An airliner belonging to Air Jamaica Photo by Arpingstone |
An airline
pilot although it is very difficult to get, a job working with one of the
major airlines
there are all kinds of regional of low-cost airlines that are always looking
for help. The major airlines however offer better pay and benefits, but you
have to start somewhere and the fact you were flying shows up at your resume.
Many of the pilots today have learned how to fly while in
the military, but now large numbers of new pilots have college degrees and
flight training provided by civilian flying schools that are certified by the
Federal Aviation Administration, FAA.
Although you only need 200 hours of flight time to get a
commercial license most pilots that are flying for the major airlines have about
4,000 hours as pilot in command. Many of
the pilots that are now flying for major airlines started their flying career
as flight instructors
working in the field of general aviation.
General aviation has always been considered by the author as
the “goony” side of aviation, as you are more apt to gain a much broader field
of experience flying small planes before you graduate to larger ones. The
author worked for many years in general aviation flying airplanes or
helicopters, and stayed with general aviation throughout his flying career.
In general
aviation pilots are highly trained professionals flying airplanes or
helicopters carrying out a wide variety of work. Most of the pilots flying
passengers or cargo at the airlines started their careers in general aviation.
There is enough exciting work to be had just in general aviation to go around.
Over 30% of the pilots that are now flying for the airlines started their
careers as crop
dusters, test pilots
or some related fields.
In the smaller planes found in general aviation generally
there is a single pilot but in the larger airliners there is a pilot and
copilot. The more experienced pilot is the captain of the airliner and has to
supervise all the other crew members. Two pilots share their flying and other
responsibilities such as talking to air traffic controllers or monitoring the
instruments. Sometimes they have to make minor repairs to the aircraft while
they are in-flight. Another duty is watching for other aircraft. This is very
important because the last thing you want to ruin your is a midair collision.
On many of the larger airliners there is a third member of
the flight crew called the flight engineer that assists the pilots with company
matters, air traffic control and communications between the cabin and the
cockpit. With modern technology and airliner virtually flies itself, and is
usually on autopilot from the time it makes its rotation in taking off until it
lands.
That doesn't mean however that you can sit back and relax
because there are always plenty of other duties that have to be attended to.
Most important is if something happens to the autopilot the pilot must be ready
to assume control of the airplane. Unlike flying in the past the flight crew
now depends on electronic instruments and computers. There is always a human factor that must be
taken into consideration whenever the aircraft is on or off the ground.
Earnings for aircraft pilots or flight engineers are widely
variable depending on whether they work as airline pilots or general aviation.
Their earnings depend on many factors including rank, seniority, and the size
and type of aircraft they are flying. In May 2008 the average pay for airline
pilots was $111,680 per year. The lowest 10% earned less than $32,000. The
highest 10% earned more than $130,000.
References:
Aircraft pilots and flight engineer, Bureau of Labor
Statistics, http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos107.htm
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