As I mentioned last week, I’m training to fly a new plane here at work, the Embraer 170/175. I’ll still be a first officer (copilot), and my pay will be the same, but there are a lot more 170s in Indy (my base) than 145s (my old plane), so my seniority will hopefully allow me to have better schedules, meaning more productive trips (less sitting around), more days off, and later starts and earlier finishes to my trips.
My other reason for switching to the 170 is that they are slowly phasing out the 145, and there is a chance that whenever I do upgrade to captain, it will be to the 170. If that happens, I wanted to have some experience on the plane, flying with other captains.
One of our Embraer 170s in United Express colors
Training is a long ordeal. It started on March 30th, and I’m not finished yet. Because I’m technically switching airlines (different airlines in the eyes of the FAA, but owned by the same company), I have to do the full training regime as if I were a new hire. This first part involves about two weeks in a classroom learning the different regulations and procedures of the airline. This training was done in Indy, which was nice because I just drove back and forth between class and home today.
The next three weeks involve classroom training on the Embraer 170. This was done in St. Louis at FlightSafety International. We learn about the various systems on the airplane, how they are supposed to work, and what happens in case they do not work. Towards the end of this, we spend a couple of days in front of “graphic flight simulator.” It’s basically an expensive mock-up of the plane’s cockpit using an elaborate (and cool-looking) setup of touch screens. We get to play with the various switches and knobs and see what happens, and practice programming the FMS (flight management system), basically the navigation computer on the plane.
The next two weeks are also at FlightSafety in St. Louis in a full-motion simulator. Basically a multi-million-dollar video game, it’s a complete replica of the 170 cockpit, complete with all of the actual computers and systems interfaces that are on the real plane. This part is a lot of fun, but also a lot of work. We practice all kinds of things, from normal maneuvers and approaches to worst-case emergencies, including engine fires on takeoff, electrical malfunctions, explosive cabin decompression, wind shear and wake turbulence upsets, etc. I’m currently about 70% done with the simulator portion.
At the end of the simulator you take a check ride (think of it like a driving test), and then you have to fly 25 hours of real passenger carrying flights with a check airman before you are basically a normally-functioning every day line pilot. This portion takes a week or two, so hopefully I’ll be done by the end of May. As you can see, it is a long process.
The first two weeks were not so bad. I got to experience the “8 to 5” commute that all the normal people get (you can have it), but I got to be home every night for dinner and sleep in my own bed, which is not normal for my line of work. The really difficult part has been all of this time in St. Louis. I have been able to make it home most weekends (except for this one and the last one), and I have been able to count the number of nights I’ve been home on two hands since April 9.
Getting ready to go back to St. Louis after a weekend home, I seem to have a stowaway.
I was not so homesick when I did this the first time for the 145, two and a half years ago. I think a lot of that had to do with the fact that it was a major milestone in my career, and I didn’t have a cute little baby girl at home. It helps that the geek in me likes learning about airplanes, and I still do the webcam thing with Abee and Adelaide almost every night. Thankfully though, it’s almost over, and I can soon go back to my “normal” lifestyle of only being gone 3-4 days at a time.
Now, let me tell you about this plane. Back on the 145, a lot of us used to make fun of the 170, due to the fact that it’s still a regional jet, but happens to look more like a “mainline” airliner. “Ooh, a jumbo jet!” we used to say. Well, after seeing this thing, I have to admit, it’s pretty nice. This plane is “the cat’s meow,” to borrow a line from my sim instructor (who is a retired Air Force/Southwest pilot). The level of automation makes it seem like you’re flying the USS Enterprise. Everything is controlled by computer, even the flushing of the toilets. (You still pull a handle, but you’re actually asking a computer to flush the toilet.)
Those overhead bins are big enough for a full-size carryon suitcase. The photographer probably actually took this picture standing up, too.
The flight deck is, of course, where I’ll spend most of my time, in front of five large LCD display units, which can show you just about anything you want with respect to the aircraft’s systems, location, other traffic around you, end even a side profile view to help you plan your descents into busy airspace. The screens are controlled by a touch pad, like the one you’ll find on most laptops, so I’m right at home with this interface.
I could go on for a while about all the cool stuff that this plane does, but it’s kind of technical, so let’s just say it’s a computer geek’s kind of plane (though I’m most excited about sun shades in the cockpit). In the end though, it’s still an airplane, and I’ll be flying around in the same sky that I always have (which is, ironically, different every day). I’ve pretty much spent the last few weeks being “reprogrammed” for this plane. I’ve had to forget all the 145-specific profiles, callouts, and flow procedures, and train my mind for the ones for the 170. I’ll probably feel kind of like a rookie again for a month or two once I get back out on the line, but soon enough I’ll get used to it, and I’ll be able to fly it in my sleep (though hopefully that will not actually happen).
I’m in the home stretch now, excited to be nearly done with training, and looking forward to getting back out on the line. However, I think the first thing I’m going to do when I get back is ask for a week off!
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