I’ve finished ground school, and it is truly the proverbial fire hose shooting info at you for 6 days solid. It was very informative, and a remarkable experience. In 6 days, over 7-8 hours per day, we learned all the systems of the airplane, limitations, Standard Operating Procedures for Bombardier and for us to use in the simulator. Then, when our brains were full to the brim for the day, we went into a procedures trainer.
For some airplanes, the Procedures Trainer is nothing but cutout pictures of the cockpit and then posted on cardboard or plywood so you can “feel” what the airplane looks like, get used to switch positions, and go through the general process of how to operate the plane. For us, it was a flight simulator without motion, so we could get used to the way the autopilot works, how the Flight Management System (FMS) works and a great feel for what the airplane will do. Basically, it helps you get accustomed to the “buttonology”.
We have our practice checkride tomorrow. We’ve been in the sims every day since Monday, spending 2 hours as Pilot Flying (PF) and Pilot Not Flying (PNF), so we can get used to the SOP’s, and the airplane. We’ve done everything from high altitude depressurization, engine failures, engine fires, various system problems, engine failures on takeoff, engine failures prior to takeoff, engine failures after a missed approach, more system problems, normal operations, engine failures in flight, and more engine failures.
This airplane is definitely a very powerful beast!! It has been awe inspiring to see the performance it can generate, and how it handles with one engine shut down. It was also scary to see the lack of performance it has a high-altitude airports. We used Aspen, CO, as quite a few of the clientele in these business jets like to vacation there, and it’s a challenging airport to fly out of.
Overall, I am feeling more and more comfortable in the simulator, and looking forward to getting into the actual airplane. Only tomorrow to go, then checkride on Monday. I’ll then head back to Florida for some more “in-house” training, including emergency evacuations, etc., and start flying very soon.
One of these days I will have a flying story for you…until then back to the books. Have a great day!!