Training Tips
 

I am starting training for my first 121 job next week. I'll be flying the ERJ 145, so its the first jet I'll have flown. Anyone have any tips/recommendations/words of wisdom/humerous stories?

Dont worry, It is a very easy plane to learn and fly. The systems are also very uncomplicated. You will do fine.


Good Luck

The trick is to get very drunk the night after your systems test.... It kinda resets you and get you ready to go for the sims!!

Out side of that, The key is to study with a group of people.. There always tend to be people who are stronger in one area while you may be stonger in something else.

It helps a lot trust me.

Work hard. Work hard. Work hard.

The hardest part of my two airline jobs so far has been the CPT - Cockpit Procedures Trainer. This was tough both places.

Really know your profiles too.

At my airline an absolute knowledge of limitations and memory items on the checklists goes a long way.

Like the others said, have fun. Work hard, but get to know your classmates. They will be your buddies for the next few months and years. Help them and they will help you.

Get drunk once in a while. Welcome to the airline world!

KNOW YOUR MEMORY ITEMS AND LIMITATIONS BEFORE YOU GO!!!! It will make your time in ground school go so much easier. If you know these items before you go, it will slow the flow of the water from firehose to garden hose that you have to drink from. If you have to learn your memory items and limitations while reviewing what you learned in ground school, it will be that much mroe difficult!

Unless you have an engineering degree or military experience, the training pace may be faster than you have experienced before. They will probably tell you all this stuff on day one, but just so you don't think they are blowing smoke up your butt...

Expect long days ( 8 hours class, then 3+ hours study).
Don't drink too much.
Get some exercise.
Eat right.
Study with a group or buddy.
Ground school is not too hard, but study every night because you are also studying for your oral, which may or may not be a *****.
Study limitations, checklists, and profiles while in systems, it really sucks to try to learn that stuff in a few days before the oral or FTD/SIM.
Use flashcards.
If you get in too deep, ask for help early on, many airlines will give you lots of it, (at a few companies your're on your own...)
Expect to get your @ss kicked in the sim at some point, probably the first few days. This is normal if you're new to the jet.
Practice profiles for 2-3 hours/day while in SIM.
LISTEN to the SIM instructor, and do it HIS way. Famous last words: "Back at the 141 flight school I was a check airman, and we did it THIS way..."
Before IOE, make sure you have all your uniforms and luggage, and be sure your charts, and manuals are all up-to-date.
If you fail IOE, it will be because of visual approaches.
Good Luck

I would not put to much worry into it. From my experience, the airline you are working for wants you to get through. They are investing money in you the day you show up.

With that said, you still need to do your part. Do not expect them to hand it to you. Everyone before me has it right on.

One last thing, do not forget to get away from the books one or two nights a week, if you can. Do not burn yourself out. It will be tough the first week, but then you will know when you can take a break.

. . . . and after every day that ends in the letter Y.

Don't drink to much, but celebrate the milestones...i tried not to celebrate to much, for the thought that i hadn't really accomplished anything till the sim is over. Finally started the sim this week after nearly a month of sitting.

If they give you limitations and memory items before hand, study up. If not, start studying as soon as you get them in your SOP's, these will most definatley be on your oral, and will come in very hand during your sim. besides that, take in as much as you can, and study as often as possible as a group, you'll learn more bouncing things off one another than you will solo.

PS-
What company are you flying with?

Starting with TSA

Read the article in this link. It has previously been published in two aviation magazines and is reprinted on my site with permission. Anybody that has never been through an airline training event should take a look at it:

Playing the Game: An Insider's Guide to Successful Airline Simulator Training

Nice web page...I've seen some that were absolutely horrible and made me embarassed to be a pilot - private pilot. However, I still had to look down in humiliation. Yours is a positive example.

-LAFF

I went through the training at TSA last January only to get furloughed by July. But I remember it pretty well, and according to some friends that just went through, nothing has changed. TSA is all about limiations and memory items for F/O's. So as soon as you get your SOP start on those. They're gonna prepare you pretty well for your oral, but people do still fail, so don't by any means, take it lightly. Beware of gouges any older than a few months, because there is some bogus material out there. All the writtens are pretty straight forward, and you should be able to score 90's and better on those without trying realy hard. Somebody said previously that the CPT at his airline and his previous one was a *****, but I can say with some certainty that TSA was not one of those airlines. The CPT was pretty much just a learning session as opposed to a test. So when you do finally get there, your priorities should be something like this.
memory items/limitations then systems on the 145 then the GOM then profiles and flows. Have fun in the Jungle Jet!

Good article.

What he said is what we tell our new guys...

Call outs, profiles, memory items, limitations, and flows...have these down cold before sim #1.