Becoming An Airline Pilot
What does an airline pilot do do?
These days, his job is a manager. From arriving at the aircraft, he liaises with the dispatcher, he liaises with the passenger handling staff inside the terminal, and he liaises with the engineers and cabin crew. It's his job to ensure that the aircraft departs on time, and his role as manager continues through the flight and arriving at the other end.
Is being an airline pilot a full time job?
To me, it was. Other people seemed to manage having other little mini-careers running alongside, but I never did. Mine was full time.
How do you become an airline pilot?
I became an airline pilot easily, because in the mid-60's there were numerous advertisements. British Airways, and BAOC, at that stage realized they couldn't get enough trained pilots out of the Air Force, so they set up their own college at Hamble. That's since closed, so these days most people get their own qualifications. They get a job on a light aircraft, and then they gradually progress as their hours build up. As their experience builds up, they progress onto jets and through the system, up into the biggest aircraft. Easy Jets and people like that help some people, but I don't know exactly how they do that. If they do give them financial help towards getting their qualifications, then there'll be a bond period where they've got to spend five years or ten years with the airline to repay the debt.
Is there any specific training you can do to become an airline pilot?
To get your license qualifications, there were something like 8 different subjects to get your airline transport pilot license, such as meteorology, law, and thermodynamics, and navigation. I can't remember them all at this stage, but I'm pretty sure there were 8 different subjects that we had to study to get your ground qualifications, which then tied in with your air qualifications, to get your airline transport pilot license.
Do you have to be fit to become an airline pilot?
You have to be fit enough to pass a medical. However, there are plenty of pilots who are not very fit.
Do I have to have perfect eyesight to be a pilot?
No. It used to be much stricter, but these days - as long as your vision is correctable by prescription lenses - there are lots of pilots that fly with glasses. When I started, nobody wore glasses to start the course, but by the time you're forty, then people are wearing glasses to be able to read the small-print on let-down plates.
How long does basic training take for an airline pilot?
It took us 21 months. These days, I think it's down to about 18 months.
What kind of planes do you train in?
Small, single-engine aircraft and a twin-engine aircraft. We trained on Chipmunks and Piper Apaches. These days nobody would train on a Chipmunk, but Piper have several training aircraft they could use. Cessna has training aircraft they can use. They do the first 150-180 hours on those, then they'll have about 70 hours on twin aircraft, where they practice their instrument flying and instrument procedures.
What is the hardest thing about training to become an airline pilot?
The instrument flying was the hardest - the accuracy of it, and the concentrating.
Do I need a GCSE's or A-levels to become an airline pilot?
The only requirement when I started was 2 A-levels, and I don't think the qualifications have dramatically changed. They liked it to be science orientated, because your initial training involves thermodynamics and quite a lot of mathematic type problems.
Do I need a degree to become an airline pilot?
When we started, you needed two A-Levels, and they preferred them in a science-based subject. These days, the requirements have not changed significantly. It's not a degree type course. There's a lot of knowledge, but not degree-type knowledge.
At what age can you become an airline pilot?
Sixteen, or seventeen, is the minimum age when you can start flying solo.
Why did you become an airline pilot?
I worked out that it was the best for me. I didn't feel that I could benefit by going to university. I wanted to become independent, and the training for pilot was two years when I started. I eventually did 21 months - I thought it appealed to my nature.
What advice would you give to an aspiring airline pilot?
If it's your dream, follow your dream. But it's not going to be easy.
