What you need to know to be successful in a pilot assessment, Lots of pilots who have gone through simulator Assessments, have asked if there was anything they could do to increase their chances of passing the simulator assessment and what the secret is.
The secret is that there is no secret. Preparation is the key.
The simulator assessment is not a new thing that you will be asked to demonstrate. It’s a Line Oriented Exercise which you do almost every time you strap in the cockpit. It will include a departure, a cruise period, a descent and a final approach. As assessors, we like to see how you plan and organize your flight when a situation arises. Hence the short but intense simulator assessment.
Remember you will always receive instructions prior to your simulator evaluation. This package will contain or should contain, a short description of departure airports and approaches you can expect to fly from. A pre-flight briefing will be given and I recommend that you take notes.
We will be asking you to demonstrate your ability as a pilot flying and as a pilot monitoring. Nothing new there – it’s something you do on a daily basis. A precision approach is a precision approach. It’s part of the daily profile, you fly day in and day out. So study the approach profile before the actual event and think ahead on what to do if something unexpected happens – like an engine failure (hint). Again, nothing new there. You are required to fly an engine out approach every 6 months. Checklist procedures is not new either. The management of the flight under normal and non-normal is taught the day you start your line training. So once again, nothing new there.
The question is why do pilots get all wound up when asked to demonstrate something they do all the time?
I’m not sure what the answer to that question is, but what I can tell you is this: if you planned to know in advance what the profile will be (friends who have flown it will help you here) and fly it in your mind several times and look at your current management model which will help you in your decision making and problem-solving. I can almost guarantee that your chances of success will be greater than before.
