What do today's pilots do?
Today's pilots certainly fly commercial airliners, and of course we need them in our military to protect our country. Apart from providing these services the pilots serve us in many other ways. They can even operate as flight engineers and cargo plane pilots. Some pilots also perform such duties as testing aircrafts, spreading seeds to help with reforestation, dusting crops, helping with firefighting, working with law enforcement agencies to track criminals, monitoring traffic, and rescuing people who have been injured.
You can see that there's a lot more than we typically think of for the pilots to do in our society.
What are the training requirements for pilots?
If pilots transport passengers or cargo, they have to have a commercial pilot's license and are also rated to use instruments. The Federal Aviation Administration issues this license. Helicopter pilots, too, have to have a commercial pilot's license and in addition have to have a ''helicopter rating.''
Many pilots who fly commercially are college educated and most among them are graduates with a degree. Some airlines these days are making college education and a degree mandatory for the pilots. Many test pilots, for example, are expected to hold an engineering degree.
In addition to these educational qualifications, pilots have to have flight experience in order to qualify for a license. It's helpful if the aspiring pilots enroll at one of the various flight schools that have been approved by the Federal Aviation Administration. Having done classes from such flight schools they reduce the number of hours of flight time they actually need to qualify for a license. As of 2006, the FAA had certified about 600 civilian flying schools, including some universities and colleges that offered credits for pilot training.
For airline pilots, there is a week of company indoctrination, three to six weeks of ground school and simulator training, and 25 hours of beginning experience, including a ride with an aviation safety inspector from the Federal Aviation Administration. Certified pilots, too, must keep up their training by taking simulator checks once or twice a year for as long as they fly.
To become licensed through the Federal Aviation Administration, pilots must be at least 18 years old with 250 hours of flight experience.
Another way for the pilots to gain the necessary flight experience is through the armed forces. These pilots generally have very intense flying time and experience of flying helicopters, and jet aircrafts.
All pilots are required to pass strict physical health tests and they must have 20/20 vision. Hearing, too, must be good and they must not have any disabilities that could impair their performance. Thereafter they have to take a written examination where they are tested on their knowledge of FAA regulations, navigation techniques, and principles of safe flight. FAA examiners also test their flying abilities.
For the pilots to fly commercially they have to be instrument trained, and they have to be rated to fly with instruments by the Federal Aviation Administration. For this, they need 40 hours of instrument experience and must pass a written exam on instrument flying. They must also pass a test that shows they can fly with instruments.
Other Special Requirements
Captain requirements
To be a captain in an airline, the pilot must have an airline transport pilot's license. Captains must be at least 23 years old with a minimum of 1500 hrs of flying experience, including instrument and night flying. They must also pass written and flight examinations administered by the Federal Aviation Administration. Usually, captains also have other advanced rating designations, depending on what their particular job requires.
Psychological health
Pilots must be able to take quick decisions under pressure, so their psychological health is also important. For this reason, many pilots who otherwise qualify are still not able to make it because of the psychological aspects of the pressures commercial airline pilots face.
Once licenses are administered to pilots, pilots keep them for as long as they can pass the necessary ongoing tests measuring aptitude for flying and also visual and physical examinations. Other company regulations may also be required for a particular pilot’s job.. Pilots usually start as flight engineers or first officers when they begin commercial flying.
What specific challenges do today's pilots face?
Today's pilots face increasing challenges. Despite having increasing technological tools at their disposal, a pilot's job can be physically demanding. For example, commercial pilots are responsible for the well-being and safety of passengers in the aircraft. Those who participate in rescue are not only faced with the difficult task of rescuing those who are injured, panicked, or otherwise in very dire circumstances, but they also must be brave enough to face injury themselves.
For even relatively routine commercial flights, pilots must be willing to spend a lot of time away from home, because most of the flights involve overnight layovers. Pilots away from home do get provided with transportation, hotel accommodations, and allowances for expenses and meals, but they must be willing to spend a lot of time away from their families. Moreover they also have to perform non-flying duties. Pilots also face fatigue in the cockpit; for this, the FAA requires that pilots be allowed at least eight hours of rest time in any 24- hour period that includes flight time. Of course, this helps keep passengers and crew safe, too. Pilots who fly large aircrafts are limited to 100 hours a month of airtime or a thousand hours a year. In addition, most pilots also work 65 to 75 hours a month performing non-flying duties related to their jobs.
. In conclusion
Pilots today have an amazing array of duties to perform, and fly in many types of situations. Because their work encompasses not just commercial travel, but also corporate, cargo, rescue, and a variety of other situations requiring pilot services, their work will continue to be relevant and would become more and more important as flying grows as the preferred means of easy and faster travel. This means that pilot services will continue to grow, both in size and in scope.
