School Open Day and Pilot Not Flying

On Saturday 20th July I offered my services to the OAA open day. Since it was the first time I'd done it, I thought I would share my experience of it. For those who aren't aware, the school usually does an open day every month. It's an opportunity not only for the school to show off the facilities, but also for the potential candidates to come and get many of their questions answered about the course and the school. 

I wanted to do the open day because this time last year, I was in the same position as all of these guys. Since I'd only just successfully completed ground school, it was obvious that the best place for me to place my expertise was in Ground Training which was situated in the main exam room.

Looks like a lonely day ahead!

As you can see in the table above, there was space for a few more volunteers but it wasn't really much of a problem at the beginning of the day. I spent a good hour in Ground Training talking to families and many young hopefuls about my experience and what to expect of ground school. It was nice to see how enthusiastic some of these people were, and it was a great feeling to be able to share my experiences and to actually be in a position to give valuable advice to them. 

From about 11:00 onwards I was put on rotation for making sure people crossed the airfield zebra crossing safely. Admittedly it wasn't as interesting as being in Ground Training, however safety is vital and since they were pretty short on volunteers that day, I had to make sure that people weren't wandering off and into some live propellers, which wouldn't have done much good for OAA's reputation. I rotated crossing duty with two other Easyjet MPL cadets who were on the CRJ-200 simulator. The lady who was leading the open day had very kindly arranged for me to have a go on the simulator at the end of the day! 

When someone took my place on the crossing, I would be in the CRJ simulator talking to groups of visitors and watching other students perform some STARs and ILS approaches which was fascinating to see. I also met a few more Easyjet MPL cadets and an instructor who was with them at the time, so it was a very good opportunity to find out about them and what they did.

Couple of Easyjet MPL guys on the CRJ-200

Being responsible for the crossing wasn't all bad, I did manage to get the opportunity to shout at a few people who did decide to wander dangerously off the path, but more importantly I still managed to offer some advice to people who were walking past. I remember meeting a guy from London, who is in a similar position as I was where he is currently working, saved up the money over a few years, and is ready to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming an airline pilot. When he told me his story it reminded me about how I was before I started at OAA, about how excited and enthusiastic I felt, and it also made me appreciate that I've passed all of the exams and that in a few days I'll be flying over to Arizona to do what I've been longing to do since I was 8 years old. Best of luck to him. 

At about 14:45 I got the all clear to shut the gate to the crossing, I then dashed over the the simulator where I was soon offered the chance to have a go! I sat on the left hand seat and acted as 'pilot not flying' with an Easyjet MPL cadet on the right as the 'pilot flying'. Behind us was another Easyjet cadet who briefed me on what to do as PNF. It was an interesting experience particularly since I'd never even considered what it was like to be the PNF prior to this occasion. It was a pretty steep learning curve for me since the last time I was on that simulator was on my skills assessment, and even then I didn't use any of the buttons or nobs. I did end up having to ask him to guide me for much of the flight time.

Acting as the PNF was an amazing experience, I got to do the checklist, speed call outs on take off, and setting the required speed and headings on the MCP for the PF. It was also a remarkable feeling to know that much of the theory that I had covered in ground school came back to me, which definitely made much of what I was doing a lot more relevant.

I think the most important thing that I took away from the experience was just how vital it is to monitor as the PNF. It's fairly simple to follow headings and speeds as a PF, however it is a different skill and at times very difficult to spot if the PF is making any mistakes. As the PNF It is important to make the PF aware of corrections that need to be made, as well as being able to monitor the other parameters that are presented in front of you.

It was a shame that due to the lack of volunteers I wasn't able to stay in Ground Training because I was quite passionate about sharing my experiences and offering advice to the new hopefuls and their families that were there. Nevertheless the day went very smoothly and from what I gather, all of the visitors had a great time. The day also reminded me of how much there is yet to learn in this profession, and that thought alone is exciting. A successful day altogether.