PREPARATION FOR SELECTION #2

Airline Prep

Preparation for selection:

Aero-tow in a K21 glider @ Parham (South Downs)

I was given a trial flight in a Cessna 152 from Shoreham airport as a 15^th birthday present, and later a flight in a modern Diamond (DA40) aircraft. It would be fair to say that I ‘caught the bug’. As soon as I decided I was definitely going to be a pilot I started researching ways of fulfilling the dream and what requirements were needed. I was also fortunate enough of knowing Terry Buckland, a senior member of the CAA (civil aviation authority) who had a daughter training to be a pilot with CTC Wings. They were both so helpful and provided me with a load of information that I was and am so grateful to have. I also had the pleasure of spending four hours in an Airbus A330 simulator at Heathrow airport with three members of the CAA which was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. I got to spend an hour at the controls, practicing take-offs and landings in and out of Gatwick, Birmingham and JFK. If my heart wasn’t already set on becoming a commercial pilot before, it certainly was afterwards! I then took up gliding at the age of 16 to learn as much as I could about the basics of flying and to get a general feel for it. Needless to say it is also the cheapest form of flying which pleased my parents immensely. 

Trial Flight @ Shoreham Airport in a DA40

Before I made any full commitment to flying I went to Gatwick to get my Class One medical, just to be sure that there weren’t any issues that I would later discover that would prevent me from flying. Although it was expensive, it was definitely worth checking before spending large sums of money, only to find out I was couldn’t fly for some reason. As far as I was concerned I was perfectly fit and healthy and I expected to ease through and that would be it. However, I failed my initial colour blindness test which left me sat in the waiting room feeling extremely anxious. I was offered an advanced colour test (CAD Test) to see how serious my condition was. This consisted of staring at a small computer screen for twenty minutes, trying to pick up faint squares and identifying which direction they’d moved. When I’d finished I had about a ten minute wait, which felt like hours! I have never been so on edge! The lady came out with a piece of paper in her hands and a warming smile on her face. To my relief I had met the CAA requirements and was deemed fit to fly commercial aircraft. I had never felt such relief! It turns out that there are certain degrees of colour blindness and even if you can’t see the patterns on the cards, there’s still a chance that you can fly.  

Me Flying the sim into Gatwick

From all the research I’d done and people I’d spoken to, I decided that doing an integrated course with a leading FTO (flight training organisation) was the most promising route. The three main FTO’s that appealed for me were CTC Wings, Oxford Aviation Academy and FTE Jerez. With recommendation from close contacts and hours of research, I decided that CTC was going to be the best place for me and give me the best chance of landing a job at the end. This was due to the large number of partner airlines CTC holds, the quality of training and the location of the of the flight training. The advantage of training in New Zealand is that the weather is very similar to that of the UK and the most common conditions you will be flying in, only the airspace is quieter and therefore safer for cadet pilots.