IOE

Trepidation and apprehension, combined with excitement, anticipation, and a sense of “is this actually for real?” - these were the mixed-up emotions churning inside me as I made my way toward the departure gate. I felt very much like an imposter, walking through the airport dressed in the suit, stripes, and badge of an airline pilot, and yet having never flown a jet for real before. But that was all about to change. Today was Day 1 of IOE - Initial Operating Experience, aka on-the-job training.

It’s pretty amazing, but in the U.S. system, the first time a new airline pilot flies the actual plane will usually be with paying passengers on a regularly scheduled flight. It's been done this way for decades now, as simulator training does a great job in providing the foundational skills to operate the plane. That doesn’t mean there isn’t still a ton to learn about flying the real plane, but that’s why during IOE the other pilot in the cockpit is going to be one of the airline’s specially qualified training captains: a Line Check Airman. These guys are a special breed of pilot who can basically fly the plane by themselves, and they’re experts at showing new pilots the ropes and getting us up to speed.

Today I would be flying my first of three IOE trips. Arriving at the plane, I met my Check Airman who I’d be flying with for the next few days. He gave me a friendly welcome and began by showing me how to do the external inspection. Then it was back up to the cockpit to start getting ready for departure. He explained that for this first leg, he would be the Pilot Flying and I would be Pilot Monitoring. On the next leg I would start doing the flying.

It was a bit of a strange feeling to clamber into the right seat of the cockpit and feel like I was in the simulator, and yet realize this time I wasn’t in a box with projector screens, but in a real, fuel-guzzling jetliner.

The similarities with the simulator quickly ended as my instructor started walking me through the swirl of tasks that needed to be accomplished prior to pushback. There was “the box” - okay, I’d set that up before. But wait - how do I know which runway to load when the ATIS is advertising 2 departure runways? They’d always just put us on the runway in the simulator. And what about this thing called ACARS that we’d always heard about? Oh - that’s how we get our V-speeds? Okay, let me plug those in. Did I manage to input all the takeoff data correctly? Ahh, I forgot to put the flex temp in the box. I’m not used to seeing the takeoff data in this format. 

Now, remind me… Suddenly, the two flight attendants were in the cockpit doorway saying they were ready for a crew briefing. I’d hardly noticed the passengers had already boarded. My Check Airman, of course, was taking it all in stride and keeping the ball rolling. A couple moments later, briefings completed, he was latching the cockpit door, clicking his seatbelt on, and talking to the pushback crew through his headset, all seemingly at the same time. “Engine Start Check,” he directed me. Okay, here we go… 

Now began the process of getting the plane from the gate to the runway. 

First, contact Ramp Control for permission to push back. That was easy enough. Next, request permission to move the plane to the area adjacent to the taxiways. In response, Ramp Control rattled off some phrases I’d never heard before, and my captain repeated back what I needed to reply with. Okay, time to contact Metering, the controller that gets us in the queue of aircraft awaiting taxi instructions from Ground Control. 

I keyed the mic: “Metering, ACME Regional 2345 is ready to taxi, with information Romeo.”

“ACME Regional 2345, information Sierra is now current, monitor Ground.” 

Sierra?! They changed the ATIS already? I was still processing this when Ground Control started talking to us. “ACME Regional 2345, Runway 28R at November 5, taxi via…” I scrambled to write the rapid-fire clearance down and failed miserably. I sputtered as I tried to repeat back the clearance and once again the check airman came to my rescue. 

Then we started moving, joining the ballet of aircraft wending their way across the huge airport.

The check airman taxied the plane and I did my best to keep up with where he was taking us. The fact that it was night-time made it doubly disorienting. And then before I knew it, he was calling for the Before Takeoff Check, Tower was telling us we were cleared for takeoff, and we were lining up on the runway. He pushed the thrust levers forward and then things started to become more familiar again. I felt like I was back in the simulator once more as I made the well-rehearsed callouts. “Thrust set. V1…rotate…V2. Positive rate.”

The actual flight was short, and thankfully much easier than the taxi out had been. As we neared the airport, I did my job of performing the checklists and setting the flaps and gear at the check airman’s direction, all the while watching how he flew the approach. Of course, he made the landing look easy as he greased the wheels onto the runway.

We taxied up to the terminal, he debriefed me on the things I’d learned, and then it was time to call it a night and head to the hotel. Our trip would resume the trip the next day. My mind was still spinning from all the new things I'd seen and experienced, so I was thankful for a chance to sleep on it. Tomorrow would be my turn to fly.