Josh Johnson, Owner, Jet 7 Academy Flight Training
YOU’VE LANDED your dream job, comfortable if not a bit chilly in the seat of your first jet. Rolling down the runway, the other pilot calls out, “V1.” (Decision speed.) There’s not enough runway to stop — you’re committed to fly, no matter what happens next.
Just another day at work. But don’t get complacent yet.
The fire bell shrills.
Master warning light flashes urgent red — “Engine 1 Fire!”
The jet veers hard to the left. You jam down the right rudder, and a cold sweat bursts across your lip. The panel flashes, the alarm blares.
“Engine fire, number one. Number one rolling back,” the other pilot calls out.
You fumble to get it under control. You call, “Extinguish number one!”
And then—
Silence.
You turn around, still catching your breath.
Behind you sits your sim instructor. Palms up. Head shaking.
“Mike… what happened?”
What happened was…
Mike didn’t spend enough time in front of his Paper Tiger.
So what’s a Paper Tiger?
It’s a cockpit poster. A flat layout of your aircraft’s panel. In some cases, it’s a cutout or printed cockpit you can sit in front of. A few advanced programs might have full-scale mockups. Doesn’t matter. If you treat it right, this will be the most valuable tool you ever use.
I’ve seen a lot of folks try to skip this. They lean on Redbird® sims or digital tools — which are great, sure — but they can’t replace it. The Paper Tiger works because it forces you to slow down, focus, and build mental muscle memory.
Many schools are packing away their posters. Big mistake. If your school has one collecting dust or shoved behind a filing cabinet, ask for it. Better yet, offer to take it off their hands.
How to Build Good Habits (That Don’t Cost a Dime)
1. Phone a Friend
Back in airline ground school, half my class washed out before sim. The ones who passed? We met after class — hotel rooms, lobbies, whatever we could find. We sat in front of paper tigers and ran checklists until past midnight.
Find someone who wants it as bad as you do. Trade off. Build each other up.
2. Touch the Poster
When the checklist says “Battery Master On,” reach out and touch it. Every time. Build the motion into your body. Doesn’t matter if it’s a master switch on a 172 or the crossfeed in a jet — it’s all the same. Familiarity wins.
3. Fly It
Bring it to life. Go through your normal procedures, step by step. Flows. Checklists. Takeoffs. Short field. Engine failure. Fire on the roll. Run the full memory item set for your aircraft. Reach and move like you’re there.
The Hobbs isn’t turning. Take your time.
4. The Balled-Up Sock Technique
My favorite. I use it for every type rating. Given to me by a guy with more type ratings than one certificate card could hold.
Every aircraft has memory items — boldface, red-box stuff. These are time-critical and don’t wait for a checklist.
So:
Grab a sock. (Or a tennis ball. Maybe a baseball, if you’re a tough case — kidding. Kind of.)
Sit in front of your Paper Tiger. Say, “Left engine failure.”
Now toss the sock in the air. Catch it. Call out the memory item.
Toss it again. Catch. Call the next item.
While doing this, reach out to your poster — move your hands like you’re actually flipping the switch.
Example:
• Toss, catch — “Props, mixture, throttle full forward.” (Reach and move.)
• Toss, catch — “Gear up.”
• Toss, catch — “Flaps up.”
It’s dumb. It’s brilliant. It works.
Your brain is juggling recall, movement, and stress. Exactly like a real emergency. If you drop the sock or blank on a callout, good. You found the hole before it mattered.
Even better with a training partner. Sit facing each other. PF (pilot flying) and PM (pilot monitoring). Toss the sock back and forth. Use callouts. Visualize the motion:
• PF tosses to PM — “Check thrust.” (Visualize throttles forward.)
• PM tosses — “Thrust set. APR armed.”
• PF tosses — No call out required.
• PM — “Airspeed alive both sides.”
• PF — “Check.”
• PM — “80 knots.”
• PF — “Check.”
• PM — “V1.”
• PF — No callout required. (Visualize removing hand from throttle.)
• PM — “Rotate.”
• PF — “Positive rate.”
• PM — “Gear up.”
You get the idea.
5. Repeat
I’ve flown with Mike. You will too.
We all have tough days in the sim and tough days in the aircraft. We are human. However, preparation is a game-changer. Achieving your dream job is not the time to hope you do a good job. Competition is stiff, the sim instructors talk amongst one another, and often they are check airmen as well. Insider secret— speaking as a check airman and instructor, yes, we have barstool de-briefings after work. The industry is small, and you don’t want your name getting around for the wrong reasons:
“Man, my guy Mike just can’t nail these V1 cuts.”
“That’s rough. My guy Ken nailed it. Total machine.”
You don’t want your name floating around for the wrong reason.
So train. Until it’s automatic. Until you dream about it. Until you hate it.
It costs you nothing but time.
Good training is free. So is good advice.
You’re welcome.
— Jet 7 Academy
Where pilots are made.
