One of the final fears I would like to address is the fear of your pilot. Yep, the man or woman behind the controls of the hundred thousand dollar airplane. Honestly thought, why would you have fear in your pilot. Do you think that the airlines which already pay pilots horribly would take the risk of putting a non-qualified pilot behind the controls of a expensive aircraft? I'll answer that for you... NO! And with most pilots already being horribly paid, most of them don't do it for a job. Most pilots do it for fun.
Let's take a look though at the training you need to become an airline pilot though. I myself just completed my private pilot license a few months ago (Aug 2011) on the first step of eventually flying for a living. This took me under 90 days but I was flying three to four times a week to get it done before I left for college. To fly an airline, you need to have your private, instrument, commercial, and Airline Transport Pilot licenses, in that order most of the time. Not only do these licenses take a long time to eventually complete, they also cost... a lot. Chances are if you pay a ton of money to get these licenses, you're going to be well trained and love what you do. You will dedicate yourself to that flight to get it done safely. Another way many pilots get into the airline transport industry is to be in the military. By this, they learn discipline and gain hours which are required before you can even be considered for the job.
Training is one thing, but what about the really old pilot flying my airliner across the Atlantic to Europe? How can we rely on him to get the job done and not have a medical problem? Well, that where the Federal Aviation Administration's flight medicals come in. To be an airline pilot, you have to pass a 1st class medical. This is the most extensive flight medical there is. You can click this link to find more information the requirements of a Class 1 medical, but in short you have to have at 20/20 or 20/40 corrected vision and the ability to decipher colors. You also have to have a minimal medical history not involving any heart related issues or other incidents which could hamper your ability to complete a flight. You must pass a physical test which is conducted by a FAA licensed medical doctor. Oh, by the way, this test is also conducted every six months and costs about $300.
So now that you know some of the minimal training and cost it takes to be an airline pilot, have some trust in your pilot the next time you climb aboard an airline, and know you're going to get their safely.
Malmquist, Shem. "Become an airline pilot." Jet Careers. No date. Jet Careers. 11 Nov 2011. <
The article posted on Jet Careers is able to provide insight into the requirements to become an airline pilot. It states that many airline pilots have a military background. It also addresses the idea that the training process is a long and costly road, that can sometimes even take 8 years to finish.
Jet Careers is an excellent source of information on how someone can get into the industry, and what costs they will have to take to get in it. It shows my point well that the training process is a long road, and a costly one at that for anyone who is an airline pilot.
FlightPhysical. "Class One Medical Standards for Pilots." Flight Physical. No date. Flight Physical. 11 Nov.
The Class One Medical Standards for Pilots are well addressed in this article. It lists information on vision, medical, cardiovascular, and other types of requirements that a pilot must pass to be issued a class one medical certificate. The cardiovascular requirements address any heart issues the pilot may have, and what is acceptable for a pass and what is not.
The information provided by Flight Physical on Class One medical requirements is a good source to include in case anyone wants to, in the future become an airline pilot, and see that many fears of their pilot have a heart attack is likely never to happen due to the requirements of a class one medical .
"Commercial Pilot." No date. Online image. Commercial Pilot Salary. 11 Nov 2011.
< http://commercialpilotsalary.net/wp-content/images/commercial-pilot-1.jpg>
The image of a commercial pilot is more of a visual to show to my readers a pilot in his environment. The pilot with wings on his uniform is sitting in the cockpit of the airplane which is where the main job of a commercial pilot is conducted on a flight.
The image is a good image to include in my blog to show the readers who a commercial pilot is, and to add a visual to not just keep the blog all bunched up without anything to look at. It is a relief to the readers to be able to look a picture instead of a long list of words.
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