With some great long days of flying, it’s good to have something to break it up from time to time. AFTA are great for organising a number of social events throughout the year for students and staff to be unleashed on to the streets of Cork. That might make us sound like a pack of rabid dogs but I promise you we’re relatively civilised. Recently enough we had our summer party in the school. It’s always good fun to get out as a big group, change the scenery, change the dynamic and have some good laughs.
What’s great about the size and make-up of AFTA is how, even though it’s continuing to grow, there is still an extremely friendly and approachable atmosphere within the academy. Everyone is friendly and we all tend to look out for one another. It’s always a great atmosphere, if you ever find yourself needing help, advice or information, you’ll most likely have everyone within earshot coming to your aid. I think what really emphasises the friendly environment of the school is at events like the summer party, you’re always bound to see past students and instructors making an appearance. It’s a real testament to AFTA that even when students/staff have progressed in their careers they still maintain such a great relationship with the school. It’s always fantastic as a current student to hear about everything going on in the airlines and what we can look forward to ourselves, once we get there. On that note it’s probably worth warning that if you do see a large group of trainee pilots/instructors out enjoying themselves, approach with caution, unless you want to get involved with a discussion exclusively about planes and aviation
As for the flying I am continuing on with solo navigation flights around the country and I’m happy to say that so far I’ve kept a clean slate and haven’t once found myself in a place where I shouldn’t be. Ireland truly is a beautiful country when viewed from the air and I feel privileged to have this opportunity. I’m looking forward to starting into much more detailed instrument flying in the coming weeks. This will be a great progression on to the next stage of training and something new to test myself on and add to my ever growing experience.