The way from secundary school to the flightdeck!

HAM - BMA - BUD

2011-06-10T00:52:00.027+02:00

Voila, 24hrs haven't even passed since the previous message, and my first big delay has happened. The plan was to do the following flights:

The day started as a normal one. I woke up at 10h30 local time, and arrived in the crewroom at 12h30, which is 2hrs before the start of the first flight. This gives me the time to prepare the flight at ease (check the weather, airport status, routing, ...). 30 minutes later the Captain arrived as well, and we had a little chit-chat about the flights (and some other non-related stuff as well ofcourse! ;-) ). 50 minutes before the engine start-up, we passed through security (yep, we have to do this as well!) and entered the van that will take us to the airplane.

At Brussels Airlines, Captains have to do the external walkaround (check that the airplane is airworthy), and First Officers have to prepare the cockpit. Once this is done and the boarding is complete, we can start the engines.

For the 1st flight to HAM, I was the Pilot Flying (PF), and the Captain was the Pilot Non Flying (PNF). To summarise, the primary task of the PF is to control the aircraft's horizontal and vertical flightpath. The task of the PNF is to communicate with Air Traffic Control, fill in the flightplan, do fuel checks and to do the checklists. We take-off from Brussel, and turn right towards the North. When we were abeam Antwerp I asked to put the autopilot on. This gives me more resources to manage the rest of the climb as efficient as possible.

From Antwerp we passed via Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Groningen and Bremen to Hamburg. In Hamburg we had to do some extra miles due to the wind. We had a Westerly wind, which means that we have to land in a Westerly direction, as you can see below.

An airplane always has a speed relative to the airmass it's flying in. However, if that airmass is moving as well, the airplane's speed relative to the ground will differ from it's speed relative to the air. For example, if we are landing at a speed of 130kts, with a headwind of 10kts, the relative groundspeed will only be 120 kts. This shortens the landing distance required (safety!), but is also better for the brakes.

Anyway, after a succesful landing we taxi to our parking position (52). We shut down the engines in sequence, open the doors and the bus arrives to pick up the passengers.

The Captain goes outside again to do his walkaround, and I prepare the cockpit again for the next homebound departure. After some minutes the cockpit is ready again, and the Captain comes back inside. Today he's bringing some bad news along with him. He noticed that we had a birdstrike somewhere during the flight.

Birdstrikes happen often, and in general are not a great danger to airplanes. But today, we discuss about it and come to the conclusion that the bird went right through the core of the engine. Knowing this we can't just start the engines and leave. The Captain calls the operations department in Brussels. Our next flight is cancelled, and they will send 2 technicians to Hamburg with the next flight (with an airbus A319). 2 hrs later, the aircraft arrives. The technicians come to our airplane, and the cabin crew and passengers are going back to Brussels with the A319. This means that the Captain and me have some hours to spare in an empty airplane.

While the technicians are working on the engine, I go outside and take the time to make some pictures of the Jumbolino.

After 1,5 hrs the technicians tell us that the engine is fine. The bird indeed went through the core of the engine, but there is no damage. They'll close the engine again and after that we can do a ferry flight (empty airplane) back to Brussels!

One of the technicians is as old as I am (1990). He is in training, and would like to follow the flight from the jumpseat. The Captain is the PF for the way back. In cruise we share all of our knowledge and experiences. After seeing what they were doing with the engine, and the conversation, I can tell you that being a technician looks more difficult to me than being a pilot.

Anyway, We arrive in Brussels way behind schedule. The flight to BMA has already left with another airplane and crew. This means that our day is over, and the next day I'll be on reserve instead of returning from BMA and going to BUD.

After all I have to say that, unlike all of the other people, I enjoyed the day. It was very learnful and a good experience, knowing that one day this will happen to me as well when I am in command of the airplane. You can learn a lot from reading the manuals, but in reality there will always be more and unforeseen factors that will lead to taking the right decisions.

2011-06-05T17:40:00.018+02:00

De eerste maanden op de lijn zitten erop!

Sinds het laatste bericht, zijn we dus begonnen met onze eerste commerciële vluchten. De eerste 60 vluchten worden gedaan met speciaal getrainde kapiteinen, ook wel Line Training Captains genoemd. Dit zijn mensen die zelf ook speciaal getraind zijn om met nieuwe First Officers te vliegen.

Na deze 60 vluchten, wordt je allerlaatste examen afgenomen, de "line check". Dit is eigenlijk "gewoon" aantonen dat je al de normale operaties, tegen het tempo van op de lijn, aankan. In deze periode komt er nog steeds een pak informatie op je af. Je weet ondertussen hoe je het vliegtuig moet behandelen, maar je operationele kennis bevindt zich bij de aanvang van de eerste vlucht nog op het laagste niveau. Ik denk dan bijvoorbeeld aan bepaalde procedures/gewoontes op al de verschillende luchthavens, vliegzones, omgaan met de Cabin Crew en passagiers, ...

Op 5 mei heb ik dus de line check afgelegd, met een positief resultaat. Sindsdien is de job alleen nog maar leuker geworden! Na 3 maanden op de lijn begin ik mij er helemaal thuis te voelen. De procedures lopen gesmeerd, en je kunt steeds beter inschatten wat er je te wachten staat. Bijgevolg kan er dus veel meer geanticipeerd worden, wat ons op drukke momenten een heel pak werk bespaart.

Vorige week heb ik me ook terug ingeschreven in de lokale zweefvliegclub! Wat kijk ik er alweer naar uit om nog eens te zweven. Net zoals het bijna 5 jaar geleden allemaal begonnen is.

Zoals u dus al heeft gelezen, valt het vliegen goed mee. Maar er zijn ook nog andere voordelen aan deze job. Zo ziet een mens bijvoorbeeld eens iets in het leven! Verschillende steden, andere culturen, ...

Dat was het dan voor vandaag, de volgende keer zal ik eens een alledaags avontuur proberen uit te schrijven, met wat beeldmateriaal! See you!

2011-03-30T02:01:00.006+02:00

Voila, het ijs is gebroken!

Afgelopen zondag namen we voor de eerste keer een vliegtuig met een MTOW (Maximum Take-off Weight) van ongeveer 40T mee de lucht in!

Op deze vlucht, ook wel 'base training' genoemd, moet een piloot 6 landingen maken voordat hij mag beginnen te vliegen op de lijn (met passagiers).

's Morgens in de briefingroom werd er besloten om naar FMO te gaan. Dit omdat het weer er erg goed was (CAVOK, 090/03). De heenvlucht werd gedaan door mijn collega in opleiding. Nadat hij zijn 6 landings had gedaan, was het aan mij.

Voor de eerste keer mocht ik dus op de rechtse stoel gaan zitten. Door de intensieve simulator training, voelt dit aan alsof je 'thuis komt'. Je weet meteen wat je moet doen, wat er van je verwacht wordt. De motoren worden gestart, en een goede 30 minuten later sta je dus ook al te wachten aan de landingsbaan om op te stijgen.

De verkeersleiding geeft je toestemming om op te stijgen. Opnieuw kom je terecht in de uitgebreide procedures. Alles staat op papier, er is geen discussie mogelijk over hoe je het moet doen. Daarom heb je dan ook maar weinig tot geen tijd om te beseffen dat dit het moment is waarop je zolang gewacht hebt!

De eerste meters hoogte worden gewonnen, de wielen worden binnen gehaald. Daarna draaien we naar rechts, versnellen een beetje en veranderen de configuratie van het vliegtuig. Dit is dus één van die momenten waarop de 'workload' erg hoog is. Een piloot moet op dit moment navigeren in 3 dimensies, verschillende instrumenten bekijken, communiceren, enzovoort.

We hebben ondertussen 180° gedraaid, en vliegen nu parallel met de landingsbaan om daarna terug een 'touch & go' te maken. Dit is een landing, waarna we meteen terug opstijgen.

Na dit 4 keer gedaan te hebben, kregen we een 'slot' (een tijdstip waarop je mag vertrekken naar je bestemming) van één uur later. Als gevolg moesten we dus nogmaals een full stop maken, de motoren afzetten en 30 minuten pauze nemen. Persoonlijk was ik hier wel blij mee. Dit gaf me de mogelijkheid om nogmaals een volledige vlucht te doen, met de nodige voorbereidingen voor de vertrek- en aankomstroutes. Na de aankomst in Brussel, vullen we de flightreports in. Dit leert ons dat deze trainingsvlucht de maatschappij toch een goede 6 000 kg aan brandstof heeft gekost!

Vandaag hebben we dan onze line briefing gehad. Dit is een kleine briefing waarin beschreven wordt wat er van je verwacht wordt in de komende maanden. Vooral operationele kennis wordt hierin besproken.

De eerste lijnvlucht voor mij, is volgende zondag. Momenteel heb ik dus 4 dagen vrij! Het ideale moment om even uit te rusten.

Vanaf 3 april zal ik dus op de lijn vliegen naar bestemmingen zoals VNO, KRK, MXP, WAW, BUD, CPH, MRS, ... Het leven als piloot gaat dus van start!

Vanaf nu zal ik dus ook veel codes gebruiken voor luchthavens. Je kan deze opzoeken op www.world-airport-codes.com . Een officieuze maar zéér handige website.

Tot de volgende!

2011-03-17T23:59:00.002+01:00

Hallo!

Hieronder even een korte update.

Momenteel heb ik 8 van de 12 simulatorsessies vervolledigd. We leren veel bij, en hebben ondertussen toch nog plezier in de simulator.

De eerste echte vlucht voor de andere nieuwe F/O en mij is gepland op zondag 27 maart! We gaan dan hoogstwaarschijnlijk naar een luchthaven in Frankrijk, om daar de techniek van het landen helemaal te verfijnen.

En daarna mogen we dan beginnen op de lijn. Onze droom is bijna uitgekomen!

2011-02-23T17:46:00.009+01:00

Mensen die mij niet persoonlijk kennen, beginnen zichzelf ondertussen misschien al de vraag te stellen of dat ik nog steeds leef!? Wel, het antwoord hierop is 'ja'.

Mijn laatste blogpost is bijna een jaar geleden. Ondertussen is er dan ook al het één en het ander gebeurd :-). Zoals eerder vermeld, waren mijn flightmate en ik "afgestudeerd" op 26 maart 2010. Daarna begon een "minder" fijne periode van ons leven, namelijk het zoeken naar / wachten op de geschikte job!

De eerste 2 maanden vielen er voor mij niet veel vacatures uit de bus. In die periode heb ik dan ook besloten om part-time te gaan werken en ondertussen mijn vliegvaardigheden op niveau te houden in de vliegclub. Natuurlijk werd er thuis ook nog volle bak gestudeerd voor toekomstige interviews.

Op een vrijdagmiddag in juni (2010) was het dan eindelijk zover. Als je het het minst verwacht, krijg je plots een telefoontje voor selectietesten te gaan doen!

De donderdag erna zat ik dus in de b.house (Brussels Airlines) mijn theoretisch examen te maken. 3 weken later ging de telefoon opnieuw. Het theoretisch examen was goed, en dus werd ik uitgenodigd voor een gesprek. In 30 minuten had ik mezelf voorgesteld en meerdere vragen beantwoord. Mijn interviewers bleken tevreden te zijn over me, en een poosje later volgde dus de laatste stap van de selectieprocedure, namelijk de simulatortest. Na de Avro RJ 85/100 enkele keren (met 4 en 3 werkende motoren) de lucht in te loodsen en daarna weer veilig terug op de grond te zetten, kon ik enkel nog maar wachten op het goede/slechte nieuws.

Op 5 augustus was het dan zover, er zat een brief in de brievenbus waar opstond dat ik was opgenomen in "de wervingsreserve" - m.a.w. een soort van wachtlijst. Brussels Airlines heeft altijd al mijn voorkeur gekregen. De manier waarop ze hun personeel behandelen en de mogelijkheid om te groeien binnen de maatschappij zijn slechts 2 van de zovele redenen hiervoor. Meteen had ik dan ook besloten om andere vacatures links te laten liggen en te wachten op mijn droomjob bij B.Air. Ik heb namelijk nog 45j tijd om te vliegen dus een paar maanden zullen er wel vanaf kunnen ;-)!

Omdat er geen informatie beschikbaar was over een mogelijke startdatum, had ik opnieuw besloten om een tijdelijke job te zoeken. Van september 2010 t.e.m. januari 2011 heb ik dan ook fulltime bij Panalpina World Transport N.V. gewerkt op de luchthaven van Zaventem.

Weer op een vrijdagmiddag, ditmaal in januari, kreeg ik HET belangrijkste telefoontje. Het wachten werd beloond, ik mocht beginnen!! De start van de type bevoegdheidstraining (Avro RJ 85/100) was op 7 februari.

We zijn ondertussen 3 weken ver. Tot op heden hebben we vooral theorieles gehad, maar ook al 4 simulatorsessies. Op het eerste examen (over de systemen van het vliegtuig) ben ik reeds geslaagd, het volgende examen (prestaties) volgt deze week nog.

Vanaf volgende week dan is het enkel nog simulator- en observatievluchten. Vanaf dan zullen er dus weer wat mooie foto's en interessante verhalen gemaakt kunnen worden ;-)!

Tot dan!

2010-04-11T14:44:00.009+02:00

Beste lezers,

Aan elk verhaal komt een einde, en bij deze is er dan ook een einde gekomen aan mijn opleiding op SFA!

De CPL IR ME checkride vanuit Antwerpen verliep vrij vlot! Het was dan ook erg goed weer die dag (SKC), maar wel met een stevige wind. Na één uurtje van manoeuvreren, en het "schieten" van meerdere approaches viel het verdict: "I have controls, you just relax now, congratulations!". Toch wel een hele last die van je schouders valt, ook al weet je dat je voor een langere tijd niet meer zal vliegen.

Na dat extra lijntje op mijn vliegvergunning, was het dan tijd om aan het allerlaatste deel van de opleiding te beginnen: de "Airline Career Preparation Program". Deze bestaat uit 2 onderdelen: basic jet flying en MCC.

Zoals reeds vermeld deed ik deze op de B737NG. Een prachtig vliegtuig, waarin mijn flightmate en ik veel plezier beleefd hebben. Samen hebben we vele engine severe damages, engine fires en single engine go arounds doorstaan.

Op 26 maart 2010 was het dan zover, onze finalfinalfinal evaluation checkride! Na 3 uur en 20 minuten hard werken, viel ook weer het verdict. We hadden bewezen dat we in groepsverband de B737NG konden besturen, maar ook dat we al verschillende basismalfuncties van het vliegtuig de baas konden. Zowel als Pilot Flying als Pilot Monitoring. Als kers op de taart nog een paar mooie comments in onze training records, en het geluk kon écht niet meer op.

De volgende keer vertel ik wat ik nu, precies 2 maanden later, allemaal aan het doen ben.

Adios!

2010-01-20T02:08:00.007+01:00

Goededag,

Ondertussen hebben we toch al zo'n 3 keer kunnen vliegen hier in België. Nu, wat bepaalt of dat het verantwoord is om op te stijgen of niet? Ervan uitgaande dat het vliegtuig vliegwaardig bevonden wordt, en we op het schema gezet worden, zal in deze tijd van het jaar het weer de meest beperkende factor zijn.

Het meest voorkomende probleem in de winter in België, is "icing". Icing is een potentieel gevaar voor vliegtuigen, omdat de accumulatie van ijs op de vleugel, de luchtstroom sterk kan beïnvloeden. Het zorgt ervoor dat het gewicht van het vliegtuig toeneemt, samen met de weerstand. De lift daarin tegen, wordt sterk verminderd. In het ergste geval kan het ijs de vorm en de structuur van de vleugel zoveel veranderen dat de luchtstroom niet genoeg energie heeft om over heel de vleugel te geraken, en kunnen we in een "stall" geraken. Het zou natuurlijk puur toeval zijn als beide vleugels in zo'n geval op hetzelfde moment zouden stallen. Je kan het je al voorstellen, één vleugel die je boven probeert te houden, terwijl de andere liever als een baksteen uit de lucht zou vallen.

Nu, één van de redenen waarom luchtvaart zo veilig is, is omdat we altijd grote marges nemen als het op veiligheid aankomt. We kunnen altijd beslissen om niet op te stijgen, maar we kunnen nooit beslissen om niet meer te landen. Afgelopen weken hebben we dan ook enkele keren noodgedwongen moeten beslissen om met beide voeten op de grond te blijven.

EBAW 190650Z 26004KT 220V280 2200 -DZ BR BKN002 04/03 Q1024 R88/190095 TEMPO 1500 BR=

Er zijn nu dus nog 2 vluchten over, voordat ik klaar zou moeten zijn voor mijn Instrument Rating checkride. Met een beetje geluk, zou ik volgende week klaar kunnen zijn, en aan de laatste fase van mijn opleiding aan SFA kunnen beginnen, de ACPP (Airline Career Preparation Program). Deze houdt MCC (Multi Crew Co-operation Course) en basic jet flying in, iets waar ik dus al héél lang naar uitkijk!

Volgende keer meer!

2010-01-20T01:27:00.004+01:00

Hoi,

Het is ondertussen alweer eventjes geleden, en er is dan ook het één en ander gebeurd ondertussen.

Om een lang verhaal kort te maken: nadat we onze Da40 fase hadden afgerond, was het tijd voor te leren vliegen met 2 motoren. We deden dit op de Diamond Twinstar (Da42), een super tof vliegtuig om mee te vliegen. Nadat we hier zo'n kleine 20 vluchtjes op hadden gedaan, was het tijd voor de Commercial Pilot Licence checkride te doen. Deze checkride heb ik gehaald op 19 december. Enkele dagen later, net voor Kerstmis, was het dan tijd om terug te keren naar België.

Ondertussen hebben we toch al zeker één keer kunnen vliegen in België, op een tijdspanne van 3-4 weken tijd. We beginnen te begrijpen waarom ze ons naar Arizona sturen om te leren vliegen! Het is natuurlijk ook wel zo dat we op het slechtste moment van het jaar zijn terug gekomen.

Volgende keer meer over vliegen in België en over vliegen met 2 motoren!

2009-10-27T06:23:00.010+01:00

Hello,

Today (some time ago by now) my flightmate and me had our first IFR-crosscountry navigation. Both of us were planned for 3 hours, which means that we had the opportunity to make this quite a long navigation. We decided to plan our trip to San Diego Lindbergh International Airport. Dispatch had planned me first which means I had to plan the way to go there and could fly the beautiful approach into KSAN.

Once airborne, it didn't take a very long time for us to receive the first radar vectors to intercept airway V95 to POTER. Afterwards we could resume our navigation as filed.

After 2 hours of navigating, tracking, eating and talking, it was about time to start our descent/approach preparation. This means getting the approach briefed, do the descent/approach checklist, and load the necessary arrival and approach into the G1000. In our flightplan we had filed the BARET4 arrival procedure (STAR).

After doing half of the STAR (Standard Terminal Arrival Route), we started to receive radar vectors again. We were being vectored for the Localiser Approach runway 27, which means we were approaching over the higher terrain just East of the airport. After receiving the landing clearance, it was time to slow down. We were flying at 136kts IAS (Vno), to make sure that the commercial traffic wouldn't have to wait too long for us to land. The runway was covered with remains of tires (rubber), so we could not brake too hard after touching down.

On the way back (while I was backseating) I was able to take some pictures from the city, since we were flying just South of it on the departure.

2009-10-07T06:18:00.003+02:00

Hallo,

We zijn weer enkele dagen verder! Niet zoveel nieuwe dingen gebeurd ondertussen.

We vliegen geregeld nog eens in de simulator, wat ik persoonlijk wel een toffe bezigheid vind. Hierin herhalen we de interceptions, holdings, en (non-)precision approaches. Deze zijn trouwens gek gemakkelijk hier, vergeleken met in België, wat ik langs één kant wel jammer vind! Het visualiseren van deze dingen vormt inmiddels geen probleem meer voor de meesten, maar de vuistregeltjes mogen toch nog wel eens herhaald worden merk ik.

Op de Diamond 40, hebben we inmiddels ook onze nachtvluchten afgerond. Als kers op de taart mochten we dan ook een uurtje solo nachtvliegen.

Hieronder kan je nog enkele foto's vinden van enkele weken geleden.

2009-09-26T05:50:00.003+02:00

Hello,

Ondertussen zit het VFR-gedeelte erop! Dit betekent dus ook dat ik de ons-wel-bekende 65-check overleefd heb, wat trouwens een leuke maar vooral leerrijke vlucht was voor me.

Vanaf nu mag ik dus ook vliegen op de Diamond40 in plaats van op de Diamond20. De Diamond40 is van een iets groter formaat, en kan dus ook 4 passagiers vervoeren. Onder de cowling oftewel motorkap van deze kist vinden we een motor ter waarde van 180 woeste paarden.

In het vervolg zullen mijn vluchten voornamelijk bestaan uit het vliegen op instrumenten. Misschien past "vliegen op een computer" beter in deze context. In plaats van buiten te kijken voor referenties, zal mijn zicht er voortaan als volgt uitzien.

Op deze manier bereiden we ons voor op de mindere weersomstandigheden in Europa, we kunnen zo vliegen zonder buiten te kijken, en op deze manier kunnen we ook veel nauwkeuriger vliegen.

More next time!

2009-09-13T07:30:00.007+02:00

Hello there,

My last 3 soloflights are coming up. In the mean time I've been to Yuma Intl Airport and Blythe Airport during the longer navigation flights. Blythe is a small, uncontrolled airport which was build during WW II.

To give you an idea of the flights we make on the longer navigationflights, I've made a small summary. These longer flights take us about 4hrs to get there and back.

Today I was planned for a 3hr flight. I decided to practise all of my maneuvers again (steep turns, slow flight, lazy eight, eights on pylons, ..), and to do different patterns and approaches (flapless, power off, ..), instead of flying straight ahead all the time.

As for tomorrow, I have my last long navigation. I'll be heading to Needles Airport. Since it is my last navigation, I'll try to describe a normal day at SATC for you in one of the following days.

2009-08-28T06:56:00.003+02:00

Hello,

Some days ago I have done a long navigation flight to the popular destinations of Lake Havasu Airport and to Kingman Airport. In total it took me 4.2 hours of flying to get there and back, which is quite long but nice in the small Da20 aircraft! During those 4.2 hrs I have made another movie! Shown here is the approach into Lake Havasu Airport.

In the mean time I have finished almost all of my dual flights in the Diamond 20 as well. There are 8 solo navigationflights coming up now, followed by one dual flight and the last VFR progress check. After this I will be flying the Diamond 40.

2009-08-22T07:18:00.007+02:00

Hi,

To give you a better idea of my current status I have downloaded a small syllabus from the SFA-website and plotted myself on it.

In the mean time we had to choose the aircraft for our ACPP (Airline Career Preparation Program) as well. We could pick the 737CL, 737NG or the A320. As for me, I have decided to go for the A320. Both aircraft (B737/A320) have their own advantages and they are both very beautiful aircraft, so it was quite a difficult choice to make. Anyway, if I afterwards would have the opportunity to fly the B737 I'd be very happy as well, any aircraft would be fine!

I'll provide some home-made pictures for you guys as well, since I did my first real crosscountry flight. Today I have done my first flight on instruments, which was quite different from the instrument flying in the simulator. As for tomorrow I am planned twice. One solo flight and one dualflight.

2009-08-17T04:10:00.020+02:00

Good morning, afternoon, or evening if you want to,

You might be wondering what we have been doing lately. Well as for the flying part, I have passed my 45 checkride aka the cross-country checkride. As from now on, I am allowed to do navigationflights on my own. I can plan routes to new airports, land there, do touch&go's or whatever I want to do over there (within certain limits ofcourse). I have done one navigation flight so far, the next mission I'll have to fly will be a dualflight, that's why I have a 2-day weekend this week.

In fact, it'll be a 3-day weekend. President Obama is visiting the airport of Phoenix (KPHX) and so they have decided to put a TFR (temporary flight restriction) within a radius of 35NM from KPHX, with the consequence that there will be only a couple of flights on monday.

However, some guys, including me, have taken this opportunity to have a look at the Air Force One 747, the aircraft in which President Obama travels around the world. We have been at the airport of Phoenix for 2h, and saw a lot of aircraft touchdown and take-off, including another British Airways 747.

Pictures are to be found below, and there is a 'little' movie as well. Both 747 landings were videotaped, but those two will only start after 5:20 minutes or something. Have fun!!

2009-07-29T06:29:00.011+02:00

Enkele dagen geleden was het zover.. mijn eerste solovlucht! Dit betekent dat je helemaal alleen, op je eentje in het vliegtuig zit. Hoewel ik al wat solo-ervaring had met zweefvliegtuigen, gaf ook deze eerste solo op 'powered aircraft' weer een mooie 'kick' als ik het zo mag noemen. De eerste solovlucht bestaat uit 3 take-offs en 3 full stop landings, met taxibacks daartussen in.

Na mijn tweede solocheck geslaagd te hebben, mocht ik 30 minuten later mezelf nog eens bewijzen voor mijn eigen instructeur. één traffic pattern gevolgd door een full stop landing en voordat ik het wist zat ik helemaal alleen in de Diamond 4129T. De vlucht zelf verliep zonder problemen. Misschien af en toe eens iets harder landen als we zouden willen, maar men kan niet meteen een vlinder zijn!

Na de vlucht overleefd te hebben, stond er nog een briefing op het programma. Deze zou gaan over "crosscountry" oftewel navigeren. Op deze manier krijg je je dag wel gevuld:

03:00 Opstaan, ontbijten, douchen
04:00 Het busje pakken naar de school
04:05 Vlucht voorbereiden: het weer checken, de status van het vliegtuig, .. en kennismaken met de instructeur van dienst
05:45 Opstijgen met de instructeur die mijn check gaat afnemen
06:15 Landen
06:20 Kijken hoe anderen hun eerste solo doen en ondertussen een nieuwe "mass&balance-sheet" invullen
07:00 Opstijgen met mijn eigen instructeur
07:15 Landen
07:30 Opstijgen, helemaal alleen
08:00 Landen
09:00 Het busje naar huis nemen, eventjes middageten, 15 minuutjes slapen
11:00 Het busje naar de school nemen en de briefing volgen
11:05 Waarnemen dat je briefing 30 minuten vertraagd is
11:30 Beginnen aan de briefing
14:30 Einde van de briefing, naar huis gaan

Uiteraard heb ik hier ook wel het slechtste voorbeeld genomen.

Het voordeel van zo vroeg te moeten opstaan is wel dat de lucht zooo zacht is! Geen turbulentie te bespotten, nergens! We noemen dit ook wel simulatorweer. Persoonlijk sta ik liever om 3u snachts op om dan te vliegen bij 30° als dat ik zou moeten opstaan om 9u en te vliegen bij 40++°. Vanaf 43°c of hoger mogen we trouwens niet meer opstijgen.

Ondertussen gaat het leven hier in Arizona zijn gewone gangetje. Voor morgen sta ik 2x gepland, dat betekent 3u vollebak touch&go's doen op ons lokale luchthaventje. Overmorgen ga ik dan waarschijnlijk mijn eerste navigatievlucht mogen doen, samen met mijn instructeur. Die vlucht in ondertussen al mooi uitgeplot op mijn kaartje, en de VFR-navigation log is al zover als mogelijk ingevuld!

Hieronder kan je enkele foto's en een videootje terug vinden van mijn eerste solovlucht. Enkele vluchten later heb ik ook de mogelijkheid gehad om wat landings te kunnen filmen, dit is het tweede fimlpje.

2009-07-21T03:13:00.004+02:00

Hi,

Just 1 mission left before the solocheckride! Looking forward to that.

As for today, I've tried my best to make a small demomovie with Microsoft Flight Simulator 9. It is recorded at EBZW, the airfield where I used to glide before I started my flight training at SFA. I'll try to describe a part of the things that should be done in a traffic pattern according to the POH (Pilot Operating Handbook) of the DA20, and my personal experience.

1. Climb-out. At KFFZ, we have noise abatement procedures. Up to 300ft AGL (above ground level) we have to climb at Vx (speed for best angle of climb). The fieldelevation is 300ft more or less, so we'll have to fly at Vx up to an altitude of 600ft. As for Vx I have used 65kts in this demo. When passing through 600ft AMSL (above mean sea level (=altitude)) we can accelerate to Vy (speed for best rate of climb). Vy is 75 kts in the Da20. The next step is to turn at 500ft AGL (800ft AMSL) onto the crosswind leg. A climbing turn is 15° of bank maximum. Before turning we call out 'L / R free'. Finally, we level off at 1000ft AGL (1300ft AMSL). The speed in the traffic pattern is 80 kts, so we wait with pulling back the throttle until we have almost reached 80 kts. During the climb on the crosswind leg, we do the "after take-off flow" ("fuel pump on, landing light on, flaps up in a pattern").

2. Downwind. When entering downwind, we do the descent/approach flow (in a pattern it is only "DG set, engine instruments checked, warning lights push to test"). We maintain 80 kts. The next step is when we are abeam our touchdown zone. We check the speed, put flaps on 10° and maintain 75 kts.

3. At 45°, we can do a level turn onto baseleg, and start to descent when we roll out. The speed on baseleg is 70kts. We do the landing flow ("mixture full rich, flaps as required").

4. On final, we put the flaps in landing position (20° on the movie) and reduce the speed to 60kts. We try to maintain a 3° glide slope, keep the aimingpoint fixed on the windscreen and make sure that we stay on the centerline or a bit upwind. a 3° glideslope at 60 kts should give us a descentrate of 300fpm.

5. Landing. Overhead the threshold, we idle, give opposite rudder and put the stick into the wind. we wait until we are low enough and start to flare to try to put the aircraft on the ground as smooth as possible. After ALL wheels have touched down, we pull the stick back and start to brake.

You might notice that I have made some mistakes as well. For example my descentrate is way too high on final, which means that I had a glideslope of more or less 5° instead of 3° (no PAPI's). My speed was a bit high when I was turning onto baseleg. The last mistake I had noticed is that I've slightly overshot the centerline when turning onto final.

If you see some more mistakes, please let me know!! Feedback is always welcome. :-)

You might want to download the movie from rapidshare. It is (only) 55mb. The quality will be waaay better.

http://rapidshare.com/files/258172954/FS_pattern_EBZW.wmv.html

See you next time!

2009-07-13T03:44:00.002+02:00

Hi,

And for the 3rd time in 3 weeks, we are having a long weekend! Up to now we have done 7 flights. The 10th flight will be our first check, the solocheck! This means that we are doing a lot of patterns in our flights for the moment. 12 landings in one flight is not an exception nowadays.

For the moment we have a lot of spare time and we do a lot of non-flying related things. We have been in the waterpark wet&wild last saturday for example.

See you next time!

2009-07-05T00:56:00.006+02:00

Hello,

Yes, 2 weeks have passed here in Arizona! As said before, our 1st week was completely filled with VFR-briefings. In Belgium we have had some simulatorsessions (and briefings) already so those briefings were a good revision for all of us. In that same week, we had a long weekend (3days off) so we had a lot of time to study all of our flows, V-speeds, patterns, ...

Finally the time had come to do our first flight, in the second week. It was 2:30am when my wake-up call woke me up. After a little shower, I could start to do the flightpreparation on my laptop. Around 5:30 we were airborne! In the first flight we did some normal turns, straight&level flight, ..

Up to now, I have done 4 flights. On the 3rd flight I was suffering a lot from motionsickness, and the sick bag got used for the 1st time! :-) I think it might be because of the 'unusual attitudes' exercise. I had to close my eyes while the instructor brought the aircraft into an unusual attitude. Upon opening my eyes, I had to regain control of the aircraft. The 4th flight then was the flight I enjoyed the most up to now. I had a lot of sleep the night before and felt really good. For the first time I had the feeling that I had control of the aircraft, instead of the aircraft having control of me. Afterwards my instructor was a bit surprised when he figured out that I didn't have any real flightexperience before (except 6hrs of gliding), so I was a bit proud about that! He let me land as from the second mission, which is something I like a lot. He gives great explanations when he does a demo and is always very friendly. In short, I am happy to have an instructor like this!

For the moment we have a long weekend again (3days) so we can relax a bit at the pool, watch some fireworks at Tempe, and all these things. I took the time to read a great part of the VFR-manual as well, looked up some more tips on the internet, and tomorrow I'll revise my flows again, because 3 days off is a lot in the first weeks of flying. In fact I'd prefer to have only one day off for the moment!

In the mean time we have spent some time in an aviation museum as well.

2009-06-20T21:09:00.013+02:00

Hi!

For the moment it is saturday 12:15 (afternoon)! We have arrived safely in Mesa, Arizona. After waking up at 4am in Belgium, we were airborne at 12:00 Belgian time. 8 hours later, we had arrived in Washington DC, to catch our second flight to Phoenix which took us another 5 hours! In the end, we have arrived in Mesa at 04:00 AM Belgian time, which is 19:00 o'clock in here.

The trip was quite exhausting for all of us and we have been suffering from jetlag big time! In fact, we woke up at 05:00LT in the morning on friday. We had to be at SATC (Sabena Airline Training Center) around 9:30, so we took the van at 'The Spring' at 09:00 to get there in time. Once we got there, they took again some fingerprints! I think this was like the 4th or 5th time that we had to give our fingerprints.

In the afternoon, we had the opportunity to visit WalMart to buy some food and other things we found necessary to buy. Man, the stores in here are really huge! Just like the cars! Once we got back, we started cleaning our appartment because when we got here it was a big dirty mess, really! In the evening we went to Scottsdale to have a little party.

Our briefings will start on monday afternoon, so we have the rest of the weekend off. This can be quite usefull to arrange our appartment etc etc, and to get used to the way of living in here. The first flights will take place in a week probably. Below you can find some pictures.

Dennis

2009-06-16T22:59:00.003+02:00

Hi there,

Once again, it has been a while since the last post! In fact, it is more than 4 months ago! So what I'll try to do now is to give you a small but effective summary! :-)

In fact, we have finished all of our courses in Belgium! We will leave to Arizona (to do our practical training on the Da20, Da40 and Da42) on thursday, the 18th of june, which is in 2 days. If you ever want to go to the USA as a student pilot, you can expect a lot of paperwork!

As for the theoretical part, we've been through some stressfull weeks! In our last two weeks at SFA, we had 7 theoretical tests and 5 simulator missions left. Anyway, everybody who starts to study at SFA, is aware of the fact that those 2 weeks will come someday. In the end, all of us have survived, and what doesn't kill you can only make you stronger, right!?

Unfortunately I have failed 1 of the 36 tests (perfo), with 72% which is 3% below the passmark (75%). This was the 2nd perfo test, and I am quite sure that this was not because of a lack of knowledge but rather because of a bad day! Luckily I had 92% on my 1st perfo test and my 3rd perfo test was a 100% one, so not a problem at all in the end!

Afterwards we could start to prepare for the official exams at the BCAA (Belgian Civil Aviation Authority). We were told that the BCAA exams are more easy than the tests we had to do at SFA, so we could finish them with a really low stresslevel. For the moment the A part of prom 11 (in which I am in) has finished all of their exams without any retake! Great! isn't it?

As usually the 2nd part of this post is about the practical part. We have finished all of our FNPT-II missions as well (Da42). I believe everybody of our promotion (A+B) has passed the famous Mission20 (checkride) at this moment. That means I have passed it as well! The many hours of studying have helped me a lot to finish the simulator sessions with green missions only. The FNPT-II training includes a lot of instrument flying (17 out of 20 missions) like (non-)precision approach, circling approaches, holdings, interceptions, etc etc..

Observationflights! Indeed, it is something we love to do! In the mean time I was able to do 3 observationflights:
- JetairFly: Malaga
- Thomas Cook Airlines: Santa Cruz de la Palma + Funchal
- Jetairfly: Djerba + Malaga
On all flights I had a lot of fun, and I was taught a lot of new things by the crew! You can find a picture below. We were waiting for a backtrack in Santa Cruz de la Palma after the landing traffic in the Thomas Cook Airlines A320.

We had as well the ability to do 3 simulatorsessions on a 'bigger' airplane! 2 sessions on the AVRO RJ, and 1 session on the B738. The sessions were not meant to practice our piloting skills, but rather to show us different aircraft systems etc. But yep, all of us could (try) to land the jet as well! (Did you know that the engines of the avro have a centrifugal compressor and not an axial compressor?). You can see me on the picture and I've uploaded the video of my attempt to put the avro on the ground safely.

This will be it for the moment. I'll be uploading and blogging much more in the next few months to keep my hometown up to date while I am trying to fly in the USA! Tomorrow I'll pack some more bags and the day after tomorrow we will catch our airplane to 'holidayflyingcamp' Mesa! In the weekend I'll put some pictures online from our first few days in the USA. The picture below is taken from the controltower at Brussels Airport, and the Brussels Airlines A320-picture is taken from 'The Quick' at the terminals.

Dennis

2009-01-08T19:48:00.010+01:00

Dear readers,

There is a lot to tell this time! First, SFA decided that we will not fly on the archer in the States, but on the diamond 20 (below)! The advantage of this is that the change over to IFR (diamond 42) is more easy. However, this has got some disadvantages as well, for example 30 hours of backseating are lost.

As for the integrated practical part, we have finished our last BFC (Basic Flying Course) session. In this last session (actually it was a checkride) we had to show what we had learned during the BFC-course. In our promotion, 14 people passed the check (I am one of them), and 2 people still have to do an extra session before they can do the check. Since that we have finished BFC, I started studying for the FNPT2 simulator (The diamond twin star simulator). Studying for these simulatorsessions is big fun, and when I say this I am very serious (finally some "real" flying!). The first session for us can be expected in approximately 2 weeks, but studying the pitch-power table, flows, checklists, manoeuvres, .. requires some time. Besides the large amount of information, it is important that you don't only know all this stuff, but you have to "master" it! And to do so, it is important to repeat it over and over again, day after day, between the studying for the theoretical part. Below you can find some pictures of the diamond 42, the simulator (on the whiteboard) and the studying for it. The picture of the simulator in my room, is used to study the flows etc.

The theory course is still going fast as well. Up to now we have had approximately 1/4 of our checks, while we are halfway our training in Belgium (Offcourse this is logic, first receive course, then make the test). The results in our promotion seem to be very good (that's what they tell us), my average result on the checks is 95% for the moment, and there are 3 people whose results are a bit higher.

The last part of this post will be about observation flights. In the mean time, I did one observation flight (Jetairfly) with destination Malaga. It was a really nice flight on the Boeing 737-500 (below you can find a picture, but not of the -500). The APU (auxiliary power unit) was out of service that day, so we had to follow certain procedures. For example, for the startup of engine1, we had to obtain compressed air (instead of using bleed air from the APU, if I am correct) from an external source, some kind of truck, of which I don't remember the name anymore. After starting engine1, we could use the bleed air from engine1 to startup engine2. Unfortunately for you guys, I didn't make any pictures. Sorry! :-). The reason for this is, well actually I just didn't take the time for it. For the moment I am waiting for the confirmation of the next observation flight with Thomas Cook. I really want to do this one because it has a lot of legs, and a very nice destination (Brussels - Tenerife - Ostend - Liege - Brussels)! If it gets approved, it will be (offcourse) on the A320.

So, I guess this will be it for today. Excuse me if my english is not very proper (I know, everyone says this) but I didn't really take too much time for it this time.

By the way, it is not prohibited to post something in the shoutbox! :-)

More next time!

Dennis

2008-11-17T23:55:00.010+01:00

Hi guys,

Again, it has been a while since the last post! Week 9 has already begun, things are going fast and there is not much time left to post messages every week!

In the mean time we have started Basic Flying Course (BFC), in which we, as the name says, learn the very basics of flying! What we have learned up to now (session 2/6) are different step techniques (pitch-power table), and different eye scan techniques! Instructors tell us that this is one of the reasons why SFA should be one of the better FTO's, because it is the only FTO in which students receive this course (Other FTO's tell students to look at the basic T, but not HOW to look at it and how to work with it!). The sessions find place on a relatively small Piper Archer simulator.

And yes, where many of you have been waiting for, I had booked an observation flight as well! But, indeed, but, 3 days on advance it got cancelled! Too bad, because it would have been a very nice 3-leg observation flight (At least that's what I think). It would have been on the Fokker 50 from VLM, from Antwerp to Manchester, from Manchester to London City (steep approach!) and from London City back to Antwerp. For the moment I am waiting for the schedule of december, before I book a new one. By that time I should have my drivers licence as well, which can be very useful since public transport isn't that good in the early morning!

Before I forget to tell you, next friday (21/11) there will be some fresh blood in the SFA buildings, SFA promotion 12 is having it's welcome briefing!

Well, this is going to be it for this time!

Dennis

Week 2 - 4

2008-10-13T22:26:00.003+02:00

Hello,

It has been a while since the last post. This is because there is not happening much yet for our promotion. We have had theoretical courses only so far, we have learned to work with the pooleys CRP-5 analogue flight computer, and today we have had our first progress check (DC electrics). There will be 3 more progress checks in the next 3 weeks so we have to study a lot already. Below you can find our schedule for week 3 - 5 (without the changes in it), to give you an idea of what we do in Brussels.

tbc = to be confirmed
pof = principles of flight
bfc = basic flying course

Dennis

2008-09-26T22:49:00.007+02:00

Hi,

As you already know, promotion 11 started last week. Below I'll provide a little description about our first days of full throttle flight training, and believe me, it is full throttle flight training!

Day one; Welcome Briefing

We were supposed to be at SFA before 13.30. First we got a powerpoint presentation, explaining the different steps of our way to go to become an airline pilot. After this, we met some SFA staff members, got some rules, and we received an ATP (A) Integrated Course Training Manual. The next thing we did was a guided tour in the SFA building. And last, but not least, we could enter our very own classroom. The first thing we noticed when we got in, was our equipment for the next 18 months laying in there, as if Santa Claus brought us an early visit;

1. JAA ATPL Theoretical Knowledge Manuals (14 books)
2. Student pilot route manual for JAR-Flight Crew Licensing Reference Material
3. Three-Ring Kneeboard
4. CRP 5 Computer
5. Ruler
6. Protactor
7. Plotter
8. 3 water-soluble pens
9. Flight case Jeppesen
10. Reference manuals used for BFT (Basic Flight Training; 12 books)
11. Pullover
12. Tie
13. 2 pair gallons

Things we have not received yet;

1. BIAC Badge
2. 2 pants (blue)
3. 2 pants (beige)
4. 2 short sleeve white shirts
5. 2 long sleeve white shirts
6. Coat

Day two; Air Law and Electrics

Getting up at 6.30 is not fun if you are not used to it anymore! Anyway, after our first cup of coffee (that day) in the SFA lounge, we could start our first lessons. At 18:00 I got back to my residence and could start studying!

Day Three;

On wednesday we hadn't got any lessons planned in the afternoon, so we (a big part of prom 11) went to Brussels city, to get our costumes and to make some fun ofcourse! (picture below) We grabbed a drink (yes, one drink) and visited 'manneke pis'.

Day four and five;

These days we haven't done any special things, we had 2 lessons of basic radio and 2 lessons of electrics.

This post has been delayed a bit, because I haven't got an internet connection at my residence for the moment.

By the way, I won't post pictures of the kitchen anymore, because it just isn't interesting enough!

Dennis

2008-09-18T20:18:00.007+02:00

Hi,

During the ground school part, I'll stay in Meerbeek. So today we went over there, to install some stuff and to prepare my room. There's not much special about that and there are some things that still have to be done, but you can find some pictures below.

There is a public bathroom and kitchen as well, used by 3 other SFA students and me. These pictures will follow next week.

Dennis

2008-07-12T19:13:00.004+02:00

Goedemiddag,

You may have noticed some changes in the countdown feed.

SFA decided to start our promotion (11) on September the 22nd, due to fact that a wrong starting date has been inadvertently entered on the website. Many future students had already commitments until September the 19th and could not be free to start the courses on the 15th.

Dennis

2008-05-15T18:08:00.016+02:00

Hi,

Due to a request for some extra information about the SFA selection tests, I'll explain the compass test a bit more. The rest will follow in a couple of days.

CONTROL

The control test looks like the image below. It is a hand- foot coordination test. The intention is to keep the blue needle in the red square and to keep the blue circle on the red line at the same time. You may want to practise this on your flightsim before you enter the test, which will help you get the feeling of the joystick and the rudder pedals.

SLALOM

In this part you have to keep the blue triangle (below) between the green and red line (Actually these lines are squares). The lines are moving downwards. You have to do this by moving the joystick left and right.

ORIENTATION

With 3 instruments, you have to determine your position etc.

The first instrument shows the direction (measured from your aircraft) to the VOR. By knowing this direction you can trace back your position in relation to the VOR (blue cross).

The second instrument is the attitude indicator. It shows you your pitch and bank angle, which is represented by the green arrow.

The last intrument shows the heading the aircraft is flying.

Let me explain this example. The heading indicator (3rd instrument) shows us that we are flying East, while the ADF (1st instrument) shows us that the VOR is on our right side. The attitude indicator (2nd instrument) tells us that we are climbing a bit (it is not showed very well in here) without turning (look at the green arrow on the acft). If we were turning left as well, the arrow would aim to the left upper corner.

MATHEMATICS

You have 20 minutes to solve 20 questions. I dont think you need much explanation for this part.

MEMORY

There are shown 4 or less datas, which you have to remember. They appear a couple of seconds, and then they disappear. You have to fill them in again afterwards.

TECHNICAL QUESTIONS

After finishing the above standing tests, you get 20 (or 15, don't know for sure) technical questions. For example you have to work with the pythagorean theorem, and you get questions like why an aircraft can stay in the air. They're all multiple choice.

MULTITASK

While you are filling in the A/P, there appear red squares in the left and right upper corner. As soon as you notice these squares, you have to press some button (can't remember which button anymore). The intention is to do this as fast as possible. You only get 3 seconds.

Good luck Rahul with your compass test. :)

Dennis

2008-04-29T15:59:00.006+02:00

Good afternoon,

This time I'll tell you something about the licence for radio communication.

Last wednesday (April the 23rd), I've passed the test. The test contains 2 different parts, a theoretical and a practical part. The guy asked me the classic questions, for example what is the regional QNH, what are the different parts of the circuit, ...

After finishing these questions, you have to make a flight (I had to 'fly' EBOS-EBAW via NIK on FL 50) on a very compact simulator. The only working thing in it is the radio. You don't have to fill in your squawkcode either, just repeat it.

The test took about 15 - 20 minutes.

Dennis

2008-04-08T21:45:00.006+02:00

Hi all,

Last sunday, I have flown the Ka 7 (OO-ZMJ), in Zwartberg (EBZW). The weather was very good. After our climb to 1600 meters (up to 5 m/s max) we have been flying around the airfield for about 30 minutes. In the picture below, you can get a small impression of my experience.

Dennis

SFA

2008-04-08T20:22:00.011+02:00

Hi there,

Since I have finished the layout etc, I'll try to inform you about the selection tests which you have to do before you can start at Sabena Flight Academy (SFA).

PHYSICS TEST

This test will be done in a class room, together with all the other candidates. Make sure you know the subjects to know which you can find on the SFA website, and this test will not be a problem for you. If necessary, you can follow the free Physics refresher course at SFA. Don't forget your calculator!

ENGLISH TEST

The english test contains 2 parts, an oral and a written part. For the oral part, you will be interviewed by someone who lives/lived in the UK. This interview will take 5 minutes. For the written part, you will have to answer 30 multiplechoice questions on a computer.

PSYCHOMETRIC TEST

The Psychometric tests have to be done on the same computer. No flying experience is required to perform well in the tests. The psychometric test contains the following subjects:
1. Control: A compensation task looking at basic hand/foot/eye co-ordination.
2. Slalom: A tracking task looking at hand/eye co-ordination.
3. Mathematics: A test of basic calculations.
4. Memory: In this test, you will have to memorize a couple of numbers in a couple of seconds.
5. Task Manager: You will have to scan the screen and manage other tasks at the same time.
6. Orientation: You have to retrieve your position by a couple of basic instruments, which are explained before the test starts.

PSYCHOLOGICAL TEST

The psychological test contains 2 things as well. The first thing is to solve a problem in group, together with 5 or 6 other candidates. After this, you will be interviewed personally.

SCAN SKILL TEST

After a 30 min briefing, you have to fly a boeing 737-200 full flight simulator. Of course you don't have to do this on your own, the instructor will help you doing it.

FINAL INTERVIEW

If you passed all the tests above, you will be interviewed again. This time by the training staff and management.

So, this was a small introduction in the selection tests. I did them a couple of weeks ago, and I am allowed to apply promotion 11 (september 2008), which I will certainly do. If you have any questions, shoot!

Dennis

2008-04-08T18:42:00.003+02:00

Hi all,

As you can see, I have made a new blog.
In this blog, I'll try to inform you as much as possible about my career as future pilot.
Since I'm still working on the blog itself, you will receive my first real message(s) in a couple of days!

Enjoy your stay!

Dennis