Throughout training there are a number of milestones you achieve, maybe people put different weight to various stages of training, but the biggest in my mind are, first solo flight, first solo navigation, 300 mile cross-country flight, completing ATPL theory tests, first flight in the Seneca, CPL flight test and MEIR flight test. When I look at that list, it’s strange to think that I have completed all of these, except the last remaining hurdle, the MEIR flight test. Throughout the training, I have taken an approach of tackling one day at a time, it’s only now looking back that I realise I have actually done a fair bit and it’s now down to the last remaining part of the course. To get to the point I am at now has been difficult and challenging at times and it’s a huge feeling of accomplishment to have progressed through the many stages of training over the last 15 months or so.
Completing the CPL flight test was a big marker on the course. Myself, having never sat a flight test before hand, I did get a slight sense of jumping in at the deep end. I know many people have PPL licences coming in to training, so they have an idea of what a flight test looks and feels like. However, the standard is set very high at AFTA, they definitely don’t just allow you to ‘have a go’ when it comes to flight tests. I know for me, by the time my flight came around, I certainly felt prepared for it. I knew that with everything I had learned in training, the help of instructors, some sound advice and some calm nerves on the day I could get through it. The best advice I received was to essentially treat it like any other flight, go through the normal procedures and checks, fly like you always do and have been trained to do. The worst thing you could do is try to fly it to perfection in an attempt to wow the examiner with your Tom Cruise, Top Gun-esque flying skills. So that is how I approached the test, like any other flight. Yes there were nerves but they can quite often be a help, giving you focus and alertness. Was it a perfect flight? Of course not. There was some sloppy flying, some small mistakes and moments of hesitation where you second guess yourself. But as long as you fly well, fly safe, carry out the flight as you have been trained to do it all falls into place. Passing the CPL test was a fantastic relief in one sense but also a great source of pride having achieved something tangible and recognisable after training for it.
With the focus set on the MEIR I’m in the simulator now for a period of time, getting back into the mind set of instrument flying. The simulator is fantastic for developing the skills needed to fly multi-engine instruments. It is definitely challenging as it takes some getting used to and given the failures and problems instructors can throw at you it can become a very stressful environment, which is why you’ll sometimes hear it referred to as the ‘sweat box’. However, it’s these situations that we need to train for and become comfortable with so that if it happens for real, you can handle it. You have to just embrace it. That being said, I am looking forward to getting back in to the real aircraft soon!