Upgrade Phase I Complete

[SilverHamer]

Whewwwww...I made it through the IFR academic phase (managed to score a 98% on the writ) and just got home last night for a short 6 day break. Talk about gray matter overload...and things are just beginning to get interesting. When I return for phase 2, it will be procedural training in the flight sim. From what I've been told, this will be a very emotionally challenging phase because it's all about behavior. I've been doing my very best to psych up for this one but I know that as sure as I'm sitting here that I will probably mess up because everyone does. But how you recover, or how you deal with it has much to do with your success. I have been flying single pilot for the past 10 years plus and so it is going to be a major adjustment for me to begin sharing the cockpit the way this company wants it done.

Interesting development...my friend who made this transition in the previous class spent his first week on the line as a new S-76 pilot and is already being shipped out to upgrade to the newest model...something we've been impressed will happen at least 6 months after the upgrade class. However, the company is moving out all of the "A" models and bringing in a whole new fleet of "C++" models and so the training will be accelerated. My friend, Steve, will be going to Newark, NJ for his 14 day training session...the same could be happening with me as well...it will either be Newark, NJ, or West Palm Beach, FL.

I already know that West Palm is clear across the state from Dave, but how close is the Newark area to MarkE and MarkD?

[MarkE]

Congrats on the writ Larry. Nice job man! Im sure that you will do fine for the rest of it. Im sure that when you are done with the sim you will be ready.

Something you said really struck a chord...

This is how my PP checkride went.
I selected a plane I flew many times and scheduled it. I showed up at the school for the check ride and my examiner didnt. After A while I called him on the phone to find out WTF??? There was a scheduling snafu and he didnt realize that it was today. He told me he'd be right down. I sat around for about an hour with anxiety eating me alive then he finally showed up. I went to get the plane and it was already too late to take that one. I had to take another one. No biggie I thought....
I did the preflight and we climbed in. I got clearance to taxi, and wne we were about 1/2 way to the runup area his headset crapped out. I had to get clearance back to the ramp for him to get another headset. Jeezzz....
With the plane idling on the ramp we fiddled with the replacement headset for about ten minutes trying to get it to work. No deal....we;d go without it. The radio went on overhead speaker and the headsets were off and in the back seat. We then realized that his seat was stuck and he couldnt adjust it. DAMMIT!!! We got clearance again to taxi, and took off without incident with my mike hanging on the yoke and radio blaring from the overhead. I couldnt hear shit.

During the checkride my alternator crapped out. After resetting the breaker a few times it still didnt come back. We were about done anyway so I headed back in. Just before checking in with FRG tower I realized that the transponder had also crapped out. I got on the horn, told the tower what was going on and they gave me a straight in approach. I asked him if that would be okay and he agreed. I though that I blew this check rode big time. After we landed and back at the ramp I started apologizing over and over..."I'm really sorry...nothing worked"!! he stopped me, looked at me and said..." No, nothing worked...but YOU did". "In spite of one problem after another you waltzed through it like nothing was happening". "Consider this check ride a slam dunk". He then smiled and we walked inside.

There was a lot of other shit I didnt mention too. I later realized that he took the opportunity of the situation to evaluate me "loaded up". Shitty radio that couldnt be heard, missed traffic reports and I knew where every airplane in the area was. My alternator crapped out in the middle of a maneuver, turns around a point. He told me that he was impressed that #1 I noticed it during the maneuver showing that I was still scanning instruments, and #2 that I dealt with it during the maneuver (resetting breakers etc) and still managed to draw a near perfect ground track.

Truth be told...my brain was on autopilot while that shit was going on and I even kinda forgot that I was even on a check ride.

In the end things couldnt have gone better. Looking back on it I feel lucky. I'd take one pilot that can operate effectively "loaded up" than 100 that can draw perfect S turns over the ground.

Man..those were the days. I really miss flying.