Airbase Nº5 - Monte Real visit

As a complement to what we learned about turbines in the classes, it was given us the opportunity to visit the airbase where the 2 squadrons of F-16 are based (Falcões and Jaguares) and see with our own eyes how a jet engine is.

Some photos from the visit:

F-16 Pratt & Whitney jet engine

The place where the fuel is ejected when afterburner is activated

A gift for the future pilots :D - Compressor blades and Variable Stator Vanes.

If I remember this is what controls the Variable Stator Vanes to prevent a stall and surge of the engine (lost of power). This can be caused by engine inlet ice, damaged compressor blades (p.e. bird strike) or strong crosswinds that result in high angle of attack of the compressor blades. 

Turbine Nozzle Guide Vane (NGV) that is subject to about 1500ºC

Turbine blades

The F-16AM (MLU version) almost ready for the test flight

The team Haboobs

ATPL theory: exams

My exams were separated between 3 phases and it took me 10 months to finish:

1ª phase
Air Law
Human Performance and Limitations
VFR Communications
Aircraft General Knowledge
Meteorology
IFR Commonications

2ª phase
Operational Procedures
Mass and Balance
Instrumentation
General Navigation
Principles of Flight

3ª phase
Radio Navigation
Performance
Flight Planning

Every phase was a week of exams in Lisbon so we had to search for accommodation and the choice was a residential with a good reputation/price in Areeiro.

Getting started the study for my first exam (Air Law)

Good study environment :)

 Studying in group was a great help because we could learn from the doubts of each other and sometimes during the exam when some of the questions we discussed appeared it was easier to answer.

0500am: Quick revision for Meteorology exam at 0900am

For the Meteorology exam, I and my friend put in practiced what we learned in Human Performance and Limitation :) - for every hour of sleep we gain energy for 2h awake (more about this on a future topic) - so we slept 3h, given us about 6h of mental sanity to do the exam. It WORKED!!!

View from my window - Areeiro, Lisbon

It was 10 months of hard work between classes, studying and working but I managed to get a great classification of 97%.