I'll be in Frankfurt on the 24th at 9.00am...
I hope I'll be able to pursue my dream, and I just completed my PPL today.
The more I fly, the longer the flights, the more I love it...and I hope that I get in the program, and what I can tell is:
GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE PASSING THE EXAM, it would be nice that the motivation shown here by everyone could allow everyone to go in, but unfortunately its not enough.
From what I understood, what they are looking for, is for future captains within the airline. I just finished my PPL, and got to fly some passenger flights as a passenger, while having the controls, and what I understood a good pilot must be able to do, is not land an aircraft in all types of airfield. You don't measure the quality of the pilots by the quality of their landings, but you measure the quality of a pilot with the ability he has to make proper decisions when a emergency comes up.
Imagine an engine failure, you are worried with the failure, but your priority will first be to control the airplane and get a gliding attitude, and then you'll look for the source of the failure, but never forget to control the airplane, look outside for collision avoidance etc...
You have to decide, sticking to the appropriate procedures what to do and when, taking in mind that you have to do many things at the same time. This is called multitasking. They are looking for persons that are able to cope with the pressure associated to the multitasking in the critical phases of flight (TO, FINAL APP and LANDING)...
They are looking for leaders. A captain has to be a good leader, and has to be a good listener as well. In case of emergency they are responsible to take the airplane into the ground safely, or trying to avoid a lesser number of casualties. We must be honest here, a severe emergency may happen, and pilots will not be able to have everyone alive in the final outcome...
They are looking for persons with a fast numerical understanding, because in some situations you'll have to do fast inflight calculations, to make sure the flight is acompplished safely...
They are looking for people with good spacial orientation. When you are flying, you must always know where you were, where you are and where you are going, just looking at charts and imagining the graphical countours of the terrain around when flying at low altitude. When you look at charts you must visualize the terrain in a 3 dimensional horizontal plane.
I know what they are looking for, what I have as capabilities (I never knew I had them before I started my flight training, and finished the PPL with an average grade of 98%), but this doesn't mean I'll join Etihad. When taking the exams I'll be just like everyone else, but i'll be preparing myself like mad from next Thursday until the 23rd so that my possibilities are increased. My possibilities now, at the worst case are 70 out of 850 (8.23%) in case all the 600 for the Frankfurt assessment show up. If I prepare myself like mad for the assessment I may increase my possibilities to 15%, assuming that not everyone will be going to exam prepared.If everyone will undergo the same preparation I'll be doing, I'll keep basically my 8.23% and will have exactly the same chances as everyone else...
To those who received the NO email, I wish you luck for the exam next year. Because I'm 26, its the last year I'll be able to make my chances pay, but to those less than 26, don't forget your dream and if you have a chance next year to pass the exam again, just go, you have nothing to lose and a carreer opportunity...
But anyway,
GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE PASSING THE EXAMS, AND FOR THOSE WHO ALREADY AND GOT A NEGATIVE RESULT, DON'T QUIT, IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT YOU DON'T HAVE ALL THE REQUIRED SKILLS TO BECOME AN EXCELLENT CAPTAIN IN THE FUTURE,AND TRY AGAIN NEXT YEAR IF YOUR AGE ALLOWS YOU TO DO SO.
And just as a small comment about the people who didn't show up for London. When I applied to the program, my girlfriend said to me, was not to lose motivation, because some people just applied to have an application somewhere and didn't care about it. Out of 250 people who didn't show up, some of them may have had valid reasons not to show up, but some of them just applied to apply for something, didn't care anything about others. There might have been people who could have applied that were as motivated as I am, or even more than I am (my instructors say it's very unlikely, because I think and breathe airplanes every second, but I still believe that around the world that there are people more fanatic about airplanes than I am)...Anyway, even though you may think about other people who could have been present in the exam, you have to be slightly egocentric, and think that less people showing up for the assessments will increase your possibilities of joining the airline...Everyone may want to help others, myself I help everyone I can the way I can to see them succeed, but sometimes you cannot think of others and think only about yourself. Speaking openly, I liked the fact that many people didn't show up because it increases mine, and everyone elses possibilities of joining the airline, but at the same time it got me sad because many people that could really have great chances of joining the airline didn't have the chance because many people just sent an application.
I already have my airplane tickets booked and the hotel room is already booked as well. I'm in Ethiopia, will be flying to my home country, Portugal on Friday, where I'll be staying and preparing myself for the exam. I'll be flying to Frankfurt from Lisbon on the 23rd, and flying back to Ethiopia on 24th at night. Irony of the destiny, the Addis Ababa Frankfurt route will be made with Emirates...It couldn't fly Etihad because they simply don't fly to Ethiopia...
Repeating myself,
GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE PASSING THE EXAMS, AND FOR THOSE WHO ALREADY AND GOT A NEGATIVE RESULT, DON'T QUIT, IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT YOU DON'T HAVE ALL THE REQUIRED SKILLS TO BECOME AN EXCELLENT CAPTAIN IN THE FUTURE,AND TRY AGAIN NEXT YEAR IF YOUR AGE ALLOWS YOU TO DO SO.
Miguel Coelho