Richard was hired by AAP Aviation in the beginning of 2017 to fly for Norwegian. Since he was not type rated on the B737 he had to undergo a new type rating in order to start flying the aircraft.
Read more about the Theoretical training, the Simulator Sessions, the OCC and the Line Training Richard needed to pass in order to get his Type Rating.
The type rating was organized and paid for by AAP Aviation with a 3 year bonding period. Most of the type rating was conducted at CTC Aviation in Southampton and the rest of the training was done at L3 training center in Gatwick. The type rating it self took around 7 weeks to complete. The first 3 weeks includes theoretical training to learn about the aircraft systems and other operational things you need to know before you could get started flying the aircraft in the simulator.
Simulator sessions
For Richard the first 5 sessions in the simulator was conducted in a fixed base simulator where he learned about the company procedures and got familiar with the aircraft before moving on to the full motion simulator in Gatwick.
"The pilots had a well prepared program for all the sessions in the simulator and knew exactly what they had to prepare for every flight. They had to train and learn how to handle and operate the aircraft in both normal and non normal operations. This included learning how to deal with all kinds of emergency’s in the aircraft."
OCC (Operator’s Conversion Course)
After completion of the type rating they moved on to the next step of the program which was the OCC (operator’s conversion course) at Norwegians headquarters Norway. This course lasts for about 4 weeks and includes learning more about Norwegian as a company and their standard operating procedures.
During this period, they’ll also have to undergo a wet drill course as well as learning how to provide first aid, how to fight a fire and how to use all the emergency equipment on-board the aircraft.
The final stage of the OCC course was 4 sessions in the full flight simulator and they had to pass an operators proficiency check (OPC) before they where done with the required training needed to finally start flying the real aircraft. Before they could start flying “on the line”, they all needed to conduct “touch and goes” in the real aircraft in order to get their new licenses issued.
"After intense training for several weeks, it was a great feeling to finally fly the aircraft for the very first time. To me this was really a dream come true."
Line Training
After completion of the type rating and OCC course the next step of the training is the line training. The line training is basically flying the aircraft in normal everyday operations together with a line training captain following a set program.
The duration of the line training depends on your previous background, but often this is around 40 sectors of flying. After you have undergone the required line training you have to pass a release check before you are officially done with all the training.
"So far my experience with AAP Aviation and Norwegian has been very positive. It’s a very interesting company to work for and they really offer many opportunities for the future."
"I’m really happy with my new “office” and with all my new great colleagues. I really enjoy the company and I am really thankful for the opportunity they have given me. It has been some busy months with training, but it was all worth it in the end. I am really proud to be a part of this company and I’m exited about the future ahead."