Why did I decide to become a pilot? Well, I got into flying because I loved learning about how things worked. The mystery inside the machines, the adventure at the end of the flight. So I trained, I studied, I learned and I passed my checks… And then I joined my first airline and realised, there is so much more to being a pilot than just knowing how to get your aircraft to move from A to B.

The things we learn in our initial pilot training - when we are "becoming a pilot" - are of course incredibly important (yes, even all the seemingly obscure theory in the ATPLs), because this builds a foundation of knowledge, skills and attitude which the role absolutely needs us to have. We have to understand aerodynamics and principles of flight in order to fly. We need to know what human factors and CRM refer to so that we function effectively in our roles.

We need a grasp of meteorology, an awareness of air law and a working knowledge of the systems and instruments we will come to use. Without knowing how to bank left and roll right, the actions to recover from a stall, why we don’t like tailwinds etc. we aren’t going to get very far...

So all of this gets us up in the air and flying forwards in our careers. But it is also just the foundations. These are the basics of being a pilot, and we need them to start us off, but it isn’t all we need, and especially isn’t if we want to excel in an airline pilot role.

To put it simply - this knowledge doesn't make us a pilot, it is just the first step in becoming a pilot. To become an airline pilot (a competent and confident one), we need to keep accumulating knowledge, practicing our skills, and learning and developing (that’s part of the attitude bit). And this can be a challenge because a lot of it isn’t covered at the early training level, but is suddenly expected of you at the airline level.

Well, the list is long, and possibly too long for me to cover in a short article. To be honest, it also isn’t a list which you have to tick off right at the start. In fact, you shouldn’t try to because we should spend our whole career trying to complete “the list” and likely never will. The day we think we know it all is probably the day things will go very wrong for us!

A lot of it is things which you will continue to build on as you gain more experience, but here’s the thing - we often don’t know what we don’t know, so having an awareness of topics, concepts, subjects and insights which you might want to develop is what I am hoping to share here.

Airline operations are built around SOPs - standard operating procedures. These set the standards, expectations, rules and guidance for near on everything. They keep us on the same page with each other, and with our operator, and you will be immersed in these right from the start of your type rating training. Following SOPs is critical - they are there for a reason and generally put together by folk with a lot of experience and knowledge (often of mistakes previously made!)

But really understanding SOPs is critical, because they are not something to "blindly" follow. They require an understanding of why they are there, what each SOP’s individual intent is, because whilst some are mandatory, others are guidance, a lot are prescriptive, but some can be ambiguous… so without understanding these nuances (and when to apply them), you won’t be able to understand their limitations, and they do have these.

Eh? You thought we were talking about SOPs? Well, we still are, but a brief interlude first on cognitive learning because this is a great way to learn stuff well. It means doing more than just cramming in some theory. Instead, it is about understanding the theory and fully placing it into your brain so that you can apply it effectively in real life situations. Comprehension, memory and application.

So, how does that help with SOPs? Well, cognitive learning is about relating what you learn to experiences and practical situations because it helps you understand and apply it better.

So here is a real example of a scenario where “going outside the SOPs” might be required, to show you what I mean, to get you thinking and understanding, and to help you come up with some of your own examples as well.

OK, why? Well, the briefing is really critical. A rushed briefing, one that doesn’t capture threats and discuss mitigations, which doesn’t build a shared mental model and increase situation awareness etc will probably mean critical threats are missed, and it could easily lead to an increase in errors. Getting out of sequence can also mean missing critical actions. So we brief for very good reasons.

If the briefing is done during the taxi, when there are multiple other things to do and distractions occurring, then this is going to a) result in a sub-par briefing and b) potentially result in mistakes during the taxI. So doing the brief while safely at the gate is a very good SOP to have.

But today, the turnaround is rushed and busy because there is some nasty winter weather, and that same weather requires you to do a full, two step de-ice and anti-ice. This process will take around 10-15 minutes and there is a long queue for the deicing bay. Additionally, the weather is a bit changeable and while this is supposed to be your sector, if the conditions worsen, the Captain might want to do the take-off them-self which will require a change in the briefing.

So, the Captain suggests you set-up and go as expeditiously as possible, get in the queue and use the time you are sat de-icing to brief then. This will give you a nice chunk of quiet, undisturbed time to do the briefing uninterrupted, and means you can brief for the conditions just prior to departure based on what the plan needs to be.

Is it an unnecessary breach of an SOP? A bending of an SOP which still maintains the real intent of the SOP? Not outside the SOPs at all? Does the word 'should' hint at anything there for you?

Hopefully this has given you some food for thought. SOPs are more than just “tick boxes” - we need to really understand them, and know how to apply them effectively, in order for them to fully function as the countermeasure they are designed to be.