Week 1- Mass and Balance

Afternoon Everyone,

So this week was the first of our 24 weeks studying the groundschool syllabus. The syllabus is made up of 14 subjects split into 3 modules and we have to pass all of these before we can move on to the next phase of our training. Because I am training under the easyJet MPL scheme, along with 11 others on the course, easyJet wants us to average a pass mark of 85% during the groundschool phase rather than the standard 75% pass mark for each exam so it looks like we have our work cut out! Speaking to other trainees further into their groundschool training, this is perfectly manageable and to the best of my knowledge, the average pass mark amongst CTC cadets is 90%. The 14 subjects we have to cover are:

Module 1
Mass and Balance
Human Performance Limitations
Principles of Flight
General Navigation

Module 2
Radio Navigation
Instruments
Performance
Flight Planning

Module 3
Aircraft General Knowledge- Engines, Systems and Electrics
Operational Procedures
Meteorology
Air Law
IFR Communications
VFR Communications

However, before we even started Mass and Balance this week, we had to cover some 'basic' Maths and Physics to bring everyone up to the same standard. Whilst this may seem a bit odd, the age range of the trainees on our course is between 18-36. Some of us haven't studied in over 15 years and I was struggling with some of the physics despite only being out of education for a year!

Mass and Balance began on Wednesday. This topic is fairly Physics and Maths based and covers calculations which allow us to find out the Centre of Gravity (CofG) of an aircraft depending on how much mass it is carrying and where abouts the mass is loaded onto the aeroplane. It also covers the different masses pilots and operators have to abide by depending on the aircraft, airport and other factors. It is a fairly full on topic but one of the shortest we cover. We had finished it by early Friday afternoon!

A couple of us then went to see if there was a free simulator we could have a look around/play around in and as luck would have it there was! At CTC there are 4 full motion-simulators and 2 fixed based simulators; the difference being that the full motion ones move around on hydraulics. The simulators cost between £8-15 Million and are used to train trainee pilots and to refresh fully qualified pilots. 4 of us got to have a quick fly around in one which was a lot of fun and makes all of the groundschool training worthwhile (even if we are just 1 week in!)

A Full Motion Simulator

Me sitting in the First Officers seat

Fraser (left) and Henry (right) getting to
grips with the A320

After this, some of us attended a presentation from David Froggatt- Flight Operations Manager, Training Standards and Command Training for easyJet. He spoke to us about career progression when working for easyJet as well as the perks and potential downsides to the job. It was quite interesting to hear about the future plans for easyJet including fleet expansion plans. They have ordered another 120 aircraft with 100 options. Once delivered, this will bring their total aircraft number to over 350!

Friday evening was spent socialising as a group. This time we went to Pizza Express. I think the waitress was quite overwhelmed with a group as big as ours eating in there! Some of us stayed out later than others. This time I decided to get an early(ish) night! This weekend has been spent
consolidating what I have learnt over the past week by doing practice questions and practice tests! This evening Henry and I went round another household for a roast dinner cooked by Vicky and also watched the last top gear on their 52inch TV!

Vicky making home made yorkshire puddings;
that's dedication!

                                           

 What's good about the course is that we get CBT days or Computer Based Training Days. These are days in which we are expected to take charge of our own learning and don't necessarily have to go into 'school' and learn. Our course has the first of these on Monday to consolidate what we have learn't in Mass and Balance so hopefully I should be achieving the pass mark on practice papers by then!

Anyway, that's all for now. This week I will be learning about Human Performance Limitations so hopefully another information filled post next week!