<p>In my last blog post I discussed how I made my big career change from Olympic rower to cadet at <a href="https://skyborne.com/">Skyborne Airline Academy</a>. Now, I am heading back into the classroom to share my ground school experience with you.</p>
<p><img alt="Matt Langridge classroom" src="/getasset/67ebd380-d30e-4274-b7ca-952ad2a3beee/" /></p>
<p>To say I was a little apprehensive about returning to study would be an understatement. The last time I did was more than 10 years ago, but I knew this was the career I wanted to pursue and when I put my mind to something, I give it my all because I am determined to achieve my goals.</p>
<p>I spent a lot of time doing my own research on the best pilot training academies and this also involved speaking to other pilots about their experience of ground school. Most told me that it was an intense period of study and I soon found out they weren’t lying! Ground school training was comprised of 14 EASA ATPL subjects, which are then broken down into manageable modules. During ground school you study in preparation for a lot of exams and to ensure I was fully equipped, I made sure I was studying for at least for a few hours in the evenings as well as at the weekends, alongside our normal Monday to Friday classroom hours.</p>
<p>I really enjoyed my overall experience of ground school and although I was older than the average cadet, I found it rewarding learning new things, especially as the subjects are about topics I am passionate about. The modules I enjoyed the most were Principles of Flight (POF), Aircraft General Knowledge (AGK), Meteorology and very surprisingly, Air Law.</p>
<p>At school I loved physics and I found POF to be similar to this, as it is all about the physics behind what makes the aircraft fly. AGK is very much about the working systems of the aircraft, from the electrical system to my favourite component, the jet engine. I found it fascinating to learn about how the intricate parts are put together and the design that has gone into them. Meteorology is a very important module for pilots, and this was also an interesting topic to learn, as it helped me to understand what causes a natural phenomenon and the types of weather conditions to look out for while flying.</p>
<p>If I am totally honest, Air Law was one of the modules I was dreading the most, as learning facts and figures was not one of my strong points. However, as the law was aviation related, I found it a lot easier to understand than anticipated. I enjoyed finding out more about the world of aviation, from runway markings to the minimum distances separating commercial flights.</p>
<p>Because of my professional rowing career, I’m used to performing under pressure and have learnt many methods along the way to ease my workload. When it came down to preparing for my ground school exams, I knew having a routine was key as this was a skill I had employed building up to each Olympic final. In a high-pressure situation like ground school exams, rather than doing something new for the first time, you can take comfort in the familiarity of going through the same process you have done hundreds of times before. In the week before any exam I would make sure I set myself mock questions under time pressure and stick to the same schedule I had planned on the day of the actual exams. I also found making flash cards and sticking post-it notes around my room helped me visualise and retain the information. Thankfully it all paid off.</p>
<p><img alt="Matt Langridge Revision" src="/getasset/d537a9f7-7958-4142-9da5-2219b76db1d3/" /></p>
<p>Ground school is not only about your academic skills, it is equally as important to have a good rapport with your fellow cadets. You will be working in a multi-crew environment and teamwork is an essential part of becoming an airline pilot. Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses so revising together can also benefit the whole class. For me, helping one of my fellow cadets with some aspects of POF also helped me to understand the subject better.</p>
<p>For cadets about to start their ground school training the best piece of advice I can give is to spend time figuring out what your learning style is, whether it is visual, notetaking or reading aloud, so that when it comes to revising for exams you are already a step ahead. Mature cadets shouldn’t worry because if you are passionate about retraining as a pilot, the challenge of learning new skills will be very rewarding. If this is something you really want, it should be more than enough motivation to overcome the fact that you haven’t been in the classroom for a while. Ultimately, it’s about investing in yourself.</p>
<p>I am currently undergoing my core flight training at Skyborne’s fair weather base at Castellón Airport in Spain. To find out more about my pilot journey be sure to come back soon and check out my next blog post.</p>
<p><strong>Did you miss out on the first blog from Matt Langridge? Please see below.</strong></p>
<p><strong>• </strong><a href="https://jobs.flightglobal.com/article/matt-langridge-mbe-my-big-career-change-from-olympic-rower-to-cadet-at-skyborne-airline-academy/">Matt Langridge MBE: My big career change. From Olympic rower to cadet at Skyborne Airline Academy</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p><img alt="Matt Langridge classroom" src="/getasset/67ebd380-d30e-4274-b7ca-952ad2a3beee/" /></p>
<p>To say I was a little apprehensive about returning to study would be an understatement. The last time I did was more than 10 years ago, but I knew this was the career I wanted to pursue and when I put my mind to something, I give it my all because I am determined to achieve my goals.</p>
<p>I spent a lot of time doing my own research on the best pilot training academies and this also involved speaking to other pilots about their experience of ground school. Most told me that it was an intense period of study and I soon found out they weren’t lying! Ground school training was comprised of 14 EASA ATPL subjects, which are then broken down into manageable modules. During ground school you study in preparation for a lot of exams and to ensure I was fully equipped, I made sure I was studying for at least for a few hours in the evenings as well as at the weekends, alongside our normal Monday to Friday classroom hours.</p>
<p>I really enjoyed my overall experience of ground school and although I was older than the average cadet, I found it rewarding learning new things, especially as the subjects are about topics I am passionate about. The modules I enjoyed the most were Principles of Flight (POF), Aircraft General Knowledge (AGK), Meteorology and very surprisingly, Air Law.</p>
<p>At school I loved physics and I found POF to be similar to this, as it is all about the physics behind what makes the aircraft fly. AGK is very much about the working systems of the aircraft, from the electrical system to my favourite component, the jet engine. I found it fascinating to learn about how the intricate parts are put together and the design that has gone into them. Meteorology is a very important module for pilots, and this was also an interesting topic to learn, as it helped me to understand what causes a natural phenomenon and the types of weather conditions to look out for while flying.</p>
<p>If I am totally honest, Air Law was one of the modules I was dreading the most, as learning facts and figures was not one of my strong points. However, as the law was aviation related, I found it a lot easier to understand than anticipated. I enjoyed finding out more about the world of aviation, from runway markings to the minimum distances separating commercial flights.</p>
<p>Because of my professional rowing career, I’m used to performing under pressure and have learnt many methods along the way to ease my workload. When it came down to preparing for my ground school exams, I knew having a routine was key as this was a skill I had employed building up to each Olympic final. In a high-pressure situation like ground school exams, rather than doing something new for the first time, you can take comfort in the familiarity of going through the same process you have done hundreds of times before. In the week before any exam I would make sure I set myself mock questions under time pressure and stick to the same schedule I had planned on the day of the actual exams. I also found making flash cards and sticking post-it notes around my room helped me visualise and retain the information. Thankfully it all paid off.</p>
<p><img alt="Matt Langridge Revision" src="/getasset/d537a9f7-7958-4142-9da5-2219b76db1d3/" /></p>
<p>Ground school is not only about your academic skills, it is equally as important to have a good rapport with your fellow cadets. You will be working in a multi-crew environment and teamwork is an essential part of becoming an airline pilot. Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses so revising together can also benefit the whole class. For me, helping one of my fellow cadets with some aspects of POF also helped me to understand the subject better.</p>
<p>For cadets about to start their ground school training the best piece of advice I can give is to spend time figuring out what your learning style is, whether it is visual, notetaking or reading aloud, so that when it comes to revising for exams you are already a step ahead. Mature cadets shouldn’t worry because if you are passionate about retraining as a pilot, the challenge of learning new skills will be very rewarding. If this is something you really want, it should be more than enough motivation to overcome the fact that you haven’t been in the classroom for a while. Ultimately, it’s about investing in yourself.</p>
<p>I am currently undergoing my core flight training at Skyborne’s fair weather base at Castellón Airport in Spain. To find out more about my pilot journey be sure to come back soon and check out my next blog post.</p>
<p><strong>Did you miss out on the first blog from Matt Langridge? Please see below.</strong></p>
<p><strong>• </strong><a href="https://jobs.flightglobal.com/article/matt-langridge-mbe-my-big-career-change-from-olympic-rower-to-cadet-at-skyborne-airline-academy/">Matt Langridge MBE: My big career change. From Olympic rower to cadet at Skyborne Airline Academy</a></p>
<p> </p>