I recieved a phone call that I have been waiting for. I get to fly to Dulles Airport in D.C.. I will be finishing up my training, and the things left to complete are:

1) Orientation - Company check-in policies, general operations, ect...
2) Observation - There are two flights that me must observe from the jump seat. The purpose is to allow the new hires (me) to see and learn how flights are managed. This includes everything from doing the preflight inspection to securing the plane after the last flight of the day.
3) IOE - This stands for, Initial Operating Experience. We take on our roll as a first officer on passenger carrying flights. During IOE, pilots are paired with very experienced and specifically trained Captains. The Captain helps ensure the flight is conducted safely while teaching us about flying the real plane, and ensuring we conduct the flight according to company policies and procedures.

Once I finish those three things, I will earn my wings as a new airline pilot. It has been a fun process, and it seems like we just started training a few days ago. It's been nearly 10 weeks to the day from the date of our first class. The group of pilots I enjoyed ground school with have all done well. There have been a few hard times along the way, like trying to study all 40 pages of our study guide... while studying for our company procedures and systems tests.

We took a total of 3 written tests during the entire process. The first test was administered during our interview. The test was a 50 question test based off of ATP written test questions. The questions and answers had been changed enough that attention to detail is the only way to ensure a passing score. They did not rearrange the answer order or copy every question verbatim. Some questions had two right answers, however only one was more correct than the other.

I think I am very fortunate to have an opportunity like this. There are a lot of pilots and flight attendants that go to class with big eyes and huge excitement about being at an airline. For so many of those pilots the shiny jet syndrome kept them from researching day-to-day life. For those who ignore any information about the life on an airline pilot.... they eventually hate the job. I tried to do all the research I could. Learning about schedules, time away from home, stress, and pay. In the end, I definitely made the right choice for myself. This is the kind of stuff that I love to do, and I was able to start with the knowledge of things to come. Going into this industry with limited knowledge about it is very tough on the person. Homesick? Don't fly for the airlines! Need a set schedule to be your most productive? Same thing!!

I can't wait to start flying the SAAB! It is almost surreal at this point!

Bob