Day 6 - How's that fire hose?

The new hires started about a week before me. They spent a week going over basic company operations.

From then out we are in the same boat. The difference is I've been on this cruise before.

My first time through was incredibly confusing. Going from a Piper Seminole to a regional jet is a huge step.

The new hires have a constant look of confusion on their faces. As though they are hoping the fire hose will soon slow down. It will...but not or a while.

Friday was spent working more performance problems. The charts are all familiar to me as I used them often over the last 4 years. They are nothing like general aviation performance charts...for light twins anyway. The afternoon we attended the last, I think, FMS class.

So what's next? Well we hit the "paper tiger."

The "paper tiger" is a mock up of the cockpit. Everything is two dimensional but is size and distance correct. ATP had "paper tigers" for the seminole and CRJ 200.

At first they seem kinda silly. Sitting in a chair next to what amounts to a poster of a plane. It helps.

I sat for hours 4 years ago going over flows.

A flow is simply an efficient way of doing something by memory. Once done all flows are followed by a checklist. Anything missed is completed. After practicing the same flow over and over one get's "muscle memory". The muscles get used to going in a certain order. If something is missed, the muscle knows.

In order to prepare for the paper tiger I've begun memorizing flows with mnemonic devices.

For example the taxi flow, Feel The Boobs Everyone Is Watching. That translates to Flaps, Takeoff Config, Brake Temp, EICAS, Ignition and Windshield Heat. For now they are just words. Tomorrow when I need to do the taxi flow I will recite start with "Feel" then place my hand on the flap handle. I will recite the setting it should be then go from there. If I get stuck I will say the next work and go from there.

Oral is coming up quick....it's next week!