Cardinal
Of The Kremlin
- Joined
- Nov 25, 2001
- Posts
- 2,308
Just survived the latest Lakes newhire class. Just some statistics for the record. Lowest time guy was around 500 and 17 multi, the high-timer was around 2500. Most had at or near 1000 with between 50 and 100 multi. Every class member was a current or former CFI. We started with 21 pilots, 2 simply left groundschool, 2 more washed out in the sim, but not everybody is done yet, so that could change. Coming from a quiet Part 61 environment the sheer quality of my classmates surprised me. To the last, all were impressively sharp, intelligent, smart. Through groundschool all studied as though possesed, averaging 5-6 hours per night.
Regarding future classes, there may be a class drawn from the pool, maybe January (perhaps pushed forward to February or farther) but that decision is dependent on attrition. Upgrade is more or less when you have the age, the time, and the inclination.
Everybody who has said "know how to fly instruments" really isn't kidding. All that instrument minutae becomes relevant in a hurry. The ASA ATP Oral Exam Guide was a good place to start for that stuff. Everybody also says that the Sim will kick your arse, and it will - but if you keep your head on straight and don't let it get to you, you'll survive. Essentially you just shoot approaches all day while things are perpetually going wrong. You know the engine is going to fail at V1, you know you'll have to shoot the NDB, you know you'll have to fly the full procedure, so just expect it and plan for it instead of dreading it. Know hold entries well enough so that you can figure one out in the dark, holding a flashlight, with your instructor barking at you, using nothing but an RMI, in less than 6 seconds. It's not academic, because a quarter of your simulator time will be in a hold running checklists. Speaking of which, figure out how to enter holds, intercept, track bearings, and shoot approaches using nothing but an RMI before you get there, Flight Sim '02 works fine. The King Air 350 in FS2002 does help in getting accustomed to the sky-pointer style ADI - it's kinda weird for steep turns, but some people didn't notice the difference. The process was undoubtedly the most difficult thing I've ever done in my short life. Many hours of angst, but many moments of hilarity. A rewarding, entertaining experience.
Regarding future classes, there may be a class drawn from the pool, maybe January (perhaps pushed forward to February or farther) but that decision is dependent on attrition. Upgrade is more or less when you have the age, the time, and the inclination.
Everybody who has said "know how to fly instruments" really isn't kidding. All that instrument minutae becomes relevant in a hurry. The ASA ATP Oral Exam Guide was a good place to start for that stuff. Everybody also says that the Sim will kick your arse, and it will - but if you keep your head on straight and don't let it get to you, you'll survive. Essentially you just shoot approaches all day while things are perpetually going wrong. You know the engine is going to fail at V1, you know you'll have to shoot the NDB, you know you'll have to fly the full procedure, so just expect it and plan for it instead of dreading it. Know hold entries well enough so that you can figure one out in the dark, holding a flashlight, with your instructor barking at you, using nothing but an RMI, in less than 6 seconds. It's not academic, because a quarter of your simulator time will be in a hold running checklists. Speaking of which, figure out how to enter holds, intercept, track bearings, and shoot approaches using nothing but an RMI before you get there, Flight Sim '02 works fine. The King Air 350 in FS2002 does help in getting accustomed to the sky-pointer style ADI - it's kinda weird for steep turns, but some people didn't notice the difference. The process was undoubtedly the most difficult thing I've ever done in my short life. Many hours of angst, but many moments of hilarity. A rewarding, entertaining experience.
