BFMthisA10

Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you handle it.

I’m going to present an alternative thesis that will contrast with others that have been presented. I make no claim that my thesis is more correct than any of the others, and I will caveat up front that my zero experience in Pt121 ops probably dilutes my credibility, but I’ll share and let you decide.

First off, what is Training Risk? I’d imagine that most anyone meeting eligibility requirements and then applying to a Part 121 carrier probably knows already, but just to put it on the dry erase board, in no particular order:
- Overall experience
- Turbine experience
- Multi-engine, and/or multi-turbine experience
- IFR experience / IFR proficiency
- High density traffic area IFR experience
- High altitude experience
- CRM environment experience
- Age
- Recency of flight experience
- Experience with/Ability to use contemporary tools: Computer based training, EFB, glass, automation
- Physical fitness*

It’s your responsibility to take a look at the above list, or your own subjective measures, and determine your Training Risk (TR). Haven’t flown in a while? TR goes up a little. No turbine time, ok, not a show stopper, but there will be some risk there. Are you handy with an iPad or other EFB platform? That will be a source of ease or frustration in training depending on your skill and proclivities: TR up or down depending.

But here is the important part: Is it the company’s responsibility to assess and manage your training risk? No. And I think this is a source of contention, at least here on these boards. This is an unprecedented hiring market throughout Aviation, as we might all agree. All companies are paying close attention to their recruiting, training costs, and retention, and seeking efficiencies and/or opportunities within those lines of effort. Some companies have “opened the spigot” at the recruiting and hiring points, allowing applicants on property to enter training if they meet qualifications, at a rate and qualitative cross section that hasn’t been seen in 40 years. So now you have to ask yourself: would I rather the company cinch down on their hiring and lower their training risk (at my opportunity loss), or would I rather have the opportunity to give it a go and manage my own training risk? I think one thread starter hit the nail on the head: buyer beware. You get what you ask for. However, it’s my contention that the training hurdle is surmountable, if you are prepared and ready for the task.

I say that it’s not the company’s responsibility to manage your training risk, however: that’s not to say that the company isn’t fully aware of the training risk level walking in the door, and paying attention to the costs vs. the training success rate (ROI). No-one in their right mind would hire folks just to go through a month in the classroom and not make it through sims. Salary, benefits, hotels, positive space travel, instructor time, $im co$t$; they are paying attention. Training footprints are becoming more flexible, as output requirements dictate giving those who just need a little more adjustment what they need to succeed.

Ok, so what does this all mean to the price of tea in China? Simply put, if you find yourself at the higher end of the risk spectrum, that does not mean that you will not/cannot complete the training. Two keys to success will help:
First, understand that Higher Risk = More Effort Required throughout the training program. Are you a CFI that went from zero to Applicant in the Part 61 world? Guess what: you will probably not spend much time in the Appleton bars. Are you 60 years old and never owned and iPad? Buy one off of Craigslist, and screw around with it until it becomes second nature.
The Second Key to Success: Attitude!!! When you are stuck, or at a low point in training, take a moment, take a deep breath, and thank your instructor, because they are there specifically for you, and then ones that I’ve met take pride in their work and whether or not you succeed. Think about it: if you are prone to getting frustrated, micro facial expressions, or fits of anxiety, it’s going to have an effect those within your sphere—tons of books out there about it. Practice managing your comportment in a professional way. Guaranteed, at some point you’ll struggle: you’ll be in the sim, you’ll get a missed out of a single engine approach, forget your callouts, miss your obstacle clearance turn… The worst thing that you could possibly do in that moment is wag a finger at your instructor or otherwise confront them with your struggle. You wanted to be here: act like it.

Finally, for those viewers that are still with us: at least at Air Wisconsin, they thoroughly brief the class on day one of Indoc on what is expected, and what the recipe is to succeed in training. There’s no secret, no surprises, no special sauce needed. Some highlights:
- Sleep. Think it’s worth it to cram an hour or two more? Don’t: go to sleep and be rested/alert in class.
- Pay attention in class. Sounds like a no-brainer, but worth mentioning. Active listening is key, not just watching the clock.
- Do the homework. I made it a point to not only answer the questions, but I paid particular attention to where I was finding the answers in order to get better at finding information within the various pubs, not just collaborate and write down the answers my classmates had.
- Study with your classmates. Study session starts at 5:30? Be there on time.
- Sidebar: if you have previous 121 experience and/or the material is coming easy, don’t be THAT dooshcanoe and skip study sessions. There’s someone in your class that could use the help, and you’re not doing anything better in your ATW hotel room; you can spare the time.
- Diet/fitness. Don’t load down on a big lunch that will put you to sleep in the afternoon.
- Whatever you do to unwind for an hour per day, make time for that; doubly so on the weekends—unplug, relax, decompress. The gym is crap in the ATW hotel, but I was down there every morning, some days just for 10 min on the treadmill to get the blood flowing; my thing, you do yours.
- Before you get to CPT/Sims, you have to memorize things. Memorize them. Simple enough. I resorted to second-grade rote memorization: I wrote things out over and over again like Bart Simpson on the chalkboard. No joke. It’s not rocket surgery.

*Physical fitness doesn’t mean the ability to run a half marathon. Do you get sleepy in the afternoon? Will you be alert and learning an hour after lunch in Systems class? Can you manage your circadian rhythm to make that 4am sim slot on the east coast when you commuted in from Mountain Standard Time?