Dallas is HOT

Holy smokes.. these are the hottest temps that I've ever had to put up with for an extended period of time!

We arrived last Monday early in the morning at it was already 32 degrees. Most days end up hitting 40 degrees and likely hotter with the humidex and the fact that there is lots of concrete around to radiate it all back at us!

Today is the first day that I've got a bit of breathing room. The first day (Tuesday) we were right into class. A full day of class each day of the week. This goes on for the first week and then we head to the simulator in the second week. It is a very intense program. Lots and lots of information gets covered and each night is spent reviewing all the information and preparing for the next days class.

Just to explain a bit, pilot training for specific aircraft is incredibly detailed. We are pretty much taught everything about the aircraft, not just how to fly it. Which makes complete sense. And this is how it has been done for all the aircraft I've flown before as well, but this is the largest, fastest and most complicated aircraft I have flown yet. As they teach you about the systems of the aircraft they not only teach you what buttons to press and when, but also what exactly happens when you press the button. Everything from electronic schematics showing which relays and busses are activated and then what hydraulic systems they might trip into action. Then exactly how that system then produces the hydraulic pressure to push actuators and jack screws to lower the flaps for instance. Here's an excerpt from one of the phone book sized manuals I now have:

"In GEN, regulation, protection, and Feed bus connection are automatic through the GCU; the generator connects to its Feed bus once the generator reaches operating speed and begins supplying power at the correct voltage. The center OFF position disconnects a generator from its Feed bus without de-exciting it by opening its power relay. The momentary RESET position resets a generator field relay that tripped from overvoltage, feeder fault, or ENG FIRE switch actuation. Positioning the switch to RESET also may be necessary following a windmilling restart"

Pretty exciting stuff eh? Haha, it's not that bad, but it is a lot of information. We are expected to know how each system operates and why. This comes in very handy if/when various systems have problems in flight. If we have the knowledge to know what's effecting each system it just further helps us in solving the problem.

The training thus far has been fantastic. These instructors really know the airplane well and are very very knowledgeable, friendly and genuinely make sure you understand if you have any questions. I'm very happy with the program.

The hotel is very close by and the hotel shuttle takes us there every day and picks us up. They are also able to take us to restaurants and really anywhere else we need to go. So that is a big help, because there isn't a whole lot near the hotel and certainly nothing is worth walking to in this heat. We tried yesterday and I nearly died I kid you not! We lucked out and bumped into the shuttle driver at a local store and scored a ride back by pure fluke to the hotel! :)

The simulator is excellent. We did a quick familiarization in it yesterday and it is very much lifelike in every shape and form. We had the motion turned off, but the visuals were still so good that I felt like we were moving and I had to keep looking back at the open door behind us to prove to myself otherwise!

So things are going well. Today we are going to go and sit in a fake cockpit of the plane to just run through checklists to help get our familiarization of the cockpit and where all the switches are down solid. It will also give us a chance to practice all the proper SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) which are developed so that it doesn't matter who you fly with, everybody within the company knows the same procedures as everyone else. The jet is new to me and the company is new to the other pilot I'm down here with. So this will be good practice for the both of us.

Tomorrow is the last day of ground classes and the rest of the week will be spent in the simulator.

I'll take some pictures within the next couple of days and post them up. It's a nice facility and so far the weather has been great, aside from being hotter than the surface of the sun!