This last week was easy
enough. General Operations Subjects
(GOS) basically covers regulations and company procedures that are non-aircraft
specific. A lot of it was very similar
to what I learned at COEX last summer, and some items were exact repeats. Pretty dry stuff, but our instructor was
awesome and did a great job of teaching the class. We took our first test on Friday – I got a 100%. So far, training is successful.
This week we start systems
training after a three-day weekend. I’m
trying to stay ahead of the game by working ahead. I took a break this weekend to fly to Austin, Texas to visit my
brother, which was very nice although short.
I got back on Sunday and went directly to the training center where I
spent the next 10 hours on my own learning the aircraft FMS (Flight Management
System). The FMS is basically the main
computer controlling how you fly the aircraft.
It is responsible for navigation, aircraft performance calculation, and
flight planning. It’s really quite cool
and my experience with advanced avionics that I gained at Jeppesen has made it
much easier for me to learn. I’m pretty
comfortable with it at this point and will get into it more over the next
couple of weeks.
I can look forward to long
days in the classroom followed by long hours studying at night for the next two
weeks. Systems is hard, but again, my
past experience from COEX training should be helpful. Even though it is a different airplane, a lot of things will be
similar.
I like the experience of
crashpad living although I certainly miss home. I’m remembering how to cook after enjoying Stephanie’s cooking
for the last few years! There are currently
four of us in the three-bedroom condo and it never feels crowded since we all
get along very well. However, one thing
I can’t get used to in Virginia is the fact that in the Eastern time zone,
Monday Night Football doesn’t start until 9:00. Damn it! Makes for a late
night. The fall weather here has been
reasonably nice, but it’s no Las Vegas.
It’s kind of a long drive to
the training center each day but we use that time to study our aircraft
limitations and memory items, an experience shared by all airline pilots when
they begin training in a new aircraft.
There are about 100 or so numbers and 8 lengthy aircraft procedures that
all have to be memorized verbatim. I’ve
got them pretty much down but I like to go over them once a day to keep them in
my head. They will become very
important when it comes time for the oral exam and checkride.
But now the work really
begins.