Flight Instructor to Airline Transition by Andrew Vialoux
In this part two of a two part biography, Jetstar First Officer Andrew Vialoux writes about making the decision to leave his beloved Flight instructing career behind and finally join the airline.
Hi, I’m Andrew Vialoux (pronounced VEE-LOO) and I have recently begun my airline career after over a decade in general aviation. I have written this blog post to share my experience with the transition from flight instructor to airline and attempt to provide some comparisons and contrasts between them. For context, I have written a previous blog post for Pauwels Flying Scholarship with gives a full run down of my career pathway to date.
Andrew Vialoux as an A-Cat Instructor for his company Advanced Flight Training
My start in flight instruction commenced in the same way as anyone else, with a C-Category Flight Instructor Rating. Going into this flight test from a fresh CPL is, in my opinion, one of the most difficult flight tests. I think the combination of theory knowledge required, flight lesson patter and presentation skills creates a very demanding study requirement, and a nerve-racking flight test. Especially since up until this point, you have never done any real flight instruction. I’m sure those who have been through the same flight test can agree, is a wonderful feeling once you have passed.
Once I started instructing and during my direct supervision, I reflected on my days as a student. I had seen a wide variety of flight instructors, both good and not so good. I distinctly remember thinking that I didn’t just want to be using flight instruction as a method to gain hours, and that I wanted to be an above average flight instructor. Not necessarily the best, but just one that genuinely cared about the quality of the flight instruction they were delivering. Initially I was mainly focused on delivering technically correct flight instruction, however, as I developed experience, I found quite often the way I had learnt or tried to teach a topic wouldn’t necessarily work for others. I needed to figure out different ways to explain a concept, which was quite difficult. When the lightbulb moments came along, particularly when it had been a tricky topic or practical exercise for the student, it was a very rewarding feeling.
Flight instructor at Massey (student on left -Cameron Nayler, student on right - Joe Langevad)
I remained a flight instructor for approximately 5 years and enjoyed my time developing my own and others skills before moving on to aeromedical and charter. This was my first look into General Aviation operations properly and it was an eye opener. I was fortunate to achieve my goal of gaining operational experience and obtaining my ATPL before moving on as COVID started.
Post-COVID, I took my newfound operational experience and started flight instructing independently. I felt freedom in being able to direct my own learning and interests while also being able to ensure a high standard of compliance with rules and best practice. I fell back to my original thought process of wanting to deliver quality flight instruction and got to work updating myself with new rule changes in flight training, attending seminars and building my own teaching materials, such as powerpoint briefings, from scratch. At this point it seemed like a logical choice to continue the learning process and work towards an A-Category Flight Instructor Rating.
At this point, I still thought the C-Cat flight test was the biggest step up that I had completed so far, even the ATPL and B-Cat flight tests didn’t seem as strenuous. But nothing could hold a candle to how challenging the preparation towards A-Cat was. This was the most difficult period of study and training I have completed, physically, mentally and psychologically. It took a reorganising of my study processes to really synchronise with my own personal learning style. It also took a huge time commitment as there was just such a vast amount of learning and understanding. There were times I wasn’t sure I was cut out for achieving the A-Cat and I distinctly remember questioning my decision the week before the flight test. However, all the preparation and practice paid off on flight test day and I was thrilled to achieve my A-Cat, one of my biggest career highlights.
A year later, I completed my GA flight examiner rating and at about the same time I saw an opening at Jetstar for A320 first officers. It drew my attention for a few reasons, the biggest being based in Christchurch. The chance to try an airline environment and gaining some operational experience to build on my aeromedical and charter experience was also a factor. Things moved very quickly after applying, and with a successful interview, a few months later I was in the thick of completing an A320 type rating.
The type rating was 6 weeks of theory and simulator flying. This was then followed by 4 weeks of Jetstar induction, and then further simulator flying for 2 weeks to consolidate Jetstar’s standard operating procedures. There is a huge amount of information which is impossible to learn all at once. Because of this, the responsibility for constant self-study is on the individual with the instructor contact time being reserved for reviewing understanding and application of newfound knowledge. I was very thankful that the recent study I had done for A-Cat had got me in the right mindset for this as it certainly made the transition a lot smoother. Line training of 100 hours then followed before the final check to line. The entire process was extremely thorough, and I really appreciated the level of expertise and care delivered in the training system at Jetstar as it embodied what I had been trying to deliver in my own flight instruction.
Now checked to line, I have been able to consolidate a lot of the training I have received at Jetstar. I am still very new to the airline industry and the learning never stops. Alongside my airline career I will be continuing my flight instruction and flight examiner activities and will remain involved in both sectors of aviation long term.
Flight Examiner - maybe your paths will cross as you move through your qualifications
Summarising my transition from flight instruction to airline:
1. The high study and workload requirement was similar between my C-Cat, A-Cat and A320 Type Rating. Self-awareness of what works when studying was a huge help. The A-Cat and A320 Type Rating both seemed to have infinite amounts of information to learn. A methodical approach for prioritising and sequencing study was needed to keep me on track with the huge amount of content.
2. The constant learning and keeping up to date with changes, even without an upcoming test or check is similar between flight instructing and airline operations. In flight instruction, it is more to do with development of training methods and the civil aviation rules to ensure the flight instruction being delivered is relevant. In an airline, operational information is more relevant and there is a huge suite of airline specific documents including operating manuals and notices to crew which need to be constantly checked and understood before every flight duty.
3. The unwavering commitment to doing things correctly is non-negotiable in an airline. Sometimes in GA, there can be a varied level of compliance with rules and best practice, commercial pressures weigh heavily or can even override decisions. I personally have witnessed this in various capacities in GA, which is part of the reason why I became an independent flight instructor. I could hold myself accountable and would never be pressured to operate in a way that I thought was unsafe or against the rules. In an airline, there is no leeway with standard operating procedures and rules. The commercial pressures still exist, however they are far enough removed from the flight deck so that they rarely, if at all, influence decisions made. The airline environment is one that I have been looking for and am very pleased to be able to operate within.
Thanks for taking the time to read my blog posts and I hope that your career in aviation is lifelong and fulfilling.
