Leisure
In our first episiode, we speak to Antoine, an A320 pilot, a French-language aviation podcast host and previously an air traffic controller in Switzerland. We talk about:How his parents were glider pilots and how he started flying very youngHow he set his parents' field on fire by playing with rocketsWhat it was like to be an air traffic controllerWhat the pilot training process is like in EuropeHow flying a modern jet aircraft compares with small general aviation onesThe importance of communication in the cockpitThe notion of personal minimumsThe differences of private flying in the US vs. EuropeSome technical terms we use in the podcast (I'll be careful to explain these more in-podcast in upcoming episodes):ATPL - Airline Transport Pilot License (European equivalent of ATP)CPL - Commercial Pilot LicenseVFR - Visual Flight Rules (or visual flying, by looking out the window)IFR - Instrument Flight Rules (or instrument flying, regardless of visibility)IR - Instrument Rating (rating that allows you to fly IFR)ME - Multi-Engine (rating that allows you to fly multi-engine planes)MCCJOC - Multi-crew Cooperation & Jet Orientation CourseClass Alfa - Class A (as oposed to B, C, D, E, F or G) airspace, usually reserved for commercial aircraft, mostly jets.If you speak French (or if you're just curious), check out Antoine's French-language aviation podcast: Parlons AviationWe love hearing from you, so send us your thoughts, comments and suggestions either by email (ground.effect[@]neustadt[.]fr) or via Twitter (@thegroundeffect).Host: Parimal SatyalSupport and Original Episode Artwork: Maggie OranPodcast Music: Getting It All Together by RockitMaxx