PPRuNe Forums - SFO Oct. 30-Nov. 3

Ok, here's how it went, as much as I can remember.

First the tech quizz; (Some too simple & obvious for me to answer here, some would take too long)

What causes Katabatic wind?
What's Freise aileron?
Which is not an input to the ADC? 1- TAS, 2-CAS, 3-MN Answer: 3-MN
Initially on a wet runway, what is the most effective means of slowing down? Ground spoilers, thrust reversers... Aerodynamic braking.
When holding on a high-level airway at a designated fix you should: Hold to the right at 1.5 mins
As altitude increases the difference between IAS and TAS: Increases
HF radio waves reflect off the: Ionosphere
Can clearway be used for ASDA? NO
What flight control surface is used as an automatic function of preventing Dutch Roll? Rudder, in the form of Yaw Damper
What trailing edge high lift device is used to delay the boundry layer separation and delay the stall? sloted trailing edge flaps
Which are the purpose of spoilers? (The correct answer only lists two of the six reasons for them; deccelaration in flight & lateral control augmentaion)
In a banked turn, if bank and height are kept constant and IAS is increased, what happens to rate of turn.
Does a high aspect ratio wing produce? high lift, high drag, at high speeds compared to low aspect ratio wing?
What's the function of vortex generators in low speed flight regime? to prevent spanwise flow
As speed is increased from stall speed; drag is initially decreased then increased. Lift/Drag ratio curve.
As speed increases what happens to form drag and induced drag.
Mmo is set at a value; to provide a safety margin to prevent shock induced separation
What is the function of trailing edge flaps overspeed blowback? Retracts flaps to prevent overstress.
Does increasing AOA always result in increasing incidence? (Can't remember the exact form of this qustion)
What happens to MN if IAS is kept constant in a climb? Rises
Why does EPR have to be set before a certain speed on TO? EPR ram rise
How does flap overspeed blowback work?

Then the interview;

HR

Education and employment history, to account for every decision made why/how/when and every gap between schools and jobs. Explain why you want to leave your current job.
Why Cathay? What do you know about cx? How much profit last year? Ever post a loss? When & why? How is cx currently moving to improve it's business? Why is cx successful when others out there are not?
What do you know about HK? cost of living, where to live, kids school costs, etc. If your passport does not have any foreign visa stamps, expect to have to prove how you are a worldly person if you will since you are not well traveled. If you have wife/kids explain what you plan to do with the family and why, and what they think of your plans.

Tech.

What aircraft do you fly and describe it. Whatever I described I was asked about, wings (swept, why), landing gear( trailing link, why), Horizontal stab(how is it powered, how's the elevator powered), FMS/IRS (How does it initilize? get it's initial position? what inputs go into the IRS? What's your aircraft's hydroplaning speed, is it in the AOM or did you figure it out on your own?(He knew it's not in our AOM, and asked why they don't have it in there and if it ever presents a problem after asking what my aircraft's app speed is)
What happens to winds in mountainous areas/valleys, pressure, temp, and how does this affect the altimeter reading. What happens to the altimeter reading in colder than standard temp? Why are we committed to landing once the reversers are opened? Explain Hurricane/typhoon/cyclone. What's a Jetstream, where do you find it? Describe Long Range cruise vs. Max Range cruise.

Overall it went real smooth, they took notes on everything so I'm sure some of the second int. questions will be follow ups. The two Gents were extremely pleasant and we got along perfectly, but then I always get along perfectly with Brits and Europeans in general.

Good luck.