Whether you are flying a VLJ (very light jet) or Light Jet… or a high performance warbird, consider the importance of your initial training, type rating and core risk mitigation skills. You’ve jumped into a machine that requires either military or professional level training.
No matter what your jet, if it is your first, odds are you will want some extra preparation before traveling to your first full motion simulator based training, check ride and type rating.
Know The Facts
Failure rate: 30% to 50% of new type rating applicants who have never flown professionally or in a high performance aircraft experience check ride failures.
The basics: IFR preparation is typically a culprit – in the simulator you will regularly fly to minimums, execute a go around / missed approach and you’ll do that on one engine. If your IFR skills aren’t tip top – it is a difficult experience. Attitude flying, holds, instrument departures (either ODPs or SIDs), arrivals need to be second nature.
The glass: A young CFI who just got out of a G1000 Cessna 172 can fare better than a 10,000 DC-9 Captain raised on steam gauges. Sound crazy? It isn’t. Knowing how to manage a PFD and an MFD with ease while hand flying is a key skill. Know what the automation is doing, why it is doing it and what’s coming next on the “score board.”
New things: To the unfamiliar, jet aircraft require a thorough understanding of profiles (how you’ll fly), flows (how you’ll accomplish pre-checklists), memory items (things you’ll do before reaching for a checklist) and knowing the difference between a checklist and a QRH – quick reference handbook.
The tough things: Learning that while you are in a high pressure environment, there is actually plenty of time to accomplish tasks, especially during emergencies. Being able to manage check ride anxiety, needless future-izing and other counter productive tendencies get new pilots through the ride smoothly.
Mentoring Onsite – Post Rating
Insurance companies are increasingly reluctant to set new owners free without a substantial amount of time in type and that means SOE – supervised operational experience. The key in hiring a professional jet mentor is leveraging what matters most:
Much like your IFR rating, what is legal, isn’t necessarily safe.
Understand CRM with two and when it is just you. Either way having good cockpit “feng shui” as we call it, helps you understand how it all fits together.
Learn the hazards and challenges of visual approaches in the real aircraft – you’ll be doing these a lot – why not master them?
Learning the box – sit with pros who have thousands of FMS hours of various flavors, be it Garmin, Honeywell, or Universal – odds are that our mentors have a few tricks to help you leverage the full computing power at your disposal.
Schedule a time with your next type rating instructor and mentor here.
*The content of this page was compiled with the help of Neil Singer, is a Phenom 100 and 300 examiner, and Citation Jet 525 series mentor and instructor.
So, you started your IFR training. Then the instructor got hired by the airlines. Next, the flight school became unreliable. No one seems to care you have your own plane.
Then you got busy at work and your airplane went down for an annual that never ended. Paying for training isn’t the issue – it is finding the right instructor to pay for completion. We get it.
Get Your IFR Finished and Passed:
Learn from on site mentor level CFIIs / MEIIs that will finish your training and sign you off for the check ride. We can even recommend local examiners to you.
Build core skills that will keep you safe while knowing what to expect on the check ride, how to handle the real world of IFR flying.
Train on a simulator in your home. Yes, a legal FAA Basic Aviation Training Device, where you can not only practice, but legally log time. (Note: simulator deployment at client home is subject to availability and extra cost.)
What’s Next?
Schedule a short intake call here (15 min. to get a sense of need)
Determine cost / length of training ($1250 USD per day + travel & lodging)
Plan your training time (find a time for 5 to 10 uninterrupted days)
Execute training agreement (spell out what we’ll focus on, and expectations)
Start training in your aircraft, at your airport, on your schedule!
You bought a twin. And you thought: “I’ll find an instructor locally who will help me knock this out!” It was a reasonable plan and assurances were offered.
Then the MEI vanished and your insurance company stepped in. Pretty soon, nothing was happening.
The AMEL add on rating is relatively straight forward affair, however, it is a key step into territory that requires the utmost attention to a new paradigm of learning challenges:
Task saturation: Your first twin will be a new kind of teacher too.
Automation: Learning, trusting and using the autopilot and automation is central to your well being, mental health and stabilized… well everything.
Situational Awareness: Situational awareness, descent planning and other aircraft specific tricks to protect you and your investment
What’s Next? How Does it Work?
Schedule a short intake call here (15 min. to get a sense of need)
Determine cost / length of training ($1250 USD per day + travel & lodging)
Plan your training time (find a time for 5 to 10 uninterrupted days)
Execute training agreement (spell out what we’ll focus on, and expectations)
Start training in your aircraft, at your airport, on your schedule!
Learn this stuff & Love this stuff. It will love you back.
You loved your first high performance piston aircraft.
Then you met your first TBM, PC-12 or M600 / Meridian. Life hasn’t been the same since you saw speed, simplicity, safety and let’s be honest… gobs more power.
But your insurance company stepped in and said, “Not so fast.” Followed by, “You’ll need some SOE” (SOE = supervised operational experience.
Problem solved. We help you get the training you need, add a rating while you’re at it and generally bond with your plane like a pro. Go the extra mile and drill down on aircraft systems, real world turboprop ops, life in the flight levels and other specifics your underwriter will great about.
Engage us before you buy and save money on your acquisition through pro buyer help and start building time right from the ferry flight back after the pre-buy and closing.
