Cleared for Takeoff: IOE Trip Three – Mission Complete!
After cancellations, delays, and plenty of surprises along the way, I can finally say: IOE is officially complete! But of course, as has become the norm for me, finishing this final IOE trip wasn’t going to happen without a few more bumps in the road.
Day one was practically a write-off. After flying just one leg, the next two flights were canceled—honestly, no surprises there. But when the first half of day two was also canceled because we weren’t even at our starting airport (Boston), things started to feel genuinely stressful. The company booked us on a deadhead flight to BOS, and just as we were about to depart, Boston went into a ground stop due to weather. My check airman and I exchanged nervous glances—both of us thinking the same thing: please, no more delays. While waiting, my CA even floated an idea to switch crews, hoping dispatch would let us fly the plane while the original crew deadheaded instead. Dispatch didn’t go for it, but fortunately, our delay wasn’t too severe.
We finally landed in Boston just in time to pick up our next two flights. My CA mentioned that he needed to observe a pilot-monitoring leg before he could sign me off for the line check, so he took the flying duties for the quick hop to LaGuardia. It turned out to be a straightforward, smooth flight—exactly what we needed.
Next up, I flew the leg to Norfolk. Thankfully, nothing out of the ordinary occurred, and I was able to settle into the flow. By this point, I’d really started warming up to the CA, which made a huge difference. At first, I had been slightly intimidated by his attention to detail and high standards, but by now I understood it came from his desire to help me succeed and develop into a confident pilot. It worked—I felt much more at ease.
After an uneventful overnight in Norfolk, the big day finally arrived. We had three legs planned, with the last leg from Charlotte to Boston being my official line check. Naturally, some nasty weather decided to make an appearance—thunderstorms lining up ominously west of our route. All day, I kept checking forecasts and radar images, silently praying the weather wouldn’t interfere with this crucial flight.
The moment finally came. We departed CLT smoothly, and things were calm until we started descending into Boston. Then the clouds thickened, and the rain intensified as we set up for our approach. ATC kept us high and fast, forcing us to hustle a bit to slow the plane down and configure for landing. The rain was heavy enough that we didn’t break out of the clouds until around 2000 feet—visibility was low, the air steamy, and it took us a few extra seconds to pick out the runway lights clearly.
Suddenly, ATC threw a curveball, asking if we could sidestep from runway 4R (ILS) to 4L for a visual landing. At that point, we firmly and politely declined—way too late in the approach for a last-minute swap, especially given the challenging weather conditions.
The landing, thankfully, turned out pretty well (better every flight!). The real challenge came after touchdown, though. Ground control was rattling off taxi instructions rapid-fire, like something straight out of O’Hare’s playbook. I usually write instructions down, but struggled this time because the controller spoke at warp speed. My CA calmly suggested using the MCDU scratchpad to quickly jot down clearances, which makes sense. I realized that my real issue, though, was not having a solid mental map of airport layout—so right there I committed myself to memorizing major airport diagrams like BOS, ORD, JFK, and DCA. It’s already helped significantly.
After what felt like the longest taxi ever, we finally parked at the gate. My line check airman turned with a smile and congratulated me on passing IOE. I couldn’t help but breathe a huge sigh of relief. Finally done!
Said goodbye to the crew, grabbed my gear, and practically jogged out of the terminal. As if on cue, the Logan Express shuttle rolled up right as I exited—a perfect end to a wild IOE journey. Now, the best part: heading home to my family.