With my mind firmly set on becoming a pilot I researched the many different routes to the flight deck. L3 Airline Academy (CTC Aviation) was on my radar but at the time it seemed very expensive when there was little guaranteed in return and to add to that I wasn't even of age to apply. With financial constraints being the main barrier for me, like it is for many others, I started to consider the RAF. My Dad and Grandfather had been in the forces so why not follow in their footsteps, right? Although it has to be said both were in the Royal Navy so the idea of their son/grandson becoming a 'crab' made them chuckle. The more I read about our 'Air Power' the more excited I became and said interest later lead me to join the Air Cadets where I remained for almost 2 years.
Everything was mapped out in my head. I would study GCSEs and A Levels appropriate to my career path and apply as soon as I was legally able to. Sadly, things didn't work out when a routine visit to my optician incorrectly declared me as colour blind using, it has since transpired, outdated Ishihara plates (a sample is above). All I can remember is feeling down for several days. That was it. My dream was over. My path through education then followed my second interest, technology. I studied topics such as I.T., Business and Photography, all topics that weren't entirely related to aviation. I started my own freelance business in website development and even went on to
Looking back I am so happy I volunteered to help out at that exhibition as L3's advice ended up with me being granted a completely unrestricted Class 1 medical certificate. I wasn't colour blind after all. I always had a feeling that optician was wrong and what's even better is I passed the CAA's Ishihara test with no issues. I didn't even need to make use of their more advanced tests. A week or so later CTC announced their
In addition to flight by instruments the advanced phase saw us transition over to a multi-engine environment allowing us to get our hands on the Diamond DA42 Twinstar. Wow, what an impressive aircraft. As part of our licences we are required to attain a multi-engine class rating and thus conduct general handling flights and complete a multiple choice exam paper. Passing this permitted us to then fly the Twinstar on IFR navigation flights. These were thoroughly enjoyable and a few nice chats to scheduling often saw a coursemate and I manage to secure back-to-back bookings affording us the opportunity to fly further afield. The advanced phase came to a close with another progress test, PT2, which required us to demonstrate competence in IFR navigation and in-flight procedures such as holding. This was a tough flight but thankfully one in which I passed. Some hard work will be needed prior to Bournemouth though to ensure the procedures don't disappear from my head!
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your blogs were a massive help in the process
