Originally Posted by
PeterE
Apparently this class was initially (ground, matrix and FTD) shown how to operate 27.1. The only problem is the sims were 25.5. Instructors realized this was a mistake as later classes were taught 25.5 from the get go.
Yes, this is true. I'm currently in the 2nd AQP class and we were learning 27.1 for the first 2 days and then they got smart and switched it to 25.5 to avoid the confusion during the DTS, Matrix, FTD and sim sessions.[/QUOTE]
Originally Posted by
PeterE
I guess the matrix and FTD machines were unreliable, often times spending half a session restarting and setting up again.
I found this to be partly true. There certainly were times where the instructors told us, "don't worry about that, it's just a sim-ism". As far as a hard reset and waiting for the computer to re-load, that never happened to me personally.
Originally Posted by
PeterE
The syllabus was incomplete and skipped areas, with extra items being added to the MV that crews had never had the opportunity to train on.
Didn't see this, but then again we're the 2nd class through so I imagine the instructors are getting better at teaching the material and what they need to train the students for to pass the MV (passed today actually!). I
heard that the 1st class wasn't working on single-engine hand flown missed approaches (because it wasn't in the syllabus) and the FAA decided they wanted to see it be a part of the training program, so these crews unfortunately had very little practice at a difficult maneuver. That's what the instructors were saying anyway.
Originally Posted by
PeterE
Many of the matrix and FTD instructors are very green as FO's, much less instructors. Non-standard, immature, constantly bragging about how many credit hours they were racking up is what I had heard.
It is true that the majority of the instructors we had in indoc, ground, FTD and Matrix were all F/O's with about a year + of experience on the line, however,
most of them actually taught the material well and I saw no evidence of them just being there because they wanted higher credit times. They all seemed like they genuinely cared about teaching the material and making sure that all of our questions got answered, even if they had to ask someone else.
Originally Posted by
PeterE
"FTD was a tremendous waste of time and resources" was the direct quote from a senior captain making the transition, one of the few who passed everything....
I actually found FTD to be one of the more helpful aspects of training. I could have done without Matrix. FTD did a good job of getting me ready for the sim sessions. Helped me a lot with the call-outs and flows.
Originally Posted by
PeterE
Hopefully it's a temporary thing because SKW training is better than this.
Overall I've been blown away by the training I've received thus far. Granted, my back round has been all 135 up to this point, so my frame of reference might be a little off. All but one of the recent LOE failures have been due to crews not paying attention to the bigger picture (I heard one crew literally sat in a hold for 15min and didn't even once discuss fuel or where they should try to go next) and getting too reliant on the automation.