Podcast Episode Transcript
Aaron Henriques: So I've made the move. Finally living on the airfield at Stapleford, moved out my house. It was the most stressful thing I've ever done for sure. But now I'm here on the airfield. Be flying in a couple of days, just brushing up on basics of. It's a maths and physics ready for the ATPL course. And I've got my I've got my, a class, one medical in a few days, time on the 2nd of January, would you believe so?
[00:00:39] I don't really get to have a new year's Eve celebration because a new alcohol test that they've got, I'm not sure how sensitive it is, but I'm not going to risk it. Does that mean an alcoholic, but I'm not going to risk you know, any trace of alcohol being in my system when I go to do that medical, but just a little check-in and
[00:01:05] just tell you about what's going, coming up next. And it was boxing day yesterday. Just had Christmas as well, obviously. And yeah, just looking forward to. The next few months, six months of my life, which will just be head down in the book. I've not had to do that since 2002, which makes me feel really ill.
[00:01:26] Yeah. I've not studied maths and physics since 2002, since I was at GCSE level. And the fact that that was 18 years ago, nearly. It's laughable that there'll be people on my course that are, that weren't even born when I was doing my GCSE's, which is insane. But yeah, it looks like a good course. It's well presented.
[00:01:49] I'm really pleased with the facilities here at Stapleford. I had, it was like student accommodation. I visioned back to university days in the cruddy halls, but it's actually real. And you got everything on site that you need everything's nearby as well. It's nice coming out in the morning. Like I'm now just having a cup of tea.
[00:02:12] It's not raining, which is nice. And just sitting in the silence of the airfield or apart from the road, just beyond us, that it's a false road. Say occasionally you get the loud sounds, but yeah, I'm currently just watching the. It looks like the staple for fire crews are setting up for the day and all the aircraft are still on the ground.
[00:02:35] I don't know why. No, one's no one's turned up yet to go flying it's of eight 30 in the morning air fields open, but no one's at Pitt and yeah, it's just a really nice calm day and preparing for. An exam. I didn't know. I had to take, so anyone doing their ATPL's going forward there is actually a pre course exam.
[00:03:04] You have to take, which I didn't realize. I had seen that advertised at places like CAE and L3 Harris. And to be honest with you, I concluded that that was just because they are so No oversubscribed, but they have a particular view of themselves, which makes them sort of appear higher than everyone else.
[00:03:30] And maybe not the case. Well, certainly not the case from the forums I've been reading, but that's what I thought it was for. I didn't realize when I came here on my first. And I said, you'd have to take a mass and physical exam before you, before the ATPL's start on the 6th of January. So it's only a few days away.
[00:03:48] And so yeah, that's something I'm going to have to really get my head down and study for trigonometry. I don't know everything else that I need to Villa and I've got a list somewhere and I will learn it it's or revise it. It's some stuff I've learned before. So it shouldn't be too tricky to be able to pick back up again.
[00:04:10] And yeah, and it's just been a bit of a change it's my stressful thing, moving my solicitors gave me less than 24 hours. Notice that the cell was actually going to go from. And I had fought that I was never going to get on this course purely for the fact that they passed every deadline that I gave them and instill even the day before the final possible day, before they all closed for the year, they still hadn't reached a decision.
[00:04:46] And I started looking at alternatives to, well, if I'm not going to be able to do the full-time ATPL's. Then I'm going to have to look at distance learning. Then I was thinking about the exciting things, you know, things like going away to Florida and doing some, our building and start looking at that, which, which would have been great.
[00:05:02] Cause he'd done a bit of traveling with it as well, but they did come through in the end and yeah, although it was really, really stressful. I managed to do the move had helped from a couple of really good friends. And now I'm here and I'm glad I'm here because from what. Looked at the, in the timetable.
[00:05:21] You don't really get much time to spend on things and, and, and to have the instructor led training is so much better, I think, than trying to learn it myself. I've had a look at few things in the, not a bit of pre-reading already and some of the things I just don't understand, I just look at it and like, Ugh, what are you.
[00:05:46] But I think that's where instructors will come in. And I do have someone who's on a, another course who I know. I took him out for his first ever flight, I think, and a few years back and he's on the course ahead of me. And he, he said that the instructors have really been invaluable as, yeah, so a lot of instructor input here stay preferred.
[00:06:05] And the last thing I need to do is get some know. Because I don't have any, let's get some pilot shirts and some new trousers. My mum, my mum bought me some new trousers that I needed for, for the course. Because I don't fit into my old ones. Would you believe I need to go for a run as well? And yeah, that's it really, I'm going to once I've had a bit more time to get my head down and pass that pre-assessment, I'm a medical fingers crossed then.
[00:06:36] Okay, get down and I'll give a bit of an update, but more restructured update about how the course is looking and where things are going. And if you want to learn a bit more about what I'm doing and see some photos I'll probably spend more, most of my time, like social media wise on Instagram, I do have like Facebook and Twitter, but Twitter really is just for me moaning about If a Papa John's has sent me a cold pizza or something like that.
[00:07:03] Yeah, I'm on Instagram. It's AaronHenray. And yeah, a bit to find me there and see some photos that I'll put up as I go along the course and ah, the dog running across the field. Yeah, so for me on there and if you have any questions. I want to put any input and come on the podcast yourself, you know, perhaps share some of your experiences, how you're feeling, thinking for at your training.
[00:07:31] You know, come on and share it with me and anyone else that may be listening and yeah, you know, you, you, you may also be one of those people who've managed to complete your training successfully and can share a bit more about what's next. There's a chance. Just last week, just before Christmas, he just finished his CPL, multi engine instrument rating.
[00:07:59] He's now going on to do his APS MCC and hoping I can grab him at some point he's, he's left residential here, but I know he's going, he's got one more course and I fell, grabbed him and see if I can get him on to sort of share a bit about his experiences and Particularly with the harsh realities of, you know, having to do retakes.
[00:08:20] And he's someone who's an older age like me from the emergency services as well. So yeah, he'll be really interesting. One to hear from anyway, I'll speak to you. Same.
