2nd Interview in HK

[VVI]

Hi there,

I am on my way to the 2nd Interview in HK. Could some one tell me any latest news or rumors regarding the 2nd Interview?

I would really appreciate your Help. All the best,

VVI:ok:

[iflyplanes]

Will see you there!

Good luck to those interviewing in HK this week.


IFP

[Kane Toed]

Preparation
The paperwork arrived in good time (approximately 6 weeks before the event), included in which was the simulator profile for the 747-200. I was away from home at the time, so arranged a couple of hours in a classic sim with a mate.

Arrived midday the day before and checked into the Headland. It was totally full, with no rooms available until after 2030 due to the number of CX crews there. This was no major problem, as there is a good guest lounge available with facilities and internet, however it might be an idea to have in your hand luggage enough to get you through the day.

Group Exercise
Everyone has an individual programme of events; however they all followed a similar format. First event was the group exercise, which was the “Choose an astronaut”, that has been described previously. As before, make sure that everyone reads their data sheet, as they are all different. We then chose a timer, and also a scribe, who wrote all the details on the board, and built up a ‘matrix’ of requirements down the left hand side, and the 8(? might have been 10) different names along the top. We then simply excluded those that didn’t meet the mandatory requirements, and chose the best of the rest.

It really is worthwhile reading the information carefully, as there is lots of really important stuff on there – including the name of the chief medical officer at NASA…

Maths Test
Next was the maths test. 30 minutes on a computer, with 12 multiple choice answers for each question. The test comprises of 33 Questions in total, broken into blocks of three. The questions are provided in a booklet, and each block has a ‘scenario’. I can’t remember any of them exactly, but it’s along the lines of:

Adam, Brian and Chris have shares in a company in the ratio of 2:7:3. The company currently has $144,000 profit in the last year.

Underneath this, there will be a set of questions. Again I can’t remember any specifics, but there is one important fact that I discovered too late in the questioning technique. In each of the questions, the first and second questions are relatively easy; the third is normally a nightmare! I would recommend that you have a go at the first 2 in each block and return to the hard ones if you have time. You won’t!

Psychometric Test
Not much that can be said about this one. There are loads of questions (>150 I seem to remember), but it is no drama to finish them in time. Questions do appear more than once (albeit it dressed up in different clothing sometimes). Sample questions might include:
81. “I prefer to see a well crafted machine gun compared to a well written verse of poetry.”

117. “When faced with a difficult problem, I prefer to go to a quiet room and work it out on my own.”

There will be three answers “True”, “Not Sure” and “False”, or as appropriate for the question.

Form Filling / Hong Kong Introduction / Simulator Brief
There is a period where Hong Kong Bank accounts are set up (pending job offer of course) and an excellent introduction to Hong Kong for both candidates and Spouses.

Cocktail Party
Out cocktail party was on the ‘middle night’ (pity!), but was very much following the format that had been seen before. There were a number of CX Chief and Deputy Chief Pilots there – all of the fleets seemed to be represented, as well as a number of management figures. Free drinks until 2100, as well as finger food. Dress was lounge suits, most of the CX staff having come directly from work.

Simulator Ride (B742)
The format of the simulator is as per the CX sim profile with some minor traps for younger players!

After the steep turns – and these are ‘reversed’, ie you don’t roll out first, you are asked where the field is in relation to the aircraft. You are then asked to work out an intercept heading for the ILS (which you have to stick to until localiser moves…). He then takes control, gives you VREF and allows you to bug the appropriate speeds. He then gives you the aircraft back. When I was given control again, all four where at idle, and the speed was decaying through 240 kts clean. I called for Flap 1 (only a couple of seconds to travel), and then Flap 5, but I felt that we would have smashed through the min speed Flap 5 (206). I therefore put on a handful of power, and briefly gave the pax a demonstration of my low-level aerobatics sequence… Got it sorted by about 1800 on the localiser!

Go around was no major issue, but then when downwind on the next approach at 280 kts, you get a call from ATC imposing a speed restriction of 200 kts. Don’t forget the flap, you can take Flap 1 pretty well straight away (and of course Flap 5 once you are below 250 kts. Remember that the flap must have travelled before you get to 200 kts). The subsequent approach and landing is as per the CX profile. I ‘chair-flew’ this profile a number of times, and it really did help me.

Medical
A bit more than the Class 1, but I guess that you are either fit or not. Not much you can do about this one.

[Kane Toed]

Interview
The Big One! The interviews seem to be held by 1 x HR and 1 x Deputy / Chief Pilot from one of the fleets. My interview lasted exactly 1 hour, and it went past in a heartbeat. It went as follows:

Initially, the rules of engagement are explained – and it was very similar to the first interview. I was told that they have no record of you first interview with them, so there might well be questions that you have had before. You are also told that they do not have the results from your earlier simulator ride (the interview is always after the sim). The first (roughly) half is run by the HR side, whilst the pilot will work his way through your logbooks and any other supporting documentation that you might have brought.

I was firstly asked very general questions about HK, and how I prepared for the interview (I’m working in a VERY remote place!) We then discussed my past flying and I was asked about my best ‘I learned about flying from that’ moment (which I had prepared for), and then: ‘What incident in you flying history are you most proud of?” (Hadn’t prepared for that one!) We then discussed CX history – including when their ‘birthday’ is, and what awards they had won recently. Discussions about if my wife was looking forward to HK, and we then moved onto the role of a SO in CX, and how would I feel not being allowed near the controls for years, bearing in mind my background. We then discussed the simulator ride, and was asked to rate it on a scale of 1-10. That took just under 30 minutes (the HR part of my interview that is, not me rating my sim ride!!).

Next, the tech side of the interview, and typically there were two aircraft on the table, a -400 and an A330. These were held up in plan form, and I was asked which was the fastest. I knew the sweep of the 747 (37.5°), and the bus looked like it had less sweep, so I went for the Boeing. Then he turned it sideways and said “CX have just completed the first special freighter conversion. How could you tell if this was a special freighter?” My answer about there being a door cut in the side and the windows blanked out was not good enough. Eventually he managed to get out of me that you couldn’t tell a -400 from a -400 special freighter from a distance. A -400F of course has a smaller ‘hump’ than the -400 pax (and no fin fuel. If you could see fin fuel…).

He now set a scenario – “you are at Heathrow in a full laden -400 – what is the MTOW of a -400?” “Now we need to get back to HK using the minimum amount of fuel, how can we do this?” The discussion went of for some time, covering MRC, LRC and the techniques for all of these – with real base level questions thrown in: “Why is it better to fly high?”; “Why don’t we fly as high as we can?” This was a very fluid discussion, with questions being asked along the way.

He now moved to the whiteboard, and drew a schematic of the area, with the track of a Typhoon. He put up three positions on a typical Typhoon’s mean line of advance, and then asked what the weather would be at HKIA at each of the positions. “Which of these positions would give the worst landing conditions?” After this (and as expected), there were plenty more questions on Typhoons. How are they formed, where are they formed, and why does the sea temperature have to be >26.5°C [80°F] through 50m (good luck on that one. I had prepared quite well on this subject using the Australian BOM and the US NOAA sites – both of which have really good Typhoon data. There is plenty of stuff on how Typhoons are formed, but not too much on the why…)

The technical part again took a little under 30 minutes, which allowed a couple of minutes for any questions. I actually did have one, but you are told that there is on pressure to have a prepared question, as they know that the briefings are pretty thorough. As with the first interview, those conducting it were very relaxed and friendly, and made a definite effort to put you at ease.

Questions asked to Other Applicants
Having trawled the applicants that were sitting the Second Interview during the same week as me, there were many similarities in the interviews, with some variation in questions. Here is a list of questions asked to others during this week:

Almost everyone was asked something about Typhoons, or about topical met conditions in HK or their area of operations. I would say that it is a really good thing to read pretty thoroughly on Typhoons.

What is RVSM? What are the altimeter limits for RVSM, and what are the aircraft requirements?

What is FANS? (Future Air Navigation System). I had to look this one up, basically it is text messaging for aircraft. There is plenty of information on the web. Note that some CX Airbus aircraft are fitted with it.

If there is a line of TSs, why can the weather radar not see past the first one?

Why do we have a lower screen height for V1 wet? (Don’t know why at all – I know that it is 15 feet, but who knows why? Why not 17 feet or 20 ft??)

What is Dutch Roll? How do you correct it?

And the good old…Why do we have swept wings?

What advantages are gained from having EGPWS over normal GPWS? What are the extra inputs required for EGPWS? compared to GPWS?

You have a crosswind from the right, which rudder do you need to maintain straight?

How does predictive windshear alerting work?

What is the wind flow around an anti-cyclone in the northern hemisphere?

What is your technique for stopping on a slippery runway?

Windshear on finals, how will you fly the go around?

What is good about Hong Kong. What’s bad? Why do you want to live in Hong Kong?

How much is a liter of petrol in Hong Kong? (Honestly!)

Who is Nick Rhodes? Is he a pilot? What does he fly? (bit of a trick question that one – probably better not to guess if you don’t know)

Finally
The hardest thing about going to HK for the second interview is the fact that all – and I mean without exception – of the CX staff that I met are really friendly, encouraging and ‘on side’. From the trip over, when the crew on my flight were really supportive, to the recruiting staff, the guys at the Headland and even the medical staff, everyone seems really happy with the company. It simply adds more pressure to achieving a successful result!

Good luck with it :)

[xldaddy]

Thanks for the very informative posts, much appreciated.

[VVI]

Hi Kane Toed!

Thank you for your GREAT Help. Wishing you also all the best!!!

VVI:)

[Mink]

KT - great info. Thanks very much and best of luck to you. I hope it works out in your favor!!:ok:

Mink

[Buzzy]

Kane Toed....great post and some really great info...thanks!!

[Kane Toed]

N'worries :O