The One Where SHIFT Training Finally Brings the Plane to Life
It is officially Day One of SHIFT—Systems Hand Off into Flight Training—and I have been on a bit of a writing break since finishing GOS. After completing our GOS validation without any issues, we all went home for two weeks of systems study. During the first week, the company provided us with systems videos on the aircraft and its Flight Management System, as well as flows, profiles, and callouts. The second week was more interactive, with Slack question-and-answer sessions led by line pilots who helped us connect the dots between dry study materials and real-world operations.
By the time we returned yesterday, many of us were feeling anxious about the next phase. There is only so much you can learn from slides and videos before you actually start pushing real buttons—even if they are only simulated. SHIFT is here to bridge that gap. Our first agenda item this morning was the Systems Validation, which is essentially the last written quiz we will see in this AQP environment. They gave us two hours, but most of us were finished in about twenty minutes because the material was straightforward. It felt like a meaningful milestone, since it was the first substantial test of our systems knowledge. From here on out, it is all practical, including procedure validations, maneuver validations, and eventually the final LOE.
Although I tried to get enough rest last night, my mind kept cycling through flows, callouts, and every conceivable systems question. Today was the first time we truly felt like we were learning the airplane, as we worked from a cold-and-dark cockpit configuration, moved up to before-start flows and checklists, and then started the engines while focusing on after-start items. We also learned how to program the FMS in preparation for departure. Seeing how the flows we studied fit into actual cockpit tasks gave us a sense of relief and a hint of how much repetition we need to build muscle memory. My partner and I stayed two extra hours after class to review everything, and we anticipate doing the same each day—grabbing a quick dinner and then heading back to the computer lab to practice the material again and again.
Tomorrow we will head to the airport hangar for a pre-flight tour, where we will hopefully lay eyes on the real aircraft. We will also get to perform a practical version of the pre-flight inspection. My partner and I went through the pre-flight PowerPoint tonight so we will recognize the various components and procedures once we are on the ramp. Despite feeling nervous about the challenges ahead, I am excited about what comes next. SHIFT is finally taking us beyond theory and into the heart of learning how to fly this jet, and that is exactly what we have been working toward.