Why Practice On a Simulator? - Part II
Here is Part II from my book on interviewing of why you should practice on a simulator prior to an insterview. Hope this helps!
TIS
Learn To Function In a Crew Environment
When flying an airliner simulator you will be demonstrating your ability to function in a crew environment -- one of the most difficult aspects of transitioning to a large, multi-pilot airplane.
When you fly by yourself you do everything yourself: tune radios and talk on them; read charts; perform navigation tasks; and fly the airplane. In a crew environment, if you're the person flying the plane, that's all you do! That and tell your co-pilot what you need or want done to support your flying. That means you don't tune radios or identify navigation frequencies. You don't read charts once you've had a chance to familiarize yourself with them. You don't even necessarily set the power yourself as long as you can tell the other pilot exactly how you want it set!
Initially, you will be tempted to do everything yourself, just as you did when flying single pilot. You'll need to learn quickly not to do that. Flight instructors have a bit of an advantage in this area, having learned to talk about what they are doing as they do it. They have also learned to direct someone else how to manipulate the controls in a timely way while keeping their priorities in order. These are both valuable skills in the multi-pilot cockpit because the art of talking someone else through precisely what you want them to do takes time to develop. The better you are at it, the better cockpit crew member you make.
So how does flying a simulator help in this area? It helps because you can enlist the help of a friend to be your first officer and practice being the pilot flying, doing nothing but flying the plane and directing the non-flying pilot’s actions. You might even have a friend who is already flying as a crew member, perhaps for your target airline. If you could get such a person to help you, you would also have a coach who could guide you and help you become a crew member more quickly. Try it. You'll see how different and challenging it is!
If you know that the simulator you will be expected to fly is an airliner, don't fail to prepare for the demands of performing in a multi-pilot cockpit. A relatively small investment of time and money will help you begin to develop the discipline required to perform well as the flying pilot in a crew.
Use Instruments You've Never Used Before
For those pilots coming from the general aviation arena, the simple prospect of flying an airplane equipped with an HSI can be a real thrill. There are a great many very costly avionics packages available for aircraft these days, many of which are too expensive, too large, too heavy, or any combination of these, to install in light aircraft. Some examples include such items as weather radar, flight director, TCAS, HSI, RMI, and FMS, just to name a few. By contrast to light airplanes, airliners will have most if not all of these features installed and you will need to learn to use them at some point.
At a bare minimum, the simulator you will fly will probably have an HSI and an RMI. If you have never used or are unfamiliar with the function and use of either of these two instruments you should probably consider getting some exposure to them.
Some position locating tasks in simulator evaluations are designed to see if you understand and know how to use the RMI well. Certain course interception and holding scenarios require advanced knowledge of the HSI to be executed smoothly and accurately. Although it's not likely that you'll have to use one, it sometimes is expected that you be able to demonstrate the use of a flight director.
All of this points out two things. First, getting advance information from an inside contact on the evaluation itself will give you a clear indication of the instrument preparation you need. Second, getting some practice using the equipment on which you will be evaluated could elevate your performance considerably and make you a better applicant than your competition. All it takes to make this happen is a little instruction and some practice doing what you've learned.
Simulator Practice: Final Thoughts
As we have seen, there are some very compelling reasons to take the time to get some practice in a simulator. Does the one you choose have to be the latest and greatest simulator available? No, it doesn't. It just has to get you scanning the instruments. Having that second person there will help you with the crew aspect of you preparation and if you are nervous about the instrumentation you'll face in the interview, find a simulator that has what you're anxious about so you can learn to use it.
Whatever you do, don't hesitate to spend a little money on some quality practice. Before you decide that it doesn't fit in your budget ask yourself if flying that Duchess or Seminole did. Then consider that performing poorly on the simulator evaluation might result in not getting the job you really want. All that multi-engine time you paid for will hardly seem worth it.
