Take your next step towards the flight deck with Flight Deck Wingman!
BWPA members, including two of the BWPA Communications Team, Steph Smith and Maeghan Sheehan, recently completed courses with Flight Deck Wingman, the pilot recruitment and flight school preparation specialists. The Flight Deck Wingman team offer a wide range of courses and services, including flight school interview preparation and assistance with writing pilot CVs. They are also BWPA partners and generous sponsors of three scholarships. Steph and Maeghan share their experiences below.
Maeghan: I joined the Flight Deck Wingman Flight School Assessment course earlier this year as I was attending an assessment for a scholarship at a flight school. I am fairly new to the world of aviation, so I thought this would be a great opportunity to learn more about the application process. The great thing about the course is the small groups, so you get plenty of time with Andrew Neofytou, the Director of Flight Deck Wingman, and the opportunity to learn from other candidates. As part of the course package you are also able to return at a later date as a course observer.
Flight Deck Wingman founder Andrew enjoying some gliding time
Steph: I won a one-to-one FL100 Interview Coaching session thanks to the B737 Talk podcast. I attended my 90-minute session in June on Skype with Andrew, which worked really well for me as it was so convenient and meant I didn’t need to take a day off from work. I didn’t know when I booked my session initially, but I ended up having a scholarship interview the following day, so the timing of the course was perfect to feel prepared for that!
Whether you do an in-person or online course with Flight Deck Wingman, the day starts with introductions and an outline of the course structure. The Flight School Assessment course that Maeghan took part in involves an airline case study, the Flight Deck Wingman ‘techniques not tips’ approach breakdown, a group exercise and a personal interview. The FL100 Interview Coaching session that Steph undertook also includes the ‘techniques not tips’ approach breakdown, followed by a personal interview focusing purely on the individual candidate section of an interview.
Maeghan: It was great to know what to expect throughout the day. It was full on and involved a lot of information, but Andrew allowed for plenty of breaks and opportunities to ask questions,
Steph: Andrew and I have met previously, so our introduction session was a little different, mostly talking about our recent flights. We discussed the aims of the session and how the timings would be split for each section. Having the e-book on the screen to walk through while formulating answers was a great reference guide during the session.
Maeghan: I found it so useful learning from Andrew, as well as others on the course. It is really useful to get a professional perspective – I was surprised that what I thought was good at needed some improvement, and vice versa!
Steph: The session really helped me determine what an interviewer is actually asking in their questions and what sort of response they are looking for. The hardest part is figuring out what competencies and experiences to reference to formulate a good, comprehensive answer. Andrew took my answers and walked me through methods to further develop them to produce a high-quality response.
Remember, BWPA members receive 10% off Flight Deck Wingman courses! Visit the members’ area for more information.
