The Start of The Aviation Dream: October 2016

We have now been in Doha 2 months already and we are another step closer to flying the real thing!

Since the last post we have finished all of the introductions, ground training and most importantly we finished and passed the simulator tests.

First thing we did was the first aid training. Although the flight crew are unlikely to need to use the first aid training in flight, it is a good skill to have as it could mean the difference between life and death if you happened to be in the right place at the right time.

The CRM (crew resource management) was split into 2 days and for us we were joined by Cabin Crew. The pilots were split up and we were paired with the cabin crew. We had to introduce our partners which was a good way of getting to know a little bit about them. Over the 2 days we had various tasks and challenges to show us the importance of being a team and working together.

The ditching course was in Bahrain so we got on a normal domestic flight in the morning and then went to the Gulf Air facility at the airport. For the first part of the day we were basically acting as passengers in an A320 cabin simulator and we were observing the cabin crew carrying out their procedures for identifying and extinguishing fires which were simulated by lights and a lot of smoke. After they had finished their fire training we were allowed to jump down the slides. Now I know why they say to wear jeans for this bit, my bum got rather warm from the friction. After that we got in a large raft on the floor so they could show us the equipment on board the raft like locator beacon and roof to name a couple. After that we got in a raft in the pool which we then had to jump in and then get back on the raft from in the pool. The water was rather chilly!

A couple days later we had more classroom training but this was specific for the A320 flight crew. We had to do 2 days of performance training which was basically learning how to do take off and landing calculations both manually and using the laptops which you are given for each aircraft. Then we had a day for low visibility operations and radio navigation course which is not normally required until we have done 4 months of flying but for us they changed it so that we do it now. After the ground school we were required to complete some e-learning courses on the internet which took ages and had a test at the end.

Then came the simulator training. The first sim was with a stand-in captain because we are not qualified to do low visibility operations, so we were just there to monitor our captains and make sure they do what they are suppose to do. This was the first sim since June and so I naturally felt a little rusty. The next few sims were radio navigation and hard landings. The hard landings was quite fun, the instructor basically made the plane bounce when he landed and then he gave us control to recover by either landing or take off and go around for another approach depending on the situation. The next 2 sims were the official tests for the QCAA where we had to fly a normal flight and somewhere along the route you would have a failure of some kind to see how you deal with it. These are done with either a captain due for his yearly check or a stand-in captain. I had a stand-in captain which was really helpful when I was unsure of a few things. We worked well together and it was good to do a real flight even though we were the first test subjects for the new syllabus of cold weather operations. Every 6 months it changes so that a new area is covered to keep pilots current. After the flight, I was re-positioned to carry out some manoeuvres and some more failures/bomb threats. My final sim was the pre base training which was circuits around Doha airport and the instructor changed the weather settings for each approach. This was fun and I enjoyed it.

The next steps are for me to complete my base training in the real aircraft where I have to do 12 take offs and landings. I also have 5 observation flights coming up before I am put in the deep end on the right hand seat where I have to monitor the captain and do the radio calls for so many flights before I am let loose at landing and take off with passengers. I think the next few weeks are going to go past so fast it will be a blur. Lots of studying ahead as we are questioned on each flight to make sure we are up to speed on the procedures and aircraft knowledge.

Haven't done much exploring but have a few pictures to share. Next blog post will be in a few weeks when I get a chance after my first few pilot monitoring flights.