Good to hear Damo, I'm sure you'll breeze through it no problems, never underestimate your prior experience either. Many of us who have done significant time in the charter environment know only to well how it's up to you to be the jack of all trades and always use your initiative when faced with an issue.. It's this thinking on your feet experience that will set you streets apart and ahead of your military counterparts, cadets and low time Second Officers.. A multi-engined IFR charter pilot has no one to hold their hand.. You are it from pilot, baggage handler, refueller, flight attendant, flight planner, flight dispatcher, approved meteorological observer, shoulder to lean on, parish priest etc etc.
If I was instructing nowadays I would introduce significant real world experiences and scenarios for my students. Some examples I would cover would be:
1) client running late and uncontactable due no phone reception in the bush.your running out of duty time and the weather is closing in. Lesson learnt, your the captain, you TELL people when to be at the aircraft. If not there, you don't go.. You have legal responsibilities.
2) contaminated fuel found in drums.. Work out your absolute bare minimum fuel required.. What do you do if you don't have enough?
3) your on a VFR charter and you've got yourself trapped on top of 8/8ths cloud and you don't have an IFR rating.. Your Warrior only has an ADF and your coastal destination is about 30 mile away..when you go below 5,000 you will lose VHF reception and there is no other aircraft around.. No one around to help you. What are you going to do?
4) The boss asks you to fly his 182 on a 2 hour trip with a special client worth allot of money..there's 1 hour left on the MR.. How are you going to handle this one?
5) your in a holding pattern waiting for a Saab to shoot the RNAV at Devonport.. There's a bit of action on the ATC frequency with an aeroplane declaring a PAN going into Launy.. Your hear an under the pump ATC give a QNH of 1003, but you've been flying around on the forecast QNH of 1013..what are you going to do? What's the max QNH difference between regions?
6) your flying from Merimbula to Albury in a Cessna 210.. Loaded to the gunnels.. Winter time, your on top of a layer of ice baring cloud, severe standing waves are reported in front of you over the entire ranges.. Canberra closed due low cloud and heavy rain.. Cooma closed, now there's a wall of severe ice baring cloud behind you.. Your trapped.. What are thoughts?.. Where will you go? What's your considerations both aircraft related and weather/ landing strip related?
Please do one thing though Damo.. If ever you find yourself under the pump, dealing with an aircraft issue or whatever.. Fly the aeroplane first.. Put you and the aeroplane in a safe environment that being a holding pattern, orbit clear of cloud/terrain.. But get yourself above MSA and then work the problem.. Remember, Aviate, Navigate, communicate... In that order and don't deviate from it..Your the Captain, you tell everyone how it is..you don't ask for ATC assistance, you require it, you don't ask for passenger assistance.. Your require it, you don't ask for engineering assistance, you require it.. It's your licence on the line..
Oh and if you already haven't done so... Develop a really good bullshit radar.. Your going to need it.
Oh and I second what Adam says.. There's more aerosexuals here.. But also more people that know what they are talking about compared to that other site..
Plenty more.. Could write all day, but if you need any tips/advice etc.. You have my number?
It's hard for me to get used to these changing times... I remember when the air was clean and the sex was dirty..