Takeoff & Landing Performance Class

[hawkerjet]

I am putting together a course for a small flight department that covers TO & Landing performance considerations. Jepessen runs the course and requires 6 people. I have 2. If anyone is interested drop me a PM. The cost is $650 per person and is 2 days in length. This will be in the SoCal area, most likely Flight Safety LGB. Below is the link for any further info.

Jeppesen Academy Pilot Ground / Dispatch Training


Takeoff and Landing Performance
[email protected]
Click on pilot ground training for course overview

This course is designed for experienced flight crews or flight operations personnel. Students will study the basics of aircraft certification regulations (FAR Part 25) and airline operating regulations (FAR Part 121/135), and their application to daily operating requirements. The focus of this course will be on takeoff and landing performance, with brief discussions concerning enroute performance.

 

[B737Dvr]

???

uhhh, I am curious as to why would a small flight department go this way? What kind of equipment do you guys operate? The material is right out of TERPS as well as FAR 23. Seems to me that any transport category aircraft training course will have those 2 days of performance included in there! That is unless the company operates 91 and doesn't want to send their pilots to school and will only hire current and qualified.....but nonetheless, at recurrent, the material (perf) is still covered....
just curious about the thought process behind this......

 

[hawkerjet]

As a small part 91 flight department, I have decided to accentuate the training program. I have added the performance class, along with a weather class and a radar class for the year. As part of our training on top of Simuflite initials and recurrents, we also do a version of the CTS training minus the 135 stuff. Every 2 years we do initial emergency training as well as initial International Ops and RVSM, every 18 months we do an upset recovery training program in a jet (L39 or MiG).We also dunk in the tank every 2 years.
I believe this balances out the training nicely while keying in on safety.
Currently operating a Westwind.We operate in the States and Latin and South America as well as the Carribean.
I think this is an excellent training program regiment customized to our operations.
I believe they do not teach performance at the training centers as in depth as I'd like to see it. That is one of the driving factors in this course. If i were to put together the course for my flight department it would take up too much time and energy. Basically, i think the vendor's can do it for a reasonable price while giving me flexibility to concentrate on other pressing matters.

 

[LongBoarder]

Good On Ya'

I am impressed to see that someone is actually interested in training beyond the every 6 months or even 1 year thing... I work for a company that flys the same plane and we dont even go to the sim... all of our stuff is done in house and there are no training flights before our 6 month rides... I am seriously at the point of moving on... Almost all of our flying is overwater and having been there for close to a year, we still have not done any wet drills and when I ask about the sim... I am told that it is just cost prohibitive from where we live.

So, be greatful that your owners allow you to go above and beyond the minimum standard.... sounds like a nice place to work.

LB

 

[FlyingMoose]

hawkerjet,

I gather from reading your posts that you are managing this department in some capacity. I would like to give you kudos for running what sounds like one of the most comprehensive training programs of any flight department I've ever read about (under any FAR Part). I'm sure some on the boards would argue it is excessive (yeah, I've run across managers who even argue recurrent simulator training is worhtless) but I think its great. If you invest that much in regular training, I am speculating that your day-to-day operations are run pretty professional, too. Good job!

I am curious how you are able to keep the bean counters from screaming? Most of these small departments and "millionaire" owners don't even want to hire and adequately pay the minimal number of pilots, much less train them! Also, I would think that an owner or operator that is this safety minded/concerned would be interested in flying a newer aircraft than a Westwind. How did you come about selecting that airframe?

 

[Lead Sled]

I am putting together a course for a small flight department that covers TO & Landing performance considerations. Jepessen runs the course and requires 6 people. I have 2. If anyone is interested drop me a PM. The cost is $650 per person and is 2 days in length. This will be in the SoCal area, most likely Flight Safety LGB. Below is the link for any further info.

Jeppesen Academy Pilot Ground / Dispatch Training


Takeoff and Landing Performance
[email protected]
Click on pilot ground training for course overview

This course is designed for experienced flight crews or flight operations personnel. Students will study the basics of aircraft certification regulations (FAR Part 25) and airline operating regulations (FAR Part 121/135), and their application to daily operating requirements. The focus of this course will be on takeoff and landing performance, with brief discussions concerning enroute performance.

I hope that this works out for you. The problem is that we seem to be in a period of transition with this subject matter and there are many instructors out there who don't fully grasp the subject matter and concepts involved. You will find isolated pockets of understanding within the teaching pools of the major training providers. You can't teach what you don't know and/or understand. Things seem to be improving and the publication of the new advisory circular will only help. Good luck to you.

FWIW, I helped set up the recurrent program at a previous company and we included the following training events as well:

Altitude Chamber - every 5 years
Radar School - every 2 years
Aerobatics (err, "extreme attitude and upset recovery training") every 5 years
First Aid - annually (We had a contract with MedAire)
International Operations - Recurrent every 2 years and attend the NBAA IOC every year.
We also encouraged our pilots to participate in the various enrichment courses offered by FlightSafety while they were at recurrent.

None of the above training was excessively spendy and really rounded out our pilots.

LS

 

[hawkerjet]

In answering some of the above questions, The bean counters do scream and my way around that was to bring this flight department inline with IS-BAO standards. I am currently just starting out on this venture ( starting with safety audit) and they have a plethora ( I've always wanted to use that word in print) of help and information to guide you. Ray Rohr is a man with a long history in aviation and has been helping flight departments involved in the IS-BAO process for several years now. With safety a key element involved in this process not too many bean counters want to be the first to say " No " in an aviation related matter. On the other hand, I believe it to be my responsibility to use a level head and not go overboard. I believe all the modules that I am setting up will produce an effective and productive flight department as well as a fun place to work. I have noticed that too many managers aren't really any good. Their communications skills are horrible as well as their organizational skills, but the thing that draws my ire the most is that many of them are "Yes " men. They don't realize that they are the liasons between a corporate culture and the flight department. A Captain wouldn't hesitate to bring a FO in line but will cow tow to his immediate boss. Most CEO's would prefer to have a person in charge that wasn't a Yes man and could make stand alone decisions without worrying about how it would affect his status in the company. Pilots are commanding types just from the job description alone, however that doesn't make them effective managers. Some of the best pilots make the worst managers. I remember an old saying, don't let the monkeys run the zoo.
As far as selecting the Westwind for our aircraft, I honestly can say that I am a little partial to the airframe because of my experience with it. I also needed a plane that had pretty good short field performance, long range, a fully enclosed lav, and a maintenance record that wouldn't break the bank. I also wanted a safe aircraft in the 1-2 million dollar range as this would be his first aircraft. We could always upgrade, and the westwind would be an excellent choice to cut his teeth on.
I narrowed it down to the Hawker 700, Westwind, and Lear 55ER.I selected the Westwind. We will also be replacing this airplane in the next 12-18 months.

Leadsled, That's pretty much what I'm doing with a little variation here and there. I agree with you, it does make for a well rounded pilot. Although I do the same thing over and over again, I tend to forget some things, so this adds a little to the memory banks.

 

[hawkerjet]

This kind of got side tracked. Is there anyone out there that would be interested in attending this 2 day course. I need 4 more people.