Glued to the ground like an anvil

To be a pilot... ah to live amongst the stars... to be but one step below god.

I've been here in Spain for 10 weeks now. It's been great.

The 60 week program here is divided into three main sections: Phase 1) Ground School (theory); Phase 2) Ground School + Flying; Phase 3) Flying. They're each 20 weeks long and have exams at the half-way point and at the end of them.

I've learnt a lot since being here, even if most of it has just been reinforcing things I already knew. The Principles of Flight things I pretty much already knew, like Lift and Drag, aspect ratio and finesse ratio. I learnt all about Piston Engines which I really didn't have much of a clue about before coming here, so that was really interesting! I learnt about various Emergency Systems on aircraft, as well as the landing gear, hydraulics and cabin pressurisation. I had a nice brush with chemistry when studying batteries in Electrics, and learnt all about NDBs, VORs and ILS approaches in Radio Nav. General Navigation was fascinating, learning all about a load of different charts; it's crazy to think that there are so many different ways of depicting the earth on a piece of paper! Finally Meteorology, god it's mad. I have some respect for the people that try to predict the weather, though I know it's an in-exact science. Met is my biggest book, one of the more difficult subjects, and there's just sooo much crap to remember. But I can tell what might trigger clouds, the different types of clouds, and global wind distribution.

This has lead up to my first set of exams; the so-called "week 9's". I'm happy to report that I passed them all, eight of them in total. I got an 86% average which is fairly respectable; the school considers 85% to be an indication that you're doing/coping well. There's some merit too in that I managed to achieve this with little more than a weekend of revision (interspersed with plenty of procrastination). But I'm not happy with it. I'm ashamed, because I know that if I had studied for just a week or so before, and put more effort into it, I could have gotten 100% (or there abouts) in all of them. Alas, I hope I've learnt my lesson. At least I have a free morning off this Monday and Tuesday while my classmates re-sit the exams they failed (I was one of three out of 15 who didn't fail any).

Perhaps I'll show my stuff when I get into the sky.

The first months and to a lesser extent the second where frequently punctuated with copious amounts of partying. The night-life here in Jerez leaves a lot to be desired, but it's very good as the Spanish certainly know how to party. The problem I guess is that the Spanish party late, very late. A club here will be practically empty before 3am, and it might just open at midnight or 1am. The Spanish like to party from 3am until the clubs close at around 7. That's after enjoying a few drinks at the local bars from around midnight till 3. It's a very fun night out I must say, but it takes a lot out of you; I don't know how the Spanish do it.

On the up side, there is a bar on campus, that closes at midnight on Friday and Saturday nights. And it's spectacularly cheap, compared to Jerez or anywhere for that matter. A pint of beer? €1.50 a can of coke? €0.60. It's not bad at all. So as of late I've decided to stay in and enjoy this luxury, but I fear soon I'll be required to go out again, if only to be social.

The rest of my social life has been taken up by Tennis. I took classes when I was little, around ten or so, but wasn't great at it. Now I started again, and played abysmally, I'm starting to hold my own. It's a lot of fun, and it's great that so many people here enjoy playing it. I always remember something my dad said to me: "Tennis and Golf are the most important sports you can play in the world. Learn one, or both." Sadly the rain has been getting us down lately, and it's not nice to play on flooded or even mildly moist courts. So I haven't played in a while.

So that's me so far. But what does the future hold?

Well medium term, I'd really like to fly with FlyBE. I have become quite endeared to their turbo-props and wouldn't snuff at an opportunity to fly them. Even better it seems like a magnificent airline, and a great chance to get lots of great experience in turbo-props (and bad-weather) whilst offering an opportunity to move on to Jets with their Embraer 195s. They also happen to have bases in Scotland (particularly Edinburgh) where I would really like to live, at least for the moment. I would seriously consider building a career with FlyBE; I believe a lot in their business model and attitudes towards staff. However I'd be lying if I said FlyBE was the dream.

The dream ever since the 4th of January 1994 has been to fly Long Haul with BA. The first time I stepped onto the magnificent 747 at the tender age of six, I knew this is what I wanted to do, (after already knowing I wanted to be a pilot, now I knew what kind of pilot). So I guess my long-term plan is to get a job at BA and fly long-haul for them. To be more specific, I'll consider my dream fulfiled the day I fly in the Captain's seat of a BA A380. The A380 bit I guess highlights the fact that dreams can change, but their essence remains.

In the Short term, I have to finish this course and get my licence! So what's in store for me in these next 52 weeks?

1. You got a small taste of what I'm doing at the moment, so the first step is to pass my exams in February. Know everything there is to know about Engines, Meteorology, Navigations, and Flight.
2. In Phase 2 I'll start learning about Air Law, Operational Proceedures, and much more. It's when the theory gets a little closer to the things I'll be doing every day I guess. But most of all I'll start flying! The time table will be split into: one day flying, one day ground school, etc. for a total of about 20 weeks. After 10 weeks of that I can expect another set of progress tests for the ground-school stuff (week 30's) and PT1 (Progress Test) for the flying side comes in whenever I'm ready (and roughly equates to a PPL). At the end of phase 2 I will take the official exams for the subjects I was taking in Ground School. Once I pass those, that'll mark the end of all the theory!
3. Around mid June is when I can expect Phase 2 to finish and Phase 3 to start. Phase 3 is just flying 6 or maybe even 7 days a week. It's very hard work, but also gives me a bit of a breather. I won't be flying more than 2 or 3 hrs a day, and won't necessarily be flying every day (there are many factors that influence this). So it should hopefully mean that I'll have a very nice summer, and I'll get onto the bad weather flying (Instrument Rating) around October/November when the bad weather actually starts. It also means that the ideal time for people to come visit is in the summer :) When most people can! (Hint hint!)

But for now, I just have Christmas to look forward to. I won't be spending it with my family, but rather with my best friends! I'll spend Christmas in Somerset with one of my best friends from childhood. And I'll jet off up to Scotland after that to spend New Year with my best friend! I can't wait! It promises to be an amazing and unforgettable holiday.