Captain training

After 3 years of initial training and 13 years as a first Officer, I'm off to Captain training! It's an immense joy in a pilot's career. I have decided to relate here, step by step, this long and demanding training.

Depending on the company, it takes between 5 and 15 years to become a Captain. At Air France, the entry takes place as a first officer on medium-haul aircraft : A320 at Air France or Boeing 737 at Transavia, a subsidiary of the Air France Group. It is at this point that your name enters the seniority list. You will then progress on it according to retirements and new hires. Every 6 months, a volunteer campaign takes place, during which you can express your choices to apply for a new position : you must then choose the type of aircraft and the function. You will change if there is a need and if you have sufficient seniority. You will then have to follow an adapted training course called Type Rating on the destination aircraft. (a pilot only works on a specific type of aircraft such as Airbus 330/350 or Boeing 777/787 for example). Four years ago, coming from the A320, I did a Boeing 777 type rating and followed specific course modules for long-haul flights.

6 monts ago, I chose to be Captain on A320, Boeing 737 and A220 aircrafts. As the A320 is in the process of reducing its wingspan, this sector is becoming difficult to reach. The A220 service entry is scheduled for September 2021. The reduced number of aircraft makes this sector difficult to reach. On the contrary, Transavia is already very well established, and is consolidating its European and domestic network, with the arrival of aircraft in the fleet despite the context. We remain hopeful of a recovery during 2021 and 2022.

The Captain training is a unique opportunity to consolidate all his knowledge and experience and to go even further in developing his leadership, team management and decision-making skills. It begins with an evaluation simulator, on your current airplane, which I completed last week.

The simulator: in this big box a plane as realistic as in real life.

The scenario :

A take-off from Hong Kong with heavy weight and fog. During the climb, passing 10 000 feet, a failure to manage : double hydraulic failure or engine overheating with possible engine failure.

Each failure generates a "startle effect", i.e. an effect where "Your mental model shrinks as focus is narrowed to the essential sense” (Richard De Crespigny from the book “Fly”). Your stress increases suddenly, making you stuck for a very short period of time. One way to counteract this is to take a deep abdominal breath and then announce and do these three things: FLY, NAVIGATE, COMMUNICATE. Fly : who is flying ? Is our speed, thrust and altitude safe ? Is there an emergency procedure to perform ? Navigate : where are we going ? Communicate : should we announce Mayday to air traffic control? Should we make a public announcement ?

Then, the handling of the breakdown follows the classic pattern : perform checklists, then analysis and assessment of the breakdown in order to take the optimal decision (Diversion? Where? How?). This is how our decision-making tool is presented :

Evaluate the time available : is it a critical breakdown? engine fire not under control? cabin fire not under control ? In this case, you must land as soon as possible. In other situations, do we have the message "LAND AT NEAREST SUITABLE AIRPORT"? (indicating that the manufacturer recommends to land ASAP). Whatever happens, we must analyse the situation to assess its urgency and the time we have available.

Next, the facts : these can be broken down into a technical, operational and commercial assessment.

Technical: analysing the lost systems, the remaining ones. If necessary, look for additional information in our technical documentation.

Operational: analyse for each phase of flight the consequences of the failure(s). Descent, approach, go-around, landing, braking and taxiing.

Commercial: what are the consequences for our passengers? What are the possibilities of technical assistance? What are the possibilities for welcoming, transporting or accommodating passengers?

Then we have to consider options, which in this scenario boil down to different airports with multiple runways. Macao, Shenzhen, Ghuanzou.

In the case of a hydraulic failure with braking degradation, the critical point is the landing distance. We therefore check this with the weather conditions of the day. This allows us to list different options, with the advantages and disadvantages of each.

The instructor can program any breakdowns he wishes. The trainees at the front might sweat, the aerators operate like in a real plane.

This diagram, although succinct, can be long and tedious with heavy breakdowns. I've only talked about braking here, but there is also a degradation of the flight controls, a longer extension of the landing gear, a landing gear that will no longer retract once extended, air brakes that will not extend automatically, etc., etc., each loss requiring its own analysis and management from the point of view of possible errors, threats and their management. Without forgetting that a long-haul aircraft with heavy weight needs to release fuel (jettison) to reach a mass that allows it to land. Here we can quote Richard de Crespiny and his book "Fly" on how to deal with the failure of the Qantas flight 32 on take-off from Singapore in 2010. It took the crew nearly 2 hours to deal with the failure of one of the 4 Rolls Royce Trent 900 engines of the A380. Remember that there are no rules : each failure, each situation is unique and will require the expert eye of the 2 pilots to make their decision and to estimate and manage their available time.

Once this simulator is finished, the instructor gives us his advice and remarks to improve us further and make us appropriate the function, a mine of resources and knowledge for us. I've sat on the left many times in my career, for qualifications, but this day, the feeling was different. There's something concrete now, putting a first foot in the training for Captain.

The next episode will continue with 10 days of courses and presentations that await me in March. On the menu : managerial training, communication, conflict management, air law, fuel choices, all-weather operations, passenger handling, loading, the role of the commander, winter conditions, etc. Champagne will be waiting !