This week it all began to sink in. I started training at the Scenic Airlines World Headquarters located in the booming metropolis of Boulder City, Nevada. Prior to the arrival of Scenic Airlines, the only thing of interest in Boulder City was Hoover Damn. For what it’s worth, the up close “Dam” Tour is not worth it in. I promise that will be my last “Dam” joke.
Pilot training at Scenic is broken down into several different phases. I’m currently in the first phase, Ground School (GS), and will stay there till May 20th (Lisa’s birthday in case you want to send a card). After GS, I will move to Cockpit Procedure Training (CPT), Simulator Training, Flight Training, the Flight Proficiency Check, and finally IOE (Initial Operating Experience). In total, I should complete all the training in about 6 weeks and then fly “on the line” full-time after that. Because of the work load, it’s going to be impossible to update the blog every few days, so I’ll make an effort to post several updates during each phase of training.
GS begins each morning and goes till the early evening. In this particular GS there are 6 Captains and 4 First Officers. From what I understand, it's not common to see this many Captains in a new hire class. But, based on current hiring needs, Scenic needed to acquire some additional Captains to meet the demands of the customers. Since there were no First Officers available to upgrade because of and rating requirements, Scenic hired “Street Captains” for this GS. A Street Captain previously flew for another flight operation and has been hired at scenic to go directly into a Captain position. Personally, I don’t have a problem with someone going directly to a Captains slot. All the Captains in the class are great people, and their wide array of knowledge really assists in the development of the First Officers. After getting to know everyone, each person in the GS comes from a different background (instructor, corporate pilot, military pilot, and me, the lonely hospitality industry guy). At least once a day I get asked why I’m taking such an enormous pay cut to come work for the airlines, and my response is always the same. “I’m living my dream!”
Each hour of required GS (75 in total) is assigned to particular topic. Some topics take an hour or less, while others are more in-depth and take several hours to complete. You would be surprised how long it takes to get 11 pilots to put out a trash can fire. The topics covered thus far in GS are more diverse then I would have expected. Below is a sample of some of the topics we touched on in just the first 4 days:
Company Organization Structure
Maintenance
Bad Weather
Really Bad Weather
Safety
Global Positioning System (Where are we?)
Terrain Awareness Warning System (Are we going to hit that mountain?)
Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (Wow, that plane is close!)
Emergency (Emergency Door Usage, Plane Evacuation, Aircraft Fire, Water Landings - really!)
Navigation
Security
Deicing
Runway Incursions
Hazardous Materials
OPSPECS (See below)
What is an OPSPEC you ask?
As I’ve come to learn, the OPSPEC is one of the single most important documents that I must become familiar with while a pilot at Scenic. The OPSPEC (Operational Specifications) are the FAA mandated rules and regulations our airline must follow when conducting business. They are specifically catered to Scenic based on the type of flying we do. Although there might be similarities between our OPSPECS and other airlines, there are always some differences. These OPSPECS are law, and a violation of one in a non-emergency situation, could get me in some serious trouble with The Man.
I’ve got the weekend off and am going to try to study and rest up. Next Tuesday I’ve got my first 100 question test. I must pass with an 80% or higher to continue to the next week of topics, so I’ve got my work cut out for me this weekend.
Remember, Sunday is Mothers Day!
Thanks for your continued support.
Nick
