The steps I took to become a commercial pilot.
Duration:
1 Day
Location:
Dibden Manor (near Southampton)
Description:
In this leg I completed a one day selection event comprising interviews, maths tests, aptitude testing, group tasks and of course: a nice lunch.
Duration:
Approx 26 Weeks (6½ Months)
Location:
Nursling (near Southampton)
Description:
I was dreading this part of the training the most and it was nothing short of an incredibly intense six months. The hard work paid off though and I completed ground school with first time passes across all 14 topics with an overall average of 86%.
Duration:
Approx 20 Weeks (5 Months)
Location:
Hamilton, New Zealand
Description:
Originally planned to be in Arizona, CTC switched our training to New Zealand towards the end of ground school. In this leg I learnt the fundamentals of flying an aircraft as well as how to navigate VFR (visual flight rules).
I also learned the basics of instrument flight in advance of the later advanced phase as well as the basics of night time flight. This phase concluded with the first internal progress test, PT1. In total I gained 94 hours of flying experience spanning a total of 61 flights (inclusive of additional time vs. syllabus).
Duration:
Approx 13 Weeks (3½ Months)
Location:
Hamilton, New Zealand
Description:
Building on the basics of instrument flight, this leg taught us how to make use of the various navigation aids (VOR, NDB, RNAV, GPS, etc) in order to conduct safe instrument flight. We then transitioned from the Cessna to the multi-engine Diamond DA42 Twinstar to fly a mixture of both visual and instrument flight in addition to learning how to manage asymmetric conditions (one engine only). This leg came to a close on the completion of the CPL skills test.
Duration:
Approx 10 Weeks
Location:
Bournemouth
Description:
Adding to the instrument building blocks laid by the Advanced Training phase in New Zealand, the Bournemouth Instrument Rating phase ultimately hones our skills to that of stringent requirements set out by EASA and the UK CAA.
Over a period of 11 weeks I went on to complete of a series of simulator events, aircraft routes flights, a UK Radiotelephony Exam and a Limited Panel test before bringing it all to a close with the all important Instrument Rating test.
Duration:
Approx 1 Week
Location:
Bournemouth
Description:
Following the completion of the Instrument Rating we move on to complete a series of flights as part of Upset Prevention & Recovery Training or UPRT for short. These flights introduce us to situations aircraft are not otherwise designed to be in and teach us how to recover from them.
Furthermore, we are also re-taught how to recover from stalls from the perspective of an airliner versus a light aircraft. At least one of these flights is completed in an aerobatic aircraft so i'm very much looking forward to that.
Duration:
Approx 3 Weeks
Location:
Nursling, Southampton
Description:
In this leg I worked towards my Multi-Crew Cooperation Certificate (MCC), completed a course in Airline Crew Resource Management (CRM) and took a look at Threat and Error Management (TEM). I was also introduced to the jet aircraft for the first time as part of the Jet Orientation Course (JOC). All in all the AQC moulds your mindset to that of a multi-crew capable commercial airline pilot.
Duration:
2 Months in my case. Varies for everyone
Location:
N/A
Description:
This leg of the process holds the most uncertainty for any cadet starting at L3 Airline Academy. The hold pool sees cadets apply to job opportunities from both L3 airline partners and, if they wish, airlines outside of said partnership - such as Ryanair, Jet2 etc.
The waiting time from completion of training to employment depends on the job market at that given time, the amount of cadets in front of you in the pool, your overall training record and how well you interview. Simply attending L3 will not guarantee you that job if you can't interview well or show yourself to be captain material. Thus, it's not an assurance you'll get a job straight out just because you passed everything first time.
I was fortunate to secure employment at easyJet exactly 2 months of finishing my training, with the type-rating to be within six months of the job offer.
Duration:
6 Weeks
Location:
Nursling, Southampton
Description:
A Type Rating (TR) is a course of training for the aircraft type a pilot is to fly, in my case the Airbus A320 family. They last between one to two months and consist of technical exams along with a series of simulator flights. The type rating is designed to provide us with the knowledge required to safely transition into a commercial operation.
The majority of simulator sessions cover non-normal procedures, i.e. electrical issues, hydraulic failures, engine malfunction or fire, bird strikes etc and assesses our ability to handle those scenarios inline with both Airbus and easyJet procedures to a safe outcome.
Duration:
3 Weeks
Location:
Induction - London Gatwick, Base Training - Newquay
Description:
Shortly after completing my Type Rating I joined easyJet for their new pilot induction. This included all of the usual "new job" stuff, such as getting I.T. login information, health and safety presentations etc, but it also incorporated things such as wet drills to prove a pilots swimming strength in addition to fire safety among other things. We then began to learn about the day-to-day life of an easyJet crew as up until this point we'd not really considered pilot actions above 10,000ft - i.e. completion of fuel logs and en-route diversion considerations to name a couple.
We also had to complete a couple more simulator sessions. One of these is called the LOE which checks your general handling, engine failure handling and emergency descents etc. I suppose you could say it's the airline's way of confirming that you can actually handle the aircraft in the way your type rating paperwork would suggest. It's also an opportunity for training captains to provide comments where required. The second sim involves flying the A320 in circuits around an airfield in preparation for the real deal.
Induction concluded with base training where I and a group of new recruits took an aircraft out of normal scheduled service for the day in order to safely demonstrate a minimum of six complete take-offs, circuits and landings so to receive that all important and final signature on our type rating paperwork. Armed with the airlines final approval we could ask the CAA to add the Airbus A320 family to our licences ahead of line training.
Duration:
A minimum of 50 sectors (flights)
Location:
Liverpool
Description:
Taking the knowledge learnt from the type rating, I began flying 'the line' for the airline. During line training I operated flights as normal but remained under the supervision of the airline's training team in the sense the captain would be a qualified training captain (instructor) on the Airbus.
Line training with easyJet lasts 50 sectors (individual flights) but that figure can actually vary from airline to airline. Line training exists to develop the knowledge gained from the type rating and output a competent and most importantly safe First Officer that can fly the aircraft to the airlines' published procedures.
Line training concluded with two assessments. The first is a competency check which assessed my ability to fly and monitor the aircraft in line with the airlines' published competencies such as Workload Management, Situational Awareness etc. The final check is a line check. During a line check I fly with a regular Captain with the trainer sat on the jump seat checking everything is safe with minimal input from themselves.
I'm pleased to say I passed my line check having landed at 03.30am from the late night Majorca flight. Wahoo!! I'm now a fully fledged easyJet First Officer.
Duration:
Remainder of Employment
Location:
Liverpool, then Bristol.
Description:
My career has officially begun! I have passed every single assessment to this point right from Ground School to the Final Line Check and I am now considered a competent First Officer. With that said, flying is a continuous learning process and with each new day comes a new airport, a different type of approach, delays to handle or other such situations. It's a dynamic job and I love it!
From this point onwards I'll be continually reassessed, with a simulator check every six months and a medical examination every 12 months. It's crazy to think I've made it. A boys dream now a reality.