Wrong Sim Result?
I disagree that sim assessments are a waste of time, or even an imperfect form of evaluation. What do we do for a living, if not fly in crappy conditions, sometimes to unfamiliar places? What do we have to do every six months, if not face the pressures of a check ride?
Sometimes it is better to put the candidate into a sim type he/she has never seen before. With a proper briefing and a little time to prepare, it's a great way to see whether the candidate will be able to adapt to new types or situations. If it is just a 'canned' exercise over a familiar route in a familiar type, obviously the guy who is current on that type will show better than one who is not. Or, should show better.
By putting pilots in 'uncomfortable' situations at the assessment stage, it levels the playing field. The only caveat to this, is that the examiner must be able to weigh relative experience levels against performance. A 45 year old Captain should do far better at all the management stuff and bad weather circling etc than a kid straight out of flying school. But the kid out of flying school should master steep turns and basic tracking etc very quickly and display orientation throughout the exercise.
The face-to-face interview is very important, but a pilot who talks the talk but can't walk the walk, is as useless as the proverbial tits on a bull.
Sometimes it is better to put the candidate into a sim type he/she has never seen before. With a proper briefing and a little time to prepare, it's a great way to see whether the candidate will be able to adapt to new types or situations. If it is just a 'canned' exercise over a familiar route in a familiar type, obviously the guy who is current on that type will show better than one who is not. Or, should show better.
By putting pilots in 'uncomfortable' situations at the assessment stage, it levels the playing field. The only caveat to this, is that the examiner must be able to weigh relative experience levels against performance. A 45 year old Captain should do far better at all the management stuff and bad weather circling etc than a kid straight out of flying school. But the kid out of flying school should master steep turns and basic tracking etc very quickly and display orientation throughout the exercise.
The face-to-face interview is very important, but a pilot who talks the talk but can't walk the walk, is as useless as the proverbial tits on a bull.
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So Virgin have it wrong?
First time I flew a 737 sim I was warned about the power / pitch couple: I was doing the core course. The 737 guys made a huge song and dance about it: turned out it wasn't really that bad. The briefing was over the top.
If I put you, Mach E, in a type you aren't familiar with, but I am, I can squeeze you, hurt you and humiliate you. Easy Peasy.
What does that prove?
The compromise is to let someone show you what they can do on their current type, or on a similar type, then put them in a different environment and see how they react. Airlines dont do that tho: they ask you to build trains from Lego collections or write memos to make believe pilot groups.
I've watched guys waiting on their sm trip. memorising power settings, fretting over the approach they have to fly, how to brief it etc for what?
Do I want to hire someone who briefs a great approach? Or someone who just gets on and nails the dials?
First time I flew a 737 sim I was warned about the power / pitch couple: I was doing the core course. The 737 guys made a huge song and dance about it: turned out it wasn't really that bad. The briefing was over the top.
If I put you, Mach E, in a type you aren't familiar with, but I am, I can squeeze you, hurt you and humiliate you. Easy Peasy.
What does that prove?
The compromise is to let someone show you what they can do on their current type, or on a similar type, then put them in a different environment and see how they react. Airlines dont do that tho: they ask you to build trains from Lego collections or write memos to make believe pilot groups.
I've watched guys waiting on their sm trip. memorising power settings, fretting over the approach they have to fly, how to brief it etc for what?
Do I want to hire someone who briefs a great approach? Or someone who just gets on and nails the dials?
An instructor with ethics won't set out to humiliate anyone. Squeeze and pressure at selection time is a fair cop, as long as it is applied according to the level of the candidate. If I apply for a DEC, I am saying in effect to the would-be employer 'hey, I already have Captain skills, just maybe not in your aeroplane type. Try me, apply a bit of heat - I want to prove to you that I can cope and meet a reasonable Captain standard.'
Now, if the sim guys are assholes and go way over the top, I will fail for sure. Or decide for myself that I don't really need the misery of having to work under that kind of check-to-fail culture.
If I apply to be an entry level F/O. I expect that the sim guy will look at whether I have assimilated the basics according to the hours I clain to have, and whether their training programme can provide in a reasonable time and at a reasonable cost, what they expect out of their RHS pilots.
There is no place in aviation for smart-ass instructors who expect perfection from the first hour in the simulator just because they have had years of practice at it and thereby have an advantage over the average pilot. Or who seek to use simulators to load pilots to breaking point. Or who can find fault just for the sake of it.
Now, if the sim guys are assholes and go way over the top, I will fail for sure. Or decide for myself that I don't really need the misery of having to work under that kind of check-to-fail culture.
If I apply to be an entry level F/O. I expect that the sim guy will look at whether I have assimilated the basics according to the hours I clain to have, and whether their training programme can provide in a reasonable time and at a reasonable cost, what they expect out of their RHS pilots.
There is no place in aviation for smart-ass instructors who expect perfection from the first hour in the simulator just because they have had years of practice at it and thereby have an advantage over the average pilot. Or who seek to use simulators to load pilots to breaking point. Or who can find fault just for the sake of it.
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Best interview ever
Tell me a joke------ lets me know if I will be able to spend hours on end in your company and vice versa
Tell me what is your most embarressing moment in aviation------ tells me about your level of competance/incompetance and also your level of integrity
Then get in the sim and show me some basic hand flying, 2 eng take off, simple SID, level off, 30 degree bank turns at set speed and level. Now manage the Autopilot for a 2 eng ILS to land
You already have the licence and you've just proved your personality. Anything else we want you to possess, our training department will help to achieve.
Tell me a joke------ lets me know if I will be able to spend hours on end in your company and vice versa
Tell me what is your most embarressing moment in aviation------ tells me about your level of competance/incompetance and also your level of integrity
Then get in the sim and show me some basic hand flying, 2 eng take off, simple SID, level off, 30 degree bank turns at set speed and level. Now manage the Autopilot for a 2 eng ILS to land
You already have the licence and you've just proved your personality. Anything else we want you to possess, our training department will help to achieve.
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Silverhawk
I think that's a great idea for an interview / sim check. Those sort of questions would bring out the real person mfar more than the "tell me how you deal with..... / what do you see as the qualities of....." type of questions. Not being a good salesman I am never convinced my answers sound interesting enough or if they are hitting the nail on the head which makes me more cautious and reserved than I normally am, probably giving the wrong impression to the panel. I sometimes have to think long and hard to come up with even half suitable examples from my own experiences. Been trying to get a foot in at your company in the past too. Hope you are on the panel if I ever get the lucky break.
I think that's a great idea for an interview / sim check. Those sort of questions would bring out the real person mfar more than the "tell me how you deal with..... / what do you see as the qualities of....." type of questions. Not being a good salesman I am never convinced my answers sound interesting enough or if they are hitting the nail on the head which makes me more cautious and reserved than I normally am, probably giving the wrong impression to the panel. I sometimes have to think long and hard to come up with even half suitable examples from my own experiences. Been trying to get a foot in at your company in the past too. Hope you are on the panel if I ever get the lucky break.
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Last one I had .......... a long time ago, during the brief I asked the questions of how the assessor would like me to perform. He immediately threw it back at me at asking me to quantify my question, I gave him three scenarios and explained how I would propose to deal with all three from the hyper critical, never pleased, indulgent tyrant down to the effective, relaxed, willing Captain who embraced CRM and wanted the best from his F/O in order that the team perform most effectively.
He gave me a heads up as to his style and I worked the numbers accordingly. With little experience and a high degree of nerves something must have made an impact because I was given a break and employed something for which some 20 years later and still with the same company, I was very grateful.
The individual has since become a great friend and mentor, something for which I hope I have been able to repay by my attitude and demeanour to new F/O's over recent years.
There are very few I have concerns over and I always remember when I was young and those who helped me, coached me and made me who I am today.
Experience is a great teacher, do what you can, when you can but if it is not what they want then learn, move forward and try again. We have all been there and as long as the individual applies the same standard to all of the candidates then the process is fair.
Perseverance: to persist in a state, enterprise, or undertaking in spite of adverse influences, opposition or discouragement.
Sound familiar? Overcome, adapt and achieve and eventually you will succeed that’s my two pence worth.
He gave me a heads up as to his style and I worked the numbers accordingly. With little experience and a high degree of nerves something must have made an impact because I was given a break and employed something for which some 20 years later and still with the same company, I was very grateful.
The individual has since become a great friend and mentor, something for which I hope I have been able to repay by my attitude and demeanour to new F/O's over recent years.
There are very few I have concerns over and I always remember when I was young and those who helped me, coached me and made me who I am today.
Experience is a great teacher, do what you can, when you can but if it is not what they want then learn, move forward and try again. We have all been there and as long as the individual applies the same standard to all of the candidates then the process is fair.
Perseverance: to persist in a state, enterprise, or undertaking in spite of adverse influences, opposition or discouragement.
Sound familiar? Overcome, adapt and achieve and eventually you will succeed that’s my two pence worth.
