Ground School Defeated!

Wow, I can’t believe I’m actually saying this but… Ground School is over! After a long six months of hard work on top of more hard work I can finally put my books in the cupboard and regain some normality in my life. We celebrated in style yesterday with a big barbecue for our course and loads more, and then a night out in Oxford. And what have I done with my first day of freedom? Well, I spent most of it on the balcony outside my flat enjoying the sunshine with some of the guys from AP309 and 310. Really feeling the burn now though, I have a lot of sleep to catch up on and think some TV and an early night are in order for tonight!

As for the exams, I am pretty sure they all went well. We have to pass everything to be able to go out to Arizona; if any are failed then we are re-coursed. I don’t think I have failed anything, though I shall still be holding my breath until I get that phone call in about 10 days saying what the results are. In the mean time, we still have a few days left at school tying a few things up before we head home. We started Friday afternoon with a brief introduction to RT (radio-telecommunications) in America and some instructions on how to fill in our logbooks and check our scheduling. We also collected our standard issue headsets, though I won’t be taking mine to Arizona as I already have my own. However, it was a great symbol of our achievement and proof that we really are going to be heading out soon. Next week we have a few more odds and ends, plus a few days of lectures. As well as studying for our ATPL we are also studying for a Foundation Degree in Air Transport Management with Bucks New University. Ground School at Oxford makes up a large part of the credits for that, though we do have essays and presentations to do as well, and all this stuff starts to kick off next week as well.

We leave OAA at Oxford for the last time on Wednesday – then it’s back to Heyford to pack and on Thursday morning I’ll be heading home for a week and a half before we fly out on the 21st. I have a few things planned for my time off, but most of all I am looking forward to relaxing and enjoying my new found freedom!