SWA GS Prep

[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

 

[canyonblue737]

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

of course they provide material themselves in advance. a CD-ROM with a bunch of nice stuff to know before you get there and all the manuals you could ever need the day you arrive. some choose to prepare in advance with 3rd party materials but that is neither necessary or required.

my recommendation is simple: learn the memory items and limitations (should take a day to learn) and if you have any spare time look at and begin to learn the flows. the REALITY is this: if you show up without preparing at all... you will still do just fine. enjoy time with your family as priority #1 before training because training lasts 5 - 6 weeks and you will be away.

 

[FlyBarneyJets]

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


SEEEEE YAAAAA

What, you're not going to the party on Tuesday night?!?

Heheh...see you there!

As far as this advanced-study thing is concerned, I always seem to overpromise and underperform in that area. Looking over the memory items, I don't see anything that is drastically different from the memory items I've been using to fly my last company's turboprops and jets. Flows, however, are a very difficult thing for me to learn if I don't have a way to establish some muscle memory. I do much better when I get into a CPT. I guess you can say that I'm very much aware of how I learn.

I've done the advanced reading they outline for the first few days. Other than that, I've watched my daughter crawl around the floor for the last two weeks. It's been great.

With six weeks in Dallas, I'll have no distractions (stupid FlightInfo!!), and I'll have all the resources I need at my fingertips. It will be much easier for me to get motivated.

 

[AlbieF15]

War story from 727 FO upgrade....100% true...

Study, study, study....highlight highlight highlight....chairfly chairfly chairfly, etc etc.

First FTDs go fine (sim with no motion/visuals). Then to the "real" sim, and sims 1, 2 , and 3 consist of hearing gravelly voiced pro-IP repeatedly critique my terrible performance at landing the sim (an art in of itself...). My P-3 FO training bro is no help...he is greasing his landings and generally avoiding looking too buffonish while I wrestle this huge sky pig and crash and bounce time after time.

Realizing that sim 4 is going to be miserable anyway, I give up all attempts at study and go boozing/gambling at Tunica the night prior to morning of sim 4. The next day, the sim goes very well, and the IP says "...whatever you did yesterday you need to KEEP DOING IT!". Figuring the guy was a professional and knew his stuff, I did my best to follow that advice, and a new nightly ritual was solidfied. This even included some boozing and gambling the night before my checkride.

Results...well...no additional training required. I think I got "tight" worrying about my first airline upgrade, but when I backed off myself a bit and treated it "just like another d@mn plane" things went pretty well. Your mileage may vary, but the line between knowing your stuff and being too tense is a fine one. Don't be afraid to let your hair down once in a while and have a little fun.

Good luck in any case.