Questions to ask
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Questions to ask
Just wondering what types of questions to ask when trying learn about a new aircraft? Say if you are going for an interview and you get an opertunity to sit down with a pilot on that perticular craft the night before what kind of information would be benificial for the interview?
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Why does it have swept wings?
Why are the engine parameters used N1 as opposed to EPR?
How many people does it carry?
How far can it fly?
How does NVS work (on Dash 8s) for example?
What happens when you stall with a T-tail?
Why are the engine parameters used N1 as opposed to EPR?
How many people does it carry?
How far can it fly?
How does NVS work (on Dash 8s) for example?
What happens when you stall with a T-tail?
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If one is not already type rated in that spesific aircraft the airline is using, they usually can not expect such a thorough knowledge in technical part. I would probably do little review by reading those famous books like "Technical Pilot Interview" etc... BEFORE that night "before".
If there would be a pilot familiar with the type around, I would like to ask (and learn by heart) at least all different power/thrust settings & pitch attitudes for different phases of flight, including at least:
- Initial nose up attitude after rotation
- Clean configuration 250kts cruise
- " " " climb/descent 1000ft/m
- Different phases of approach & landing (S/E as well!)
All this just in case I would get lucky and have the chance to impress someone in the sim...
If there would be a pilot familiar with the type around, I would like to ask (and learn by heart) at least all different power/thrust settings & pitch attitudes for different phases of flight, including at least:
- Initial nose up attitude after rotation
- Clean configuration 250kts cruise
- " " " climb/descent 1000ft/m
- Different phases of approach & landing (S/E as well!)
All this just in case I would get lucky and have the chance to impress someone in the sim...
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Jee
not really sure about in Canada (if that's where you are asking about), but certainly here in the UK all the pilot interviews I have had concentrate on you, the individual, your motivations, qualities, experiences that give the interviewer(s) an idea of how you will fit into their operation at the level they are recruiting for. Certainly tech questions can and do come into some interviews, I stress some as it is by no means all. Some airlines will now give a technical test paper if they want to test your technical knowledge. This tends to cover generics rather than type specifics and includes ATPL type knowledge such as ICAO holding speeds, transponder codes, ISA atmosphere questions, PofF, performance etc etc etc the list could go on, hence the need for a bit of research.
I would spend my time researching the potential employer (well before you get an interview) to gather as much information about them as you can, warts an' all, as that way you sound convincing when you tell them that you want to work for them as you can back the statement up with some substance. I would also be trying to find out as much as possible about their selection procedure like what tests are you likely to sit, what sort of interview is it, what sort of questions are they asking? That way you can have thought clearly before you go in about the way you would answer such questions. This day and age it's about shining at the interview, not just scraping through.
As regards your original question, a few 'snippets' of information about a fleet with a potential employer again adds credibility to your claim to want to work for that airline on that type, but I would not recommend committing power and pitch attitudes and the like to memory in preparation for a sim assessment. Take things one stage at a time, pass the interview first (or at least get the interview finished) before concentrating on a possible sim assessment. If you are moving up to a bigger type, say from turbo-prop to jet then it is worth genning up on the generic differences. I would recommend things like;
What is Mcrit?
Why do jet aeroplanes have swept wings?
What is mach tuck?
What is dutch roll?
What does a yaw damper do?
Why do jets fly higher than turbo-props?
All questions I have been asked at interview, but unless you are current on type as Aviate378 states, you are unlikely to be expected to know type specific details. If you are current on type then the sort of things I have been asked are;
Roughly how much fuel would you burn going from A to B when the flight time is 3 hrs (in a 757)? He just wanted to know if I had an idea of climb, cruise and descent fuel burns.
What requirements do you need to meet to conduct an autoland?
So to summarise, I would concentrate on your airline specific prep, then your interview technique and generic technical knowledge if I knew they were asking tech questions. Once you have finished the interview I would then start thinking about the sim assessment.
Regards
PP
not really sure about in Canada (if that's where you are asking about), but certainly here in the UK all the pilot interviews I have had concentrate on you, the individual, your motivations, qualities, experiences that give the interviewer(s) an idea of how you will fit into their operation at the level they are recruiting for. Certainly tech questions can and do come into some interviews, I stress some as it is by no means all. Some airlines will now give a technical test paper if they want to test your technical knowledge. This tends to cover generics rather than type specifics and includes ATPL type knowledge such as ICAO holding speeds, transponder codes, ISA atmosphere questions, PofF, performance etc etc etc the list could go on, hence the need for a bit of research.
I would spend my time researching the potential employer (well before you get an interview) to gather as much information about them as you can, warts an' all, as that way you sound convincing when you tell them that you want to work for them as you can back the statement up with some substance. I would also be trying to find out as much as possible about their selection procedure like what tests are you likely to sit, what sort of interview is it, what sort of questions are they asking? That way you can have thought clearly before you go in about the way you would answer such questions. This day and age it's about shining at the interview, not just scraping through.
As regards your original question, a few 'snippets' of information about a fleet with a potential employer again adds credibility to your claim to want to work for that airline on that type, but I would not recommend committing power and pitch attitudes and the like to memory in preparation for a sim assessment. Take things one stage at a time, pass the interview first (or at least get the interview finished) before concentrating on a possible sim assessment. If you are moving up to a bigger type, say from turbo-prop to jet then it is worth genning up on the generic differences. I would recommend things like;
What is Mcrit?
Why do jet aeroplanes have swept wings?
What is mach tuck?
What is dutch roll?
What does a yaw damper do?
Why do jets fly higher than turbo-props?
All questions I have been asked at interview, but unless you are current on type as Aviate378 states, you are unlikely to be expected to know type specific details. If you are current on type then the sort of things I have been asked are;
Roughly how much fuel would you burn going from A to B when the flight time is 3 hrs (in a 757)? He just wanted to know if I had an idea of climb, cruise and descent fuel burns.
What requirements do you need to meet to conduct an autoland?
So to summarise, I would concentrate on your airline specific prep, then your interview technique and generic technical knowledge if I knew they were asking tech questions. Once you have finished the interview I would then start thinking about the sim assessment.
Regards
PP
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An excellent answer from PP, as always!
I would add the following questions that come back regularly:
Describe final 200 ft of approach in a crosswind.
What happens at V1?
Why does the stalling speed change at altitude?
What is speed of sound at SL and 40,000?
What is the cruising speed of a B757 at 30,000ft?
What FL would you choose between London and Glasgow?
What provides lift?
What is MAC?
4 limiting factors in RTOW calculations?
... and all "rule of thumb" and "1 in 60" calculations.
MF
I would add the following questions that come back regularly:
Describe final 200 ft of approach in a crosswind.
What happens at V1?
Why does the stalling speed change at altitude?
What is speed of sound at SL and 40,000?
What is the cruising speed of a B757 at 30,000ft?
What FL would you choose between London and Glasgow?
What provides lift?
What is MAC?
4 limiting factors in RTOW calculations?
... and all "rule of thumb" and "1 in 60" calculations.
MF
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Pilot Pete
I guess that we were talking about different scenarios, those 3 interviews I have personally attended during the last 6 years have all been such that the sim evaluation was done STRAIGHT after the (relatively short) interview.
I do agree that the best way is to tacle one hurdle at time, make it as easy and simple yourself as possible. And, like most of these cases, I guess there's not only one way to do things right...
Because it's virtually impossible to cover all different kind of questions there might arise during the interview, I do recommend very warmly you all to check out this excellent book: "Ace the technical pilot interview" by Gary Bristow, http://flightgadgets.com/acetepiinby.html , I think that it will cover most of (even the trickiest) ones they might throw on you!
I guess that we were talking about different scenarios, those 3 interviews I have personally attended during the last 6 years have all been such that the sim evaluation was done STRAIGHT after the (relatively short) interview.
I do agree that the best way is to tacle one hurdle at time, make it as easy and simple yourself as possible. And, like most of these cases, I guess there's not only one way to do things right...
Because it's virtually impossible to cover all different kind of questions there might arise during the interview, I do recommend very warmly you all to check out this excellent book: "Ace the technical pilot interview" by Gary Bristow, http://flightgadgets.com/acetepiinby.html , I think that it will cover most of (even the trickiest) ones they might throw on you!
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Fair point Aviate738. Funnily enough, all the sim assessments I have done have been at least a week after the interview! Again, what that stresses is the importance of research to keep ahead of the game to know EXACTLY what to expect and therefore what to prepare for.
PP
PP
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Apologies for diverging - should be in Tech Log but NVS =
"In fact, the Q Series introduced a whole new generation of turboprops with its revolutionary Noise and Vibration Suppression (NVS) system. NVS lowers cabin noise and vibration to levels previously unattainable in a turboprop… lower in fact than many commercial jet interiors. "
from Bombardier's site.
If you wana know how it works try a search on Tech Log - it's probably been done before.
Cheers
sB
"In fact, the Q Series introduced a whole new generation of turboprops with its revolutionary Noise and Vibration Suppression (NVS) system. NVS lowers cabin noise and vibration to levels previously unattainable in a turboprop… lower in fact than many commercial jet interiors. "
from Bombardier's site.
If you wana know how it works try a search on Tech Log - it's probably been done before.
Cheers
sB
