Got the invite into hold pool today!!! :-) courses planned from early next year is all I was told when I called..... I'm eligible for both long and short haul A320 rated.......so who knows when or on what!! :-) very happy to say the least! HUGE thank you to all who have taken the time to pass on their experiences....without them it may have been a very different outcome!
Regards the sim,
Very friendly trainer, will put you at ease! Bought us a coffee and told us there are jobs for all!! Teamwork and crm in my opinion are top priority! How you are as a person seems a high priority and not so much your pilot handling skills ( although I would imagine they need to see the 'fundamentals'!)
My top tips would be to practice using TODAR if not already and think about how you will structure your briefs etc etc ( ask open questions, is there anything you partner can see that may trip you up?! etc etc etc)
Another thing that really helped my prep was a flight sim software add-on PMDG (PDMG?!?!?......I forget!) for the 747-400. A quick google search should find it. I think it's around $50 and for me a godsend. Got me into the flightdeck layout and back into raw data flying etc.....can't stress enough how helpful I found it! And it's a damn sight cheaper than sim practice.......which by the way I didn't do! Not for me to say whether sim prep is necessary or not.....If it puts you at ease then it's probs money well spent!!
Sorry about all my ramblings! Trying to update and thank you all from my iPhone before heading to the pub to celebrate! Feel free to PM if you have any questions........
Good luck to everyone