Finally, flight training is done. After an intensive period, you obtained your ATPL license and concluded your time at EPST in Utrecht by completing the MCC/APS course. These are great milestones, but life is actually just beginning now. If all goes well, you have started applying for jobs with enthusiasm. With a bit of luck – and especially a good preparation – you will be hired quickly and your next challenge awaits: the type rating. In this blog, we will tell you what it entails, and how you prepare for it in the best way possible.
What is a type rating?
A type rating is an annotation on your license that shows that you are authorized to fly a specific aircraft. Each aircraft has its own type rating: most newly graduated pilots start with a type rating for a Boeing 737 or an Airbus A320, although it depends on which airline and on which lines you start.
For the type rating you follow a specific training of approximately 3 months, consisting of theory and practical flights. Former EPST trainee and Ryanair pilot Diede van Dijk talks about his type rating for the 737: “Taking off and flying with a Boeing for the first time is a powerful feeling. The touch-and-goes are the icing on the cake!”
How do you prepare for a type rating with an airline?
Have you been hired by an airline after your flight training at EPST, and is the type rating coming up? Then EPST will always help you with some tips. It is important that you are well prepared at the start of your type rating, because many pilots see this as the most difficult part of their flying career. What should you definitely do before your type rating adventure begins?
Keep training in a simulator
Did you graduate from EPST? Then you are able to continue training using our Boeing 737 simulators. We think it is important that you take advantage of this possibility, because you do not want to become rusty. With simulator sessions, you can keep your flying skills at top level or even improve them. This way, you secure a good starting position when you focus on your type rating.
Refresh your ATPL knowledge
Keep your theoretical knowledge up to date! It’s basically the same as with driving a car. When you just obtained your driver’s license, your attention almost automatically turns to driving and your theoretical knowledge slowly disappears to a deeply hidden place in your memory.
During the type rating, the technical aspects of the aircraft mainly come to the fore and this requires the necessary knowledge from your ATPL training. Therefore, make sure that you study at least a few good summaries before you start with the type rating.
Rest well
Pilot training has demanded a lot from you for 2 years. You have learned a lot in a short stretch of time, and on top of that, you have also gone through the selection procedure for your airline. So it’s okay to take some rest. In fact, resting will allow you to be more focused, and to master the plane faster. So take that rest while you still can.
Above all: enjoy!
Finally: try to enjoy this period. You will process a lot of new information in a short time, but above all, it is something unique to learn how to handle a mighty aircraft. Most pilots only experience this once or twice in their career. Good luck!
