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Aviation

Sterling Pacific Review – A day in the life of a cargo pilot

Flying with the Sterling Pacific 35L Carry On Travel Case: A Cargo Pilot’s Perspective

Eva with the Sterling Pacific 35L Aluminium Travel Case

My name is Eva, and I have been flying the Boeing 747 freighter (-400 and -8 versions) for 5 years. The Boeing 747 freighter is the variant with the iconic nose cargo door. From my home base Hong Kong I fly all around the world as a senior First Officer. The first fact about flying as a cargo pilot: no two days are the same! There is no typical day or typical week. It is a lot of fun.

Join me on my trip

Today you are joining me on a day in my life as a cargo pilot. It’s Friday afternoon. I have just completed a simulator session at my airline’s training centre in Hong Kong. I am in the simulator every three months, for proficiency and training sessions, where all kind of scenarios get trained and checked; from multiple engine failures to cargo fires to landing in low visibility conditions. After completing my simulator session I check with ‘crew control’ for any changes in my schedule. There are no changes, so tomorrow I have an early morning report time at 05:30 AM. It is not a very typical duty in my not so typical schedule: I get to operate to Mumbai, then stay in the crew hotel for a couple of hours, to return back to Hong Kong as ‘positioning crew’. It is not a turnaround flight, as is often the case. In a turnaround flight we return directly back to Hong Kong after cargo has been offloaded and loaded in usually under two hours.

How I pack my Aluminium Travel Case

At home I pack my bag for tomorrow; I bring the Sterling Pacific 35L Carry On Travel Case. The case is absolutely perfect for shorter trips and for those cargo turnaround flights, where I would normally bring some items along with me for an ‘unexpected overnight’. It easily stores toiletries, sleepwear, gym clothes, a clean uniform shirt, and my laptop. I prepare for an early night.

Let’s fly to Mumbai!

It’s Saturday morning. In order to make my early report, with the Hong Kong Express Train not running yet, I have booked a taxi to pick me up at 04:45. I get ready and put on my uniform. Then I have my first cup of coffee of the day, while downloading the flight plan and the weather information on my company iPad for my flight. In the taxi to Dispatch I review the flight. Today I am scheduled to operate a Boeing 747-8F. I slightly prefer the -8, as it is a bit more advanced, with for example electronic checklists instead of paper checklists. The flight time is 6 hours, and the weather in Mumbai is very hazy, so the visibility for landing is quite reduced today.

Cargo on board

Boeing 747 nose cargo door

At Dispatch I meet with the Captain. He offers me the sector, which means that I get to be pilot flying, including take-off and landing. We discuss the flight, the weather, aircraft status and required fuel. We have a lot of freight on board today, and will land at Mumbai at almost our maximum landing weight of 346,090 kgs. Our scheduled departure time is 06:55 AM. As pilot flying I set up the flight deck, and the Captain completes the external inspection of the plane. The loading has already been completed when we arrive at our airplane; lots of high stacked pallets. The nose door stays closed today; it is only used for very big and bulky freight, which would not work for the side cargo doors. As we are ready early, we are able to depart a few minutes ahead of schedule. With freight there is less pressure when it comes to keeping the exact schedule: when you are ready to fly, you can often go if it works with Air Traffic Control. Also, there are no passengers to complain in case of some delay.

6 hour flight

The Captain and I have flown together before, but it has been about a year since we last operated a flight together. We catch up and have a very pleasant flight to Mumbai. There is no turbulence, so we enjoy a smooth cruise phase. As we fly to Mumbai, we enjoy our breakfast (which we prepare ourselves in the galley) at Flight Level 360 in Vietnamese airspace. We discuss more interesting cargo each of us has transported: from priceless racing cars, to dozens of horses.

It is late morning when I get to land in Mumbai; this is my favourite phase of flight! Then follows taxiing, parking and shutting down the engines. Our plane is scheduled to continue to Germany, and a different crew is ready to operate the flight to Frankfurt. The Captain and I disembark the plane, making sure we have our belongings with us. I grab my Sterling Pacific Case from the Upper Deck, and then we need to pass the security in Mumbai, and take our transport to the crew hotel.

More about the Sterling Pacific 35L Travel Case

At the hotel it is time to unpack. I already got several compliments on my shiny Sterling Pacific Travel Case today; from my colleague, and from a couple of random passengers at the airport. It is beautiful and elegant indeed, and it does not go unnoticed. The two wheel design proved robust going over bumps; the wheels roll smoothly. ‘Click click!’, as I open the spring loaded latch locks. A fun avgeek fact: the aluminium used for the case (5052 and A380), are two alloys used in the construction of aircraft and in aerospace engineering. This luggage is built to last.

Sterling Pacific Travel Case: elegant design and built to last!

Returning home

Sterling Pacific 35L: compact size and durable.

We only stay at the hotel in Mumbai for a couple of hours; in the evening we return to Hong Kong on a Boeing 777 passenger flight. We are traveling as ‘positioning crew, which means that we don’t get to operate, but travel in the cabin, because we need to return to Hong Kong for other duties.

So that same evening, after a nap, a gym session and freshening up, we meet with the B777 crew in the hotel lobby. We travel back with them to Mumbai airport. On board, I stow the Sterling Pacific Travel Case safely in the overhead bin. The 35L case complies with the allowable major airlines carry-on size limits. I change from my uniform into my pyjamas and sleep the whole way to Hong Kong. We land on Sunday morning at 10AM. I make my way home, and the rest of the day I am off.

The next evening, Monday night, I need to operate the Boeing 747 to Alaska. This is a 9,5 hour flight, crossing the Pacific Ocean, and it is a route I operate very frequently. I am scheduled to fly in the USA for 6 days, and operate between Anchorage, New York, and Toronto. I am hoping I get to see the Northern Lights on one of these flights! (Spoiler alert: I did get to see the Northern Lights 🙂 As I said, this job is a lot of fun!

In conclusion: Sterling Pacific Luggage Review

Thank you Sterling Pacific, for letting me try out the 35L Cabin Travel Case. I look forward to take this stylish and high-quality aluminium case on many more trips. I am also excited to try out the 80L Check-In travel Case in the future, for all my longer cargo trips. With its sleek design and robust construction, it’s the perfect choice for pilots who require reliable luggage on their many trips around the world. If you’re a pilot looking for the perfect luggage, consider Sterling Pacific for your next journey!

Aviation

Pass your Cadet Pilot Assessment

I reviewed the ‘Cadet Ultimate Bundle’ in collaboration with ADAPT/Symbiotics. You can find the original article here.

As a pilot, you are assessed throughout your whole career. Several times a year, pilots are required to demonstrate proficiency in simulator exams. Training, testing and checking: it is part of the job, but did you know that the assessments start right from the beginning, when applying to a Flight Academy? How can you pass a cadet pilot selection process and what about that first job interview? Preparation is key! Let’s talk about what you can expect, and how you can prepare to pass a pilot assessment.

Let me introduce myself. My name is Eva, and I have been working as an airline pilot for eight years. I passed two First Officer job assessments; one for the Boeing 737 as a low hour cadet, and one for my current position, which is Boeing 747 First Officer. When I decided to try and become a pilot, I applied at two different Flight Schools. I did assessments for both. My first assessment, I failed miserably, however I was accepted as a cadet for the second Flight School, after I passed their assessment successfully. The difference was preparation. The first time I showed up completely unprepared, and not knowing what to expect. For the second assessment, I prepared thoroughly. I did my research on the different stages of the selection I could expect, and I found ways to prepare and to improve. I learned my lesson, and later I applied the same strategy for both my airline pilot interviews.

Reviewing the Cadet Ultimate Bundle

The road to an Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL), and to a pilot job, can seem challenging – and it is! All flight academies have their own selection process, and they are normally very thorough. An interview and a flight simulator assessment are a certainty and, in most cases, you can also expect to take several psychometric tests.

Recently I have been given the opportunity to review Symbiotics’ most extensive online preparation package: the Cadet Ultimate Bundle. It is created for Ab-Initio/Cadet pilots, designed to cover everything you may come across during the flight academy recruitment process. Let’s have a look at what the Cadet Ultimate Bundle contains:

The bundle gives you a set number of attempts at each of the online tests over a three months period. After purchasing, you can log into the online portal, which shows you when your access ends, how many test attempts you still have left, as well as which tests you have completed and which ones you still have to do. It is all very clear.

As I think back to the days of my own Flight School assessments, I start with the first test.

Personality Questionnaire with feedback

The Adapt Personality Questionnaire (APQ) is an in-depth test, concerning my interests, preferences, opinions, values and motivation. There is no right or wrong: all I need to do is stay true to myself in my answers, as to reflect my natural behaviours. There is no time limit to complete the test, but the aim is to finish under one hour.

Some example questions. – Choose the answer resonating the most with you.

At work I believe: Rules are there to follow / Rules can be changed if necessary.
If the pay were the same I’d prefer to be: A counsellor / An engineer.
When working on a project, it’s more important: For everything to be just right / For things to be completed on time.

And some example statements. – To what extent do you agree?

I get excited by new or unusual ideas.
I know that even if I make mistakes in what I do, nothing is likely to seriously go wrong.
Sometimes I don’t deal with situations well.

These are just a few examples, so you get an idea. Many questions get repeated in a slightly different wording over the course of the questionnaire. The questionnaire is very similar to the personality test I had to do during the assessment days for my current job. Once completed, Symbiotics reached out to me to schedule an online video feedback call. On the feedback call, Emma Akhurst, an Aviation Psychologist at Symbiotics, debriefs me on my test report. She explains how my results are presented as a ‘sten score’, where my scores get compared to a large comparison group of individuals who took the test in the past. Many airlines and flight schools use similar tests, in addition to an interview and other assessments, normally to confirm their impression of a candidate. She explains the scores, and how a selection committee can interpret them. There is time to discuss questions and concerns and Emma encourages me to reach out if I have any additional questions later.

One of the graphs of the ADAPT personality Questionnaire Report.

After the debriefing I find the complete report in my e-mail inbox. In small radar graphs my scores are explained in detail, giving a profile of my character, work environment preferences and personal style. It also contains a ‘silhouette’, reflecting my preference to certain styles of information processing, work ethic and motivation. Completing the APQ gives me great insight into how seemingly random questions can lead to an extensive report on my personality.

Mock Interview with a Psychologist

The mock interview takes place via an online video call. As soon as Symbiotics Principal Occupational Psychologist Karen Moore appears on the screen, I can tell she is an excellent and supportive coach: someone who can really put ab-initio pilots at ease for their first interview, and help them to present themselves at their best.

Though I do get to experience a mock interview, I also get the opportunity to ask her questions to learn how she approaches it. Karen informed me that “I will explore the candidates self-awareness, motivation, industry awareness, and will ask questions to see if they have an understanding of the role of a cadet and what they know of the training organisation they apply to.” She continues: “Most candidates are sensible, and I can offer them feedback and give suggestions. Also a major part of a mock interview is helping to remove what we call ‘test environment fear’, the not knowing what the process is going to be.”

She finally puts me on the spot with a couple of unexpected questions. “When it comes to leadership, when did you have to defend an unpopular decision you made?” “When was the last time you made a decision which required careful analysis?” As I keep rambling on, she reminds me of the STAR technique in answering interview questions: Situation, Task, Actions, Result.

Personally, I think the mock interview is the most helpful tool to prepare for your cadet assessments, and especially for the first one! It can be very useful to get some constructive feedback from a ‘stranger’, on your first impression, and on how you answer the practice interview questions. It is, in all honesty, my favourite tool in the practice bundle. Having completed the APQ and the Mock interview, I move onto the pilot aptitude tests within the bundle, which look to measure a candidates knowledge and skills.

Maths, Physics, FAST, Coordination and Cognitive Reasoning Practice Tests

It’s been almost two decades since I worked my way through Maths and Physics classes, so I am curious what to expect. The Maths and Physics practice tests are similar in structure: 20 multiple choice questions, getting more advanced as the test progresses. They are timed and to be answered in 30 minutes – you are not allowed to use a calculator.

After completing the test an instant report is generated, telling me how I scored and providing me with personal revision guidance. The Maths test includes fairly basic distance calculations and a Pythagorean theorem exercise and I am pleased to have scored 100% for it. But I definitely found the Physics test more challenging! For Physics the report tells me that ‘the formulae for electrical resistors, both in series and parallel may be tested.’ It would also be time to review the formulae for springs, both in series and parallel. ‘Revise both the effect on extension length and resistance.’ OK, I will! These tests are an excellent tool to find weaker areas of knowledge.

The Cognitive Reasoning practice test brings me back to my first assessment at a flight school, which as mentioned earlier, I failed. I wish I had invested some time in practicing numerical and verbal reasoning tests, along with working memory, spatial and relationship reasoning exercises. These are all covered in this test and I highly recommend having a go at them to practice in order to get familiar with them.

Finally, to complete the Ultimate Bundle, the FAST and the Coordination practice tests are aimed at your dexterity, which is very important in any kind of simulator assessment. The FAST (Future Aptitude Selection Tool) is quite a challenging multi-tasking dynamic exercise requiring me to deal with multiple information sources simultaneously. Such demanding exercises are part of many assessments; in fact this one is very similar to a test I had to take at my second (successful) flight school assessment. So again, this test makes for great practice. Many flight school selections will subject candidates to a similar test, in which the demanding work environment in the flight deck is replicated.

Conclusion

With the Cadet Ultimate Bundle, Symbiotics have created the most thorough preparation package, with many useful tests and features, to cover everything you may come across in the recruitment process for a cadet role. The great thing is that all tests can be individually purchased as well, so if you feel you don’t need such an extensive preparation, you can have a look at the separate tests available and just purchase what you think suits you.

“Proper preparation prevents poor performance – good luck!”

Find the Symbiotics Practice Tests here: Symbiotics Practice Tests

About the author: Eva is a Hong Kong based Boeing 747 pilot and through her Instagram page @Flywitheva she shares her life as a pilot, aiming to inspire, inform and advise the next generation of future airline pilots.

Aviation

747 Cargo Pilot Schedule: A busy month

Behind the scenes of @flywitheva

I already wrote about my month of April 2019. I was too busy to write about the months after, but the blog article was appreciated according to the feedback I got on it. So here is another month: right in the middle of summer, July 2019. I picked this month, as it was a really busy month, where I flew almost 100 hours, which is really a lot for the operations we do.

Every 15th of the month I get my schedule for the following month. So on the 15th of June I receive my schedule for the month of July. Scheduled are a 6-day trip to Alaska and Mexico; on this trip I will get my line check to upgrade in my First Officer position to ‘relief qualified’. Then a 4 day trip to Delhi and Hanoi, followed by a long back to back trip Hong Kong/Dacha/Hanoi/Hong Kong. Then a trip where I position* to Chennai, to have a 2-day layover, to fly Bangalore/Hong Kong. (*See terminology list at the end of this article) The month ends with a block of standby*. Ok, let’s do this!

Week 1

After 2 weeks of leave, which I spent in The Netherlands and Finland, I fly from Helsinki back to Hong Kong on the 27th of June. My boyfriend Brian flies the same day from Helsinki to Barcelona, to start his weeks working as a tour guide. He will be hiking with a tour group in the Pyrenees this time. I still have a couple of days off till my next flight, which is on the 4th of July. I am pretty much a hermit this week, studying non stop. I have my ‘relief qualified line check’ as my first trip this month. Last month I already passed a simulator assessment, but I also need to fly an exam on the line. If I pass this exam I will be allowed to fly with flight crew of junior ranks (Second Officers and Non Relief Qualified First Officers) when the Captain rests on long haul flights. I will then be responsible for this part of the flight. Important topics that will most likely get discussed are emergency procedures, diversions, decision making and flying escape routes over high terrain in case of dual engine failure or loss of pressurisation. I study the whole week from morning till evening. I review big parts of the operations manual, review systems and procedures, and the routes and destinations I will fly. A few times I requested a trip to Mexico, but never got it on my roster: of course now I get these to me new airports on my check! My check is Hong Kong – Anchorage, and Anchorage – Mexico City – Guadalajara. Mexico City and Guadalajara are both high elevation airports, making them more challenging destinations in our network. Two days before the check my examiner sends me an e-mail; I have to be pilot flying* on two sectors, and pilot monitoring* on one. He lets me choose which sectors. I seek advice with some colleagues, and as Mexico City has a ‘famous’ quite challenging approach, I decide to do this sector as pilot monitoring, and fly the other two.

Passed my exam 🙂 !

So on the 4th of July my line check starts. My report is at 12:15. I am really nervous and it’s hard to snap out of it. The whole crew (the Examiner, another Captain and a Senior First Officer) notices it. They are such a nice bunch, setting a good atmosphere, that I manage to relax, and stop thinking about possibly making mistakes all the time. It’s weird how the fact that it’s a ‘check’ today, makes this standard flight from Hong Kong to Anchorage (we fly this route all the time!) now feel challenging. The flight goes well, and after landing in Anchorage the examiner assures me I am doing a good job so far. We get in the hotel by 08:30 in the morning Anchorage time, and we agree to all meet in the evening to go for dinner in town. I go straight to bed, and sleep the whole day (night time for our bodyclock). We then have a great evening. The weather is amazing, and it’s high summer so it stays light till almost midnight. I meet a lot of nice colleagues, it’s the 4th of July, so Anchorage feels very festive, and we go to several rooftop terraces with live music. I stay out long, so I can sleep again on my normal night bodyclock during the day. In the evening the trip continues, and I feel fairly relaxed after the first part of the check. We fly two sectors through the night: Mexico City and Guadalajara. The examiner lands in Mexico City, and then I take it to Guadalajara; a short flight, and all goes well. In the hotel the examiner debriefs me, and I passed my check, happy days!

Now it’s time to sleep a few hours, before we go out with the crew to celebrate. We go to a great restaurant, called Casa de Los Platos. Nice food and a good atmosphere! It’s my first time in Mexico, but the layover is short: already the next morning we fly to Anchorage again.

Week 2

In Anchorage we have minimum rest only; we land in the afternoon, and fly out very early in the morning again. My bodyclock is messed up by now, so I have troubles sleeping, and hit the gym for a good run before we fly out. It helps and energises me a lot. We land back in Hong Kong in the morning of Tuesday the 9th of July. I arrive to an empty home; Brian is still working in Europe. I have a couple of days off now 🙂 After my week of literally being a hermit studying, and the check last week, I now catch up on social life in Hong Kong. I meet up with friends every day, go out in the city, and go to plenty of yoga and other sports classes to balance out last trip. On Friday I have my annual medical exam. It takes about 40 minutes to tick all the boxes (eye test, hearing test etcetera), then I walk out with a renewed medical.

On Sunday evening I report for a night flight to Delhi. I am scheduled to fly with a Captain I flew with before (after one year on the line I still fly most of the time with colleagues I never met). This will be a fun trip. We fly three sectors together, and he gives me two to be pilot flying. He flies out to Delhi. We fly past a long line of huge thunderstorms, and the view is amazing and humbling. After landing late at night we have minimum rest in Delhi; we take off next afternoon again. No time to do anything, besides resting for the next flight.

Week 3

Monday. Today our trip continues from Delhi to Hanoi. This is my favourite destination in Asia. It’s an interesting departure today, as we have some technical issues to deal with. When we are ready to push back, Delhi airport is affected by the heaviest rainfall you can imagine. Within no time the apron is completely flooded. The technical issues affect our start procedures, which take quite some extra time now. When we are finally ready to taxi, it has cleared up again, making for a smooth departure. We land in Hanoi fairly late in the evening. When we arrive in the hotel we change quickly, to have a drink in town before everything closes. It’s a nice evening, and I invite my colleague to join me tomorrow, when I will meet up with a follower from Instagram.

The next morning I hit the gym, then meet up with the Captain and the Instagram follower. He is an FAA international airworthiness safety inspector, working for some weeks in Hanoi, and he reached out via e-mail to see if I wanted to meet up. I love this about social media. We have a great afternoon talking, drinking Vietnamese coffee and sharing a meal in the evening. (The funny thing is that I meet up with him again two months later, on a layover in Anchorage, when he is there on a trip! He then gets me in touch with his local friend, to go flying in a sea plane!) After dinner we need to get ready, and I operate the short flight to Hong Kong. We land late at night.

I have Wednesday off, and then on Thursday I have a really long day of almost 16 hours duty. It’s operating Hong Kong to Dhaka and then to Hanoi, then wait some hours to position back from Hanoi to Hong Kong as passengers on an A320. Out the door by 0700, back past midnight. Before my report I meet Brian in the Hong Kong airport terminal; he just landed from his work trip in Europe and will now be back in Hong Kong with me for 5 weeks. I have not seen him since Finland, and can’t wait to get back tonight. The day itself is long, but enjoyable! I am off for two days now. I catch up with Brian and we meet up with friends in the evening. On Saturday a friend of Brian arrives from Melbourne in Hong Kong, to stay with us a few days.

On Sunday I have to leave again: I am scheduled to position* to Chennai. But when I arrive at dispatch, there is a new plan for me: I go to Australia instead! It’s my first time down under. I have to operate to Sydney, and then stay on board to continue positioning to Melbourne.

Week 4

We fly all night to Sydney. I am so excited, as I have never been to Australia yet, and I had not anticipated this trip. The Captain took the sector, and I monitor at the take off, and the other First Officer monitors at the approach. I get the last rest at the end of the night, which is perfect. I sleep in the bunk, then enjoy the approach at Sydney from the observers seat, then stumble back to the bunk for more sleep. The other crew members have a layover in Sydney, but I continue to Melbourne. When we land I greet the flight crew that brought me here (they continue to Hong Kong), and I go to the crew hotel in Melbourne. I am on my own for this layover; I check but the crew I fly with tomorrow is not yet in Melbourne. After changing I wander through some areas of the city. I had packed for India, so no jumper or anything, and it’s really chilly here! I buy some good coffee and wine to take with me to Hong Kong, and then meet up spontaneously with a follower from Melbourne. We have a lovely dinner, some good Australian food!

The next day I brunch in one of the many cool cafes (our hotel is really in the downtown area), then meet the crew to fly to Wellcamp Toowoomba, and then to Hong Kong. I mentioned a lot about flying to uncontrolled airport Toowoomba in my Instagram posts already, check them out, it was such a fun experience 🙂 We fly all afternoon and evening, to land back in Hong Kong at 0100. Now I have 3 days off before my block of standbys* starts on Sunday. Brians friend is still in Hong Kong and we all go for a hike at Lamma Island. On Saturday there is a fun beach party where I go to with a bunch of friends.

Landing Wellcamp Toowoomba

The days off went too quick. On Sunday my standby* starts at 1200, and I get called out after a few hours. I need to position to Mumbai on a 777 flight in the evening, to stay for one day and then operate back. So I pack my bag again, and off to the airport we go.

Week 5

We arrive deep in the night in Mumbai. I feel tired, it’s been quite a busy month. I sleep in majorly and then hit the gym. When I want to get ready for the night flight back to Hong Kong, I get a notification letter slipped under my hotelroom door: the flight is delayed for 24 hours. I take it as an opportunity to relax and enjoy some extra rest. It’s really bad weather so I stay in the hotel, and book a nice massage in the spa. Then it’s a night flight to Hong Kong. We land back in Hong Kong Wednesday at 0930 in the morning. Tired again after working the whole night, I call crew control to see if there are messages for me. Yes: I have to crew up in the simulator for a proficiency check in the simulator tomorrow. Pfft I am not feeling it, first I need some sleep.

I sleep a few hours, then get up to not mess up my sleep tonight. Tomorrows simulator examiner texts me that I can make it my own check as well if I want, as he saw my own proficiency check is scheduled later in the month of August. I am in doubt, as I feel tired and like to prepare the exam thoroughly. I prepare the rest of the evening as good as I can. When I arrive at our training centre the next morning, I decide last minute to have my own check as well today. Good choice, as the session goes really well! In the exam we deal with low visibility operations, a rejected take-off, engine failures, RNAV approaches and a fire and evacuation. When the session finishes at 15:30, I call to see if there are changes for me tomorrow. I get assigned a flight to Shanghai, with a report at 05:40 the next morning. This block of standby’s certainly puts me to work! In the end this was so far the busiest month for me on the B747. Hope you enjoyed the insights in my schedule!

Summary:

Scheduled trips: 4; Anchorage/Mexico City/Guadalajara/Anchorage, Delhi/Hanoi, Dakha/Hanoi, Chennai/Bangalore, and a block of standby’s.
Actual trips: 5; Anchorage/Mexico City/Guadalajara/Anchorage, Delhi/Hanoi, Dakha/Hanoi, Sydney/Melbourne/Toowoomba, Mumbai – and a proficiency check.

Number of duty days:18
Number of days off: 11
Number of O-days*: 2

Some terminology:

Pilot Flying – The pilot who does the set-up, the take-off and landing on a flight and is responsible for the navigation.

Pilot Monitoring – The pilot who monitors the actions of the pilot flying, and is responsible for the walk around (external inspection of the plane), the communication and checklist reading.

Positioning flight – Duty travel. The company needs the pilot to be at a certain airport for further duties, but this is not an operating sector. The pilot travels as a passenger, either on a company airplane, or with another company. The pilot travels in uniform, but normally changes on board (right after boarding and back before landing). Normally positioning trips are in business class.

Standby day – a day (usually 6 hours) where the pilot has to be contactable by phone as the company can call the pilot for any duty. Report time is 2 hours and 15 minutes from call to report. It is also possible to be called out for a flight that starts much later.

O-days – Company days scheduled usually after a trip or simulator session. After your trip or simulator duty you need to call the company. Now your O-day can be changed into any duty, but if there is nothing planned for you now you get to be off.

Aviation

The life of a 747 cargo pilot – April 2019

Behind the scenes of @Flywitheva

Via the posts and stories on my Instagram account I share bits of my life, my travels and my work. But: how much do I really work? How many trips a month? How long do I get to stay at destinations and what do I do on layovers? How about all those roster changes and how do I cope with sleeping at weird times? What do I do when I’m off? You followers are a curious bunch! But I am all for showing ‘reality’, the unfiltered truth, both the good and the bad! Let me take you on a detailed journey, but heads up: it’s not an article about the operational procedures. It’s rather an overview of the trips and an insight on work versus time off. As I do not have a stable roster and every month is completely different, I will start with last month: April 2019. If you guys like it, I will make it a monthly article on my blog.

Every 15th of the month I get my schedule for the following month. So on the 15th of March, I receive my schedule for the month of April. I am really pleased when it comes out: so far I was not so lucky with our ‘flight request system’, but now I got the two trips I requested. I will have my first trip to Amsterdam and Frankfurt, and my first trip to Dubai! I also have 6 days of standby* rostered, a ground course day, and I finish the month with ‘joker days’ *(see terminology list at the end of this article). Let’s start now with the journey of April 🙂

Week 1

I am off on the first and second of April. My first trip is a PX trip* from Hong Kong to Amsterdam, in the night of 3 to 4 April. I try to reschedule my PX flight to an earlier day, as to have more time in my home country. But as my roster might still change due to some disruptions on the 747 fleet, I don’t get approval. I have not been back in The Netherlands since November last year, so I am excited to fly ‘home’. On the third of April I meet with the crew at dispatch* for the start of my first trip: with the A350 to Amsterdam. It’s a 14 hour trip through the night: perfect to be a passenger now! I manage to sleep a few hours and we land in Amsterdam at 7 in the morning, where my mum is eagerly waiting for me at arrivals. I have a 28 hour layover in Amsterdam, my trip continues tomorrow late morning. Normally I would now go to the crew hotel, but since this is ‘home’ I go to my parents place in Haarlem first. I spend the day catching up with my mum, and in the evening I go for dinner with a close friend, whom I did not see for ages. So fun to have this as part of my work trip! I should request Amsterdam as often as possible! After dinner my parents bring me to the crew hotel at the airport, I pick up my allowance* and stay the night in the hotel, as tomorrow I fly to Frankfurt.

My report is at 11:00 in the morning. I sleep in, skip breakfast, and prepare* the flight via our company iPad. The captain emailed me that I need to meet him at the gate, as he just flew in himself and is not in the hotel at the moment. While I find my way to the gate I bump into a good friend of mine, he is a captain at KLM. He is amazed to meet me here, as normally I am at the other side of the world, and suddenly the world feels so small again. I love operating for the very first time out of Amsterdam airport, I feel so happy! It turns out a lot of the Schiphol ground crew follow me on Instagram, and it’s great to meet them. After chatting a bit and taking pictures with them, it’s time to close the doors and get on with the show 😉 The flight from Amsterdam to Frankfurt is a super short one (one hour flight). On arrival the captain has a different schedule, and I am the only one going to the crew hotel in Mainz. I get picked up with our crew transport. My layover is 28 hours, and after this short flight I am not tired at all. I meet up with a ramp controller of Frankfurt Airport. We have been in touch via Instagram for quite some time now, and he is the most amazing person showing me all around Mainz. We walk all afternoon through the city, go for dinner in a typical German restaurant (schnitzel!) and only by the end of the night my jetlag starts to creep up on me. However I still let my new friend convince me to join him to a party right next to our crew hotel. It’s an 80s/90s party, good fun, but I stick to lemonade as tomorrow I am working again. Finally I call it a night and collapse into bed. It’s early morning now for my body clock, but as I pulled through all ‘night’ I have no issues to fall asleep.

Normally I never take hotel breakfast buffet (never very hungry in the morning) but my colleagues told me the Frankfurt breakfast is absolutely worth it. So I drag myself out of bed, and still half asleep proceed to the breakfast, which is indeed a feast. I bump into some colleagues and share breakfast with a colleague who is on my crew later today. Then I still have some hours to kill and it is glorious sunny weather, so I go for a run next to the Rhine river. Oh how I love being back in Europe! I feel full of energy again. Soon it’s time to prepare the flight on my iPad. Report with the Captain and Second Officer is at 17:45 (night for the body clock though) , and now we have a long duty of almost 16 hours: we fly from Frankfurt to Amsterdam, then from Amsterdam to Hong Kong. The captain lets me choose the sector I want to fly. So I pick the first sector, as I want to land in Amsterdam.

In Amsterdam a 4th crew member joins us, as we have the very long duty, so we divide operating and resting. Some hours after departure to Hong Kong it is my time to rest. I anticipate about 3 hours of sleep in the bunk, and fall asleep immediately. It turns out I have the best colleagues: they let me sleep 6,5 hours non stop, and we are just before descending into Hong Kong airspace when I wake up. I almost want to hug the second officer for taking all the hours in cruise flight, but he was happy to do it, and I am now super rested. I am pilot monitoring for approach and when we land it’s 16:00 on Sunday afternoon. This trip was so much fun! I catch up with my boyfriend Brian, and have 3 days off now.

Week 2

I spend the days off with Brian and friends in Hong Kong. We go to ‘our’ Monday pub quiz, and ‘our’ Tuesday Bootcamp class, and on Wednesday organise a big dinner at our place in Wan Chai. We try to have some routine in both our ever changing schedules. Brian is also a lot in and out of Hong Kong, as he works regularly abroad as a travel guide. My next duty is a flight to Dubai on Thursday 11 April. I have never been in Dubai and look forward to have a layover there, even if it’s just 23 hours. I know the captain, he loves motor bike riding. When I see his name on the flight to Dubai I jokingly text him if we should go sand biking. He loves the idea: in the end he finds a company where we can both learn to ride bikes in the sand dunes, me without a motor bike license as well! I am now even more excited for the layover! But then – insert sad music – I wake up on Thursday with a very high fever. Everything hurts. I am in no state to work, and am absolutely bummed to miss out on the trip. I call in sick, and fall asleep for about 24 hours. The next morning I feel worse, I have a bad cough and my fever is even higher, so I visit a doctor in Hong Kong. He prescribes rest and medication, and gives me a note I am unfit for 3 days. So far week 2, and no this did not make it to Instagram 😉

Week 3

On Tuesday I am still really ill, and drag myself to the doctor for the second time. He confirms I am still in no state to work, and sends me to stay home for another 3 days. Basically all I do is sleep. On Thursday, one week after waking up sick, I finally start to be back on my feet again. I am annoyed it took so long. We had guests (friends of Brian from Singapore) over in our place as well, but I have not been able to spend any time with them! My next duty is a standby on Friday, from 0600-1200. I don’t get called out! On Saturday another standby: I get a call at 06:01 to report as soon as I can for a Shanghai flight. We have 2 hours and 15 minutes to report at Dispatch after a standby callout. My commute takes about one hour, to one hour 15 minutes. I rush for a shower, coffee, change into my uniform, and am quickly out of the door, as is my boyfriend who flies to Seoul this morning, for a trip with a friend. The Shanghai return is supposed to be a quick one. I am pilot flying to Shanghai, the captain takes it back to Hong Kong. When we are fully ready to go, after a 2 hour turnaround, we get a 3 hour slot (this means we can’t depart but have to wait at the stand in Shanghai)! It’s really bad weather in Hong Kong this afternoon, so the slot makes sure we don’t arrive in the middle of the storm. Not a bad thing: many go arounds and diversions in Hong Kong today. We finally land in Hong Kong at 20:00, after holding for quite some time. After the flight I call to see my duty for tomorrow, Sunday: standby from 10:00 to 16:00.

Will I have to work again today? Yep! I wake up without alarm at 09:00, and get a call at 10:45. My duty is to operate to Narita late tonight, report time 23:30, and then PX back on a company A330. Uff it looks like it’s going to be a long night. I take it easy today, study a bit for my upcoming ground course. I am very bad at having an evening nap before a night duty, so I pull through. I go to a ‘hot yoga’ class (which is like yoga and a sauna in one), then get ready and prepare the flight, and make the journey to dispatch. It turns out the flight is delayed a couple of hours and I need to wait 3 hours now at dispatch! I go to the ‘quiet room’, which is a new facility in the company, with dimmed light and lounge chairs, to rest in case of delays. I curl up into one of the chairs, but am unable to sleep. Finally, it’s time for our flight to Narita. We depart at 04:20, I am pilot flying as the captain gave me the choice. I feel surprisingly awake still, and chat with the captain all the way to Japan, to avoid getting sleepy. The flight is smooth and we watch a beautiful sunrise. In Narita the captain has a layover, and I need to proceed through customs and then to the gate, as I PX on the A330 straight back to Hong Kong.

Week 4

We depart Narita at 10:45. I am awake now since yesterday morning 09:00 and I am ready to collapse in my business class seat. After departure I tell the cabin crew to not wake me up for breakfast, then fall asleep till we start the descend into Hong Kong. I feel really tired still when I get home, after a duty of almost 18 hours. My boyfriend is not there, as he is still traveling in Korea. A friend invites me for wine and dinner, but I miss it, as I decide to take another ‘little nap’ but the nap lasts 9 hours as I fall asleep from 17:00 till 02:00. I then manage to fall asleep again for another 6 hours! I realise I write a lot about my sleeping patterns here, as it is one of the things that can be quite challenging to manage for pilots. After the recovery of my sleep debt, my sleep is back to normal. I study for my ground course tomorrow, and go to the Tuesday bootcamp class.

Wednesday I have a ground course all day at the head office. I am in a First Officer program, where I will write more about another time. (No it’s no Command course ;)! This step will take plenty more years in my current airline.) After the course my days off start, 7 in total! In the evening Brian comes back from his trip! We meet in central Hong Kong, where we celebrate a friends birthday. The next day we try to fly to Amsterdam on staff travel, as I now have my requested joker days off and Brians parents celebrate their combined birthdays this weekend in The Netherlands. It turns out the flight is completely overbooked! We try to figure out all options, different flights. In the end, I manage to get the jump seat to Amsterdam, and my boyfriend travels via Milan. The jump seat on the A350 is a non-reclinable seat in front of the crew bunks, in a small windowless room behind the flight deck. I’ve had more glamorous trips, but am simply happy I got on the flight! I spend the weekend celebrating the Dutch Kings Day and the celebration of Brians parents’ birthdays. After 2,5 days I fly back to Hong Kong already on Monday. Luckily there is plenty of space on this flight, and I booked myself a business class seat. I say goodbye to Brian, who flies to Bordeaux later and stays in Europe for 2,5 weeks, guiding tours in France and Spain. I land back in Hong Kong on Tuesday morning. l have the rest of the day off in Hong Kong (as margin and also to recover from all the flights again) before my next trip tomorrow, which is one for May :)!

So that was in quite some detail my month. It is difficult giving proper insight if I would leave out too much detail. Cargo flying comes with a lot of duty shifts (not so much this month actually), and lots of PX’ing as well, it’s not usually a matter of operating to a destination, layover, operating back.

Summary:

Scheduled trips: 2; Amsterdam/Frankfurt and Dubai
Actual trips: 3; Amsterdam/Frankfurt, Dubai missed due unfit, but called out of standby for Shanghai and Narita.
Number of days off: 14 (including 5 joker days, and 3 ‘O’ days*)
Number of duty days: 10
Number of days unfit: 6

Some terminology:

Allowance – The money crew gets on layovers to cover expenses, usually in the local currency.

Dispatch – the place where the crew meets. It’s at my companies headquarters, next to Hong Kong airport. Here we prepare the flight, and clear crew security, before taking a crew bus to the airplane.

Flight preparation – My company makes use of an ‘EFB’; Electronic Flight Bag. We all have a personal company iPad, with charts, electronic manuals and several apps for flight preparation. Some time for the flight, we are able to download the operational flight plan, and prepare. We take note of the weather, the specifications for the route, notices for the different airfields, the required fuel, the airplane status, expected approach etcetera. So when we meet the rest of the crew at report, we all have a good idea of the duty ahead and we discuss shortly the things that stood out.

Joker days – Every 4 months I can request 5 blocked ‘joker’ days off (for example for a wedding/birthday/something important). Well in advance I receive confirmation if this request is approved. Joker days are days off on top of normal days off and of leave days.

O-days – company days scheduled usually after a trip or simulator session. After your trip or simulator duty you need to call the company. Now your O-day can be changed into any duty, but if there is nothing planned for you now you get to be off.

Pilot Flying – The pilot who does the set-up, the take-off and landing on a flight and is responsible for the navigation.

Pilot Monitoring – The pilot who monitors the actions of the pilot flying, and is responsible for the walk around (external inspection of the plane), the communication and checklist reading.

PX – Duty travel. The company needs the pilot to be at a certain airport for further duties, but this is not an operating sector. The pilot travels as a passenger, either on a company airplane, or with another company. The pilot travels in uniform, but normally changes on board (right after boarding and back before landing). Normally PX trips are in business class.

Aviation

How to prepare for an airline pilot interview

When it comes to securing a pilot job with an airline, think of the 5 P’s: Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance (as pilots we love our acronyms). With this article I hope to give you some guidance in how to prepare for a pilot interview at any airline. I prepared for and passed two airline interviews myself. At my first interview I had only 220 hours flight experience, no jet time and a frozen ATPL license, and at the second interview I had 3000 hours jet experience and an unfrozen ATPL. With this background, I don’t claim to be an expert at all, but I feel I can at least provide you with some insights and advice. What to study, what to wear, do’s and don’ts. Find it all in this article, so you feel a bit more secure for the day that can make the difference between spotting airplanes on the ground, and operating them.

How to get invited for an interview?

Before you can start to prepare for a specific interview/assessment/selection process, first you have to get invited for an interview. Let’s start at the beginning of the process: you have to apply for a specific job. How do you find out if a specific airline is hiring? Research!

Check the website of the airline where you want to apply. At the career page you can find the vacancies, and the details of how to apply for this specific position. Read carefully! Check the requirements (do you meet them?), check the deadline, and make sure you understand all the information they need for your application. Usually you have to upload several documents: your CV, a Cover Letter, and scans of for example your passport, license, medical. I kept a folder on my desktop with all my scanned documents. Make sure the scans are clear, and give the files a proper name (not scan001, but for example ‘medical + your last name’).
Regarding your CV: less is more! No flight crew recruiter wants to see 4 pages full of information, how quick you can type, and all about your first job at the local bakery. Keep it relevant here! Try to fit your full CV on one page only. Focus on skills and experience relevant for the position you apply to. For each pilot job I applied to, I would check and adjust my CV, even if just a little.
Cover letter: I feel that one of the biggest mistakes you can make, is to add a general cover letter to your application. Don’t be lazy here, research the position and the airline you apply to thoroughly. Know what this airline stands for, and write a cover letter completely focused on this specific postion and this specific airline. What makes that you want to work for them, and why should they pick you…?
To know where could be your chance at a job, you can also browse networking websites such as LinkedIn, visit Pilot Career Days, and network with people in the aviation industry. Then after you applied: follow up if you can! Keep updating your profile in the career databank. Every time your flight hours or experience changes: time to update.

The different aspects of an airline pilot interview – and how to prepare for them

Let’s fast forward to the moment you get invited for an interview at the airline you applied to. Usually this invitation comes in via E-mail, and the time you have available to prepare can vary from very little (‘can you make it the day after tomorrow?’) to several months. So ideally you should be prepared for an assessment anytime. General advise is to keep current, both your skills and knowledge, and don’t ever let your license or medical expire!

Every airline uses their own selection process, and usually the selections for the various positions (Second Officer, First Officer, Captain) differ as well. What you can expect at every selection, are a face to face interview where you need to answer both personal and technical questions, and a simulator assessment. Things that vary per airline, would be for example an initial Skype interview, a group exercise, an English language assessment, ATPL knowledge tests, and all kind of other tests like IQ, maths or psychometric/aptitude testing. How can you find out what your assessment will be like? Again, do your research. Try to get in touch with people in the airline you applied to. Also online you can find lots of information. On websites like the PPRuNe Forums you can find information and ask questions. And then there is Latest Pilot Jobs, where you can get interview preparation packages for several airlines for a fee. I invested in a preparation package for my last assessment, and in my opinion it was worth it.

What to study?

ATPL knowledge. At every assessment you will get questions on ATPL knowledge. Some recruiters will really go in depth, while others only ask some general questions. It is best to be prepared as good as you can. I made my own summaries of the ATPL theory, and used them in my preparation. I would say that the subjects to focus mostly on, are: Principles of Flight, Performance and Meteorology, although in my last assessment there was also some focus on Engines and General Navigation. In my last assessment I had to complete a multiple choice ATPL knowledge test. I will give you a few hints regarding those questions: questions on induced and parasite drag, take off segments, the effect of blocked instruments (pitot and static), and questions on TAS/IAS/MACH. No tricks, it’s all in your ATPL books 😉 Last but not least: invest in the book ‘Ace The Technical Pilot Interview’. Trust me, it’s the study bible of every pilot.
Simulator assessment. My advise: find a way to get regular simulator practice, especially if it has been some time since graduating and your assessment. You want to be current, and have a quick instrument scan. At least invest in one session before your interview, preferably on the type you will be assessed on. The simulator assessment is normally a raw data profile, with a take-off, level off, some maneuvers, speed acceleration and deceleration, several approaches, landings and go-arounds, and usually an engine failure and/or another situation for you to deal with. The airline might send you the flight profile before your assessment, for you to study at home. Study this! Make sure you know the calls, the numbers, the thrust settings for different flight phases. Know them by heart! If you can, practice this specific profile in the simulator. You can practice things like NDB/VOR intercepts outside of the simulator, with an online trainer , or simply with a piece of paper.

Personal questions. Expect questions about your personality, and on how you see yourself. Example questions: ‘What would the last few Captains you flew with say about you?’, ‘Why do you want to work for us?’, ‘Why did you choose for aviation?’, ‘Tell us something you would like to improve about yourself?’, ‘What will you do if you don’t get hired?’ Practice the interview with a friend, preferably a friend who is already working as an airline pilot. He or she can play the recruiter, and you will be surprised how difficult it is initially! What you have in mind to say, might sound totally wrong when spoken out loud, or you suddenly block when you get a difficult question. I highly recommend practicing lots of interview questions face to face. Keep in mind that if you state that you are responsible (for example), that you have to back-up this statement with examples that show your responsibility.
Knowledge of the airline and the aviation industry in general. Use the website of the airline you apply to as a study book: find out the airlines history, the development of the fleet, the airplanes on order, the destinations, future plans, etcetera. Recruiters will check your knowledge on the airline you try to get into. Also make sure that you know who are the competitors, and what is happening in the industry.

What to wear?

You can not ‘overdress’ for a job interview, but you can definitely underdress. You are doing it right if you wear a nicely fitted suit, polished shoes and dark socks (white socks are a no-no). Don’t wear your student pilot uniform; wear a suit. If you have a tattoo, don’t have it visible. I feel like I am stating the obvious here, but I know of someone who showed up at an interview, with a tattoo on the forearm showing. This person could leave before the interview even started. You can have a tattoo as a professional pilot, but you need to cover them at work, so be prepared to wear long sleeved shirts if your tattoo is on your forearm. Same for eyebrow/nose/etc piercings: you would not wear them at work, so neither for your interview. Bring one bag to your interview with all your documents. I recommend a briefcase or a dark coloured handbag; definitely not a backpack.

What to wear – female candidates?

I often get questions from ladies what they should wear to their pilot interview, and if it would be ok to wear a skirt. For both my interviews I wore a suit. At the first interview I wore a black suit, a white shirt and black high heels. For the simulator session I changed into a pair of flat shoes. At the second interview I wore a checked grey suit, and a dark blue shirt. I changed again from high heels into flats for the simulator session. If high heels give you that bit of extra confidence, go for it! I saw other female candidates, sometimes in high heels and sometimes with flat shoes. It is simply your personal preference. I would recommend to have your hair up if it’s longer than shoulder length, as you would then normally wear it up at work as well. You also can’t go wrong with neutral make-up. To answer the skirt question: I guess you can wear a skirt to the interview if you really want to, but it might be a bit awkward buckling up in the five-point harness for your simulator session…

Tips for the day(s) of your interview

Be on time! Most likely you stay overnight in a hotel close to the interview location. So besides setting your iPhone alarm, schedule a wake-up call to your room as a back-up.
Try to be as rested as possible. Enough sleep for such a demanding day is highly essential. When you are tired, your ability to perform goes down. So don’t book that flight to your interview location that lands late at night; build in some time to be optimally rested.
You will need to bring a bunch of documents: double check if you have indeed everything printed out, copied etcetera. Bring a pen and notepad, and your original logbook, passport, license and medical.
At the face to face interview, the recruiters try to get a full picture of the person in front of them. Is this someone they can train? Is this someone they would like to work with? They form their opinion from the moment you meet, until the last handshake and you closing the door. Try to be yourself, but also make sure that you make an impression: show your passion for the job, get across what makes that they should hire you. It’s better to talk a bit too much, than to be an oyster they have a hard time getting information out of. It’s also totally fine to not know the answer to a question: it’s better to admit that you don’t know something, than to start making something up or pretending that you know. Be honest.
Remember that the recruiters look for trainability in the simulator session. It does not have to be perfect, you probably never flew this type before, and you are nervous. They do want to see progress, and ability to not dwell on a mistake. As one of my sim instructors said ‘your assessment is in front of you, never behind you.’

I hope these tips are helpful to guide you in the right direction, and I wish you the best of luck in your preparations!

Aviation

A dream comes true: flying the jumbo jet

So this is the moment. You have your few years Boeing 737 experience, and you logged some hours of Boeing 747 simulator training. But today you get to actually fly this icon, this legend.

When I walk into dispatch at this early morning hour, to the table with all the paperwork for my first flight, there are so many thoughts and emotions in my head. Flashes of previous 737 experience, flight training, moving all over the planet, Phoenix, Girona, Rome, Barcelona, Hong Kong, manuals, operating procedures and limitations. I see my name on the crew list, I sign in and read the flight plan, notams and weather. I try to push all the chaos in my head aside and focus on the task at hand: a base training flight in the Boeing 747!

I wrote earlier that becoming a pilot was never my childhood dream. I was well into my twenties when I made the switch to aviation. However, I do have some clear childhood memories, regarding the Boeing 747. I grew up close to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. I remember driving past the airport, little me in the back seat, and how my eyes would widen as I spotted these majestic planes parked up next to the highway. I tried to imagine what kind of persons would fly in the jumbo. It was clear to me that the pilots of these planes were super special, and that they did something extraordinary. Flying the 747 was only for the very lucky and extremely talented few, is what I concluded as a child. Now I know jumbo pilots are just as talented as any other aviator, but it is safe to say that some of this childish admiration for the 747 is definitely still within me. I feel so very lucky.

Meeting the crew

‘Good morning Captain.’ At dispatch we meet the Base Training Captain, and a safety pilot, who will observe and assist on the jump seat. The flight today is a special training flight, without delivering any cargo. My training partner and myself have to make some landings and visual circuits, and we are cleared to do so at Clark Airport in the Philippines. ‘Who gets to fly first, did you guys decide yet?’ As my training partner is a gentleman, he gives me the choice. Obviously then, the first take-off in the Boeing 747 will be done by me, and not watching on the observation seat, so I say: ‘I will fly it up to Clark.’ We will later quickly change seats during the circuit training. After all preparations are done, we go out to pass security, and a bus takes us to the cargo apron of Hong Kong airport.

There she is. I have never been a passenger on the 747 and I was never close to one. Time to walk up the stairs and set her up for departure. I peek quickly at the empty belly, as I climb further up to the flight deck. I train on both the Boeing 747-8 and the Boeing 747-400ERF. Today’s training will be done on an ERF. The ground preparation needs to be done, and my head is still so full. I am simply too excited for what is ahead. I am behind the controls of the Boeing 747. I never imagined this would happen. Now is the time to be professional, and not the time to try and figure out how I got here, or why this means so much to me. I better believe it, and perform well today. Fast forward to push back complete and all four engines running: I need to taxi this beast to the holding point! First time taxiing a jet, another tick in the box today. How small do all the other planes look from where I am seated (almost 10 meters up), even my beloved 737 loses all its grandeur from here.

Cleared for takeoff!

‘Set thrust.’ There we go, rattling on runway 07R. We are very light without cargo, so in no time we reach the speed to rotate off the runway. It feels good to be back in the sky, and to be part of this whole world that makes aviation: ATC, engineers, dispatch, ground handling, all of it. I genuinely missed it. When a profession is more than a job, you made the right choice. I remember a moment on the 737: it was an extremely long 4-sector day with lots of delays, issues and returning from our last flight hours too late. Back at the gate I waved to the dispatcher, and opened my flight deck window to communicate the On Blocks Time to him. He laughed, shook his head and yelled: ‘Eva, I knew it was you! Only you would return from such a day and still have the happiest smile.’ I had not realised I had such a reputation, and it made me smile even more. Back to today: after a short flight over the South China Sea, we reach the Philippine coastline.

Cleared to land!

Descent briefing, approach briefing, and down we go. We are approaching Clark airport. The volcano on downwind, mount Arayat, is already visible. We come from the northwest, and fly over the airport before joining the righthand circuit of runway 02. The first approach I fly in via the ILS. It’s a hot and thermal day at the airport, firm updrafts on final, something you simply cannot simulate in the simulator. First landing is ‘good!’ Quickly take off thrust, and back in the air we go, flight directors off, and time for some visual circuits. Second landing, the flare would have been perfect for a 737, this means not enough for a jumbo! Ok, flare more, flare earlier. Next landings and circuits are good again, and so, an intense 20 minutes later, we extend upwind and I have to get out of my seat. My training partner gets to fly his circuits and fly back to Hong Kong, as I watch from the observation seat.

On the observation seat the adrenaline slowly starts to come down, and I feel so happy. I accomplished another step in my ever so short aviation career. This is also what I enjoy so much about this profession: you can always keep striving to be better, and there is no limit in how far you want to go in your career. There is always a next step; the step to learn to fly a new type, to become an experienced First Officer, Captain, trainer or examiner. You will have regular checks your whole career, your performance is always monitored, by your colleagues and the company, but mostly by yourself! I feel I am now in the perfect place to develop myself further. I fly with very experienced captains, with such various backgrounds, from bush flying to military, and decades of wide-body experience. I am certain every day I will learn tons from them, and with a positive mindset as always I now start the 747 training flights.

Line training

As I write this I had my first line training sectors, and I enjoy it tremendously. I keep comparing my days at my previous low cost passenger airline, and my first steps as a freighter pilot for a flag carrier. I always dreamed of long haul flying, and now I have layovers in Malaysia, India, Japan, Vietnam and London coming up, and that’s only the beginning! Most readers know I use my Instagram almost as a personal diary, and it’s great so many of you enjoy ‘tagging along’ a bit with my progress and adventures. I will also continue writing here, about the cargo operations and many other things, but my next article will be when I have completed the full training. Some hard work ahead, so many new experiences ahead: taking it one flight at a time.