THE SILENT REVIEW_WINTER EDITION 2021_WEB

CREW BUDDY
– ADAM WOOD –
by Sarah de Wilt
Councillor – International QCCA
‘Crew Buddy’ has become an EP’s lifeline for the vast majority of our flying
colleagues. Let’s meet the mind behind the man behind the magic!
Adam Wood’s connection with aviation starts back in his
early days: heading to London town on his English father’s
passport. Adam’s dad had seen a cabin crew ad in the
paper. The enticing perks of staff travel sealed the deal and
a life in aviation was hatched! With a pretty sweet roster of
six days on, three days off and confirmed staff travel seats
(!!), it was realistic to see as much of Europe as possible
and make the most of free days.
Adam went from Ezyjet to
Jetstar International. With
QF, he has been a QCCA
FA, CSS, CSM then CPM.
With a position in the ‘QF
Cabin Safety Team’, Adam
went ‘crew to ground’ for
five years. He was able to
fly month on and be on
the ground every alternate
month. Adam has also
been spending pandemic
life working on the COVID
Support Team.
Adam has always liked IT
and been drawn to tech
gadgets. Their family was an
early adopter of dial-up and
his dad was an online trainer in the maritime sector. Adam
was introduced to transport policies and procedures as he
worked on a family dolphin/whale watch boat in beautiful
Port Stephens in a former life.
With support from his CPM at the time, Adam started an
invaluable resource that for many crew is synonymous
with passing - and feeling reassured about - EPs. Content
was gleaned from his own study notes and collaboration
with colleagues and close friends. All groups are included
– MAM and London base too. It’s an inclusive product
aimed at helping all, that benefits all - plus our passengers.
Adam was given the Excel Award in 2018 for his service to
colleagues – completely deserved in my opinion!
The online quizzes are up to date as Adam reads new
CSOs and amends questions ASAP. He states that Crew
Buddy is not the ‘be all and end all’ in a study approach
but is another study tool – one that readily identifies gaps
for revision then success.
Crew use the app either just
before EPs or through the
months to keep EPs sharp
(this is my perennial crew
year’s resolution). They
can grab a few minutes to
dip in at school pickup,
or have even been known
to praise the quizzes to
Adam poolside in Jakarta.
Surprisingly to me, crew
mostly use the app on
their phones. It’s especially
handy to access the one
page study note summaries
and screen-shot them.
Adam has received really
genuine feedback from crew. One member made the effort
to get his personal number and phoned him directly to tell
him that Crew Buddy relieves her anxiety and had made
all the difference to her EPs recurrent exams. Once, Adam
was on a transatlantic cruise: New York to London via
Portugal – and had no reception for four days. On arrival,
he was flooded with messages – the app had crashed as it
was so popular!
8 WINTER EDITION 2021