The Integrated Pilot Education – Multiple Bases and Trans-European Training

Module 1 consists solely of theory. ATPL stands for Air Transport Pilot License and provides you with all the knowledge you need to become captain of a larger jet aircraft. This module lasts about nine months and is divided into three blocks of three months each, with each block containing four subjects. In total, this makes 12 subjects, plus an additional smaller 13th subject on communication. At the end of each block, you must pass the associated exams. All theory subjects are based on large jet aircraft, meaning high-speed and high-altitude flying, heavy aircraft, and significant available power. The exams are typically based on the Boeing 737 or Airbus A320, which is reflected in the theory classes. The subjects in this module are:

• Air law
• Principles of flight
• Human performance and limitations
• Metrology
• Flight planning and monitoring
• Operational procedures
• Aircraft general knowledge
• Navigation
• Mass and balance
• Instrumentation
• Radio navigation
• Performance
• Communication

When you have passed all 13 exams, you will hold what is called a frozen ATPL. This means that you have passed the theoretical exams that qualify you to become a captain later in your career. What is required – besides more flight training and a commercial pilot license (CPL) – is experience in a large aircraft. But after about three to four years, you will be ready to upgrade to captain at an airline.

After completing the ATPL theory, you will also obtain your first two radio certificates here in Module 1: a BEG and a GEN certificate.

• The BEG radio certificate qualifies you to operate the aircraft radio under Visual Flight Rules.

• The GEN radio certificate qualifies you to operate the aircraft radio under Instrument Flight Rules.

Module 2 takes six months. The purpose of this module is to train you in flying under visual conditions (VFR – Visual Flight Rules).

You have already passed your BEG exam, meaning that even before Module 2 begins, you are able to operate the aircraft radio under visual conditions.

You will fly 75 hours of VFR, divided between basic flight training, airwork & solo, and solo navigation. The flight training takes place in our P2002 training aircraft, and you will fly some hours from your home base and some in Spain.

As mentioned, you will conduct your very first solo flight in this module – a big milestone for every pilot student!

IFR training

This module focuses entirely on flight training – that is, advanced flight training. First, we begin by getting you to use the knowledge you have acquired so far.
IFR training means flying without visual reference to the ground. You will fly in rain, fog, and inside as well as above clouds where visibility is zero. You have already obtained your GEN radio certificate, which qualifies you to operate the aircraft radio under instrument flying. This part of the training takes place in the P2006T aircraft and in the corresponding simulator, the P2006T FNPT II. You will fly 57 hours in the aircraft and 25 hours in the simulator. IFR training is divided into three blocks of flight training and two blocks of simulator training. The training alternates between aircraft, simulator, aircraft, simulator, and back to aircraft. IFR training concludes with an MEIR skill test. This test gives you the right to fly multi-engine aircraft under instrument conditions.

CPL training

Afterwards, it is time for CPL training, and you return to the same aircraft in which you just passed the MEIR test – the P2006T. At this point, you have 57 hours of flight experience and 25 hours of simulator experience, and you know the aircraft quite well. Now it is time to return to visual flying. You will spend five hours training visual flying, but this time with a focus on becoming a commercial pilot. That means you will need to manage the (fictional) presence of passengers. Passengers must be informed – also in emergency situations – which is a major part of the training in this module. The CPL training concludes with a CPL skills test. Passing this test gives you a CPL (Commercial Pilot License). You will then have completed your final flight exam, but you will still need additional training to meet the required flight hours.

UPRT

The final part of this module consists of UPRT training. The aircraft used is a Bellanca 8KCAB Decathlon. Now it’s time for the biggest and wildest rollercoaster ride of your life. You will fly together with an aerobatics instructor who guides you through all the critical maneuvers. First, the instructor demonstrates the maneuvers, then instructs you through them, and finally observes while you perform them yourself. You will experience several fully developed spins, where the aircraft rotates around its own axis at about 420 degrees per second while in a very steep dive. You will see more than 500 meters disappear in about 10 seconds, and most importantly – you will learn how to recover the aircraft from this situation and return it to normal flight.

You have now completed all the flight training in small aircraft, and time has come to move to large jet aircraft. The APS MCC course is spectacular. APS MCC is short for Airline Pilot Standard Multi-Crew Cooperation course. The aim of the course is to train you so that you reach a level at which you can enter directly into a type rating of any jet or turbine aircraft and start working as a first officer. 

In the initial phase of the course, you will be back in the classroom, focusing on working together as two pilots in one aircraft. The monitoring pilot and the flying pilot are both pilots, and both have very important tasks during a flight. You will learn a lot about cooperation, about crew resource management and large jets. All your flight training will be done at our headquarters in Aarhus, Denmark, in our Airbus 320 FNPT II MCC simulator. The simulator is a one-to-one replica of an Airbus cockpit. Many parts in the simulator come directly from the Airbus factory, including the seats and the flight control with which you fly the aircraft. The 40 hours of training are split up into 10 intense sessions; each with extensive briefing before and after. You will experience a massive development in your understanding of large aircraft, and you will see why the intensive training on smaller aircraft is so important. All the IFR training, all the commercial training and, not least, your ATPL theory will benefit you immensely during your training. After you have completed the course, you will pass an APS MCC exam, and you will get an exam certificate. This concludes your education as a commercial pilot, and you are now ready to go make us proud. From this point on, you can no longer state that the sky is the limit for you – you will be one of the few who go further.