DARE TO DREAM - AirAsia Cadet Pilot Experience 2023

 

Hey guys! So Im going to share with you my cadet pilot experience for the year 2023. This is going to be a long post so bear with me. Hopefully whatever I share will be beneficial for other candidates that will be undergoing future cadetship programme however I will only share tips and not disclose detailed information about the assessments that you are going to take because it will be "unfair" to everyone.Remember! You don't have to be very intelligent in order to be a pilot

Just for your information:

-This year round will be the 3rd batch for MPL (Multi-Pilot License), the first was in 2018, and this year is also the first time they re-open the cadetship after the Pandemic in 2020.

-No more CPL this year round

-This year was the fastest cadetship callups we've got ever since I applied in 2018. The gap between the stages are all between 1-2weeks of time

-The AirAsia filters based on benchmark not quota, so don't blame AirAsia if u think it's about quota, in fact that this year is less than 300-400 that managed to get through stage 2.

-Usually for those who passed the stage will receive the email first and they only release at a specific time, for instance if they release at 7PM, you should be getting between 7PM-7:30PM only. 

Minimum requirements are as follows:

Academic Qualification:

1) Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia or equivalent (recognized by the Ministry of Education, Malaysia)

Grade of A in Mathematics, English

Grade of B in Physics or A in General Science

Grade of B in any other two subjects

2) Diploma or Degree pre-requisites:

Engineering/Scientific related Discipline

CGPA 3.0 and above

SPM with a grade of any “B” in any 5 subjects which must include English, Mathematics, and Science

(Side reminder: If you find your SPM not meeting any of the requirements, its best that u repeat the papers because in stage 2 u will be required to bring all the original documents for verification so yep!)

Stage 0: The Callup

28th February 2023: The job position is opened

31st March 2023: The deadline for the application

Stage 1: Personality Test

10th April 2023

This one is quite straightforward and is conducted online via your laptop at the comfort of your home so u dont need to come to CAE KL for the assessments. U will be instructed to enter your resume, your SPM, your diploma/degree transcript and then will begin the assessment. U have to arrange in order to the "most" like u and the "least" like u. So for example, if your the one to always like to "drive cars" u put in as your highest priority and followed by other traits/personality. Make sure to be yourself and dont follow the instructions thoroughly and read everything. If u dont understand, google up and translate the words themselves so that u dont misunderstood what is being said.

Stage 2: QCT(Maths) and Personality Assessment Test 

5th May 2023

Things to take note:

-Paper will be given but you cannot bring out the paper outside after the assessment.

-Scientific calculator is allowed and please do have in-depth of understanding of how to use your calculator and dont try to do manual calculations because its faster this way

-Bring your ipad/laptop for the PAS Test

-Bring original documents is REQUIRED (Academic Documents for Verification Purposes)

During this phase its best to take things seriously already because this stage should be easy for almost most of the people. Its just that u need to do alot of practices and find study group. Yes u heard that right, u will not be able to do this all alone so u will need to network with people around u and work together as a team. I learn this alot during my 2023 time, and this is one of the teamwork that u will be required when u are working in a cockpit so bear that in mind. The maths questions are most related to algebraic unknowns of 1-3. So study your PT3/PMR form 2-3. One of the people I know fail at this stage due to time pressure and not able to work with intense workload so this is also a challenge for all of you but the workload isnt that bad compared to in stage 3, u will know what i mean later. Its just plain mathematics and logics

• Do alot of money 3 unknown, percentage increase decrease balance, 2 unknown 3 unknown algebra question
• Move faster to other questions dont waste time
• Most of the candidates get 11-12mins type of questions(most that pass usually around 10 mins questions and above)
• If u have to find xyz, they will ask only one variable je not all
• Dont giveup yet even if u dont know the answer to it. Dont skip just yet. Read properly
• Keep doing the exercises that were presented to u and understand keywords like twice, more than, less than
• At level 10 people meet geometry, quadratic, volume kind of questions
• Cadet kena halau kalau dah habis session unless sesi petang
• The hardest was the 3 unknown variable about company sekian2 masa kat 10 minit question

Stage 3: Psychomotor, Physics & Spatial Orientation

13th May 2023

This one hella hard, there will be psychomotor, physics, and spatial orientation but no worries briefing will be given before u start the real thing. Lets start with the first one, psychomotor haha crazy. U are given a joystick sitting in front of a computer screen and is required to balanced the FD(Flight Director) in the middle/centre and at the same time winds are hitting your plane like crazy. AT THE SAME TIME, u have to do 4 tasks which I cannot disclose but there will be audiotory, visual and also memory. Is it hard? Yes its super hard for those who never try to play flight simulator before, the sensitivity is 100% and no lag or whatsoever. Next is physics, not SPM ones, its engineering/matriculation type of physics question so just be prepared. And last but not least is spatial orientation, its about having wild imagination and imagining the correct pattern. U can practice this with the folding cube test. Thats an example of the spatial orientation

My golden tips for psychomotor:

- Have atleast a study group of friends to study together. Reason being is that there are people who are very clever in what theyre doing. Shared intellectuals are better than studying alone as it boosts ur understanding and logic

- Repeat to yourself the numbers that are presented to u so that u dont miss any important information

- Normalize flying with flight sim so that ur workload when going to the psychomotor is greatly reduced as u dont need to focus on alot of things. Familiarise yourself with the Boeing/Airbus Primary Flight Display (PFD) so that u wont panic when going for the test

- Don’t feel panic when you missed something, it is common and just keep your focus ongoing. Just continue to do whatever u are doing or else u will be panic on the other tasks too.

- The faster you answer for physics/spatial, the higher your marks will be because the computer sees that u are competent/fluent

- Go to toilet early, come early, and dont eat food that will make u wanna berak. For real. Because of the difficulty of the task, there will be probability that your nerves wont be steady

- Before starting the real assessment there will be a 3 minute trial period in which u will be given a chance to get a taste of it so that u wont panic if the real things start

Stage 4: Interview

26th May 2023

I was called for the interview, didnt expect I pass the crazy psychomotor for the first time since 2019. So! Congrats u are now one leg foot in. To be exact you are 80% in already, the another 20% is your own self like how u potray to the panels of yourself. During this phase its really not that hard, just be yourself and prepare as many information as u can, subcategorised as personal background, CRM-based situation, company background, aircraft technicalities. The interview will be conducted at RedQ and trust me when u are there no need to study anymore on the questions because u are nervous at this point of time so just relax, calm down and try to be present by controlling your nerves(Ive been there before lol). Your report from stage 1 till stage 3 will also be presented to the interviewers including your resume to evaluate your personality as a pilot so dont feel so confident. My mistake was that, I feel complacent before the interview and didnt actually prepare how I potray myself but in preparation of technicalities I was well prepared except of myself. It is most likely that u will keep going to toilet by this point of time so please dont drink alot of water, I learnt my lesson while in stage 3 lol where i have emergency.

They ask very specific questions related on how you deal with your situation with regards of their benchmark/standards they set. So to prepare for this scenario, again and again do a study group. We did a google meet session before the interview and it was very helpful as we corrected each other weaknesses and mistakes. Ngl I also learn alot on which part of the interview that I need to improvise so that u dont feel too confident with your capabilities and learn to understand the reality of your situation. Here are the list of questions I got during my interview:

1. Tell me about yourself

2. If lets say u get your cadetship, will u accept the cadetship and leave ur degree?

3. If u get this cadetship will u loan or self funded?

4. Have u experience conflict before? U said u were a flightsim technician so what sort of conflict u faced

5. U said u were getting help from superiors, so if u were to work on ur own to deal with the conflict how would u deal?

6. Do u feel stressful when u are dealing with the situation alone without ur superiors?

7. Tell us about what u know about aviation related knowledge? U can choose

8. U said u applied for MAG cadet few times, if lets say they call u for interview. Would u pick MAG or AA? Why?

9. U said u failed multiple times in cadetship. How do u prepare yourself or overcome yourself this time round?

10. How do u contribute to whatsapp group since u said u create a whatsapp group for candidates

11. What are the fleets of airasia that u know of

12. You nervous tak? (awal2 dah kena tanya)

13. So after u got your cadetship when can u start? (i said immediately)

The interview was super duper smooth BUT I failed for this stage. Not sure what went wrong because the interviewers keep smiling all the time and was very friendly to me. And also I was also the first batch to go for the interview. They conducted the interview for 2 days from 8am till 5pm like that. 

Stage 5: Medical Class 1

4th June 2023

Im not able to attend for this stage but I will list down few certified medical doctors that u can look up to that is approved by CAAM to get the cert. For myopia, I heard that u are required to be below -600 degrees and not higher than that. Despite, the minimum requirements that AirAsia put as -500 some managed to pass with higher degrees of myopia. Also take note it stated that it is "subjected to opthalmologist" so its really up to the doctor. There is only one eye doctor who can certify your eye which is Dr. Pall (super strict guy) who does your eye test at THONEH, Petaling Jaya so for those in Kedah or Penang must come to this place only to get your eye tested, not the usual eye check at spectacles wear place. 

Those with higher myopia must be required to do LASIK surgery, and there are 2 types of surgery; FEMTO and SMILE. SMILE costs higher but less pain, less cutting and less chance of scarring while the FEMTO is cheaper and the cut is bigger, and chance of scarring is higher.Dr Pall will assess your eye and see which type of surgery is suitable for u. Do take note that since u are doing surgery there will be a cooling period of recovery of 6months to 1 year, which means that u will not be able to get Medical Class 1. However for previous batches, I heard they appeal to AirAsia to extend their offer letter to be able to obtain the medical class 1 before starting their training. The total cost of obtaining medical class 1 ranges from RM600-800 depending on the clinic price. Quite a hefty amount so make sure that u prepare some money. Make sure to stay fit starting from stage 1 as u walk ur way up till the final stages because trust me it is as important as u think it is and the medical requirement for medical class 1 is strict

The tests that will be conducted are as below:

> X-Ray

> ECG 

> Blood test

> Urine test (psychoactive test; whether u take drugs or what not)

> Eye test

> Audiotory

> BMI 

https://www.caam.gov.my/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/AI-05_2021-REV-5-Designated-Medical-Examiners-List.pdf