# ACS Anyone? - Sept



## Barracuda13 (31 Jul 2006)

Hi everyone, i'm booked for Acs in september , and i was wondering if anyone else is going around the same time 18-22. 
Also i d like to thank the people who posted lots of useful info here, they all helped a lot so thx again. 
by the way, does anyone use X-plane v8 on mac?

take care


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## J_Muir (31 Jul 2006)

Kinda of off-topic I guess, but does anyone know which aircraft is used during the sim-portion of ACS? 

Good luck Barracuda, all the best. I'll be there in a couple years hopefully. Let us know how you make out.


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## SupersonicMax (31 Jul 2006)

Not a particular type of aircraft.  Just a generic panel.  It's single Engine, fixed pitch prop.

Max


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## J_Muir (31 Jul 2006)

SupersonicMax said:
			
		

> Not a particular type of aircraft.  Just a generic panel.  It's single Engine, fixed pitch prop.
> 
> Max



I use a number of flight sims as home. Would you say it's benificial to do so? If nothing else, just to become familar with basic instrumentation and what not? I generally fly using a 172, as it's pretty basic - sounds like thats maybe the most like the sim aircraft at ASC, correct?


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## Quyen (31 Jul 2006)

I"m on ACS right now, day one hehe. I used microsoft flight sim 2004. I did some of the flight lessons that teach you traffic patterns. Got my microsoft private pilots license


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## J_Muir (31 Jul 2006)

Quyen said:
			
		

> I"m on ACS right now, day one hehe. I used microsoft flight sim 2004. I did some of the flight lessons that teach you traffic patterns. Got my microsoft private pilots license



When do you get to fly in the sim? Let me know what it's like whe you've don it! Good luck by the way


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## Astrodog (31 Jul 2006)

Quyen said:
			
		

> I"m on ACS right now, day one hehe. I used microsoft flight sim 2004. I did some of the flight lessons that teach you traffic patterns. Got my microsoft private pilots license


 wonder if they'll let you skip PFT!  ;D


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## Barracuda13 (1 Aug 2006)

Hi guys thx hopefully i ll have some good news, i also use c172 on x-plane although the f-22 is tempting  a lot of ppl said the sim at acs is really sensative so i set it to max sensitivity which reminds me of my gf  anyways btw good luck Quyen , and all the best to others too. keep us updated..


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## Quyen (1 Aug 2006)

Yoyo whats up from trenton ACS day 2.  Well had two sessoins today. I gotta say its stressful but really fun at the sametime. One of the guys in our course dropped out today, couldn't handle the morning course. My advice to all is what has been said many times before, RELAX and listen to instructions. When you start to hear warnings don't freak  out thinking you're gonna fail, they are there as warnings so you dont go to far off course. Well time to goto the canex and the museum, talk to ya'll tommorow, let ya know if i pass. I should know around 10 or 11am. 

Quyen


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## SupersonicMax (1 Aug 2006)

I suggest you practice in Flight Sim, IMC, full sensitivity on the C172.  Practice rate 1 turns, descents, climbs (at constant rates).

Max


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## J_Muir (2 Aug 2006)

SupersonicMax said:
			
		

> I suggest you practice in Flight Sim, IMC, full sensitivity on the C172.  Practice rate 1 turns, descents, climbs (at constant rates).
> 
> Max



What would you say is the most important thing to keep in mind during the sim portion of ACS? I've heard that it's not really designed to pick out the best pilots, but more so to pick out the best/fastest learners and those who can react well under stress and pressure. 

I mean candidates with hundreds of previous hours and commercial liscences who freak out have been known to get the axe and 'virgin flyers' like myself make it through. So if you could pick 2 or 3 things to keep in mind while in the sim, what would they be?


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## Japexican (2 Aug 2006)

"check altitude", "check heading", "check airspeed"  ;D
The three phrases you will come to know and love.  
On a serious note, all you can really do is to keep mentally focused and don't panic.  Show up to the training sessions well rested and "fly the plane, don't let the plane fly you" (don't just react, be proactive: don't just check the instruments that are yelling at you, do a "cross check").

Good Luck


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## Quyen (2 Aug 2006)

Well hello from trenton day 3 acs. I FREAKIN PASSED WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT. Just had the xrays done, Time to go get hammered at the officers mess. Leaving for toronto at 6. Good luck to all that come here : its a good tiem

QUyen


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## Bo (2 Aug 2006)

Congrats! The medical in TO are interesting, especially the cognitive tests.

Enjoy IAP/BOTP  ;D


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## J_Muir (2 Aug 2006)

Quyen said:
			
		

> Well hello from trenton day 3 acs. I FREAKIN PASSED WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT. Just had the xrays done, Time to go get hammered at the officers mess. Leaving for toronto at 6. Good luck to all that come here : its a good tiem
> 
> QUyen



Congrats man, thats awesome!

PM me and tell me all about would ya - well, as much as you can tell me. I'd really really appreciate it, as I'm doing the same in the not too distant future.


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## Barracuda13 (2 Aug 2006)

Hey congrats Quyen; good luck with the medical, i'd appreciate a bit info on how it was too, (not the if i tell you i have to kill you stuff )
Also i never tried Ms FS but on x-plane ,flying c172 is hell with full sensitivity, as i mentioned before if anyone has any knowledge on x-plane pls pm me. 


how many quarters does the CAPSS take anyways?


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## GAP (2 Aug 2006)

Not everybody can fly the X-Plane


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## Barracuda13 (2 Aug 2006)

??? hmm GAP i think this picture might be fake...






... they didn t start making them until early 50s  ;D


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## J_Muir (3 Aug 2006)

Does anyone know that fail/pass rate for ACS..or at least ballpark?


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## SupersonicMax (3 Aug 2006)

It really varies from serial to serial...  On mine, 8/12 passed PLT, 4/12 passed for ANAV, 2 failed Aircrew Medical in Toronto.  On an other serial my roommate when back in 1st year at RMC (lonnng time ago  ), 2/10 passed for PLT and none for ANAV...

Max


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## J_Muir (3 Aug 2006)

SupersonicMax said:
			
		

> It really varies from serial to serial...  On mine, 8/12 passed PLT, 4/12 passed for ANAV, 2 failed Aircrew Medical in Toronto.  On an other serial my roommate when back in 1st year at RMC (lonnng time ago  ), 2/10 passed for PLT and none for ANAV...
> 
> Max



Thanks Max.

So does one need passes in all categories to make it through? I assume certain tests are weighted higher/lower than others.


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## Japexican (3 Aug 2006)

If you want to be a pilot, you only need to pass the pilot testing in Trenton and pilot medical in Toronto.  For airnavs, you need to pass the nav test and the nav medical.  You can fail the airnav test and still become a pilot.


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## SupersonicMax (3 Aug 2006)

Just to be confusing, if you fail the nav medical you can't be a pilot  ;D

Max


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## Barracuda13 (3 Aug 2006)

hi guys 
i just wanted to ask about the centrifuge at the medical, is there a minimum Gs u have to pull to pass?


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## Quyen (3 Aug 2006)

I jsut did the medical, no centrifuge. The pilot medical includes the nav tests and more. The standard pass rate for passing 80% according to the ppl running the course in trenton. the medical is great fun  ;D


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## SupersonicMax (3 Aug 2006)

THere is no Centrifuge on the Initial Aircrew medical.

Max


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## Crimmsy (4 Aug 2006)

Just to throw it out there for everyone's edification, the baseline standard is 6 G for 15 seconds, _sans_ g-suit. I believe only Harvard IPs, Hawk, and Hornet drivers are sent on the course these days. Hawk and Hornet guys do 7.5 G for 15 seconds followed by 5 G for 15-30 seconds with g-suit. It's a good ol' time, I swear  ;D


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## Barracuda13 (4 Aug 2006)

thx for the info guys, for some reason i thought centrifuge was part of the medical , on the subject i watched some videos on youtube , ppl riding with blue angels and it was really informative on the effects of Gs   also on the drdc website they have the compression chamber , i guess they take you up to certain altittude, is that in the initial medical?  by trade i'm a commercial diver and i had a lot time getting compressed in the can so it would be interesting to experience the opposite.  I heard a lot of stories from the old timers about the experiments when they were first coming up with CF dive tables, and it's really amazing. Do they give you a tour of drdc when you are down there since that would definately be a sight to see.


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## Crimmsy (4 Aug 2006)

No, the high altitude chamber isn't part of the initial medical; you'll do that on the Aeromedical Training course prior to starting training in Moose Jaw. That course is done in Winnipeg. On that course, as with the high-G course, you do several different profiles in the chamber, the most extreme being a rapid decompression to 35,000 feet. 

I'm sure you could ask to be shown around the facilities while at DRDC in Toronto; whether anyone is available to give you the tour is a different question!


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## Crimmsy (4 Aug 2006)

I should add, lest you get freaked out by the numbers I've mentioned, that there is plenty of classroom instruction before you get in the chamber on both the aeromedical course and the high-G course, so you're very well prepared for what you're about to experience. If you pay attention to the instructors, you should have no problem with either.


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## inferno (8 Aug 2006)

When we were in Toronto.. we were told not to deviate from where ever we were told to go.
From the impression I got they didn't want us wandering around at all. Maybe we just got a grumpy gate gaurd.

As for pass fail. ACS was 8/10... they said that it was unusually high.

Also remember while in the CAPPs.. i think it was CAPPs.. it was several months ago.. remember that its not soundproof.
I don't know if theres any kind of penalisation, but you do get some funny looks as you step out of the machine if you yell back at the computer.. 

"I'M CHECKING MY FRAKEN BANK!" 

 ;D


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## J_Muir (8 Aug 2006)

inferno said:
			
		

> When we were in Toronto.. we were told not to deviate from where ever we were told to go.
> From the impression I got they didn't want us wandering around at all. Maybe we just got a grumpy gate gaurd.
> 
> As for pass fail. ACS was 8/10... they said that it was unusually high.
> ...



Thanks for the info Inferno.

How long were you in Toronto for? After passing, did you guys get to go out for 'a few' celebratory drinks?

Also, I assume you mean 8 passed and 10 failed in your group as ACS. Did you have any previous flying experience, or was CAPPs your first time in a sim? 

Thanks a lot.


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## Quyen (9 Aug 2006)

Hey sry i haven't replyed in so long, got back, then had a bunch of stuff to do. We started with 12 ppz. 2 dropped out after the first session on the second day and of the 10, 5 passed for pilot and 2 for nav. I think I had at least 1 beer everyday i was there. Theres the WO mess on base and the hotel had a good bar. Since there was only 5 of us to do the more extensive pilot medical exams, and 2 for the nav medical  
we were done on thursday. Most ppl changed their flights or trains to leave on friday. Since i was flyin all the way back to BC i decided to look around toronto on friday. We were never told not to wander around toronto or anything like that. 

I had no flyin experience going in except flight simulator. One thing i can say is don't try n figure out the machine. LIke if i do bad, then do better everytime maybe i will have a better chance of flyin. People tried to do this and the ones that did failed, I think. You will do bad on u're first one no matter what, so jsut try your best every run.


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## J_Muir (9 Aug 2006)

Quyen said:
			
		

> Hey sry i haven't replyed in so long, got back, then had a bunch of stuff to do. We started with 12 ppz. 2 dropped out after the first session on the second day and of the 10, 5 passed for pilot and 2 for nav. I think I had at least 1 beer everyday i was there. Theres the WO mess on base and the hotel had a good bar. Since there was only 5 of us to do the more extensive pilot medical exams, and 2 for the nav medical
> we were done on thursday. Most ppl changed their flights or trains to leave on friday. Since i was flyin all the way back to BC i decided to look around toronto on friday. We were never told not to wander around toronto or anything like that.
> 
> I had no flyin experience going in except flight simulator. One thing i can say is don't try n figure out the machine. LIke if i do bad, then do better everytime maybe i will have a better chance of flyin. People tried to do this and the ones that did failed, I think. You will do bad on u're first one no matter what, so jsut try your best every run.



Congrats on ACS man, good for you. So you were out there for 3 days then? 2 for ACS and 1 just to see the city a bit? What's the next step for you now?

Any more advice you can give a future ACS participant? Not sure if you can say or not, but I'll ask anyways. Are there multiple written tests, or just the CFAT? 

Thanks a lot and good luck!


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## Quyen (10 Aug 2006)

I arrived in trenton on saturday night, was there till wed night then went to toronto. Left toronto on sat. Umm don't think I can say too much. Just look at the booklet they give you. The navigator tests are written


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## inferno (10 Aug 2006)

Sorry I didn't mean toronto actual, i meant the DRDC. They told us not to wander around DRDC.

Of my course.. I just recounted. 6 passed 2 failed. srr for not being clear.

We didn't drink at all. We were told by pretty much everyone... don't drink, try to stay away from caffine and anything else like that. I don't know if its really important.. but thats what we were told and thats what we did. I assume that between stress and a few cups of coffe you can "modify" your heart tests in a negative way. But hey. It's up to you eventually.

I arrived in toronto on sunday.. woke up monday. did monday, tuesday, and wed at Trenton. then drove wed night to toronto. did thursday in toronto testing.. then I moved my flight from sunday morning to thursday afternoon.

Caps was my first time in a real sim. I've played around in my dads airplane before. but not much.. and ive flown a lot of flgiht sim stuff.. im a nintendo generation kid.


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## J_Muir (10 Aug 2006)

inferno said:
			
		

> Sorry I didn't mean toronto actual, i meant the DRDC. They told us not to wander around DRDC.
> 
> Of my course.. I just recounted. 6 passed 2 failed. srr for not being clear.
> 
> ...



I dont know whether or not you can say, but what exactly does ACS consist of as far as written tests and sim flights. How many of each? Also, are the tests and medicals the same for navs and pilots? Does everyone do the nav as well as pilot testing? So does everyone find out on the last day if they passed or not, and what they got an offer for?

I hear you on the 'nintendo generation' thing - The only flying experience I have is via microsoft and various combat flight sims.

Anyways, thanks for your help once again, and good luck!


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## inferno (10 Aug 2006)

J_Muir said:
			
		

> I dont know whether or not you can say, but what exactly does ACS consist of as far as written tests and sim flights. How many of each?



I don't know what I can say. So I don't want to overstep. Theres already lots of info on this board.



			
				J_Muir said:
			
		

> Also, are the tests and medicals the same for navs and pilots?



Dont know, I did them all for both. Had no.. only Navs on course.



			
				J_Muir said:
			
		

> Does everyone do the nav as well as pilot testing?



We all did. Don't know if thats standard.



			
				J_Muir said:
			
		

> So does everyone find out on the last day if they passed or not, and what they got an offer for?



Yup.

Don't worry too mcuh about it, and just have fun, try hard.


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## J_Muir (10 Aug 2006)

inferno said:
			
		

> Don't worry too mcuh about it, and just have fun, try hard.



I'm actually looking forward to it a lot! It's just another stone on the path.


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## J_Muir (10 Aug 2006)

inferno said:
			
		

> I don't know what I can say. So I don't want to overstep. Theres already lots of info on this board.
> 
> Dont know, I did them all for both. Had no.. only Navs on course.
> 
> ...



Yeah no worries man. I was basically just wanting to know a number - like 1 written test, 2 sim sessions and 2 medicals, or something like that...not that it really makes a difference. Thanks though. I'm actually looking forward to it a lot! It's just another stone on the path.


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