How do you prepare for recurrent sim?

[cargonaut]

Where I work, we do a one day training session followed by a non-scripted ride, twice a year. There is no opportunity or access to sim for practice.

So after a few years of this my study habits are probably eroding. I feel more nerves instead of less entering sim. Perhaps I feel unprepared as studying the same manuals and notes, and doing the same mental rehearsals are not providing the same return. I'm looking for a way to make it fresh and interesting again. At the same time I'd like to make it more systematic, so that I know if I've done and studied n items, I'm truly prepared for sim.

I'd like to know what works for others. I'll also apologize in advance if this has already been covered - I couldn't find it in my search.

[ABUKABOY]

Well, Cargonaut, speaking as another cargo flier and seasoned member of the red-eye brigade, you are not alone. I cannot quantify by how many more than one you are not alone, but after 6 years on present type, during which my line-flying has often been praised, and a real major emergency went better than I could have ever imagined, I too end up as a rattling bag of nerves before the 6-monthly sims. I am always by definition away from home at these times, and all the relevant manuals are strewn on the hotel-room desk, and I do my best to read and re-read all the relevant stuff, but saturation-point is easily reached, and I am never happy that I am using my time sensibly. I even got to the stage where it seemed the only sensible thing to do was to rush outside, cross the road, and jump in the river! (I kid you not).
I found brainstorming sessions with other hotel-incarcerated line-pilots helped get up to speed on the tech-paper questions, but I had this overriding feeling that I was about to let myself down in the sim for all the WRONG reasons. I had the most amazingly-supportive Fleet-Captain who was aware of this problem, and while the standard had to be achieved on the day and invariably was, it was usually with the feeling that I could have done better if only I could give myself the chance.
Thus I've never shone in the sim, and the palpable relief at having passed yet again could be enjoyed at least until the next session loomed large. So, no answers I'm afraid, but just to let you know you are not alone!

[Rainboe]

I'm afraid I find sims get worse with age! Even after years on the same fleet, you feel your confidence ebbing away each time you come in. It's just hell. nobody likes the thought of a hard test to prove their capability, especially when over time, your technical knowledge deteriorates, and you inevitably don't perform as well as you feel you should in such an artificial environment. Being under test you do something stupid, and that makes you worse!

I wish I had the answer! It makes the last month leading up to sims hell. All one can do is to prepare as well as you can, read up, ask others what they did and how.....and then go in and stuff it up yourself! I look back at how relaxed I was with it in my early days- with envy! It's one of the minus points of the best job on Earth!

[Telstar]

Sorry to hear how things are for you guys. I really haven't experienced those feelings yet. I actually almost enjoy the sim, a chance to do some challenging flying and learn something new. I am a F/O though and maybe less is expected from me then if you guys are Captains. I suppose I am quite motivated to prepare for them as I am building towards my command which is no more then 2 years away. My company published a three page document with a list of reasons for failures in the last 6 months batch of sessions. I find if I study these points carefully the sim goes fairly well. But maybe my first big fall in the sim is only around the corner with this (over?)confident attitude?

[Rainboe]

'Enjoy the sim'? Oh bend over boy! You will find I suspect once you clear your command training out of the way, when you come in for your regular recurrent sims, suddenly- it will all be down to you! You will be keenly aware there is nobody to ultimately put it down to- the sim detail progresses very much off your bat. Whilst as a copilot you can make some not-very-good-idea suggestions (which can get over-ruled), suddenly you alone shoulder the responsibility. The nerves are horrendous.
I found it shocking. Still can't get it right. Shoulda gone into banking- funnily enough, that's what lots of my copilots say too.

[ETOPS]

Only 12 sims to go :) Just turn up, do your best and nod when the trainer calls you an idiot :rolleyes:

[cargonaut]

Thanks so much, guys. I hate to say misery loves company, but it feels good to know I'm not alone!

I too actually liked sim as an FO or SO. Now that is a perverse thought - ever since about the my first recurrent as a commander. The line flying and line checks are excellent, and while a used to enjoy an over the top challenge in the sim, I now feel that my livelihood is being challenged by a test of something not exactly reflective of real life emergencies. But that's just my opinion and not helping me is it?

These are some of the ideas I'm thinking of using in order to help prepare and relax:

Reorganize my sim notes from past sessions - They are simply chronological notes at this point, and I'm rearranging them into phase of flight. My logic is that maybe I'll be able to mentally rehearse with better concentration if my own experiences are organized.

Prepare well in advance, and then leave most of my manuals at home. I'm not going to learn it in the last night before sim, am I? So relax. Tension is the enemy. Tension caused by either lack of preparation, or obsession.

Find different sources to make flying interesting again. ie, I found an FE's manual that had a different outlook on the systems. This takes more initiative than I normally have, so I'll get back to you on this one. I worry that it may be lots of work for little return.

Thanks for the understanding!

[Rainboe]

I recall reading how the great actors tackled first nights- usually vomiting because of extreme nerves, but some performed better through extreme nervousness. I would like to say I did too- trouble is I go do something stupid, and I'm so shocked and rattled by my stupidity I go and do something else daft! And every year it gets worse and worse! I'm also horrible to live with in the last month before the sim- it's on my mind all the time. Even the dog used to bite me.

[fireflybob]

Some useful comments on this topic previously:-

Sim preparation etc (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=258025)

[Intruder]

1. Read the books.

I've been told by numerous evaluators/Check Airmen that the decision on pass/fail is, for the most part, made in the brief. If you sound like you know the airplane -- even if you make mistakes -- you'll have to do VERY badly to fail. OTOH, if you sound like you haven't read the books since 3 revisions ago, the chances of passing are near nil.

2. Read the books.

[Re]Familiarize yourself with the non-normal checklists. Try to memorize enough so that when your Co-Pilot/FE reads the checklist, you are at least EXPECTING it, even if you are half befuddled by the current state of the airplane.

3. Read the books.

[Re]Familiarize yourself with the non-normal procedures and maneuvers. Learn enough so that when the expected event happens, you can give a quick brief on what you plan to do, even before the checklist is read.

4. Fly the sim as if it were an airplane.

Ignore the instructor/evaluator. Talk to your Co-Pilot and FE. Do what you would do if it were really an airplane. If the instructor needs to talk to you (other than to tell you what's coming next), he can hit the FREEZE button.

[cargonaut]

I need to find new ways of reading the books then. I do read the books but it's not easy to find anything exciting in them after the 100th pass. I endeavor to find new ways to study.

The airplane looks like a fish and steers like a fish. The sim steers like a cow.

In the airplane if I look at an instrument or plate while hand flying I will likely be right side up when I look back at the ADI. In the sim, not so much. Therefore an inordinate amount of time must be dedicated to your scan. The diagnosis is therefore that I likely overcontrol in moments of stress and need to trim better / fly with a lighter touch. I use the AP as much as possible, trust me, and in the airplane I try to hand fly for the practice - which isn't a problem when and where we fly.

[wiggy]

1. Re-read the normal ops bit of your flying manual/ops manual - you'll always find something you missed that came in with the last revision.

2. Of course you've got all the memory items of any non-normal checklists nailed, word perfect:}

3. In the event of any "constructive criticism" from the checker remember to bend over and say "thank you Sir, can I have another:}:}.

4. Above all, remember to keep reminding yourself that the vast majority of your line colleagues have or will pass the same check you are doing- and there is no reason why you should be any different.

[galaxy flyer]

Guard against bad habits growing in normal ops-they will show up in the sim. The C-5 was great for recurrent sims-everyday something was broke or causing a dive into the Emergency section-good practice. In one flight, I accomplished a Emer section drill for each major system, each unrelated to the other. Landing gear failed to retract, then to extend, shutdown an engine, lost a hydraulic sys. Made sims look easy.

GF

[ABUKABOY]

Flew on a fleet of DC3's like that in the mid-70's. Forever cracking cylinder- heads (multi-lifed items gone crystalline), broke a master-rod at Vr out of Bournemouth once, lost all hydraulic fluid from a rubber pipe tagged "1948" at night out of Dinard with the French Consul on board, (torrential rain, no wipers), and once separated every single cylinder of the rear bank from the crankcase on the R-1830, (got a studio photo of that one laid out on a white backdrop), and amazingly flew a few hours on an inexplicably-vibrating engine where it was subsequently found that the excess play on the prop mainshaft was due to a missing outer race on a main thrust bearing, (overhaul shop lost their approval on that one), where the roller-cage was running in the gearbox casting! (Guess where the port prop goes when it departs the airframe!!!) We made the front page of the Jersey Evening Post about once a month, but with non-quality overhaul shops and substandard parts this was the norm then. Base-checks on the aircraft (NO SIM) were a doddle as a result.
And yes, as a young Captain, life was good, very very good!
(With apologies for the slight thread creep) A.B.

[Intruder]

Well, survived my latest one yesterday...

"Read the books" worked well, as always. I reviewed the Limitations section and Normal Procedures, finding a couple gems I had previously missed (this version of the book is only a year old). Then I reviewed some of the non-normal procedures, especially the complex ones (hydraulic failure and 2-engine approach), even though they are not memory items.

As always, in the brief the instructor found a couple things that he knew and I (and my partner) didn't, and transitioned into teaching mode -- no more questions!

In the sim, do what was briefed, re-do an item I messed up, let my partner do the same, and head for the bar!

You'll NEVER get it perfect (the instructor will always see to that), so don't worry about minor glitches. Be as prepared as you can, then do as well as you can. It's not magic...

[airbus-commander]

How do I prepare for the sim?

Keep my head in the toilet bowl of the hotel and smoke until my left arm is sore!!!

[cargonaut]

This has been therapeutic! Well worth asking the question...

To date, I've hit the books with a different resolve. I've always studied, it's just how I've studied. I'm adding more structure to the process.

Our ground schools have gone to self study in your own time, so I'm making the most of laptop and layover. I've decided to stop preparing for ground school specifically, and to start preparing comprehensively.

For each system I do a thorough review CBT, manual, limitations, normal, abnormal, expanded, supplementals, then on to the next. It keeps me more focused I find.

Slide in performance, SOP, and more emergencies between each set of systems. Review notes, regs, company ops. (miss anything?)

Repeat every 6 months. I've been on jets for over 10 years, and I intend to be in charge of the process. I'll take my lumps in the sim, but hopefully I won't be her b!tch!

Cheers