I wished I could remind my Captain that I did my training in one of the best aviation schools in Florida, United States.  I wished I could tell him that I trained in an airfield that sometimes had more traffic than the Port Harcourt International airport.  I wished I could tell him that I had flown to many International airports during my course in the States.  

There were all mere wishes though, all I could do was to stand there like a rookie that knows nothing, listening attentively to him as he tried to teach me how to read the TAFs, METAR and other meteorological reports.

I later figured out that as a Training Captain, he was meant to teach or show me all those, even if I felt I knew them well enough that I can write a textbook on aviation weather.  I was patiently waiting for my time to show I know the worth of my salt.

We fastened the seat belts and the shoulder harnesses.  My captain called the control tower and got the clearance for us to start the Engines.  With a little expectation on his face, and a look that said he knew I will not be able to do it, he then said, ‘Arinze, show me the start-up sequence without using the checklist’.

For the past few days, I had spent an hour or two in the cockpit running through the start sequence, trying hard to memorize it.  I normally waited for the guys flying to land and then I will climb inside the cockpit and start a ‘battery off’ start-up sequence practice.  Therefore, when Captain asked that question, I knew it was my time to shine.

I ran through the sequence as if I had been flying the aircraft for ages.  Within seconds, I already had my hand on the number one engine throttle; I was ready to start the number one engine.  ‘Captain, are you ready for my before first engine start brief?  He starred at me as I gave him my start brief, reading off memory the company’s standard brief.

He was visibly impressed, “that’s the way to go Arinze, and this is exactly what we expect from our young Pilots’.  I nodded my head like a little boy that was been praised for his good result at the end of the academic year.  I knew I made the mark.

‘Starting number one engine, monitor temperatures and pressures, starting in 3, 2, 1 and start’.  I depressed the start button; my hands were still on the throttle, ready to shut the engine off in any case of a hot start or engine fire.  The engine roared, and all the engine parameters on the IIDS panel were up and green, it was a good start.