AIrcockroaches,
Stage 2 is smart dress but not always a suit. I didn't wear a suit (because I didn't own one at the time) and passed. The idea is smart, clean and presentable. To be exact I wore dress trousers and shoes a clean pressed polo shirt and a thin plain jumper.
Stage 3 is a huge emphasis on presentation. A suit is a must, but dont go and sell your granny for the newest cut of silk. Again, it has to be clean, pressed and ready for action. Likewise for yourself, clean and ready is more important than a £1500. I got mine from next on the discount rail and paid about £100 for the lot, tie inc. £23 for the dry cleaners to get it ready for me and that was it. Cant stress it enough though, clean and ready beats the guy who is ill prepared wearing a sharp suit. This company are a little deeper than the clothes although an effort must be shown.
Thats not the original reason for posting though. I just thought I'd answer that one quickly. I thought I'd give some feedback for you guys who are coming out here soon or are in the latter stages of selection. For those that dont know me my name is Robert Woodmore and I am on the CTC Wings course and make up part of the CP42 group. I came out here a little later than everyone else in my group because I am on the short course as opposed to the long course. Anywho, I arrived yesturday morning (local time).
AS mentioned I had to travel alone out here which isn't the norm for CTC. I think the average through flow for cadets coming out is 10-12 per month but this isn't fixed. I'm sure your aware that some months alot of people pass and some months no one passes. I had to travel from leeds to Heathrow and was under the impression that my luggage allowance was 30kg with my flightbag as the main carry on and a laptop as a second piece of carry on. This isn't the case now however. So after a 5 hour car journey I am informed that the laptop has to go into the flight bag which means all the manuals and chunky bits have to go into the hold. After messing about my carry on weighed in at 11.7kg and my main bags weighed in at a massive 43kg. What was I thinking???????!! This total will get you a nice bill of £430 sterling and this wasn't an option. Back off up to the car park for a little trimming of the cases. Squeezed everything in and then off to check-in again where the guys were moe than happy to rush me through and see me off. A quick pint with my brothers, mum and fiancee and off to the gate. Very emotional experience at the gate where everyone says goodbye's and I am in pieces at leaving my fiancee back in the UK but it is a day of very mixed emotions. Security was no problem providing you jump through all the hoops they put in front of you and keep cool. Another pint in the airside bar as the flight is delayed till 11pm.
I flew with Singapore Airlines on the 747-400 and due to the guy at checking helping me there was 2 people over 4 seats so space wasn't a problem. Leg room was surprisingly vast and the inflight service was possibly the best I've experienced....ever. The crew genuinely want to help and seemed very friendly. The entertainment was awesome with 80 on-demand movies and a bunch of documentaries and music channels. Meals and drinks are all thrown in so no need to get your wallet out just yet. A light snack, another beer and then settled into the flight. Didn't get too much sleep as Mario Brothers made up one of the seat back games and meant I ended up with a sore thumb from all the jumping and fighting off mushroom men! Roughly 13 hours later I was at singapore. Singapore is a mental airport. It's more like a city with gyms, supermarket, hotels, pools and all i naddition to anything you'd witness in a UK airport. I quickly got off and took myself to the airports transit hotel where for $8.40 (£3.50) you can get a shower with all the towels and shampoos, hairgels, lotions ect provided. Before doing this though I stopped off to buy a clean shirt for the next leg as I forgot to pack a spare. Whatever you do, you dont want to be the guy that smells on the next 9.5hr leg!! All cleaned up, shaved and fresh and off to the checkin for Aukland. All relatively painless and the service again was good. I did have a kid behind me who didn't feel the need to stop screaming until the plane landed in Aukland. This was a real test of my patience and those around me with one or two outbursts from some of the passengers. I was on my own but ended up sitting next to a guy who holds his NZ CPL so that was the 9hrs done. Spoke about all sorts of nonesense and had a beer with him which helped the flight go by. A pretty stiff crosswind into Aukland which lead to a positive (read spinebreakingly firm) touchdown and then the games started with NZ immigration. I was stopped no less than three time by these sadists and also referred to the immigration board which meant I had to sit around for 20 mins whilst they sorted out my papers and quadruple checked I was here for the right reasons. Time consuming and not what I needed after all the traveling, but still refreshing to know that I'm here now and only a short drive to my accomodation. I was picked up in a minibus, and given a quick tour whilst bringing me to Clearways at hamilton airport. The journey is about 1hr 45min and as soon as I arrived I was greeted by lynne who showed me around the new complex. It is awesome. I have my own hotel type room with ensuite, a little kitchen area with microwave, cooker, kettle, fridge. I've got a t.v and internet connection, desk space and plenty of storage. Oh yeah and damn comfy bed too. There is also a £35M alarm clock in the form a Freedom Air Airbus that departs at 6.20am!! I was shown the communal areas and the saw the huge tv that receives sattelite which is cool. A gym and transport are also provided so I met up with some friends that I had made through selection and from Uni and we took a minibus into town to grab some food and take a look around the airport. I have only been here 5 minutes and I have already seen most of the complex and the training facilities. I took a seat in the katana that I will start to fly and met some of the ops staff. I have my induction on Monday but until then I've got to get settled and sort out some bits. My friend has a CPL qualifier today so we may end up popping out tonight for a beer to celebrate.
All in all I'm the happiest person alive right now. It's a huge emotional rollercoaster but one that I'm very pleased to be on.
After failing my 3rd stage of selection to getting out here has been awesome and I guess now the hard work starts. I hope those of you reading can say the same thing. I look forward to seeing you soon. I hope this inspires you!
The Reverand
