If an airline has spent time looking at each applicant properly and researching their work history, so can be reasonably sure that they will pass the interview and want the job: they can put them in the company hotel, (£50 corporate rate), and be fairly sure they will get their money back.
Originally Posted by
sheppey
................... The check pilot then deliberately needles or tries to distract the candidate during the flight by asking inane questions, including among other things, the endurance based on current fuel state while at the same time the applicant is trying to figure out an entry into the hold prior to the ILS. The theory being he is testing how the applicant copes with stress and distraction..........
A guy did this to me during a SIM check for my first airline, many years’ ago. The SIM was a completely manual piston twin and I had to deal with that and fly a route consisting of VOR and ADF tracking and holding, leading to an ILS and go-around etc. The guy was being very chatty, and initially I thought he was just a pleasant sort of bloke and I was chatting back, but then I realised that he was doing it to try to distract me from my flying and navigation.
As soon as I realised this, the simple comment, “Standby”, from me while I was busy entering the hold or turning onto the localiser stopped him talking, and when I had finished the manoeuvre and had some brain space, I would then ask him: “Sorry, say again”.
I passed
@filejw, I am sure I am not alone in that I can work out many mathematical things in my head, such as a formula for the area of a hexagon from first principles, but if someone is metaphorically leaning over me demanding an answer, my ‘maths brain’ sometimes locks up. Knowing how to deal with this sort of pressure is a good trait to have as a pilot.
