Backstretch

Allllrighty! Sorry for the pause in posts, but quite honestly there hasn't been that much to update on. The theory parts have been moving forwards as one might expect. This Wednesday I'll be doing a bunch of three exams and after that I have two weeks to acquaint myself with the last two subjects on my syllabus, before moving to the exams for the Finnish Aviation Authority, Trafi.

In all honesty, I'm nervous as heck. I have four weeks until I have to take my first bunch of Trafi exams, and there's about cubic ton of stuff to imprint into my head before that. I'm taking a gambit of sorts in the fact that I'm actually planning on attempting WAY more than normally would be undertaken in one go, but as my favorite badasses on this planet are known to say - Who Dares Wins.
What is way more than normally? Well that's a somewhat heavy seven subjects on one go. For me, that is a whopping amount, and might even be too many to be honest, but then again... High risk high reward.

Snow settled for a week or so. Winter is fast approaching.

One might say that if this is a racetrack that I'm currently running, this would be the backstretch. I can already see the homestretch, but then again, I know that the hardest part is ahead of me. This will be what really will see if I have what it takes.

As I said, I'm really nervous at the moment. I won't lie to you about this. I'm hitting those low notes every now and again. I'm questioning myself, if I'm really up to the challenge. But in the end, there isn't space or time for those thoughts if I want to graduate and I do. What ever your aspiring to become, I'm sure most of you will face those same moments of doubt. But you must not give up. You either suck it up and push on or you find something else. I recommend you finish what you start.

Now that that's said, a few other things.

I've noticed that as of this year the aspiring pilots here in Finland have finally woken up and started to apply for the training to get "the office job with the best view." Several people I know who've never spoken about such dreams have suddenly applied to flight schools. I know that most of them will not get in but still, it's awesome that they are at least going for their dreams.

Also on a personal note. I'll be going without a car for the rest of my school. We'll see how that works out.

No news is good news

Or at least that's the saying. I didn't update anything from last week as honestly I have to say, nothing noteworthy happened since last time.

The re-examination went well and I passed it so that gets me to 3 down 10 to go for the school exams. Last weeks lessons went as expected except for the Flight planning (FPL) lessons which were moved forward two weeks due to an illness in the teachers family.

This week we're getting instrumentation lessons done and next week is reserved for FPL. Hoping that I can go and get some of the Trafi (the Finnish National Aviation Authority) exams done withing the next month or so. I've planned on getting them done in groups of four. I have a period of four weeks preparation coming up so during that I MIGHT be able prepare well enough and get the first set done if all goes well.

My study station at Tampere.

To anyone studying anything; Remember to get some rest and put your feet up every now and again. It's super important. Otherwise you'll just burn yourself out. So I had a weekend off and I have to tell you it felt pretty good. I did study a bit, but I also got some R&R done.


At the end of the weekend, some five hours before heading back to Tampere, I was helping my father with some girders in preparation of getting the sailing boat up for the winter. So of course I dropped one of the girders onto my fingers and now I have busted index finger on my left hand.

Oh yeah! One more thing. The week before I had a little hassle with me forgetting the keys to my accommodation at the school. The problem was, I didn't notice this until ten in the evening. I was certain I was screwed. I sent a very polite message to my landlord and was certain I'd get an answer the next morning. Lo my landlord called me 8 minutes later, asked me where I was, picked me up with his car, gave me a ride to and let me in to my accommodation. A huge thanks to him for this!

We'll see how things go during the next days.

Library as a second home

These are some really long days I tell you. Closer to 10 hours a day spent at the local library are starting to feel a little bit like living here. I'm not sure if it's a good thing or not, but the people at place where I get my coffee remembers my order by heart and the people in the library recognize me and bid me good morning and night as I come and go. But no surprise there I suppose.

The studying itself  is going pretty well. It's a really intense pace, but that was what I asked for. That's what I get. Time to walk the walk.

Enjoying the weather on the way back

Speaking of walking, I've tried to maintain a steady pace of physical exercise on the side. Yeah, I walk to the library and back, but I've tried to go running 3-4 times a week. I'd usually supplement this with some strength exercises at a gym, but as this would increase the "risk" of gaining weight in the form of muscles, I'm trying to hold back on that urge and concentrate on fat burn for now. Why would you do such a silly thing you ask? The aero-medical doctor examining me last time is actually one of the doctors making the company medical evaluations for one of the major companies, and he said that the company in question is somewhat obsessed with the body mass index(BMI). As that is one of the companies I'll be applying for, I figured it's better safe than sorry. I'm not the lightest framed person around, so I'll just stick to running for now. Alternating intervals and easy paced runs for the win. Besides, I'll need to learn to like running again as it's still one of the most effective ways of exercising both your respiratory- and your vascular systems.

And yeah, the sailing competition last weekend went pretty well. We had a really fun crew and a lot of fun both ways. We did not win, nor did we end up last, but we achieved a good first time run with this crew.

Next week I'll head over to the school a little early in order to take one exam and prepare for next week.

First set of exams

To keep it honest...

That felt like hitting a brick wall, but in spite of that feeling, it's a big step into the right direction as I managed to finish up the first of four E-learning modules. The exams on the subjects... Well I just wish I'd had time to study for them but as I finished the module at 23.40 the night before the exams, I admit that I did not prepare for the exams basically at all. I will not come up with any flimsy excuses. I should just have found the time to study and prepare better, but I didn't. So it's no surprise that I failed on one of them. Two out of the three I passed but on one, Principles of Flight to be exact, I just didn't focus hard enough. The passing bar is 75%. That's all it took.

But no reason for me to get depressed. I'll just study a little extra next week and ace the re-exam. No other option.

This weekend I'm going to spend away from the studies in order to be fully focused come Monday. I'll be taking part to the Helsinki - Tallinn sailing competition with a few friends. Honestly, there are some VERY tough opponents against us, but we'll give it our best and hopefully have some fun in the process.

First week of lessons a.k.a. Back to the bench

So, last week was the first one with me sitting back in a classroom. Not an easy drop in the sense that it HAS been a while since I last spent time absorbing information in that form, but I did manage to sponge up most of what was said.

The e-learning material I got is somewhat intense and I've got to say that absorbing all of it in a weeks time was a plunge directly into the deep end and I've got a LOT of work to do before Thursdays exams on all three subjects. Those subjects are Principles of Flight (POF), Aircraft General Knowledge (AGK) and Mass and Balance (M&B). Not the lightest subjects I tell you.

I have to admit that I've thought of all this before and still it feels a little absurd. It's great that we are to be generalists in all subjects touching on aviation. Then again we are supposed to be specialists in the specific skill of flying an aircraft and bringing it safely to the ground (hopefully at the destination) no matter the circumstances. That being said, I still do think that in some subjects we are dwelling a little too deeply into the rabbit hole. It's great that I get to know exactly how each type of an electric generator works and how to calculate the resistance in each system, but I'm not 100% certain that this knowledge will be practically used while flying an aircraft. Knock on wood, but if I ever find myself in an aircraft that will fall to the earth if I can't figure out the exact resistance in the lavatory's lighting system, I will be the first to admit that I was dead wrong. Stay in school kids! Better safe than sorry.
And I'm sure that someone much wiser and more experienced is the one who set the standard, so better just to suck it up and get on with it!

This one is a little shorter (and no pictures of the school still, sorry kids!) but I promise at the end of this week, I'll have some proper pictures from the school itself.

The three plane types currently in use at the school. From left to right:
Tecnam P 2002 JF (still in use for basic training)
Diamond DA40 (the new workhorse for basic training)
Diamond DA42 (the MEP-training plane)

First week down

So, the first week of study is done and it's time for some reflection.

The week didn't start off too well. First thing on Monday, I came down with a fever and a really bothersome cough. Nevertheless, I was off to the library each morning and studied late into the evening.

Days started nicely at around eight with me getting a big cup of coffee, then straight to the library where I set myself up at one of the tables.

My setup at the library. The only thing missing are my headphones - for I'm the type who listens to music while studying.

The local mall is adjacent to the library so I have a perfect place where to spend my self-appointed lunch hour as I don't have to eat the same food every day. Pretty convenient I'd say. So some practicalities are neatly taken care off. So every day between noon and one pm. I pack my things and take a stroll down to the food court of the mall. The break serves nicely both to fill my stomach as well as to give my mind a breather from the studies.

So after lunch I head back to the library with another cup of coffee for round two of the each day. As a side note, yes, it's true. We Finns sure do love our coffee.

All of that racks up nicely to a good 8-10 hours of study a day. Could be quite the lot worse., but I really need to start pushing the intensity of the time to the max.

So, with that in mind, it's time for me to head to next week with fresh mind and fresh thoughts. Next week will be spent at the new flat and at school. So the promised pictures should be on their way.

'Till then!

Industrial Romanticism

I know, I'm taking a bit of a head start, but I just felt I needed to write something down as today marked the day I signed the papers for the studies and for my new flat.

On my way to Tampere to sign the papers

The building with my room

Well... About the "flat" I need to elaborate a little. It's a single. Just one small room with a bed and a desk. I'll get here a picture of my "workstation" once I've set it up in the coming weeks, but I think I'll set up my Flight Simulator gear there to get myself some "productive" past time activity to work on in the evenings. Now the location of the flat is somewhat remote to say the least. 

The view from the room

The view from my window (pictured on the right) is what I branded "a prime example of industrial romanticism" as it offers an excellent view to the rail yard. Downsides of course being that I won't be enjoying a view and there might be some sounds of trains passing by. On the upside, I will not likely be tempted by the nightlife of Tampere, which I hear is pretty great by what I hear.

Now, to the main thing. Once again, no pictures were taken, and I now realize I should've, but I visited the school in it's new premises. As I had signed the papers, I got a tour around the building and I've got to say, the new premises are amazing in comparison to the old, which weren't too bad either. They now have two DA42 simulators (FBS) and will be getting the new Airbus 320 FBS at the school next month. If I'm lucky, that'll be what I'm doing my MCC (Multi Crew Cockpit) course flight training on. REALLY looking forwards to that. But that time will be sometime next January or February.

A320 FBS system also to be set up at the school. LOOK AT ALL THEM SWITCHES!
(Picture from the site of the manufacturer)

I'll be receiving my online study material tomorrow and will probably start on it all already tomorrow. Motivation is pretty darned high at the moment and I'm really much looking forward to getting back in the saddle. It's been way too long and finally getting to study full time again is a blast.

PS. I'm starting to stack up quite the list of things I need to take pictures of and post... The study schedule, the workstation, the school... Well. I'll get me paparazzi on soon enough. Promise.

Getting back into the saddle - A.K.A. Blogger attempt numéro deux

So yeah... That happened. The old blog that I started pretty much died.

Life, as it has a weird tendency to do, came into the way of, well, everything.

I won't go too much into detail, but the gist of it is as follows.
Life, blah blah blah, no money, blah blah, work, no time for studies because of work, blah blah, alternative work, blah blah, making arrangements for continuing and finishing up studies, blah blah blah, success.

Now, when I say success, I mean, I got the preparations done for me to continue, and truly finish, my studies and achieve the dream of an ATPL.

"So what's going on now?" you ask.

Exactly one week from now, I will be free from my current job and will return to studies full time. As my school had to move due to some shady local politics here in the Greater Helsinki Area(GHA), the studies will continue at Tampere-Pirkkala Airport, where the school has new and shiny premises as well as a few new aircraft. This off course called for me to make living arrangements in the city of Tampere, and luckily enough, I found a place the very same day I started looking for it.

So what does full time studying exactly mean in this case. Well, as the studies will be done in periods of two weeks in classroom and two(-ish) weeks away, I'll be spending some of the time back home in GHA(in my mind pronounced like a feral language or an orc for those fantasy literature fans out there might find familiar; "GHAAAAAAA!!").

I've created myself a quite strict timetable for the independent studies done here in GHA, to make sure that as little slacking as possible would occur. Basically, my days will be full workdays from 07:00 to 17:00 Monday through Friday. Weekends I've left for R&R (Rest and Recuperation) as any mind will need some time off as well. Also I've made physical exercise an integral part of my timetables in order to make sure that I don't fall out of shape, I stay in shape and that my mind stays focused. I'll be posting an example of my typical GRA weeks timetable here when I have time.

As for posting schedule, I'll try to update weekly, or if something of note happens. At least so until graduation. Then, at some point I might start updating on my search for a job, and hopefully at some point, the training at the company it self.

Wish me luck.

PS. I've hidden all the old postings as they would most likely just confuse anyone reading. Sorry peeps.

PPS. This blog is now more of a tool for myself to see how well I stick to my schedule, more than for anyone else. If you have any questions though, please do not hesitate to ask in the comments. I'll answer to the best of knowledge.