Pre-order for just $25! Arriving October 15th, 2024.
Air Carrier Course
An Airline Flying Framework
Smooth your transition into the airlines with a roadmap that covers all the basics of U.S. airline flying.
Preparing for Airline Training
Training for a new type-rating is often likened to “drinking from a fire hose”. Your first airline experience can be particularly intense because everything is new: the regulatory structure, terminology, aircraft systems, operational philosophies, and more.
Airline training programs are fast-paced, rely heavily on students’ home study, and often lack the program time to detail fundamentals sufficiently in-depth to maximize student success on the line. That’s where we come in. Carefully crafted by a team of U.S. Part 121 airline instructors and check airmen, this course covers the fundamentals of airline flying so that you can show up to your first day confident and ready to learn.
Learning Objectives
- Understanding the complexity of the airline regulatory environment and being able to navigate it to answer your own questions
- Knowing how to prioritize your studying once you’re in class so that you can thrive, not just “hang on to the tail”
- Familiarization with common transport category and jet systems, operations, and abnormal situations
- Understanding the basic “flow” of an airline flight including typical airline energy management profiles
- Appreciating the importance of CRM skills in safe air carrier operations
- Understanding the performance expected of you while in training and while out flying the line
Course Overview
I. Introduction
This section introduces the regulatory environment that governs air carriers, including Part 121 domestic, flag, and supplemental operations.
II. Airline Training
Learn what to expect in airline training under AQP or N&O, how to prepare beforehand, and how to focus your studies through each program phase as well as what other training to anticipate in your first year.
III. Crew Requirements
Crews must meet a variety of requirements, including minimum experience, medical certification, minimum rest, drug and alcohol testing, and adequate performance.
IV. Operations Specifications
Airlines and the FAA form agreements called Operations Specifications (OpsSpecs) that govern much of an airline’s operation. In this section we cover the most common OpsSpecs, and discuss where to find all of them in the FAA’s Dynamic Regulatory System (DRS).
V. Transport Category Systems
Most transport category airplanes share the same features and broad operating principles. But you don’t find this out in airline training, only from the experience that comes with multiple type ratings. Knowing the “big picture” on systems can make it easier to learn the details later.
Transport category airplanes often share similar features and broad operating principles. One of the hardest parts of a pilot’s first type rating is learning all the information that is generally common across types. This section is a “big picture” discussion about jet systems, including the avionics, engines, electrical system, flight controls, hydraulics, and pneumatics.
VI. Flight Planning & Dispatch
Familiarize yourself with the fundamental requirements for safe and legal dispatching, including flight releases, fuel planning, alternates, and takeoff and landing minimums.
VII. Flying the Line: Operations
In this section we discuss the major phases of a flight, from showing up at the jet to shutting it down at the destination. Topics include briefings, engine starts, taxi, takeoff, energy management, approaches, and more!
VIII. Crew Resource Management
Crew Resource Management (CRM) is an instrumental part of the exceptional U.S. airline safety record. In this section, we discuss the fundamentals of CRM and several examples of applying CRM, as well as review case studies of CRM successes and failures.
IX. Airline Life: Domiciles, Bidding & More
Lastly, a little context on the lifestyle, including how pilots “pick” their airframe and base, the bidding process, the role of unions, jumpseating, and similar non-operational aspects of the life of an airline pilot.
Airline Course Enrollment
We focus on practical learning, clarity, and developing broad understanding of the airline operating environment. Your employer will handle the details.
You can pre-order the Airline Course today for $25. This will increase to $45 on October 15th, so get in early!
Frequently Asked Questions
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Who is best served by this course?
This course is designed for any pilot preparing for employment at their first U.S. regional airline. 1500-hour CFIs, corporate pilots, single-seat fighter pilots, and military multi-crew pilots will all take something away from the course.
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Is this interview preparation?
Some pilots may use the course to prepare for an interview, but it’s not explicitly intended for that purpose. This course covers technical, operational, and human factors areas, while comprehensive interview preparation services focus on personalized soft-skills improvement.
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Will this course interfere with learning fleet-specific information at my airline?
No. We’ve been very conscious to stick to general, common knowledge and operating principles that are not specific to any one operator or type. The course provides the context and foundation which operator- and type-specific programs will then build from.
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Why should I take this course? Won’t my training department teach me everything?
Many concepts are universal (or mostly universal) throughout the airline world. A large part of training at an airline is reviewing these universal concepts and determining how they apply to your operator. Major/Legacy/LCC training departments expect your familiarization with these concepts. Regional training departments do not, but they often provide insufficient time or instruction to thoroughly educate new hire pilots beyond the core course requirements. This course provides a famework that you can take to your new job, in training and beyond.
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Is this course jet-specific?
We emphasize jet flying, but plenty of the content in this course applies to flying large transport-category turboprops too.
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I hear that I should “trust the program” when it comes to airline training. Is that true?
Generally yes. This course is designed to supplement, but not interfere with, your airline’s training program. Think of it as “pre-study” that helps you make the most of your airline training program experience.
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Do you offer a free trial?
We instead offer a 7-day money back guarantee on all of our courses.