Off Probation

My one year anniversary with Braniff International was just days away as I headed up to Dallas for my "Off Probation Check Ride"... was I nervous?  There needs to be a bigger word than nervous here.  It feels like your life is on the line.  Your dream job is at risk for the last time in your career... you think.

The check ride takes place in a full motion simulator... that means it moves up/down, left/right and forwards/backwards.  The place smells like hot electronics and scorched hydraulic fluid.  You get paired with a Check Engineer, a Captain, a Co-Pilot and a Check Pilot.  The two pilots and their Check Pilot go to a different briefing room from you.  You are in a small room with your Check Engineer... you don't know him and he is not one to put you at ease.  You get grilled for one hour on systems and emergency procedures... you think you did well.

Now the three of us are in the simulator fighting fires and problems with the other two guys watching us.

With a check ride there are limits.  The Check Pilots are not supposed to make things impossible... the emergencies cannot be compounded... such as a totally unrelated system cannot fail and overly complicate the situation.  A Check Pilot can make things so complicated he can fail anyone he wants to.  That was my Check Engineer.

We had an explosion followed by a fire on takeoff.  We were at our maximum weight and too heavy to land.  I had to dump 20,000 pounds of imaginary fuel.  I did do that and after the check ride I was told I failed by the Check Engineer because he had also failed my fuel gauges and I should have noticed that and timed my fuel dump.  But it turned out I did dump 20,000 pounds of fuel... he hadn't failed all the gauges, but he didn't realize it.  The Captain that was also getting a check ride recounted my Emergency in New York City a few months before and I was one of the few that had ever dumped real fuel and I did it well. 

After a short discussion I passed.  The pilots that had been in the simulator began bad mouthing the Check Engineer... I wandered out in search of a beer.

A few days later my one year anniversary with Braniff International went by virtually un-noticed by all... except Martha and me... We made it.


About 20 years and two airlines later I found myself in a small briefing room but this time I was on the other side of the table.  I was giving a check ride to two Captains.  One of those pilots was the guy that had been the Check Engineer that had given me that "Off Probation Check Ride" at Braniff.  

He didn't recognize me.  I did, however, recognize him. 

After an hour of questions and answers we climbed in the simulator for 4 hours of fun... For me...  I sat back and punched buttons and created scenarios for those pilots and then I relaxed and watched while my mind drifted back to that check ride so long ago... so fresh in my mind...  and I laughed... 

It is said:  "What goes around, comes around."

He never knew... The rest of the story... But he did pass.