Legendary Captain

Chapter 254 New Program Execution

Thanks to Lu Xinyu's intervention, Xu Xian's return-to-flight process went very smoothly, and even the medical examination that Xu Xian had been worried about was passed without incident. As soon as the medical examination results came out, the flight department's email confirming his return to flight was sent out very quickly.

Xu Xian had already completed all the necessary experience and landing for his promotion to Level 4 First Officer, and had even submitted his application. However, various circumstances had delayed it. Now, as soon as Xu Xian returned to flying, his application was approved by the technical committee.

Once the technical committee agreed, Feibiao arranged a theoretical exam, which was a standard procedure and not something added on the spot.

There are several important points in a pilot's promotion process, one of which is the promotion to third-level first officer. This promotion, also known as becoming a first officer, requires a theoretical exam, flight simulator training, and finally, a flight line check.

Another step is switching to the left seat. Switching to the left seat means the co-pilot is already in the process of becoming a captain. This process is extremely complicated. It involves not only inspections from the regulatory authorities but also inspections from the company itself. There are several theoretical inquiries alone, as well as various simulator checks, then a line inspection, and finally a comprehensive evaluation by the technical committee. Only when everything is in order can one truly become a captain.

All those who are hired as captains have undergone numerous rigorous tests, and it is very rare for them to be unqualified.

If the airline is also short-staffed, the requirements will be even stricter, and those who pass will be exceptionally capable.

Aside from these two critical points, the upgrade of other phone numbers is relatively less important. A very few upgrades don't even require flight line checks; they only require passing a theory test and answering questions. Most non-critical upgrades consist of one theory test and one flight line check; passing both completes the upgrade.

The theory test here is not a written exam, but a computer-based test. Moreover, the questions on the theory tests from becoming a Level 1 Co-pilot to becoming a Class C Instructor are largely the same. This is truly fair, and no one will raise any objections.

Once you pass the computer-based test, the flight guide will arrange a flight path inspection.

The computer-based test questions were all relatively standard; a score of 80 or above was considered passing. Xu Xian only needed to review briefly and passed easily. After Xu Xian passed the test, Flight Standard immediately sent an email to the planning department, requesting them to arrange a flight path check for Xu Xian as needed.

When scheduling flight route checks, the planners usually take the inspectors' flight schedules first. In other words, the planning department will schedule the inspectors' flight schedules normally first, and then check if there are any suitable flight segments in the next week's flight schedule that can be used as flight route checks.

There are specific regulations for selecting flight segments for route inspections. First, the route must be one that someone of Xu Xian's rank can operate, excluding complex airports within the province and high-altitude airports. Next, the segment must be one that can represent the company in operating general flight segments, meaning it cannot be a newly opened route. Finally, route inspections must consist of two segments, ideally completed within one day. Therefore, a two-day round trip segment involving a single overnight stop and a single return stop the next day is unsuitable for route inspections.

Because of these many restrictions, it's normal to wait two or three weeks for flight line checks. I wonder if FlightBill specifically contacted the planning department this time. Xu Xian completed her computer test on Friday morning, and the results were available immediately afterward. Then, the FlightBill staff said they would send an email.

When Xu Xian came out the flight schedule for the following week in the evening, he was quite surprised to find that there would be route checks next week.

The planning department typically only accepts special requests for flight schedules for the following week before Thursday, because the flight schedules for the following week are usually already finalized by Friday and released by evening. Making requests on Friday would force the planning department to change the schedule at the last minute, which is far too troublesome for the notoriously lazy planning department, so they generally ignore such requests.

Xu Xian originally thought so too, but things didn't go as he expected.

When he saw the flight schedule for the following week, he was incredibly surprised by the efficiency of the planning department. When did the planning department become so easy to work with?

However, whatever the reason, since we've already made the appointment, let's just go fly. It's better to get on the plane sooner rather than later.

Xu Xian also specifically checked the crew information for the flight route inspection. He found that the inspector was a Class C instructor, but he didn't seem to know him.

Class C instructors are the highest level in terms of technical skill, and Xingyou Airlines only has a limited number of them. Xu Xian had been with Xingyou Airlines for some time and recognized almost all the Class C instructors, but he had never seen this one before. Xu Xian even checked the inspector's information on the company's intranet and discovered that this Class C instructor had joined the company several months ago, which was very strange.

"Could it have been transferred from another company?" Xu Xian had this question at the time. This guess was probably the most plausible one; otherwise, there was no way to explain it.

Gu Kangrong!

This was the name of the inspector who would examine Xu Xian. He made a rough note of the inspector's appearance so that he wouldn't be left unrecognized when they arrived at the preparation room.

Another strange thing is that this flight inspection was conducted by a three-person crew. In addition to Xu Xian, the third person was not a second first officer, but a first officer, whose technical level was even higher than Xu Xian's, and he was a fourth-level first officer.

Except for certain special routes, having two first officers on a single flight is considered overstaffing, and the planning department usually wouldn't arrange it that way.

"Could it be a mistake in the ranking?" Xu Xian felt that there was something strange about both the inspector and the third-place finisher.

After careful consideration, Xu Xian made a phone call to the planning office.

"Instructor Gu? He's definitely not one of our company's long-time instructors. He was recently transferred from Chimelong, so it's normal that you don't know him." The people in the planning department readily revealed the information when Xu Xian asked about Gu Kangrong.

Xu Xian suddenly realized that this was exactly what he expected: "I knew it, I'd never seen this instructor before."

"Flying over Chimelong is quite comfortable, but it's not very lucrative. Instructor Gu couldn't stay idle, so he applied to be transferred here. It seems your inspection is his third shift."

Chimelong Airlines targets the high-end market, and its flight schedules are far superior to those of Star Airlines. After all, unless they have urgent business, who would be willing to spend a lot of money to get up early and travel late by plane? And the wealthy are always a minority, so even though Chimelong Airlines is a subsidiary of Star Airlines, its flight volume is not much more than that of Star Airlines. However, Chimelong Airlines' fleet size is more than twice that of Star Airlines, which results in Chimelong Airlines pilots having very few flight assignments.

For some pilots who prefer a relaxed work environment, Chimelong Airlines' working conditions are undoubtedly quite comfortable. They fly less, and there are fewer early morning and late night flights, making it practically a life of leisure.

However, for some hardworking and ambitious people, the environment at Chimelong Airlines is not suitable.

The overly comfortable environment at Chimelong Airlines has led to an even more excessive bureaucracy than at Star Airlines. Chimelong's management structure is extremely bloated; without connections, one can generally only reach a department-level leadership position at Chimelong, and climbing beyond departmental boundaries to higher management is virtually impossible. In contrast, Star Airlines faces fewer such restrictions.

This applies to job promotions, and also to those who want to make more money.

Pilots' salaries are directly linked to their flight hours. Chimelong Airlines generally has fewer flight hours, so their salaries can't be high. Instructors earning tens of thousands a month are based on flying 70-80 hours or more. If you only fly 30-40 hours a month, even the highest skill level is meaningless.

In comparison, Star Travel not only has more flights, but also more routes to complex and high-altitude airports. The landing fees at these special airports are much higher than those at ordinary airports, which leads to a significant difference in salary levels.

Money is earned through hard work. Star Cruises pays well, but it's also exhausting. China is much wealthier now than before, and lifestyles have changed compared to the older generation. Many young pilots are unwilling to work long hours, so many Star Cruises pilots have applied to transfer to Chimelong Airlines.

The two maintain a dynamic balance in their mutual circulation.

Some Chimelong Airlines pilots who want to earn more money would definitely like to come to Star Airlines, since Chimelong Airlines and Star Airlines are considered to be under the same company, making it relatively easy for pilots to move between them.

Generally, if you can find someone with a similar skill level in the other company who is willing to swap places with you, and the two of you agree on the terms, then there shouldn't be any problems.

Of course, this is a method used by pilots without connections. Pilots with connections don't necessarily need to find someone to swap places with.

Gu Kangrong belongs to this category; he is essentially a living example of this environment of mutual personnel flow.

"By the way, be careful when you do your inspection next week. Instructor Gu seems to be in a bad mood lately. The co-pilots of the last two flights got really yelled at." Perhaps Xu Xian is different now, because even the planning office, which usually doesn't care, kindly reminded him of something.

Why did the planning department know about the co-pilot being yelled at? Because after those two flights, the co-pilot on duty called the planning department and said they should never be assigned any more flights with Gu Kangrong. Even if they were, they would definitely find a way to cancel them.

Generally speaking, pilots, especially first officers, are not allowed to contact the planning department directly. First officers can only contact the fleet assistant by sending an email, which the fleet assistant then copies to the planning department. The planning department then fulfills the first officer's special requests for flight plans as needed.

Moreover, there is a limit to the number of applications for this special requirement; only two applications are allowed per month, and there is no guarantee that they will be fulfilled.

Conversely, those with technical ranks above captain, preferably leaders who also hold some administrative positions, can communicate with the planning office without restrictions, and the planning office will usually accommodate their requests.

Therefore, strictly speaking, those co-pilots who directly called the planning department were in violation of regulations. All calls to the company landline are recorded, and if the planning department takes the recordings to the fleet, those co-pilots could very well be punished.

Of course, in reality, unless there's a personal grudge and the calls are repeated multiple times, the planning department rarely reports such matters to the fleet. However, the fact that those co-pilots did this indicates they were truly pushed to the limit.

If a pilot is truly determined not to fly a flight, there are many ways to do so. The simplest is to take a hot bath followed by a cold shower, which will likely result in at least a low-grade fever the next day. If a pilot has a fever, they can naturally be grounded by the aviation security department, and no one will say anything about that.

However, this method obviously comes at the cost of one's health. Although there will be no aftereffects, it is still quite uncomfortable at the time. If there were other options, no one would do this.

Gu Kangrong caused his co-pilots to break down on both of his first two flights with Star Travel Airlines, making him seem like a difficult person to work with.

"Any rumors?" Xu Xian asked. He needed to know if Instructor Gu was just naturally bad-tempered or if there were some other factors. It would be good to know some inside information to avoid accidentally bringing up something that might offend him.

The person in the planning office was extremely helpful, explaining, "Our company has been under a lot of pressure lately, hasn't it? Instructor Gu came during this period, so he wasn't in a good mood."

Even though Gu Kangrong is a Class C instructor and came from Chimelong Airlines, he still has to participate in this round of screening after he arrives at Star Travel Airlines, and there is no way to cheat him.

The insurance company's withdrawal of coverage not only affected Star Cruises, but Chimelong Airlines was also affected, yet the two companies reacted very differently.

While Chimelong Airlines has tightened its management, it's still within an acceptable range. Star Travel Airlines, however, is a different story; they've almost reached the point where a single foot stepping into the preparation room could ground a flight. Moreover, what Gu Kangrong finds most unacceptable is that he's also required to participate in a theoretical examination. Since becoming a Class C instructor, aside from occasional special requests from the authorities, he hasn't participated in any company-organized theoretical examinations for almost ten years. He certainly knows some important aircraft model data, but how could he possibly remember the less common details? Furthermore, this theoretical examination requires a perfect score on every question, which puts considerable pressure on him given his abilities.

This so-called theoretical inquiry seemed different from previous ones. Lu Xinyu, the deputy general manager of the flight department, was present throughout the entire process, and news had already emerged that some C-level instructors had failed the inquiry. His C-level instructor technical grade offered virtually no protection in this theoretical inquiry.

His transfer to Star Travel is somewhat like him throwing himself into a fire pit.

Although Chimelong Airlines doesn't fly much, at least it can still fly. But with Star Travel Airlines, a Class C instructor like him is in danger of being grounded. Isn't that like picking up a sesame seed and losing a watermelon?

How can I be in a good mood?

"You'd better not mention the recent inquiries, it might anger Instructor Gu. If you feel you don't want to fly with Instructor Gu again after today's flight, I can make a note of it for you," the planning staff kindly said.

Although Xu Xian was in the passenger seat, he was still different from a regular passenger, so I could help him out with this small favor.

"Um," Xu Xian said, "I haven't flown with Gu Kangrong yet, but this instructor Gu has a great reputation, so I'm still a little hesitant. 'Okay, I'll have to trouble you then.'"

"No problem, no problem." For the people in the planning department, adding a label is just a matter of lifting a finger.

"Oh, right, there's one more thing." Xu Xian remembered the third-place finisher and asked, "I noticed that the third-place finisher on my flight inspection shift was a first officer? Was the crew exceptionally skilled?"

"This is indeed an overkill!" the planning team explained. "However, this was specially arranged for Instructor Gu. Instructor Gu is new to our company, and in some details, our operational standards are still different from Chimelong's. Therefore, to ensure flight safety, Instructor Gu's first twenty hours of flights will be with a dual-assist configuration. Don't worry, we haven't made a mistake."

While the operational standards of various airlines are largely similar, there are always differences in the details. Even though Chimelong Airlines and Star Airlines belong to the same company, their operations differ. For example, Chimelong Airlines' check-in and entry times are five minutes earlier than Star Airlines', and there are quite a few other minor inconsistencies.

Therefore, to ensure operational safety, Gu Kangrong arranged for a double-team crew configuration during the initial flights. After twenty hours, once Gu Kangrong had adapted to Xingyou Airlines' operational rhythm, the normal crew configuration was restored.

In this way, all the strange things can be explained.

After confirming that there were no problems with the flight path inspection and having spent the weekend, Xu Xian finally faced his flight path inspection as a fourth-level co-pilot.

Flight numbers: Xingyou 6121/Xingyou 6122.

Flight segment: Yunnan-Hongdu-Yunnan.

Departure time: 7 PM.

Over the weekend, Xu Xian had specifically spoken with the co-pilot who had previously flown to Hongdu Airport to inquire about any precautions. Everything else was fine, the only thing to note was that Hongdu Airport's arrival and departure procedures had recently changed, as had the flight computer's database; however, the electronic aeronautical charts were still outdated. It was essential to remember to check the paper aeronautical charts provided by dispatch and to use those as the final authority.

Xu Xian hadn't used paper aeronautical charts in a long time; the last time he used one was when he was learning to fly. He had almost forgotten how to use the index to find a chart.

However, the paper aeronautical charts provided by the dispatch should only cover Hongdu Airport; they certainly wouldn't just give them a thick aeronautical chart book.

After preparing himself mentally, Xu Xian even dug out the aeronautical chart books he used before and flipped through them to figure out how to read them, so that he wouldn't be caught off guard if he suddenly switched to paper aeronautical charts.

He had prepared exceptionally well for this flight route inspection, even finding out Xingyou Airlines' regular parking spots at Hongdu Airport. Xu Xian felt that as long as Gu Kangrong didn't deliberately cause trouble, his chances of passing the inspection were quite high.

On the day of the flight line inspection, Xu Xian did not go there early. Instead, he arrived at the flight preparation room at the normal time and found that there was already a co-pilot inside. Judging from his appearance, he seemed to be the one who was with him.

After Xu Xian finished checking in, he opened the flight assistant software to check the ID photo of the co-pilot who was with him, and it seemed that he had not mistaken the person for someone else.

He went to the dispatch counter, glanced at the table, and found that there was no information about his flight.

"Hello, is the data for 6121 still available?" Xu Xian asked the dispatcher.

The dispatcher pointed to the co-pilot in the preparation room: "He's already taken it."

"Oh, oh!" Then we can confirm that the other person is with us.

Xu Xian, pulling his suitcase, quickly went over to greet them: "Hello, are you from Fei Hongdu?"

The man looked slightly overweight, and his expression became somewhat unnatural upon seeing Xu Xian: "Yes, from Fei Hongdu."

Upon hearing the voice, Xu Xian's expression changed instantly. This person seemed to be one of the two co-pilots who had slandered him in the lounge last week.

(End of this chapter)