Surely, even without the interest in aviation, kapag nakita niyo sa movies or shows or even in real life, mapapasabi kayo na, "Wow. Ang ganda ng uniform." (Tbh, kiddie me think of it that way kaya pinili ko mag-piloto hehehehe). Anyway, yes, maganda talaga. Dahil parang ang linis at ang talino, lalo na kapag proper posture, din, di ba?

But, what is the truth behind that pristine uniform? Ano ba yung mga bars sa balikat? Bakit ang "cool" nilang tignan. Bakit parang chill ang ginagawa nila? Only if you know the truth...

On this lesson, I'll be explaining the uniform and what is inside the Pilot's bag that I've received on my first day as a student pilot.

UNIFORM

So, here it is. The "cool" and "elite" uniform. Yes, "elite". "Cool", not much, for a student pilot. I mean, "cool" tignan, but not literally. (will be explaining soon sa lesson regarding first flight)

The uniform consists of this: that white polo (minsan short-sleeved or long-sleeved), white inner t-shirt (sa amin, required na round collar and the sleeves must be shorter than the polo), dark blue pants (sa amin, di siya black, so yeah), the necktie, the bars on the shoulders or epaulettes, the wings pin, the coat, the hat, the socks and shoes (sa amin, kailangan calf-length black socks na hindi kita ang skin sa legs, and flat black shoes na walang laces in fear na it will be a hindrance with the usage of the pedals a.k.a. rudders (will explain this one soon)), and of course the ID and licenses.

In our school, we don't have the necktie, and the coat and the hat. But others do, especially in the airlines. I'll focus on the very important or the trademark of us, pilots. The epaulettes, the wings or wings pin, and the licenses.

So, the epaulettes. Yung mga nasa balikat. It is easy to learn and identify. It serves like some ranking. The more bars, the higher in seniority.

One bar = student pilot (0 hours until first solo or PPL)

Two bars = Private Pilot License holder (PPL) or completed first solo (in our case)

Three bars = Commercial Pilot License holder (CPL) or First Officer (in the airlines)

Four bars = Airline Transport Pilot License holder (ATPL) or Pilot-in-Command (PIC in the airlines) or Flight Instructor (FI)

Next, the wings. Yung makikita madalas sa may left-side ng chest. A necessary accessory. Sa amin, you received the "silver wings" after your first solo, and the "gold wings" after completing CPL/IR. Flying schools and airlines has their own version of the wings.

Lastly, the necessary IDs and licenses to have in person during flight. I'll be posting a separate lesson for the licenses soon. But for now, the necessary licenses or IDs na kailangan every flight are the following:

1. Company ID

2. Airmen license issued by CAAP (Student Pilot Authorization/License, Private Pilot License, Commercial Pilot License, Airline Transport Pilot License, or Flight Instructor License)

3. National Telecommunications Commission Radio License or NTC Radio License (Restricted Radiotelephone Operator Cetificate)

4. Medical Certificate issued by CAAP (Class 1 or Class 2)

5. Airport Pass issued by the airport authority (ID or pass that allowed one access to the restricted airside of the airport)

6. English Language Proficiency Certificate/ELP Certificate issued by CAAP (ICAO Rating Level 4, Level 5 or Level 6)

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WHAT'S INSIDE THE STUDENT'S PILOT BAG?

On my first day of flying school, before ground school itself, nakuha namin from the school ang pilot bag namin. Inside were the stuffs we'll be needing during ground school and core flying. I'll be including photos of each item that we've received.

1. iPad. We weren't given books for the ground school. All the books that we'll be needing is included sa iPad. First, upon receiving it, nasa iBooks lang sila lahat. Look below. 121 PDFs. Yas. 121. It holds all books needed for the training. From PPL to CPL to ATPL ground school. ATPL ground school has books for each subjects (with roughly 500 pages plus each). And yes, kailangan basahin dahil hindi mo alam kung ano lalabas sa exams ng CAAP. Despite may discussion.

Lately, the training department of our school, along with the IT department, made use of "Comply365" where all books, publications, charts will be sync to everyone else to keep our documents updated. Kailangan updated, especially yung mga charts. Below are the items included in Comply365, though I've hid other files that involved my school.

I believe that Comply365 is also used by airlines to keep their pilots updated with new charts. And no one will be saying na hindi nila nakuha yung latest.

2. Flight essentials. Included herein are the following:

2.a. Headphones. Of course, for communications.

2.b. Reflectorized Vest. Used whenever pupunta ka sa aircraft. Para madali kang makita ng ibang moving aircraft na nandoon ka. It is a must na laging suot everytime na nasa labas ng eroplano and on ground.

2.c. Kneeboard with checklist and navigation logs. The kneeboard is strapped to the thigh pero kneeboard ang tawag; I prefer strapping it on my right thigh than sa left. For me, mas madaling tignan yung mga nakasulat kapag nasa right, and also, most of our aircrafts (Cessna 172S) has the RPM indicator aligned with my right thigh. Mas madaling tumingin from the checklist to the RPM that way. Inserted are the checklist (from the 360 walk-around inspection, to before starting, starting until after parking checklist), and laminated emergency procedure checklist, and the navigation logs. Actually, yung navigation logs, ginawa lang namin as a batch ito. Needed especially during cross-country flights, with headings, distances, landmarks and time, in any event na biglang na-obscure ng cloud ang visual namin to the ground.

2.d. Pilot's Log book. Part of the items na laging on-board is the log book, with an updated number of hours flown.

Other necessary items on-board na hindi binigay o hindi talaga binibigay sa amin:

a. Clipboard: I recommend this para lalagyanan ng mga papers like flight plans and weight and balance sheet.

b. AMTL or Aircraft Maintenance Technical Log: Logbook ng eroplano. Everything na ginawa ng maintenance sa eroplano is nakasulat dito. I'll not be sharing any photo of this for confidentiality reasons.

c. ARROWS: Necessary items for the aircraft. Certificate of Airworthiness, Certificate of Registration, Certificate of Radio License, Operating Procedures Handbook/Manual, Weight and Balance sheet, and Safety kits like first aid, fire extinguishers and life vests. Just check na laging nasa eroplano ang mga ito.

d. Shades: Well, sa amin, di siya necessary. Actually, bawal siya gamitin hangga't hindi ka pa nakakapag-solo. Yes, sunglasses is a privilege para sa mga nakapag-solo. But, kailangan siya lalo na if you're flying early morning and sunset. Mas nakakasilaw compared sa noon, tbh.

e. Snacks and water: Let's be honest. Nakakagutom sa flight. Lalo na if five hours ang flight. My last flight before the quarantine, 14 March 2019 was at 0700 LCL flight from Subic to Vigan and back to Subic. We've flown overhead San Fernando, La Union at about 0900 and reached Vigan at 0930. Just used the restroom in Vigan airport for pilot's comfort with me and my FI hungry having only a light breakfast from Subic and no vendors close to Vigan airport. To fight hunger, my FI and I talked about random things, chika here and there. We've arrived back at Subic roughly few minutes past noon. Snacks and water is really necessary. Nakakapagod din magsalita sa radio and minsan mainit. It is a must.

f. Remain overnight kit (RON kit): Since the time that I was on my PPL Build-up time in Iba, involving area-out lessons and introduction to cross-country flight, I've ensured na lagi akong may RON kit. A spare uniform, pangtulog, towel, toiletries, and money. RON kit is basically kapag hindi nakabalik sa base, and at that time, it was Iba. Hindi masasabi due to weather, or baka kapag biglang nagkaroon ng sira yung eroplano. Until now, on my CPL training, lagi akong may dala dahil hindi mo aakalain. For emergency lang naman talaga. Lucky me, once lang ako na-RON, and I was told by our scheduler na I'll remain overnight in Subic when I was deployed in Iba back then. So, yun. Better be ready and prepared for everything.

3. Flight Computer. Our so-called instant calculator to solve for necessary details like time, distance, speed, endurance, average fuel consumption, etc.

4. Holding Visualizer. For Radio Navigation (RNAV) or Instrument Rating (IR) flights that require entry to a procedural holding as written on the charts. (Photo from the internet because my holding visualizer is stowed away. 😅)

5. World Aeronautical Chart (WAC) and plotter. WAC is an aeronautical map which is 1:1,000,000 compared to the original scale of the Philippines. With the use of a plotter to measure the distance between one place to another and also the heading to reach the next destination. Yas. Nakakalula, pero kailangan para sa navigation log. (Photo of the plotter is from the internet because my plotter is stowed away as well. 😅 But the WAC is mine, showing how big it is once unfold.)

I guess, that's it? Will be updating the items listed above if I forgot something. But these are the items that I remember receiving from the flying school I am a student. For one, I know that airline pilots always carry the items that are flight essential. Basically, I've shared here yung mga items na I have with me during flight and what we've received from the school, and also the meaning behind the uniform's epaulettes and wings.