Surviving your first 121 initial training

ozziecat35

4 out of 5 great lakes prefer Michigan.
If you could go back in time and tell your past self the nuggets you wish you knew to help you get through your first 121 indoc / type rating, what would that be. I like to think I'm fairly well versed in how things work, but having never done the pilot side of the 121 world, and only having a pt 91 jet type rating, obviously there's lots I don't know. Any advice on how to make this as straight forward as possible is appreciated. My 4 years of military time has taught me to play the game, IE cooperate to graduate..so I'm guessing the same "kinda" rings true.

Thanks!
 
Listen to the gouge the class beforehand passes down.
Study groups of 4 or less.
Have fun with the entire class every so often.

Do your homework. Then put down the books. There isn't a GPA, and the dude who finishes last is still an FO after the checkride.

Have fun.
 
Listen to the gouge the class beforehand passes down.
Study groups of 4 or less.
Have fun with the entire class every so often.

Do your homework. Then put down the books. There isn't a GPA, and the dude who finishes last is still an FO after the checkride.

Have fun.

Yep, pretty much this. Cooperate & graduate is a very key issue. Sim world vs. real world are very much two different things at times. Play the game and all will be well. I just finished transition training to a new bird and one of our instructors insisted we read this lovely 'script' for communicating with the deice folks. Soooo not real world, but that is how the game is played.
 
Yep, pretty much this. Cooperate & graduate is a very key issue. Sim world vs. real world are very much two different things at times. Play the game and all will be well. I just finished transition training to a new bird and one of our instructors insisted we read this lovely 'script' for communicating with the deice folks. Soooo not real world, but that is how the game is played.
"Y'all got any of that Type I, Bubba?"
 
Don’t be “that guy.”

Be happy to be there, grateful for the opportunity, play nice with others, study hard (both alone and in groups), and most of all don’t be afraid to ask for help.

I don’t know your training department specifically, but nowadays it’s hard to find one who isn’t willing to go the extra miles for those with a good attitude.

Congrats! You’re gonna love the 121 world.
 
In the sim, "Yes, got it, I'll do it that way" works a lot better than "but the instructor last week told me to do it this way!"

Other than that, find time for stress relief - for me, it was runs after long days of ground school and beers on Saturday night.
 
Don’t be “that guy.”

Be happy to be there, grateful for the opportunity, play nice with others, study hard (both alone and in groups), and most of all don’t be afraid to ask for help.

I don’t know your training department specifically, but nowadays it’s hard to find one who isn’t willing to go the extra miles for those with a good attitude.

Congrats! You’re gonna love the 121 world.
Make dinner for your group at least once. ;) Each time I've been in training long term I made dinner for my study buddies at least once and they loved it! I'm going to make it a tradition.

In initial I made slow cooker carnitas with like a 7 pound pork roast, and when I came to the 175 I made spaghetti.

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk
 
Make dinner for your group at least once. ;) Each time I've been in training long term I made dinner for my study buddies at least once and they loved it! I'm going to make it a tradition.

In initial I made slow cooker carnitas with like a 7 pound pork roast, and when I came to the 175 I made spaghetti.

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

Thats really impressive I like it. I struggle keeping the corn out of the brownie in a microwave dinner.
 
The hotel we were at had a BBQ grill at the pool, so once a week we grilled at the pool... Steaks, chicken, ribs. Corn, grilled veggies, etc....
 
Make dinner for your group at least once. ;) Each time I've been in training long term I made dinner for my study buddies at least once and they loved it! I'm going to make it a tradition.

In initial I made slow cooker carnitas with like a 7 pound pork roast, and when I came to the 175 I made spaghetti.

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk
My wife is sending me to school with an instant pot and basically a mini kitchen so as to save on food costs, I will for sure invite the study group, great idea!
 
I’ve never understood the study in big groups method. For me, it has always been a massive waste of time. I really don’t see how that is remotely helpful.

I do strongly recommend doing your callouts and flows with your sim partner, and have them down cold before you touch the sim. Also have 1-2 people that you can ask questions with as you progress through the program.
 
Make sure that every time you change fleet types or airline you state early and often in the sim, “Yea, but on my previous fleet/airline we did it a different way..”. They love that! :aghast:
 
If you get Study Material before class, take the time to learn it.

Get all your affairs in order BEFORE you leave for training. The last thing you need is to deal with a problem 1000+ miles away that could have been prevented.

Study with someone other than your partner on occasion. as stated 4 people MAX, any more you'll get little to nothing out of it.

Flash Cards apps, like Quizlet and Brainscape are awesome, if you find a deck already made, go through it and make sure it's correct, people make mistakes and limitations change.

Take time to relax and decompress, overloading yourself will catch up to you. Happy Hour Specials with the class is perfect for this. Don't go overboard.

Have a good time and good luck!
 
I would make my own decks because just entering the data also aids in rote memorization.

In CFI school I was asked why do I keep making (and remaking) notes by hand, and that was my answer. The written prep cheat system sheppardair has just doesn't work for me.
 
Don't put too much pressure on yourself. At times it might feel like there is too much information to soak in. Have faith in the system and enjoy it.

Sent from my SM-N920I using Tapatalk
 
Back
Top