First to answer Smith, the course was held over 9 continuous days. However this largely depends on scheduling and sim availability so I’m told.
DAY 3…..Final Day of Groundschool
One thing that I forgot to include in my last entry was that we were able to get a first look at the sim during day 2. We met our sim instructor who was able to give us a brief view of what we’d be using. The expression ‘small boys let loose in a sweet store’ is something that I’d compare the initial experience to. It all looked and felt extremely realistic. Ever switch, every button, identical to the real aircraft. Even though the Saab is only a 34 seat turboprop, you really felt it was quite a step up from the light pistons that you had flown during the IR. I immediately couldn’t wait to get my hands on it!
Anyway, last day of groundschool. This was my favourite day to be honest. Not because it was the final day or anything, but largely because we dealt with the more practical related issues of multi-crew flying. The importance of SOPs, Checklists, Standard Calls and Briefings were all discussed. However prior to talking about any of that, we watched a video about the United DC10 that crashed at Sioux City after a total loss of hydraulics. Although it ended with fatalities after the aircraft was totally destroyed, the incident was an example of effective CRM. It demonstrated good leadership skills and levels of communication where all crew members were kept in the loop and involved in the decision making process. It also demonstrated a fantastic level of flying ability where the aircraft was flown using the asymmetric effect provided by the engines.
From this we discussed the qualities of leadership and teamwork and what strengths it had on the flightdeck. One thing that I took from this was the concept of a ‘synergistic cockpit.’ There was an idea that responsibilities were shared on the flightdeck and clear and effective communication is the key to success. I suppose again it demonstrates that failures occur when we revert to taking on too much responsibility and adapting the single pilot mentality. Again the importance of working together was driven home. To show an example of this, our instructor played part of one of those ITVV flightdeck videos. It involved a BAe 146 crew flying from Luton to Rome I think. Not only did it demonstrate effective crew synergy, we were also able to see an example of a particular airline’s SOPs being put into practice. An airline pilot friend of mine once told me that well rehearsed SOPs were vital to any multicrew environment. Well now I can see how, especially when it comes to creating a ‘synergistic crew.’ Through the video, we were also able to discuss the use of checklists and crew briefings. Many of the checklists in muticrew aircraft employ the ‘Challenge – Response,’ or Challenge – Do – Verify’ method. It is where one crew member, usually Pilot Non Flying (PNF), reads out an action from a checklist and the Pilot Flying confirms the action has infact been ‘actioned.’ It seems invaluable when it comes to ensuring that something hasn’t been missed out. The importance of crew briefings were also discussed and the idea of how a clear and fluent brief can set the tone for any flight. Since my MCC course, both arrival and departure briefs are something that I have been practicing. There is a lot of things that you need to get in over a short period of time. I believe it is something that you can develop with your own style when doing. Hopefully I will get the opportunity to give one ‘for real’ in the not too distant future.
Next entry – First day in the sim!