En Voyage - Issue #8

En Voyage
AURIGNY BEHIND THE SCENES
TRISTAN MARCHENT
ATR FIRST OFFICER &
TECH SUPPORT PILOT
I’ve been working at Aurigny for nine months and
I’m now a First Officer on the ATR fleet. I also worked in
Flight Operations before that.
Can you tell us when you first wanted
to embark on a career as a pilot and
the kind of training that is involved?
I was at the young age of about 8-9
when I went around to a friend’s
house after school and he had a flight
simulator on his computer. I was totally
fascinated by this and begged my
parents to get this game when I got
back home. I really enjoyed playing
this, but I also was intrigued as to what
flying a real aircraft would be like. So,
around my 11th or 12th birthday, I was
very lucky to receive a trial flying lesson
where I went up with an instructor and
flew from Gloucester to Wellesbourne
and back. As they say, the rest is history!
Pilots need to start in small aircraft
first and work their way up to bigger
aircraft and that’s exactly what I did.
You usually start off training for a
Private Pilot’s Licence and then move
onto your professional flight training
ground theory which involves 14
theoretical exams covering everything
from Air Law to Principles of Flight,
Navigation to Meteorology and more.
After that is complete, you can train for
a Commercial Pilot's Licence which
enables you to be paid for your flying
and then you need to learn how to
fly in not so great weather and how
to fly multi-engine aircraft. All this is
single pilot flying so after that you
need to learn how to fly as a two-man
flight deck team, and once employed
with an airline, you need to be trained
onto the specific aircraft that you will
fly for the airline. Pilots get regular
simulator checks every six months, so
you are very safe in the skies with us!
What are the biggest challenges
in your training as a pilot?
A big challenge is just the wealth of
information we must take onboard,
memorise and learn sometimes.
The key thing here is finding
something that works for you to
absorb the amount of information.
I also do an office role as part of
being a pilot for Aurigny, and I have
found challenges with this role too.
I am sometimes tasked with editing
technical documents which are then
distributed to aircraft. However, I
make sure I ask for as much advice as
possible if I am unsure on anything and
check and re-check everything I do.
What’s the best thing about
being a pilot? What are you
most looking forward to?
I am most looking forward to flying
into some big airports I have always
wanted to fly into, such as Manchester,
Gatwick and Bristol. I spent my younger
years at these airports watching aircraft
take-off and land and now to be flying
an aircraft like the ones I used to see
is incredible. It just shows that dreams
can come true and I hope to inspire
other people who may be watching
aircraft just like I did to try flying!
Could you share an amusing
tale/anecdote/memory from
your time in aviation so far?
When I was doing my commercial flight
training we were just about to take-off
and had to do some normal checks
beforehand. I engaged the parking brake
and carried out our checks and when
finished I tried to disengage the brake...
I couldn’t! My instructor and I were both
trying to release it but it seemed it had
jammed in place. Our engine was still
running and aircraft were being blocked
behind by us. This of course was really
embarrassing but quite funny as this had
never happened before. We had to shut
down, call some engineers over and get
them to release it. After a while, we were
eventually on our way. Safe to say, I’ll
be a little bit more careful next time!
Tell us something people may not
know about working for an airline?
Flying is a very small part of the job
actually. Crews do not just turn up, get
onboard, start the engines and take-off,
there is a lot more to it than meets the
eye. A lot of flight preparation goes
into each flight and each crew brief
together before a day’s duty where
they will discuss items such as weather,
passenger loads, special requirements
and also discuss a safety scenario. Once
onboard they make sure the aircraft
is fit to fly by checking everything.
What do you enjoy most about
working in aviation? What’s the best
thing about working for Aurigny?
The new opportunities it presents.
For example, we’ve recently done
some charter work on behalf of
Loganair with one of our ATR aircraft.
Although I have just become a First
Officer and won’t be able to fly these
charters, you never know what can
happen in a year's time. You may
be asked to operate a charter to an
airfield which is new to you and the
challenge of learning how to operate
in and out of those airports is great.
The best thing about working for
Aurigny is the family feel to the
company here. You get to fly with
people regularly and it’s a real team
effort to deliver a great customer
service to our passengers.
Any advice for budding pilots?
Always make contacts in the industry,
you never know who you are talking to
and who you may meet. Talk to people,
get their advice and don’t stop learning.
Always keep pushing yourself as some
things are easier than originally thought,
for example, learning a new procedure.
But most of all, enjoy your flying! Always
strive for the best you can and take
every opportunity that is given to you.
14 En Voyage | Aurigny’s Magazine