1st Interview Debrief
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1st Interview Debrief
Cathay 1st Interview Debrief
9 March 2005 in Vancouver, B.C.
I had my first interview in Vancouver and wanted to give some feedback. I have gotten a load of good information off of this website, so wanted to share some of the knowledge. I also wanted to thank those that I have spoken to and emailed (Capt. Underpants / Danny / Corny) for all of your help.
CX called me about two months prior to schedule me for the SO interview. I read “Handling the Big Jets” (Davies), “Preparing for your Cathay Pacific Interview” (Capts. ABC), “Airline Interview Questions Explained” (Capt’s XYZ), and referenced “Aerodynamics for Naval Aviators”. All are available on the web, had to search a little for the Capts XYZ book though, got it from Australia. I also looked at the company website and referenced the last two semi-annual reports and read the latest company news, focusing on aviation related information. Finally, I called pilotcareercentre.com and tried to schedule an interview prep, but was unable due to work considerations. They did, however, fax me a 20 page Cathay debrief sheet which was EXTREMLY accurate, literally to the day. As a side note, I plan on still doing the interview prep with these guys in the near future. I also prepared a CV package, with my CV, reprinted Cathay app, letters of recommendation, and printout of military flight time, all on A4 paper. If you’re living in North America and need A4 stuff, check into empireimports.com
OK, the interview. I arrived the night prior (I live outside of Portland, OR, so I drove up) and stayed in one of the hotels Cathay recommended (Plaza 500 hotel). It was a 3 star and “semi-grotty,” but was within easy walking distance of the interview and worked well for my purposes. I’d recommend it. Like an old military op, I walked the route the night prior to make sure I didn’t screw it up the day of. I studied another two hours the night prior and woke up early, studying an hour and a half the day of. I even ordered breakfast in the room, which was a good call.
I walked down to the office and showed up 15 minutes early, which was recommended to me and I would recommend to anyone else as well. The receptionist was very nice and greeted me when I walked in. I had a briefcase with my logbooks, CV, etc. in it and she placed it in the closet for me. She took me into an office and sat me down for the written test. This part was a surprise: the written test was literally written (no computer). I had planned for the computer, but this was the old-school written / multiple choice test. I don’t remember all of the questions, but most were out of the Capt.XYZ book. Some were not (I had never seen them before). I think I did OK, one I had no idea, however. I did re-read the test and found a couple wrong before I turned it in.
After I turned it in, I waited about 5 minutes then was called into the interview room. Two gentlemen waited for me there, a Canadian HR guy and an Australian Captain. I don’t remember their names, but they were very nice. As was stated in previous posts, they did a great job of making me feel at ease. The HR fella went first, for about 30 minutes, literally just talking about me. He asked when I was interested in flying, some basic family questions, what I knew about HK, my best/worst qualities, what my friends would say about me, etc. He put me on the spot about whether I regretted getting out of the Air Force (I don’t) and asked if me wife regretted it (she doesn’t). My wife is British, so we talked about that a bit, children, education, then focused on why I wanted to fly for Cathay. He wanted to know what I did to prepare for the interview (I answered that totally truthfully, see first paragraph above). He also made the statement that if I wanted to get out of the Air Force and join an airline, I couldn’t have picked a worse time, and we all laughed at that. Then, he hit me with something I wasn’t ready for: he asked if I was offered a DE/FO position would I take it. The answer is/was yes, and then he asked where we wanted to live. I was honest, and said that we wanted to get to Europe, but were more than willing and excited to go to Hong Kong. I had been cautioned by others about saying that we wanted to live in Europe, but based on his attitude (very straight forward and honest / no games) I answered honestly.
Then the Captain had me for about 30 minutes. He asked the questions that have been stated in other posts, mostly stuff on aerodynamics, what do winglets do, why doesn’t the 777 have them, what happens to the drag curve as your weight reduces (I drew that out), how do slotted flaps work (I drew that as well), what engine is on the 747-400, how much thrust, the 747-200, how much thrust (I forgot the exact amount, but was close, he seemed OK with that), what is the ITCZed (I am a Yank, I gave the deer in the headlights look at him until he actually stated the name, we both had a laugh over that as well), how I’d handle landing during a Typhoon, go around procedures (I talked both from HTBJ’s and my own experience). He also asked with my experience how I’d feel being a SO answering to a guy 10 years my junior who came up through the cadet program, how I’d feel being bored out of my mind babysitting the autopilot for three years, how I’d deal with a Captain or FO who was doing something stupid (the example was flying under the anvil of a thunderstorm).
When the interview was winding up, the Canadian gentlemen asked me if I had any questions, also stating that although everyone says to ask a couple of questions, they didn’t require it. I had some honest questions, mostly about expansion, upgrade, etc. We actually talked for about another 10 minutes. When the interview concluded, they gave all of my documents back, including my CV package, and told me that I should hold onto them in case I got a second interview. As I was leaving the Capt. told me that the second interview puts a lot of emphasis on the sim check and I may want to consider that fact in future preparation (I am pretty stupid, but took this as a good sign).
OK, big picture: the interviewers were GREAT. They were very polite and did a great job of making me feel comfortable and allowing me to put my best foot forward. To me, they set a very good impression of Cathay. The interview was challenging and if you get one, you MUST prepare for it to be successful. Yanks need to know that the Brits/Aus/Can all speak a different form of English, to include aeronautics. The above stated books will prepare you for that. Nothing was too much, however, if you have been a military instructor or a civilian senior FO/ Captain your job knowledge will be fine. Anyone who makes it to the interview (which in itself is a task) has the knowledge, it is just refining it. I hope this helps for anyone else who gets the interview.
Oh, I almost forgot, the outcome! The ended up putting me forward to a DE/FO interview slot, so I should be interviewing in HK later this year (no date yet).
Best of luck to everyone else out there, happy landings.
9 March 2005 in Vancouver, B.C.
I had my first interview in Vancouver and wanted to give some feedback. I have gotten a load of good information off of this website, so wanted to share some of the knowledge. I also wanted to thank those that I have spoken to and emailed (Capt. Underpants / Danny / Corny) for all of your help.
CX called me about two months prior to schedule me for the SO interview. I read “Handling the Big Jets” (Davies), “Preparing for your Cathay Pacific Interview” (Capts. ABC), “Airline Interview Questions Explained” (Capt’s XYZ), and referenced “Aerodynamics for Naval Aviators”. All are available on the web, had to search a little for the Capts XYZ book though, got it from Australia. I also looked at the company website and referenced the last two semi-annual reports and read the latest company news, focusing on aviation related information. Finally, I called pilotcareercentre.com and tried to schedule an interview prep, but was unable due to work considerations. They did, however, fax me a 20 page Cathay debrief sheet which was EXTREMLY accurate, literally to the day. As a side note, I plan on still doing the interview prep with these guys in the near future. I also prepared a CV package, with my CV, reprinted Cathay app, letters of recommendation, and printout of military flight time, all on A4 paper. If you’re living in North America and need A4 stuff, check into empireimports.com
OK, the interview. I arrived the night prior (I live outside of Portland, OR, so I drove up) and stayed in one of the hotels Cathay recommended (Plaza 500 hotel). It was a 3 star and “semi-grotty,” but was within easy walking distance of the interview and worked well for my purposes. I’d recommend it. Like an old military op, I walked the route the night prior to make sure I didn’t screw it up the day of. I studied another two hours the night prior and woke up early, studying an hour and a half the day of. I even ordered breakfast in the room, which was a good call.
I walked down to the office and showed up 15 minutes early, which was recommended to me and I would recommend to anyone else as well. The receptionist was very nice and greeted me when I walked in. I had a briefcase with my logbooks, CV, etc. in it and she placed it in the closet for me. She took me into an office and sat me down for the written test. This part was a surprise: the written test was literally written (no computer). I had planned for the computer, but this was the old-school written / multiple choice test. I don’t remember all of the questions, but most were out of the Capt.XYZ book. Some were not (I had never seen them before). I think I did OK, one I had no idea, however. I did re-read the test and found a couple wrong before I turned it in.
After I turned it in, I waited about 5 minutes then was called into the interview room. Two gentlemen waited for me there, a Canadian HR guy and an Australian Captain. I don’t remember their names, but they were very nice. As was stated in previous posts, they did a great job of making me feel at ease. The HR fella went first, for about 30 minutes, literally just talking about me. He asked when I was interested in flying, some basic family questions, what I knew about HK, my best/worst qualities, what my friends would say about me, etc. He put me on the spot about whether I regretted getting out of the Air Force (I don’t) and asked if me wife regretted it (she doesn’t). My wife is British, so we talked about that a bit, children, education, then focused on why I wanted to fly for Cathay. He wanted to know what I did to prepare for the interview (I answered that totally truthfully, see first paragraph above). He also made the statement that if I wanted to get out of the Air Force and join an airline, I couldn’t have picked a worse time, and we all laughed at that. Then, he hit me with something I wasn’t ready for: he asked if I was offered a DE/FO position would I take it. The answer is/was yes, and then he asked where we wanted to live. I was honest, and said that we wanted to get to Europe, but were more than willing and excited to go to Hong Kong. I had been cautioned by others about saying that we wanted to live in Europe, but based on his attitude (very straight forward and honest / no games) I answered honestly.
Then the Captain had me for about 30 minutes. He asked the questions that have been stated in other posts, mostly stuff on aerodynamics, what do winglets do, why doesn’t the 777 have them, what happens to the drag curve as your weight reduces (I drew that out), how do slotted flaps work (I drew that as well), what engine is on the 747-400, how much thrust, the 747-200, how much thrust (I forgot the exact amount, but was close, he seemed OK with that), what is the ITCZed (I am a Yank, I gave the deer in the headlights look at him until he actually stated the name, we both had a laugh over that as well), how I’d handle landing during a Typhoon, go around procedures (I talked both from HTBJ’s and my own experience). He also asked with my experience how I’d feel being a SO answering to a guy 10 years my junior who came up through the cadet program, how I’d feel being bored out of my mind babysitting the autopilot for three years, how I’d deal with a Captain or FO who was doing something stupid (the example was flying under the anvil of a thunderstorm).
When the interview was winding up, the Canadian gentlemen asked me if I had any questions, also stating that although everyone says to ask a couple of questions, they didn’t require it. I had some honest questions, mostly about expansion, upgrade, etc. We actually talked for about another 10 minutes. When the interview concluded, they gave all of my documents back, including my CV package, and told me that I should hold onto them in case I got a second interview. As I was leaving the Capt. told me that the second interview puts a lot of emphasis on the sim check and I may want to consider that fact in future preparation (I am pretty stupid, but took this as a good sign).
OK, big picture: the interviewers were GREAT. They were very polite and did a great job of making me feel comfortable and allowing me to put my best foot forward. To me, they set a very good impression of Cathay. The interview was challenging and if you get one, you MUST prepare for it to be successful. Yanks need to know that the Brits/Aus/Can all speak a different form of English, to include aeronautics. The above stated books will prepare you for that. Nothing was too much, however, if you have been a military instructor or a civilian senior FO/ Captain your job knowledge will be fine. Anyone who makes it to the interview (which in itself is a task) has the knowledge, it is just refining it. I hope this helps for anyone else who gets the interview.
Oh, I almost forgot, the outcome! The ended up putting me forward to a DE/FO interview slot, so I should be interviewing in HK later this year (no date yet).
Best of luck to everyone else out there, happy landings.
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Great de-brief, but I think we took different written test because none of the questions on my test are taken from the XYZ book and I also recieved the notes from PCC and its only 8 pages and not very up to date.
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Had first interview in SYD in March. Pretty similar to Poudaduk?
The thechnical quiz was the old laminated sheets and a piece of paper to mark A B or C. The questions were pretty straighforward but I had to read them carefully as some were like 'which one is NOT a ......" you know the type. Had heaps of time. It was 30questions in 30 minutes.
The interviewers appeared an took my logbooks, medical forms etc to look over and they said they'd be about half an hour and I could wait there or go out for a coffee if I wanted. At the startof the interview they said it would last for about 45 minutes. They were exactly right. Very comfortable, easy to get on with people. Personal questions started with my wife and how she'd handle moving to HK. do you like your current job? What got me started in flying? any stressfull events in your career? How long have you been applying to cathay (they already knew the answer. had full details of how often I'd updated etc) have you ever been to HK? What if anything would you do differently. And then...."tell us in a few minutes anything you like about CP" not really preparred for such a question but I blurted out some waffle and seemed to get through it. Anthing happening at CP at the moment (China Airways 10% (read it in the foyer at their office. whew!)) What preperation did you do? do you know anyone at CP?
Tech guy started, how many aircraft, what types, engines, thrust. Difference between RB211 and Trent???? What unit of thrust measurement on RR/CFM engines. How to measure EPR? Why EPR or N1? Winglets? Fuel in the horizontal stab? why? FL350 temp-50 ISA DEV? (he didn't say right or wrong, just wrote down the answer) CFIT (he said seefit and I had NO idea) then the penny dropped. How do we prevent CFIT accidents? GPWS inputs, difference between GPWS and EGPWS. Selection of TA only on the TCAS after engine failure. Why?
Any questions. etc
They were very professional. At the start they said they write everything down so don't worry about what they are doing, not good not bad sign just write it down. Just as we were finishing, one asked the other "do you want to ask about the logbook?" he then said that if i was offered a position I would have to get my company to verify my logbook hours. Didn't know if it was a good sign or not. Felt shattered afterwards. (intellectually violated my wife desribed)
Second interview in August in HK......
You HAVE to study and have answers preparred. I get the feeling these guys have heard it all before so an answer from a "pass the interview" book is not gonna cut it. Good luck all
The thechnical quiz was the old laminated sheets and a piece of paper to mark A B or C. The questions were pretty straighforward but I had to read them carefully as some were like 'which one is NOT a ......" you know the type. Had heaps of time. It was 30questions in 30 minutes.
The interviewers appeared an took my logbooks, medical forms etc to look over and they said they'd be about half an hour and I could wait there or go out for a coffee if I wanted. At the startof the interview they said it would last for about 45 minutes. They were exactly right. Very comfortable, easy to get on with people. Personal questions started with my wife and how she'd handle moving to HK. do you like your current job? What got me started in flying? any stressfull events in your career? How long have you been applying to cathay (they already knew the answer. had full details of how often I'd updated etc) have you ever been to HK? What if anything would you do differently. And then...."tell us in a few minutes anything you like about CP" not really preparred for such a question but I blurted out some waffle and seemed to get through it. Anthing happening at CP at the moment (China Airways 10% (read it in the foyer at their office. whew!)) What preperation did you do? do you know anyone at CP?
Tech guy started, how many aircraft, what types, engines, thrust. Difference between RB211 and Trent???? What unit of thrust measurement on RR/CFM engines. How to measure EPR? Why EPR or N1? Winglets? Fuel in the horizontal stab? why? FL350 temp-50 ISA DEV? (he didn't say right or wrong, just wrote down the answer) CFIT (he said seefit and I had NO idea) then the penny dropped. How do we prevent CFIT accidents? GPWS inputs, difference between GPWS and EGPWS. Selection of TA only on the TCAS after engine failure. Why?
Any questions. etc
They were very professional. At the start they said they write everything down so don't worry about what they are doing, not good not bad sign just write it down. Just as we were finishing, one asked the other "do you want to ask about the logbook?" he then said that if i was offered a position I would have to get my company to verify my logbook hours. Didn't know if it was a good sign or not. Felt shattered afterwards. (intellectually violated my wife desribed)
Second interview in August in HK......
You HAVE to study and have answers preparred. I get the feeling these guys have heard it all before so an answer from a "pass the interview" book is not gonna cut it. Good luck all
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try this website
http://www.egpws.com/
Your question may also get a better response in the Tech Log section (after you check the Tech log sticky note postings)
http://www.egpws.com/
Your question may also get a better response in the Tech Log section (after you check the Tech log sticky note postings)
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I just spent the best part of an hour and a half typing out thr plan I used for my CX interviews but alas lost all but the following. When I stop swearing and get around to it I'll try posting it again. Here's the last part of it anyway. It's practice interviews I put together using debriefs, notes, personal experience and Pprune. I hope they can be usefull.
Regards
Cronus
Cathay Pacific Sample interview [2]
Personal questions
Tell us about yourself?
When did you get interested in flying?
Did you ever consider the military? Why/Why not?
Why did you apply to Cathay Pacific?
To whom else have you applied? Why?
Tell me about each flying job you’ve had.
What will you do if we don’t hire you?
Why do you want to work for Cathay?
Did you target specific airlines or did you apply everywhere?
Career wise, would you do anything differently if you could go back?
Tell me about your present company?
How many aircraft/pilots at present company?
Why did you take the job there?
What are your duties there?
Why do you want to leave there to come to Cathay Pacific?
Tell me about your childhood?
What would you parents say is your weakness?
What does your wife/girlfriend think about the possibility of you being gone 3 to 4 days at a time and possibly being on the other side of the world?
How much notice if we were to hire you?
Which aircraft would you prefer to fly? Why?
Do you know ho long you will be a Second Officer?
What do you like doing in your spare time?
Do you think you will be able to do all those things in Hong Kong?
Have you thought where you would like to live in Hong Kong?
What is population of Hong Kong? What is the climate like?
How did you prepare for this interview?
Technical questions
Why do we have Carbon brakes on the 747-400?
Explain how a VOR works?
Explain how GPS works?
How many Satellites do we need for a 3D position? And for RAIM?
Why are there winglets on the 747-400 and not on the 747 Classic?
Why do we have swept wings on jet aircraft?
Why does a swept wing aircraft’s wing stall first at the tips?
What factors and design features reduce wing tip stall?
What engines do Cathay Pacific’s’ 747-400’s have?
What engines do Cathay Pacific’s’ Airbus 340’s have?
What can you tell me about the RB211?
How is the RB211 started?
What is the difference between N1 and EPR?
When would you use engine anti-ice?
How would using engine anti-ice affect fuel consumption?
What are the inputs to GPWS?
What can you tell me about EGPWS?
Explain Dutch roll.
Explain V1 and Vmcg and how they interrelate.
Does Vmcg change with a change of C of G?
Is a forward or rearward C of G better for fuel economy and why?
Explain Mach tuck.
What happens to stall speed at high altitude?
Do you have any questions for us?
Cathay Pacific Sample interview [2]
Personal questions
Whom are you flying for now?
What sort of work is it?
Does the company know you’re here?
What did they say when you told them you had an interview?
How many days a week do you work?
How did you get the job?
Whom were you working for before that?
Tell me about that.
How did you become interested in becoming a pilot?
Is anyone in your family a pilot?
Where did you learn to fly?
Why did you choose to learn there?
Tell me about your career to date.
What has been a stand out moment in your career? A highlight, lowlight or an incident?
What did you learn from this experience?
In hindsight, would you have done anything differently?
If you were teaching someone about this incident and with the benefit of hindsight, what advice would you give him or her if encountering the same situation?
What would you say are your strengths?
What would you say are your weaknesses?
Why do you want to work for Cathay Pacific?
Why don’t you want to fly for Qantas?
Have you applied to any other airlines?
Would you like to work for a regional airline?
Have you had any other interviews lately?
What do you have to offer Cathay Pacific?
How did you prepare for this interview?
Have you been to Hong Kong?
Do you see any negatives about moving to Hong Kong?
Where do you think you would like to live in Hong Kong?
What do you do on your days off? What sort of activities?
Do you think you’ll be able to do all of those things in Hong Kong?
Do you know how many pilots Cathay Pacific is recruiting this year?
Do you know how long you will spend as an S/O?
And what about an F/O?
Are you single?
Will anyone miss you if you move to Hong Kong?
Have your parents always supported you with respect to you career?
[u]Technical questions[u/]
What are the aircraft models on the table?
What engines are on the A340-300?
What engines are on the B747-400?
Excluding the engines on the A340 and the Airbus freighters with Air Hong Kong, what engines does Cathay Pacific use on it’s fleet?
What type of engine does the Metro 23 have?
Does the Metro 23 have a critical engine?
What can you tell me about the engines on the 747-400?
Does the 747 have acritical engine? Why?
Why does the 747-400 have winglets? What do they do?
What are some disadvantages of having winglets?
Why does the 747-400 have swept wings?
Explain Dutch roll?
What is Krueger flap?
What does Krueger flap do?
What is Fowler flap?
What is windshear?
Tell me about monsoons.
Tell me about typhoons.
Could one form over the Gobi desert?
Do you have any questions for us?
Cathay Pacific Sample interview [3]
Personal questions
Who are you currently flying for?
How long have you been working for them?
Do you enjoy flying Regional/freight/military?
There are two sides to every coin. What’s bad about working there?
When did you become interested in flying?
Doe’s anybody else in your family fly?
Tell me briefly about your career to date.
In hindsight, would you have done anything differently?
What would you say has been a stand out moment in your career?
Have you considered the joining the military?
Have you considered doing a degree?
Why do you want to work for Cathay Pacific?
Have you applied to Qantas, Jetstar or Virgin Blue?
What do you have to offer Cathay Pacific?
Regional flying is very different to International. Do you think you will get bored or miss hand flying?
Why do you think you were unsuccessful last time around?
What did you take away from the experience?
Preparation wise, have you done anything different this time?
What would you do if you were unsuccessful this time?
Have you been back to Hong Kong since?
Where did you go?
What new destinations are we flying to?
What destinations do we now serve in North America?
Can you tell me what fleet orders we have?
Do you have a girlfriend?
What does she think of the possibility of a move to Hong Kong?
Who do you know in Cathay Pacific?
What do you do in your spare time?
If you had the choice between the A340 and the 744, which would you choose? Why?
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Do you know how many second officers Cathay Pacific intends recruiting this year?
[u]Technical questions[u/]
How does a VOR work?
What are the inputs to GPWS?
Tell me about GPS/DGPS.
What are the errors in the GPS system?
How does an INS work?
How many accelerometers does it have?
Why do jet aircraft have swept wings?
How does sweep back work?
Where does a swept wing stall first?
What happens to the C of P?
What pitching moment does this cause?
What do aircraft designers incorporate into the wing design to reduce this?
How does the A340 burn fuel?
Does moving fuel from the centre tank aft, to the stab tank cause an aft C of G?
What is the effect of an aft C of G when flying for range?
Explain Dutch roll?
Why do aircraft have winglets?
Explain Vmcg and Vmca?
How can you increase the BRW on a Vmcg limited take off?
What do you about Carbon fibre brakes?
How much lighter are they?
What do you know about aquaplaning?
Can aquaplaning occur on take off as well as landing?
What is a microburst?
Explain windshear in a microburst
How does a typhoon form?
What sort of considerations might you give to operating in and around a typhoon?
-Taxi
-Take off
-Landing
Do you have any questions for us?
Cathay Pacific Sample interview [4]
[u]Personal questions[u/]
Who are you working for now?
Do they know you’re here?
What did you tell them?
What will be their reaction if you are successful?
How did you get the job there?
You are flying the same aircraft as your previous job. What were your reasons for leaving?
What are your duties there?
Do you like flying for an airline?
Why do you want to leave?
Why did you become a pilot?
Who do you admire most in the industry and why?
What would they say about you?
How would you say your mother and father have influenced you?
What would you say are your strengths?
What would you say are your weaknesses?
What kind of person would your friends say you were?
Is there anything about your Captains at work that you don’t like?
How would you handle a problem at work?
What do you think makes the difference between a good captain and a bad captain?
How would someone in your cockpit really annoy you?
When did you first write to Cathay Pacific?
Why Cathay Pacific?
Have you applied to any other airlines?
If one offered you a job, would you leave Cathay Pacific?
What do you have to offer Cathay Pacific?
Who do you know at Cathay Pacific?
What do you know about the Swire group?
What are your hobbies? What do you like to do in your spare time?
What do you know about Hong Kong?
How do you think your lifestyle would change living in Hong Kong?
Where would you live?
Can you tell me what the duties of the Second Officer are?
Do you know how long you will be a second officer for?
And what about a First Officer?
Would you have a problem with waiting that long?
Have you ever had an incident or an accident?
Tell us about that.
What did you learn from the experience?
With the benefit of hindsight, would you have done anything differently?
You have done some diverse flying over the years. Tell us a story.
How did you prepare for the interview?
Why should we hire you?
[u]Technical questions[u/]
What aircraft are you flying now?
Tell me a little bit about it?
What engines does it have?
How do they work?
Tell me about the take-off performance.
Is there a critical engine?
What determines this?
What is asymmetric blade effect?
Is there a critical engine on a jet? Why?
Explain each take-off segment with each climb gradient.
What is the most critical segment for your aircraft?
What is the relationship between V1 and Vmcg?
What is the difference between your aircraft wing and a jet aircraft?
Why do they have swept wings?
What are the disadvantages of swept wing?
Why is tip stall bad?
What do designers incorporate in to a swept wing to prevent tip stall?
How does sweep effect lift?
How do they counteract this?
What is Fowler flap?
Why do they have slots?
What is Krueger flap?
Does it have slots?
How do they work?
In long haul jet transporters, they have rear fuel tanks. Why is this?
Talking about range versus endurance. Why would we fly at best endurance?
For jet transport aircraft set up in long range cruise, what happens to speed?
Why do they reduce speed?
Why would we fly at best range?
What speed is this in relation to best endurance?
If ATC asked you to hold above FL140 in terminal airspace, what would you do?
Why do they use Carbon brakes on jet transports?
On a double bogie assembly, which brake would get hottest? Why?
Tell me about aquaplaning. What types are there?
How do the three types occur?
How can we estimate if there is a danger of aquaplaning on a runway when landing?
What navigation aids do you use on your aircraft?
How does a GPS work?
Do you know of INS and IRS?
What is the difference?
In an INS, what is a Shuler’s loop?
In jet transporters they have Yaw dampers. Why?
How does a Series yaw damper work?
How does a Parallel yaw damper work?
What is Dutch roll?
Cathay Pacific Sample interview [5]
[u]Personal questions[u/]
Tell us about your flying career to date?
Why did you want to be a pilot?
What was your first job?
Why did you leave that job?
Whom do you presently fly for?
Do they know you’re here?
Tell me a about Regional Express.
What don’t you like about your current job?
What are two bad points about yourself?
If I rang your workmates, what would they say about you?
What do you believe to be your strengths?
How do you feel about being a S/O for up to 4 years?
What is the role of a S/O on Cathay aircraft?
Do you have any applications with other airlines?
Tell us about your most memorable flying incident/accident/moment.
What was flying with Pel-Air Express like?
How is what you’re doing now different from Pel-Air Express?
How do you like Hong Kong?
Is there a significant other?
How does she feel about coming here?
Has your girlfriends been to Hong Kong?
What will your girlfriend do whilst you’re at work?
Who will miss you the most, if you move to Hong Kong?
Did CX make a profit last year? Do you remember what the amount was?
Have we added any new routes since February 2003?
How many aircraft do we have?
How many aircraft orders do have?
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?
Do you have any questions?
[u]Technical questions[u/]
What are these 2 aircraft on the table?
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 S/O?
If you were on long haul aircraft, where in America would you be going?
Do we go anywhere in South America?
Where in Europe do we fly?
Describe the pressurisation system on aircraft you\'re flying.
What is the normal differential limit on the ......?
On the ........, how is 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? If so, how?
What de-ice/anti-ice systems does the..... have?
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?
What is EGPWS?
What are the inputs to GPWS?
Does the ..... have EGPWS?
What a/c is this? (747-400)
How can you tell it’s not a 747-200 or 747-300?
How do we set thrust on the B747?
Why do we use EPR instead of N1?
What is EPR? Is it better using EPR than N1?
Do we still need to know how fast the fan is spinning if we set EPR?
Why does it have winglets?
Why doesn’t the B777 have winglets?
Where is the fuel kept? How many fuel tanks does it have?
What’s the reason for fuel in the stabiliser?
Can you move the fuel from the forward tanks back into the stabiliser tank?
What would be the advantage of doing this if you could?
Why do we want to change the C of G whilst in flight?
Explain using the model why less tailplane down force needed with a rearward
C of G?
Why would the C of G be ahead of the C of P?
What sort of flaps does the..... have?
Are they hydraulic/pneumatic/electric?
How are the flaps powered on the 747-400?
Can you see any differences with hydraulic power versus electrically powered flaps?
What sort of brakes does the Metroliner 23 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?
What engines do we use on our fleet and why?
What are the advantages and specifications to the RB211?
Why are wings swept?
How does it affect Mcrit?
Do swept wings produce more or less lift than equivalent straight wings?
What are the disadvantages of a swept wing?
Explain Dutch roll?
What is Krueger flap?
What does Krueger flap do?
What is Fowler flap?
Does the..... have critical engine? Why/why not?
Does the 747 have a critical engine? How does crosswind affect it?
Why is aft cg better for cruise?
What is Vmcg?
What is the difference between a Typhoon and a Monsoon?
Regards
Cronus
Cathay Pacific Sample interview [2]
Personal questions
Tell us about yourself?
When did you get interested in flying?
Did you ever consider the military? Why/Why not?
Why did you apply to Cathay Pacific?
To whom else have you applied? Why?
Tell me about each flying job you’ve had.
What will you do if we don’t hire you?
Why do you want to work for Cathay?
Did you target specific airlines or did you apply everywhere?
Career wise, would you do anything differently if you could go back?
Tell me about your present company?
How many aircraft/pilots at present company?
Why did you take the job there?
What are your duties there?
Why do you want to leave there to come to Cathay Pacific?
Tell me about your childhood?
What would you parents say is your weakness?
What does your wife/girlfriend think about the possibility of you being gone 3 to 4 days at a time and possibly being on the other side of the world?
How much notice if we were to hire you?
Which aircraft would you prefer to fly? Why?
Do you know ho long you will be a Second Officer?
What do you like doing in your spare time?
Do you think you will be able to do all those things in Hong Kong?
Have you thought where you would like to live in Hong Kong?
What is population of Hong Kong? What is the climate like?
How did you prepare for this interview?
Technical questions
Why do we have Carbon brakes on the 747-400?
Explain how a VOR works?
Explain how GPS works?
How many Satellites do we need for a 3D position? And for RAIM?
Why are there winglets on the 747-400 and not on the 747 Classic?
Why do we have swept wings on jet aircraft?
Why does a swept wing aircraft’s wing stall first at the tips?
What factors and design features reduce wing tip stall?
What engines do Cathay Pacific’s’ 747-400’s have?
What engines do Cathay Pacific’s’ Airbus 340’s have?
What can you tell me about the RB211?
How is the RB211 started?
What is the difference between N1 and EPR?
When would you use engine anti-ice?
How would using engine anti-ice affect fuel consumption?
What are the inputs to GPWS?
What can you tell me about EGPWS?
Explain Dutch roll.
Explain V1 and Vmcg and how they interrelate.
Does Vmcg change with a change of C of G?
Is a forward or rearward C of G better for fuel economy and why?
Explain Mach tuck.
What happens to stall speed at high altitude?
Do you have any questions for us?
Cathay Pacific Sample interview [2]
Personal questions
Whom are you flying for now?
What sort of work is it?
Does the company know you’re here?
What did they say when you told them you had an interview?
How many days a week do you work?
How did you get the job?
Whom were you working for before that?
Tell me about that.
How did you become interested in becoming a pilot?
Is anyone in your family a pilot?
Where did you learn to fly?
Why did you choose to learn there?
Tell me about your career to date.
What has been a stand out moment in your career? A highlight, lowlight or an incident?
What did you learn from this experience?
In hindsight, would you have done anything differently?
If you were teaching someone about this incident and with the benefit of hindsight, what advice would you give him or her if encountering the same situation?
What would you say are your strengths?
What would you say are your weaknesses?
Why do you want to work for Cathay Pacific?
Why don’t you want to fly for Qantas?
Have you applied to any other airlines?
Would you like to work for a regional airline?
Have you had any other interviews lately?
What do you have to offer Cathay Pacific?
How did you prepare for this interview?
Have you been to Hong Kong?
Do you see any negatives about moving to Hong Kong?
Where do you think you would like to live in Hong Kong?
What do you do on your days off? What sort of activities?
Do you think you’ll be able to do all of those things in Hong Kong?
Do you know how many pilots Cathay Pacific is recruiting this year?
Do you know how long you will spend as an S/O?
And what about an F/O?
Are you single?
Will anyone miss you if you move to Hong Kong?
Have your parents always supported you with respect to you career?
[u]Technical questions[u/]
What are the aircraft models on the table?
What engines are on the A340-300?
What engines are on the B747-400?
Excluding the engines on the A340 and the Airbus freighters with Air Hong Kong, what engines does Cathay Pacific use on it’s fleet?
What type of engine does the Metro 23 have?
Does the Metro 23 have a critical engine?
What can you tell me about the engines on the 747-400?
Does the 747 have acritical engine? Why?
Why does the 747-400 have winglets? What do they do?
What are some disadvantages of having winglets?
Why does the 747-400 have swept wings?
Explain Dutch roll?
What is Krueger flap?
What does Krueger flap do?
What is Fowler flap?
What is windshear?
Tell me about monsoons.
Tell me about typhoons.
Could one form over the Gobi desert?
Do you have any questions for us?
Cathay Pacific Sample interview [3]
Personal questions
Who are you currently flying for?
How long have you been working for them?
Do you enjoy flying Regional/freight/military?
There are two sides to every coin. What’s bad about working there?
When did you become interested in flying?
Doe’s anybody else in your family fly?
Tell me briefly about your career to date.
In hindsight, would you have done anything differently?
What would you say has been a stand out moment in your career?
Have you considered the joining the military?
Have you considered doing a degree?
Why do you want to work for Cathay Pacific?
Have you applied to Qantas, Jetstar or Virgin Blue?
What do you have to offer Cathay Pacific?
Regional flying is very different to International. Do you think you will get bored or miss hand flying?
Why do you think you were unsuccessful last time around?
What did you take away from the experience?
Preparation wise, have you done anything different this time?
What would you do if you were unsuccessful this time?
Have you been back to Hong Kong since?
Where did you go?
What new destinations are we flying to?
What destinations do we now serve in North America?
Can you tell me what fleet orders we have?
Do you have a girlfriend?
What does she think of the possibility of a move to Hong Kong?
Who do you know in Cathay Pacific?
What do you do in your spare time?
If you had the choice between the A340 and the 744, which would you choose? Why?
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Do you know how many second officers Cathay Pacific intends recruiting this year?
[u]Technical questions[u/]
How does a VOR work?
What are the inputs to GPWS?
Tell me about GPS/DGPS.
What are the errors in the GPS system?
How does an INS work?
How many accelerometers does it have?
Why do jet aircraft have swept wings?
How does sweep back work?
Where does a swept wing stall first?
What happens to the C of P?
What pitching moment does this cause?
What do aircraft designers incorporate into the wing design to reduce this?
How does the A340 burn fuel?
Does moving fuel from the centre tank aft, to the stab tank cause an aft C of G?
What is the effect of an aft C of G when flying for range?
Explain Dutch roll?
Why do aircraft have winglets?
Explain Vmcg and Vmca?
How can you increase the BRW on a Vmcg limited take off?
What do you about Carbon fibre brakes?
How much lighter are they?
What do you know about aquaplaning?
Can aquaplaning occur on take off as well as landing?
What is a microburst?
Explain windshear in a microburst
How does a typhoon form?
What sort of considerations might you give to operating in and around a typhoon?
-Taxi
-Take off
-Landing
Do you have any questions for us?
Cathay Pacific Sample interview [4]
[u]Personal questions[u/]
Who are you working for now?
Do they know you’re here?
What did you tell them?
What will be their reaction if you are successful?
How did you get the job there?
You are flying the same aircraft as your previous job. What were your reasons for leaving?
What are your duties there?
Do you like flying for an airline?
Why do you want to leave?
Why did you become a pilot?
Who do you admire most in the industry and why?
What would they say about you?
How would you say your mother and father have influenced you?
What would you say are your strengths?
What would you say are your weaknesses?
What kind of person would your friends say you were?
Is there anything about your Captains at work that you don’t like?
How would you handle a problem at work?
What do you think makes the difference between a good captain and a bad captain?
How would someone in your cockpit really annoy you?
When did you first write to Cathay Pacific?
Why Cathay Pacific?
Have you applied to any other airlines?
If one offered you a job, would you leave Cathay Pacific?
What do you have to offer Cathay Pacific?
Who do you know at Cathay Pacific?
What do you know about the Swire group?
What are your hobbies? What do you like to do in your spare time?
What do you know about Hong Kong?
How do you think your lifestyle would change living in Hong Kong?
Where would you live?
Can you tell me what the duties of the Second Officer are?
Do you know how long you will be a second officer for?
And what about a First Officer?
Would you have a problem with waiting that long?
Have you ever had an incident or an accident?
Tell us about that.
What did you learn from the experience?
With the benefit of hindsight, would you have done anything differently?
You have done some diverse flying over the years. Tell us a story.
How did you prepare for the interview?
Why should we hire you?
[u]Technical questions[u/]
What aircraft are you flying now?
Tell me a little bit about it?
What engines does it have?
How do they work?
Tell me about the take-off performance.
Is there a critical engine?
What determines this?
What is asymmetric blade effect?
Is there a critical engine on a jet? Why?
Explain each take-off segment with each climb gradient.
What is the most critical segment for your aircraft?
What is the relationship between V1 and Vmcg?
What is the difference between your aircraft wing and a jet aircraft?
Why do they have swept wings?
What are the disadvantages of swept wing?
Why is tip stall bad?
What do designers incorporate in to a swept wing to prevent tip stall?
How does sweep effect lift?
How do they counteract this?
What is Fowler flap?
Why do they have slots?
What is Krueger flap?
Does it have slots?
How do they work?
In long haul jet transporters, they have rear fuel tanks. Why is this?
Talking about range versus endurance. Why would we fly at best endurance?
For jet transport aircraft set up in long range cruise, what happens to speed?
Why do they reduce speed?
Why would we fly at best range?
What speed is this in relation to best endurance?
If ATC asked you to hold above FL140 in terminal airspace, what would you do?
Why do they use Carbon brakes on jet transports?
On a double bogie assembly, which brake would get hottest? Why?
Tell me about aquaplaning. What types are there?
How do the three types occur?
How can we estimate if there is a danger of aquaplaning on a runway when landing?
What navigation aids do you use on your aircraft?
How does a GPS work?
Do you know of INS and IRS?
What is the difference?
In an INS, what is a Shuler’s loop?
In jet transporters they have Yaw dampers. Why?
How does a Series yaw damper work?
How does a Parallel yaw damper work?
What is Dutch roll?
Cathay Pacific Sample interview [5]
[u]Personal questions[u/]
Tell us about your flying career to date?
Why did you want to be a pilot?
What was your first job?
Why did you leave that job?
Whom do you presently fly for?
Do they know you’re here?
Tell me a about Regional Express.
What don’t you like about your current job?
What are two bad points about yourself?
If I rang your workmates, what would they say about you?
What do you believe to be your strengths?
How do you feel about being a S/O for up to 4 years?
What is the role of a S/O on Cathay aircraft?
Do you have any applications with other airlines?
Tell us about your most memorable flying incident/accident/moment.
What was flying with Pel-Air Express like?
How is what you’re doing now different from Pel-Air Express?
How do you like Hong Kong?
Is there a significant other?
How does she feel about coming here?
Has your girlfriends been to Hong Kong?
What will your girlfriend do whilst you’re at work?
Who will miss you the most, if you move to Hong Kong?
Did CX make a profit last year? Do you remember what the amount was?
Have we added any new routes since February 2003?
How many aircraft do we have?
How many aircraft orders do have?
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?
Do you have any questions?
[u]Technical questions[u/]
What are these 2 aircraft on the table?
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 S/O?
If you were on long haul aircraft, where in America would you be going?
Do we go anywhere in South America?
Where in Europe do we fly?
Describe the pressurisation system on aircraft you\'re flying.
What is the normal differential limit on the ......?
On the ........, how is 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? If so, how?
What de-ice/anti-ice systems does the..... have?
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?
What is EGPWS?
What are the inputs to GPWS?
Does the ..... have EGPWS?
What a/c is this? (747-400)
How can you tell it’s not a 747-200 or 747-300?
How do we set thrust on the B747?
Why do we use EPR instead of N1?
What is EPR? Is it better using EPR than N1?
Do we still need to know how fast the fan is spinning if we set EPR?
Why does it have winglets?
Why doesn’t the B777 have winglets?
Where is the fuel kept? How many fuel tanks does it have?
What’s the reason for fuel in the stabiliser?
Can you move the fuel from the forward tanks back into the stabiliser tank?
What would be the advantage of doing this if you could?
Why do we want to change the C of G whilst in flight?
Explain using the model why less tailplane down force needed with a rearward
C of G?
Why would the C of G be ahead of the C of P?
What sort of flaps does the..... have?
Are they hydraulic/pneumatic/electric?
How are the flaps powered on the 747-400?
Can you see any differences with hydraulic power versus electrically powered flaps?
What sort of brakes does the Metroliner 23 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?
What engines do we use on our fleet and why?
What are the advantages and specifications to the RB211?
Why are wings swept?
How does it affect Mcrit?
Do swept wings produce more or less lift than equivalent straight wings?
What are the disadvantages of a swept wing?
Explain Dutch roll?
What is Krueger flap?
What does Krueger flap do?
What is Fowler flap?
Does the..... have critical engine? Why/why not?
Does the 747 have a critical engine? How does crosswind affect it?
Why is aft cg better for cruise?
What is Vmcg?
What is the difference between a Typhoon and a Monsoon?
