Simulator
Assessment
Preparation
Boeing 737NG
© flightdeckfriend.com
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Introduction
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You may operate from either seat
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Demonstrate competency as Pilot Flying and Pilot Monitoring
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Pilot Monitoring role is equally as important as the Pilot Flying role
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You will likely be assessed on the following attributes and competencies:
- Aircraft manual handling / hand to eye co-ordination / scan
- Knowledge of IFR procedures
- Ability to learn and follow the procedures and profiles provided by Ryanair
- Good cockpit management techniques (correct MCP settings and checklists)
- Non Technical Skills (CRM / Communication / Situational Awareness)
- Demonstrate a continuos improvement throughout the session
- Be a supportive and effective Pilot Monitoring
- Able to receive constructive feedback / criticism, whilst absorbing instruction
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General Points
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When paired with your simulator partner, discuss the profiles and tolerances. Arm
chair fly your expected departure and approach before going into the simulator.
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When you get into the simulator, be proactive in asking for weather, ATC clearance
and setting the aircraft up for departure.
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Demonstrate good flight management by asking for the appropriate check lists
throughout the flight.
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It is expected that your accuracy and capacity will improve throughout the session
so don’t be disheartened if you get off to a sloppy start.
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Always ensure that what is set on the MCP, is what you are flying. Call for the PM to
make the appropriate setting on the MCP before initiating a manoeuvre, regardless
of whether the FDs are on or off.
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Make positive corrections. Don’t settle for being 100ft high or 10kts slow.
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Highlight deviations yourself, vocalise what you are doing or your plan of action.
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The Simulator Profile
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Engines running at the departure runway threshold with the aircraft correctly
configured for departure.
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Take-off with Flight Directors and Auto Throttle on. Expect to fly the SID or be given
a simple re-clearance by ATC e.g straight ahead 2000ft then left HDG 270.
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Once established on the SID expect to be vectored off for general handling. Flight
Directors are turned off at this point. Auto throttle disconnected as per T/O profile.
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General handling manoeuvres such as turns / steep turns / climbing / descending /
acceleration and deceleration, eventually leading to a combination of these.
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TCAS RA / Radial tracking with QDM/QDR requests.
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Non-normal event such as toilet fire / pax heart attack / engine failure or fire
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Non-precision or Precision approach (either procedural or vectored)
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Go-around
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Reposition on final approach to land
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Flight deck layout
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Instrument layout (SIMTECH Dublin)
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Instrument layout (Stansted Sim)
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Throttle Quadrant
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Mode Control Panel (MCP)
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Jet Handling
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Jet A/C have a significant pitch/power coupling (power on gives a nose up pitch and
visa versa).
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Requires trim whenever there is a change in power / pitch / speed / altitude. The trim
acts very quickly so use in short bursts.
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Do not use the Rudder in flight except for and engine failure or x-wind landing.
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Jet engines take a long time to ‘spool up’, particularly at low power settings.
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Pitch power settings vary with speed, altitude, configuration and weight.
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Accurate handling requires smooth control inputs and thrust changes.
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Pitch/Power Settings
Speed
Configuration
Pitch(deg)
Power(N1)
320kts
Clean
2.5
70%
250kts
Clean
4-5
68%
210kts
Clean
5
55%
170kts
Flap 5
5-6
60%
147kts
Gear down/Flap 30/ 2
3 degree glide
58%
For 1000 fpm
climbs
Clean
75%
7.5
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Departure Briefing
• The briefing sets the tone for the session, your chance to give a good first impression.
• Be fluent and follow a logical flow (on Jeppesen) plates typically left to right, top to
bottom).
• Make it interactive, ask open ended questions.
• Ensure you brief from the Jeppesen plate to what is set on the aircraft such as the MCP,
Frequencies and Nav Idents.
• As well as briefing the SID, brief the profile you intend to fly and the standard call outs,
clearly stating when you will ask for climb thrust / bug up & flap retraction. Remember to
reference these from above aerodrome level.
• Ensure you discuss pertinent points such as low level offs, early turns.
• The briefing should consist of the following: Aircraft Status / Defects / NOTAMS / Sig Wx
/ Return Alternate / Runway / MSA / SID / Nav Aids / Frequencies / Threat and Error
Review.
• Help increase your capacity by delegating tasks to your pilot monitoring. For example if
the SID requires a turn at 1.5 DME, ask your PM to call approaching this point.
• Discuss when you will ask for a changes in frequencies and EFIS modes.
• Complete an emergency briefing if it will be conducted accurately and fluently.
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Take Off Profile
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Once the before take off checklist is completed call ready for departure. PF sets the thrust to
40% N1. When both engines are stabilised, press TOGA and call “set take off thrust”. PM
confirms take-off thrust has been set.
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Steer using Rudder pedals. At low speeds you will need to be firm in making corrections.
Rudder becomes aerodynamically effective approx 60kts.
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PM calls “80kts” for incapacity, airspeed agree and high speed reject check.
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PM calls “V1” and “Rotate” at the appropriate speeds. PF pulls the yolk approx 4-5 inches
back and holds. The aircraft will take a couple of seconds to climb away. Resist the
temptation to over-rotate.
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Rotate at 3 degrees per second. Aim for 15 degrees of pitch initially which should take about
5 seconds to obtain.
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At around 10 degrees the horizontal stabiliser will go into ground effect and may require
additional back pressure on the yolk. Anticipate this and do not allow the nose to drop.
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Follow the flight director guidance and trim as required.
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Initial Climb
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PF calls “Gear Up”. PM confirms a positive ROC and selects gear up.
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1500ft AAL, PF calls “Climb Thrust”. PM disconnects auto throttle and sets 90% N1
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3000 AAL, PF calls “Bug Up”. PM selects speed 220kts. PF lowers nose as per FD
guidance. Above 170kts PF: “Flaps 1”, above 190kts PF: “Flaps Up”.
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PF should assume control of the thrust leavers on initiation of level off or at flaps up,
whichever is first.
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Preempt the level off using 10% of the ROC. Start to smoothly reduce the thrust
before reaching 220kts if level, in order to be at approx 55% N1 when reaching the
speed. Anticipate the nose down pitch moment as a consequence of the thrust
reduction. Re-trim the aircraft.
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If levelling off at 220kts, lead the level off with power as the speed will very quickly
increase once level. Reducing power will lower the nose. Aim for 5 degree nose up
pitch. Ensure the correct thrust is set (approx 55%) Re-trim the aircraft.
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General Handling -
Straight and Level
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When flying straight and level with the flight directors off, initially fly the reference pitch
power settings. To fine tune, use the V/S needle. When the VS needle reads 0, take
note of the pitch and fine tune the thrust for the correct speed.
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Manage the energy appropriately by considering the aircrafts energy state before fine
tuning a manoeuvre. If you are a little high but a few knots slow, you can transfer
descent energy into extra speed. Too low and too slow, you know you will need
additional thrust as you will loose speed as you try to gain back the altitude for a given
thrust setting.
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General Handling - Rate One Turns
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Rate one turns is are calculated using TAS / 10 + 7 up to a maximum of 25 degrees
AoB. Therefore at any speed above 180kts, 25 degrees AoB should be flown. Turns
may be flown up to 30 degrees AoB if required for manoeuvres such as general
handling or localiser / radial intercepts.
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When initiating a turn a standard turn, you may require a very small increase in thrust
(1-2%) and a slight increase in pitch (0.5-1 degree).
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The AoB indicator (triangle) moves in a direction that is counter intuitive. For a right
turn it will move to the left and visa versa. AoB indications are shown on the PFD in
increments of 10/20/30/45/60 degrees.
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Roll smoothly and slowly in and out the turn in order to ensure the entry is stabilised.
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Anticipate the roll out approximately 5 degrees before reaching the desired heading.
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General Handling - Steep Turns
• Steep turns are executed at 45 degrees angle of bank.
• Before entering the turn ensure you are stabilised. Note the current pitch and power setting, as this
is the datum required when you roll out of the turn.
• Brief your pilot monitoring to call 30 degrees to go.
• Roll slowly into the turn. As you roll through about 33 degrees, you will get a “Bank Angle” aural
warning.
• As you roll through 30 degrees, you will need to lift the nose by approximately 1 - 2 degrees. This
will require additional back pressure. This additional lift also produces additional drag. You will
therefore need to add around 2 - 3% of extra thrust.
• Maintain 45 AoB degrees throughout. Anything more, or less, will require changes in pitch and
therefore power. This will destabilise the turn.
• As you roll out, release the additional back pressure you have been holding, returning to the original
pitch and power datum that you noted before entering.
• The most common errors are rolling in too quickly, not applying enough back pressure on entering
the turn and loosing altitude, not maintaining 45 degrees and not realising the back pressure on roll
out, subsequently gaining altitude.
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General Handling - Climbing
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As you increase the thrust to commence the climb, the nose will rise.
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Use the thrust to initiate the climb, applying thrust smoothly.
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When climbing, pitch for airspeed and use thrust to adjust the rate of climb. An
intermediate climb thrust setting is around 80% N1.
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If you need to climb and accelerate you will require a higher power setting (between
85-95%).
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A 1000fpm RoC can be achieved using approximately 7 degrees pitch at 75% N1.
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Anticipate the level off using 10% of the RoC. For example, when climbing at
2000fpm, initiate the level off 200ft before your cleared altitude.
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General Handling - Descending
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As you reduce the thrust to commence the descent, the nose will drop.
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Initiate the descent by reducing the thrust smoothly.
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40% is a good intermediate descent thrust setting. You should not need to reduce the
pitch to below zero degrees for a normal descent.
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If you need to descend and decelerate, you will need to use idle thrust.
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TCAS
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If you hear ‘traffic, traffic’, look outside to visually to identify the conflicting traffic
or scan the Navigation Display (if available).
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If you get a resolution advisory, a red trapezium will appear on the PFD coupled
with an aural instruction such as “Climb Climb” or “Monitor Vertical Speed”.
Disconnect the autopilot and auto throttle (if engaged) and smoothly adjust the
aircrafts pitch to ensure the pitch of the aircraft just outside the red trapezium on
the PFD. Increase or decrease thrust as appropriate.
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As PM, advise PF: “traffic 300 below, descending”, or “traffic 500 above,
climbing”, as appropriate.
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PM Advise ATC ‘Ryanair XYZ, TCAS RA’ and when clear ‘Ryanair XYZ, clear of
conflict, resuming flight level/altitude XXX’
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Identifying Your Position
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You may be asked to identify your current position on the Jeppessen chart.
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Select and identify the appropriate Nav Aids, ensuring you are able to reference
your distance as well as the bearing.
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Look at the tail of the needle to determine what radial you are from the beacon.
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Reference this to your departure or approach chart. Scan your current heading
to determine the direction you are heading from the airfield.
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You may be asked to fly a QDM (bearing to the beacon) or QDR (radial from the
beacon). As in your flight training, remember to “Push the head” and “Pull the
tail” of the needle on the expanded compass rose.
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Non-Normal Scenario
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You may be given a scenario requiring a return to your departure aerodrome or
diversion to an appropriate airfield. The problem is usually a time critical scenario
such as a toilet fire or passenger with a heart attack.
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Both require a swift decision and action. An uncontrolled fire on an aircraft can reach
its flash point in under 20 minutes. Your first action in this situation should be to point
the aircraft at the nearest suitable airfield.
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There is also a chance you may be given an engine problem such as a fire or failure.
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Engine Failure / Fire
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The difference between an engine failure and fire is that there is an immediate loss of thrust
associated with an engine failure, whilst an engine fire is likely to continue to produce at least
some thrust until it is shut down.
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If you have an engine failure, the first priority is to control the aircraft. To do this you will be
required to use rudder. The amount depends on the speed and thrust output of the live engine.
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Whilst controlling the failure using rudder, increase the thrust on either engines to ensure your
speed does not decay. A large increase in thrust is required if you are trying to recover speed.
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When the aircraft is stabilised, use rudder trim to fine tune the rudder application. You know the
correct amount of rudder is applied when the control column is centralised for straight and
level flight.
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There are no memory actions for an Engine Failure. The memory actions for an Engine Fire
(which should be called for once the aircraft is under control) are:
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•
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Autothrottle Disconnect
Thrust Leaver Operating Engine to Idle (confirm with the PF, reduce thrust slowly to allow better
lateral control)
Engine Cut Off Selector (confirm) Idle
Engine Fire Handle (confirm) Pull / If it remains illuminated, rotate left, wait 30 seconds then if still
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illuminated, discharge right.
One Engine Handling Tips
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Don’t pump the rudder. For initial control, press and hold the rudder. Use aileron to
control the lateral movement of the aircraft. The appropriate amount of rudder has
been applied when the control column is central. Use the rudder trim to fine tune. An
out of trim aircraft creates more drag and therefore requires a higher thrust setting on
the live engine.
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Preempt any thrust changes with rudder. Asymmetric thrust requires varying rudder
deflections for varying thrust settings. Adding thrust will require an increase in rudder
deflection on the same side as the power is increased. For example an increase in
thrust on the number one engine will require more left rudder. A decrease in thrust
will require a reduction in rudder deflection.
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Whenever you need to change thrust settings, do so slowly. The slower the
asymmetric thrust is changed, the easier it is to laterally control the aircraft.
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Single engine operation requires a Flap 15 Landing.
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Flap 15 landings requires a higher speed and thus there is a tendency to float.
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Non Normal Event Sequence
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Once the aircraft is under control, the PF should call for a restatement of the
malfunction. Once confirmed by BOTH pilots, request the relevant memory items if
applicable.
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After take off checklist (if applicable)
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QRH
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PIOSEE / tDODAR
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Notify ATC
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NITS
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PA
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Deferred Items, QRH Checklist
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Approach Brief
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Descent / Approach Checklist (From QRH if one engine operation)
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tDODAR / PIOSEE
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Use a structured decision making process such as a tDODAR or tPIOSEE. Ryanair use PIOSEE.
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t - Time. Assess the time available/required to get the aircraft on the ground. You should assess the
aircraft fuel state and how time critical the response needs to be. For example an engine failure is not
particularly time critical, but a toilet fire or heart attack is.
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D - Diagnose. The PF (Captain) should invite the PM (First Officer) to diagnose the problem. This is to
avoid conformation bias. Part of this process may require communication with the cabin crew, who may
have communicated with the passengers.
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O - Options. Where is your nearest suitable airport? What approaches are available? What is the weather?
Check the cloud base above the minima. Is the runway performance limiting? What emergency services
will be available? For non emergency scenarios, consider an aerodromes commercial viability such as is it
an a base with engineering coverage, ground handling contracts in place etc..? Consider a backup plan
for if you make an approach and don’t land.
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D - Decide. Analyse the options you have generated to make a joint decision.
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A - Assign. Who is going to do what? You need to notify ATC, the Cabin Crew (NITS?), passengers and if
possible the company. The PF will need to setup for the approach and deliver a briefing. You might
consider a condensed briefing if you are in a time critical scenario.
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R - Review. Have you made the right decision? Is there anything you haven’t considered. Review what is
different about the approach you are going to do. If you’ve got an uncontrolled fire, you will probably land
even if the approach is unstable! If you are landing with Flaps 15 you will be approaching at a higher
speed and will therefore increase the chances of floating the aircraft.
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Non-Normal Scenario
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The Pilot Flying should hand over controls.
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Press the “Attend” button in order to call the cabin crew. You can then give a NITS
briefing. You should clearly state to the cabin crew that you are about to give a NITS
briefing. For example “This is John, Flight Deck. This is a NITS briefing, are you
ready to copy, do you have a pen at hand?”
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N - Nature. Don’t get too technical. Avoid using terms like “left or right”. A
good example might be “We’ve had a fire in the number 1 engine which is
now extinguished and the engine shut down”.
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I - Intentions. Let them know what your plan of action is. For example “We
will be diverting to Liverpool”
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T - Time. State how long it will take to get on the ground. For example “The
time now is 10:22, we aim to be on the ground in 20 minutes at 10:42.
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S - Special Requirements. Additional points like, “please complete an SOS
demo” or “except to evacuate on the runway”.
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Holding
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Brief the hold entry and affect of wind as part of the approach briefing.
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Consider how the direction of the wind will affect your angle of bank requirement
for the inbound and outbound turns.
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Watch out for any speed or altitude restrictions in the hold. Do you need to hold
with flap?
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Non Precision Approach
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The briefing is a very important element. Don’t just brief what is on the plate, consider when you
will configure the aircraft and the effect of wind.
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It’s better to configure the aircraft earlier rather than later.
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Aim to be at flap 5 170kts when turning inbound (if it’s a procedural approach) or by 12 miles if
it’s a vectored approached.
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The aircraft will balloon when selecting flaps 1 and 5. Be prepared to hold the nose down to
avoid gaining altitude.
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Ask your pilot monitoring to prompt the configuration distances.
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It is common mistake to loose 100-200ft when selecting gear down flap 15. To avoid this, be
prepared to incase the pitch of the aircraft and add extra thrust. You must be at the platform
altitude at the ToD to ensure a stable start to the approach.
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You will need to initiate the descent almost immediately after selecting Flap 30 at 0.5 a mile.
Unintuatively, this will require an increase in thrust to approximately 58% N1 due to the extra
drag induced by the landing flap.
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Work out your ground speed to reference the required RoD. Be aware that you need to be
roughly achieving this RoD by the initial descent point.
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ILS
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Configure as per the non-precision approach.
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Consider how the wind will effect how quickly the localiser will intercept will occur.
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Preempt capturing the glide slope by pitching down to 2 degrees at one quarter
deflection of the glide. Initiating the descent as you capture the glide slope will leave
you high.
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When on the glide reduce pitch to +2 degrees initially and increase thrust to 58%.
This should give you approximately 750fpm.
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Maintain the G/S and LOC using small adjustments. You should not need to have an
AoB of more than 5 degrees or have a pitch of more than +5/0 degrees.
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Use the wind to your advantage. You should never need to be on the downwind side
of the ILS course.
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The closer you get to the the runway, the more sensitive the ILS becomes. Therefore
the easier it is to become destabilised.
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Go Around
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You should go around if you are not visual at the DA or become destabilised at any point
below 500ft. This might include:
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•
•
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Thrust not at the approach setting (i.e. If you’re at idle)
Speed greater than 20kts above Vfly
Consistent rate of descent greater than 1000 fpm
Localiser and glide slope deviations greater than half scale deflection
• The go around is challenging manoeuvre due to the pace at which events happen. A good
briefing and review on final approach will help ensure you are clear about the events.
• When you have made the decision to go around, the call should be a clear and concise single
call of “Go Around, Flap 15, Set Go Around Thrust”. Whilst calling this, you should set a full
arms length of thrust, then put both hands on the control column and pitch up to 15 degrees.
This will hold a speed of approximately 150kts.
• The next call is “Gear Up”.
• The flaps remain at 15 degrees until the level of is commenced. As soon as you lower the
nose for the level off, the speed will be increasing above 150kts rapidly due to the high thrust
setting. You can therefore call for Flap 5. Speed +170kts Flap 1, Speed +190kts Flap Up.
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Landing
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Maintain the visual picture. The threshold of the runway should be approximately
½ way up the windscreen
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Follow the PAPI’s and PM call any significant deviations
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Small adjustments and remember to trim
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At 50 feet, smoothly pitch up a couple of degrees and hold (basically a level off)
whilst at the same time smoothly reducing the thrust to idle. The thrust should
reach idle on touchdown of the main gear.
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Select reverse thrust as the main wheels touch and gently lower the aircrafts
nose onto the runway. Stow the reverse thrust when reaching 60kts.
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Use the rudder pedals to maintain the centre line and toe brakes to gently bring
the aircraft to a stop.
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Common Errors
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Aircraft not in trim. This increases your workload significantly. Trim in
small blips and remove your hands from the controls temporarily to
see if the aircraft is in trim or not
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Know your calls and profiles well – this significantly improves your
spare capacity
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Make small corrections in power and attitude and remember that
any change requires you to re-trim!
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Don’t over control the aircraft. Manipulate the controls smoothly
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GOOD LUCK!
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Ryanair First Officer Selection Briefing
The Ryanair assessment is completed on one day and consists of a personal & technical interview and a simulator check on the
Boeing 737-800. Assessment day candidates typically consist of cadet abinito level entrants but direct entry Captains and First
Officers can also be present.
The day starts with a briefing by one of the instructors on what to expect for the day, covering some aspects of the 737-800 and
the Ryanair operation in general. You are then paired up with another candidate who will be your simulator partner for the
assessment. You are usually given Jeppesen plates for the airport (or airports) you will be operating from in order to allow you
study the various SID’s and approaches with your simulator partner. The weather will also be given for planning purposes.
Although you will typically carry out the simulator assessment with the partner you are paired with at the start of the day, they
have been known to change the parings right before you go into the simulator.
There is no set order to the assessment day; you may have the simulator assessment first followed by the interview or the other
way round. As they are typically only using one simulator for the assessment, you may find yourself waiting all day for either part
of the assessment. If you have a flight to catch later that day, they will usually allow you to go into the simulator first to allow you
to finish early, although it would be advisable to plan to be there all day.
The Simulator Assessment Overview
The Ryanair simulator assessment is carried out in a 737-800 full motion simulator at the Ryanair training centre at Stansted
Airport, or a fixed based generic 737NG simulator at SIMTECH, Dublin. They do not use a set profile or airfield – you could be
operating to and from any airport they choose. It does seem, however, it is typically a UK airfield with Liverpool, East Midlands,
and Manchester being recent examples.
At the start of the session you will usually be invited to set up the aircraft navigations aids as appropriate for the SID and brief
your simulator partner on how you intend to fly it. You may or may not choose to give your partner an emergency briefing. This is
a good opportunity to demonstrate some good CRM techniques and highlight what reminders you would like your PM to call
out.
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Although there is no set profile, feedback suggests that you can expect the following:
Expect a normal take off with no emergencies from your departure airfield. You will be initially told to fly a SID. You may fly
some or all of the SID (and be prepared accordingly), but you can usually expect to be re-cleared to maintain runway heading
and level off at a low to intermediate altitude (between 2000-5000 ft).
Once you have levelled off, expect some general handling. This will consist of climbing, descending, turns, steep turns,
accelerating and decelerating. You can expect there to be a mixture of these manoeuvres at once, for example climbing whilst
turning etc. Typical manoeuvres would include acceleration from 220 kts to 300 kts and climbing from 2000 to 5000ft whilst
making a 180 degree turn. You will probably be asked to climb above the transition altitude. Remember to set your altimeter
accordingly.
It is advisable to carry out these manoeuvres in a slow controlled manner. This will allow everything to happen a little bit
slower, and will help to ensure your instrument scan can keep up with the manoeuvre. For example, the slower you increase or
decrease the thrust on the aircraft, the more time you have to react to the pitch power coupling and thus find the correct pitch
attitude. Quick and aggressive use of power can be difficult to compensate with pitch if you are not use to the aircraft.
For a typical climb or descent manoeuvre, will you find that the increasing or deceasing the thrust to the correct percentage
will actually change the pitch attitude by almost the required amount for the manoeuvre. Once you have found the correct
pitch and power setting for the manoeuvre, remember to re-trim the aircraft.
When anticipating the level off from a climb or descent, using 10 percent of your rate of climb is a figure generally used. For
example, if you are climbing at a rate of 2000 feet per minute, you should start to level the aircraft at about 200 feet to go.
With manoeuvres such as steep turns, remember to compensate for the extra drag by increasing the thrust by around 2-3
percent from the datum setting when entering the turn.
On completion of the general handling, you may be given an emergency situation or a failure. This might consist of a toilet fire,
engine failure or engine fire. In the event of an engine fire of failure, you will be required to control the aircraft as in your multi
engine training.
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In the event of an engine fire, (once the aircraft is under control) you should recall the 737 memory items for the problem. This
consists of:
- Auto Throttle if engaged, disengage
- Affected engine thrust leaver, retard to idle
- Affected engine, start leave to cut-off
- Illuminated engine fire handle, pull and rotate to the stop
The emergency checklists for the 737 are contained in the Quick Reference Handbook, more commonly known as the QRH.
Once the memory items have been completed, you should ask the PM for the appropriate QRH checklist (in this case the
“engine fire, severe damage or separation checklist”).
When controlling the aircraft with an engine issue, be aware that the rudder on the 737 is very effective and sensitive. Initially use
smooth and small inputs. People have a tendency to use to large a rudder input, thus requiring opposite aileron to compensate.
When you have the correct rudder input, the control column will be in the neutral position.
In the event of an engine failure, there are no memory items. Once you have gained controlled of the aircraft, you would request
the “engine failure QRH checklist.
It is unlikely that you will be allowed to complete the QRH checklist, making reference to it should be sufficient.
Again, although it is unlikely that you will be allowed to complete it, mentioning PIOSEE or DODAR, NITS briefing and a
passenger announcement demonstrates good capacity.
You may or may not be given the engine back. You will then need to briefly discuss diverting to the nearest suitable airfield. In
most situations this will be obvious, or the instructor will make it obvious where he wants you to go.
Once you have made the decision of where to divert, you will be required to give your partner a quick brief on the approach.
This will involve you selection the correct navigation aids and courses as per the Jeppesen approach plate.
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Expect radar vectors for a precision or non-precision approach. You may be required to go- around due to not being visual at
minima or due to a runway incursion, although normally you can expect to land from the approach.
Simulator Assessment Advice and Pointers
Here are a number of points to consider with regards to the simulator assessment and the Boeing 737-800.
- The single biggest tip for having a good simulator assessment is to learn the profiles they send you. You should know all the
flap speeds, take off profiles and approach profiles off the top of your head without hesitation. If you are not used to the
simulator environment and aircraft, most people will find that once sat in the simulator, you will have lost a huge amount of
your capacity. Trying to recall the different profiles quickly and accurately in your head can be very challenging. If you have
learnt the profiles and parameters to a high standard your capacity and thus performance will be markedly increased.
- You should consider investing in some simulator time to prepare yourself for the assessment. If you have flown a 737
simulator before, you will feel much more comfortable with the aircraft on the day as well as being more familiar with the
performance of the aircraft. Virtual Aviation located at Cambridge airport, (30 minutes from Stansted) offers competitive
prices for specific Ryanair simulator preparation on a fixed base 737-800.
- If you are unable to invest in any simulator time, arm chair fly the profiles. Sit there at your desk and go through all the profiles
and what you will do at what point.
- The pitch power coupling on the 737-800 is significant. An increase in power will raise the nose and a decrease in power will
lower the nose. You need to consider this when manually operating the aircraft. All changes in power will require a change in
trim setting.
- The aircraft is much easier to fly when it is in trim. Try and keep the aircraft in trim, but note that the electronic trim on the
aircraft operates very quickly, hence the tendency to over trim the aircraft. Use short “blips” when trimming the aircraft. You
will find the electronic trim at the top of the right hand section of the control column on the First Officers side (top left for the
Captains side).
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- It is not just your flying ability they are looking at. They are looking to see that you have a good attitude and are willing to
learn. If you didn’t do a manoeuvre very well or did a bad approach you should put this to the back of your mind. The
assessors may give you some tips or pointers on how to improve (similar to a training exercise) and allow to you complete a
badly executed manoeuvre again. Listen carefully to what they instructor is telling you, and try to demonstrate that you have
taken on board his instructions on the next manoeuvre. This demonstrates that you have the ability to listen and learn quickly,
an attribute that is required to be successful in the type rating.
- Given that they can choose to give you any number of SID’s and approaches we would recommend that you don’t spend time
prior to the assessment day looking at individual procedural elements, rather become familiar with the layout and data
contained in the Jeppesen charts and be able to extract the information quickly and accurately.
Interview
The Ryanair interview is notoriously random. It can vary from a barrage of technical questions on your previous aircraft types to
just a handful of questions on the 737-800. You can expect a number of competency based questions, but the main emphasis
appears to be based the technical aspect.
Personal Based Questions:
- Tell us about yourself
- What are you main interests/hobbies?
- How did you get into flying?
- When did you get into flying?
- What motivates you about flying?
- Why not earlier?
- Why did you want to become a pilot?
- Do you enjoy instrument flying?
- Tell me about your current job
- What is a typical day like there?
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- Why a career change, what did you not like about your last job?
- Why did you want to become a pilot?
- Why do you want to work for Ryanair?
- Why should we hire you?
- What did you do before starting at OAA/FTE?
- What does your girlfriend / parents think about moving to somewhere else?
- Was OAA/FTE your first choice of school?
- How much did you pay to go to Oxford?
- Why did you choose OAA/FTE, how did you pay them for the course?
- What did you think about the training at OAA/FTE?
- What did you think of your instructors?
- Would you change anything about your flight training?
- How do you feel about paying for your own type rating?
- How much will your type rating cost you?
- How will you pay for it?
- You planned and researched going to OAA/FTE so thoroughly why did you not - plan to pay for your own type rating?
- What languages do you speak?
- If offered this position, when can you start?
- Why did you get a partial on your IR?
- What was your proudest moment?
- When have you done something you’re not proud of?
- What was your hardest decision?
- This is your first day in Ryanair. How do you see your career progressing with us?
- Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
- What was the most difficult decision you ever made?
- Tell us about an event that happened to you that told you a great deal about yourself…
- What do you know about Ryanair and why do you want to fly for us?
- What do you think you would bring to Ryanair as a first officer?
- What would you do to make the company even better?
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- How do other companies such as British Airways see Ryanair?
- What does Ryanair think of its competitors?
- What would be your top 3 choices of bases if you worked for Ryanair?
- What would you say if the only base we had for you was Stockholm?
- How many planes, routes, bases, pilots do we have
- Who is Ryanair’s CEO, tell me a little about him?
- What do I think about Michael O’Leary and his aggressive business nature?
- Why is Ryanair making profit?
- Why are Ryanair so successful?
- Where do you see Ryanair going in the future?
- What are the advantages of operating a one aircraft fleet, and why don’t we use an A320 / B737 mixed fleet?
- Imagine us being in charge of making a decision of whether to increase the fleet with either the A320 or B737. Sell the B737 to
us.
- Please list which all other airlines and regional airlines you applied to?
- Why aren’t you working for them?
- Would you like too?
- Who else have you applied to?
- If you where offered both jobs which would you take
- What have you been doing over the past 6 weeks since you left flight school?
- When can you start?
- What does your father do?
- Do you keep current with aviation related issues?
- Tell me about a recent media issue which Ryanair has been involved in.
- What was the response of management?
- Do you agree with the response?
- How important are SOPs to you?
- How hard do you think you will have to work if you are employed with Ryanair?
- How many hours do you expect to fly a day?
- How many crew members do you think it takes to crew 1 aircraft?
- How many sectors a day do you expect to fly?
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- What is the typical turn around time for Ryanair aircraft?
- Which is the most important, safety or profit?
- Where do I think the industry is going?
- Do I know anybody who has recently travelled with Ryanair, what did they think?
- What do other students from FTE/OAA think about Ryanair?
- How would you feel about moving away from home?
- Where would you like to be based?
- Who are our main competitors?
- Why are SOP’s in Ryanair more important the a legacy carrier?
- If you find yourself in the cockpit with an unfriendly captain, how would you deal with it?
- Why did we order the Boeing 737 MAX?
- What are the differences between the Boeing 737-800 and B737 MAX?
- How many seats in the MAX? Do you know why?
- When do we take delivery of the Boeing 737 MAX?
Technical Questions:
737-800 General
- How many seats are on our 737-800s?
- How many cabin crew do we have and why?
- How many flight crew operate the aircraft?
- How many 737-800 aircraft do we have in service?
- Why do we operate a single aircraft fleet? What are the advantages of this?
- What is the VMO / MMO for the 737-800?
- What is the maximum cruising altitude of the 737-800?
- What is the sweep of the 737-800 wings?
- Why does it have a swept wing?
- What powers the flaps?
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- What is the maximum take off weight (MTOW) of the B738?
- Do the engines have any limitation at full power?
Previous Aircraft Questions (The aircraft you last flew in flight training)
- Explain your previous aircrafts electrical system?
- Explain your previous aircrafts hydraulic system?
- Did your previous aircraft have a critical engine?
- What type of engines did you previous aircraft have?
- How many batteries did it have? What voltage were they?
Aerodynamic Questions
- Why do aircraft have swept wings?
- What is Mach Tuck?
- What is induced drag?
- How do the drag components vary with speed?
- How does a wing produce lift?
- What is dutch role?
- What does a yaw dampener do?
- What are wing tip vortices?
- Explain the area rule . . .
- What is the formula for lift?
- What is the formula for drag?
- What is the center of pressure?
--What is angle of attack?
- What is angle of incidence?
- What is the center of gravity?
- Why is the center of gravity important?
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- Name the different types of drag . . .
- Why do shockwaves form on the aircraft?
- Where do shockwaves form first?
- What is the purpose of flaps?
- What is the purpose of slats?
- What are Kuger flaps?
- How do the flaps work?
- What are the different types of flaps?
- What are winglets, how do they work?
- What are raked wings?
- What is a stall?
- How do you recover from a stall?
- What are the advantages/disadvantages of T tail? - What is a super stall?
- What is the benefit of rear mounted engines?
- What is anhedral?
- What is dihedral?
- What is mach buffet?
- What are vortex generators?
- How do ailerons work?
- How does the elevator work?
- What is camber?
- What is aspect ratio?
- What is wing loading?
- What is load factor?
- What is the job of the spoilers?
- What is g-force?
- What is trim runaway?
- How can we prevent the wing tips stalling first?
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Performance Questions
- Why do aircraft fly at high altitudes?
- What speed to aircraft fly?
- What is the difference between IAS/CAS/EAS/TAS
- What is coffin corner?
- What limits an aircrafts altitude?
- What are the benefits of a forward and aft C of G?
- What is Mach Number and how is it calculated?
- What is PNR? How is it calculated?
- What PET/ETP/CP? How is it calculated?
- What does the zero fuel weight include?
- What is MSA?
- What is FLEX thrust?
- What is assumed temperature?
- What is de-rated thrust?
- What does flat rated mean?
- What is VMCG/VMCA/V1/VR/V2?
- How does temperature, altitude and pressure effect these speeds?
- Why do we have take off segments?
- Does a single engine aircraft have take off segments?
- What is coffin corner?
- What is a balanced field?
- How is V2 calculated?
- What is the screen height for take off in dry and wet conditions?
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Instrumentation Questions
- What is a pitot probe?
- What is a static port?
- What happens if they get blocked?
- How does a basic ASI work?
- How does a basic altimeter work?
- How does a basic VSI work?
- How does an attitude indicator work?
- What is a gyroscope?
- What is precession?
- What is real / apparent wonder?
- What is a PFD / ND / EFIS (Boeing specific)
- What is the EADI / EHSI / EIS (Airbus specific) - What are FMA’s? (737-800)
System Questions
- How does the anti skid system work?
- How does a basic hydraulic system work? - What is the typical psi of the tyres?
- What is fly be wire?
- How does fly by wire work?
- What is a RAT?
- What is an APU?
- What is TCAS?
- What is electricity?
- How do you get from AC to DC?
- How do you get from DC to AC?
- Why do electric cables vary in width? How does this vary resistance?
- Is there gravity in outer space?
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Navigation Questions
-What is a VOR/NDB/ADF/ILS/MLS?
- What are the frequency bands for VOR/ILS/NDB?
- How does an ILS work?
- What is DME? How does it work?
- What are the CAT I/II/IIIa/b/c minimums?
- What is an SRA?
- What is a rhumb line?
- What is a great circle?
- Give an example of a great circle
- What is GPS? How it GPS work?
- What is IRS/INS? How does it work?
- How does a modern aircraft navigate?
- What is ETOPS?
- What is the “departure” formula?
- How does radar work?
- What is SSR?
- What is an FIR boundary?
- What is MORA/SH/MSA?
- What is contingency fuel?
- What is final reserve fuel?
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Meteorology Questions
- What are ISA conditions?
- If the temperature is -30 degrees Celsius at FL300 what is the ISA deviation?
- What are a METARs and TAFs? Decode one.
- How high is the troposphere?
- Does its altitude vary at the equator / poles?
- Name the different atmospheric levels - Why do clouds form?
- What clouds should you avoid?
- How do thunderstorms form?
- Why do thunderstorms form?
- What are fronts?
- What weather do you associate with a cold front?
- What weather do you associate with a warm front?
- What’s the difference between drizzle and rain?
- How does fog form? What conditions are needed?
- What is advection / radiation fog?
- What is hoar frost?
- What is NEI?
- Where can icing conditions occur?
- What effect does icing have on an aircraft?
- What is carburettor icing?
- What are super cooled water droplets?
- How do super cooled water droplets form?
- What is the SALR and DALR?
- How do tropical storms form?
- Where would you find hurricanes?
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- Where do typhoons form?
- Where do cyclones form?
- What are the doldrums?
- What are the trade winds?
- What is an inversion?
- What is an isothermal layer?
- What is windshear? What are the indications?
- What is a microburst?
- Why does hail/snow occur?
- What weather is least desirable for a pilot?
- What does CAVOK mean?
- What is a jet stream? Where do they occur?
- Why does a jet stream form?
- What is clear air turbulence?
- Where do you find lenticular clouds?
- What do lenticular clouds indicate? Why?
- How does a weather radar work?
- What is QNH/QFE/QNE?
- What is turbulence? Why does it occur?
- Can you avoid turbulence?
- How does hot/high/humid affect aircraft performance?
- What are mountain waves?
- What is the coriolis effect?
- What conditions are associated with a low pressure system? - What conditions are associated with a high pressure system?
- What affects the wind direction and speed?
- What happens to wind with increasing altitude?
- Is wind different in the Northern and Southern hemisphere?
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