Safety Course & Cygnets
I was rostered to go on a safety course this week. This is a refresher course that’s done once a year and it was similar to the initial one that I did just before my type rating commenced. The day involves various presentations on security, safety and CRM topics. We also had to hand in a SEP (security & emergency procedures) questionnaire that was done in are own time, which tested and refreshed are knowledge on topics such as what to do in the case of a rejected take off. We worked in groups with cabin crew – they explained and demonstrated the use of various safety equipment in the cabin and where they are located, whilst we did the same for the equipment in the flight deck. An aircraft visit allowed us to practice opening & closing the over-wing emergency exits, arming/disarming aircraft slides and opening/closing the doors and having a good wander around to familiarise ourselves with the location of the safety & emergency equipment. The day was quite long and tiring, exacerbated by slot times delaying some incoming crew and finding a spare aircraft to have a nose around in! I had a day to rest between the safety course and my flying duties, so it wasn’t any bother.
Another shot of the Alps - I never get tired at marvelling at such a wonderful sight.
I flew to Rome Ciampino, Nimes, Carcassone and Seville. Some of the flights were delayed resulting from slot times due to a go-slow by French/Spanish controllers. Nonetheless, we managed to arrive on time at our destinations thanks to favourable winds or accommodating controllers along the route. Flying to Nimes & Carcassonne was a long 4 sector day, and the approach to Carcassonne involved a circle-to-land on RW28 which is only around 1900m in length and has a 4 degree glide path. On my birthday, I flew to Seville, which was a real treat, as it’s an area where I did my ATPL training. Whilst we were there, we saw a couple of Seneca aircraft practicing their circuits and I recognised the callsign of one of my instructors. I’ve flown to Seville twice before – once on the jumpseat and once as pilot monitoring, and this was the first time as pilot flying. The last time I came into land on RW27 was in a Seneca, so I felt quite nostalgic again as we were coming in to land!
A line of textbook CBs!
