Line Checked!

I just got line checked today!  The flights today took us to Girona and Belfast, and the line check was on the first two sectors.  I had got all the criteria required for the line check signed off, so was feeling confident for it – all I had to do was keep the standard up.  I’ve been to Girona before, so I knew what to expect, though it wasn’t the easiest of CDAs (continuous descent approaches) to plan and execute due to the high terrain around.  As expected, ATC kept us high to avoid the terrain, so had to plan my CDA accordingly, but they were prompt enough with the clearances to make my CDA easier, so I was happy with that.  The other effect we get coming into Girona, is a tailwind on descent and approach, which swings around into a headwind lower down.  This makes it difficult to lose speed and also makes the CDAs more difficult since we have a tailwind leading to a higher groundspeed.  In this sense, I was lucky again, we had no tailwind at all – a headwind all the way!  Though, I had a plan if we encountered a tailwind, so in any case I felt prepared.  The Captain asked me to do a non-precision VNAV approach, which is a required part of the line check if conditions permit.  The approach and landing went really well, so I was happy with that, and so was the Captain!  The Captain flew back and I took care of monitoring the aircraft, talking to the controllers and other tasks related to the “pilot monitoring” role.  Once on the ground, the Captain congratulated me, and it took me a few seconds to realise, that it was for the line check! I had forgotten that I was being line checked because I had flown with this particular Captain often, and so it felt like a normal flight to me, except I was allowed to get on with the flight without any input from the Captain other than those necessitated by his role as pilot monitoring/flying.