Originally Posted by
Uplinker
And hopefully we all would, but realistically how does one stay at the peak of practice for the engine failures, explosive decompressions, double hydraulic failures etc. when they are only experienced every 6 months, if that?
I understand that some pilots used to be able to use their company’s SIM downtime to practice such things in their own time?
I don’t have a problem with practice, but practice just prior to a prof check will give a false indication of the pilot’s true proficiency. Imagine if Pilot Bloggs prangs his first engine failure at each sim session but it’s ok because it’s a practice. Once he does the check he gets through ok. Now this pilot is clearly not proficient and you wouldn’t want to be a passenger with him when the **** hits the fan but he would have a consistent record of satisfactory checks. Sims are great for practice and training and unfortunately we don’t get to use them enough for that purpose, but it should be done after the check, not before. I like the idea above of having alternating training and checking sessions in the sim cycle.