SWA GS Prep

[commutair]

Swa

I would highly recommend getting all the information you can and studying as much as you can before you get down here. Have the flows know cold, buy the flash cards at www.b737cards.com . Your gonna have so much stuff to read and these cards really simplify things for you. I bought the fmc users guid but that is a waste looking at it before you get here. Although it is a good book buy it when you get on line. As far as the fmc, if you don't have any experinece on using it, don't worry, Theres a classroom that has computers you can practice on. It's open 24/7 so you'll have enough time. Also I would recommend buying the 737 study book. It is awesome. our class basically bought all this stuff the 2nd week we were down here. So buy it know!!! you'll wish you did...The traing here is very very very laid back but you still want to be prepared.

 

[SWAPoolie]

What's the "737 Study Book"?

 

[PTinbound]

"All Day Ray" maintains that his knickname has nothing to do with how long his classes are; he claims other reasons.

 

[typhoonpilot]

Sorry to butt into your thread here, but it strikes me as just plain wrong that you would have to buy study material for an airline, especially an airline of the supposed caliber as Southwest. At every airline I have ever worked for ( and that is quite a few ) I have never had the need to purchase study material beforehand. Sure, if the company provides the manuals in advance it is a good idea to study them, but to go buy third party information in advance is wrong. I can't believe that Southwest themselves allows that to happen. A good training organization, in the interest of standardization, will try to keep that kind of material to a minimum by themselves providing good study material.


TP

 

[Mr Hat]

I highly doubt that anyone NEEDS to buy anything to pass SW training. I also doubt that SW management is telling people that they need to buy this stuff. However, it is nice to show up knowing a little more than they expect you to so that you can relax a little. The more you know walking into class the easier the class is....I think thats what people are getting at. No reason to slam SWA Capt Typhoon. I am sure that their training dept is one of the most professional in the world but there's nothing wrong with getting some outside help to get through.

If I am lucky enough, I will use these things too. A couple bucks so I can have a few beers with my new friends instead of beating myself up in front of a paper poster? Yeah, its worth it.

 

[typhoonpilot]

My point here is that if you want the study material beforehand you shouldn't have to go buy it from a third party. Southwest should more than willingly send you the manuals and cockpit diagrams. If they are worried about postage costs then you can go pick them up in Dallas or they can Comat them to a SWA destination near you to go pick up. If Southwest doesn't have the flow charts or cockpit diagrams then that is an indictment of their training department.

TP

 

[Juvat]

It's always a pleasure getting advice from somebody who hasn't been there huh? The old "well, I don't know what I'm talking about, but I'm going to give you my uninformed opinion anyway..." routine is wonderful. I wasn't going to chime in, but since there's a bit of extraneous static going on in this thread, I thought I'd contribute a "reality check."

It had been almost 3 years since my type rating when I showed up for training, and I've been on the line now with SWA for several weeks. Here is all you need to know to survive training:

1. Read the stuff in the packet they sent you. It ain't rocket science man! Read it once or twice, then go play with your kids. If you're going to memorize anything, work on the checked memory items. Don't be a spaz and try to learn everything before you go to Dallas. That's what 6 weeks in Dallas is for.

2. When you get to Dallas, crack a book maybe 20 minutes a night.

3. Eat until you're tired, and sleep until you're hungry.

4. Go home on weekends to mow your lawn and not think about SWA.

Nuttin' to it buddy. You'll do fine. See you on the line!

 

[typhoonpilot]

Actually Juvat your reality check is exactly what this thread needed. My " uninformed opinion " based on reading this thread led me ( and possibly others ) to believe that you need to go buy third party material to study before showing up to ground school because Southwest either didn't have it, or didn't provide it. Since they do have it, and do provide it there is no reason to buy third party material. That was the point I was trying to get across.

TP

 

[azxj]

I agree that you should not have to buy anything yourself, but I've got a long commute and as long as I'm sitting there for several hours, I may as well be getting a jump on things. Just trying to make my life easier down the road. I printed out the memory items from phxpilotbase.com, so that's a start. Problem is my type rating, like most was in the -200, and I don't want to study something wrong. I guess I'm just excited to start at SWA and if I can relieve a little stress by studing a little ahead of time I'd like to do that.

 

[Capn Butthead]

Typhoon,

Southwest does not require you to buy anything. They send you a great packet with a cdrom going over flows, memory items, checklist etc. They also provide you with the fom and the ops manual to get a head start. I start on may 11th. I purchased flash cards and a study guide to get a leg up so i dont have to worry in training. SWA made it perfectly clear that they will get you ready for your checkride in class.

The only reason I decided to buy these things is because I am a dork with no life except sitting on this stupid computer (oops). All joking aside, I just wanted to get a little studying done before class to help me get rid of the RJ systems in my head before class. However, I would say the packet that they sent me would suffice just fine for the class.

Cant wait to see everyone on wednesday in DAL........


SEEEEE YAAAAA