Ashraf - EasyJet - A319/20
1) Tell us what made you want to become a pilot?
It's the cliché story to be honest, when I was about 5 or 6 years old, my dad managed to get me to sit on the jumpseat on an Air Mauritius A330. At that young age, I was absolutely amazed at all the controls in the cockpit and the most exciting part was seeing the island of Mauritius from that high up on clear sunny day. Till this day I still aspire to perhaps one day see that view again!
2) Where did you train and describe your experience training there?
I started training in October 2015 with CTC now currently know as L3 CTS. Looking back at my training, it was a phenominal experience overall. Something to always look back on especially living out in New Zealand for 8 months! What made it truly amazing was meeting new people and going through the whole journey together!
3) What aircraft did you fly during your initial training?
I started off in the C172G practicing my VFR and getting my skills up to pass a PPL skills test. I did my initial IFR flights with the same aircraft before moving onto the DA42 where I passed my CPL. This was all done in New Zealand. The next phase was in Bournemouth where I flew the DA42 again to pass my IR. After this I did my AQC (MCC/JOC) in a fixed base B737-300 simulator.
4) What was your hardest part of training?
The hardest part of my training would definitely be Gorundschool. The volume of content which had to be learnt and countless hours of hard work to pass these initial 14 exams in unbearable. However it is definitely worth sacrificing 6 months of hard studying for a life time of flying!
5) What advice would you give to aspiring pilot?
The best advice I could give to aspiring pilots is to follow your dream! It can be hard especially toward the financial side of things to get you where you want to be, but if you want to get there, you will! You just need to be determined and confident! You may think that it's a long way away, but the time will come for when it's your time to take control.
6) What has been your best moment in the air?
You will never forget your first commercial passenger flight! I was flying to Zurich and the captain gave me control at 1000ft to land the aircraft. After touching down he congratulated me over the PA where I got applauded by the passengers. Truly a special moment which I will never forget!
7) What is your favourite destination to fly to?
I am yet to experience further destinations, however my favourite destination so far will have to be Palmero on a bright sunny day, as the arrival takes you over the coast of Sicily, where you fly next to huge mountains as you descend and turn onto final approach to land.
8) What is the biggest misconception that people have about your job?
Having spoken to a few people, the biggest misconception I think is that they still refer to FO's as flight engineers or Co-pilots.. They believe that the captain does all the flying whilst realistically, both pilots do the flying as one will fly to one place and the other will fly back.
9) Was there something you wish you did prior to starting your flight training that would be beneficial for aspiring pilots to do?
I don't think I would have changed anything before starting flight training! I would just recommend not rushing into it! I decided to pursue 2 years of A-levels instead of joining CTC after GCSE's so that I could mature and get a bit of experience working etc before joining.