Trip to Bournemouth

G-CTCF - 'my ride'

Today I went to the CTC Training Centre at Bournemouth Airport to have a look around and see where exactly I should hopefully be in around a year's time.

We arrived very early (with a 5.45am start!) after being told that by getting there at that time we were more likely to be able to backseat a flight. After having a quick look around the building, which is made up mainly of briefing rooms and a couple of DA42 simulators and gawping and some of CTC's private jets, I was told that there was a seat up for grabs on a flight leaving in ten minutes - so of course I said yes!

After strolling across the tarmac sporting my sexy yellow jacket, I clambered into the back of the Twinstar, where the engines were soon fired up and the pilot began the endless checks. The cockpits of CTC's DA42 fleet in both the UK and New Zealand are the Garmin 1000, which looks absolutely amazing (just like being in an Airbus!). This high tech, 2 LCD screen flight deck is used mainly due to its similarity to the pointy ends of the airliners we will soon be flying.

The G1000 in a DA42

Not too long (considering the 80 odd checks to do before take off) later, we began out taxi to RWY26. On our way there we taxied past plenty of private jets, including a Boeing 747SP! BOH is full of these snazzy toys, as well as a fair few airliners such as B737s.

We were soon lined up on the runway, gained clearance for take off and the massive engines threw us forward until we reached Vr and shot into the sky. The cloud base was about 2000ft and we weren't clear of them until about 4000ft. After climbing just above the clouds, the aircraft was made to do some steep 360 degree turns to both the left and right, before climbing to 5500ft, where the pilot did some clean configuration stalls. Just after this were some landing configuration stalls, turning stalls, spiral dives and then stimulated engine fires, which consisted of plenty of checks as well as diving through the sky.

M-CHEM (a CTC Dassault Falcon 2000)

After the instructor was satisfied that these manoeuvres were done to the right standards, he asked the pilot to descend to 3000ft whilst being guided back to the runway for a go around. Due to the heavy cloud I couldn't see anything until we were very close to the airport and it became quite bumpy (which is always fun!). After going around, we did circuits, some of which were flaps up, meaning we came in very fast. The wind was pretty strong, so the Diamond had to fight some crosswinds which meant I was looking at a sharp angle out of the window to look down the runway!

After these, we landed and taxied back to the CTC ramp, where there was a crew change, as another pilot needed to do a single circuit to build up his hours by four minutes! So after taxiing back to the runway we leapt up from the runway to circle the airport, by which time luckily visibility had improved meaning there were some great views from up above.

All in all it was a fantastic day and am very grateful that I was able to do it. This has been a massive boost for me and I simply cannot wait to get out to New Zealand and start flying myself!

M-INOR, another CTC jet (a Hawker 900) which followed us in on approach to the apron

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. 

Halfway through Module 1

Well here I am, three subjects down, four to go in my first set of exams. The workload is still mad and I am amazed at how much I have learnt in the past month and a bit (and also how much you learn from playing too much FSX and watching far too many episodes of Air Crash Investigation). So far I have done Aircraft General Knowledge, Principles of Flight, Instruments and am a few days into Meteorology. My life revolves around question bank and reading - feels like I have had to do it forever!

See... the middle of nowhere (aka 'home')

We are no longer the newest CP - CP106 began their training last Monday and we are struggling to believe just how long ago it was that we actually started. There is a great atmosphere here in Ashurst (or as some have lovingly named it, 'Harry Potter's Forest', seeing as we live in the middle of nowhere), and we are still having fun. I am still struggling to make the whole experience feel real, although I am sure it will settle in the week of our mock exams! We are hopefully in for another sim ride soon, so there'll possibly be another update in the next few weeks with lots more pictures of us playing the oversized video game. Until next time!

Sim ride!!!!!!

If you didn't manage to work this out from the post's title, today was my first OFFICIAL sim ride! ARGGHHHH!!!!! Right. All out of my system now. After a long day slaving away over Aircraft General Knowledge the Ashurst group were booked in for a session on the Boeing 737 700 fixed based sim. This basically means it doesn't move, but your body genuinely doesn't agree with this when you're doing a 30 degree turn. We were at EGKK (Gatwick) and each did a circuit.

I took off from runway 26L and climbed to 3000ft, where we 'had a play' with aircraft trimming, which is definitely an art! After a few sharp turns and doing my very best to maintain 3000ft, I descended to 2000ft and the flaps were extended. Before I knew it I could see the runway, the gear was down and locked, flaps set 30 and using the ILS to guide me down 'smoothly' landed back onto runway 26L; not on the grass, not on the M23, actually on the runway centreline. Result! As I was the last to 'fly', I helped the instructor shut down the aircraft by flicking a few switches and of course, accidentally, flipped the seatbelt off sign. Totally by accident, of course.

Basically I had a blast. It is fantastic to get a go in the sims, as it helps remind me exactly why I am here and that I am going to be flying these massive pressurised tubes through the air not too far along in the future. I'm loving CTC and have made lots of new friends, which really helps lower the stress of the workload we have (which is crazy). Plenty of banter flying around - and there is without doubt a battle between Northerners and Southerners (I mean, who actually eats chips, cheese and gravy? Oh and John/Dan, the afternoon meal is lunch, not dinner.) Bring on more ground school!

March Open Day

Rubbish Blackberry quality, but still pretty cool nonetheless!

I helped out at the CTC Nursling open day today. It was great to finally be one of the cadets that I remember seeing when I visited the training centre! All of us volunteers were put into small teams and rotated around the building so that everyone 'had a go' of everything. I really enjoyed helping in the selection room, as it was nice to try and help people who were exactly where I was not even a year ago! I managed to get myself helping on a fixed base Boeing 737 300 sim, which was amazing. I started off by controlling the computer to reset the sim/position it, but after a short while I was soon put into the left hand seat helping the pilots-to-be land this 737 Classic into Gatwick, which isn't really something I get to do too often. Luckily when everyone had left, the sim wasn't booked for any training so a few of us cadets were allowed to have a play around on it ourselves, which turned out to be my first (if unofficial) sim session. Basically I had a great day, met lots of people and had a lot of fun. Cannot wait until Wednesday when I have another sim session booked!