Testimonials
A year ago I was promoted to a junior managment role within my airline. Shortly after that I was offered the position of line trainer, something I had always wanted and that I felt went hand in hand with my management role. I knew that the position was subject to me continuing to acheive high or above average grades on sim or line checks. As I had always acheived high or above averages (apart from one slip early in Command) I was confident that this would not be a problem. The week before my next OPC was a week from hell, workload from my managment role, lack of flying and some parenting issues at home left me feeling maxed out and unprepared. The sim, for me, was a disaster, an average grade and then my line training position withdrawn. Over the next six months I worried about it to the point that when the sim appeared on my roster I was really nervous. I started looking online for tips and that is when I spotted Virtual Aviaition. They offered an LPC/OPC refresher and there was a slot available the day before my LPC. I signed up online and an hour later received a phone call from Virtual Aviation, enquiring exactly what I was looking for so that the sesseion could be tailored to my needs. I explained that what I really wanted was to practice some single engine work just to blow off some steam and get some confidence back. I was in luck as the instructor was to be an experienced TRE, formerly from a well known airline. The day before the sim I was telephoned by the instructor in order to further refine the details and plan the session. On the day I arrived at Alteon early and was made welcome by the security officer on the desk. The instructor arrived a few minutes before the session to sit and have a chat over a coffee. His manner and approach immediately made me feel at ease and confident that the session would be worthwhile. We then proceeded into a brefing room where the plan was layed out and the instruction and guidance given on how to fly the excercises, with some useful tips added. SOPs were discussed along with configuration of the sim. A First Officer was available to sit in the right hand seat so as soon as the sim was available we took our positions and readied ourselves for take-off. At my request the first take-off was to be an engine failure at V1, which I over-rotated. I soon brought things under control and the sim was repositioned for another go, and then another, till I was 100% happy. We then moved onto single engine approaches and go-arounds, again repeating the excercise several times till I was satisified in my performance. After the sim a debrief was given and finer points on handling and performance discussed. I departed with words of encouragment ringing in my ears. The next day I felt calm and confident and it worked, the LPC went really well with only minor debrief points. At the end of the second day I was given a score well into the above average scale and a recommendation for my line training position to be reinstated. I would like to thank the instructor Martin Sibson for his excellent instruction and Oliver Carley for his help and guidance, as well as all those at Virtual Aviation who helped make the experience a pleasant one.
CAPT KENTON ENSINK
