Road to the Right Seat 7 – Off to the Exams

31 January 2017   |  Updated on February 05, 2024

This post is part of the story series Road to the Right Seat.

We've all had a crazy childhood dream and mine was becoming an airline pilot. Many young people who aspire a flying career are unaware of the content of flight training and the preparations which are needed. On November 23rd, 2015 I started my ATPL(A) training. Time to realize my childhood dream. I'd like to take you along on an adventure and I'll happily answer all your questions on the way. Let's do this!

View all stories in this series

Feb 13, 2016 – We all knew that time would pass by quickly, but this is getting a bit absurd. The end of phase 1 is closing in fast and we’re all preparing for the upcoming exams. I think I studied more in the past 3 months than I did during those 6 years in high school.

Promotion 37

We had to wait for quite some time until we had our picture taken, but here it is! 

ATPL flight training blog, Bob Geuens, CAE Promotion 37

After three months no one has dropped out which is a great motivation for all of us. It will still be a hectic time for all of us, but I’m sure we’ll get there.

Phase 1 completed

Another 6 hours of class and 4 progress tests to go. Once those are done, phase 1 is finally completed! It feels very weird to be writing this already. The past three months have gone by amazingly fast. However, the ultimate test is yet to come: the exams.

When comparing our planning with the one of Promotion 36 we can consider ourselves lucky. They only had a few days to prepare for the School Finals. We’ll have a bit more than a week to study which is a great advantage.

The school has to schedule our official exams together with the UKCAA because someone from the organization has to keep an eye on us throughout the exams. Fortunately for us, they could only come a week later resulting in more study time for us!

This sounds great, but there is a downside to the story. Our departure date to Phoenix is fixed, meaning that there won’t be any holidays between the end of phase 2 and our departure. It might be a bit harsh, but I’m sure we prefer to be well-prepared for our exams.

MFTD

To finish our Instrumentation course we took a seat in one of the MFTD’s in our school. That’s a Maintenance/Flight Training device if you’re wondering. The MFTD is basically a static simulator where you can study the systems of the airplane. The perfect occasion to put our theoretical knowledge to the test!

ATPL flight training blog, Bob Geuens, MFTD

Exams

Before we’re allowed to take the official exams we have to pass the internal exams given by the school. The results will then show if you’re ready or not. Nothing is lost if you fail, but you might have to meet up with the instructor and you’ll have to pass your retake. But of course, all we want is to pass the exams flawlessly!

Next week, we’ll get a briefing about the exams and how we should prepare, but in the end, it’s all about motivation and dedication.


If you have any further questions about my training, feel free to leave a comment below. See you next week!

This post is part of the story series Road to the Right Seat.

We've all had a crazy childhood dream and mine was becoming an airline pilot. Many young people who aspire a flying career are unaware of the content of flight training and the preparations which are needed. On November 23rd, 2015 I started my ATPL(A) training. Time to realize my childhood dream. I'd like to take you along on an adventure and I'll happily answer all your questions on the way. Let's do this!

View all stories in this series