When I finally found myself back in ground school, it was with a much smaller cohort of trainees. Class sizes had been reduced in an attempt to shorten the extreme wait times that newly qualified First Officers have been experiencing between simulator training and Initial Operating Experience (IOE). As such, I'd had 2 entire months off after Indoc while fellow classmates were slowly placed into classes every two weeks.
The break had given me plenty of time to memorize the flows and study the standard operating procedures, and that really helped me keep my head above the water for the next two weeks since there was so much material to master each day. In the mornings we practiced a set of procedures and checklists on a touchscreen trainer and also spent a considerable amount of time learning how to operate the Flight Management System (aka "the box"). After lunch there was a four-hour lecture, and then the rest of the evening was spent in our hotel rooms "chair-flying" for the next lesson and studying material that we needed to memorize for the test. It was an intense two weeks, but it was a really satisfying feeling to pass the exams at the end and realize how much I'd learned.
Next up was the part everyone had been waiting for: simulator training. But though I'd been working hard to prepare for it, I wasn't sure I would even have the opportunity to start, much less complete it. We all needed to complete one last class session before starting sims and this class was scheduled for a Sabbath. There didn't seem to any way to receive the training on a different day; I finally had to make my choice and let the company know that I couldn't in good conscience attend the class on Sabbath. I was prepared to have to turn in my badge and materials and say goodbye. But God had different plans.
After several days of waiting in uncertainty, I got a call from the company. They had worked something out; I would be able to take the class on a different day! Though I had to wait another week and a half to be able to take the class, the delay was also a blessing; my simulator schedule, which previously had included multiple Sabbath sessions in it, now had to be rebuilt from scratch and they were able to also ensure that none of the training sessions occurred during Sabbath hours. I was amazed and it felt almost too good to be true; but it was really happening.
Soon after completing the last ground school class I was learning how to fly the CRJ 200 in the full motion simulators. The learning curve was steep, the sessions were long, and I often felt like I was making more than my share of mistakes. But every now and then I reminded myself that in spite of the challenges, I was getting to do something really, really cool - something I had only dreamed about. And as the we approached the final sessions, somehow it all began to come together, thanks to the efficient training program and the top-notch instructors we had the privilege of learning from.
I will never forget one in particular. Not only did he know the airplane like the back of his hand and know how to share techniques that helped us immensely, but he had a way of giving encouragement that amazed me. He knew just how to zero in on the most important aspects of a lesson and how to give just the right amount of practice to get a maneuver to proficiency, praising the good elements of a performance and showing us how to fix the deficient areas. Even when we were doubting our abilities after a particularly grueling session, he could confidently tell us how well we actually did and that we were great pilots. To me as a perfectionist, it felt undeserved, and yet this was coming from an instructor who had been teaching this stuff for decades, literally. I had to believe him, and his confidence was infectious.
During the sessions we had with him, I'd seen him pull out all the stops and give all he had to make sure we would be confident and ready for the maneuvers validation. As we finished debriefing our last lesson with him, I took the opportunity to express my gratitude. "I know I speak for both my sim partner and I when I say that I think you're a really awesome instructor. Thank you so much!"
His response was like a final puzzle piece that completed the picture of the kind of person he was. "I wish I could take the glory, but I'm a big believer in Jesus Christ," he smiled.
Wow. That was neat.
My sim partner and I passed our maneuvers validation a few days later and then the following week we each took our final Line Oriented Evaluation and earned the highest grade of FAA pilot license: the Airline Transport Pilot certificate. It was an incredible feeling to look at that piece of paper and think of the threshold I'd just crossed. The scheduling obstacles had been perplexing, and even when I thought my Sabbath schedule conflicts had been sorted out, a last-minute change had abruptly bumped my maneuvers validation to a Friday night. Yet God worked that problem out too, and I could see how it was all because of Him that I had reached this milestone.
What lies ahead? Once again, more time off as I wait for a while to get assigned for IOE. And then the uncertainty of trying to bid and trade for a Sabbath-free work schedule during the first few months as a junior first officer. Yet despite the uncertainty of how it will play out, I have the peace and assurance that as long as God has a plan for me to be in this job, He will keep opening up those doors. And I pray that I can fulfill His purpose to bless to others and then, like my instructor, be able to tell them it was a gift from their loving Saviour.
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