So, now we've studied about half of the PPL theory lessons. Exactly three weeks have passed since the beginning of school and I've heard that there's about three more weeks to go. We have gone through AGK, MET and OPS and had exams on all of the three subjects. I got about 93% from meteorology and 95% from AGK so at the moment I've been quite successful. Also, we have gone through the whole POF subject and next week we should have an exam. Requires some studying, I suppose..
Some new subjects we have been going through are FPP - flight planning & performance and air law, so there's enough material and information to go through. Navigation should begin next week along with HPL - human performance & limitations. The latter interests me quite much, since I have been interested in psychology before.
Our flight training should begin in the middle of August. Waiting for that eagerly :)
Becoming a professional pilot...
sunnuntai 29. heinäkuuta 2012
lauantai 14. heinäkuuta 2012
The first week has passed...
From last tuesday onwards we've been going through PPL theories intensively. Our first subject was AGK, which stands for aircraft general knowledge and deals with all the technical aspects of airplanes. We studied the whole subject in the first three days of school. The exam should be next week then. Last friday we started meteorology and that continues next week.
The PPL theory course must include at least 100 hours of theoretical studies but at SL Flight Training we are going to study at least 125 hours of theories. Very reasonable, since these theories cover all the most essential things one needs to know about flying. Ten different subjects should be covered by these 125 hours, and we have six weeks to go!
Here's a short list of subjects included in the PPL theory course:
AGK, Aircraft General Knowledge
MET, Meteorology
POF, Principles of Flight
OPS, Operational Procedures
FPP, Flight Planning & Performance
GEN, General Safety
NAV, Navigation
COM, Communications
HPL, Human Performance & Limitations
AL, Air Law
The PPL theory course must include at least 100 hours of theoretical studies but at SL Flight Training we are going to study at least 125 hours of theories. Very reasonable, since these theories cover all the most essential things one needs to know about flying. Ten different subjects should be covered by these 125 hours, and we have six weeks to go!
 |
| Seven books and a lot to learn. |
Here's a short list of subjects included in the PPL theory course:
AGK, Aircraft General Knowledge
MET, Meteorology
POF, Principles of Flight
OPS, Operational Procedures
FPP, Flight Planning & Performance
GEN, General Safety
NAV, Navigation
COM, Communications
HPL, Human Performance & Limitations
AL, Air Law
maanantai 9. heinäkuuta 2012
First day in school
Today was my first day of school in SL Flight Training, where I'll be spending the next two and a half years. The day began at 12:00 when we gathered in the so-called SL class. This would be our main theory class during the PPL theory course, which starts tomorrow and lasts for about seven weeks. None of the other candidates from my aptitude tests seemed to be present but a few other students were gathered around the yard. We have 15 people in the PPL course, ten of which are students of the Finnish Aviation Academy (who study the PPL phase in our school due to the lack of resources of the Aviation Academy) and five are our own students. We got all of our studying material today and there sure was a lot of it, luckily I bought a larger school bag than I originally intended!
At first we were shown a little bit of the school's history and its status today. The head of training, the school's owner, our chief flight instructor and other flight instructors introduced themselves to us and at the same time we were told about all the study material and what's included. We got a little information package about the school's rules and regulations and all the general study-related things, a plotter, flight computer, the Cessna 152 flight manual, a Jeppesen professional pilot's logbook and Pooley's PPL -series consisting of eight books. We also got a few additional finnish books.
Lastly we got handed this weeks schedule and starting tomorrow at nine, the PPL theory course begins with full throttle :)
Here's a description of our 2.5 year course structure stolen and translated from SL Flight Training's website:
 |
| The school's main building |
At first we were shown a little bit of the school's history and its status today. The head of training, the school's owner, our chief flight instructor and other flight instructors introduced themselves to us and at the same time we were told about all the study material and what's included. We got a little information package about the school's rules and regulations and all the general study-related things, a plotter, flight computer, the Cessna 152 flight manual, a Jeppesen professional pilot's logbook and Pooley's PPL -series consisting of eight books. We also got a few additional finnish books.
Lastly we got handed this weeks schedule and starting tomorrow at nine, the PPL theory course begins with full throttle :)
Here's a description of our 2.5 year course structure stolen and translated from SL Flight Training's website:
- Integrated Commercial Pilot Training CPL(A)
- 300 hours of theoretical studies
- 98 hours of school flights (C152/C172/P28RT)
- 82 hours of PIC-flights (C152/C172)
- Airline Pilot's Theory Course ATPL(A)
- 450 hours of theoretical studies
- Instrument Rating IR(A)
- 35 hours of simulator flying (FNPT II)
- 15 hours of school flights (P28RT)
- Beechcraft King Air -Type Rating and Multi-Engine Rating
- 20 hours of theoretical studies
- 11 hours of school flights (BE90)
- Multi-Crew Coordination Course MCC
- 25 hours of theoretical studies
- 20 hours of simulator flying (FNPT II)
sunnuntai 8. heinäkuuta 2012
The Application Process
Here's a little story of the application process I went through before I got accepted to my flight school.
So, after deciding to pursue the career of a professional pilot I did a lot of research of all the aspects of the field, reading official sources, different forums and stories all over the internet. I noticed that SL Flight Training, a flight school in Helsinki-Malmi airport, some 20 minutes away from my home had a professional pilot programme starting in July and that the enrollment procedure was on. I filled the application form and was now ready to start the four-part application process.
Part 1 - The Application Form
The first phase in the enrollement procedure was sending the application form and suitable applicants would then be selected to aptitude testing. I filled up the three-page application form, which had questions on previous flight experience, education, grades in finnish, english and mathematics and previous jobs. The last part was to write a short essay on yourself. I wrote a little description on my history and why I wanted to become a pilot. I also had to gather a bunch of attachements like my previous licences, school reports and proof of completed conscription. I also had to go to a GP for a general health evaluation and attach all the required papers related to this. After all this it was time to begin waiting for a possible invitation to aptitude testing and in no time I got a nice email telling me that I could continue on to aptitude testing,
Part 2 - The Aptitude Test
The First Day:
The aptitude testing was held at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (FIOH) in Töölö, Helsinki and it lasted for two whole days beginning at 8am and ending at about 16pm. The first day consisted of general testing where basic mathematical and physics skills were testing in addition to psychological questionnaires and if the results were good one could continue on to the next day. In the hallway there was three of us eagerly waiting to be tested and in no time we were already doing the first tests.
The internet is full of descriptions about aptitude tests so I'm not going to go in-depth about those here. Also, one should remember that aptitude testing isn't about being the best, but about being suitable. There's really only so much you can do in terms of preparing yourself for the tests. It's better to go on with an open mind, do the tests one at a time, trying to be as honest as possible and not to stress too much.
The tests were all different and some were done with pencil and paper while others were computer-based. Tests and questionnaires ranged from psychological questions to drawing assignments and from simple mathematics (often with a little twist) to everyday physics. Many times I felt that a test really measured something else than what one might at first think. Usually the result isn't as important as the way you approach the problem, solve it and work under pressure. Many tests were also there to wreck your nerves. There was always way too little time to finish all the questions and I think the idea was to test how far you could reach with relatively good success rate until your brains exploded from overload. At the end of the day I got to know that my results had been good and that I could continue on to the next day.
The Second Day:
On the second day the nature of the aptitude testing changed and the tests started to become more challenging, diverse and involving. There was group discussion excercises, psychological interviews, hands-on problem solving, personality mapping and even the famous Rorschach inkblot test! Most challenging were all of the different multitasking excercises, where you had to focus on three to four thing at the same time, like keeping a crosshair in top of a constantly moving ball while tapping coloured buttons according to noises heard and so on... The hardest and most infamous test was the dice test where you had to figure out the correct symbol on a given side of a dice with reference to a few two-dimensional pictures of a dice. This forces you to imagine and rotate a three-dimensional dice in your head and to make things harder, those are no numbers on the sides of the dices, but different symbols that can be upside down or sideways. At the end of the day I was quite exhausted but felt good since I felt I hadn't failed any of the tests totally.
After the atitude tests followed the most discomfortable part of the enrollment procedure, which was waiting for the results. About three weeks passed constantly looking through my mail waiting for that letter. The fact that I spend almost every day at Nummela airfield gliding and flying ultralights didn't make this any easier, since friends constantly asked if I had already gotten the answers.
At last I got the long-awaited letter telling me I that the FIOH recommended me for professional pilot training. Everyone who applies to SL Flight Training's pilot training also has the possibility of getting in on a fully self-sponsored cadet scheme for Flybe Finland, but that path didn't open for me. I later found out that although my tests had gone well and my profile was suitable, the airline had somehow questioned my motivation due to the fact that I also had the university doors open for me at the time I applied. I've heard that some have been more applicable after applying for the second time but there would have been a two-year wait before the next application period, which was out of the question for me. I'd already be almost graduated by then! :)
Part 3 - The Medical
The third phase of the application process was acquiring the medical. All commercial pilots must hold a class 1 medical in order to excercise the privileges of their licences. So I went to the Aeromedical Center in Helsinki to be tested.
The medical testing lasted for a day and was somewhat familiar since I already had a sport pilot's medical (class 4). Of course the medical-1 testing was much more thorough and the eyes particularily were under heavy examination. There was a very large amount of tests during the day but thankfully the results turned out to be good. The most memorable event was when a substance was put in to my eyes causing my vision to degrade so that I couldn't read even the large headlines of a newspaper. After the testing I had to wait for a few hours before I was able to drive again.
Part 4 - The Interview
Soon afteer the medical there was the school interview, which was the last part of the application process. SL Flight Training relies on the results from FIOH for pilot selection and so the interview's more like a chance for them to get to know you. So I chatted about an hour with the interviewer, discussing subjects like the training and what it includes, general studying-related things and hopes and expectations on the future. Once again I could tell about myself and my background and why I wanted to become a pilot and attend the training. All in all, the interview was a nice situation, although I had previously researched everything so comprehensively that not much new things came along the interviewers school introduction.
After the interview I got a letter, which welcomed me to attend the school's professional pilot programme, starting on Monday 9th of July. I felt quite happy :)
So, after deciding to pursue the career of a professional pilot I did a lot of research of all the aspects of the field, reading official sources, different forums and stories all over the internet. I noticed that SL Flight Training, a flight school in Helsinki-Malmi airport, some 20 minutes away from my home had a professional pilot programme starting in July and that the enrollment procedure was on. I filled the application form and was now ready to start the four-part application process.
Part 1 - The Application Form
The first phase in the enrollement procedure was sending the application form and suitable applicants would then be selected to aptitude testing. I filled up the three-page application form, which had questions on previous flight experience, education, grades in finnish, english and mathematics and previous jobs. The last part was to write a short essay on yourself. I wrote a little description on my history and why I wanted to become a pilot. I also had to gather a bunch of attachements like my previous licences, school reports and proof of completed conscription. I also had to go to a GP for a general health evaluation and attach all the required papers related to this. After all this it was time to begin waiting for a possible invitation to aptitude testing and in no time I got a nice email telling me that I could continue on to aptitude testing,
Part 2 - The Aptitude Test
The First Day:
The aptitude testing was held at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (FIOH) in Töölö, Helsinki and it lasted for two whole days beginning at 8am and ending at about 16pm. The first day consisted of general testing where basic mathematical and physics skills were testing in addition to psychological questionnaires and if the results were good one could continue on to the next day. In the hallway there was three of us eagerly waiting to be tested and in no time we were already doing the first tests.
The internet is full of descriptions about aptitude tests so I'm not going to go in-depth about those here. Also, one should remember that aptitude testing isn't about being the best, but about being suitable. There's really only so much you can do in terms of preparing yourself for the tests. It's better to go on with an open mind, do the tests one at a time, trying to be as honest as possible and not to stress too much.
The tests were all different and some were done with pencil and paper while others were computer-based. Tests and questionnaires ranged from psychological questions to drawing assignments and from simple mathematics (often with a little twist) to everyday physics. Many times I felt that a test really measured something else than what one might at first think. Usually the result isn't as important as the way you approach the problem, solve it and work under pressure. Many tests were also there to wreck your nerves. There was always way too little time to finish all the questions and I think the idea was to test how far you could reach with relatively good success rate until your brains exploded from overload. At the end of the day I got to know that my results had been good and that I could continue on to the next day.
The Second Day:
On the second day the nature of the aptitude testing changed and the tests started to become more challenging, diverse and involving. There was group discussion excercises, psychological interviews, hands-on problem solving, personality mapping and even the famous Rorschach inkblot test! Most challenging were all of the different multitasking excercises, where you had to focus on three to four thing at the same time, like keeping a crosshair in top of a constantly moving ball while tapping coloured buttons according to noises heard and so on... The hardest and most infamous test was the dice test where you had to figure out the correct symbol on a given side of a dice with reference to a few two-dimensional pictures of a dice. This forces you to imagine and rotate a three-dimensional dice in your head and to make things harder, those are no numbers on the sides of the dices, but different symbols that can be upside down or sideways. At the end of the day I was quite exhausted but felt good since I felt I hadn't failed any of the tests totally.
After the atitude tests followed the most discomfortable part of the enrollment procedure, which was waiting for the results. About three weeks passed constantly looking through my mail waiting for that letter. The fact that I spend almost every day at Nummela airfield gliding and flying ultralights didn't make this any easier, since friends constantly asked if I had already gotten the answers.
At last I got the long-awaited letter telling me I that the FIOH recommended me for professional pilot training. Everyone who applies to SL Flight Training's pilot training also has the possibility of getting in on a fully self-sponsored cadet scheme for Flybe Finland, but that path didn't open for me. I later found out that although my tests had gone well and my profile was suitable, the airline had somehow questioned my motivation due to the fact that I also had the university doors open for me at the time I applied. I've heard that some have been more applicable after applying for the second time but there would have been a two-year wait before the next application period, which was out of the question for me. I'd already be almost graduated by then! :)
Part 3 - The Medical
The third phase of the application process was acquiring the medical. All commercial pilots must hold a class 1 medical in order to excercise the privileges of their licences. So I went to the Aeromedical Center in Helsinki to be tested.
The medical testing lasted for a day and was somewhat familiar since I already had a sport pilot's medical (class 4). Of course the medical-1 testing was much more thorough and the eyes particularily were under heavy examination. There was a very large amount of tests during the day but thankfully the results turned out to be good. The most memorable event was when a substance was put in to my eyes causing my vision to degrade so that I couldn't read even the large headlines of a newspaper. After the testing I had to wait for a few hours before I was able to drive again.
Part 4 - The Interview
Soon afteer the medical there was the school interview, which was the last part of the application process. SL Flight Training relies on the results from FIOH for pilot selection and so the interview's more like a chance for them to get to know you. So I chatted about an hour with the interviewer, discussing subjects like the training and what it includes, general studying-related things and hopes and expectations on the future. Once again I could tell about myself and my background and why I wanted to become a pilot and attend the training. All in all, the interview was a nice situation, although I had previously researched everything so comprehensively that not much new things came along the interviewers school introduction.
After the interview I got a letter, which welcomed me to attend the school's professional pilot programme, starting on Monday 9th of July. I felt quite happy :)
The Decision
In April 2012 when the weather started to get better and better I
began flying ultralights after a long winter break and after a few days
of flying I was starting to get this feeling that this isn't enough. I
didn't feel happy just flying for a hobby. I wanted to gain more knowledge and learn to fly new airplanes, bigger, more complex and multi-engined airplanes. I had thought about pilot
training before but somehow didn't quite get a real grasp of the fact
that I could actually start training to become a professional pilot,
that it could be the thing for me and not just those others. I had once
even abandoned the idea for a while because I thought I wasn't the right
kind of person and now I was pursuing an other career path in the
university world, and thought it would be enough to fly for a hobby every now and then...
But something about those few flights made me realize that I have to make a shot. I have to see if I could become a professional pilot, see if I could get in to a flight school and see where it gets me eventually.
There are people out there that know what they are capable of and go forward without hesitation knowing they can pass every obstacle. And then there are people like me. I've always succeeded very well in almost everything I've tried to do but I still sometimes find myself thinking that I'm not good enough. That I couldn't succeed in something. For all of you out there who are questioning their abilities: Don't do it. Let others decide your applicability.
I'm happy that I learned this before it was too late!
But something about those few flights made me realize that I have to make a shot. I have to see if I could become a professional pilot, see if I could get in to a flight school and see where it gets me eventually.
There are people out there that know what they are capable of and go forward without hesitation knowing they can pass every obstacle. And then there are people like me. I've always succeeded very well in almost everything I've tried to do but I still sometimes find myself thinking that I'm not good enough. That I couldn't succeed in something. For all of you out there who are questioning their abilities: Don't do it. Let others decide your applicability.
I'm happy that I learned this before it was too late!
lauantai 7. heinäkuuta 2012
The Beginning...
My first blog entry!
Welcome to my aviation blog! I became a pilot in 2009 when I took of to the skies in a sailplane for the first time. From there on flying has became a large part of my life evolving from a hobby to the point that I'm now trying to create myself a career from it. Earlier on I wrote some aviation-related posts in my "blogs" at facebook and the finnish irc-galleria, but now that I'm about to start professional pilot training, I decided that it's time to start a real blog!
So, welcome again and I hope you enjoy reading my posts. This blog is going to tell mainly about my flying studies at SL Flight Training (Salpauslento Oy), a Finnish flight school at Helsinki-Malmi airport. I am enrolled in the school's professional pilot programme, or "Ammattilentäjän Opintolinja" in Finnish. In addition I will be posting general aviation -related topics since I consider that an essential part of my personal flying history. I'm currently a qualified ultralight, sailplane and motor glider pilot so I will be writing about those hobbies at first, and later when I gain my licences, about GA flying with "proper" airplanes too. Also, since I'm fairly sure that my first jobs in the field of flying will be in the general aviation sector, there's no point in separating it from my commercial pilot training :)
Welcome to my aviation blog! I became a pilot in 2009 when I took of to the skies in a sailplane for the first time. From there on flying has became a large part of my life evolving from a hobby to the point that I'm now trying to create myself a career from it. Earlier on I wrote some aviation-related posts in my "blogs" at facebook and the finnish irc-galleria, but now that I'm about to start professional pilot training, I decided that it's time to start a real blog!
So, welcome again and I hope you enjoy reading my posts. This blog is going to tell mainly about my flying studies at SL Flight Training (Salpauslento Oy), a Finnish flight school at Helsinki-Malmi airport. I am enrolled in the school's professional pilot programme, or "Ammattilentäjän Opintolinja" in Finnish. In addition I will be posting general aviation -related topics since I consider that an essential part of my personal flying history. I'm currently a qualified ultralight, sailplane and motor glider pilot so I will be writing about those hobbies at first, and later when I gain my licences, about GA flying with "proper" airplanes too. Also, since I'm fairly sure that my first jobs in the field of flying will be in the general aviation sector, there's no point in separating it from my commercial pilot training :)
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