Just six days after the assessment day I received a positive email from McGinley. Is that how people normally find out?
Anyway having read this thread quite a lot (and found it helpful) I thought I should post something about my experience. To be honest I do not have much to add to what others have already said about the sim, interview questions etc, so will focus on the particular issues around the situation I found myself in - that of going to the assessment about three years after originally applying. I suspect I'm not alone in that regard and might be able to offer some hope to those who may have (like I had) nearly given up.
I originally applied in early 2014 but never heard anything. Clearly this was not an uncommon experience and in the past have heard of 5 years+ or simply never at all. In October last year though I heard that CAE had a new system so decided to apply again. Six months went by and too be honest I had pretty much forgotten about it - I was working in interesting aviation related (but not flying) job and hearing stories of people being called very soon after applying. I figured that even if they had looked at my application, they would have thought that my MCC was too long ago. I was still flying in my spare time, with current IR etc, but I thought perhaps they would not want someone who was so long out of the CPL/IR training system who might have gained bad habits.
Clearly not however, since I received the CAE email warning of an impending call just over two weeks ago. It came the next day. They asked me quite a lot about my exams, hours and when I'd last flown - thankfully it was only about a month ago and my IR had nearly a year's validity. I was at work at the time but managed to answer all of their questions without my licence or logbook in front of me. The guy on phone then said he needed to check a few things with the airline. It was obviously a very quick check because he called back in about ten minutes to tell me I could come to assessment.
The call sent me into a bit of flat spin - I hadn't flown the 737 sim for more than three years, I only had about half the paper work they claimed to need and the assessment day was in a week's time.
On top of that I needed to move my work schedule around to allow me to go. I did contemplate whether it was really worth even trying, considering that I'd likely be up against people straight out of Oxford Aviation etc. However I decided to give it my best shot.
From the outset I felt the best strategy was to make as much effort in the time available to prepare - come the assessment they would know it had been a while since I'd done my MCC, and even if it did not go so well, I figured that if I showed I'd done my best to prepare they would look on that favourably. Ryanair's primary concern is that you will pass the type rating course in the allotted time, so showing a willingness to prepare is important.
Paperwork
The amount of paperwork they seemed to need did concern me. In the assessment email they made a big thing out of the 'flight school report' with a list of the things it needed to contain. I did not remember ever getting a report from my flight school (or if I had it was long lost) and since I did my ATPLs, CPL/IR and MCC at different places I decided to get in touch with all of them and see what I could get. In some cases it had been nearly four years since I'd been there so I figured they may not have my records. So I called and emailed setting out what I thought I needed - I gave details of the hours I had flown with them, sent scans of my logbook and skill test reports and asked them if they could write something up for me which included hours, training standard and confirmation that I had passed my skills tests and ATPL exams (with attempt number/average pass mark). They were all very helpful and responded exactly as requested.
I have no idea to what extent Ryanair look at the report(s) (they flicked through mine during the interview but did not appear to read it much). My main advice to people would be to get this together when you apply rather than waiting for the assessment invitation. Because I was not really expecting them to get in touch I had taken the view that I would just sort one if they did. I was caught off guard by how little notice they are giving at the moment for assessment days (in my case 6 days, two which were the weekend) and worrying about getting the report together was something I could have done without.
Similarly I was not aware they needed exam certificates from school and academic and professional references. The former were buried at my parents' house and for the latter I needed to find an old teacher/have a conversation with my manager at work about. Again getting these things together before hand would have saved me a lot of stress.
Sim preparation
I had very limited scope to take time off work other than for the assessment day itself, so I knew any Sim practice would have to be in the evening or at the weekend. Thankfully I did manage to book some at short notice. A lot of people do it in Dublin the day before, but that was not an option for me due to work. I had to drive nearly three hours to get to the Sim practice, but it was worth it since otherwise I would have felt totally lost getting into the Ryanair sim for the first time.
Some things that I think are important to remember about the assessment, particularly if your memory of the MCC has faded:
- In theory if you haven't flown the 737 sim before that should not be a problem (on the day they try to pair people up who did their MCC on it with those who did not). However there is a bit of knack to flying it involving gentle control inputs and accurate pitch. The unwary can end up wresting with the aircraft somewhat - sapping vital capacity to interact with your sim partner and generally manage the flight. The AI and trim are your friend in that regard, so practicing in advance will help.
- There is also a 'startle factor' associated with going into a cockpit for the first time that may disorientate you - so again practice beforehand will help this. Even basic things like where the nav frequencies are tuned. You can of course ask the assessor to point these out, but things flow better if you know already.
- Revise the basic concepts of the PF and PM roles, including who does what in the cockpit. Look through your MCC notes but perhaps leave out the complex bits (for example complex takeoff emergency briefings) that your sim partner may not know - sticking to basics will avoid losing your partner's understanding, particularly if their English is not perfect. Remember DODAR and NITS for the 'non-normal' event.
- Know the contents of the assessment brief, especially the PF/PM calls and actions for takeoff, approach and go-around. Getting these right from the start sets a good tone for the flight and ongoing communication with your partner.
Interview
As others have said before, common themes include the 737, general jet aircraft theory and your previous MEP type.
- I was unsure as to whether they would ask me much about the 737 and was more expecting to be asked about the DA42 (which I did my CPL and IR on). However they did ask about the 737, so know basic facts about it like seats, service ceiling, cruising speed, MMO etc. Knowing this shows preparation.
- If it's been a while since your training be prepared to talk about the flying you have done since. In my case this was just in my spare time, but I tried to emphasise that I'd taken a disciplined approach to it. They obviously do not want people who may have picked up bad PPL habits.
- I had been nearly three years in a non-flying (but aviation related) job, as well as a few previous ones. They asked me quite a lot about them and what they involved. I tried as hard as possible to work personal qualities into my answer - where I showed hard work, a positive attitude or learnt quickly. Also the ability to talk in a positive way about your work I think comes across well - I figured they are looking for people who are that way inclined, not just good pilots.
Overall
To those who have not heard from CAE for a while, do not give up hope - make sure you have put in an application on the current system and keep it up to date. Ryanair do look at people who finished their training a while ago. Gather as much of the paperwork you need in advance, particularly references, flight school report and academic certificates. You never know when they might call.
If you are lucky and get the call, make the effort to prepare for the assessment, they will be looking to see how prepared you are. They know you may have been given short notice/it may have been a while since training, but if you do your best to get back up to speed in advance, that will go down well.
Last edited by Contacttower; 23rd Mar 2017 at 10:29.