That’s awesome Declan. Sounds like you’re most certainly enjoying your job and the perks it may come with!
This is when you know you’ve found the right job for you. When you don’t even consider it work. 😜
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That’s exactly true. I literally say to myself everyday I go to work, “let’s go and play with some aircraft today” and then I realise that I’m lucky enough to get paid for it as well.
My eventual goal is to apply for the QGPA (Qantas Group Pilot Academy) which is in Toowoomba, Queensland. That’s what I’m working towards and hoping that already being employed with Qantas could be benefical in my application.
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Your job sounds like a lot of fun!
Hopefully my future job is a, “hobby,” and not something I, “have to go to.”
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Fingers crossed it is mate. As Matt mentioned, once that is the case, you’ll know that you’ve found the right job for you.
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I like the plan! Hope it all works out. 😃
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This year has been really exciting for me aviation-wise. So much has happened, but I am gonna try and summarize it:
- January: In January I applied at the DFS (the German air navigation service provider) for becoming ATC and at Lufthansa for becoming an aviation management student for them. I got accepted in both cases and after much deliberation I decided for the first option. I can‘t understate the difficulty of the selection process for becoming a German ATC, but if you make it, it can be such a cool job! In both instances, I was also able to fly to the assessment centers in Hamburg (DFS, twice) and Frankfurt (Lufthansa). One cool thing with the Lufthansa assessment center flights was, that I was on the 1st Lufthansa flight of the day leaving Munich and later that day on the last one arriving at MUC. All in all January was very exciting!
- June: In June I embarked on my first long-haul in my life. Prior to that I have flown a lot (at least for my standards) in my 18 years of my life, but never longer than 3 hours at a time. Thus, I was very excited to fly my first long-haul with my home carrier Lufthansa in one of their B747-8s from FRA to JFK after I flew MUC - FRA to connect. The cherry on top was that I persuaded my mom to stay in the TWA hotel for one night. I can‘t even put into words how awesome that experience was! I then also flew domestically in the US for the first time when flying LGA - DCA with AA and besides that airline choice being the biggest mistake of my flying life, the airports were located in pretty neat spots. I topped off that trip with a flight from IAD back to MUC in the fantastic LH A350-900.
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July: Thanks to me finishing my A-levels with a pretty good average, my dad donated me and my friend a trip to the West coast of the US. Thus I was lucky enough to fly MUC-YYZ-LAX and later LAS-DEN-MUC. And while I couldn’t really enjoy the return flight since I caught COVID (as I later found out) in Las Vegas, these still were some of my coolest flights, especially the one to LAX.
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September: In September I started my dual studies with the DFS. Now I am a student at the university of Worms, which is the biggest aviation-focused university in Germany, and I am at the beginning of my first 1.5 years of Air Traffic Management studies. After 1.5 years I will begin my ATC training with the DFS and in 3 years I should start working as an ATC somewhere in Germany. Until now it has been a blast and while it sure isn’t as fun learning about aviation and ATC compared to being an ATC, it is still so much more enjoyable than learning about things in school I never really even wanted to know about xD
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December: In December I again had quite an eventful month. Firstly, I had an airport tour around the whole of Frankfurt Airport where I saw every inch of apron and runway possible and learned quite a bit about the airport. It was also this day that I first saw the Lufthansa B787 which I would then fly on the 28th of December. I flew FRA-MUC-FRA. The way there I flew in Premium Economy (a first for me) and the way back in Business Class (also a first for me). Despite only being 40 minutes short, especially the flight back was my coolest flight experience ever, especially combined with my first time being in an airport lounge. In this case I was lucky enough that the Business and Senator Lounge in the satellite terminal of MUC are currently merged into one, so I was able to experience the luxury that is the Senator Lounge in Munich. In December I also visited the center and tower at MUC airport, an opportunity I got due to me being an ATC trainee. I really wish I can end up working in MUC because both working places were so cool!
That‘s all I think, all in all probably the best year of my life!
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Man, you’ve been busy!!!
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My aviation highlight was when I flew JetBlue KIN-FLL got delayed due to radar issue and at last minute they canceled the flight, only plus was I got to go in the cockpit 😑 worse 11 hours of my life
I really have been, but I can‘t complain. Always when my professor at Uni, who was CFO at Austrian previously, tells us about how stressful it was to fly 10 times a week in his position, I in contrast always wish for exactly that. And while my year might not have been quite as extreme, it was still beyond amazing! The only thing that I had to sacrifice a bit, was my activity in Infinite Flight, but I am aiming to get a bit more active again during my semester break.
I also didn’t even mention my private jet livery ^^ I keep remembering cool things that happened this year thanks to this topic! Thanks for creating it!
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Anytime. Stories like this are what’s the most appealing. And we often forget how much we’ve done throughout the year that its fun sometimes to relive those memories.
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I started my flight training, started planespotting and flew almost 30 times (commercially) this year. That pretty much sums up 2022 in aviation for me.
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This year, I purchased a DJI mini 2 drone. My favorite thing about it is waking up early and capturing the sunrise:
This has to be my aviation highlight from this year!
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The colors of the sky… are amazing! 😍
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First time flying on a Airbus NEO aircraft. I sadly failed on reaching my goal of getting 10 models in time for the year…
I guess this year’s highlight is the start of my Aviation Models hobby and my first time on a Airbus NEO aircraft. Speaking of which, it has been my first time on a Airbus aircraft in about 6 years.
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This year has been absolutely shocking and I cant wait to see the back of it.
The End.
Wooo! Best of luck!
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Entered this year a student pilot, and am exiting as a private pilot and so darn close to an instrument rating so that seems like a success to me 🤷🏻♂️
Really would have loved to go for the double but the flight part of my checkride just wasn’t going to happen before I left school for winter break due to weather and tight scheduling. The oral and the sim went super well though so just the circling approach and unusual attitudes left to do when I get back. Hopefully an easy cleanup and I will start the 2023 list off well 🤞🏻
As for peaks and valleys passing the ppl checkride has to be the obvious one, but after that flying with my family was unforgettable not to mention some fun flights with friends. Instrument has been a fun journey too, part of me is bummed to have traded steep turns and stalls for foggles and standard rate turns, but in many ways it has felt like I am a a “real pilot” getting to file instrument flight plans and shoot approaches. Not to mention flying in clouds, entering clouds the first time will stick with me for a long time, not to mention the feeling of popping out the bottom to see the whole world open up in front of you. Lots of hard times mixed in though, weather, difficult content, maintenance, all sorts of stuff keeps you on your toes, certainly not all fun and games.
Next year we need to get that IR cleaned up then onto CPL, go for the double next year!
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