Checkride in the Air

1st Lt. Péter Török, an instructor of the mixed training squadron of the HDF 86th Szolnok Helicopter Base told us that the officers’ training had started in 2012 inside the classroom with academic lessons, and they had to pass an English language proficiency exam too. Following that, they were transferred to the squadron. Although both of them had already flown aircraft before, they started the hands-on training from the basics. So far they have spent 38 hours in the air altogether, and have now proved that they are ready for flying solo.

The checkride started with a take-off in a two-plane formation and a 20-minute joint flight. When the instructors’ aircraft landed, the pilots had to perform a set of tasks comprising the basics of aviation: turns, stalls, spins, dive, jump, acceleration, deceleration. Then came some elements of aerobatics, including Immelmann and combat turns, rolls, split-Ss. There was an “emergency" in the middle of the program, when an engine stall was simulated. In this case, the pilot must make a forced landing by computing the appropriate glide slope. The checkride ended with training circuits.

Lt. Gábor Horváth’s aircraft was the first to take off. Studying with a HDF scholarship, the young officer obtained a degree in transportation engineering from the aircrew specialization of the College of Nyíregyháza in January 2012. As a civilian, he had flown engine-powered light aircraft for a total of 50 hours. His free-time hobbies are hiking, volleyball and cycling.

Lt. Vilmos Szabadi likes extreme sports such as parachuting, horse-riding and of course, flying. He took an air traffic controller degree from the military leadership specialization of the former National Defence University in 2010. Originally, he wanted to become an aviator, but for a long time, the Hungarian Defence Forces did not run any pilot training courses. He became an air traffic controller because that was closest to the pilots’ profession. After graduation, he was transferred to Kecskemét, where he immediately signed up for a pilot training course, and his dreams have come true by now. He told us that he had flown at the age of three for the first time, when his father took him on a ride in the air.

In Maj. Zoltán Somogyi’s assessment, the two lieutenants have completed the checkride with “excellent" results. Their training program in Canada will probably begin in the summer, with flying Harvard II aircraft, and will be running for about nine months. However, it would be near impossible to estimate the exact duration of the course, because their training depends on a lot of factors and external circumstances. There are a great many flocks of birds migrating across the country, and the weather is very extreme with temperatures often dropping to below minus 40 degrees Celsius in the winter. For example, 1st Lt. Török has spent two and a half years in Canada.