Week 1: Maths and M&B

Well, that first week went quickly, we're 1 subject down, 13 to go!

When people say that ground school at CTC is intense, they aren't lying... it's been a very busy first week. Studying 9-5 in a classroom then going home and doing 3-4 hours more in the evening at home has taken some getting use to but I'm now starting to get into the routine, which makes things a lot easier going forward.

We started off the week with a maths refresher day on Monday, which although not overly difficult, took a while to take in as it's been a few years since I've really done any proper Maths (and I was never brilliant at it, if I'm going to be honest...)


The following morning marked the start of our ATPL theory study, beginning with Mass and Balance, which was taught to us by Nathan Powrie, a former CTC Wings Cadet himself. This lasted from Tuesday until Thursday, and I think I speak for everyone when I say what a large amount of information we've learnt in a matter of days! Although it may not be the most interesting of topics, M&B has significant real world importance. We learnt about the components that make up an aircraft's mass and how they are determined, also how the centre of gravity of the aircraft is measured and adjusted for performance and safety reasons, amongst other things that must be taken into consideration when loading an aircraft for flight. If an aircraft were overloaded or loaded too far forward or behind the centre of gravity limits, there could be disastrous consequences...


Moving on from that slightly morbid note, yesterday we began our second and much lengthier topic, Principles of Flight, which as the same suggests, teaches us the various principles that allow an aircraft to fly. We've only covered a days worth of material so far but have already learnt how lift is generated and its effects on the aircraft. It's fair to say that there is a LOT more to learn than in M&B and frankly the amount of information yesterday came down on me like a tonne of bricks (an interesting tonne of bricks though..). This will last all of next week and after finishing will mark the halfway point in our module one studies.


As I've said, it's been a tough first week, but still thoroughly enjoyable and I can't wait for next week! In the meantime, here's a photo of CP135 and CP135G after finishing M&B on Thursday: