So Happy !!!
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The Dash8 Q400 NextGen is the one Air Côte D’ivoire uses. It is not like other turbo-props. That beast has Jet performances and has very very powerful engines. That thing flies basically the same approach speed as the A319 …well the Merlin is not too far from that either.
When i talked with a buddy on the Q400, he said that the simulator at Flight safety (Toronto) is awesome, but when you for the first time apply takeoff-power …you get chills on your back because you realize how powerful it is. Past critical speed, it would be impossible to stop the airplane from getting off the runway if one engine fails, it is so powerful for a prop that the reaction time is very very small.
Pilots tend to find it complex, we have a mixed fleet here, Airbus and Bombardier, and Airbus is less complex in some regards than the Q400. People crossing over from ATR etc …tend to get very surprised by the complexity of the whole systems of the airplane.
I am excited to get to discover the plane and fly it !!
Very very nice shots Raptor
I had the pleasure to fly twice in the Q, the first time it was when i moved from Montréal to Toronto with porter airlines.
Second flight was more …emotional because it was with Air Côte D’ivoire earlier this year, it was during the period when i was waiting for the call to go for the pilot evaluations …… i was dreaming to fly it !! It was a fun flight !!
As soon as i can, (couples of months) i will upload pictures of my first flights with the Q !!! Can’t wait to get my uniform on !.
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Happy for you mate! It’s a beautiful bird!
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The jet business is going great. 8 out of our 10 aircraft are Bombardier products too, just like your new ride.
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If we had better weather in BMS, I would less envy you, spooky : )
Congratulation from me. Nice to read that somebodys dream comes true.
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hope you enjoy every single moment
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Hey Guys !!
Some updated about my situation.
I am in Toronto at the moment. We just finished week one. We had 40 Hours ou ground school about the system of the airplane.
It is a crash schedule and your brain just has to learn how to take in systems … Electrical system,hydraulics,pneumatics,lighting … Etc etc … The amount of information to take in is just huge.
We start at 8 am and finish at 5 pm with 1 hour break for lunch. Flightsafety Toronto is accross the street from Bombardier production plant and we takes the lunch at Bombardier. This is actually very nice,we get to meet a lot of very smart and diverse people.
NeXT week we Will see performances and Weight and balance. Then we get to use computer based trainer to play with the FMS and auto pilot modes … After that we get 3 days of deep review of the major systems. After that comes a written exam about all the systems and performances or the plane.
Then the last week we get 8 sim sessions starting from 3pm until 8Pm and on the 29th we get our final checkride.
The next day i fly back to Ivory Coast, 14h trip back home … Plus 6hours waiting Time in transit trough Paris.
Then a written exam with the civil aviation authority in Ivory Coast and one more mandatory interview with a psy.
After that … I am heading to Morocco to do the ISS training … I get to jump in the pool with a raft etc etc …
Then back to Ivory Coast … And starts my Line training … 40 legs with a training captain before being first officer certified.
A lot of jumpseat flights to watch and learn … And studying the airline SOP, the ops manual part A and B.
For now, i am just amazed by how much the brain can retain and understand under a very short period or time.
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Good luck there Spooky!
Great to read about it. Keep us posted!Snowman
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Same from me, Spooky, you’ll get there! Thanks in advance for updating us on your progress.
If I may, I’ll suggest “Skyfaring –- A journey with a pilot” for a more “poetic” look on the issues of flying, but naturally as you say you’ll have your brain full for some time to come (no reason though to not feed the rest of your person with some much needed relaxation ;))
All the best,
Uwe
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please keep us posted WITH pics if possible Spooky, and smiles all the way:p
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Hi guys !!
Time for some updates.
Ground school and CPT ( cockpit procedure trianer) is done. I am at my fourth simulator session and things are going well so far.
During those four sim sessions, we saw engine failures at V1, engine fire at V1, enginéfailures in flight, propeller overspeed at V1, engine fire in flight, engine fire on the ground, stalls, steep turns, ILS approaches, ILS with single engine, RNAV with single engine and both engines too … Rapid deprussurization, smoke in the cockpit …
On top of that we do all the startups, flying IFR … But you never get to destination lol … You dont get a normal flight.
The rythm is a bit calmer, but the sessions are more intense, MCC takes a whole other meaning and SOP’s are even more important.
Next thursday is my checkride, and friday i go home to my familly … And … Im going to be a Daddy againnnn !!!
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. And … Im going to be a Daddy againnnn !!!
Congrats! Good to hear training is going well too.
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Wie geht es dir ? (how are you?)
I used to live for a couple for years in Germany, in Hessen (Darmstadt/ Frankfurt am Main), and i do miss Germany a lot … truly beautiful country, i also went to school in Germany in a German school.
Good story mate, i can only agree with you on the way simulation can prepare you for some situations.
I will for sure post some pictures …especially the ones when we fly around CB’s going up to 30 000 feet !! … we are spot on the ITC, inter tropical convergence zone… so we get clash of the titans weather version down here. And the sunsets are impressive … i just can’t wait to land in Nigeria or Burkina Faso …or Mali !!!
Unfortunatly we didnt met! Being a resident to this lovely town for many years now. Close to FRA and many major cities in the middle of Germany.
Glad to read your Education is fun and courses are challenging! Keep going!
Cheers!
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Man that is fantastic. I am just now finishing up getting my ppl. Although I have some color vision issues I hope to be a cfi one day. Congrats.
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Hey Spooky, thanks for the update. Looks like life is going really well for you right now, enjoy the ride & congrats on fathering another child!
@Casey: One of the best things about living in Germany is the beer choices you have… yummy. I managed to get my mind off work again, will take a while
Uwe
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Very nice boy!
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Hé nice Spooky ! Well done ! All the best for the futur.
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Good luck buddy!!!:p
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Hey Spooky,
It sounds like you are having fun experiencing what I always considered the ultimate video game—a session at FlightSafety flying the level D simulators. Where else would you find yourself with one turning, one burning, on an approach to minimums and the tower calling you with “road apples on the runway, go around” at your missed approach point.
These sims are amazing at recreating what it is like to fly the real aircraft. Other than the lack of vertical axis “g’s” and the touch down characteristics, they are good enough to have you forget that you aren’t in the actual aircraft. It’s pretty cool that you can get type rated in an aircraft that you have never seen and that you might not even know how to open the door to get into.
You have seen that the training sessions do not get too far along before things start going haywire. Just when you think nothing else can go wrong, it does. What amazes me is that I have at home a PC loaded with BMS software, a few bolt ons like a TM Cougar and Track IR, that gives me the fidelity and immersion experience that rivals those level D sims that cost $$$$$$$.
Have fun in your flying career. There is nothing better than getting paid to do what you have a passion for.
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Hi guys!
time for an update on my status. I finished my type rating and the test is passed, i am now Dash8Q400 type rated !! which to me iss till unbelievable !!
I had time to go back home, enjoy my familly for a bit before i again travelled to another destination. i went to Morocco for 2 days, to do some Safety and rescue training.
I am back in ivory Coast right now and i stated doing my observation flights, my next step is doing circuits with the beast and after that starts my line training.
I have to say that the experience at flightsafety was one of the best in my life, but also a very challenging one. I mean, i just finished flight school in December 2014 and after flying a DA-44 piston airplane, i am being upgraded to a turbine airplane. It is a big step and everyone was kinda looking at me from far and wondering how i would make for te lack of experience and for the difference in speed etc etc.
I am the less experienced guy in the company, with the less amount of flight hours, but with the support of a great Captain who did the type rating with me it was managable. Studying is one thing, and flying an airplane is something else, i was grabing to everything i has in experience flying something, and it was the basics that helped me out, simple things like listening to the morse code after tuning etc etc.
Then came another challenge, doing observation flights, you sit on the jumpseat and the Captain that day decided to test me, and i had to do the radio … i was stressed but somehow got mback to myself after a couple of minutes.
Challenge mode is on, i’ll keep you updated guys.