelines that governs the order and management of a standard flight together with a framework for handling any 'non-normal' procedures so that two pilots who only meet an hour or so before the flight can immediately work together as an effective team on the flight deck. BA's SOPs are quite different from other airlines in a number of ways but are tried and tested. Having seen them in action by the professionals on my familiarisation flight in January last year I can vouch for how effective they are.

We have conducted the training in the fixed base Boeing 737-700 at CTC. Strictly speaking this is a FNPT II rather than a flight simulator as it has no hydraulic struts to simulate the motion of the aircraft - that all comes next in the type rating! Nonetheless the flight deck is very realistic and the flight characteristics of the aircraft are pretty accurately represented - certainly well enough for our novice-level introduction. 

Approach to LGW

(actually from a trial sim during ATPL ground school but it's one of the few shots I have)

Reprogramming the FMC after a go-around

The learning curve has, as ever, been very steep. Each time we start a new part of the training, the lead instructor tells us how much we will have to raise our game. They are always correct! We began with a week of ground school covering the SOPs and NOTECHs (non-technical skills). This also includes a fair amount of CRM (told you there were lots of acronyms to come!) to take us from the single-pilot orientated training that we have had so far into an environment where we share responsibilities appropriately and assume the correct roles for the phase of the flight. This is where it gets complicated! The traditional roles of Captain and First Officer are not particularly relevant to the operation in BA. It is true that the Captain signs off the paperwork to say that the flight is legal to go and retains the ultimate authority on the aircraft. However, the lead role is normally designated as P1 and the supportive role as P2. These can fall to either pilot and are usually alternated with each part of the journey (eg. one way to the destination and swapped on the way back). However, within this BA also adopt a process known as the 'monitored approach'. For the majority of the flight the P1 is also the PF and is therefore tasked with monitoring the flight instruments throughout the course of the flight. The P2 is therefore PM and carries out the supportive tasks such as communicating over the radio, filling in the fuel log, reading checklists and actioning procedures. However the monitored approach means that the P1 becomes PM from the top of descent and the P2 takes over as PF, only handing back control of the aircraft to the P1 at the decision height (typically 200 feet above the ground for us) or when suitable visual reference to the runway has been acquired. Got that? Don't worry - I didn't for a while and even today after nearly a month of it, started responding to a radio call when I was supposed to be in charge of the flying bit!

For learning the SOPs at CTC

For learning the SOPs at home

So after all that - what actually happens in the sims? They cover two principal areas: we generally start with a LOS which simulates all or part of a route from one airport to another. Initially these are straightforward as we get used to the aircraft but as we progress through the course, problems are introduced either as technical problems with the aircraft (e.g. engine failure) or perhaps a problem in the cabin (today we had a very ill passenger). We can then use the TDODAR model to assess the best way to handle the problem and come up with a safe and effective solution. It's crucial of course that this is handled as a team so the majority of the training is in how to do all that successfully while flying the aircraft and all the other associated tasks. The second part of each sim is usually manoeuvres training where we will refine techniques that have been encountered in the LOS such as ILS approaches, single-engine take-offs and circling manoeuvres.

People seem to think that modern aircraft fly on the autopilot and that the pilots don't have to do anything. I cannot stress how far from the truth this is. Yes it's true that the autopilot is usually engaged around 400 feet above the ground and can be left in all the way to landing. However, it's just a (highly sophisticated) computer and a computer is only as good as the data that's been fed into it by a human. So it must be monitored very, very closely at all times to be sure that while you're whizzing along not far off the speed of sound and often near all sorts of hazards (mountains, horrible weather, busy airspace etc), it is taking the aircraft exactly where it's supposed to be at the correct speed and altitude. The workload is considerable even when all is going well - throw in a problem and at our level of inexperience, it gets very tough, very quickly!

That said, I think this has been the most enjoyable part of the whole training. It's the first course that hasn't had some horrendous exam at the end so doesn't have quite the same pressure hanging around in the background. We have been accommodated at CTC's very comfortable Dibden Manor and given full board for once! I have put on a couple of stone I think so the next few weeks before type rating will be all about shifting that. Next update - Type Rating in the full motion A320!

Dibden Manor looking lovely this weekend

                     

Oh yes and am now officially a qualified pilot (on a DA42!) - CPL(ME)/IR

CPL (ME)/IR

So it's all done - basic training is complete! What a journey. My first CTC flying lesson was on May 8th last year and now under 10 months later I have the coveted Multi-engine CPL with Instrument Rating. It's certainly been challenging a lot of the time but there have been fantastic times too. I think perhaps the greatest experience has been the friendships that have formed on the course and all the excellent instructors and other staff that I have worked with here at CTC.

The IR test itself didn't go quite as smoothly as hoped - unfortunately I only got a partial pass as I was defeated by programming the GPS equipment for the RNAV approach at Shoreham when ATC unexpectedly cleared me to do an NDB hold in the middle of it. However, the rest of the test went very well so I only had to go up on Monday to do one NDB approach here at Bournemouth - the most expensive half hour of my life, but worth it.

Today has been all about the sign-out process, trying to reconcile all the different categories of flying hours that I have accrued with what the CAA want to see on the application form. I think it is sorted now and an interview tomorrow with the Chief Flying Instructor will confirm that.

For these two days we are also doing a short course called Upset Recovery training. This is at the insistence of BA and covers some more advanced stall recovery situations and how to best manage energy in the aircraft above and beyond the basic stall recovery. A little bit more aerobatic than I am used to (we had a 30 degrees nose-up attitude at one point today) but all valuable experience.

To finish with here are a few shots of my training from Bournemouth - next on the agenda is the Jet Orientation Course at Southampton at the end of March!

Alderney from the NDB hold

Beautiful sunset from FL060 on the way to Oxford

Even Coventry looking pretty on the way back from Oxford

Poor Somerset looking very flooded on the way to Cardiff

One of my colleagues landing from a perfectly executed ILS back to Bournemouth

Welcome to Bournemouth

So one month after CPL, I am almost halfway through my Instrument Rating at CTC's facility in Bournemouth. The course is allocated eight weeks for completion but is frequently completed in around five as the majority of it is based in simulators (still the Diamond DA-42 that we flew in Hamilton) and as such suffers from no weather delays. Once we start flying (for the final 8 events including the test) weather restrictions are quite minimal as the IFR environment allows us to fly in really quite marginal conditions. Good news in the UK.

The first few days are spent on the induction process, being briefed on the principal differences between flying here and in NZ. Number one difference: it's busy. The density of the population of the UK coupled with the proliferation of airfields (largely to do with the number that appeared during the war) means that, where you could make a journey in NZ for an hour and speak to three air traffic control stations, here you will speak to double that, at least! To illustrate the difference here is a low level map of the airways around Hamilton:

And here is the same for the area around Manchester:

Confusing to say the least! To add to this, the instructors are not here to spoon-feed us. The raw skills of instrument flying ought to be in place from NZ so what they are doing here is encouraging us in the right direction and coaching us for the specific skills required for the IR test. However, we are left to discover the vast majority of the information required on our own. This helps secure the knowledge as you tend to remember things when you realise that you genuinely need to know them and assists in building up the character of a captain - taking responsibility for our own safety and that of the other occupants of the aircraft.

It's a massive step up but that will always be the case as we progress through training and on through our careers. Next post should ideally be news of having passed my IRT (Instrument Rating Test) and a date to begin the JOC (Jet Orientation Course). 

Finally here's a short video of my time in Hamilton: