August 19th, 2019
Today was my day off. It was also the instructor’s only day off in a long line of workdays, but he offered to come in and train us if we wanted him to. Dan and I both felt like we needed more time, and jumped at the chance.
I went in early and spent two valuable hours in the ground simulator learning avionics by myself. Dan showed up and we worked the GFS for another hour before HP stuck his head in . Turns out the simulator was indeed available, and we could do that if we wanted. Outstanding – let’s go.
I was excited for the opportunity to straighten out my steep turns and try to get a handle on the basic stall series in this aircraft. I knew I could do it, but had worried that just one session would not be enough. Then my phone pinged with a teammate asking if I knew of a Baron pilot based at Wilmington.
I had spoken about my hangar neighbor before, and how he flew a Baron and kept it in the hangar right next door to mine. He talked about flying down to the Carolinas to play golf, and of course, about our airplanes. Through him I met a G280 Captain flying out of Philly, and the prospect of knowing someone in that community was a stroke of good fortune for me. I wanted to get some airtime in those as a contract pilot, and knowing someone local flying those would be good.
The question itself felt ominous, and it turns out that it was bad news. It appeared that a Baron went down and one person was DOA. There may have been two people aboard.
I hoped it was not my neighbor Terrence, and I further hoped that it wasn’t the instructor/G280 captain I’d met. They were both very nice people, and loved my airplane. I didn’t want it to be anyone hurt, of course, but for my own sake let it not be the two I did know.
I called Terrence’s instructors number and left a message. I told him that a Baron had gone down, and I’d appreciate a text to confirm he and Terrence were ok. Then I got into the sim just a little shaken. Those of us who fly light aircraft understand the risks, and form a community.
In the simulator again. I start out in the right seat and Dan is in the left. He had the airwork down already, so he gets ahead a little and practices V1 cuts. V1 cuts are engine failures that occur just at the moment you are are ready to leave the runway. He does well, and we move on to the finer art of flying approaches with full automation. I’m learning as well as he is during this phase, but worry that I haven’t yet even tried a V1 cut in this airplane while Dan is ahead. Then I remember that this isn’t a race. Or if it is a race, it is only with yourself.
It is my turn now in the left seat, and I practice steep turns repeatedly. Instead of +/- 250 feet up and down, I hold it to 20′ of deviation and fly the stalls within limits. The approach to landing stall needs work, but we spent a good 20 minutes cleaning me up (both Dan and HP contributing), and too much of that intense work becomes non-productive.
We ended the session with me doing a CATII approach using RAW data and no autopilot. I landed the airplane on the centerline without ever looking outside. What a machine.
Baron Crash Update. Terrence’s instructor Tom got back to me and confirmed it was indeed Terrence’s airplane that went down. Later that night, other friends and colleagues called to let me know that Terrence had been killed, along with one other well known airport figure. Since Tom was not available as an instructor, Terrence brought Al D along instead. Terrence was clearly not yet comfortable in the airplane, and wisely sought further instruction.
Al was an older gentleman who was a successful retired person, working as a CFI and as an operations guy for the airport for the airport authority. Sadly, Al was killed along with Terrence.
Getting ready for SIM 03. So I’m up early today and going for a breakfast of cereal and coffee. I’ll facetime Beverly and then go hit the GFS ground sim for a few hours before our 6 hours in the simulator. Tonight I’ll be back at my hotel studying limitations, and hopefully not feel entirely behind. I hear that SIM04 and SIM05 are a real bitch.
Prayers and kind thoughts to the families of Terrence and Al. The pilot community mourns their loss.
Frank
Comments Off on Aug 18, 2019 – SIM 02.5 of only Six
August 18th, 2019
This blog and others like it represent the updates I’ve been sending to my teammates as I go through the training required to get a type rating in the Gulfstream G280 corporate jet. These are intended to help them understand how the training is structured, and be even more prepared than I was.
I’m in single digits now – only 9 days to go. I’ve gotten to know my partner much better. We are getting along and working together. He is a religious man, plays trumpet in several bands and a small orchestra. He – more than me – has been making an effort to bring us together and I wonder if prayer does that for him. I do need to get back to church, and Bev and I will figure that out when we are able to leave the house on Sundays.
My SIM 02 performance left something to be desired. It’s not like the second time flying the jet could be used to build on your experience from the first session and you’d get better. Instead we are introducing new avionics features, changing the flight director displays we count on, and adding multiple failures and checklists to the mix. I know learning is occurring because my instructor tells me this. He won’t give us new challenges if we weren’t flying the airplane acceptably. What Dan and I see is two pilots that are all over the sky and making what we’d consider grievous mistakes that cause deviations. ‘Damn it! I know how to fly!’ is a common thought.
Steep turns and stalls are difficult for me to keep tight. I’m not happy with them and shouldn’t be. Today I’ll practice chair flying the drill and do believe that will help. If we get sim time today, the best outcome will be to master the entire dance I’ll need to demonstrate for the ride. These motors are so incredibly powerful that I believe they will fly you out of a dense forest if you ask them to. Amazing power.
Dan has been having his own struggles with avionics and approaches. I’m working hard to support him when I’m flying right seat (PM), but haven’t always been there. So I have issues as the PF – Pilot Flying, and issues as the PM – Pilot monitoring. Our instructor is not concerned at all. He explained that we are both effectively primary students, as you would be in getting your first instrument rating. He says we can clearly fly airplanes and are progressing well, but at this point we have two monkeys pushing buttons and trying to figure things out. Later we’ll have harmony.
The best thing we have going is our ability to work together. I very much appreciate that Dan is making such a strong effort to build a team.
I’m calm. Usually I’m a wreck after an experience like yesterdays sim. I generally don’t sleep at all, and feel like I’m letting everyone down. The fear of failure in the back of my head can be overwhelming. But that is not happening! I slept last night better than any night I can remember. Seven hours of uninterrupted sleep. My fears are diminishing to the point where I’m having fun. I have HP and Dan to thank for that, although I’ve had similar guidance in the past and couldn’t follow it. Maybe life experience is giving it to me. I don’t really care where it is coming from, but I love it.
I am blessed to be here with this opportunity, and blessed to have a strong wife who understands. I have not one damn thing to complain about. Not one. Thank God.
Speaking of God: Getting to know Dan has been a blessing. We were talking in the lounge before our session yesterday and I asked him about his mission upbringing. Dan grew up in Indonesia. His parents were missionaries in the jungle and had the daunting task of bringing the Gospel to a tribe that didn’t want it. They not only had to learn how to live in the jungle alongside a tribe, but they had to develop relationships and learn a new language. Then they had to translate the bible verse by verse into this new language. Wrap your head around that! I have trouble reading the bible and understanding it in English.
Dan told a story of a mission family preceding them. That family had to work their way into the jungle, cut out a landing strip so it would be possible to get supplies in and out, and introduce themselves to a jungle tribe. They met with resistance year after year, but continued their attempts to work with the tribe.
On one fateful trip, four people in a mission family suffered a plane crash. Only the 5 year old boy was spared, and he crawled out of the tree where the airplane was lodged, down to the jungle floor. There he was, in the middle of the jungle with no prospect of rescue and no one knowing where he was. He started walking. He had to be terrified and frightened beyond words.
As fate would have it, he came upon a tribal elder from the very tribe the missionaries were trying to reach. As Dan spoke, I imagined all the evil that could have befallen this kid in this situation. As I listened to the tale, I envisioned bengal tigers, poisonous stakes, and murderous tribal members.
The tribal elder responded exactly as you and I would. He took the boy under his care and brought him back to his village to begin to recover. From there, the two traveled back to the missionary camp so that the boy could be returned to his people. In the midst of this tragedy, the tribal elder realized that these people were very much like those in his own tribe. They had children, mothers, fathers, and friends. He witnessed their joy at the return of the boy, and began to feel trust and kinship. Resistance faltered and the missionaries found a way into the tribe as a result of this tragedy. Relationships were built.
My point in bring this out is that my partner and I are working together on this daunting task ahead, after it initially appeared I’d be doing this alone (not possible). It could be that pairing me up with Dan on this adventure was the very best thing that could have happened to me at least. I’m starting to think so. I am a very fortunate man, and of course, God is responsible for that. Now I just have to be worthy.
Instructor Schedules: Wow. I’m getting to know the instructors I encounter very well. I’m meeting more folks everyday and getting to know the lay of the land around DFW. It appears that this site has lost a ton of instructors from this program all at once to Southwest airlines. The program has been dog-paddling to keep their heads above water ever since.
The FSI solution was to work their own instructors around the clock, resulting in several more instructors parting company. I won’t elaborate further, since I’m still learning and the truth is generally something different than first impressions. I’ll manage my own experience going forward, but the fact that I just bought two engines reminds me that I’ll stick this out for two years at least. Unless, of course, a fabulous flying job falls in my lap. We’ll see.
I miss my wife and want to go home, but I can see where I will not mind flying my Twin Comanche down here for a few weeks at a time to learning the art of instructing in this airplane. We are preparing for our program up north, and that should be starting up in June. This could work.
I have the day off today, which means I’m meeting my partner at the office to practice procedures and avionics management. Our instructor volunteered to meet with us as well, and even get us an extra sim session if he can. Failing that, we’ll use the GFS ground avionics simulator to do the same thing.
I’m heading in earlier than everyone, since I feel I am the weakest link. Very little jet time, and flying behind a vastly different set of avionics while being strapped to a rocket is a handful.
All of the sudden I wish I had more time.
Fly safe. Frank
Comments Off on Aug 17, 2019 – SIM 02 of only Six
August 17th, 2019
This blog and others like it represent the updates I’ve been sending to my teammates as I go through the training required to get a type rating in the Gulfstream G280 corporate jet. These are intended to help them understand how the training is structured, and be even more prepared than I was.
11 Days before I go home, and this is the last ground school we’ll have. The session is completed in the simulator, but not on motion. I cannot wait to go home.
This SIT session was in the sim and not on motion. It went pretty well, although they took away my chicken lips (flight director) and gave me a HUD image on the PFD. That is exactly what I needed – more interactive data. I’ll include few images later, as time permits, to make these comments clear. I’m told I’ll eventually love it, but interpreting on the fly is not intuitive.
I am hoping the HUD flight director pays dividends for me on the next session. More failures and continued learning. I’m not falling behind yet, which is good.
Had some drinks after the session that helped me get to know everyone more, and was good for all of us. These instructors apparently have difficult schedules, and they are losing people routinely.
The airplane is still amazing, and I feel like I’m keeping up.
It is laundry night tonight, and I’ll try once more to get to WhataBurger to try that out. Paul J is a friend of mine with family down here, and he always FP posts himself eating there. I thought I’d give it a try. Didn’t make it last night since I went out with the 2 instructors and my partner for a beer or three. That was a good get-to-know-you session. I am getting a sense that the instructors down here have horrible schedules and need some relief.
What follows is a description of the SIT Session for today. It was an introduction to checklists for both emergencies and alternate normals. Don’t do anything without a check-list – even a fire. Abnormal starts; aileron jams; elevator jams; V1 cuts (I didn’t get one of those yet).
My weak area was call outs on take-off and landing. I have too many of them and they are non-standard when I’m in the right seat. I’ll correct that for today (airspeed alive; power set; 80 kts; v1; rotate; Vse).
David K asked us questions to prepare us for the oral. I knew most but not all of them. It was enough to send me back to the walk-around to remember where the various doors and vents are.
We learned to include the destination airport not only as the arrival airport, but also as a waypoint in the flight plan. It helps the computer predict fuel at the destination.
From this point forward I have summarized my notes thus far for my teammates preparing to train. I doubt they’ll be of interest to the average aviator. I’m first in the left seat today, and actually looking forward to it.
Questions of the day:
123.4: Oxygen. 123.4 lbs of O2 at 1850 psi- 95 kts / 98 kts: Vmcg and Vmca or Vmcl
- Red/Black/Green: Emer Bus or Stdby Bus; Distribution; Main
- 60 deg: nosewheel steering limit
- 70 kts: below this speed on a rejected takeoff you get medium auto-brakes. It is the only call-out on landing
- Vref + 10: Circling speed – fully configured two engines
- Vref + 5: SE approach speed with flaps 20 (not asked, but I added it anyway
- Vse-10/V2+15/Vref+20: Min Flap Retract speed in normal, SE eng failure, and go around mode.
- 95+4 / 95+90: APU at 95% will get you a generator after 4 seconds and bleeds at 90 seconds
- 0.78/0.80/0.90/1.00: Underspeed CAS; PLI Angry eyebrow symbol; Stick Shaker; Stick pusher
- 340/0.77: speed limit with MAC Trim InOp
Questions from the previous day included:
- 20a / 8a: Battery charge limits. You can’t takeoff with more than 20a if the APU in available (it can be off but available). You can’t take-off with more than 8a if the APU is InOp or unavailable.
- 2600-3000: Required Gear Bottle Nitrogen Charge
- FL 390 / 10: Hydraulic EMP Limited above FL390 to 10 minutes
- 3 deg: Fuel temp limit at the filter
- 15% N2: Causes APR to activate
- 1300 psi: EMP turns on if armed. If accumulators are lower than this at the start, turn on EMP to charge.
- -1/2.6: G load limit flaps up
- 0/2: G load limit flaps down
- Emergency gear down at 175; normal gear down at 195 kts
- FACE: order of fuel burn. Forward tank, aft, center, everything else
- 16 fuel nozzles and only 4 used to start
- 1 ignitor is used to start, but 2 are used for starting in flight
- 7240 max continuous thrust; 7624 max take-off and max apr as well
- You can start APU in the air up to FL350 and operate it up to FL400
- Fire bottles are 600psi in the tail
Initializing the CDU
- Pos Init
- Check database
- Perf Init
- Take-off Init
- Departure and Arrival data
- Note the CG is going to be 39 or 40, and your perf calculations would have that
Some other things that came up along the way:
- DDA: Derived Decision Altitude. If you are using automation to level off at an MDA, add 70′ to the MDA.
- When flying a programmed glide path on a non-precision approach, dial the dirt (set 0 in the altitude selector. This will take you all the way to MDA +70 (DDA) without leveling off. At DDA you go missed by selecting TOGA and PF commanding ‘Set ref+30’ and ‘Set Missed Approach’. The later means altitude as well and ensuring the flight path is set up.
- Pavement weights: PCN / ACN: This has to do with the amount of weight an airport pavement can take. Not all airports report a PCN, but you can find it in the AFD. PCN is for the airport itself. ACN is for the aircraft. If ACN is less than PCN, you are good.
- TORA/TODA/ASDA/LDA all in the AFD. Takeoff runway available, Takeoff Distance Available, Accelerate Stop Distance Available, and Landing Distance available.
- Sims are based on Specific Issue #1 aircraft, and are updated to continue matching those aircraft.
- This aircraft uses NO BLUE WATER and cannot be serviced with it. Also DO NOT use distilled water since the level sensors won’t see it. The later means that computers see no water and won’t work. You’d have to drain out the distilled water and refill with tap. Water must be drained before leaving the airplane in freezing conditions.
- If you need WAI (wing anti-ice), the wing temps must be at 130 deg for T/O. WAI needs to be on prior to entering icing conditions
- 26000′ limit for single source bleed operation
- 185 kts min hold in icing
- 30 second limit for testing probes on the ground
- Static ports are not heated – EVER. They are in an area that won’t ice.
- Turn on anti-ice below 10 deg with visible moisture
- Nacelle bleeds fail open
- V-speeds will not post if 10 kt tailwind limit is predicted on the landing runway
- SE ILS on autopilot is approved
- At 30,000#, the best L/D is 170kts. It changes 3 kts per 1000′ (faster I think)
- Nose temp fans come on at 113 deg and you get a CAS message at 140
- Engine starts need 32psi min
- Temperature set points for bleed air: 400 with no WAI; 450 with WAI; and 500 for SE operations
- There are 3 general aviation digital controllers that make up the Air Management System Controller
- Turns are automatically half bank over FL290
- Tire Speeds: 225 mph/195 kts mains; 210mph/182 kts nose
Fly safe
Frank
Comments Off on Aug 16, 2019 – SIT 06
August 16th, 2019
This blog and others like it represent the updates I’ve been sending to my teammates as I go through the training required to get a type rating in the Gulfstream G280 corporate jet. These are intended to help them understand how the training is structured, and be even more prepared than I was.
Hey guys,
Today we did SIM01 on motion. Similar to yesterday, but the motion helped. Allot. Based on yesterdays experience I woke up thinking I would be wobbling the wings all the way down to the runway, and have trouble over-controlling all day. If that was the case, I knew it’d only get worse with each session.
My steep turns were much better, but still don’t think I was within parameters. Instructor (H.P.) tells me I was within standards and we could move on, so I’ll accept that I’ll improve enough as we go. I did a takeoffs, landings, ILS and a bunch of other things that he also was happy with, so I’ll take it. Note: I think he has an open mind due to my lack of jet experience. Learning is happening.
I had dinner with my partner last night, and again tonight. We did well together today, and are making an effort to get through this together. I’m learning from him, and that is good. He is an instructor by nature and putting him in that role for me smoothed everything out.
The FSI instructor made that happen through a frank discussion with the two of us at the start – you have to work together to make this happen. It worked. We are.
Tonight I’ll study limitations from the AFM. Apparently the check-ride looks at that, and particularly at the notes within the limitations I’m told. Tomorrow I will meet my sim partner in the morning, and we’ll chair fly call outs for takeoff, ILS, and non-precision approaches.
I’m looking forward to a day off Sunday, and the start of my last week here. I miss my wife and I am looking forward to going home.
Feeling better, but I’m no rock star.
Frank
Comments Off on Aug 15, 2019 – Evening Update SIM01
August 16th, 2019
This blog and others like it represent the updates I’ve been sending to my teammates as I go through the training required to get a type rating in the Gulfstream G280 corporate jet. These are intended to help them understand how the training is structured, and be even more prepared than I was.
I passed my written test with 93% and am moving into the next phase of training.
Gentleman,
Take this with a grain of salt. I’m under pressure.
Spend some time reading the AOM (Operating Manual) in Planebook before SIT01 (systems integration training – where the hell are the buttons at in real life). We weren’t on motion, but did a considerable number of maneuvers that I hadn’t reviewed. Basically we did the checkride profile, as the instructor put it.
My general impression is that everyone I meet is still learning. For example, in steep turns we were told to use 30-20-10 calls from the PM. Those calls are actually incorrect for this airplane, as you’ll see on 06-03-00 page 3 – there is only one call now at 15 degrees, where you initiate the reversal. Power is managed by the PM. Note: turns our we ignore the book and use a standard 30-20-10 call.
You recover from stalls to 180 kts. That is more difficult than it sounds, since you have two Atlas rocket motors strapped to your ass. You have to watch the airspeed predictor on the left side of the PFD (energy bar), and get off the power soon after the recovery. Note: I’ve since learned to keep the power full until 170 knots while recovering altitude – THEN get back to maybe 60% and stabilize.
I spent the session grossly over-controlling. If you forget auto-throttles in the steep turns you’ll be riding a bronco all the way around. Holy shit, I suck at this. I’m told it is much more difficult doing all this when your aren’t on motion.
The TOGA button is harder to find. In fact, I only have a general idea this evening where it is. It isn’t where I expected it to be from the training. Regardless of how harried the instructor is, shine a flashlight on the throttle quadrant and figure out where all these buttons are. I was mashing away and nothing happened, since I couldn’t find it. Ended up overpowering the auto-throttles to save the day.
Concerning the training environment. I am paired with an experienced Saber Jet pilot/instructor who has had nothing but bad right seaters, in his view. I interpret this to mean that he is awful at CRM and he knows it. It definitely shows. He’d rather leave me home. Nice guy, but I wouldn’t want to fly with him.
He was first in the left seat and started doing everything on his own. The instructor excitedly worked with him, until I stopped them both and explained that I wasn’t here for kicks and giggles, and I would not tolerate him doing everything. I have one goal – to pass a check ride. In order to do that I need to be involved in everything. Not a good start, but we got that sorted out.
During the the first half I did see more of the same, but I had the chance to do a few things, and continually inserted myself into what were supposed to be the PM (Pilot Monitoring) duties. At the break the instructor asked if we had worked together at all and I told him No. We hadn’t. the client preferred to work on his own. That is true.
During my left seat first venture off of motion, I tended to overcontrol. It would have been good to have reviewed all the procedures before I did this. I thought this session was just about getting the airplane started and finding all the switches, but we were moving on this one. Steep turns were over-controlled and +/- 200′. I had left the auto-throttles on inadvertently, and the instructor hadn’t noticed. What a ride.
Stalls weren’t difficult, but recovering to only180 kts specifically was. the skill there is that last part – getting the power off and recovering straight ahead. You have to get the power OFF quick to do that. With no sound and no force feedback it is tough for the first time.
Note that 5 degrees is EXAGGERATED on the EAI. It threw me off repeatedly. It is very much exaggerated compared to typical airplanes.
Instructor thinks I won’t have any problems and tried hard to call this thing I’m doing incredibly easy. Bullshit.
Note: this next comment is harsh. I’m coming to realize that everyone is working hard to re-staff a new program after the airlines pulled a bunch of experience all at once. DFW doesn’t count optimizing the chances for my success as important. That may be due to the stress of training all new people as fast as possible; they are losing people; or a host of other reasons.
I say that because they have me in the simulator with an instructor being trained, plus another instructor supervising. My partner routinely instructs in the Saber, so at times I had THREE people telling me how to fly the thing. In truth, the third guy wasn’t paying much attention and when he did have something to say, it was generally ill-timed.
My instructor uses a laser pointer, and it reflects off of the screens and hits me in the face occasionally. Flash back to Fate is the Hunter – Ernie Gann. Read that one if you haven’t yet. I’ll tell him about that today, and ask him not to do it. I was in the midst of a maneuver that last time he did and I just chuckled….. No one knew why, but I had a good laugh.
At one point I was given an unusual attitude where we are flying along fat dumb and happy and all of the sudden the display went to 60 degrees of left bank. We weren’t on motion, so I assumed the simulator broke. Not like I have seen that before. I slowly figured out we were still moving and the instructor thought wake turbulence was a good idea during SIT01. Coming out of that I got a TCAS RA and had to fly an evasive maneuver. Really?!
My brain hurts trying to keep up with this guy, but today I will have a better idea how he operates.
My partner and I went to dinner last night and had a come-to-Jesus meeting. I told him if I was a problem for him, to let the folks at FSI know and we’d go our merry ways. The situation improved from there, we acknowledged that he sucked at CRM and wanted to be single pilot; while I had low experience and need to pass a check ride. I will be hands on – period.
Note: This get better between us in the near future. We are not an optimal pair, but decided to give it our best shot. I told him I’d accept guidance from him AND from the instructor in the back. If the third guy speaks up I’ll start complaining.
After my last LOST I’ll lose all of these guys for my check ride, after two down days, They decided to give me ANOTHER instructor in training that is being observed by the FAA. My needs and concerns are not even on their radar, so all the love we’ll see comes from the north.
Having said that – I am getting support from a few instructors I am meeting. I’m sure it will get easier on me and I’ll feel better about it if I personally do better. that last part is up to me.
This is my unfiltered assessment. SIM 01is today, so I’ll sure I’ll get a V1 cut and an inverted unusual attitude. Just kidding – it is supposed to be the same as yesterday. Here we go.
Frank
Comments Off on Aug 15, 2019 – First introduction to the Simulator
August 16th, 2019
This blog and others like it represent the updates I’ve been sending to my teammates as I go through the training required to get a type rating in the Gulfstream G280 corporate jet. These are intended to help them understand how the training is structured, and be even more prepared than I was.
Evening Guys,
First up. Mike J. – I know that Mike L (our PM) thinks sharing these updates with everyone might be a good idea. I’m not going to do that because that would be a bit arrogant of me. I am the least qualified person to be telling experienced jet pilots how to do their jobs. FOLS: Fear of looking Stupid. I have to work with these people later. I’ll send him a copy of this to let him know.
I feel like I can share this information with you two because I trust that you’ll ignore what you already know, forgive my transgression, but maybe grab a tidbit or two to settle your nerves. Neither of you would hesitate to tell me if I’ve gone off the reservation either.
I feel it is my obligation to promote the team and to keep my friends from experiencing anything negative that can be avoided. I don’t want you to work as hard as I do in these events. Note that I haven’t slept more than 6 hours a night all week, and it’s exhausting. Huge FOF: Fear of Failure.
IMO – FlightSafety would have a better G280 experience if someone meet us at DFW and mentored us through this process from the start. There is no reason not to pre-train incoming instructors on what to expect, and then use them as embedded trainers inside the course. The instructors I had so far could certainly use your help, and the relationships we build with clients that way would be invaluable. That isn’t cheating – that is just smart education. *** On the other hand – FlightSafety has been doing this for a long time and they know how to make instructors. From my perspective, my life would have been easier with the approach I suggested.
I’ve asked Mike L for the DTS to be installed for the Wilmington instructors. He says our IT department is looking into it.
I spent just 2 hours with Perry and learned more in that time than an 8 hour day in performance class. No kidding. Our (Wilmington) incoming instructors should be mentored. I look forward to spinning you guys up before you go, having your planebook all set up, working you on the DTS, and putting you in a position to both meet and impress new clients. I’ll make sure I’m there the first week you guys arrive, and make sure the most helpful people are introduced to you.
Today I met an instructor on the Gulfstream tour and we got to know each other. He offered to supervise my instructor progression, and I like the guy. Tom F is his name, and (at Tom’s suggestion) I asked Melissa to schedule the two of us for my supervised instructor phase. Tom is a very nice guy and enthusiastic, which is what I need. Melissa is the God of scheduling, and reports to the evil gatekeeper – the G280 PM. Tom F, seems willing to help me, so I’m all for finding a friend.
I am also hoping to meet a gentleman who works here and lives on a residential airpark. I’m told he might know where I can hangar my airplane and commute.
The written test was reviewed in detail before we did it. I knew enough to pass, but didn’t know the location of external power ports, cooling vents, intake vents, and fueling ports well enough. As an excuse, I didn’t worry about that non-sense because i’m smart enough to keep opening doors until i find the fuel door.
The other thing I didn’t know had to do with the turbulence predictor – because there was NO WAY ON GODS GREEN EARTH that I could possible pay attention long enough to hear the one sentence where the instructor told us about it. Others with prior experience knew it, and I learned it during the review. bullshit question unless we trained it. We didn’t.
Performance training was a huge waste of time. Maybe one hour was valuable, but for the most part, it was haphazard and disorganized, IMO. I’ll show you what I learned to make it all come together, and you can thank Perry. He helped me allot, and i studied it for at least another 10 hours. Performance isn’t hard after you do it a few times. you can get it done quickly. We SUCK at training it though, so I can’t wait to work with you guys on doing a better job.
I’m happy for this opportunity and looking forward to getting the type rating behind me so that I can go home for awhile.
Nothing worth doing is easy. We are in a position to make the expanding G280 training worth doing. Full speed ahead.
I’m too tired to clean this up, so here you go. The G280 is a rocket ship.
Frank
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Tue, Aug 13, 8:30 PM (3 days ago)
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Hey Mike,
Mike Jordan told me you guys were talking about these updates I’ve been giving to Tom and Mike. My intent was to help my friends get through this with less stress than it takes me. I don’t feel comfortable sharing this information widely due to my inexperience in jets. It would be arrogant of me to do that. Mike and Tom are close friends that will give me the benefit of the doubt.
Please review what I’ve said to them here. It is my intention to make their lives easier and to improve the customer experience by embedding knowledgable instructors in their training. Let me know what you think, and if you’d rather me desist, i will.
Comments Off on Aug 13, 2019 – Night Update
August 16th, 2019
This blog and others like it represent the updates I’ve been sending to my teammates as I go through the training required to get a type rating in the Gulfstream G280 corporate jet. These are intended to help them understand how the training is structured, and be even more prepared than I was.
Ok guys,
I had high hopes for a much better approach to learning jet performance in this course. That didn’t happen, unfortunately. The day long review was all over the place, and even the guys who fly jets everyday had trouble tracking where the instructor was going. If I can spin you up in advance, it will be easier on you and you can help your classmates when you get here.
The good news is that I ran into Perry downstairs at the hotel. [Perry is a more experienced jet pilot/instructor than I am, and is a qualified G280 instructor on our team already]. I sat with him for an hour or so, and he gave me useful guidance on how to get through this. He advised me not to stay up studying for the written test, and told me it was done just like we’d typically do up north. Every question will be reviewed before we go. I spent a few hours going over the limitation and oral gouge last night anyway, and again this morning. I’ll be ready.
Perry also gave me a guide to the Performance calculations; namely where to find the information we needed for these scenarios. I spent some time this morning adding bookmarks to PlaneBook and following his examples. Tonight I’ll work on the performance for SIM01 in advance. Introduction to the SIM is tomorrow – SIT01.
I met the PM for the G280 down here and we immediately became best friends – NOT. He tried to change the schedule Mike Leeper gave me to keep me here longer, and I told him no, I’m leaving on the 27th as planned. In return he told me that he wouldn’t change my checkride to be with the guy I’m doing all my sims with. Instead, I’ll sit for two days and then fly with someone I hadn’t flown with or even met. It isn’t optimal for me, but it allows one of their TCEs to be FAA observed.
I’m not happy, but I’ll suck it up. I need to get used to not getting my way all the time while I’m doing this.
My concern is who has control of our schedule. My PM up north, or this PM (Program Manager) down here. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.
Heading out to Dallas Love field this morning to see a G280 airframe that just arrived green. Lunch at Billy Bob’s and then back here for the written test.
14 days before I go home.
Comments Off on Aug 13, 2019 – Post Performance Training
August 16th, 2019
This blog and others like it represent the updates I’ve been sending to my teammates as I go through the training required to get a type rating in the Gulfstream G280 corporate jet. These are intended to help them understand how the training is structured, and be even more prepared than I was.
I am feeling supported from my new PM, my old PM, and my teammates in Wilmington. In this case, Mike J had this to say: ‘if you sit at the GFS for a long time, it’s best if used while you are looking forward to it, instead of sideways in L/R seat…you’ll get what they call GFS neck….and you’ll be sore…so don’t sit in either seat station if playing with the FMS sit behind the GFS and look forward, sitting in the middle behind will help your neck in the long run. Your neck will hurt.’
Mike J took the time to show me how to start and use a similar GFS before I came down. that training helped allot because no one down here took the time. Mike is exactly correct in his advice. The GFS simulator configuration is meant to simulate where all the buttons are in whatever airplane it is modeling. You sit in an office chair and lean way back to reach out and touch the controls to make them work.
My comments to the teammates reflect where I was just prior to performance day, and a few days before the written test. There are three gates to pass to get this type – written; oral; and finally a practical test – flying the simulator.
Morning of the 11th: I have been getting to class around 5:30 everyday, but they locked me out this morning for some reason. I can’t use the desktop version of the GFS to practice, so I’ll take the time to write this quick note.
The limits page Perry sent out to everyone appears to be is a key document (in a sea of other documents we might want to read). I have been scanning that most days in prep for the written and oral, as well as reviewing the presentations I downloaded before I came down. The presentations we have access to are constantly changing in this new program, so get yours again right before you come down.
You don’t need to study Jeopardy questions, but it helps to have a spreadsheet sorted like Mike mentioned during class. Don’t feel any pressure there – it is a good review, and has nothing to do with the game Jeopardy as I know it.
I attached an updated workbook with various learning aids, including an updated jeopardy in both NUMBERS and EXCEL format. The later may have issues with formatting, as I’m working in NUMBERS on the iPAD and MAC. Ignore it if you don’t need it, and there are a few mistakes in there.
I’ve really put allot of energy into learning the FMS and avionics this week. Based on Perry’s advice, I stopped worrying about the written test and trust I know enough. Mike J tells me you have to fly more than remember things in order to pass, and that makes sense to mne. I’ll study tonight for tomorrow’s written. No more GFS / FMS. Manage my energy.
I’m going to find the PM down here today and make more schedule changes – like not accepting 2 days off between my LOST and my checkride. Otherwise all good. Note: I ended up not winning that discussion. He didn’t explain any of this, but it appears that everyone is getting an instructor in training and they may be ‘balls-to-the-wall’ training to get instructors spun up.
Performance and W&B today. Astra / Westwind is weak on that, so this will be almost a first for me in high performance jets. Lot’s to learn.
15 more days before I can come home. Flows are important – but they are easy to learn with practice.
Class is starting in a few.
Later.
Comments Off on Aug 12, 2019 – Ground School is ending
August 16th, 2019
This blog and others like it represent the updates I’ve been sending to my teammates as I go through the training required to get a type rating in the Gulfstream G280 corporate jet. These are intended to help them understand how the training is structured, and be even more prepared than I was.
As the GFS avionics simulator was introduced, I realized that my single biggest challenge at this point will be avionics. Most everyone here has prior experience, so I’m going to be running hard to keep up. It won’t be impossible, but it will be easy.
It’d be great if we could get a DTS set up in Wilmington right now, so incoming instructors can be better prepared.
For now – I recommend that you download all of the avionics presentations (1-5) and spend time with them. Also use iFlightDeck to review button functions. It isn’t a substitute for real-world experience, but it is a good start.
Note that I would have had a tough time JUST doing this to learn the avionics, but they are core and critical to flying this airplane. What I mean to say is, that passing my checkride will require that I be efficient in setting up the airplane and running checklists, and that I be able to readily re-configure the avionics on the fly.
I think many of you will have a leg up with your other aircraft experience, whereas going from Westwind / Astra to this is a big change.
Follow up after spending a few hours training myself: I didn’t mean to panic anyone with the avionics thing. If you don’t get the DTS, you’ll do fine, but I had to work pretty hard to catch up to where everyone else already was before they got here. I’m feeling better now after figuring out what to read and using the DTS for a few hours each day before class. If you can get a DTS set up in our offices, I’ll take the time to show you what I’m talking about.
The DTS executable is downloadable, but I’m sure they have it security locked down. I haven’t tried it on a windows machine yet, but I’m fairly certain it won’t work outside of FSI.
I brought the presentations down with me off of the server, so it helps to review those before class. I come in early and use the DTS to run through engine starts and figure out flows and where switches are. FMS is today, and I think I’ll find the DTS and GFS lacking. There are only two GFS units available for up to 24 clients, so I don’t plan on relying on them. I might come in on my day off, but the DTS does the same thing for me.
The pace is fast, but with a bit of effort I’ll get through it.
Fly Safe!
Comments Off on Aug 8, 2019 – Avionics Challenge
August 15th, 2019
This blog and others like it represent the updates I’ve been sending to my teammates as I go through the training required to get a type rating in the Gulfstream G280 corporate jet. These are intended to help them understand how the training is structured, and be even more prepared than I was.
Class starts at 8 am and you check in at the north entrance. You’ll get a walking tour that lasts 20 minutes, and then you’ll be able to figure out where to park when you have a sim (sim#1 is downstairs on north end; #2 is upstairs on the south). Your classes and GFS are both on the 2nd floor, north.
8:00 Class starts promptly, but it’s all casual stuff on the first day. We had 12 clients in class (including me) and took time to let everyone tell their story. He gave them five minutes apiece I’d guess, and didn’t rush them. That’s longer than I’ve done in my classes.
We had the usual first day interruptions for dignitaries, iPad distribution, paperwork, and so forth.
9:40: The welcome slides start. Same stuff we’ve all seen and done, so it was a chance for me to review how someone else does it. I’m not very good at discussing SMS safety programs, but my instructor today didn’t do it any better than I do. Harold C. is my instructor this week.
You will need IACRA and a FlightBag account, as well as PlaneBook. No surprises there.
Harold talked about the surveys and asked everyone to please let him know of any issues. He’d like the chance to fix things before he gets a bad rating from a client. Personally, I don’t do it his way.
FSI has a ground flight simulator (GFS). It is an interactive avionics procedures trainer that is useful for learning this adaptive system. There are only two of them, though, and it’s first come, first serve, on the honor system. I know the stuff is expensive, but I think we could do better there. IMO. Then again, it may be that they know more than I do about it, and increasing the number wouldn’t lead to a rise in usage. I avoided the entire debate and went in very early in the morning to practice flows.
My class is the smallest in awhile – 12 people. That has to be due to the fact that it is 1200 degrees down here. Honestly, the weather makes no difference since my day is spent in air conditioning anyway.
The instructor for the first week has a few quirks. He says the word ‘Effectively’ in every single sentence he utters, and the phrase ‘Some form or fashion’ at least once every other one. He is a better facilitator than I am, though, and did well enough to get us through systems. One method he uses to get the class to participate was getting everyone to say what makes a good pilot. He has his own answer ready at the end, and nobody is wrong regardless of what they say. Then he has clients read the various bullets on slides with several of them. Good technique.
Harold does check-rides, and has only been in this program for 11 months. He will tell you what you need to know, and it seems to be far less detail than anything we have done in the Westwind and/or Astra. It appears that the depth of your system’s knowledge can stop at the button pushing and your ability to find out what to do about an issue from your iPad. That is an initial impression from the first day.
11:15 Overview begins. Harold talks about the FSB – Flight Standardization Board. He suggests we download and read the ACS, right after telling us not to read allot at night and fry our brains.
Areas of emphasis that FSI agreed to train for the FAA
– W&B Performance Plan
– DSP/DCP/CCD operation. Display Select Panel and Display Control Panel are both part of the SMS. The CCD is the FMS, and so begin the acronym wars. It won’t be hard to get used to.
– Flap settings for various conditions (and limits)
– Flight Control Modes
– ADM Auto Descent Mode details and operation
– Thrust Control Module.
He wasn’t clear on the Issue #1/#2 thing. I had been told to focus on Issue #2 numbers, and that is what I’ll do. S/N #113 and beyond are Issue #2, but he wasn’t sure of himself there.
L/R cruise is 0.80 mach; Normal is 0.82; and max oper is 0.85
You can lock the baggage door from the outside, but if you do, you cannot open it from the inside. I think he called this a class #2 exit. Make sure it is unlocked before flight (unusual).
You need to know only the basics about the engine or APU for an oral. It is a turbofan engine; 7240# of thrust; engines and APU are Honeywell. He de-emphasized knowing it is an HTF7250G.
The airplane has geared tabs, but Harold couldn’t describe them. Could be servo or anti-servo, but he wasn’t sure.
There is a nose-wheel horn warning of exceeding towing limits. It is served from the left hot battery bus.
You cannot takeoff with an red or yellow CAS messages (unless you are being shot at).
SIT 05/06 is in the sim. Rest of the SITs are in class or the GFS.
Ate an expensive salad in the Cantina / cafeteria. It is crowded and the service is slow, but the food is good.
14:05 Reviewed Planebook. Which documents to use and how to arrange them on your screen. Put the QRH first, then the AFM, then the OM, then the MMEL. Those documents must be key to this training. The CDL is found in the AFM. *** I follow up with detailed instructions on navigating planebook.
QRH: Talked about what (C) and > denotes for CAS messages. You get 3 chimes for red; 2 for yellow; 1 for cyan; and zero fo status. Certain CAS messages are disabled until 400′ agl.
Know the definition of land as soon as practical, etc. See AFM Emergency section, page II-2 (he sent me to the wrong place). In the front of this section it also talks about warnings and so forth, and the 400′ limit. I’m going to read this more thoroughly. I just found it as I write this.
15:17 Abbreviated FlightBag review. Running late on Electric, so it is clear to me that the level of detail we’ll get into will be brief.
15:30 Electric starts, leaving us 1.5 hours to get through it.
Beacon automatically comes on when the batteries are discharging. Note that the switches also show ‘ON’ for batteries when discharging, and go dark when being charged.
He stomps his foot and says ‘in some form or fashion’ for the 30 billionth time. There are 12 DC busses and 1 AC bus. Total 13 busses.
Instructor note: Stomping your foot to get people to write stuff down is lame. Don’t be like Harold. It annoys me every time.
CB Panel – red for emergency; black for distribution, main for green. Know where the standby bus is (red) – lower right.
APU gen comes on 95% and 4 seconds. Bleeds 90 seconds
Harold said some things about electric that made my brain hurt. He doesn’t know certain things, gives a few answers that are not correct but won’t hurt anyone, and I resist the temptation to speak up and add detail. The detail won’t help anyone – so I let it go.
He spent some time on smoke in the baggage area…..
My plan had been to study each night, but it’s been a long day. I exercised and read a good book, but didn’t study. Today will be the full firehose effect, so I’ll let you know if that was a mistake.
ok – that’s enough.
Comments Off on Aug 6, 2019 – Impressions / Notes from day 1
