Is it too much to ask for a straight answer?
Since arriving in Cairns, the chief pilot has been giving plenty of impressions, but a straight answer has always been 'tomorrow' or 'later this week' away.
If I were to believe all the impressions, I'll be flying twin-engined aircraft this week, with the company paying for the endorsement. Somehow, I don't think it's worth getting my hopes up. I'm prepared to give him a little bit more benefit of the doubt, but the point where my patience runs out seems to be drawing a little closer.
Plan B, though not yet anywhere near complete, is forming more and more solidly in my mind. It seems rather clear that to get much further, I'm going to need that multi- endorsement, so I'm going to have to get that sooner rather than later. Instrument, also, though not quite as quickly, will be important, and the ATPL exams can wait until later.
One thing I wish I had have done in Broome, is to get an idea of what the company was like before accepting the job. A simple thing, but important. So important, in fact, that the instruction has been right in front of my eyes countless times for the last six years. The Latin motto of the ANU, Naturum Primum Cognoscere Rerum, part of the crest, is on almost everything associated with the university, and means, "First, know the nature of things." In other words, rather than jumping in straight away, take some time at the start to observe, and to learn how things are. Had I done this in Broome, I would have noticed some of the things about that company, and indeed I am able to observe the company in Cairns as well. The thing is, I can see where things are headed in Cairns, and it seems worth being here for, though the uncertainty phase is frustrating.
But, that's why we formulate a Plan B!
