Christmas Spirit..

We were scheduled to have one more day of flight school and finish tomorrow, but due to the poor weather we were given today as our last day for the year and told to stand down from 1615hrs.

We were also planned to have a christmas drinks evening courtesy of the school to celebrate the great year that the Academy had had in 2009; but disappointingly it was cancelled. I can't believe they cancelled Christmas..! There will definitely be some outcries about it.

Nevertheless, my house are throwing our own party tonight..! A very civilised occasion with mince pies and sherry. Shirts and Ties..

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow..!!

Christmas Final Approach..

I am into the final week of term before the Christmas break and I can definately not wait for the 'hols' to begin. This is a common feeling around the school and it can definately be felt by the instructors aswell. Productivity of lessons has reduced as everyone has become more and more relaxed.

Unfortunately there is plenty of work to be done over the break before the second set of tests in the new year. As well as the much needed catching up from the past few weekends' partying and fun. After residing in Oxford for a long time and resisting the urge to visit friends around the country, I decided that in the run up to Christmas, I was going to treat myself by various christmas parties, etc.

I have spent the past few weekends with the country as my playground, partying hard all over london one weekend and sailing the next..!

Two more days to go..!

The Empire Strikes Back..

Today it was announced that the strikes planned by BA Cabin Crew would not go ahead; the decision was made by a Judge in favour of the allegations posed by BA following the initial threat of strike. The fact that votes were included from staff who had already accepted voluntary redundancy.

This has spelt an end to the festive turmoil, with many Britons relieved at the decision. It will be interesting to see how other airlines such as Easyjet and Virgin Altantic will move forward in light of the decision; as many plans were made to scramble planes to quench the passenger demand from the cancelled flights.

Things are looking quite shakey for BA after this spell of press with quite a tarnishing on the company's image..!

As a cadet, BA is one of the airlines, nay, THE airline I would dream of working for. But at the moment it does seem to be many reasons to suggest I should perhaps look elsewhere..!

In today's class with The Weatherman, he spent quite some time explaining the 'Nobility' of our profession of being pilots; whilst also enduring such pains and hardships to fulfill these dreams.

The Weatherman
- "You guys are going into such a difficult industry, one which will treat you really badly for little gain. You work your balls off in here in the classrooms, doing such hard work that people don't even know about. You pay loads to do it, then at the end of it; when it comes to looking for a job, you earn less than a London Underground train driver."

A gloomy countenance swept across the faces of the class. This 'being a pilot'; it seems as though it will come at a very great cost to all of us. There are always the good days and the bad days; this was definately not one of those 'inspirational days'..!

787 First Flight..

Today the Boeing 787 Dreamliner made it's first flight ahead of being delivered to the Launch Customer ANA.

It was a major talking point around the flight school with people discussing their views on whether it would be in service on schedule of whether there would be more delays..!

Whilst the 787 has not conformed to its estimated timescale, it is still proving to be ever popular with many awaiting its arrival as a breakthrough in aviation. Many believe that it will transform aviation and the way in which it is appreciated the world over; with a completely new design philosophy which is enviro-conscious it is pleasing more and more with many future improvements still to come.

I watched the live broadcast of the take off and initial climb out from Everett, WA. After a few hours of intense testing it is set to land, shortly before 2300hrs (UTC).

787 Live Stream

Also today BA it set to take legal action in order to prevent the strike action to be taken by its Cabin Crew.

BA to take legal action

Now for some much needed rest for me..

Crew Christmas..

Today it was announced that BA cabin crew will be taking some serious strike action over the festive period..!

They are planned to go on strike from the 22nd of Dec through till the 2nd of January 2010; the 12 day strike be inevitably affect a great number of Christmas travellers ruining any plans abroad. The union concerned stated that this action was being taken regrettably due to BA's lack of co-operation to reach an agreement and it is a shame that so many will suffer..!

The voting which took place some time ago was pretty unanimous with staff voting 9:1 in favour for the strikes, with an amazing 80% turnout. There is clearly some annoyance with the contractual changes and pay cuts being carried out.

With the huge implications and the Union willing to continue negotiations it will be interesting to see where this goes over the coming weeks..

12 Things..

Whilst browsing MSN I came across and interesting count down of the twelve most annoying things people can do on planes. I think I may have been guilty of a few of these crimes, though never intentionally..!

I think removing shoes is particularly annoying; the way to combat that is to spill some water near the person with removed shoes. Their feet and/or socks will get wet which will be sure to iritate them equally and may even prompt them to reshoe..!

12 things you do to annoy other plane passengers

A common problem is reclining the seat without asking; and yes some people say that they have paid for the seat so they are entitled to recline as they please. This is just inconsiderate and frankly rude.

It does not cost anything to ask the person behind if they mind; chances are they will be equally polite and not object.

One remedy to the reclining seat in front caught my eye on a website and seems to be a very good suppressant of this problem. [See "Frequent Flier" post some way down the page..]

Frequent Flier

I should probably get back to my studying; fun fun fun..!

Excuse Me Miss..

It is very commonly found that there is a great deal of banter and horseplay between the Flight Crew and the Cabin Crew.

Today Mr Pilot told us of one trick which was very commonly played on new cabin crew members.

Mr Pilot
- "Mid-flight, the captain; this one is generally led by the captain. So, he will empty a can of vegetable soup into a sick bag. Then call in the new young lady on whom the trick is to be played.

'Excuse me Miss, can you come over to the flight deck please.'

Then just as she starts to come unto the flight deck the First Officer will begin 'Vomiting' into the bag. At which point the airhostess will look in shock as he nauseously goes to hand her the sick bag. As she extends her hand to collect it, the captain clamours

'What are you doing, I'll have that..!'

And grabs the bag and starts drinking it through a straw..!! At this point she will generally run out shrieking..!

Oh, what fun you lot will have before too long; it's all in good fun..!" Mr Pilot smiled in nostalgic content.

I can't wait..

In Flight Entertainment..

We have gotten into a habit of watching videos on YouTube prior to and in between classes (even though we are not supposed to).

Despite this, when a few of the instructors walk in mid-vid, they don't repremand us for ill-use of the academy's expensive projection equipment; they actually enjo0y watching the videos with us and occasionally show us one which has had them in stitches..!

Here are a few which we have enjoyed over the past few days..

Bankers

Dating Vidoes

Snatch Wars

Enjoy..

Hail the Pilot..

Today Mr Pilot was indulging us with some stories about his time as a mechanic for BA. He was discussing the effects of stability and how as the 'Nut holding the wheel' we should do everything we can to avoid making the passengers throw up.

Mr Pilot
- "When I was a mechanic for BA based out of LHR (London Heathrow), I was on there when there was this one QANTAS flight which was heading for Hong Kong, or something. Well, whilst flying over Bosnia he flew into some massive unexpected CBs (Cumulonimbus Clouds), which didn't show up on the radar.

[Just to let you know, these are clouds which one should do their utmost to steer very very clear of, as they are not fun for either the passengers nor the pilots]

So, anyway, he was flying through them and the plane was getting smashed to bits by giant hailstones. The plane was getting thrown around by very severe turbulence and so, with all of the damage the captain decided that rather than carrying on, he should divert back to LHR.

So, I get this call saying what has happened and head over to the plane as it taxies round to the gate at LHR. And it looked like someone had taken a hammer and smashed in every leading part of the aircraft. Giant dents this big..! [He guestured about the size of an orange].

We were watching from the ground as they opened up the passenger doors; the ground crew were reeling all over the place..!

Every single passenger on the plane had thrown up, all over the place. You lot should have seen the mess inside the cabin..! [He winced as he said this]

But remember, Men (He collectively calls us this sometimes) , you can wash off sick with water, but if you fly and break the plane, then water isn't going to do alot for you"

Well done to the Captain for not soiling the flight deck..!

Not Long Till Christmas..

We are coming close to the end of term before the christmas break. But still there is an awful lot that we have to do before then. Many of my friends are finishing for the term at university and my employed friends are getting int0 the festive swing with all sorts of christmas parties..!!

They have made efforts to inject a touch of christmas around the flight school but I can't say I feel particularly festive at the moment.

Recently a new class started aswell; and although I have only been at flight school for some seven weeks, our class is one of the middle classes at ground training. We have now been granted with a certain level of respect and standing amonst the 'freshers'..

Only two and half weeks to go..

Footprints in the Sky..

Reading Bumble's post from a while back I began to think about my Carbon Footprint as a pilot. Obviously air travel gets alot of bad press and a bad rep from a pollution perspective; as a pilot I would no doubt be a major contributant to this.

Does my travelling back and forth round the world contribute to my carbon footprint directly, or is it adopted by each of the passengers..? Leaving me guilt free as I relax in some exotic location sipping on a ice cold drink, at the expense of the airline..!

Whilst I in no way want to make light of the problems, I think it is important to know that Aviation only contributes to 2% of world carbon emissions. And also, it is very important to know that there are strict limits being imposed on airlines and airframers to ensure that the newest planes are environmentally friendly. Rolls Royce one company taking huge steps to making propulsion less of a concern.

Environmentally Friendly Engine

So I shouldn't feel that guilty, should I..?

Television Teaching..

I have just finished Week 7 as a commercial pilot cadet. My internet access has been very sporadic and so I have not been able to maintain regular posts.

Following the tests last week we have started to realise the amount of work which we 'have learnt' and what we still have to cover before the christmas break. It does seem somewhat impossible; especially as we have spend a large proportion of the weeks lessons watching television..

So far this week we have watched two entire lessons watching videos either from old 1980's documentaries or from YouTube..

As much as I like watching a good old fashioned documentary, at the price of tuition fees, I feel at times as though I could have watched it at home..!!

Ah, well; nevermind. If it is helping to make me a better pilot then I guess it is worth it..!

And who says you can't learn anything by watching tv..!

De Briefest Day So Far..

Following the testing process we were debriefed by the instructors.

It seems as though, as a class, we have performed quite well in the tests, slightly above average..!

Some of the mistakes that I had made in the tests were outrageous and were quite laughable; it really is weird at what one can do when under pressure and under time restraints.

Acting under immense pressure and time restraints..? Isn't that what pilots do when things start to go terribly wrong..?

It's a good thing that we spent part of the day analysing the effects of stress on performance and the Yerkes-Dodson curve.
At points when 'arousal' reaches a certain point, performance output reaches a maximum(I will leave it to you to add your own jokes about this topic!). The adrenalin secreted during this stage gives a heightened sense of awareness and response.

It is very common in pilots when faced with certain life or death situations to have time appear to slow down..! In these moments instinct kicks in and leads the responses..!

Now for some subconscious learning to ingrain stuff for such a rainy day..

Passed the First Checkpoint..

So, it has been a very busy few days since the tests that transpired on Thursday and Friday. The hard work had paid off; I passed all of the tests with a healthy margin. However, my competitive side was still somewhat disappointed and yearned for those extra percent that I had dropped.

Anyway, with the tests over it was time to unwind and relax. This weekend was one of few where no work could be done, as we are starting new material and the previous stuff was sufficiently learnt.

Non-stop partying all over the country took place over the weekend, reminding myself of 'The World is my playground' way of life to which I have signed up to. It was great to chill out with some old friends and catch up over a drink or two.

I feel injected with a new sense of confidence following the tests and am feeling less inundated by the workload. I am very eager to get back on the track and work through the next load of theory, taking myself closer to the flying part of the course.

Progress..?

Today was the first of the initial progress tests, I had three tests lasting roughly 1.30 mins each. To my surprise they were not as bad as first anticipated; having said that the results are not back and I may have royally ballsed them up. I'll have to keep my fingers crossed..!

Two more tests remain for tomorrow with a big night out to follow to mark the occasion.

I'm conserving my time to focus on revision, so this post is unfortunately a short one. The sheer amount of stuff that I am having to try and remember for the tests however is no laughing matter and this truly goes as a testiment to pilots all over the world..

Two more to go..

The First Hurdle..

Thanks to Bumble for filling in a few day's posts while I have been incommunicado. More from Bumble to come soon.

I have my first set of tests tomorrow on the progress I've been making. The entire class were in a state of anxiety as we were under the impression that Prospective Employers would have accessed to the results. As you can imagine that got alot of us on edge..

Thankfully we have been promised that these tests are for internal use only and will not be seen by Airline HR. What a relief..!

A day of revision was set to take place today given today was issued as a private study day; some time for us to brick it and pray, in the privacy of our own rooms..!

It was just my luck that I got called across the country to tend to something which was absolutely necessary and very very urgent. Out went my plans to revise all day. The day descended into more time spent behind the wheel than behind the textbooks.

I feel quite underprepared for tomorrow, but hey; to be a pilot you have to be flexible and adaptable to change.

I think I've passed that test..

Songs for skylines

A mellow number for those chilled moments. Or when you find that moment of peace as you plunge to your death.

Neutral Milk Hotel - In the aeroplane over the sea

Bumble - A lay view of those things in the sky

Less class, more cattle

Airbus A380s bring a new meaning to 'cattle class'. But they do have their upsides.

As a socially conscious individual with a carbon footprint the size of a small African state, I'm already preparing responses as to why I'm flying to Copenhagen for the UN Climate Change Summit (twice) next month....

'It's fine, I'm off-setting.' / 'The talks are about governments, not individuals.' / 'Yes, I flew. Ironic, huh.' / 'Hypocritical, me? What's two flights to Bangladesh?'

....Obviously, the first one is a lie.

But the good news is that, as the Telegraph reports:

"With 840 passengers on board ... the plane would use two litres of fuel per passenger per 100 kilometres, about half that of a Toyota Prius hybrid car with just the driver inside."

So flying economy is no longer only restricted to those who can't splash £1,000 per trip but also the environmentally aware. Cue: "Of course, I normally fly business darling, but I'm watching the old footprint." And perhaps smug executives from smug companies will start having to travel A380 as part of the business' corporate social responsibility.

But I've always been happy in economy anyway. I've never enough energy to watch more than one film and when glass of wine gets you tipsy at high altitude, it's really not painful to pay.

The only time I have flown first class on a long haul, I indulged in too much champagne before take off and too much seafood during the flight only to find myself staring down every toilet bowl in between connecting flights at Madrid airport.

So here's to the Airbus A380.

Songs for skylines

Here's a track normally reserved for trendy east London clubs and snowboarding films. But it works best with a cloudless horizon.

M83 - We own the sky

Introducing Bumble - A lay view of those things in the sky

His master's voice

I like flying. I like aeroplanes. I like sitting by the window and being forced to be still, tune in and zone out. And I even like airports. Love them, actually.

What I don't like is not knowing what's going on.

So when my plane started to bounce and roll last Friday, the normal zen state I adopt in the air evaporated. I do what everyone does, hold the armrests a little tighter and discretely look around, hoping not to give away the internal panic. But panicked I was and quickly thoughts spun into what the last things I said to my nearest and dearest were - would Laura remember the grave I picked out in a cemetery in Colombia? Who take my washing down? Who would pay off my overdraft?

Pilots, you laugh, but these are the thoughts of the passengers you carry everyday. And we look to you for comfort in these times of fear. As the cabin crew run for their own seats and belt in, we passengers are left wondering whether this is just another day in the air, or if this is it.

I was gearing up to ask the man next to me if I could hold his hand (really, I was) - which would have been quite an effort as we bagged the only row with a spare seat in the middle - when the captain came across the intercom.

A soothing, smiling and confident voice came through the cabin. You don't remember the exact words when you think you're about to die, but his voice said "You're safe in my hands".

Captain, I hear you. Loud and clear.

Icing on the Strake

Mr Pilot
- "One area you should avoid flying into in the atmosphere is 'Coffin Corner'; as the name suggests, it is not the best place to be..!"

That's probably a good place to steer clear of. We then moved on to analysing the stall performance of the aricraft in Icing Conditions. Now, "Icing Conditions" are areas where there is a very cold temperature and visible moisture.

Mr Pilot
- "Icing or any other contamination on the wings can be very dangerous. If you are flying into icing conditions then you must always dissengage the Autopilot, do not be a fuckwit and let the plane fly for itself.

Remember Rule No. 1; Fly the Plane..!

You should never rely on the autopilot, only use it when it is absolutely necessary; don't be one of those pilots who uses it all of the time. Think of the autopilot as a servant, it will do exactly as you ask it, but it will not think for itself. if you ask it to do something that it cannot do; it WILL kill you..!

If you are flying the plane you will be able to feel what it is doing and respond to it. You may feel the wings start to roll, if you look at the VSI (Vertical Speed Indicator) you may notice that it is spinning round; at that point you should think 'Shit..!', and put the nose down to recover the aircraft. You must rely on your instincts, this is what you will learn as you become a pilot..!"

Instincts of a pilot, eh..?

It's probably best to keep the ice off the wings and in the Gin & Tonic then..

Respect the Propeller

Have you ever been caught in the arc of a moving propeller..?

Probably not otherwise you wouldn't be reading this post.

Today Mr Pilot was telling us more 'pilot shit' as he calls it. He took a moment to emphasise the importance of respecting the propellers on aircraft. The general rule that he laboured was to avoid the arc of the propeller at all times. It is sometimes very difficult to see the moving prop blades and the noise isn't always obvious on the apron when there is other noise. So many times he has seen students wandering around idle props without a care in the world. Quite "cringy stuff" he said.

Mr Pilot
- "Everytime I see it, it makes me cringe. I once saw a guy go straight through a moving propeller. It was a rainy day and he was taxiing towards the hanger, it was pouring with rain and the guy was just rushing to get indoors. He jumped out of the plane and ran straight through the prop to get into the hanger; I was watching indoors from a distance and thought 'Ouch, that can't be good!'. I looked calmly across at someone in the office and said 'You had better call an ambulance, that chap has just gone through the blades'. It was not a pretty sight; it took 20 minutes for the ambulance to arrive, he was still alive then; but not really [He winced]. Imagine the arc as a madman with a very sharp sword, just waiting for you to put somthing in the way..!"

At this point, we are so far from getting near a plane it isn't really a worry for me, but I'll be sure to remember it closer to the time. The biggest worry facing me at the moment is the upcoming 'progress tests' which are due next week. These are quite a big deal as any prospective employer gets to see the results.

There is alot of work to do till then..

The Rules..

Mr Pilot today introduced us to "The Rules of Flight Club" or at least the first two; he wouldn't let us in on the other rules as he didn't feel we were worthy enough; yet..

Rule No. 1 - Fly the Plane
Rule No.2 - See Rule one (It is really important)

Mr Pilot
- "Now, I know what you're thinking; pretty obvious eh? But you would be surprised at how many pilots forget this simple rule. But this is what you are there for; to fly the plane. Everything else comes afterwards."

I take it he means things such as reading the newspaper and enjoying a coffee at 35,000ft.

Mr Pilot
- "When you are flying the plane there will be lots of distractions. But first and foremost, you concetrate on flying the plane. You will have Air Traffic Control in your ear telling you things, but all of these come after. Even your brain will start to tell you lies, lies which you must ignore (referrring to Somatogyral and Somatogravic effects); if you don't then it will fuck you up..!"

He continued
- "Look at Captain Sully, he flew the plane..! He had ATC constantly telling him all this rubbish, he just ignored it and flew the plane. If ATC are telling you stuff and there is a problem, you worry about flying the plane, they can redirect traffic around you..!"

He then adopted a more sombre tone
- "You may be worried about calling in a MAYDAY if something goes wrong. This will be you admitting to ATC that you are in trouble; but don't worry about ATC. More importantly you will be admitting to yourself, that you are in trouble; this may be a bit more difficult. But it will help, it will be the first step. Then you concentrate on Rule No. 1"

He then led into a story
- "When I was an instructor, I was with a pilot whose door was not closed properly and as we took off and started to climb, the air popped the door open. He panicked and started trying to fiddle with the door. I looked at him stunned and said in a calm, commanding Captain's voice

'Fly the Plane..!'

He instantly stopped faffing around with the door and started flying the plane. We fixed the door once we had reached a few thousand feet."

So, Rule No.1 - Fly the Plane.

The first rule of Flight Club..

Potential Applicants..

The Illusionist was telling us about one of his old students who is now heavily involved with the assessment of cadet applicants.

The Illusionist
- "She wasked why so few of the applicantion forms mentioned anything about the desire to fly. I told her

'It's not about the flying, it's the Wonga [Gestures to his wallet], the house and the lifestyle.'

This is what you lot want."

He then began building the scene in a very aminated fashion.

The Illusionist
- "You're sat there in the cockpit at the gate at Gatwick in the middle of February, it's pouring with rain and you can see the Gingerbeer (Engineer) walking round the plane, absolutely soaked, doing all of the pre-flight checks.

The Gingerbeer unplugs you and signals that you are clear to push back, you give him a supercillious wave as he gives you the salute [He gestures an angry swear].

You taxi round to the runway, throttle forward and you charge down the runway. Being careful as the runway is covered with rain. You reach V1 (The speed of taking off) and you pull back and climb away. You manage to steer the plane through the shit weather that you are leaving behind and climb through the clouds to a whole new world..!

Autopilot on, feet up and coffee is served.

You land in a hot destination. You go to a bar and sit down; you are having a drink and a hot woman walks in, she says hi, you reply, she asks what you do, you say 'Pilot'..

It's not the worst job in the world.."

Bottle to Throttle..

In the past it was considered normal for pilots to drink four pints of beer per evening.

With this being the general level of intoxication of pilots on a daily basis, the Authorities gave a recommendation for the pilots.

"Allow a minimum of eight hours to go from bottle to throttle"

Sounds quite catchy doesn't it..!

The Squadron Leader was quick to amend this with regard to modern drinking habits.

The Squadron Leader
- "That was in the past, whereas now, you will most likely have a few pints of stronger continental beers and lager; what's more you will no doubt chase each of these with a spirit of some sort"

(The Squadron Leader knows a thing or two about drinking)

Quoted from the text book:
- "Aircrew tend to live in a 'drinking culture' with a need to conform and often use alcohol to unwind...".

- "Sleeping actually causes the rate of oxidation to be prolonged...as metabolic rates are slowed during sleep".

As he correctly pointed out, aircrew are generally the gregarious type and will go out and meet in the bar as soon as they have come off duty; before going out and making the most of being out.

The current advice is for 'prudent' pilots to allow 24 hours between drinking and flying. This takes into account the fact that the body processes one unit of alcohol per hour.

So, the lessons of the day are to go out and drink with your crew, have fun, don't sleep and be sure to allow 24 hours between the bottle and the throttle..

Becoming Airmen..

Mr Pilot today had some very wise words for us.

Mr Pilot
- "You men, are not here to be pilots; you should not want to be pilots, you are here to be 'Airmen'! That is what you must aspire to be, not just a pilot. Pilots cause accidents, Airmen prevent accidents."

This was very inspirational stuff and you could see his words resonating within each of us in the classroom. He continued;

- "Before I get on a commercial jet, I listen to the names of the pilots; if I recognise any of the names, I ain't gettin' on..!"

(Mr Pilot is a West-Countryman, so this is how he said it..!)

- "Do any of you know who Bob Hoover is? No?!(with a very surprised look on his face) How about Chuck Yeager?" He then went on listing names of these legnedary Airmen.

- "Well when you get home, google these names and find one which you most aspire to be like. These guys are such great pilots, they could fly the box the planes came in..! You want to be like these guys!"

He was right, I want to be like those guys..

Crew Confessions..

I think I've already linked this site once, but I came across some really funny stuff recently.

Whilst it has been hilarious hearing confessions and stories from the instructors, these ones are also worth a good look. I really can't believe some of these happened; there must have have been some backlash to the airlines concerned..

Crew Confessions

And now begins the forth week..

First Class Snobbery..

Check this story out, it seems to have gotten really mixed opinions from readers..!

The short of it is, a PAX was not allowed to fly First Class because he was wearing a tracksuit and trainers..!!

PAX Barred from Flying First Class

Personally I think that "tracksuits and trainers" is a bit much; perhaps something a bit more appropriate such as chinos and a shirt. It depends on whether the dress code was aforementioned on the ticket before boarding to be fair to the airline..

Rules are rules..

Air Crash Investigation..

You may remember the crash of a Boeing 777-236ER on its short final approach to London Heathrow Airport from Beijing back in January 2008. In Mr Pilot's class yesterday, he went through the incident in detail.

To try and improve our airmanship, we were told about the incident and were taken through the details of the crash. He then implored us to read through the accident report in our own time and begin to analyse the chain of events and apply the theory that we had learnt in the hope of coming up with own own thoughts on what we would do in a similar situation.

Obviously, it is impossible to try and imagine oneself in a similar situation where there are great stresses and a limit to the thinking time available. The hope was to try and get us to begin thinking of how the aircraft behaves and to appreciate how it responds to demands of the pilot.

So, I began reading the article today. It's quite scary to think that the entire incident lasted all of 56 seconds between the first fault being identified and the aircraft making its touchdown short of the runway.

A Bit of a Dark Side..

Going back to something we were told to try by The Squadron Leader yesterday; it is quite interesting and is well worth a try. Here's what to do..

About 15 minutes or so before going to bed, close one of your eyes. This should preferrably be your less dominant eye. Then after 15 minutes has passed, keep it closed and turn off the light in the room. After the light is off open the closed eye. One of your eyes will already have adjusted to the dark whilst the other won't have. You should not be able to see anything through one eye for about 15 or so minutes..!!

Traffic..

The Commodore usually starts off the lesson with a joke; today was no exception.

The Commodore
- "Did any of you chaps get stuck in traffic this morning?"

Us
- "No, not really"

The Commodore
- "Well, on the way in this morning I got stuck in a really bad patch of traffic. There was a policeman wandering up and down the line of traffic, so I stopped him and asked him through the window what the hold up was."

Policeman
- "A man at the front of the traffic has stopped his car in the road. He is really bad shape, his wife has just left him, he has nothing left and is really poor. He isthreatening to set himself on fire; we are doing a collection for him."

The Commodore
- "So I asked, 'How much have you got so far?'"

Policeman
- "5 litres..!"

The Commodore is a very straight laced old Ex-RN engineer, with a really conservative sense of humour. His jokes usually only receive feigned laughter out of politeness.

And so ends another week of classes..

A Welcome Evening..

Again today was consumed largely with classes. The Squadron Leader today taught the value of the eyesight to pilots. I also learnt the failings and limitations of this sense.

The Sqaudron Leader, being a man who enjoys his drink, also began to explain the effects of alcohol on vision. This topic soon progressed onto the discussion of pilots losing their licenses to alcohol intoxication. The limit for pilots is very low and very strictly punishable; this also tied in very heavily with medication and the stringency of the industry with regard to drugs tests. It seems that whilst on duty a pilot must only use medication which has been certified and recommended by an AME (Aero Medical Examiner); even hayfever pills have been the cause of disciplinary action..!

At the end of the day however there was a little something to help us unwind; every month as a new class arrives, a 'Welcome Evening' is arranged to welcome the new cadets. All cadets and members of staff are invited for some free food and drinks.

The evening was a very civilised one, with Canapés, wine and a selection of beers and juices; not to mention an array of other finger foods.

It was a great chance to mingle with the Instructors et al, in a more casual social environment. The dress code for the evening was Flight Attire as per usual. All of the usual suspects were there including The Skipper, The Tux and The Squadron Leader..

It turns out that alot of the instructors mentioned are not ex pilots, but were RAF or RN engineers. Regardless, being part of the aviation world at that time, allowed the same debaucherous lifestyles as their airborne commrades..

Apparently it is the best lifestyle ever..

A Very Nervous System..

The squadron Leader was back from a week long break, and we had the pleasure of his instruction for two classes today. He did not waste any time and quickly got back into step from where he had left off, jokes and all.

Although peppered with his unique brand of insightful, lewd jokes, today's classes took a rather serious turn.

The subject of the day was the the Nervous system and its functions. My knowledge of the human anatomy and function is slowly increasing beyond what I had thought necessary for a pilot; we really do learn alot. As well as marvelling at the wonders and intricacies of the human body, we also study the many failings and particularly those which will affect our careers as pilots.

The human balancing system; one which you would think would be extremely useful as a pilot is actually very dangerous and is misleading in the worst possible ways. It has caused many pilots to crash and subsequently die. A skilled pilot has to learn to ignore these instinctive signals given by their body. Very morbid stuff..!

It seems that there are plenty of things which can lead to death in an aircraft, alot of which lies in the hands of the pilots. Much of which is an unhill struggle and requires alot of skill..

It's not all autopilots and newspapers after all..!

Lifted Spirits..

Today was another day of six hours of classes. These kind of days are becoming more and more routine. It is still quite a struggle to take in six textbooks for the day with each weighing roughly one a half kilos each..!

We had a class with Mr Pilot today where we went through some priciples of lift and drag (Pilot Shit). Having seen some videos on the internet about how previous classes have played pranks on him, our class is getting more and more inspired to carry out our own selection of stunts. However, we are not sure whether we (as a class) have earned enough of his respect to go ahead with it..

If you have any prank ideas then please get in touch and I will see if we can make it a reality..

And so we wait..

Laviators..

Today was a fairly uneventful day in the office. I had 5 hours of classes with a comfortable hour of spoon fed teaching via a computer based teaching system.

On a more interesting note while I have been perusing the internet, I came across some very interesting things.

Now, let me ask you if you have ever heard of 'Laviators'; this is something very new of which I have only just found out about. Basically it is the 'next biggest craze in aviation since the Mile High Club' to quote to creative whom credit goes to for this. Her name is Heather Poole, a very savvy flight attendant.

It is, taking funny and creative pictures of oneself in the aircraft lavatory..! Very, very cool..!! Apparently there is quite a cult following.

Ms Poole's blog site has lots of funny stuff such as crew, stories and confessions. It is definitely worth a look and has made the evening's work slightly more bearable, providing the entertainment at every break.

Check it out..

Another Flight Attendant Writing

Another thing which caught my eye, thanks to @jetwhine for this link via Twitter.. These chaps should definitely never commit the act of aviation ever again..!

Be very afraid of this pilot

Right, well on that note, I should get back to my books to make sure I never do anything like that..

Lazy Sundays..

Last night was a fairly average night out in Oxford. I would probably say that the club selection was a poor one. We pre drank at one of the cadet houses and then headed into town. A few more drinks in a pub saw us ready for the night. The 'club' that we chose was awful; it seemed to be filled with the social dregs of Oxford. The music was very monotonous and for that reason we left after a while.

This morning I wasn't feeling nearly as bad as I'd expected to; I was however feeling very tired after only a few hours sleep.

The rest of the day was occupied with a relaxed pace of work, laundry and some socialising with the a few guys from the class..

An early night is in order to ensure I am bright eyed and bushy tailed for the start of the third week; apparently this is where it starts to get very difficult..

Slightly anxious about how the week will turn out..!

Speed Awareness..

Right, The Thames Valley Constabulatory have speed awareness courses held on the same site as my accomodation. Upon entry to the site there are numerous signs directing the 'Speeders' on how to find the building in which the course is held; there is also sufficient explanation in the handouts that they are given.


Despite this every weekend and sometimes during the week we get these people parking in our cark park which is clearly marked "For Accomodation Residents ONLY". As well as this they come and knock on our flats asking whether this is where the "Driving Classes" are being held..!

Our building is Building 41, the sign clearly indicates building 78. I suppose that these people aren't very adept at taking in information from road signs anyway. It is quite amusing when they ask for the "Drivers Classes" and we respond with "You mean, the speed awareness course"; the look of embarrassment and guilt is priceless..!

Anyway, today is halloween and so having slaved with the books for the past week, I think I deserve a treat; a night out in Oxford it is then..!!

Career Progression..

Yesterday was a very unproductive evening of work. I was definitely in need of some down time. The 6 hours of classes and 3 hours of home study was beginning to take its toll on my spirits. It was quite nice to just chill out; something which I have not had the chance to do since the summer holidays.

Well, today was back to the classrooms for a 6 hour slog. The day started with some electrics with the Illusionist. We started to learn cockpit protocols of how to deal with inflight circuit breaks. It turns out that pilots are very good at breaking things on a plane. It's a good thing that there are "Ginger Beers" [Engineers] at the airports.

The Illusionist
- "You as the pilot will break things, and then you tell the Ginger Beer, who will fix it so that you can break it again..! It keeps them in a job"

Nowadays, with so much stuff automated on the flight deck the most common thing recorded on some Cockpit Flight Recorderd is:

- "What the **** is it [the aircraft] doing now..?"

Later in the day, we learnt about emergency procedures for during a cabin depressurisation;

"If the cabin depressurises, make sure you get that oxygen mask on as quick as you can..! Don't worry about the old guy in the left hand seat [The Commanding Pilot]; if he kicks it, there is a good chance of a promotion..!"

It turns out that this is a good way to get promoted..

Lavatory Warnings..

Here were some instructions placed in the Gent's lavatories at the flight school. I thought I'd share it with you..!

The Illusion..

We had a different instructor taking the place of the absent Squadron Leader; let's call him The Illusionist; a (relatively) young, chipper, ex-RAF pilot with a southern eastern accent. He appeared a lot more energetic than the other instructors; probably owing to his age.

He did a few straw pole tests to gauge the thoughts of the class; asking whether we found the work overwhelming and whether we were beginning to feel inundated by it.

The Illusionist
- "Right, well at least now you know that you are all in the shit together! Whereas before you thought it was just you in the shit"

This was somewhat reassuring; however what he said next was one of his more salient points were.

The Illusionist
- "Guys, well don't worry about it. Right now you feel like it is all really difficult, but give it a few weeks and it will pass. You will get into the rhythm and you will start to feel fine about it. A new bunch will join and you will see them and think 'Shit, another bunch of lambs to the slaughter'..!"

He then shared with us his philosophy of "The Illusion of Being a Pilot"..

The Illusionist
- "You come here and you will learn 14,000 useless facts over the course of your time here. You will work bloody hard and you will get to the end. Then, when you have a job as a pilot, that's the illusion. Why do you want to be pilots..? Let's cut the chase; it's so that you can have a fat wallet, a nice house and the first pick of the airhostesses..!"

"So, The Illusion; when you walk through the airport, you walk as slow as you want, the plane isn't going anywhere without you..! You walk like this [Then he strides across the classroom with a cocky sauntered gait]. Children, mothers and everyone else will see you walk past and think 'Wow, that man is really clever, he's a pilot'."

"You never see a pilot with cheap sunglasses, they always have the expensive ones; the Oakleys, the Raybans or the Serengetis. You would never see a pilot with cheap £1.50 sunglasses from Boots. It just doesn't fit the image"

"What we do isn't difficult, the difficult part is here. After that is the fun"..

Flying Through Hoops..

Today was another long day spent entirely in the classroom. The only saving grace was that The Tux dismissed us early for the final lesson of the day.

I've just spent the past few hours doing a sheet of homework set by The Tiger; it seems to have plagued the entire class, with us having spent longer than the allocated 30 mins on it. There is still alot more to do tonight..!

It was iterated today by one of the instructors, Mr Pilot that we will have to spend the next 6 months trawling through an insurmountable level of information and work just to satisfy the JAA.

He is a true pilot, only interested in "The pilot stuff", not other random information which is of no use in the cockpit..! He is a tall, cynical, experienced character with few words and one who does not suffer fools.

With the workload building up, it is all becoming quite real. The levels of stress are already starting to build and at times it feels like an uphill struggle.

At the same time, the stories told by Mr Pilot and the other instructors remind me of what I am working towards. It all seems worth the effort and this slog in groundschool is definately going to be a display of fortitude and character..

The night has only just begun..

What a Drag..

Today, the day seemed quite repetitive, with a number of double lessons during the day. Morale amongst the group seems to be at a low with some reaching saturation point with all of the information that we are trying to take in.

A number of lessons on Principles of Flight seemed to go on for an eternity..!

The highlight of the day ended up being a walkaround of one of the maintenance hangers, in which we got to climb around an aircraft and have a play with the cockpit..!

A few of the planes being operated are from the 1970's..!! Nearly twice as old as I am..!!

The manner of teaching here is completely different to anything I have expereienced in the past; we are very much spoon fed the information that we need to know and exactly how things are done. There is very little in the way of independent thinking. This being said; I am definately acquiring a taste for being spoon fed education..!!

Come strike with me..

Today it emerged that the reason for BA CEO Willie Walsh not staying till the end of the Ball on Saturday was that he was catching a flight to Las Vegas On Sunday to mark to start of the Non-Stop direct service from the UK to the gambling capital of the world.

In his absense however, there seems to be trouble brewing with the Cabin Crew union. They were to ballot the 14,000 cabin crew on whether or not to take strike action.

BA Ballot

It seems as though Cabin Crew have more clout with the airlines than the Flight Crew which seems quite unfair..!

With BA to report another year of Losses, it is clear that there are quite a few things that need ironging out in the airline industry. Hopefully by the time I qualify, all of these problems will have alleviated themselves.

Given the current circumstances, Willie did serve up some very encouraging words to the newly graduated cadets at the ball; although he was not accepting CVs..

Daylight Savings..

Last night's Gala Ball was truly a night to remember. The Champagne reception kicked off the night in style, there were many happy faces of "steely eyed, chisel jawed" cadets who had graduated and were there to celebrate the occasion with their families. It was a nice feeling to think forward to the time when this journey will finish for me.

Everyone was kitted out in their finery, with ladies elegantly dressed and the gent's sporting Tuxes, with a variety of dickies on display. This was definately a night of finesse.

The three course meal served on the evening was truly sumptuous with wine served to perfectly accompany the courses. My table managed to dispatch the customary 4 bottles of wine for the table with respectable speed; with a lack of wine our night did seem to have reached an obstacle. A wink and a smile later I had managed to get some more wine brought to the table by the lovely ladies in Customer Service..!!

As the night proceeded so did the drinking; as dinner finished and the awards were presented by Willie Walsh the bow ties around the room began to be untied with many adopting the classic 'undone bow tie round the neck look'..

The rest of the night flew past and before too long, it was time to finish up. Upon exitting the Marquee there were many veteran airmen still loitering and smoking pipes, sharing stories from their youthful days. A very cliched image if any..!

Much of today was therefore expelling the alcohol from my body. The weekend has been a satisfying one following the advice of The Tiger

The Tiger
- "This weekend, whatever brings you joy, do in excess; however, when you arrive on Monday morning you should be bright eyed and bushy tailed"..

On the Ball..

In the end Friday night didn't turn out as badly as I had thought. It was a great chance to relax and unwind after the week of hard work. I managed to amble through a few chapters of Crime & Punishment, which was a welcome break from the Aviation Books.

Today I woke at a reasonable hour considering I hadn't set an alarm. A slow Saturday morning breakfast and then it was back to the books to get ahead for the weekend. Having done a few hours whilst checking facebook and sending texts, etc; I felt good about the weekend.

An article which seems to have been circulated a great deal amongst my colleagues is the following; give it a read.

Cockpit Politics

It seems as though they got off lightly by only missing the airport by 150nm. During the presentations given yesterday we were told of a Thai Air flight to Kathmandu which crashed due to a number of reasons, of which poor communication between the flight crew and a hightened level of tension was a contributing factor. It is worrying to think of how something like this can cause an accident like this..!!

Seems like political discussion is not one for the cockpit..!

This evening there is the "Annual Student Awards/Graduation Ceremony & Gala Ball" to be held in a giant Marquee at the Airport. It should prove to be a great night with plenty to drink and plenty of people. The guest of Honour is none other than CEO of British Airways, Mr Willie Walsh.


It would be especially amusing if there were challenges amonst us cadets such as pennying Willie's wine glass and make him down his wine.

Right, now for an afternoon of work to offset the debauchery the will follow..

Going Airside..

Today, in the middle of a lesson with the Weatherman, all of a sudden there was a loud repetitive "Whomp Whomp Whomp Whomp..!" the kind only made by a very powerful helicopter. At first I thought nothing of it, although the Weatherman did remark at its noise. The lesson continued as normal and we were dismissed for an early lunch.

During lunch it became clear the source of the noise; Two Army Air Corp Apaches were on the tarmac..!

Without a second thought we all threw on our Hi-Viz vests (as is the airport rule when personnel are airside) over our uniform and strode towards the Beasts..!!


And Beasts they were, two large Apaches on the tarmac; the crowd of Hi-Viz vests surrounding the two choppers was unreal. As we ducked and dove between passing aircraft we made our way to the aircraft. After having a quick chat with the two pilots on one of the helis, we asked if we could jump into the seats. "Sure" he said, very casually. I was itching to get into the Flying Pilot's seat. This was the roomier of the two, I then made my way to the front Gunner's seat; this was alot more cramped and required a fair amount of limbo-ing to get in and out of the cabin.

Following this, I continued my discussion with the pilots about their careers, etc..

We shared a few jokes about the cost of flight training and headed back to ground-side for some school based fun..

It is now Friday evening; the thought of NOT going out is quite depressing, knowing that I have still a few hours of work to do and then more for the rest of the weekend. The only silver lining is the Academy Gala Ball to look forward to tomorrow..

Increasing Pressure..

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Welcome to the Club..

With the third day at flight school over our class seem to be settling in nicely and getting into the swing of things. The instructors are getting more familiar with the class and are the jokes are beginning to reflect this..

One of the subjects being taught by The Squadron Leader is human performance; it contains alot of biological topics about human anatomy and physiology. The Squadron Leader who was quite reserved on the first day has now shown himself to be quite a funny guy. We had already had a number of references to condoms before too long in the lesson as well as a few childish misread of words such as Organism - Orgasm; I know what you're thinking, immature..!

He regaled us with anecdotes; at one point we were discussing the factors affecting heart rate rise, etc. He began talking about one of his sexual exploits with a lady. Before reading this, be aware of the nature of the anecdote and skip over if you think you may be offended.

Squadron Leader -
"When I undressed she said
'Wow, that is the biggest hampton I have seen..! I am young and have a weak heart.'
To which I replied "Ok well, lie on your left side and I'll try and miss it..!!"

At this point the class was in hysterics..!! It seems as though flying school is definately a Boy's Club. And what a club to be a member of..!!

Overweight Bags..

Last night's study time very quickly descended into a cards night. We played cards until about an hour before midnight; a great way to start off the term with not adhering to the 3 hrs of self study per evening..

Today was the first 'actual' day of lessons. It was an even earlier start this morning. When my alarm began to ring, I very much wanted to it was still very dark outside; can this really be a sustainable way to live..?

With all of the necessary books in my flight case we headed to the airport. The flight bag is actually really heavy with the books inside and ferrying it between car and classroom is not pleasant; where are the ground handlers when you need them..!!

The day was quite mixed with some instructors diving straight into the work, whilst others gave brief intros to the subjects. One funny chap was The Tiger; another ex RAF engineer with a good sense of humour.

In one class we were required (as part of the intro) to say why we were motivated to become pilots. There were a few cringy responses of which I won't go into, for the dignity of those involved. One common one which came up by myself and a few others was "The lifestyle".

I have just finished my 3 hours of self study for the night and am planning to retire to bed for an early night; this is definately not the "Lifestyle" I had envisaged..

An Early Start..

Last night was quite sleepless as the thought of the first day in ground school played through.

Regardless the day started at 0600 hrs. I showered, shaved and donned my pilots uniform for the first time. It was a proud moment to look in the mirror and see a future pilot staring back at me. This would be the same character that people would see striding through a terminal in time to come; the look of awe from young aspiring kids and their mothers.

Headhunter and I broke fast and heading inbound to the airport. The first engagement of the day was with The Chief; a portly, retired-RAF with a bellowing voice which instilled confidence and quickly gained favour. He spoke with dilligence and an RP which is ubiquitous amongst the faculty. He reminded us of the great and difficult journey that lay ahead, whilst also reminded us of the innumerable rewards; he managed to maintain smiles throughout with frequent jokes to keep us amused. He remarked rather early on "Ground school is difficult; anybody who enjoys ground school is a pervert!"..

Soon after, our cohort was issued with our reading material for the first six month period. This consisted of 14 textbooks which echoed my thoughts of the difficulties which lie ahead.


Lunch was followed by a particularly dull HSE talk on conduct throughout the airport; with credit due to the brevity used to address this boring formality.

The day was concluded with an introductory talk by the Squadron Leader; a pleasant gent with possibly a drinking problem a stress issues. The Squadron were left in some way confused as the whether this was a joke or not; instinctively I had assumed it to be a joke and began to laugh, but stopped immediately when few chimed in. How disconcerting..!

Right, back to work; as I stare at the huge pile of books on my desk I feel somewhat as though I should make a start and at very the least remove the cellophane wrappers..

Toast of Oxford Town..

This morning was started earlier than the previous; owing to the early night. Breakfast has been fairly limited for the Headhunter and I due to the lack of equipment at our disposal. We have been reduced to cereal and bread. This dire situation did however result in a display of ingenuity.

The Headhunter, being a man of few years my senior was quick to find an alternative. A lack of grilling and toasting facilities were overcome by dry frying bread to form toast. A few attempts later we were enjoying hot toast. Thinking outside the box and being adaptable to adversity; traits perfect for a pilot..!

We decided that we should venture into Oxford to see the sights; and also hopefully bring back some sober memories of the roads travelled in our drunken stupors on Friday night. We drove over to Oxford and soon found out why there is so much emphasis on the Oxford "Park & Ride". It was nigh on impossible to find a parking space. After much searching we parked a way out of town and walked in.

It was quite a sight to see so many Oxfordians soprting their University of Oxford hoodies; either that or gillets. There was a noticeable feeling of pomposity about the town. That is not to say that the town was anything but impressive; I would not have minded going to university in Oxford; having said that I am forever proud of my University.

The past few days have not been the most ideal in terms of nutrition as we are still finding our feet in our new accomodation. We have not really cooked too many meals here, which has meant that we have eaten alot of fast food and in restaurants. Regrettably, today was no expection..

In preparation for my first actual day at flight school I spent some time reading over aviation blogs, news sites and magazines. I did try to read some of the documentation I had been issued on Friday but this seemed too esoteric for my current state of training.

On blog article which did catch my eye was one about pilots on Strike in America. The title of the article was "Pilots on demos look impressive, but can be plain wrong" by Kieran Daly of Flight Global.

Pilots on demos look impressive

With the actual start of flight school tomorrow, I am growing increasingly more and more antsy. I really cannot wait to start tomorrow..

The Morning After..

Today was quite an unproductive day following the debauchery that went down on the streets of Oxford last night.

Here's what happened; to start the night plenty of wine was drunk during the course of dinner followed by a fair amount of whisky. Armed with our new statuses we took a £30 taxi ride into town which was followed by some live music and more alcohol. From this point on a few of us switched to a more refined drink; Gin & Tonic..

We soon found out that the phrase "Don't worry, I'm a pilot!" seemed to work very well in a number of situations.

We bar hopped for some time whilst gauging the general feel of the youthful population of Oxford and where was the best place to go out on a Friday night.

Some clubbing later, after we had expended our money and energy, we decided to head back to the middle of nowhere. As advised by the Skipper during the day's presentation, we got what he called "...getting that obligatory Kebab from the van before making your ways back to hall tonight..."; it would have been rude to not have obliged the first instructions of the Skipper..!

Another £30 taxi ride saw our return to the Army Base.


Now to this morning, a very early phone call awoke me from my unconsciousness. The kicking pain in my head was unbearable. I struggled to think how pilots can live this kind of lifestyle and happily fly the next day..

A number of cups of tea saw my slow recovery. With this being the general feeling amongst the few we decided that the best thing to do would be to spend the day recovering in time for a productive Sunday.

Whilst reading on the handouts we had received, I came across an article which was on particular interest; it was entitled "When is a student not a student? When they're a student pilot" it was written by Lembit Opik MP in the Flight Training News Magazine.

When is a student not a student?

It stirred some very strong feeling regarding the way in which the UK Governement deals with Aviation training and how for the Government categorises Flight Training as both an Educational Course and a Non Educational course to meet their fancies; such that they can charge VAT on training whilst claiming the Cadets should be dealt with in the same way as University Students.

There was also a section within the article relating to the lack of "widening participation" in aviation training. Some very poignant issues were raised and there was also a petition to Number 10 with this regard.

http://www.fairplane.org.uk/

Well, given the lack of sleep and non-stop hectic lifestyle that I have recently adopted with this career; today has been the first of, what the industry calls, "A rest day"..

Cleared for Take Off..

Today was the first day of flight school. The order for the day was quite unknown with very few of our cohort really knowing what to expect today. Last night's drinks session became a good forum for us to air our apprehensions and worrys.

My room doesn't have the best bed in it. It wasn't the worst bed I've slept in this week though. The bed wasn't however the only reason I couldn't sleep properly..! It was hard to sleep properly with the numerous thoughts of the coming day.

The day started with the payment of my first installment of tuition fees. As soon as the payment cleared I got a very empty feeling; this feeling was located somewhere near my wallet with a gaping whole in the order of thousands..! Suddenly the huge investment I was making in my life became very real.

To pacify the grief we were all issued with our standard issue Aircrew uniforms.. We spent some time fitting our uniforms and then were given some time to recoup our thoughts. The uniforms definately brought a smile to the cohort as we began to feel like pilots; or at least cadets. One thing that was mentioned by the Owl, was that we are definately not allowed to go out in town and drinking in our uniforms in the hope of attracting the local ladies..! "Crap!" could be heard murmured around the classroom at the mention of this point.

The afternoon led off with a presentation by the Skipper, where we were introduced to his supporting cast such as the Colonel. This talk definately began to inspire and I remembered why I had taken on this huge life commitment. Never before have I been so eager to pick up my textbooks and start learning..!!

Following this the (working) day ended with the issue of Flight Bags; the sleek bag leather with gold trim was most certainly worth the money.

A debaucherous night out in Oxford is sure to ensue and perfectly cap off the first day at flight school..

Hey Ford..

After a very busy day; I have arrived at my new home; for at least, the next few weeks.

Leaving the big smoke slightly earlier than would have been sensible meant enduring some traffic on the North Circ. After a fairly easy drive over to Kidlington Airport, I collected my keys from the accom office.

After unpacking the car and a farewell lunch with my dad; I was on my own.

Upper Heyford; my new home for the next few weeks.

Now, Upper Heyford isn't a bad place; if you like military bases or prisons. Imagine the scene from 'The Great Escape'. Giant steel watchtowers, barbed wire fences and those weird semi circular huts seemingly covered with grass. The only thing missing is Mr McQueen himself.

I did think of taking a pic to help illustrate my environment, but I'm not exactly sure whether I am allowed to take pictures in here; so here is an artistic impression instead from my trusty Moleskine.


It does seem like I am in the middle of nowhere, I can't imagine there is much going on for us kids here in Upper Heyford. With limited things to do so far; I have started reading Crime and Punishment. I also recently set up my pc and internet which has made things more interesting.

Boredom mixed with excitement isn't the best feeling in the world..

A meet and greet with the other cadets in the local pub was a nice end to the evening.

BRING ON TOMORROW..!

Ready for Departure..

Right, well it is now the night before leaving to start flight school..

I have (almost) finished packing all of my stuff to take to Oxford. As is always the case, as the end approaches the work rate begins to teeter off. Just making sure I haven't forgotten anything too crucial; like my Aviators..!

I have just had the last family meal I will be having for sometime. A great hearty meal..! Back to the life of student cooking, I guess..

I'm filled with a mixture of excitement, fear, anxiety and that feeling i got just before starting University. I'm not entirely sure how I'll get to sleep tonight; that Christmas Eve feeling is probably the best way to describe it. If all else fails, a good stiff glass of Scotland's finest export should do the trick..