Course Itinerary
Before the Course
Our Course Director, Susie, will ring you a few days before your visit to have a chat with you about the history and symptoms of your fear. This background information is passed on to your two pilots. Prior knowledge helps the pilots to work with you in a truly personal way. This information is only given to staff members who are directly involved with your course.
On Arrival
Although the course takes place at a professional airline training centre, we make it as relaxed as possible. There is free parking at the training centre and when you arrive at reception a member of our team will meet you.
The First Hour
The first hour is spent having a friendly and informal discussion about the aspects of flying that concern you most, and why. Your Captain can then start to address those concerns and answer your questions. This will also allow your Captain to plan the most beneficial way to use the time in the flight simulator. Susie and your co-pilot are involved too.
The Simulator Flight
The second hour is spent in the simulator, which is a life-sized cockpit of a passenger plane, either a Boeing or an Airbus. The simulator is set on hydraulic legs which, coupled with sound and visuals, is able to create the sensations of flight with extraordinary realism.
You will sit just behind the two pilots. You will be able to see out of the windows, the instrument panels and what the pilots are doing. There are two pilots as that is normal and also it allows the co-pilot to do most of the flying so that the Captain has the opportunity to watch you, answer your questions, point things out to you and adapt what is done in the simulator to suit your own specific needs. Therefore what happens in the simulator can be varied, not formulaic, so as to be most useful for your purposes. Some people want normality, some want to experience ‘what if’ situations such as an engine failure.
The important thing is that we go at your pace and address your needs. In fact we don’t even take-off until you say we can. Because of the flexibility of the simulator we can stop and start the motion within a few seconds. Even in mid-flight we can stop and start without having to land first. This means that it is possible to take a break if you want, build up gradually, or to repeat procedures such as take-off or landing so that you can become familiar with the “normal” sounds and sensations of flying.
By being shown and explained what is happening, coupled with the noises and sensations, you can learn with all your senses to normalise things that were previously mysterious and possibly threatening, repetition compounds the learning process. The word that most anxious flyers mention with dread is turbulence. In the simulator you can familiarise yourself with various levels of turbulence and see for yourself how easily the pilot and plane handles it. Through a series of short simulator flights you can learn an enormous amount about the operation and capabilities of the aircraft, its maneuverability and the many safety features and back-up systems that people don’t normally know exist. Most people find that the hour in the simulator passes much more quickly than when flying previously. There is so much to take in and remember; you are involved, not passive, and going at your own pace.
The Final Hour
The final hour is spent talking about the simulator flight; evaluating what you have learnt and how your perceptions have changed. Any further questions you have will be answered. Finally we talk about strategies to use when flying in the future. You may be pretty tired by this time, so this conversation is a general guide.
After the Course
A few days after your visit, Susie will ring to see how you’re feeling now that you’ve had some time to assimilate what you have taken from the course. It’s also an opportunity to discuss which strategies could be helpful to you. If it would help to chat on the phone with one of your pilots, we’re very happy to arrange this. We do like to know when you are flying and, if you would like her to, Susie will ring when you return to hear how you got on.
