A Common Pilot Scenario -

The Six-Monthly Sim Struggle

 

You know what it’s like, you’ve got your 6-monthly test sims coming up. You’ve spent hours and hours reading through the same documents, you’ve tried armchair flying but find it hard to get in the flow. You spend a day or two snapping at the kids and/or partner because you’ve got a lot on your mind. You’ve cut down on your exercise recently to try to focus on revision because you seem to have less and less time to study, but that niggle in your lower back seems to be returning. Your 5K run time has got worse and it’s getting frustrating… got to get back on it next week. You put down the Ipad and decide you’ve done all you can and try to get to sleep. It’s a pretty broken 6 hours and maybe you’ve got to travel for the sim so have to be awake early, you’re feeling groggy.

 

You turn up at the sim and the Examiner is making friendly small talk but you’re either trying to tell him about a discrepancy you spotted in the Ops Manual (hoping it’ll make him think you must have put the work in), or you’re trying to highlight your experience on a previous type. He gives a formal brief and whilst talking about emergency situations he wryly comments “you’ve probably already got the gen on this profile from the previous guys, right?”. Bugger – now you feel like you won’t have the excuse of it being a surprise from a never-practised failure.

 

You’re in the box and you’re rushing so have somehow you’ve forgotten a few really basic items. Thankfully the other pilot picks them up but you wonder how that happened, you’ve been doing this for years, is it because you’re being watched? The Examiner seems like a really nice bloke…but it feels like you’re hitting mental blocks.

The Rejected Take-Off comes and the startle hits you hard. You rush through the Immediate Actions and it stops the jet safely, then it all goes quiet, you’re just looking at the other pilot hoping the ‘answer’ will come to you. He states the emergency but you didn’t take in a word of it so you’re scanning the screens. You’re breathing hard and the brain fog has set in. You want to be better than this, you are better than this!

 

If you’re familiar with some or even all of this scenario then you are probably a lot like me when I kept using the same old learning and revision techniques and expected different (better!) results. If you want a transformation in your life that will last for your whole career, then get in touch and see what Resilient Aviator breathwork can do for you.