Yes I'm bitter
Hi there,
I just completed my type rating with CAE/Fly Dubai.
I just finished flight school in December & was a young hopeful looking for something in a jobless market. This opportunity looked good to me.
IMO the training is not very good my instructors first language was not English and we had communication issues. All in all CAE is a nice training centre and I certainly felt like a professional pilot training there, I will certainly miss the free snickers bars and unlimited Coca cola on break times!
On the day of my theory exam we all failed it's was tough very hard questions! I got the highest mark 57% the other guys where in the 40's we re-took the exam after being given the answers!! And got high marks!
On the day of the check ride a Arabic looking guy called riyamy or something turned up to watch how we got on, the examiner was American and none if us had seen either of these people before, it didn't go very well for me that day, mind went blank a lot, perhaps the pressure or nerves?
With My steep turns I lost 300ft in alt and my speed would not stay at 250 KTS I also found it hard to maintain 45 degree bank, as I lost speed my alt dropped and the my bank came in to 35 degree it was a nightmare, I was told to continue and we would come back to the steep turns later.
Then came the VOR approach circle to land, I busted an altitude on the inbound turn at 10 DME when I should have held 2,000 till 6DME at this point the sim froze and the TRE asked me how I thought it was going? I said sheepishly not so great, he then said ok let's have a chat in the briefing room, he then tenderly explained to me that I had failed the check ride.
I got back to my hotel and felt the worst feeling of depression I have ever felt in my life! I found it hard to catch my breath and breathe.
After a few days I pulled myself together I got an e-mail from fly Dubai thanking me for my time but they will not be taking anything further with me, and CAE suggesting 3 extra session & a re-test in the sim at $$$$$ cost, of course I did the extra sessions and passed my skill test but now I am type rated and have no opportunity here. I went back to Wales upset and bitter about it all.
I honestly think if you are a 250 hour pilot straight out of flight school this 737 is just too much to take on with that experience & impress the likes of Fly Dubai with your piloting skills. Yes you can learn it & pass a check ride, but with 13 FFS your not going to impress them, you will just know enough to pass the check.
All of my fellow students agreed a 737 compared to what we are learning in flight school on a duchess is so different and much harder, I reckon you need 3 months just to get a grasp on the systems and theory of the machine. Too much to know! Not enough time.
Of the 6 candidates in my pool 2 were called for interview and later those 2 where given good luck with your career letters from fly Dubai. The 2 that did get invited to interview where flight instructors both with 1,000 hours TT both guys where top notch IMO and still we are all out of pocket with no job.
What a great money spinner for CAE, it certainly explains all the Ferraris and Porsches parked in the VIP car park there!! Avoid!!!