I passed my Instrument Rating!

Lots has happened since my last update! It has been a very busy several weeks...

Non-training wise, the Bournemouth Airshow was on a few weeks back, which was absolutely incredible. I went down to the beach to watch the display for a few days during the week, although on the weekend show days, I was volunteering at CTC's Bournemouth drop in event at the airport. It was great to show people around the training centre and the fleet of Twinstars, as well as try help people fly the simulators! It was incredible to be at the airport during the airshow - I am not sure many people can say the Red Arrows, Typhoons, Lancaster Bombers and DC3 Dakotas have taxied past them just several metres away! I doubt I will ever get that close to them again...

Spectacular as always! 

The Lancaster Bomber parked right outside CTC

Yes, I got a few waves! 

The old and the new

So just in case the title didn't give anything away, I have indeed passed my IR. I took the test yesterday and have now begun the CTC sign out process, which needs to be done before I start the Airline Qualification Course.

For anybody that doesn't know, the test involves:

. Planning/ground work.

  The examiner will give us a destination, which we have some time to plan to. This will involve the route itself as well as filing a flight plan and preparing the aircraft (preflight/performance/mass and balance etc). In the briefing, the examiner asks for a quick overview of the route, the weather and will ask some ground questions which can literally be on anything. The ATPL theory all came flooding back!

. The flight itself

  The scenario for the test is that we are the captain of a single pilot commercial operation, flying the examiner as our passenger to their chosen destination. For the flight, we are examined on plenty of things:

- Radio

- Departure

- Enroute

- Non precision approach

- Holds (normally NDB)

- Stalls (approach and landing configuration)

- Limited panel (compass turns; general handling; unusual attitudes)

- Precision approach

- Low level circling to land

All the time, we not only have to abide by the rules of the air, but we are expected to fly within strict limits in order to pass the exam. Oh and in case you didn't know, the windows and windshield are covered up just a few hundred feet after take off, until a few hundred feet at landing two hours later! 

For anybody wondering, I was asked to go to Exeter, routing: 

BIA - SAM275040 - MULIT - ATWEL - EX - BIA

Skyvector is a great way to show you the route

VFR chart version

I did the RNAV approach for RWY 08 at Exeter, which resulted in not going visual. On the go around, I got an engine failure and had to go through the necessary drills. Once complete, I was given the engine back until we got closer to Bournemouth; when we arrived I entered the NDB hold before commencing the procedural ILS, for RWY 08 also. Again, we didn't go visual, which led to an asymmetric go around before commencing a visual circuit to land. 

On the way to our destination, we are to use conventional navigation aids, although on the way back the GPS equipment is allowed to be used (on the G1000 this can be a big help). 

The G1000 primary flight display

After all of the preparation for this flight, it is such a relief to have passed first time. We had 12 sim sessions in Bournemouth and 8 flights - that is on top of all the IFR flying we did in New Zealand. I am probably prouder of this than I was when I got my CPL - the exam result sheet is the most expensive piece of paper I will ever own! 

The completion of my CPL/IR means I have earned my first pilot stripes! 

Last Twinstar selfie - had to be done!

Some great views from UK flying (in the backseat!)

Alderney

Sandbanks, Poole 

Heading back from Cardiff 

A bit of point to point tracking

Expect an update for the AQC! 

Beginning of the Bournemouth training

So I have been in Bournemouth for a week and a half now, meaning I am well into the simulator sorties. The initial two days were ground school - going over any differences from both procedures and how things work in the UK. The radio calls vary quite a lot compared to New Zealand and time is even more precious than in NZ due to the busier airspace - we need to be as concise and accurate as possible.

The first four simulator sessions are pretty much to help get back into the swing of instrument flying, consisting primarily of various VOR, NDB and ILS procedures. We have used Cardiff, Bristol and Bournemouth airports so far, with Cardiff and Bristol both being potential IR test routes.

The next sim which I have tomorrow is an autopilot flight. We are going to try using the autopilot for things we haven't tried so far - approaches, for example. Hopefully will be a fun flight!

After this, there are four LOFT sims. LOFT is Line Orientated Flight Training - basically single pilot commercial operation flights. One includes taking off from Heathrow, which in a Twinstar could be a laugh! The flights will include various scenarios which will require us to make firm, 'Captain-like" decisions, such as diverting. They are going to be hard work, but also sound like a lot of fun!

Once these are done we are onto the IR routes, which means that we prepare to get back into the aircraft (which I cannot wait for!). It seems the IR exam will be here in no time...

CTC's Bournemouth training centre is great - it is a very professional environment and has many extremely experienced instructors sitting inside of it to help us! The traffic we get is great and I have yet to tire of seeing the companies private jets; seeing these and the other jets go past is still a novelty; I am used to Dash 8s and ATRs!

Also, I made a little video putting together my New Zealand flying - hope you enjoy!

Groundschool is over!

Well, I've now moved out of my New Forest home and am back in West Sussex until I go off to New Zealand for the next part of my training.

My Module 2 exams were last week and hopefully went well. I was surprised how long I spent in the exams as unlike in Mod 1 there is a lot of paperwork/charts to find and then search through, which takes up a lot more time than expected!

We had a great night out on Thursday and we felt that we thoroughly deserved it after all of the hard work!

Some of my CP with a few of our CP107 friends on our CTC night out!

Friday was our second Airline Preparation Day. This was great fun and a great way to end groundschool. At first, we went around the class describing each other - the good and the bad! Of course this was a good laugh and reminded us just how well we have managed to know each other. After this, we had a bit of a chat about New Zealand and found out more on how the training works over there. In the afternoon we had a role play situation, where two 'volunteers' acted as Captain and F/O and had to react in the way they felt appropriate to the situation - a passenger in the cabin who had become threatening. Although it was initially a bit of fun we did realise that this is actually a very real threat and something that could possibly happen in our careers. The end of the day consisted of one to one interviews about the past six months as well as going through our groundschool reports, which was a nice way to wrap everything up neatly.

I helped out at the CTC Careers Event on Saturday which was great fun as always. I was helping in the 737NG simulator for a lot of the day and got to meet lots of people who are hoping to join CTC in the near future. It is funny to think that just a year ago I was in the exact same position! Monarch were the guest speakers and gave a very interesting presentation on current and future plans. As well as this it was great just to chat to various guests about their experiences with aviation. With over 500 people in the building it sure was a very busy day!

I've been home for a few days now and have had my Class 1 medical renewal today. For anyone interested, this was a lot less intense than the initial class 1. The session basically consisted of:
. Urine test
. Blood test
. Eye sight exam
. Hearing exam
. General physical
Luckily I didn't have to go to the CAA at Gatwick for this, as renewals can be done at a certified AME's practise.

After 6 months of intense work I fully intend to enjoy the time off I have before going to start the next part of training, which will definitely feel strange!

Until next time!

Got to play around with this at the Careers Event!

Some shots from my CTC accommodation:

My room was the one at the bottom right!

Excuse the mess - this is, in fact, us trying to clean up!

Excuse the mess! 

Exams: take 2

Well the mocks are over. I am now on study leave for my module 2 exams, which I take in a few weeks time. This time around I will be doing:

• General Navigation
• Radio Navigation
• Mass and Balance
• Human Performance and Limitations
• Performance
• Operations
• Flight Planning

These subjects are a lot more "hands on" and "piloty" than those in module 1 as they are a lot more practical. 

GNav is one of the subjects I have found the hardest in this module, I think mainly due to the formulas (I am not a lover of maths...). However it is very practical and includes charts as well as working out various times and dates in different time zones etc just by using coordinates.

RNav is mainly to do with radio aids and equipment such as radar and GPS. There are a few formulas you need to know, but apart from that it is just a case of learning all of the necessary information. 

Mass and Balance can be particularly tricky, as there are very few questions in the exam and each one can be worth a fair few marks, meaning there is very, very little room for error. 

HPL is one of my favourite subjects in this module, as I find it highly interesting (and we watched plenty of case study videos!). Learning about how our senses work, our minds and just exactly how flying is going to be affecting our bodies. 

Performance, 'lovingly' known as "POF 2" is actually not as bad as POF for me. I consider it as POF with fewer numbers. There are graphs to read lots of the answers off of and there are a lot more wordy questions.

Operations is another of my favourites. It is a bit like Air Law in module 1, although more orientated around airline work.

Flight Planning is a bit like GNav in the sense that there are some questions which can take a fair while to get an answer. There is a lot of chart work, SIDS and STARS (departure/arrival procedures at various airports) as well as fuel, time and distance calculations. 

All in all I am in a strange way looking forward to taking these exams, as I know that New Zealand is just on the other side of them. 

The CRP5 flight computer has been a key piece of equipment in module 2

An example of one of the flight planning tables we need to use

A bit more flight planning! 

Module 2 - so far!

Well I'm a few weeks into module 2 now where I am studying for the next seven exams. So far, we have completed Performance and Mass & Balance and are almost done with GNav, leaving RNav, Human Performance, Operations and Flight Planning. These subjects are a lot more practical than those we did in the first module and there are a lot more 'pilot-y' things to do. GNav is a massive subject and each question takes a fair amount of time to work out. Mass & Balance questions can also be quite lengthy, although it is only a small subject which lasted for two days. I'm looking forward to RNav, as we have been told there is a good chance we spend the afternoons in the simulators in pairs and also Flight Planning, as again, it is a very practical and useful subject.

I received my Mod 1 results on Tuesday and overall am very happy with them! Unfortunately I failed POF with 70%, so will retake that in July, just before I do my Mod 2 exams. With just several more weeks to go of ground school, the time really is flying by very fast!

Some familiar sights from GNav

Module 1: Mission Complete (hopefully!)

Feeling very guilty this weekend for not question banking!

Well, this has been one massively long week - EXAM WEEK! The Module 1 exams started on Tuesday, where I did Principles of Flight and Aircraft General Knowledge; Wednesday was Instrumentation, Thursday Meteorology, then yesterday was Air Law and then VFR and IFR Communications. I should hopefully find out my results in a few week's time, although by then I will be snugly into Module 2 (I begin General Navigation on Tuesday). Instead of going to Gatwick to take the exams we do them at the CTC Nursling Training Centre, where a CAA invigilator runs the exams for both Mod 1 and 2 in the same week. As expected the exams were, you guessed it, in exam conditions, meaning lots of single well spaced out desks, see-through pencil cases and water bottles and a big ticking clock at the front of the room. They are all multiple choice (A, B, C or D), so thankfully no monster essays to write! Each exam is different in its number of questions and how much time you have to complete it:







Principles of Flight; 44 questions; 60 mins
Aircraft General Knowledge; 80 questions; 120 mins
Instrumentation; 60 questions; 90 mins
Meteorology; 84 questions; 120 mins
Air Law; 44 questions; 60 mins
VFR Comms; 24 questions; 30 mins
IFR Comms; 24 questions; 30 mins

Knowing that I am halfway there already has made me realise just how little time it will be until I'm out in New Zealand, as it feels like only a few weeks ago I was on my APD! 

A day in the life of a CTC cadet pilot

Well, my Module 1 mock exams are over and I now have just under two weeks until the real things, so this will be my last post for a few weeks. I realised earlier in the week that I hadn't yet actually made an entry on what I get up to here at CTC's ground school; so basically, here it is:

A day in the life of... me.

The Nursling Crew Training Centre

I live in Ashurst in the New Forest, maybe a mile or two down the road from Lyndhurst, one of the main areas in the New Forest. We are about 7 or 8 miles from the Crew Training Centre in Nursling, meaning we don't have to leave until around 8.30am.

Usually we start work at 9am, where we will be in the classrooms or, if very lucky the simulators; normally we have short breaks for a drink and a quick chat throughout the day, as otherwise you find that you're struggling to concentrate and getting a bit fidgety. There are several ground school instructors who are pilots, engineers, or military - they all teach more than one subject, so we meet them a few times throughout this phase of training. Most of us take in a laptop or an iPad so that we have question bank (a major tool along with CBT on our course) for when we have a spare five minutes. At first I found myself writing pages and pages of notes in class, although I realised a few weeks in that creating a supersize novel of all things aviation wasn't really going to help me - we are given handouts for our folders which are much more helpful and detailed and are fantastic for when you need to brush up on a certain topic or subject.

For lunch we either take our own or can purchase the CTC green tokens which entitles you to the canteen lunches. These are really handy, as it means I haven't got to get up really early to make a packed lunch, as well as carry it around the building all day! When we have finished eating, we head back up to a classroom where we either do a bit of work or relax a bit before work continues!

The earliest we have finished so far is 3.30pm, although that was due to us finishing a topic earlier and expected; normally we finish around 4, but the latest I have left so far is 7pm (although that was due to a sim session).

When we are back home, there really is very little time to spare as we try to use every last minute for work. As I have mentioned, at home we have the CBT, question bank and try to find various books and websites to explore and try to get as much knowledge in our brains as we can - the difficult part is trying to put something in without something else going out!

I really cannot think of anything else to add, so I'm going to leave it there and get back to revising!

Nearly there

My desk! All this paperwork makes it feel like a real flight deck...

Well, with Meteorology finished I have just started Air Law. This is a subject where it is just a case of learning everything, even though the syllabus is constantly changing. I am going to be doing this topic for the rest of this week before moving onto Communications next week... and then it is the mocks (yes, already!). Although a very scary thought I think that they will be good to give me a rough idea of just where I am and where my strengths/weaknesses are, so I can scratch up on certain subjects before the actual exams in the beginning of May.

CP104 started their Mod 1 exams today and it is very scary to think that we are the next to spend a week slaving over "A, B, C and D". After the mocks what happens is we have between 1 1/2 to 2 weeks to revise like crazy to make sure we are totally ready for whatever the CAA throw at us. During this time the instructors are fantastic, in that should we need any extra help on something, they are more than willing to give us the support we need to get the best pass possible.

Some of the best tools of the trade

I had hoped by now to have been to Bournemouth on a CBT day in order to shadow a cadet doing their IR (instrument rating), although I'm pretty sure I'll wait now until the Mod 1 exams are over and go towards the beginning of Mod 2, when I won't feel as guilty about going! It was mentioned by Nic (one of the ground school instructors) that it is possible to backseat in the full motion sims in the evenings whilst some cadets are doing their AQC (Airline Qualification Course), so I might try to do this at some point in the next couple of weeks. Expect more updates soon!

The motivation.