Line Training – Week 2
This week saw me going to destinations other than Murcia and Dublin! I went to Porto (Portugal), Torp (Norway), Nimes & Carcassonne (France) and Alicante (Spain).
I was on earlies this week, so I was flying in daylight, which made the approaches easier. I’m getting a bit more confident and accustomed to the fast pace of turn-arounds and have been fine tuning my organisational skills! I was allowed to do more manual flying as well to get a better feel for the aircraft and did some of my approaches manually, which helped with improving my handling skills.
The Captain demonstrated a visual approach into Nimes, and it was especially difficult because of the turbulence on the approach, which suddenly kicked in below 4000ft. The approach for Carcassonne was also interesting because it was a circling approach, and the PAPIs were set for a 4 degree glideslope. This made the approach path much more steeper than usual and we were aware of the different aspect of the runway due to the steeper approach. The approach into Alicante gave amazing views. We were landing on the northerly facing runway, which meant we had to fly out over the mediterranean sea and make are approach from there. On the way down to Alicante, we passed over the Pyrenees, and the view was amazing.
Flying over the Pyrenees.
I didn’t find the earlies as difficult as I thought they would be since I managed getting in bed early, to get enough sleep. I had to wake up pretty early – around 3am since I need 30 minutes to get ready and it takes just under an hour to get to the airport. I enjoy the drive in the morning – the roads are nice and quiet and it helps me to wake up!
I’ve really enjoyed this week and have gotten to see a few more destinations and different types of approaches. Looking forward to next week!
