Saturday, April 27, 2013

Week 26: ATPL Ground School Week 26

How time flies, 26 weeks have passed since ground school started. That is effectively half a year gone. The syllabus has been so packed that I can barely breathe and it's hard to fathom that so many days, hours, minutes and seconds have gone by.

We start lessons on Perf A this week and it is a NIGHTMARE. Such technicalities should be left for the computers to sort out and not for humans like us reading the numerous graphs, 36 of them, to derive answers. I thought the 1976 Data 34 flight planning was bad enough and Perf A just proved me absolutely wrong.

I can now understand why people are having difficulty in passing it. It is unbelievably tedious and pitfalls are everywhere to catch you offguard. I have no idea how am I going to pass it. It simply looks impossible.

Oh I had my first major illness since the course started. Fell to a fever for 2 days and miss a day of lesson, which didn't help much considering how much I missed in just one day.

Things are not looking good at the moment.




Etihad Airways International Cadet Pilot Programme 2013


Country:     UAE
City:     Abu Dhabi
Department:     Flight Operations
Closing date:     7 May 2013

Description   
Etihad is the fastest growing airline in commercial aviation history, with one of the youngest and fastest growing fleets of aircraft. Etihad is the commercial carrier of choice for the world’s best pilots, and to support our continual growth we are offering a unique opportunity for exceptional graduates of all nationalities to apply for our International Cadet Pilot Training Programme.

Over the course of the 72 week intensive programme you will be trained to the highest standards.

As a qualified First Officer, you will be part of the Etihad Success Story;

Our vision as an airline stretches beyond the average carrier, our business is key to the continual growth of Abu Dhabi and the United Arab Emirates. An exciting part of the world where East meets West, a broad mix of culture, the Arts and major international sporting events all blended with modern Arabic hospitality.

We are looking for more than just individuals with an aptitude to fly, we want individuals that represent the core values of our business and act as ambassadors for both Abu Dhabi and the UAE.

If that doesn’t excite you then it is worth mentioning we offer full sponsorship for your commercial pilot’s license, one of the most competitive packages available, including a tax free salary, comprehensive health care and a range of in house facilities and services.

An exciting challenge awaits you if you hold a BSc. degree, we are hiring now, deadline for closing is 8th May 2013.

SOURCE

Your opportunity is here. Have a go if you fulfill all requirements set out for this programme. It will be highly competitive, so do all necessary preparation in order to stand out. Good luck!


Saturday, April 20, 2013

Week 25: ATPL Ground School Week 25

I'm in quite a dire state considering how lack of confidence I am in some papers after the exams. Let's break this down by days.

Day 1: Navigation Theory & Flight Planning

The first paper was 2hours long, which is supposedly long enough to be completed on time if you do not dilly dally on the theory questions. Well the theory part was ok, but not a walk in the park. I hope I do not commit grave careless mistakes here. Then came the plotting, which was horrendous. Never have I had such a tough plotting paper. So many steps were involved that I got all mixed up and probably lost it. Threw away my basics and screwed it all up. My answers were all weird and not close to the options available, ended up I have to take gambles, which isn't exactly very assuring. I think I will fail this paper.

Had a simple lunch and then it was back to the room for the second paper lasting 1hour 45minutes. This is one paper which you HAVE to rush like crap. And again, I had trouble in some parts of the paper, slowing down my speed tremendously. Finding the waypoints was a bitch when the maps were two-sided and I almost tore it into pieces. The last 3 questions were 4 marks each, how despicable is that huh!! I lost marks in two of them as I can't find the info I want on the damn maps and time was running out. Searching for a needle in the haystack. Wad da fug. Pardon my language. So ya, 8 marks gone just like that. I only have 17 marks left to lose. May the gods bless me.

Day 2: Radio Aids, HPL & Meteorology Theory

As if Day 1 wasn't bad enough, the first paper of Day 2 was a shock. The questions all looked so new and unseen. Radios is one of my stronger subject yet I was totally stumped. I looked at the paper in disbelief, shaking my head as I proceed through the 30 questions in the paper. It's a lost cause. I will definitely fail this paper.

I felt like a broken man, taking a 15min break before sitting for the HPL paper, which wasn't easy either. Thank god I ran through some new question banks the day before after listening to the advice given by the seniors. 25 questions in total, 6 mistakes maximum, I should be able to pull through this one.

Lunch break, feeling quite down with how the whole exam had progressed so far. And the last paper for the day was my most dreaded and weakest subject. I had to refocus and readjust my mental state. Looking at the cover page of the paper on my desk was so terrifying; I had to fight the monsters underneath in those pages. Page 1 was alright, and I was so relieved, but there were 35 questions in total. Every flip of the page was covered in fear. Soon, I completed all questions. Wasn't as tough as anticipated, and if I'm lucky, this paper will pass, fingers and toes crossed.

Day 3: Instruments, Air Law & Meteorology Practical

After what I went through in Radio Aids, I have almost zero confidence in Instruments which is probably my weakest subject. 30 questions in all, made some costly mistakes on questions which were worth 4marks. I don't know how much luck I'm left with, but it felt much better than the Radio paper. I pray that I pass this paper.

Short 15minutes break and Air Law came. HAHA!! Absolutely dead, like most of everyone else in the class. It's either you know the rules or you don't, it was more of the latter for me, and this should be a confirmed failure. 40 questions in all, 10 mistakes isn't quite enough for me.

The final paper after lunch, one which needs to be rushed like Flight Planning paper. It was relatively easier than the practice papers we usually do in class, but there are ambiguities here and there especially with the mean temperatures and wind component. Sucky thing about this subject. So if I'm lucky, I should pass this subject.


It was all over yesterday, but that fulfilling feeling wasn't there. Out of the 8 papers, I will fail at least 3 of them if I'm lucky. How depressing. Sighhhhh. It is very draining and it will hit your confidence very hard if a partial pass can't be achieved. I am facing that prospect currently. Am I prepared for the worst? I am not quite sure if I can take the blow.

My dear helpers during the papers

Cool it down after all the papers

A little BBQ with the class to mark the end of it all

Oh, this isn't the end. There is still Performance A paper 2 weeks later, which I heard is a very tough subject and have seen many falter on it again and again without success. This sucks, totally.


Sunday, April 14, 2013

Week 24: ATPL Ground School Week 24

This is it, the dreaded week is here. The real exams will commence this coming week and I'm feeling the butterflies in my stomach creating havoc.

I'm unsure about myself, even after two rounds of Mock Exam. Managed to pass all of Mock 2 except for Instruments which I failed by one question. I've since spent quite a considerable amount of time brushing up this subject but then I'm still worried.

Nav Phase is nothing like Tech Phase. 8 subjects vs 5 subjects. The amount of knowledge needed and memorization is exponentially more. What I can tell myself is I've been trying my best all this while and if I still  fail to pass all subjects in one sitting, I'd have no regrets.

My all I will give. Best of luck to myself.

Simplifying memorization

Milk improves memory?

Some tea to end off this week




Countdown to ATPL Exams 

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Lion Air passenger plane crashes off coast of Bali


A passenger plane carrying more than 100 people has crashed into the ocean off the coast of Bali.

It is believed the plane slid off the runway at Ngurah Rai Airport, near Denpasar, where it was scheduled to land late this afternoon before landing in water.

Reports from Indonesia indicate the passengers have survived the crash and been relocated to a nearby hospital.

SOURCE

UPDATE: The Boeing jet carrying more than 100 passengers missed the runway as it came in to land in good weather conditions at Denpasar airport on the Indonesian resort island, transportation ministry official Herry Bhakti told AFP.
Mr Bhakti initially said the plane overshot the runway, but later clarified his comments to say that it landed straight in the water.   
SOURCE

Oh my god, it must have been quite a traumatic experience for the passengers, especially those near the tail end of the aircraft as we can see a huge crack damage in that area.






Saturday, April 6, 2013

Week 23: ATPL Ground School Week 23

Hello, I survived hell week and didn't end up in IMH!! It was a really crazy crazy week I had, along with my course mates. For the first time we have tasted the intensity of a full ATPL Exam. Eight papers in three consecutive days is not one to be trifled with.

I need to find a balance between the revision time of all subjects, keeping in mind that I need to have adequate rest to last the next day's exam papers as well as further revision for papers on the day after next. If you're not careful, you might end up burning yourself out and not being able to perform in some of the papers ahead. At the mean time, eat well, sleep well, shit well and also drink lots of water to cool down the overworked body.

As what HPL has suggested in the text, exposing one to a certain type of stress will allow the person to become more resistant to it over time. With this, the school has decided to up the game and conduct a second round of mock exam next week. This time, it shall be seven papers within two days, excluding Air Law.

Monday - Nav Theory, Flight Planning, Met Theory, Met Practical
Tuesday - Instruments, Radio Aids, HPL

Lovely isn't it? Actually, I'm kinda feeling excited about it since I'm more well prepared than ever. I love challenges and this is one hell of a challenge no doubt.

The more you're afraid of it, the more you have to face it, just like Batman.

Bring it on.

Some last minute mugging the night before the first day of exam started

HPL is not one to be taken lightly. 2 previous 96 scores made me think I can scrape through it by not studying. I was so close to failing it.

My downfall in Met Prac and Air Law. Lots of element of luck in the rest of the papers though. Will need to continue brushing up the concepts this weekend. I might not be as lucky the next time.




Countdown to ATPL Exams 

Boeing conducts final 787 battery test flight


US aerospace giant Boeing conducted a final 787 Dreamliner test flight on Friday to assess the proposed battery fix that it hopes will get the grounded jetliner back in the skies.

"The purpose of the test is to demonstrate that the new system performs as intended during normal and non-normal flight conditions," said Boeing spokesman Marc Birtel.

Boeing said the airplane took off and landed at Paine Field in Everett, Washington, home to the company's largest plane-building factory.

The Boeing-owned airplane, built for LOT Polish Airlines, departed at 10:39 am local time (1739 GMT) with a crew of 11 onboard, including two representatives of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The crew reported that the nearly two-hour flight was "uneventful" and the demonstration plan to reclaim flight certification was "straightforward," Birtel said.

Boeing expected to gather and analyze the data and submit the required materials to the FAA "in the coming days," the spokesman said.

"Once we deliver the materials we stand ready to reply to additional requests and continue in dialog with the FAA to ensure we have met all of their expectations."

Boeing conducted a similar 787 test flight on March 25.

All of the 50 Boeing 787 planes in service were grounded globally in mid-January after a series of overheating problems with the cutting-edge plane's lithium-ion battery system.

The action came after a battery fire on a parked Japan Airlines 787 at Boston's Logan International Airport and an incident in which battery smoke forced an emergency landing of an All Nippon Airways (ANA) 787 in Japan.

US government investigators have said they still cannot yet explain what caused a potentially catastrophic battery fire aboard the parked JAL 787.

On March 12, the FAA approved Boeing's plan for testing the batteries, saying it marked the "first step in the process to evaluate the 787's return to flight."

The FAA and the US National Transportation Safety Board are working with Japanese authorities in the probe of the overheated battery on the ANA 787.

The NTSB investigates civil aviation accidents; the FAA is responsible for deciding whether the 787 can return to service.

Shortly after the 787 was grounded worldwide on January 17, Boeing halted deliveries of the plane but continues to produce it at a rate of five per month.

SOURCE

So far so good? The real test only comes when the grounding of the Dreamliner is being lifted. As we've seen in the past, massive hours of test flights is not full proof that the system is working well. Boeing will have to monitor the situation closely once commercial flights of the 787 can commence again.


Friday, April 5, 2013

Japan carriers eye claims over Dreamliner grounding


Japan's two major airlines said they were planning to make a compensation claim against US plane making giant Boeing over the prolonged grounding of the troubled Dreamliner, the carriers said Friday.

Japan Airlines and rival All Nippon Airways have been hit by the worldwide parking of the 787 after a number of incidents including a fire on a JAL plane in Boston and the emergency landing of an ANA flight in Japan. Both were caused by battery malfunctions.

The global no-fly order imposed by US regulators in mid-January has seen Japan's two biggest carriers - major customers of the aircraft, with more than 100 combined orders - slash thousands of flights.

"The company is considering seeking compensation," an ANA spokesman told AFP, "We have the intention to do so."

But he also said actual negotiations with Boeing will come after all the facts of the incidents are known.

A JAL spokesman also said the airline is preparing to talk to its supplier about compensation.

"But for now the company will cooperate with Boeing so that the 787s can get back in the air as soon as possible," he said.

The Asahi Shimbun daily reported Friday that ANA "has already informed Boeing of its intention to seek compensation", citing an unnamed senior ANA official.

Neither airline intends to cancel any orders for the next-generation aircraft, the paper said.

Boeing said last month that the 50 planes grounded around the world since the two lithium-ion battery malfunctions sparked the grounding would undergo fixes to their systems and be operational again soon.

SOURCE

It will be a very big compensation to pay for Boeing. But I believe in this very small field of industry, it isn't advisable to burn bridges, so I guess both airlines will probably not make things too difficult for Boeing. Maybe they will want 5 free Dreamliners each?? Haha


Singapore Girl gets a makeover


The Singapore Girl has junked her bright blue eyeshadow for a more subtle and modern look.

She is still immaculate in her body-hugging signature kebaya with her hair nicely done, but the colours on her face are less striking.

In her first major makeover in more than a decade, the iconic Singapore Airlines (SIA) Girl is sticking to blue, green, plum and brown eye make-up, and red lipstick to complement the colours of her kebaya.

But the tones and shades are more subtle than before and trendier, said the airline's head of cabin crew, Mr Marvin Tan. "When we embarked on this project with our long-time grooming partner Lancome, we took into account feedback from some customers that the previous colours seemed to be on the strong side," he told The Straits Times last week.

It is not just about shades and hues, but application and blending techniques as well, in projecting the more "contemporary" look, added Lancome's spokesman, Ms Jamie Ong.

Freelance make-up artist Dollei Seah believes that SIA is taking the right step. "Wearing a blue outfit with blue make-up is very 80s. You can keep the blue but it should not be too much and it should be blended with other shades to create a more natural look."

For the last two months, the stewardesses have been taught to create the new look for themselves - part of a grooming road show to reiterate the importance of looking and feeling good, said Mr Tan.

There is also a new crew lounge at SIA's control centre at Changi Airport Terminal 3 for last-minute touch-ups before a flight.

To fly high in a tough business, SIA has invested in both hardware and heartware.

Last August, for example, it announced plans for a major cabin, seat and in-flight entertainment overhaul. The new products will be rolled out on new planes from the second half of this year.

Good service is equally important, said Mr Tan. "If you ask people what is the first thing that comes to mind when they think of SIA, the answer is usually our cabin crew. The kebaya comes to mind, the service culture comes to mind," he said.

Maintaining an edge over rivals like Emirates and Cathay, which are also continuously investing in improvements, is more of a challenge today than before, said industry experts.

To emulate the grace and service culture of the SIA Girl, carriers like Jet Airways have also hired former SIA trainers.

SIA, which runs one of the longest cabin crew training programmes in the industry at 15 weeks, will stay focused on what it needs to do, said Mr Tan.

On comments made by some travellers that service levels have slipped and are inconsistent, he said: "This is a challenge for any organisation that continues to grow and we will keep working at this."

It is also important to drive bonding and camaraderie among an increasingly diverse pool of crew members, he added.

SIA has about 7,800 cabin crew and seven in 10 of them are Singaporeans. The rest are from Malaysia and other countries, including China, Japan, India and Thailand.

Mr Tan said: "Everyone has an opinion on SIA service and our cabin crew. People want to give feedback and I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing.

"Our crew work very hard and do us a lot of credit but we also know we have to keep working and improving."

Businessman Alex Wong, 53, said: "I'm glad the SIA Girl is moving towards a softer look. I do think some of them are too heavily made up, especially when compared with girls from other carriers."

SOURCE

It's about time they make changes to the make-up. They're seriously too strong and make the girls look like they're going for some kind of opera performance.


Boeing trails Airbus in Q1 plane orders, deliveries


US aerospace giant Boeing trailed European arch-rival Airbus in jetliner orders and deliveries in the first three months of the year, according to company data released Thursday.

Boeing, which last year wrested back the title as the world's largest aircraft maker from Airbus, reported 209 net orders for its commercial aircraft in the first quarter.

France-based Airbus posted nearly double that amount at 410 net orders. Airbus' orders was boosted by a massive 234-plane order from Indonesian budget carrier Lion Air in late March.

Of Boeing's 209 orders, 153 were for its single-aisle 737, the industry's best-selling plane.

There were 42 orders for Boeing's problem-plagued 787 Dreamliner, all from American Airlines.

The cutting-edge 787 has been grounded worldwide since January 16 after overheated lithium-ion batteries sparked a fire on a Japanese Airlines plane parked at a Boston airport and forced an All Nippon Airways into an emergency landing in Japan.

In aircraft deliveries, the race between the world's two biggest commercial aircraft manufacturers was much closer.

Boeing delivered 137 planes, including one 787 to Air India before the plane was grounded.

The company continues to produce 787s at the rate of five per month as it awaits regulatory approval for it to fly again.

Airbus delivered 144 aircraft.

Competition between the two companies, which hold a duopoly in the large commercial aircraft market, is fierce.

Boeing reclaimed the crown from Airbus in 2012 after a decade as the underdog, posting 1,203 orders and 601 deliveries. Airbus had 833 orders and 588 deliveries.

SOURCE

The crazy order for A320s by Lion Air pulled Airbus to the leading line.