The Next Big Challenge

You've heard of COVID-19. Yeah that thing that completely fucked 2020 for everyone apart from politicians, bankers and people who owned shares in ZOOM. Most of you will be sat at home wondering when you'll be able to apply for a flying job again. Some of you who are still lucky enough to be working will be wondering when you will see that next flight on your roster. But when it appears, you will like me wonder if you'll still be able to operate properly.

Speaking from experience as the world's okayest first officer, here's how I have generally found my flying abilities summed up as the hours have accumulated:

• Fresh out of line training - I literally had no clue what I was doing, but my SOP knowledge was quite good.
• 500 hours - getting slightly less shit, but my SOP knowledge was getting worse.
• 1000 to 1500 hours - all of a sudden I think I'm the shit, my arrogance is increasing and I feel like I've got the situation awareness of Captain Sully Sullenberger.
• 2000+ hours - okay, maybe I should start reading.
• 3000+ hours - I forgot what I read at 2000 hours.

The experience we build in this job is relative - if Dave works out of one of the Canary Islands and spends 3000-4000 hours doing 2 sector days with no winter operations, he'll probably still have a full set of hair and maintain his youthful looks, however he will have probably never done a go-around or even seen temperatures below ISA. Now take Rob who is based out of Stansted, he'll have 4 sectors every day flying to different airports with a range of different weather, terrain and ATC related challenges. It's safe to assume then that Rob will probably be bald due to stress, but he'll be better prepared for unexpected situations.

For those of us that are clinging onto our jobs by a pubic hair, lack of currency is one of the biggest challenges that we face. Imagine not going flying for two months, getting into an aircraft that potentially hasn't been flown in a couple of weeks, then being given a long 4 sector monster day in shit weather conditions.

One of the CAA license restrictions are that we have to have done 3 take offs or landings in a real plane or full flight simulator in order to be current, otherwise you'll need to be put through some recurrent training. Personally, I think the 3 take-offs and landings aren't enough. In short haul operations, you've got to manage all the operational shit that comes with the turnaround, winter operations, and general declarations, plus the potential threat of one of your passengers having COVID 19 symptoms. Then there are also the threat of malfunctions, these planes don't like being sat on the ground. There are a lot of people that have ended up having fuel leaks and blocked pitots over the past few months. Imagine your first flight back after a month, and also probably having only flown the best part of 20 hours for the preceding 8 months, embarking on an arse gaping Genoa and Malpensa with thunderstorms, then you have an airspeed unreliable. Oh, and because your pay is pro-rated, you'll receive around £3 for the month (thank fuck for the furlough scheme)

So it's even more important than ever to somehow keep a level of proficiency. It could be argued that you'd be more paranoid, so you'll be more likely to catch something. I know that on the last few times I've flown, I'd constantly be asking myself on the taxi out "did we do everything?". But as much as we'd like to deny it, we are losing our skill. Let's not even mention our hand flying abilities too as automation has been ruining that for a while already. One of the things that makes anyone good at something is continuity. Of course this is hardly the airline's fault, most of them are doing what they can to keep their pilots proficient. Some roster additional simulator training, and some just ensure that you fly with an LTC. Is this enough though?

I found that after around the 3000 hour mark, your hand flying and automation skills (yes there is such thing) reach a point where you don't really need to think about what you're doing. This is when you learn motor-skills memory. It's like riding a bike, you never forget it. But the question is, can you get worse at it over time? the answer is yes. Your brain is made out of a load of shit that needs to be worked, it's like a muscle itself. Video games are a good example of this, if you pick one up and get hooked, you get pretty good. But once you put it down and try playing again after a few weeks, it takes you a while to get up to speed. You might think that it's fine and you'll just pick it up as you go along, or that the Captain will know what they're doing. Not really sunshine. The Captains are people that are susceptible to the same degrading skills as you are. 

And also, it really isn't just about the flying itself. Factor in the environment, air traffic, ground operations, the lot. Those are the things that start to reduce as they are never the same. Anyone can push TOGA, pull back on the control column and just follow the flight directors. It's the management of the flight itself that starts to take it's toll, that's why Captains SHOULD be paid a fuck load of money.

The reduction in proficiency is further compounded by the personal issues outside of flying too. Loads of us are having to get second jobs to fill the loss of income. Add to that the stress of trying to workout on excel how you're going to make ends meet with the severely reduced income. The industry really does have a huge challenge on its hands to ensure that we're ready to go when we're needed, and it's not quite as easy as jumping into the flight deck and just cracking on.

So if any DFO reads this, here are some of my suggestions to crews who are flying with massively reduced hours:

• No 4 sector days - I mean, the fact that these days still get planned is just fucking absurd. There are some bases in some airlines that are well overcrewed. Split that day up and give it to two different crews. Doesn't cost the airline any more to do it and you ensure that everyone gets a bit of work and you've now got 2 crews that are current instead of one.
• Departures no earlier than 08:00 local - how can you expect someone who hasn't woke up at 3am or 4am in over a month to suddenly do it and then operate at full capacity? I think it's actually dangerous and I'm hugely shocked that FTL allows for that to happen anyway.
• Regular simulator training - well you might as well make use of them. I know some pilots have been put on unpaid leave for months, I think Emirates have given their remaining A380 pilots a year of unpaid leave. One day you'll need them back, so if you keep them in the sim they won't find it so difficult to adjust to getting back into work when the time comes again.
• Keep the LTCs are current as possible - yes they'll end up earning more money and damn right they should. I'm going to be needing them to hold my dick through the day when I finally get back to it.
• Counselling - we've seen the memos and virtual conferences where our beloved managers talk about how tough it is, but there's no fucking solution to people who are out there figuring out how to get their houses in order. How the fuck can you operate a commercial aircraft if you don't even know if you'll be able to pay the rent or mortgage? Some sort of counselling service and financial support for those in dire need is essential, and if your airline doesn't offer it, then talk to someone or approach your union. For example, BALPA have a benevolent fund to try and help those who are worst affected by this crisis. If your union doesn't offer it, then try and ask for help amongst the community. 

It's a tough situation to deal with for any airline, however some of these steps are easily doable to ensure that pilots can operate safely on the odd occasion they get a flight. Ultimately, we've also got to lay off the porn at some point and get our heads into the books to ensure we don't completely fuck up and plough ourselves into a mountain. It's not easy, especially given the personal problems that a lot of us are facing, so we need to be honest with ourselves and try to put the work in when we can. 

More importantly, the airlines need to also take some responsibility and be fully aware of the personal problems that their workforce are facing. We're still in the thick of this crisis and this is a time when they need to open dialogue with their flight crew to see whether they are mentally fit to fly, and not just whether or not they are current on paper.