The One Where Day Six Wraps Up ATP-CTP and Heads Toward the Future

Our second (and final) sim session at FlightSafety has come and gone. I was feeling pretty drained after last night’s late session, so my grand plan to study for the ATP written exam took a back seat to a much-needed rest. The test is still on for Monday, so tomorrow will be my chance to hit the books hard.

We arrived at the training center bright and early, as per usual, and met up with our instructor in the briefing room. Today’s focus was high-altitude ops—think thinner air, edgier aerodynamics, and engines that have to work a little harder for their keep. The sim made it crystal clear: everything’s twitchier at FL400 (or beyond). The trick? Be patient. If you overcorrect every little wobble, you’ll be lurching around like a beginner on roller skates. The Falcon 900EX’s flight path vector was our guiding star, helping us nail stable approaches and turns without playing “chase the instruments.”

As we were setting up for takeoff, our instructor casually noted that pilots often refer to autopilot as “George.” My sim partner’s name just happens to be George—suddenly, all the cryptic jokes from the previous day clicked into place for him. For the record, our human George did a fantastic job pulling double duty as both pilot and “autopilot.”

Today’s curriculum featured high-altitude stalls (always a favorite adrenaline-pumper), unusual attitudes (trust me, “nose-high, full-throttle” in a sim is as close to a rollercoaster as you can get without a ticket), terrain avoidance demos with EPGWS, V1 cuts, and single-engine approaches. The sim had a couple of minor hiccups, but we rolled with it—aviation is all about adaptability, right?

For a grand finale, our instructor let us attempt some approaches into LaGuardia on a crisp, clear day. Even simulated, Manhattan’s skyline is stunning. It almost felt like cheating, because you don’t have to worry about real-world traffic, but hey, I’ll take a safe, scenic approach in any reality.

And that’s a wrap for ATP-CTP. Six days of ground school, sim sessions, and more aviation geekery than my brain knew what to do with. It’s been enlightening, confidence-building, and sometimes humbling. The biggest takeaway? This is definitely the career path I want—a plane, a sky, and a dash of adrenaline. Next up: traveling to Indianapolis for the next phase of training—and, of course, conquering the ATP written exam. Time to catch up on some rest, hit the books, and get ready for whatever comes next.