When I went through new hire training I didn't have a single problem. I passed every single eval. flight including the final checkride without failing a single event. I'm in my third year as an FO at my company, yet every time I go in for a recurrent PC I seem to have problems. I study my manuals and systems as I should, and I don't fail, but I always have a lot of difficulty trying to get through them. The sim fly's nothing like the aircraft and everyone knows we don't fly profiles to a " T " on the line.

So what am I missing? How do you guys usually prepare for a PC? How far in advance do you start studying? What exactly do you study besides memory items and systems and such? How do you prepare for the sim? I've never failed a checkride before, but I really don't want to start if there's something I'm missing here. Thanks.

 

I start doing profiles and FOM reading a couple of weeks out, I try to do it enroute as much as possible.

The abnormal profiles that we don't use every day need to be reinforced with repetition if you expect to be able to execute them smoothly. Your initial checkride followed two weeks of intensive focus on that stuff, remember?

I also block off at least one full day prior to sim. I spend that in domicile (away from distractions at home) and cover systems, as well as refreshing profiles and memory items. I don't spend weeks learning useless trivia which only counts for sim...I cram that the day before. Make several sets of flash cards for systems and FOM stuff.

As for the sim itself...yeah, it does not fly like the airplane so you are usually behind at first. Mitigate this by knowing your profiles COLD so you don't have to waste brain power trying to remember when to go flaps 8. Also try to hook up with your sim buddy the night before or the morning of...if that's not possible, go in and use a paper-tiger or even an empty sim.

Actually I always refresh go-arounds and V1 cuts before each trip...experience has shown that neither I nor the guys I fly with can execute them smoothly if we haven't though about them for several months.

 

Here's one, don't pysch yourself out, and fly the sim like you fly the real airplane.

Study all the FOM non-sense is kind of like knowing that you need to unzip your fly before you take a whizz

 

just choose one day a week to study up on the abnormal stuff. it really helps. i find if i at least look at the stuff 1 time a week that it stays fresh and ready in my mind.

 

You're not missing anything, some people are sim people, some are not. I'm the same way, been flying for many years, started at the regionals, now I fly for a fractional.... Every job I've had I feel like I just got by through training, specially the simulator part, and I study A LOT, but then I hit the line and every captain compliments me on a "job well done".

Never had a problem flying the line, but usually struggle in the torture chamber (sim). Sounds like you're the same way, its just the way it is.

 

Let's see......You don't fly SOP on line, and you wonder why you have trouble in the sim doing something that you don't practice. Perhaps if you flew profiles on the line, then the sim would be EXACTLY what you would have been doing over and over and over. Worked well on your new-hire checkride, and the trouble began after you started doing something different.

 

Alright XJ Captain, because real world flying is exactly on profile, every single time. To be fair the man said to a "T". You must be a blast to fly with. One of those that starts a pre-trip briefing with "I'm easy to get along with, just fly like the sop's and try not to get us violated and we'll have a great time!" types.

 

Have fun doing 180 knots 10 miles out at any airport in the new york, chicago, LA area,.... you let me know how it works out.

Profiles are not made to be realistic. Newhires especially need to be able to refer to something that tells you "ok i need to be at this speed, in this configuration, this many miles out." If they didnt have this none of us would pass.


ORIGINAL QUESTION: I am guessing you are an FO and get to fly the sim once a year. The instructors arent looking for perfection. They dont expect you to know how to perfectly fly a steep turn when you havent done it in a yr or more and havent stepped foot in a sim. The captain does it better than you because he does it every 6 months and probably has a couple yrs more experience.

PC's should be learning experiences and working yourself up too much over the pass/fail stuff is a sure fire way to miss out on a good experience. If you fail because you didnt study... your an idiot but if you actually tried and still failed you wont be the first. Just try to learn from it... most companies are very forgiving when it comes to retraining.

 

First of all try to relax! I hate to say it but you are making it a bigger deal than it is.

Here are a few things that I've discovered along the way:

1. Check airman see A LOT of pilots. Eight a day in some cases doing the same maneuvers over and over and over again. They aren't going to remember you once you walk out that door, besides, they only got to look at your face for a few hours during the pre-brief. So chances are, if you meet them on the line one day or fly with them, they are probably not going to remember your name.

2. Most check airman are good people. They are not there typically to bust you but to help fill in the gaps, keep your skills up, and teach you a few things that you will probably never see online but could. They are instructors and they like to teach. Mind you, I say "most" not all.

3. I've gone into recurrent sim with captains that knew nothing...at all...about the airplane and I've flown with captains that blew practically every single maneuver. They were having a bad day but they still made it through. Again, the check airman was mostly encouraging and helped them work through the kinks.

4. Finally, in all cases, when someone did something wrong, it was because they were too wound up and psyched themselves out of the checkride before they even got there. Don't let that happen to you.

Quick story: I had tons of trouble during initial. Even had an extra day of training before my checkride. I just couldn't get it. At the time, my check airman was considered one of the toughest check airman in the system. Fast forward a few years and I'm going to recurrent with that same check airman. I had myself wound up so tight before the ride that I was almost sick. -- On the day of the checkide, I decided I was just going to do the best I could. And that is what happened. I did great. From that day forward, I knew there was hardly anything they could throw at me that would cause me to fail and all my rides have gone well since then.

How I prepared:

1. Went for walks and "arm-chaired" flew all the maneuvers. I am sure I looked silly with one imaginary hand on the yoke and one on the thrust.
2. Reviewed my SOP and systems during overnights and during flights. Nothing extensive, about 30-45 minutes a night.
3. Talked to other pilots about their current sims. Find out what the "hot" topics are. They change yearly.
4. Most importantly, I believed in myself and that I could do it, knowing that I was going to make a few mistakes but that I had to let them go and get on with the next maneuver. I could think about what I did wrong later.

Hope that helps!

Jeff
Almost the Speed of Sound

 

I always started studying 3 months in advance....2 systems at at time...not a good idea to cram. Also, review all procedures and keep them fresh. Long legs are a great time to cover a system or emergency procedure. The main problem is that lack of use yields to forgeting something...just how it works. Fly every flight like a checkride and every checkride like a flight....