Cathay Pacific Cadet Pilot Programme

[nmcpilot]

I am not entirely sure, I am not doing the course myself at the moment although hope to be, I know 3 people who are on it. All tried to shorten the courses for themselves by mainly by trying to get out of doing the ground school exams as they had already done the 14 UK JAA ATPL exams which are supposed to be far harder and the conclusion that came out of it was that they would need at least 1500 hours in order to receive dispensation from the exams.

But I am not entirely sure, the educational qualifications I can say on as I certainly don't have the best academic record but with the fact I have flying qualifications has gotten me through the door it would seem.

I am speculating a bit here though I'm afraid as said I'm not on the course myself..

[nmcpilot]

99% sure though that if you are applying for the cadet position all the interviews will be the same, the only thing that will differ is they might really nail you on the tech questions during the interview if you are very experienced..

[VFE]

Many thanks nmcpilot, much appreciated. Hope you get started on the course soon.

VFE.

[SW1]

As nmc stated, they will really grill you on the technical questions. Doesnt seem to matter what aircraft they are rated on, the interviewing captains and Fos know it all. I had to explain why engines are flat rated, define flex thrust and the various reference temperatures. Low temperature corrections to ILS decision altitude. Questions on TODR, ADSR etc

[NightFlightsAreMagic]

Does anybody know what the differences are between the short and the long course for the cadet program?

[SW1]

32 weeks, if you have over 250 hours, and 61 weeks repectively

[VFE]

SW1, were you asked specific type questions because you are type rated or were they generic questions based on assumed knowledge as per fATPL with no airline experience?

Thanks,

VFE.

[SW1]

I was asked questions such as MLW, MTOW of the A320 and when alpha Floor is inhibited, this was asked in my stage 2 and 3 by a 777 captain and the 747 chief pilot. they wrote the numbers down I quoted, so very easy to go and look it up afterwards.

Basic ATPL knowledge will be tested for example. "Tell me about the fuel system of the Airbus?" So I explained. "Where is fuel used first?" My answer was centre tanks first, inner tanks then outer tanks. We keep fuel in the centre tanks for CG purposes.

This lead to " Why do we keep fuel in the wings" My answer- to alleviate wing bending relief and flutter. This lead to explain effect of stalling speed with aft cg, forward cg, what this does to our range, tailplane downforce etc

My point is they will chop and change between type specific and ATPL thoery knowledge, its all performance, Aerodynamics, engines type questions on basic knowledge. I had a DALR, SALR question to do on the board as well. That can be found from their JKI booklet.

Moral of the story is, know everything you can about your current aircraft. incidentally they didnt ask me to explain anything fabout the twin model they had on the table. Although i was asked to identify the large 777 model. Funny thing was, they were like, what model is this? I said its a 777-300ER. How did I know they asked, because it says GE90 (in small print) on the engines. We better scrub that off was their reply Its got 5 exits as well, so that will immediatly allow you to indentify it as a 777-300ER, 300 series. The 200 series only has 4 exits.

[VFE]

Excellent stuff SW1, many thanks for a good insight there and I like your style re: identifying the 777-300 ER!

As a non type rated GA pilot I guess they'll just grill me on general ATPL theory although I shall swallow a C152 POH before I go just in case! lol

Thanks again,

VFE.

[holdmetight]

Just to follow up on what has been said by SW1...

From my personal experience, there are two types of questions that they throw at you. The first type are the "must-know" questions, which is self-explanatory. You are expected to display a good level of understanding in certain topics, and the breadth of your knowledge pool should be directly proportional to your experience levels. Such topics could be ground school subjects relevant to your licenses/ratings, and aircraft-specific knowledge.

The second type of questions are to try to throw you off, see how well you work outside your comfort zone. I hold a PPL, with all my time being on single-engine aircraft and VFR only. I was asked to explain FLEX thrust settings on the Airbus aircraft, use of trim tanks for CG-related purposes, all the V-speeds etc. They also asked me behavioural-type questions, such as what I would do if confronted with a certain situation in an airline operation.

Just study as much as you possibly can, get in there and give it your best shot. Good luck!

[SW1]

Thats it mate, know all you can about it. I can imagine they'll ask about constant speed props and the likes so brush up no what you think they will ask. Certain things I was sure they would ask such as: Typhoons and how they are formed didnt come up so wasted effort on my part eh. Good luck!!

[holdmetight]

SW1

I didn't get the typhoon question either, but a lot of my mates did, so I did a decent amount of study on it. Oh well...

[VFE]

Great stuffs folks, please do keep it coming if you can. Sounds like a complete lottery as to what exactly they will throw at you but a base level knowledge on the big topics is a must I guess. Any other common/notorious questions like the typhoon one?

Currently awaiting my 'Preparing for the Cathay Interview' book but does anyone know where I can obtain the JKI booklet?

Thanks again,

VFE.

[holdmetight]

VFE

Here are some examples of common questions:

1. What do you know about Cathay Pacific?
2. What do you know about the cadet training in FTA?
3. If you are given a choice of fleet upon graduation, which fleet would you choose? Why?

As for the JKI booklet, they will send it to your e-mail as an attachment to your Stage 1 confirmation. I'm not sure if you can download it online, if not then PM me your e-mail address and I'll send it to you.

[VFE]

Excellent Holdmetight, thanks for that! You have mail.....

VFE.

[northbound207]

adv flight grading

anyone waiting for adv flight grading or flight grading at this time?

[holdmetight]

northbound207

anyone waiting for adv flight grading or flight grading at this time?

Yeah I'm waiting for flight grading, probably going to do the advanced one. I know a couple of people who are also waiting for a call; the handful of us did Stage 3 in early September. How have things been for you?

[DDobinpilot]

Just out of interest how long did you guys have to wait between Stage 1 and 2? I know they let you know about how you did in Stage 1 after about 1 - 2 weeks, but then how long before you are invited out to Hong Kong??

[nmcpilot]

DDobin, I've heard anywhere from 3weeks - 3months, possibly longer though not entirely sure.

Just wanted to ask people who have been through the interview process who have a Frozen ATPL how concerned are they with getting all your high school educational certificates? I have most of mine but there are still a couple I can't get hold of do you think they'd see this as a problem considering I have all the necessary flying licenses anyway? Anyone have a similar experience? Difficult when school was like 8 years ago! :P

[NewZealand787]

Anyone heard back from the Auckland interviews yet?