The One Where FPT Lesson Four Shakes Things Up
After a couple of days away, my partner and I completed our 4th Flat Panel Training session. This time, we worked with a new instructor who introduced a different teaching style and some alternative ways to tackle certain tasks. While it was incredibly helpful to see new techniques, it also made for a very long day—between the two of us, we logged about six hours in the trainer. To top it off, the sim itself gave us trouble roughly an hour in and kinda throughout the session. We had to reboot everything mid-session, which meant re-entering all our data right up till take-off, so that definitely added to the chaos.
We did not tackle many brand-new concepts, but instead took what we already know and dialed it up a notch. We focused on things like climb via/descend via clearances, altitude restrictions, en route changes, temperature compensation, runway changes, diversions, as well as some RNAV and PNB (VOR) approaches. It was a lot to juggle, especially since the new instructor’s approach was more rapid-fire than we were used to. Though I would not say we fell behind, there were moments where we felt we were playing catch-up, particularly because some of the techniques our previous instructor showed us clashed with the new methods. We ended up adapting on the fly, literally and figuratively.
Despite how hectic everything felt, the instructor assured us we did fine overall—just a few little misses here and there, which is pretty normal this far into training. Tomorrow is our last FPT lesson before the procedures validation the following day. The plan is to consolidate everything we have learned so far, ironing out any wrinkles so we are ready for that next big hurdle.
Over the weekend, I also managed to brush up on some systems knowledge with a friend. We quizzed each other and discovered a few gaps in our understanding, which led us to dig a bit deeper into how everything truly works. Realizing the underlying logic behind the system makes it a lot easier to remember and apply. That extra study session was time well spent, especially since the Knowledge Validation is only one day after the Procedures Validation. In other words, we have a lot on our plates.
Still, we are taking it one step at a time, and the training department has been doing a great job making sure we feel supported. We came away from today’s session thinking we had not performed at our best, but hearing positive feedback from the instructor was reassuring. At this point, programming the flight computers and running through flows feels solid. The main challenge for me is using the automation to make the airplane do what I want in a streamlined way, and I can tell I am inching closer to that “aha” moment.