Fire hoses are not for drinking

Well,  I am happy to report that after 5 long weeks, classroom training is just about complete.  In one respect, it is hard to believe that I arrived here over a month ago.  I think back to the day I decided to jump ship and drive out to St Louis.  In another respect, my brain is tired.  

As new hires, you show up and do a lot of paperwork and basic information lessons.  After a few days, it was time to dive into company documents and procedures.  We learned all types of policies regarding daily operations and de-icing procedures.  We dove into the SOP to learn about what can and can't do based on the document issued by the FAA.  It was a tad dry but my mind was fresh.  After over a year of teaching the same basic things over and over, it was a refreshing change.  

After the first test, it was time to start getting specific.  We started talking about the EMB-145 specifically and were introduced to the Graphic Flight Simulator.  During normal operations, checklists are not used as a document to "see it then do it," but merely a check to ensure that it was done properly.  That means I had to start memorizing, on top of the various limitations of the airplane and emergency procedures, normal checklists.  How do we start the airplane up, how do you do a proper preflight, what configuration is the airplane in during take-off or taxi.  Each of those times are addressed with a particular flow (a particular way you wave your hand over the controls to ensure that you touch or verify every button you are required to.  For example, before take-off, I draw a very large 8 with my left hand.  For the after landing flow, I draw a backwards C on the overhead panel.  Simply stated, it's just a way to make sure you don't forget anything.  If you do, the checklist catches you.  

You might be asking yourself, as I did, why we just don't run the checklists to take care of the various configurations.  Well, as I found out in the graphic simulator, things move entirely too fast to take the time to, as we said in missiles, "read a step, do a step, eat a banana."  

Above you'll see the graphic flight simulator.  With everything in this airplane being computer based, this training tool has been invaluable.  It is one thing to sit in my room with the poster on the wall pretending to push buttons during my flow.  It is a completely different thing to do it here and see what the buttons do or the computers say.  Here you see one of the instructors showing a classmate how to program the speed tape.  

After a few days of playing around in one of the coolest touch screen flight simulators ever, it was time to learn about how it all works.  We had two full weeks of "systems" class.  Here I got to learn more than I've ever wanted to know about fuel systems, hydraulics, jet engines, electrical systems, and computer logic.  On Monday, I have a test.  I am taking this tim to write a blog as a mental break because, boy, I need one.  

My schedule for the past 5 weeks has been relatively uneventful.  I wake up at 630 and go to class from 8 until around 5.  After class, I come home, grab a quick bite and head back out.  I've been tasting the various Starbucks in the Greater St Louis Metro area to study.  After 9, I head back to the hotel where I lay down, doodle on the internet a bit and then go to sleep.  Wash, rinse, repeat.  

One of the coolest days we had was Monday.  FINALLY, after a month, we went down to the hanger to do some hands on training in the airplane.  Don't get too excited, it didn't go anywhere, but it was cool to finally get experience with what we were seeing.  Below are a few pictures of airplane.

As we stood outside, the instructor hopped up and started up the Auxiliary Power Unit.  The APU is a tiny jet engine in the tail of the airplane which provides power and air conditioning when it is at the gate.  If you've ever had to board an airplane from the ground, you've probably heard the loud screaming sound coming from somewhere near the airplane.  That is the combined sound of this generator and the air conditioning. 

Our class walked up into the airplane.  We sat down in the seats and waited for our instructor to start the lesson.  Today, each one of us had to open every single door and exit.  We also received a familiarization of where all the emergency equipment was stowed and worked with a flight attendant to see what she would do in an emergency.  It was weird to be sitting on a commercial airplane and not actually be going anywhere.  

Finally, at the end of the day, we all got to go up into the cockpit to learn about the emergency equipment there.  We adjusted out seats and looked out over the nose.  It was stunning to see exactly how high that thing sat compared to every other airplane I've flown.  It felt weird to be sitting in the right seat, looking at all the buttons and even more weird to know what they all did.  After a few quick minutes, the lesson was over and we had to go.  The next time I'm there, I'll be sitting at a gate in St Louis, Chicago, or Houston, going on my first ever flight.  That next time will most likely be mid-November.  It's so close I can taste it.

Over the past week, it has become harder and harder to concentrate.  At first, it felt like my brain was a sponge.  I heard, I read, and I easily remembered.  After 4 weeks, it wasn't so easy but I continue to push through.  

Fear not though, I am taking time during the weekend to explore my new home.  A lot of people I talked to before I left for St Louis made weird faces and odd sounds when I told them where I was headed.  I must say, so far, I have nothing at all negative to say about the city. I've taken the light rail downtown every weekend and found great places to sit and study. There is an incredible park in the center of town and some really neat, artsy, younger areas spread out around the city.  

I've decided that I'm okay with being here for the time being.  I would have loved to have ended up in D.C., but this is a much much cheaper version of bigger city life.  There are several million people in the Metro area and some really cool things to see and do.  I'm excited about the opportunities ahead!