A little look back at the year 2000, I am in my senior year. For the physics and chemistry experiments, I'm paired up with Sarah. She is studious and hard-working. For my part, after having let myself go as a teenager, I became aware of the importance of my educational background and I am working harder.

Tip #4: Do you have to be good at school to become a pilot? Certainly, a comfortable level will bring you ease in the screenings and tests of the ATPL (Airline Transport Pilot Licence). But airlines are looking for people with a homogeneous level in all areas. It is better to be average in everything than excellent in a speciality. You will be flying, communicating, making decisions on a variety of subjects, from weather to air law and human factors. Flying means managing priorities and workload variations in a different environment every day. Few professions deal with so many varied subjects in their execution.

On my way to Prague, I had Sarah on the radio

While we must compete during screening process, mutual support is a basic value for pilots and air traffic controllers. Sarah and I studied for our final exams together, which we passed with honour. Two years later, she passed the air traffic controller exam and joined the Enac. In 2002 my phone rings: "I passed the Enac air traffic controller exam! It's a golden job, I'm so happy. If I hadn't known you, I would never have made it! ». Good deeds and hard work pay off. Unbeknown to her, a few years later, she gave me clearance from her control center to my Airbus A320. It's a small world. Seen from the sky, it is even smaller.

The ENAC entrance exam, steps 1 to 3

During my third year of university I redoubled my efforts to prepare for the Enac entrance exam. I was much more experienced and relaxed when it came to entrance exams by that point.

Step 1: Writing in math, physics and English at an exam center near you.

The film “Pilote” for Air France show the entrance of the ENAC

The ENAC tests is made of multiple choice questions. For a given problem there are several questions that follow the reasoning towards a final solution. Thus, once you have passed the first two trivial questions, it becomes important to have really developed your reasoning in order to hope to obtain the correct answers to the next. This is the race, you have to be fast and fair.

There is a part of luck that you won't master. Some people say that you create your luck. I remember coming across a thermodynamics exercise that I had reviewed the day before... thanks to that, I had no doubt about the outcome of the exam and I was invited to take the psychotechnical tests. A new preparation started!

Tip #5: Should you prepare for psychotechnical tests? There are always a few students who succeed without preparation. Officially, the tests "do not require particular knowledge", which is true. However, since most participants are prepared, they gain precious seconds on the startle effect of the beginning of the test… which means that you should prepare for these exams as well. On the other hand, intensive over-preparation is not recommended. Take a step back. Shuffling around could make you lose your strength in the face of a new or different event. Some professional preparation institutes are recommended if you have the money. Information found on the internet helps a lot too. In general, you need to have common sense, which is also an important quality in aviation..

Stage 2: Psychotechnical tests in Toulouse

A month later, I took the plane to Toulouse, and I remember being a little bit of stressed during the takeoff. I thought : “You want to become a pilot and you are afraid of flying”’. Then I reassure myself: It's not really fear, but apprehension. As soon as I learn more, it will disappear. When I went to attack the tests the next day, I saw planes everywhere and I felt confident about the work I’d done. You will be evaluated on speed in decision making, common sense and logic.

During the selection process, you meet people, cross destinies. Some will be your friends and you will see them again throughout your career, others never. At the lunch break during a discussion, Mickaël gives his point of view on aviation: "Honestly, the train is much better, you arrive in the city centre, there are no security filters and it's more comfortable! ». He is not completely wrong, I appreciate the train, but for the D-day it's the plane that I like! We won't see Mickaël again... You have to be coherent in your professional project.

Step 3: the psychomotor test

The graphical interface of the psychomotor test.

The next morning, I tackle the psychomotor test. A joystick, a few buttons, a cross to keep centered, calculations to make at the same time, letters to locate. I am a little surprised, the calibration and the sensations feel different from the simulations I could find on the internet. I pull myself together and in a fraction of a second I find myself in 1988, I am 5 years old. With my big brother we unpack the Atari we received for Christmas. Hours spent with the joystick in hand in front of the television... My parents will say that I play too much, but I will develop and maintain my reflexes and my skill. It's all about timing, dosage and attention management.

Tip #6: Skill is developed and maintained. It provides ease in basic flying, in training and in your career. Flying means making permanent corrections based on what you see outside, what you feel and what you read on your instruments.

I receive my convocation for the final stages of selection: group, individual and English interviews (in the next episode). I break the suspense : two months later I receive a letter from Enac, I will be admitted! I will dream every night I fly. But the dream is going to stop dead in its tracks one month before I start training : I'm going to be eliminated for a reason I didn't know about. Thank you, goodbye!

READ EPISODE 3

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