Pre-Flight Checklist

Normally when you do the APP First Officer course, you only get a week off between the end of Ground School and foundation flight training. However this year, many of the classes (including mine) have been delayed by 5 weeks due to a combination of problems, the main reason being the move to our new airfield, which is Falcon Field in Mesa, Arizona. The move is a good thing overall since we will have our own maintenance facilities, rather than having to share with Lufthansa (which is what they do in Goodyear) so that means a big reduction in delays. It also means that we get brand new aircraft all with air conditioning, and as you may know, this will be essential for us returning alive from the soaring temperatures in Phoenix.

New toys for us

At first it was a bit strange to go from studying a full 12-16 hours a day, to suddenly having every hour in the day free to do whatever I please. As well as rewarding myself with some absolutely incredible lie ins, I have nevertheless managed to keep myself busy for the most part. For the majority of the time I've been helping my parents out in their business, which is a Chinese Take-Away. So if you happen to be around Broadstairs then drop by the May King for some fantastic food! 

I am admittedly a bit of a rocker, and if you like me play an instrument then you will know that no other feeling compares with playing your instrument of choice, and mine is the Electric Guitar. I own an Ibanez RG, which in English is a guitar built for heavy rock and metal. The feeling of picking it up and playing it takes me back to being 17 years old again when Punk Rock and Nu-Metal was huge in the late 90s.

At Wireless 2013

Whilst we're on the subject of music I also had the opportunity to head to the Yahoo! Wireless Festival with a few friends, which was probably the highlight of my holiday. I love my music and the atmosphere of a live performance. It was pretty spectacular seeing Calvin Harris and Jay-Z live! If you haven't been before then I would highly recommend going when the festival is back in London again next year.

I have also had an essay to do for Bucks New University, which count towards a foundation degree in Airline Transport Management. The essay was quite interesting and valuable for helping me learn greater depth of what is happening in the aviation industry today. For instance the first essay was a report on the changeable nature of the industry, so it was quite interesting to learn about the economical factors linked to the increasing passenger numbers and decreasing cargo output. 

I have of course had to spend some much needed time doing some of the more boring stuff like: planning out my budget for when I'm in Arizona (I'll let you know how that actually goes) and sorting out bits and pieces like currency exchange and a travel currency card.

Most recently, I took the opportunity to help out for the OAA open day, which I talk about in great detail in the previous post. Over that same weekend I ended up covering 455 miles, made even more painful from the fact that my car has a non working 6th gear, meaning at 70mph my car is screaming at 4000rpm, which doesn't really help the fuel economy. 

My route over the weekend

The problem these days is that the majority of my friends do shift work so it's almost impossible to get everyone together at the same time. It also doesn't help now the fact that I'm staying with my parents who live quite a way from London. But since It was my last weekend to really catch up with everyone and since I was already doing the school open day, I thought it would have been a good opportunity to see everyone along the way.

Admiring the O2

When I first heard about the news of our delay I was a bit disappointed mainly because I wanted to keep the rhythm of training continuous, however after the break that I've had, I'm feeling quite glad now that I've actually had time to catch up with friends and even though I've been working, it's been great to spend valuable time with my family before starting a new life away five months. It's also been a great time to reflect on everything so far and fully take in the fact that I'll soon be given the responsibility of being in command of an aircraft. I think deep down, that last bit is something that I think still deeply worries my parents!

So that's it, tomorrow I'll be flying out from Heathrow to Phoenix Sky Harbor to finally start my lifelong goal of flying. I really can't wait for what's to come; the sunshine, the planes, the swimming pool, and doing many other American stuff like firing guns at a shooting range and hiring pointlessly big muscle cars. I hear so many great stories from students who have come back from their foundation flying, now it's my turn to go and come back with some amazing stories of my own.

I'll be sure to update my Arizona experience whenever I get the time. If there's anything you want to know about the course or if you have some feedback, then don't feel afraid to send me a message or comment and I'll help out wherever I can. In the meantime take care, and enjoy the summer!