First base - Jakarta

Some four weeks ago, with my fellow aviators, Ibu Susi and Christian we were discussing where we want to be based within SusiAir, where we want to be posted for start, what we want to achieve in our flying career etc, etc. Me smart arse partly seriously, partly jokingly noted that I would like to go to Jakarta as my first base so I do not have to go back any more. Well be careful what you wish for is the saying that pops in to my head ;)
Tomorrow morning 1/8 I will be flying my last four sectors from Jakarta base before moving to my next one - Medan.
Jakarta was pretty slow and easy start for two of us new Co-Jo s fresh from the type training. We both flew around thirty hours in last three weeks, mainly on two main routes Jakarta Halim to Cilacap and Jakarta Halim to Nusawiru.
Both airports, Nusawiru and Cilacap are on the south cost of west Java.
We fly Cilacap and back three times a day mainly carrying workers and management from the oil industry based there and Nusawiru is mainly SA corporate transport mixed with some holiday makers and surfers heading to Batu Karas.
Flight that I always consider highlight of the day (or week) is corporate flight to unlicensed beach strip in Pangandaran.
Landing on beachstrip is pretty cool experience itself but this trip comes with other benefits like visit to popular Relax restaurant (check Indonesia Rough Guide) or one of the beach bars if you staying overnight.
I cant say much about Jakarta city because I have not seen much of i t and what I have seen was not that impressive but I have enjoyed flying here a lot. It was a great introduction in to Indonesian ATC, local specifics, customs and line flying generally. On this note, great Thank You goes to all Jakarta Captains for this experience!
So as the locals say - Happy Landings!
F;-)

Line training

As I mentioned in previous post, first two and half week of ground training were pretty intensive but on the other hand second half of the training was much more relaxed and certainly more fun because it was the practical part ;)
Basic handling, circuits, emergencies, un-usual attitudes and more circuits ;)
Highlight of my flight training was as for most of us landing on Pangandaran beach strip. I'm sure that this one is not one of the most challenging strips but it was cool experience to land parallel with the beach ;-)
In the meantime we also did two DGCA exams - well chapter itself ;-)
Radio practical:
bloke with the strongest Indonesian accent pretends to be ATC, you fly from A to B and make appropriate radio calls - so far standard used in Europe - only with one difference - all radio calls and phrases are numbered and written in front of you ;-)
CPL theoretical test:
Two part test with 100 questions based on FAA exams and military phraseology plus C208 knowledge test based on legacy and with strong focus on de-icing - very important for flying in Indonesia bellow 10'000 feet especially considering that our vans don't have deicing ;-)
Well let say it was guess work that worked ;-)

Now to the line training - this is pretty cool experience and awesome feeling to have fare paying paxs on board especially when you look back just before reaching cruising altitude to find most of them asleep ;)
I have started with observation flight sitting just behind pilots with my headset plugged in and taking notes where ground training differed from every day practices - not many tho... Biggest fun comes with ATC - their strong accent, lack of training and laid back attitude is a deadly combination and thats why ATC is always mentioned as a major threat on preflight briefing along side with animals on runway, kites, birds and traffic in congested airspace like Jakarta Halim - just different world...
The other day we received three different squawk codes between start up clearance and lining up - you make the maths ;-)
My first flight was flying some corporate peeps to company HQ in Pangandaran and than reposition aeroplane for maintenance in near by Nusawiru.All captains I have met and flown with so far were very helpful, professional and calming so my eager beaver attitude was not an issue this time. Saying that flying at 10'000 and have nothing to do than monitor the flight gives me itchy feeling "What am I missing? Should I be doing something?"
...but captains answer is always the same, sit back, relax and watch world passing by ;-)

Half way through type rating

If someone told me that we have been here for over two weeks I would not believe it.
This is what you call bloody busy! I don't think that anyone from our group anticipated such a workload...
Good part is that we turned to be very good, friendly and responsible group so all spare time is utilised as a self study in the classroom and we all help each other.
Since our first lesson we covered Standard Operating Procedures, Company Operational Manual, system limitations, memory items, G1000, using weather radar, aircraft system and descriptions, first aid course, ditching excercise, written number of tests and quizess passed DGCA radiotelephony test written and practical and slowly driffted from classroom to sim, cockpit procedure trainer, G1000 simulator and have been given quite a lots of time for self study and preparation for final written and verbal exam. (whoops my is coming in three days)
It was my intension to update this blog at least twice a week and describe in more detail but no chance.

Indonesia, here I am!!!

Just looking back, Singapore was quite un eventful except the fact I have left my iPhone in the train on my way from airport to hotel. Grrrr what a....
As I arrived to reception of my hotel Econ Inn on Beach Road, receptionist apologised and answered ringing phone - than she gave me puzzled look and asked me: have you lost your iPhone by any chance? Than I gave her puzzled look and in no time I was on my way back to the airport train station! Thank you unknown honest person :)

Stay in Singapore was very short and I managed to see only small part of the town on my way from hotel to McDonalds cafe on Orchard road where i have met SusiAir visa agent and rest of my classmates.

Around 1600 we had our passports back with visas and we made our way to Airport, most of us to catch AirAsia flight to Jakarta. Our flight was about one hour RE-TIMED (not delayed) but very short - only some 45 minutes to landing in Jakarta where we met Ratih, our HR lady who helped us to get transport to our Jakarta accommodation.

Plan for following morning was to be picked up at 0630 and to get Indonesian medical. At 0715 driver turned up with smile and took us to medical centre.
Slightly disorganised, chaotic but friendly place it was. In fact we were given check list and had to walk from doors to doors and ask for specific examination. Surprise for most of us was dental check up and assumption was made that this is for later identification :)
Quick bite to eat in local market, and off we go to Jakarta Halim airport for our charter to Pangandaran beach strip where SusiAir HQ and training centre is located. Nothing happened that evening except shower, dinner, and jet lag interrupted sleep.

Following morning Saturday 2 June 2012 - Day no.1 of our C208 course
As a early bird (not angry) I woke up at five pm and went for swim in the pool that is primarily used for ditching training. Breakfast at six - corn flakes, chocko corn flakes or white bread with jam and coffee that tastes like, like, like - no it doesn't taste at all ;) I thing research needs to be done on this issue ;)
First class starts at 0800 with company tour and history. Than explanation of course structure, highlights and downfalls of working and living in different parts of Indonesia, what to do and what not to and mainly, introduction to study material.
During afternoon we had first Indonesian language lesson - this will be fun but good thing is that pronunciation of alphabet is same like in Czech language so one thing less to worry about ;)
Than it was time to sign our contracts, non competition agreements, training agreements and some more papers followed by chat with Irvino our head of HR about policies, HR procedures and other boring stuff that has to be done.
It was long day and because tomorrow is Sunday (our day off) we decided to finish the day with two beers on the beach;)
Sunday is day off but thee is a lot to study so good night!

Cheers FrankO

You have been selected...

...to train with SusiAir.
Was first line of email I have received 26/4 early morning.
I have to admit I did not know what to do or what to think at least in first few minutes.
Great news I was hoping to receive but when it actually attived it was shocking :)
As the day progressed I started realising how little time I have to prepare everything for my departure.
I hope I did.
Now I am together with my fellow students aviators in Singapore Airport terminal 1 awaiting our flight to Jakarata.
Tomorrow we have Indonesian medical class one check and day after 2/6 we start our Single Engine Turbine C208 endorsment course.
I will try to update this blog as often as possible and make it day by day diary from the five week course...

Cheers FrankO

SusiAir interview Day 3 - the interview...

Again, woke up bit earlier than others around half past five and jumped in to the swimming pool ;-) This contrast is actually amazing. Pangandaran can be considered quite poor community and most of the houses are very small, streets quite dirty and full of motorbikes but as you enter SusiAir compound it is like different world. Nicely maintained garden, well looked after swimming pool, two new built modern buildings, one for accommodation and second three storey office building, partly still under construction with new sim centre being prepared in the ground floor and reception. All training and most OPS and HR is based here…

New office building with sim hall on the right

My interview will start around 1030 so I have bit more time to refresh some figures from POH and rethink what questions I might have answered wrong in the knowledge test from day 1.
Today, the humidity is incredibly high and all windows of air-conditioned rooms are covered with condensation – I am starting to feel that this humidity and AC will result in to nasty sore throat (and it did)
1030 and I am walking with Filipus our coordinator in to the office building for my interview. Do not forget to take your shoes off in front of reception!
Few minutes of waiting and Filipus is coming to tell me that they are ready for me.
I am being interviewed by two people: Mr Wong and Mr HR whose name I did not catch. I did ask for it again but Mr Wong said that I can call him Mr HR so I did J
Mr Wong wants to know how I was treated in terms of accommodation, food, transport, what do I think about the facilities and how did I find all the tests. The fact is that I was impressed with everything from first minute so it was easy to answer.
After that we went through the general tell me something about yourself, background, professional history, hobbies, how did I start flying, travelling experiences, etc, etc – nothing different from any other interview.
Then I have been asked to identify five abbreviations written on the white board – I answered four and I said that I do not recall seeing one of them – later I found that I was moppet because it was MEA – Minimum En-route Altitude… after that I described Caravan in detail – I think I spent at least 20 minutes on PT6 itself and when I started with fuel system I have been stopped by Mr Wong J – this was actually good sign because the way he stopped me was something like “OK you have told us enough, lets change the topic” and he asked me about few limitations and speeds – I was not that confident with some of those so I had to say I do not know at some cases. From that I have been given scenario during the flight and I had to describe all actions I would take and with every answer there was challenging question – after we got aeroplane safely on the ground I have been asked what would I change if he would ask me same question – I have identified three main points and admitted that one of my actions was incorrect and for two situations I could do better. He agreed with me and I noted that we learn something new everyday, even on the interview – that made him smile ;-)
From here we changed topic on to moving and living in Indonesia, reasons why SusiAir is hiring ex-pats, culture differences and company philosophy.
On the end of interview I have been asked if I have some questions so I have asked about my mistakes in tests but this remained unanswered but I have been given recommendation on what else I should have focus during my studies – I am taking it as a positive sign ;-)
Last question I had was how many people are being, interviewed, when we will know the results and if successful, when we will start the training and so on.
We were first of six groups, each with six applicants for ten positions in total, but there are three candidates from previous selection process who were pretty good so they might be awarded three positions and allowance for our lot would drop down to seven.
…either way the chances of getting invitation for training are quite high – something between 18% - 26%
We shook hands, I thanked them for the opportunity to be there and their time and I walked out – tired but happy – happy because I was living the dream…

Now it was beach time, exploration time, boat trip time, food time and Bintang time J

btw: I have added some pictures for Day 1, and Day 2 posts.

SusiAir interview Day 2

Don't know if it was jet-lag or two Bintangs that woke me up after midnight but I did not fell asleep till 0400 so my six o'clock alarm was not very welcome. But what a luxury if you can jump in to swiming pool literally from your bedroom? (OK twenty meters walk...)
So I did and after few lengths had a shower and breakfast :)
Today we were split in to three groups and it was me and another guy from UK who went in to the simulator first. I went second and was surprised how laid back the instructor was. Ohhh don't worry about RT, ohhh don't worry about pressure, altitude, idents just show me you can fly the procedure.
So I gave it my best shot and after short practice I have flown one Haiti VOR hold with no wind and ended up with slight overshoot but corrected it well before half of the inbound and ended up 3:18 over the VOR station.
As I called beacon overhead, I have been informed that there is a wind of 10 kts from 140. This slight tailwind gave me the correction for my previous overshoot and I ended up 3:03 over the beacon. From there I was radar vectored to intercept localiser of 259 and Glide Slope at 1800. I played it safe at 1850 so my intercept was some 0.1 Nm earlier. Anyway I managed to keep both GS and LOC well within the limits and as I was calling 500 to go my sim has been frozen and I walked out with wide grin ;-)
From the sim straight on to COMPASS test but I do not have results as yet...
It contains slalom between flags using joystick, than VSI and ball that move on their own will and you have to cancel this movement by joystick and rudder pedals (they work in reverse), memory test, task manager test and math test.
After lunch I jumped on psychometric test that contains 225 questions. In fact it is about 30 - 40 statements and you have to choose 225 times one statement (from two) that describes you better - i have to admit, sometimes I had to select the one that is the least wrong:)

Last test of the day was English proficiency - I tried to slip through the net by waving my ICAO level six confirmation but English not being my native language there were no escape ;)
Again here I am, living the dream! :-)
Cheers FrankO

SusiAir interview Day 1

Yesterday was very eventful day! Wake up at 0400, catch taxi to Halim airport at 0500 and here we are in the departure hall bunch of guys from all around the world - actually six of us, all eager to get on board of Grand Caravan and get going with selection process.
Firstly we went through the security and check in desk where not just our bags have been weighted but we were as well :)
Few steps across the road and we are in Susi lounge where there are two sofas and few arm chairs just to fit ten passengers - enough to fill Caravan to its legal max.
Some ten minutes later minibus arrived and took us on to the apron - here they are, two Avantis P-180 and three C208 in Susi colours.

One of the C208 is ready for boarding and two guys with huge umbrellas are helping as much as they can. Bags are already in cargo pod and I managed to squeeze myself in to the front pax row so pictures and video will be available later when I get home...
Our flight to Nusiwiru (Pangandaran) is actually diversion of flight to Calicap but three pax going to Calicap doesn't seems to be very bothered...

C208 is climbing like a home-sick angel and in no time we are cruising at 9500ft and above most of the clouds. It does not take long time and terrain is raising and we are clearing number of peaks by no more than 2500 ft. Awesome I love it already!
Arriving to Nusiwiru, we can see hundreds of fisheries that were starting point for Susi to build here little empire...
Visual approach and landing on the hard runway was uneventful but amazing same time.

Before we could say bye to our crew and hi to ground personnel, everyone was gone and we found ourself alone on deserted airfield - sorry airport ;)
Anyway we made our way through the terminal building and meet our driver who took us to SusiAir compound at Pangandaran.
What we expected to be few minutes ride proved to be nearly hour long trip through number of villages - this is not possible to describe but I promise I will post the video later on...

Accomodation that has been prepared for us was much better than we could ever imagine (better than my $100 hotel in Jakarta) and after two hours of relax we have been split in to two groups and led by Filipus our coordinator, walked in to the exam room to started first test.
This was pretty basic CPL/IR and C208 knowledge base so it was quite annoying to find out that I have scored 83%
I still do not know what questions I got wrong but my final interview is tomorrow (today is day 2) so I guess I will have chance to ask...

By 1500 we were all ready to explore nearest area and targeted Bamboo cafe 'n bar on the beach as recommended ;)
After first Bintang we had to taste the waves ;) Black sand slopes very slowly in to the sea so it is great place for surfing and body boarding...
After second Bintang (no, there wasn't third one) we decided that we are hungry again and slowly walked back to SusiAir compound for dinner.
What a day!

First interview... :)

It has been nearly month since I updated this blog and it was very busy month. Mainly bmi where I work on IT project to implement new system for aircraft maintenance management kept me busy but there was two very good flying weekends and I managed to fly from Andrewsfield in UK to St. Piere D'oleron in France. Four hours and twenty-five minutes in the air in one go put my old Cherokee 140 in to its limit but she managed well and we landed with another hour worth of fuel in tanks.
BUT most importantly I have been invited for my first interview for flying job by SusiAir and right now I am on Etihad A340-600 from London Heathrow to Abu Dhabi

actually we are just about to start descent to Abu Dhabi and message from flight deck is saying nice weather and 27 degrees (0100 local)
With just under two hours stop in Abu Dhabi I'll be boarding B777-300ER to Jakarta. Plan is to meet with one of my SR Technics ex-colleagues who now works for airFast and spend one night in Jakarta before jumping on SusiAir's C208 to Pangandaran for three day selection process.

It all happened very quickly - I have passed my IR first week 2012, applied to SusiAir mid January and some two weeks later receive request for additional information. Week or two later and I have been offered three different dates to choose from and obviously I have snapped the first one possible.

Light on the end of tunel

This post should actually read "...from deepest darknes you can see every tiny spark of light..."

Last weekend I finally managed to bring free time, available Cherokee and gorgeous weather over snowy England together and took of from Andrewsfield for flight to Beccles. I think I have mentioned Beccles in my previous post - another small airfield in Suffolk just a few miles off the coast with tiny but cosy club house and Sky Diving outfit who operates C208.

And those guys were my real reason for this little trip. I was hoping to leave my CV with them and ask for job as a jump pilot - how naive I was...
Well I did not expect them to be overwhelmed with my CV or visit but my reasoning behind this was if I don't try I won't get - right? The wake up call came in form and shape of incredible rudeness of chief pilot who did not even turned my way when I asked him about possibility to leave my CV with him and get my hands on their Caravan.
OK his minimum requirement for this job is much more that I can offer, 500TT and at least 250 on turbine but he was not able nor willing to answer simple request for advice if he has any idea where to get this kind of experience.
I have smiled and with "thank you and have a nice day" closed the doors.
Later the day friend asked me if I would want to work for guy like this                     - Sure I would! It's on Caravan!

I have tried and for now that's all I can do but most importantly I have enjoyed whole day and flight.
The views were spectacular - for once you don't get much snow in UK and after landing at Beccles, this beauty was parked in front of the club house.

1951 Cessna C-195A 

Flight home was un eventful and we all enjoyed views form five thousand feet and landing on snow covered runway 09L at Andrewsfield.

Experience of the day left me bit surprised that night but the day was great and as tittle of this post outlines, something positive was on its way.

Later that night, actually at two o'clock in the morning, an email arrived on my phone and woke me up.

Normally I don't bother to read my e-mails during the night and have it silenced but I did this time and it was from before mentioned SusiAir in Indonesia :-)

Dear Mr. Osmyk, Thank you for your interest in joining SusiAir... 

Very thorough e-mail requesting a general information form to be filed and explaining four stages interview and other information about working for SusiAir shall I be successful on first screening based on the information in this form. 

Do I need to mention that I was and still am all over the moon? Form is under the final revision at the moment and will be going to SusiAir later today or tomorrow. Exciting times! :-)

Cheers FrankO

MURPHY ELITE on UK register

Yesterday was very eventfull day! Wake up at 0400, catch taxi to Halim airport at 0500 and here we are in the departure hall bunch of guys from all around the world - actually six of us, all eager to get on board of Grand Caravan and get going with selection process.
Firstly we went through the security and check in desk where not just our bags have been weighted but we were as well :)
Few steps accross the road and we are in Susi lounge where there are two sofas and few arm chairs just to fit ten passangers - enough to fill Caravan to its legal max.
Some ten minutes later minibus arrived and took us on to the apron - here they are, two Avantis P-180 and three C208 in Susi colours. One of the C208 is ready for boarding and two guys with huge umbrellas are helping as much as they can. Bags are already in cargo pod and I manged to squeeze myself in to the front pax row so pictures and video will be available later when I get home...
Our flight to Nusiwiru (Pangandaran) is actually diversion of flight to Calicap but three pax going to Calicap doesn't seems to be very bothered...
C208 is climbing like a home-sick angel and in no time we are cruising at 9500ft above most of the clouds. It does not take long time and terrain is raising and we are clearing number of peaks by no more than 2500 ft. Awesome I love it already!
Arriving to Nusiwiru, we can see hundreds of fisheries that were starting point for Susi to build here little empire...
Visual approach and landing on the hard runway was uneventful but amazing same time.
Before we could say bye to our crew and hi to ground personel, everyone was gone and we found ourself alone on deserted airfield - sorry airport ;)
Anyway we made our way through the terminal building and meet our driver who took us to SusiAir compound at Pangandaran.
What we expected to be few minutes ride proved to be nearly hour long trip through number of vilages - this is not possible to describe but I promise I will post the video later on...
Accomodation that has been prepared for us was much better than we could ever imagine (better than my $100 hotel in Jakarta) and after two hours of relax we have been split in to two groups and led by Filipus our coordinator, walked in to the exam room to started first test.
This was pretty basic CPL/IR and C208 knowledge base so it was quite anoying to find out that I have scored 83%
I still do not know what questions I got wrong but my final interview is tomorrow (today is day 2) so I guess I will have chance to ask...
By 1500 we were all ready to explore nearest area and targted Bamboo cafe 'n bar on the beach as recomended ;)
After first Bintang we had to taste the waves ;) Black sand slopes very slowly in to the sea so it is great place for surfing and body boarding...
After second Bintang (no, there wasn't third one) we decided that we are hungry again and slowly walked back to SusiAir compound for dinner.
What a day!

Targeting right companies...

My job hunt is not full time job yet, but it is in a full swing.
I spend on it two hours every morning and something about three to four hours every afternoon plus some time during the weekends, especially now when there is weather that keeps me grounded.
Most of the time goes in to search for companies where I can send my CV and than bit of research on each operator before I send the CV.
As I made it clear in my head that flying big shiny jets is not what I am primarily after, I am searching for operators with C208/206 or similar size utility planes in their fleet across the globe.
This is where websites like pilotcareersusa, bestaviation and similar comes handy but even those do not list every single operator, especially in Africa or Asia.
So where else to look? (any suggestions?)
I have tried to look at travel agencies that offer safari trips as they do have connections to bush flying operators but so far this appears as a dead end.
So far, I have sent twelve tailored applications to C208 operators in Africa and this weekend I will be focusing on Asia market. To date I have one answer explaining that local citizens takes priority over foreigners and two confirmations stating that they will keep my CV for six months and if the need will arise they will be in touch.
First company in Asia I have already approached is SusiAir in Indonesia. This was my very first application after completing IR and company I hold biggest hopes for first job right there but only future will show :-)
Aside of job hunt I am looking at broadening my flying experience on types I would like to fly whilst still in UK so plan is to get in touch with some skydiving clubs.
There are few companies who offer jump pilot course approved by British Skydiving Association but most of the established skydiving companies do it in house anyway.
I have now printed number of copies of my generic pilot CV stick it in to envelope together with my business card and decided to fly my Cherokee to the airfields where these guys operate from and hand it by hand.
You cant beat face to face communication...

Again - will see if this works as there are dozens of "hot shots" like me who are trying to break in and get first flying job, build hours for free or just enjoy landing with less passengers that on take off :)
Weekend is promising more snow so Andrewsfield will possibly remain closed but I guess this is part of the game...

Flyers day in non flying weather - from UK with love...

I'm wondering what other pilots do in weather that forces us to stay on terra firma.
Obviously I am job hunting but also I read and I read everything if it mentions wings, propeller or flying.
I was hoping to fly to Beccles today, small airfield in Suffolk to hand my CV to local skydiving club but instead I am in caffe nero watching low cloud and reading my two newist addition in to my library.
First one is Cessna Caravan POH i have dovnloaded from http://www.smartcockpit.com/ (very useful site btw)
and book that just landed on my dorstep together with latest issue of Pilot magazine.
I have read few pages and love it - it is quite easy reading but gives good insight in to technical aspects of flying Caravan as wel as its constructions.

Cheers FrankO

CVs, Cover Letters, Applications and Dreams

All good stuff!
Yesterday night I have written, tuned, fine-tuned and three hundred times prove read my first cover letter that went out together with my CV to first potential employer and today during lunchtime I have found out that Cathay Pacific is accepting applications in to their Cadet Program. So as soon as I got home, filling of seven or eight stage form on their website started. Two hours and box of ice cream later - everything done, checked, rechecked and submitted.
Obviously I have not received any answer yet but I am very positive about this dream job hunt! Just for fact that there are companies willing to take people with limited flying experience like me! ;)

Talking about dreaming and dream job - long before I have started this blog and job hunt I was asking myself - what would be my dream flying job? I mean dream job of dream jobs?

In fact it did not take me long to come up with answer

Idea of flying DHC-6 Twinotter for BAS brings endless smile on my face.

as well as C208 Caravan

or PC-6

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, I love flying and it does not matter if it is flying tatty 1966 Cherokee from left hand seat or being pax on brand new A380 to Dubai, I enjoy every second of it.

Today I am working in IT and I am lucky to work from bmi hangar at East Midlands but I know that in near future I will reach my dream.

btw: there is one particular item that all three "dreamplanes" share...

Life after training

First two CVs are out in the wild world. One through excolleague to Asia and this one is not expected to bring job but to create two more contacts that can lead to one. The other CV by hand of good friend from flying club will not have to travel so far and will stay in UK.
Again chances of bringing me a job are small but it might bring occasional RHS experience in single crew operated King Air and experience is what counts, especially riding two PT6 turbines
Now I might be in my "aviators puberty" but PT6 is important experience to me. I love flying, and I mean any kind of flying, but if there is one type of flying I would pick as a number one it would be flying Twin Otter or Caravan from and to remote strips around the globe. And PT6 is what powers these cool machines, so another experience that might help. And if not at least I know I will enjoy it more than anything else.

Plan for this weekend was to deliver another CV by hand to place with potential riding PT6 but freezing fog over Stansted made it impossible. On the plus side these guys are flying VFR only so they were not there today anyway so lets hope for better weather next weekend :) so spare time should help to fine tune my CV and to start thinking about different types of motivation letters before I'll start emailing my CV out to potential employers.

Pilot shortage, airlines, and unemployed pilots...

This was one and only thing that always annoyed me when reading pprune. Everyone was moaning that there are no jobs and only people who will get one are either experienced FOs or P2F guys who were lucky enough to get on to LH seat of Ryanair, Easyjet or similar gigs one or two years ago.
Hang on there is a word outside of UK and outside of Europe!

Well, this is the attitude I am starting my job search :)
So I need decent CV, box of email addresses where to send it, two boxes of contacts in aviation industry to put my CV on right desk at right time, few miracles and loads of time.
CV is bit of moving beast but quick search on internet gives me an idea how pilots CV should look like.
"Scalpel please" and my well looked after professional CV is torn apart and than stitched again with some numbers from LogTen Pro.
Now this is the first time I am using my contact list - working in bmi airline proves to be useful and few fellow pilots are being "tasked" to review and comment on my first CV draft.

Did you know there are 87 AOC holders including 19 big boys in UK only (and excluding choppers)
Well it is true and whole list including contacts is now in my dropbox ready to go.
Bestaviatin.net, pilotcareersusa.com, flightwork.com and other similar websites proves to be good source of information about opportunities away from home as well as before mentioned pprune if you can read between the lines :)
So my list of operators is growing but who else can help?

One good thing on company going bust or closing down is that your colleagues and friends start looking for new job all around the world in same type of industry you worked together - well, most of them.
So LinkedIn comes handy as well and I am exploring different paths for my CV to get on different desks in different companies.
Some of them are dead ends but some of them provides me with hope at least.

Now the miracles - well I don't believe in miracles so I'll succeed or die trying!

Who, Where, What, Why...

OKi, FrankO-in-the-sky blog should really be named FrankO-will-be-in-the-sky because I am just newly qualified CPL/MEP/IR pilot with just over three hundred hours in my log book starting my search for first flying job.

Anyway, I have Who I am? Well, everyone knows me as Frank, guy from Czech Republic, who came to UK in summer 2004 for six days holiday and for some unknown reason did not return home.

The fact is, I always liked aeroplanes, airports, and the buzz around small club airfields, but it took some twenty years of my life before I launched in to air for the first time under the fabric canopy of paraglider.
Than this un explained move to UK happened and I have landed my first job in aviation working for FLS Aerospace aircraft maintenance facility at Stansted Airport (later bought by SR Technics)

As it happens when you working in environment like this, you will meet people whit same bug in the blood like you have and it did not take long before I was on my first trip to Andrewsfield (EGSL)to find out what is involved to convert from paraglider on to mighty C152. 15 February 2009, 485 days after first flying lesson with instructor Paul Slater I have passed my PPL in G-BNID

Three more flights in C152 and than I have joined G-ATTV PA28 Cherokee 140 group at Andrewsfield allowing me to explore beauty of Essex flatlands and land at strips across east England, from my favourite Waybourne airstrip to Lands End in Cornwall. As much as I enjoyed toddling around England and north France, I also enjoyed updating my logbook and watching total hours to approach magical 150 hours allowing me to start my CPL.

Partially expected but still surprise was closure of SR Technics UK announced on beginning of January 2009 and it push me to start my ATPLs.

I have joined CATS Luton in February 2010 and started my CPL practical training in July same year.

Small "cash recovery" training break (not flying break) between September 2010 till spring 2011 (understand working for bmi airline at East Midlands Airport in IT) allowed me to wizz through MEP rating course on DA42 Twinstar and jump on to IR training that finally finished 8 January 2012.

So, here I am on beginning of new year 2012, flying Cherokee for fun and Twinstar to keep my IR up to scratch with determination to break in and get my first flying job.