Becoming pilot 3

The final tests of the competition take place in June. There are group tests, an interview with pilots, a psychologist and an English teacher.

Tip #7: Work on your tie.Not only will it serve you well for the rest of your life, but it will save you the stress of the morning of the selection!

For the group interviews, 5 to 6 places are arranged in a U shape. In front of us, a jury composed of two pilots and a psychologist. Everyone introduces themselves and then it starts with social issues. The aim is to lead a debate, to collect as many ideas as possible and then to present them to the jury. Thesis, anti-thesis, conclusion. Take notes, know how to solicit those who speak less but also calm down those who speak too much.

Tip #8: You are observed on your relationship with others. As in the previous tests, a balance is sought. This is similar to managing a crew: knowing how to make yourself heard and how to listen to others. Are you able to take into account everyone's ideas, are you able to synthesise, are you not too far behind? On that day, you may find a team that will struggle or one that will shine. But in any case, it is what you bring to the team that is judged.

Then there is a problem to solve. A sheet of paper is given to each person with different data. We have to synthesise the most important data and find a solution.  We had a move to manage with a certain volume of boxes, on the 6th floor, and a restriction on the use of the lift. Some of the puzzles are known to be almost unsolvable. With great difficulty we finally find a solution but we realise 30 seconds before the end that we had not respected an important instruction. Our solution is good to go. I still remember the glazed look on the faces of all the participants. The feeling of defeat at the end of the marathon despite the effort of 40 km. I took the floor to explain our solution, assuming our mistake.

Tip #9: You are being tested of your leadership and decision-making skills. When there are no better solutions, you still have to decide! If you make a mistake or a violation, take responsibility for it and demonstrate your intellectual honesty.

The interview with the pilots is an opportunity to talk about yourself. One person may agree, and another may try to destabilise, but there are no rules. You have to have confidence in yourself and not let yourself be thrown off balance.

Tip #10: To prepare for the personal interview, put yourself in front of a blank sheet of paper and ask yourself about your motivations and your background. This is the time to show who you are. Do not have any regrets about your failures, they are what got you there. Also find out about the course of the training, the different centres, the different planes. Synthesise your ideas and build a speech. It will not be a matter of reciting it, but of having a solid base if you are ever distracted.

For the interview with the psychologist, there are many questions about your life, your origins, your family, your friends, your relationship with them, your ambitions. The psychologist is simply there to detect any "irregularity". Finally, for the English interview, you are given a half-page subject and you have a few minutes to prepare things to say about it. The idea is to present the text and create a discussion on the topic to interact with the tester.

Tip #11: To prepare for English, listen to English radio, read as much as possible and work on your vocabulary and idioms. These days, with Netflix and Youtube, there's plenty of choice.

No more! It was sunny, warm, I could loosen my tie and fly back to Paris. A month later I received the mail, I would be admitted, 17th out of 42. I literally jumped up and down. Then I had champagne with my family and enjoyed those happy days as summer approached. However, I still hadn't finished my third year of university. I revised again to pass my exams and got my degree in physics. This degree will be my plan B if things go wrong in training.

Tip #12: Being a pilot means having a plan B at all times, including in your life. Even if you're banking everything on your passion, think about failure.

My entry into training is planned for July, depending on the results of the medical examination. We are also invited to the french minister of transport office for a conference on our training. This is a first meeting for all the 2004 laureates. It was a pleasure to see the faces we had met during the selection process and to imagine that we would soon be flying a TB20, and one day an airliner. There are two girls in our class, which is not very many. I meet Céline's eyes, in a second she sends back a mixture of confidence and gentleness. Stephanie also shows confidence. Self-confidence is sought after in the selection process, and the girls have to assert themselves in order to win their place in selections filled with 80% boys. This is it, it's not a dream, we are part of the Enac 2004 class.

The medical examination takes place one week later. Blood test, urine test, eye test, hearing test. Do not ask me about the tolerance on this or that medical subject, I am neither a doctor nor a legislator. The only references that can answer your questions are the laws governing class 1 abilities. Even if the conditions tend to become more flexible over time for civilians, to my great surprise...I am declared unfit! One day you are in the right box, the next day not. The warmth and carefree feeling of summer is suddenly replaced by a curtain of heavy rain on my way home. It rains for two days. On the third day, I get up and learn about the possibility of applying for a derogation. Indeed, a commission meets every 2 months to analyse the files close to the limit which make the request, in order to evaluate if an exemption can be granted. I contact all the people I meet in the air to get an opinion. Is there anyone who has experienced the same thing? I also look for the doctors who knew me. And I remember a specialist I met in Paris, 8 years before. Proof that it hadn't bothered me until then, I had forgotten having consulted him. Used to dealing with many more complex and serious cases, he had laughed in our faces. But today I only have a week to put together my file for the derogation commission. I put on my suit and tie and went back to the hospital where he was consulting. When I arrived I introduced myself to the nurse and explained my case. She looked at me and said : "The doctor is very busy today, I'm going to tell him but it will be complicated, there are people who really suffer you know? ". I swallow my unhappiness and my pride. The doctor sees me from a distance. An hour later, the nurse comes back: "Listen, it's very complicated today, come back next week, he's going for an emergency operation, it will take several hours". I insist: "But madam, next week it will be too late". She answers me sorry: "I can't do anything for you".

So I sit back and wait, my eyes fixed on the wall, fixed on the clock, fixed on my fate. The hospital is emptying, the patients, doctors and nurses are gradually deserting it. A member of the cleaning staff comes to ask me to leave but I insist on staying. I fall asleep on my seat. I open my eyes at 7am, I spent the night in the waiting room. Not the most comfortable but at least I'm the first.

The doctor arrives with a coffee in his hand and recognizes me "What? But it's you! You're still here?! You're completely crazy! Come on, come and see me, explain everything. "

After consulting my file and listening to my brief explanation, he took his pen and wrote a letter to plead that I was not contraindicated to be a pilot. "Thank you doctor, for saving my life". He replies: "No, I'm not saving your life, but your career. I save lives every day. Go and carry your passengers to the other side of the world and maybe you'll take me on holiday one day! "

I attached the letter to the file and waited peacefully, now my fate was out of my hands. A month later the commission met and I received a call in the early hours of the morning: "Mr Possamai, I would like to inform you that you have been declared fit by derogation". I jumped for joy again, I probably cried too. Then the dreams started again. The Enac reinstated me by postponing me for a month, in the middle of the summer.

It is not enough to pass the exam to become a pilot. That was only the beginning of the adventure. It was July 2004, and half of the class was already flying, in full bliss. But something would happen that summer, we would never be able to look at the sky the same way again.