I wouldn't listen much to Perfect10...he was a punk to deal with in training. Hahaha. just kidding.
What he said is totally on. Your schedule may vary some now that they could have 3 classes in there at once, but expect it to be fast-paced.
Here is my list of pointers......
~Remember to bring a flashlight!
~If at the Holiday Inn - Reset your hotel key when you get done with class on Tuesday before you head up to your room because they reset every week at that time. Happy hour every day from 5-6pm, great timing for some free veggies and beer after class. The 1-2-3 rule sticks after that. The van takes you anywhere within 5 miles and is on-demand. Try to go eat at Gloria's (salvadorian food) or Big Al's BBQ. There is a Kroger and Whole Foods nearby. A Quick Trip is right next door for convenient items. Laundry is $1.00 to wash and $1.00 to dry and you reserve the laundry room at the front desk. Workout room is decent.
~ Bring some scotch tape to put your panel diagrams on the wall.
~ Bring some deposit slips from your bank with you to deposit your first paycheck. Some people's banks were slow to setup the direct deposit.
~ Bring some pairs of jeans to be comfortable in training. It's a must for those long days!
~ Consider splitting a rental car with some others in class to give yourself a chance to venture out. Waiting for the hotel van gets old after about a week especially when other classes are there too.
~ Don't study anything except what SWA gives you. Keep in mind, SWA does things completely different than the rest of the industry. They will send you a package when you get your classdate full of panels, memory items, flows, systems CD-Rom, etc. It is ALL you need. Look it over a few times but don't stress out before you get to DAL. It will all be engraved in you by the time you take your checkride.
~
www.b737cards.com, and
www.pass737.com have the best set of flashcards made by SWA pilots.
~ You are required to do 4 jumpseat observations before you start your FTD training.
DO NOT go out there the first weekend and do them (like you will see others do). You won't have a clue what is going on and it doesn't do you any good. Remember, it doesn't need to be turned in until after ALL of your ground school is done. Plenty of time. Get some knowledge of the plane and the flows before you do them. DAL-HOU, SAT, AUS were popular picks.
~ Go to the deck parties at the headquarters building on Fridays at 5pm. Great time!
~ Avoid too many carbs (pasta, rice, etc) during lunch time. You will regret it come 2pm while watching videos on LNAV programming. Instant oatmeal packets or powerbars are good to have for mornings.
~ You are allowed to checkout an FTD/CPT trainer twice a week for practice. Again, don't go crazy and sign it out immediately. You aren't able to fly it (takeoff) without an instructor, so you can only really practice some flows. Wait to get some knowledge of the FOM first so that you don't go in there and develop your own bad habits. Then go in and use it to familiarize with the FMC/OPC, lights, etc.
~ Bring your headset for when you do LOFT. It is the very last thing you do before you leave DAL after your checkride. Remember it must be FAA TSO-Approved if ANR.
~ Throw the next class a good party, keep the tradition going!
~ Spouses/Significant others are invited to be with you for the first two days. The first day you will meet several guest speakers and take a picture with your SW wings. Benefits will be looked at also. Lunch is usually catered in from The Landing the first two days. Dress for the spouses on day one is business casual and day two is casual (walking shoes needed!). They will be walking all over SWA campus and then taking a bus to go see the DAL crew base. They will send your spouse a positive space ticket both ways and some of them left on day two after class depending on flight schedules.
~ You are issued your SWA I.D. on day two and CASS is activated quickly also.
Well those are the big items I can remember, I will post more later if I come up with more!
CONGRATS again, you will LUV it here!
imp:
