Cathay interviw debrief

[Altyre]

Following all the private messages I'm receiving to know how my interview went, I'll just dedicate a new post to it, this way everyone will know!

So, first you have to take this short tech quizz (multiple choice answers), 30 questions in 30 mn. I'm really not a technical expert of aviation, however, I did it in 5 mn! All the questions are in "preparing for your CX interview", so just practice them!
Then, your answer sheet is handed to one of the interviewers who will take 5 mn to look at it I suppose since I wasn't with him yet.

Then, in you go, I had my interview with two young guys who are just starting in aviation: the chief flight instructor of the Airbus fleet and the Boeing fleet manager !!! Anyway, they were both very nice and made me feel at ease, the boeing manager started the interview by asking me about my present job, how I got into aviation, why I wanted to go to Asia, if I had ever had emergencies on board... The typical human resource interview, strengths and weaknesses, things like these. However, not one question about Cathay Pacific or Hong-Kong, which I was a little bit disappointed about because I had studied that a lot and felt I would have scored points there.

Then, the Airbus CFI asked me the technical stuff. I had a model of a A340 and a 747 on the table and he started asking me:
. why swept wings, which led to the critical Mach number.
. what are winglets for?
. what is the difference between leading edge flaps and
leading edge slats?
. What do you know about fan engines? What's on the 747,
how much thrust? (according to the airbus guy the answer
is: enough!)
. I fly a high tailplane, rear mounted engine aircraft, they
asked me about the drawbacks of this setting.
. Why fuel in the stabilizer? Why do you want the aircraft to
have an aft CG?
. What is dry adiabatic lapse rate?
. There is a thunderstorm on final, what do you think about?
What does windshear do, what is your procedure if you
encounter it?
. Coming to the stand, we hit the winglet, can we fly back and
where would we find out?

I think that's it. One very good thing with this gentleman is that he tries to lead you to the answer if you don't know it. For instance, I thought that leading edge flaps were slats, so I obviously didn't know the difference between them! I told him and he put me on the way, that was very good.

That's all I can remember. If you still have some questions, put them here so that everyone can benefit from the answers.

[snowbirdbrad]

Thanks for the info!

[kerosen]

thanks for that altyre

[CaptUno]

Nice of you to take the time Altyre. I am curious, if again you have the time, where did you interview? I have just interviewed in NYC this past week. Your review of the interview questions were accurate in relation to what I experieced, however, there was not one single question on the tech written exam that was previously addressed in any review book (A,B,C or X,Y,Z) that I have read. Perhaps I missed a book? Maybe my written was different than yours? In review, it seems as if a full review by CPA test designers of all prep books has occured and the questions were organized to exclude any covered. It took me almost the full 30 minutes to take this test, and I normally finish tests more rapidly than my peers.
Unless one was previously exposed to these very questions, I find it difficult to accept a five minute completion time was possible for the test that I took. I am simply asking to alert and assist others about to take their interview. In no way am I attempting to imply that you are inaccurate in your account. I wish you the best in the outcome of your interview.

[cbe64]

This is weird, another guy from this forum was in Paris too, and we wrote me he couldn´t recognize one question from the "Prepare" book. Probably they use different tests ??. Or the Editions of the "Prepare" books include other questions. Next Monday i knew more. Thanks anyhow to everybody to find the time and answers to our questions

cbe64

[Altyre]

CaptUno
As I said, I'm not trying to flatter myself because I am really not a technical specialist, but it really took me 5 mn to do 27 questions and then the other 25 for the last 3 for which I had no clue because they were about stuff I had never heard about before.
The questions I had were the same or very similar to the ones I had practised on captain X,Yand Z. A few involving numbers were exactly the same.
Studying handling the big jets also helped me a lot so there might be some that I knew because of this. Anyway, it made me feel a lot better when I saw the questions and realized I knew most of the answers. I'm not saying you should just learn the answers from this book and not study anything else, because obviously, from what you're saying, you could have different questions, but for me, it was a great help.
By the way, my interview was in Paris on the 6th of September and I just found out this morning that I had succeeded. The final interview will be in 2005. So thanks to all of you for answering my questions and especially to Silberfuchs for all his precious knowledge.

[CaptUno]

Congrats Altyre, and good luck!

[betaboy]

Altyre,

Any chance you could elaborate on the "last 3 for which I had no clue?" Thanks in advance for any tips.

[iahtexan747400]

Thanks for the debrief! What are your flight times and how long did you wait for the interview? :ok:

[Altyre]

Why is SSB (single side band) a better way of communication? Never heard of SSB before!
You enter an FIR and have not been assigned a transponder code
Do you squawk: A2400, A2000 or standby? I picked 2000 but I'm not too sure, except that stanby wouldn't be very smart in an FIR
And I can't remember the last one...
Texan, I have 4500 hrs mostly commercially, including 1300hrs as Captain on ERJ 145 for European airlines, it took me around 8 months before they called me for an interview.

[goingdown]

Altyre,
did you get my pm?

[treholer]

Without wanting to start an arguement those questions seem to me to be general knowledge items that do not need to be studied for. Either you know your stuff or you don't. What is the point in Cathay hiring somebody who crammed exclusively from one book but doesn't know the basics?

[Altyre]

Yes Goingdown, I did.

I have to agree with the last post, you have to know the basics, but the questions can be quite in depth and I don't remember everything about the ATPL. For example, I was asked what the dry adiabatic lapse rate is.I knew it had to do with temperature and altitude but I couldn't really explain it.
you might know everything about aviation, unfortunately, I don't. Since I really want this job, I made sure I was as prepared as possible to succeed and cover the subjects where I thought I was the weakest. it seems to have worked so far!

[Dentist]

Hi All, I was in Paris as well, Can anyone shed any info on how long we need to wait for some good or bad news from Cathay? It has been over 2 weeks and so far no comment?

[Smokie]

Is that normal then, to phone them and not the other way around?
How long after interview do you have to wait?
Or do they tell you to phone on a specific day?

[Smokie]

Silberfuchs, many thanks for that.

[pontius's pa]

It's a jolly good thing that the CX interview team have never heard of PPrune and thus aren't smart enough to read these posts and various recommended publications by Capts X Y and Z etc. and change the questions.

Seriously, I wish you all good luck. It is still a great airline to work for despite what you might hear to the contrary.

[cbe64]

Actually you are wrong they changed the questions. Some get the old ones some totally different tech quizes. I spoke to three guys which didn´t recognized one question. None from the Prepare book none from HBJ. So what now?

[MaseratiGhibli]

... be sure they already changed the style of the tec quizz, I have read all, really all books you need for the interview and to be honest no question I really recognized out of any of these. Oh yes I remebered one of these: "What is a frise aileron? Good question, isn`t it? Tthey asked some things about weather, cyclone, typhone and a lot of aerodynamics !

The interview itself was very relaxed, but they asked all lot about engines, aerodynamics, weather again, procedures, especially if you have long range expierence .....

Good luck everybody

[Smokie]

What time do the ladies in recruitment go home on a Friday?
Tried phoning this morning (1530 HK time) but only answer machines.
I'll try again tomorrow or are they not back in untill Monday morning now?

[Hydrolix]

Smokie, was a public holiday in Hong Kong today as part of the mid-autumn festival, I'm sure the girls and guys in recruitment will be back bright and early on Monday morning.

[Smokie]

Hydrolix, many thanks for that mate.
I'll give them a bell early Monday morning.

[Omark44]

silberfuchs

An excellent post! High time the idea that by having a pre-view of the questions, without actually knowing the subject, was enough,clearly isn't, and by changing the questions without any warning serves to highlight this. When teaching, even English literature, I have suggested some alternative reading simply to accentuate a point, the first question I have been asked is, "Is this going to be in the exam please?" when I suggest that is doubtful I can see they immediatly lose all interest, they are studying to pass exams, NOT to learn a subject.

I happen to know quite a few old hands in CX and I can assure you all that they are well aware of the network ability of PPRuNe and how to render all but your actual knowledge a total waste of time when you reach the interview stage.

Answer: Know your subjects, not just the answers.

[betaboy]

Silberfuchs,

"If you fly props then you should know about CTM/ATM......"

Ok, I give up! I fly a turboprop. What is CTM/ATM???
(CNS/ATM I know of!).

[Cypher]

http://142.26.194.131/aerodynamics1/

It's like Kermode... only digested with movie bits! Cuts through all the waffle Kermode had...

Damn I wish I had this when I was studying for my C-Cat instructor rating!

[WaldoPepper]

For those interested:

2nd Officer First Interview Sydney Feb 2004

Personal

Tell us about your flying career ?
Why did you want to be a pilot ?
It took a long time to get your private licence, why ?
What did you do before you started flying ?
Have you been to HK before ?
Has your girlfriends been to HK ?
What will your girlfriend do whilst you’re at work ?
Do you have any other applications with other airlines ?
If offered both QF and CX at the same time, what would be your motivations and reasons for choosing CX over QF ?
Did CX make a profit last year ? (2003)
Do you have any questions ?


Technical

What are these 2 aircraft on the table ? (747, A340)
How can you tell it’s an A340-300 as apposed to an A340-600 ?
What do you think you’ll be doing as a SO ?
If you were on long haul aircraft, where in America would you be going ?
Do we go anywhere in Sth America ?
Describe the pressurisation system on the 747 ?
What would be the normal Diff limit ?
What is the normal diff limit on the dash 8 ?
Describe how the air coming into the cabin is cooled ?
What sort of de-ice/anti-ice systems does the 747 have ?
Which components of the anti-ice system use bleed air ?
Would that affect engine performance ?
What de-ice/anti-ice systems does the dash 8 have ?
Describe TCAS ?
Why do we at CX switch the TCAS to TA ONLY if we have an engine shutdown ?
What is EGPWS ?
Does the dash 8 have EGPWS ?

------------------

2nd Officer Final Interview Hong Kong 31th May 2004

Personal

How do you like HK ?
Is there a significant other ?
How does she feel about coming here ?
Tell us about your flying career ?
Why did you want to be a pilot ?
What was your first job ?
Why did you leave that job ?
What were the differences between your different jobs ?
Did you like working at BAE Systems ?
What don’t you like about your current job ?
What are 2 bad points about yourself ?
If I rang your workmates, what would they say about you ?
How do you feel about being a SO for up to 4 years ?
What is the role of a SO on Cathay aircraft ?
Do you have any applications with other airlines ?
Why were you not successful with Qantas ?
Tell us about your most memorable flying incident ?
What was flying with Coastwatch like ?
How is what you’re doing now different from Coastwatch ?
Who will miss you the most if you move to HK ?
Did CX make a profit last year ? (2003), do you remember what the amount was ?

Technical

Tell me about the fleet, types and how many ?
What a/c is this ? (747-400) ?
How can you tell it’s not a 747-200 or 747-300 ?
Why does it have winglets ?
Why doesn’t the B777 have winglets ?
Where is the fuel kept ? How many fuel tanks ?
What’s the reason for fuel in the stabiliser ?
Can you move the fuel from the FWD tanks back into the stabiliser tank ?
What would be the advantage of doing this if you could ?
Why do we want to change the CoG whilst in flight ?
Explain using the model why less tailplane down force needed with rear CoG ?
Why would the CoG be ahead of the CoP ?
What sort of flaps does the Dash 8 have ?
Are they hydraulic/pneumatic/electric ?
How are the flaps powered on the 747-400 ?
Can you see any differences with hydraulic power v’s electrical powered flaps ?
What sort of brakes does the Dash 8 have ?
Why would we use carbon brakes ?
Do carbon brakes wear more when they are cold or hot ?
What would you consider if you were taking off in a windshear environment ?
What about landing in windshear ?
What’s the most important instrument when encountering windshear ?
What code do you set on the transponder for radio failure ?

[grind king]

Greetings from Canada,

I thought I should share some info from my interview and maybe help someone else in the process. As this is my second time though the grind I thought I was prepared. I went through the process in 2001 but was unsuccessful. However they did say that I would get another chance and sure enough I did. The interviewers were great and did their best to put me at ease. The personal questions were pretty straight forward. How I felt about the 49ers (49 pilots fired) and if it soured Cathay for me in any way? How my spouse would feel about moving to Hong Kong?.... The technical stuff was a little more intense. They wanted to know why aircraft wings are swept, and also see a good understanding of the theory behind it. They would always push for more. They wanted me to show them how the air flows over the wing and if all the different airflow vectors would also have a lift vector. It was certainly not enough to say that swept wings allows a higher airspeed before Mach crit, they want more!!!
They also asked the difference between N1 and EPR, then asked how much thrust is produced by the 747-400 engine? Here's the fun part. If a brand new engine is producing 60600lbs of thrust and indicating 1.8EPR and ten years down the road it is still indicating 1.8epr is it still producing 60600lbs of thrust? The. the same question using N1 instead of epr. Fun Huh? They were also interested in my knowledge of Typhoons. Causes, what is needed to start and maintain them..... I said warm waters 26c, unstable air, and a deep low pressure. They said " you mentioned warm waters, the warmest waters are found over the equator can a hurricane form there? Why not? What causes a low to spin counter clockwise in the nothern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere? Which way does the earth turn about it's axis? (while also drawing a picture of the earth on a white board) Then what is the value of the coriolis at the equator? It seemed to get real hot in the room right about then. They also asked about screen heights and why they would be lower with a wet V1. Some other quick questions about winglets and which aircraft in the fleet don't have them(777) and why. For the most part thats about all I can remember. It could have been worse but not much though. On a positive note I did get called back for a second interview in Honkers.
Hope this helps.
Good Luck!!!

[off_off_dim_and_off]

Well done and congratulations, grind king. Im' sure the interviewers must be impressed by your aviation knowledge since you have obviously passed the though interview. To increase your chance, may I suggest that you refrain from using the term Hon***. The proper name is Hong Kong.

Yours truly
oodao

[DDDOF]

Silberfuchs

Regarding your comment on only 50 DE SO's to be hired for 2005, would that be due to high demand for training for DE FO'S as well. Have they cancelled any courses upcomming?
I got through the second interview in HK in early Aug. At that time they told us that we should expect to hear about a course date in late Sept early Oct, with the course starting in Jan or Feb of 2005.
As of yet I still haven't heard anything, I am planning to call on Friday if I haven't heard anything by then.
Have you heard about any courses being cancelled, as I'm trying to plan when to give my notice at work, as well all the f/o's at work are bugging me to find out when I am leaving so they can get an upgrade.
Thanks for the info

[Jagbag]

Any info on why the 777 does not use winglets? Any views are welcome.

[Jagbag]

Thanks Silberfuchs- I got all the info I needed.

[grind king]

Silberfuchs,

I must dive into your wealth of knowledge and get a clarification to some typhoon stuff. You mentioned that once a typhoon is spinning that they may cross the equator.
If the corriollis force causes a low to rotate counter clockwise in the northern hemispehere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere, and there is zero corriollis at the equator, how can a typoon cross it? Would it then start to rotate in the other direction when changing hemispheres? It would seem to me that when you remove one of the three main causes that a typhoon needs to start (in this case the rotation of a deep low pressure)
it would just dissipate and become a geostrophic wind at the equator.

Keep the good info coming.

[Sir_Fly-a-Lot]

Hey all,

Just wanted to post an update on the first Cathay interview (DE F/O B747 Freighter), as said before, they still ask the same questions, no matter were you go for your interview. I first had to make a multiple choice questionaire with about 30 questions, If you read and studied Handling the Big Jets by D.P.Davies, it's fairly easy, as most questions seem to be based on this book, very theoretical!
Next came the interview, all the usual questions, "Why should we hire you ?, Have you applied to other airlines ?, Why do you want to come and fly for us ?, Do you think you are a good pilot ? etc," 2 interviewers were present, one from human resources, an a technical pilot, the latter asking 90% of the questions, and yes, there is a model of a 747/777 there, and they ask you to tell everything you know about it.
Some Typical questions that were asked:

- Explain why swept back wings are more economical
- What are the specifics of the RB211 Engine, what makes it a better engine
( FFS KNOW all there is to know about RB211 Engines !!!)
- Explain Mach Tuck
- What is a Monsoon, and were does it form
- Tropical cyclones, were do they form, what requirements
- Turning directions on northern/southern hemisphere
- Coriolis force, (none at equator)
- Microbursts/Macroburts, size and affected area
- Go Around Procedure during Windshear
- How many aircraft does Cathay have
- What types, and engines
- What destinations does Cathay serve
- What is the longest flight Cathay operates

All in all they keep you busy for about 1hr45minutes, just make sure you come well prepared, they appreciate it, the technical pilot seemed very pleased that I quoted directly from Handling the Big Jets. At the end of the interview they ask if you have any questions for them, make sure you have a few ready !

After I was done, we shook hands and they told me to prepare for Hong Kong, so I assumed I made it. Sure enough, about one week later I was called and informed I was successful. I'm now waiting for the second round to take place, so any tips would be appreciated ! :}

Cheers,
SF

[Sir_Fly-a-Lot]

Hey all,

I received several messages asking for what I used for study materials, so here's some more info, though I bet it has been mentioned before!

- Handling the Big Jets by D.P Davies (3rd Edition) ISBN 0-903083-01-9
- Preparing for your Cathay Pacific Interview: The Pilot's Guide by Captains X,Y & Z (9th Edition) ISBN 0-9682836-0-8
- Flight International Magazine Issue 23-29March - World Airline Directory part 2 (p.48-49)
- Flight International Magazine Issue 17-23August - Cathay Pacific fleet expansion article (p.11)
- FAR Flight Crew, Part 25, Airworthiness Standards: Transport Category Airplanes
- AIM Chapter 7: Safety of Flight, Section 1: Meteorology
- And of course, make full use of the internet !!

The Pilot's Guide Cathay obviously knows about, so none of the sample technical questions in there are asked anymore, although there is a small section about the RB211 engine containing need to know info.

Cheers, SF.

[EAM]

Hi guys,

as there are a lot of information around here, which I think will cause a lot of confusion, here is what I got.

Quiz: medium, questions you dont know are always hard. Couldnt remember a question from the "Preparing" book.

Interview: A Lady from Personel Dep and a Cpt from Flight OPS. First of all, both of them were very kind and friendly, nothing to worry about.

30min personal questions, normal and of course different for everyone, because everyone is a differentperson with different experiance.

30 min tech questions, all questions were about the A/C I am actually flying, Airbus.
With this he asked about the C/G in relation to VMCG, VMCA Stall Speed etc.
If you dont know a question or you are wrong he will help you and start expaining things on the model and you should be able to see what and way

No question about B747 or B777,
typhoon, etc

So know your A/C and the basic stuff

[Flaps10]

Just had my first interview...

Tech Quiz - There was nothing from the XYZ book but I expected that. Only one question that I really had never heard of. How much standing water on a runway to deem it wet? 2mm, 3mm, or 5mm? Just guessed 2mm since that to me is wet!?!

Interview...two nice gents. HR side was pretty typical. Tech side not so typical. No quesitons on aerodynamics (man I was ready for those). Barely any questions on the aircraft. No high speed flight stuff. Just the following...

How do we set thrust on the B747.
Why do we use EPR instead of N1.
What is EPR. Is it better than N1?
Do we still need to know how fast the fan is spinning if we set EPR?
What is VMCG?
What are the inputs to an GPWS?
What is EGPWS?
What is TCAS?
Why when we have an engine failure in the B747 does our checklist tell us to turn our TCAS from RA mode to TA mode? (CAN ANYONE ANSWER THIS?)
Where in Europe do we fly?
What is the difference between a TYPHOON and a MONSOON?
Where do we keep fuel in the B747.
You say the tail...why is that?
Where in the tail is the fuel kept?
Which engine on your aircraft is the critical engine?
What engine on a jet aircraft is the critical engine?

Thats about it. I can't say I answered all of them correctly. The interviewer wasn't very helpful in my case and didn't help me to get the answer. He also didn't tell me what the answer was on the questions I didn't get. So it was a little bit frusterating but I think I kept my composure.

Thats it...hopefully I'll find out in a couple of weeks either way.

Cheers:\

[rjer]

the reason you put the tcas to Ta instead of Ra is so you don't have an Ra that gives you a performance climb for instance that you might not be able to do without stalling the aircraft or putting it in a situation where it is very unstable.

It's just a safety issue with some aircraft which don't have reasonably good performance with an engine ( or 2) out.

hope this answers your question.

[Canadian Beech]

I was all excited about that when I told him the answer to the 'Fuel in the tail' question... til he said "that 's true of this plane A340, but not 747-400. Why?'
hmmmmm.......:mad:

[VRThomas]

Thank you Silberfuchs,

Now there is an answer that makes a ton, (well 10 tons actually), of sense.

On the 744 they are burning fuel from the center wing tank first in order to make enough room for the 22.000 lb from the tail. It is then transferred all in one "go". Whereas on the busses the fuel is carefully monitored and transferred as required in order to maintain optimum C of G throughout the flight.

Amazing, truly amazing!

VRT

[Canadian Beech]

WOW! thanks loads, you guys. It makes so much sense now.

[tooredtoowhite]

hi.. just wondering what the answers would be to the EPR vs N1 questions.
i don't really use EPR.

how is it better than N1 if it is?

thanks

:)

[medflyer]

Silberfuchs;

Very helpful post. Wondering if you could clarify one point here:

When you say that EPR is not a linear indication of thrust; if a new engine is producing 60,600 # of thrust with an EPR of say, 1.9, if that engine is showing 1.9 EPR 5 years later is it still producing 60,600 # of thrust, or do we need to compare it to N1 to find the answer? Is this the reason that we need to "know the RPM of the fan" (to quote an earlier posting in this thread)?

Thanks

[WisckyPilot]

Is the A330 tail fuel system the same as the 340?
Is fuel transfer done from center back to tail as well?

[Flaps10]

Well I guess I didn't do too badly. I got the call yesterday to go to HK for the second interview. Not until April though!!! And do they have to call so late? I was fast asleep. LOL ;)

[grind king]

Medflyer

Just to add to the always knowledgable silberfuchs. It is my understanding that EPR is more or less a direct indication of thrust whereas N1 is only the rotational speed of one component of the engine. However when setting EPR it is good to have an N1 indication to ensure EPR is being set within the defined rotational limits of the low pressure compressor N1. This can be highlighted by looking at the Air Florida crash into the Patomac River. The Capt used reverse to power back from the gate, in doing so ingesting snow into the engine freezing the EPR probes. On the take-off roll EPR was set however as noted by the co-pilot N1 was indicating low. He chose to ignore the indication with disasterous results.

[slice]

Correct me if I am wrong, but I didn't think N1 was linear either ?
IE most of the thrust variation comes in the 75-100% N1 range

[snowbirdbrad]

Hey, this may seem to general, but I dont see alot of 777 and 747's up in the great white area I am flying, Can anyone tell me an easy way to tell a 777 200 vs 300 , (emergency exits ...) and a 747 100 vs 200....

Cheers

Snowbirdbrad

[Fifthleg]

Snowbirdbrad, the 777-300 is longer than the -200. As for the 747 Classic, the -100 has only 3 cabin windows on the upper deck , whereas the -200 has more(can't remember the exact number of the top of my head). Also, if the engine is anything other than a JT9D, it's probably not a -100.

With respect to the A330 CWT, I believe the -200 has one as it's the long range version. CX only operate -300 though.

Cheers

[GearDoor]

Remember that a jet engine produces thrust by accelerating a relatively small (compared to a propeller) mass of air by a relatively large amount. EPR is trying to quantify this by representing on instruments the ratio of tailpipe pressure to inlet pressure.

I think when Silberfuchs says EPR is not a linear indication of thrust, he means that 2.0 epr is not twice as much as 1.0 epr. It is actually alot more. I would say it is almost a logarithmic scale.