Since
last
post I've flown line flying full-time at Norwegian, gained my very first
very
valuable experience as a commercial pilot, and enjoyed every second of
the 150
hours this far in a Boeing 737 cockpit. It's quite intense and I'm
slowly getting used to the fast pace that is required for line flying
on-time performance.
I've flown
to 22 different domestic and international destinations in 13 countries with
flight times from less than 30 minutes and up to almost 4 hours with 9
different instructor captains. I've accomplished 84 flights and have another 30
to go on so-called line training before I have my line check, which is an operational test of an ordinary
flight together with a normal non-instructor captain. When I pass the line
check, I will finally be regarded as a first officer finished with all initial training,
and I will be able to fly with any captain on practically any flight in
Norwegian's network. However, for my whole career I will have to do recurrent
training in a simulator at least every 6 months when I will need to once again show
my skills how to handle an abnormal situation that could occur, such as engine
failures and fires.
After my
line check I'll also receive my unrestricted MPL-license which is valid
worldwide on any airline in case I need to look for another job. I do hope to
continue fly for Norwegian though, and initially the plan is to be relocated to
the base in Tenerife together with another 7 of my classmates. There we'll be around
45 pilots during the winter and mainly fly Nordic, British and German tourists
from major cities. I look forward to it a lot; exploring the island, getting to
know new people and fly new routes. Before the relocation and after the line
check I also have some holiday when I'll visit Japan for almost 3 weeks,
that'll also be great!
Photos:
Me at work.
The main
screens showing speed, altitude, location on a map with weather radar (the
colors show the intensity of the weather) and much more. In the first picture
we're cruising at the maximum altitude of 12 500 meters. We always try to fly
as high as possible because then we use less fuel due to the lower air resistance
but depending on the weight (number of passengers and amount of fuel) we can
seldom actually fly at the maximum altitude.
The view
from my office is not bad, there are so many cool cloud formations and mountain
landscapes to enjoy.
And sometimes
we see other airplanes flying closely (always with at least the safety margin
of 300 meters in altitude difference), which also is really cool. Not least the
first picture with a KLM Boeing 747.
Sometimes
we even have some time to explore other cities during night stops, like here in
Aalborg, Denmark, and Luleå in northern Sweden.
Just
because I now regularly fly 79 ton passenger jets, that doesn't mean I no
longer enjoy flying private small propeller airplanes. I've joined the flying
club in Borlänge close to my family home and done a few flights with friends
and family, and had great fun!
