British Airways DEP Selection - THE lowdown Part 1
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: At the moment...England
Posts: 7
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hi there all!
Glad to see this thread is still going strong this year! I am going to the assessments at Cranebank on the 16th Jan 08. Anyone else going to be there with me
? Would be good to find out who I will be sharing the day with! Good luck to all those in the application process at the moment and well done to all those successful canditates! Hopefully we'll be joining you soon !
Happy New Year to all!
Glad to see this thread is still going strong this year! I am going to the assessments at Cranebank on the 16th Jan 08. Anyone else going to be there with me
? Would be good to find out who I will be sharing the day with! Good luck to all those in the application process at the moment and well done to all those successful canditates! Hopefully we'll be joining you soon !Happy New Year to all!
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: UK
Posts: 45
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Cold Soak,
Lots of info about the Sim assessment on here, the stuff that's been posted in 2007 is probably the 'best' bits to look at. Suffice to say, you're probably not going to be venturing far outside the UK.
The FMC - all you will be able to use the FMC for is remote tuning of VORs, ADFs, and ILS. (NAV RAD if you're a Boeing man)
LNAV, VNAV, FIX page etc not allowed.
Best of luck.
Lots of info about the Sim assessment on here, the stuff that's been posted in 2007 is probably the 'best' bits to look at. Suffice to say, you're probably not going to be venturing far outside the UK.
The FMC - all you will be able to use the FMC for is remote tuning of VORs, ADFs, and ILS. (NAV RAD if you're a Boeing man)
LNAV, VNAV, FIX page etc not allowed.
Best of luck.
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: UK
Posts: 132
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Just to let you know, despite me doubting my sim, I managed to get through! For the record it was my 3rd attempt at the at the whole process and my 2nd attempt at the sim; so to all those that don't get through 1st or indeed 2nd time, don't be too disheartened.
Now just waiting for a start date!
Good luck everybody and thanks to everyone that contributed to the thread.
randomair
Now just waiting for a start date!
Good luck everybody and thanks to everyone that contributed to the thread.
randomair
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: England
Posts: 33
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
My second go at the sim too. Well done randomair, you must be relieved. Can you provide any info on the routing you took? I'm beavering away on fs2004 and a bit of familiarity with SIDS and STARS would be nice.....
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: UK
Posts: 132
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks,
Well as far as the routing goes it changes daily, just as the assessor sees fit.
So it would be pointless to tell you the exact route. When I spent my weeks in front of flight sim I focused all my attention on the south/central England, going into or out of the BA bases. (there's only so many places a 747 can go). Maybe in the sim you wont fly out of gatwick or heathrow at all, but its always good practice.
The raw date practice on flight sim was a help but the main thing I focused on was how I was going to run the operation. ie. when was I going to hand over control, call ops, get wx, NITS briefs, PA's etc. And what would be prudent to include in the briefs, bearing in mind that your going to be flying with someone that is used to different SOPs.
What did I do differently?....well i've got more experience than the first time I did it so thats got to help. My sim was a long way off being perfect but I took things as they came, didn't get too pis*ed off if I made a mistake, stayed safe and didn't stop communicating(well tried not to).
There is no new info in my post really, as it's already on this thread, but hopefully It will keep the faith alive!
Good Luck!
randomair
Well as far as the routing goes it changes daily, just as the assessor sees fit.
So it would be pointless to tell you the exact route. When I spent my weeks in front of flight sim I focused all my attention on the south/central England, going into or out of the BA bases. (there's only so many places a 747 can go). Maybe in the sim you wont fly out of gatwick or heathrow at all, but its always good practice.
The raw date practice on flight sim was a help but the main thing I focused on was how I was going to run the operation. ie. when was I going to hand over control, call ops, get wx, NITS briefs, PA's etc. And what would be prudent to include in the briefs, bearing in mind that your going to be flying with someone that is used to different SOPs.
What did I do differently?....well i've got more experience than the first time I did it so thats got to help. My sim was a long way off being perfect but I took things as they came, didn't get too pis*ed off if I made a mistake, stayed safe and didn't stop communicating(well tried not to).
There is no new info in my post really, as it's already on this thread, but hopefully It will keep the faith alive!
Good Luck!
randomair
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Mostly here, but often there
Posts: 542
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Edited before posting to add.... basically what randomair said.
Folks.....for what it's worth, do not get bogged down in the intricacies of the 744. As others have said, spend your time focusing on how you might deal with a particular scenario; they change daily, as do the routings, but the basic premise of aviate, navigate, communicate holds true (apparently). I had never seen the inside of a 747 - 400, classic or otherwise - and did not spend every hour God sends on MS Flight Sim. They are not looking for 747 pilots...my performance proves that, believe me!
Get there in plenty of time; square away the key points with your oppo such that you look like a competent team when the instructor comes in rather than a couple of f*ckwits. Above all, don't sweat it and don't compete with one another. As randomair said, if you pork a particular element, move on. You don't know what they are or aren't looking for, so don't try to second-guess, just get back on the bike and keep pedalling. Though, be warned, at times you'll have to pedal f*cking hard!!
Good luck all....see you at T5.
Folks.....for what it's worth, do not get bogged down in the intricacies of the 744. As others have said, spend your time focusing on how you might deal with a particular scenario; they change daily, as do the routings, but the basic premise of aviate, navigate, communicate holds true (apparently). I had never seen the inside of a 747 - 400, classic or otherwise - and did not spend every hour God sends on MS Flight Sim. They are not looking for 747 pilots...my performance proves that, believe me!
Get there in plenty of time; square away the key points with your oppo such that you look like a competent team when the instructor comes in rather than a couple of f*ckwits. Above all, don't sweat it and don't compete with one another. As randomair said, if you pork a particular element, move on. You don't know what they are or aren't looking for, so don't try to second-guess, just get back on the bike and keep pedalling. Though, be warned, at times you'll have to pedal f*cking hard!!
Good luck all....see you at T5.
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Bath
Posts: 17
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I've got to agree wholheartedly with Brit Bus Driver about this thread, people seem to be looking at the sim in far too much detail. I had my sim assesment 3 weeks ago and have just found out that I've passed however, my performance was not ideal by any standard flying wise. BA aren't looking for pilots who are profficient on the 747-400, they're looking for pilots who are trainable and can communicate so go into the assesment with an open mind ready to soak up the scenario (many avail) and adapt to it and try to communivate throughout the day in a cheerful manner and how you would like to be communicated to in an ideal flying environment. You can make mistakes and fly slightly ham fistedly as long as you're safe and recognise the mistakes you make. I felt that quite a lot of ephasis was placed on how you assess your own performance afterwards as well and your comments on how you would change your performance next time. Above all, try to enjoy the experience!
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: England
Posts: 33
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks for all the advice guys, they've brought mine forward so im going in a few days. I scored 17 out of 25 on the maths on day one so they said i might get a grilling on the technical numeracy. I know I can figure out my eta and fuel endurance etc but are there any curve balls I need to watch out for?
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: UK
Posts: 132
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hey has anyone recently been given a start date with BA? just trying to gauge how long the wait is going to be...did my day one mid Oct and still waiting on a date.
cheers randomair
cheers randomair
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: a green and pleasant land.......sometimes
Posts: 91
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
So on the day that the great british press are calling the most depressing of the year (post christmas blues, bad weather, credit card bills arriving........monday!!), nigel says it isn't for me this time around.
"Made a note in my diary on the way over, simply says..........bugger"
Fly Ginger
"Made a note in my diary on the way over, simply says..........bugger"
Fly Ginger
Last edited by Fly Ginger; 22nd Jan 2008 at 08:15.