questions for comercial pilots

[andyb99]

hi
im in my 3rd year of highschool now and i plan to be a commercial pilot , and while thinking about it, a few questions have popped up, i was hopeing someone could help me..

1. about 20/20 vision, my eye doctor says that 20/20 physical vision isnt needed for a pilot, but you must have 20/20 corrected.. (glasses that make your eyes see 20/20). yet other people told me that this rule was changed in 1996 and pilots now absolutly need 20/20 vision, NO GLASSES... any truth to this?

2 i heard that an engineering/mechanics degree will help you get a job as a pilot faster (kind of like criminology and physciology will help you be a police man faster). if i go to university and get these first, will this increase my chances of being a pilot?


3.for pilots that have wife/kids, how do you cope with your schedule? dont you fly somewhere every 5-6 days and stay away for a while?.. i could be wrong..

4. good old mom says a pilot wouldn't be a good job since 9/11. much to my surprise, she says that it wouldnt be a good job because people now are afraid to fly and airlines are loosing money, therefore the need for pilots is decreasing badly, my sister says the same and im kinda worried my dream has shattered.. can someone shed some light on this?

5. one more small dumb question, kinda belongs in the rumour thread though.:. my friend told me that since 911, before you become a pilot you must take an extensive and very deep lie detector test. i have absolutly NOTHING to hide :), but i was just wondering if its true..

hope you can help.


thanks
andy

[Celtic Frog]

Hi andy.
Worry not about your ambition...when I was at school (too many years ago now) I got fed all the same nonsense by self-appointed experts who knew nothing about flying..so here goes to answer your questions..

Eyesight..you know that eyechart you get in the doctor's room.?
Just be sure you can read the second bottom line WITH OR WITHOUT glasses and you can be a pilot. If you have to wear glasses to do that, the only restriction is that you'll need to carry a spare pair at all times.

Degree..not required..even A levels or whatever they're caled nowadays are not legally required although they may help.
Be reasonably good at Maths..perhaps also physics but don't have to be a genuis..it's not as "James Bondy" as people think.

Getting jobs and promotion in the airlines tends to be about either knowing the right people and / or getting on well with management and nothing to do with having a degree or other qualification...but the airline pilot workplace is very insecure so pehaps a good degree or other qualification will give you something to fall back on if you suddenly find yourself unemployed and have to do something with engineering or whatever you study.

Married life often takes a bashing in the airlines..high divorce rate, and not sure how to advise you on that one. My wife's OK with it but she used to work in the airlines (like her family) when I met her so she has a better ubnderstanding of it all.

Good luck

[andyb99]

thanks for the reply..
i noticed how you said your wife is OK with it, yet i dont really know a typical schedule of a pilot..


could you kinda discribe your average schedule as a pilot (im assuming you are one)
ie. how many times do you fly per, say, 2 weeks, and how long are you gone?

sorry if im bugging you

maybe i'll marry a stewerdess.

[Quidnunc]

Andy,

Most of the rumours you've heard are wrong. For medical info about eyesight etc try logging on to your local authority's (FAA?) website, or the website of a pilots' union. Get your info from the people that really know - don't listen to rumours (including Pprune!).
The post 911 situation is a new reality, but the airlines will learn to live with it. There are too many people wanting to fly to too many places for the air travel to stop.
You'll find some info here:

http://www.balpa.org/intranet/How-to-bec/index.htm

That's the British Airlines Pilots' Associaiton website. (Your use of the word 'mom' makes me think you may be American - you should be able to find an American equivilent.

Good luck.

[redsnail]

G'day Andy,
You don't need perfect vision but you do need good vision. As stated above, if you need to wear specs then you have to carry another pair as back up.
Regarding security, it isn't as easy as it was to get a security pass. (pass that lets you onto the the airfield - if req'd). In the UK you need to fill out a form dealing with where you've live/worked for the past 5 years. Convictions etc. It used to be 2 years.
The difficult one to answer is the one about schedule. There's so many different types of flying. There's instructing, home 90% nights but usually busy all weekends. There's piston charter, work can be variable, some times home a lot, other times away for a couple of days. Corporate, you are at the whim of your employer. You could be home most nights and then do a month away.
Short haul, away a couple nights a month, work 2/4 weekends per month. Long haul, away for a week to 3 weeks but home for 2 week's at a time. Your partner really has to understand that your job won't be a 9 to 5 one with the weekends off. Also, when you are starting out, you may have to live in some pretty dodgy/remote areas. Best to do that while you are single or he/she has nursing/teaching quals that are easily transferable.
It's up to you whether or not your partner is going to be happy with the deal. COmmunication (and expensive pressies) is vital.
good luck

[andyb99]

thanks for clearing up my question everyone.
i can assume that the lie detector test before officially becomming a pilot thing is not true (even though me friend said it way). it does sound a little wierd,


i guess im fine now but celtic frog kinda scared me with the Married life often takes a bashing in the airlines..high divorce rate, thing. hehe, the truth hurts i guess.

im tied in between becomming a pilot and getting married.
i understand that it does say "risk" i know nothings a guarentee, as some of you have said, you are pilots and get along well with your wives. as my friend said "why spend money on a new cesna when it will just be given to her in court." pfft, i have my dreams and he can have his.


Your use of the word 'mom' makes me think you may be American

canadian, but close! :P


pilot it is!
thanks for your help

andy

[Trash8mofo]

hey Andy,

I hope you will make a great captain someday.
And to answer your questions, I will use myself as an example. I started flying when I was 18 by going to an aviation university in the US. Though a college degree is not required, but you will not get an interview without it. I have a BS in aviation scince. If you do what I did, you will be going the most direct route to become an airline pilot. But the risk is that you will put all your eggs in one basket, and this profession is a very unstable basket. I am 25, with an eyesight of 20/200 (corrected to 20/20). I have been layoff once after 9/11. I am now a Captain of a 37seat Dash 8 turboprop aircraft. I love my job and am home every night.

Most Airline pilots have overnights, but you can find some that only do day-trips and go back to base everynight ( esp. private jet operators). Dont worry about 9/11, the industry goes on cycles of peaks and valleys every 6-10yrs. However, do expect to be layoff at least once.

As far as the marriage goes. Why?????............;). Being faithful is a choice, not a fate.

I hope I'd come across you up there doing .83 at flight level 370. Good luck.

[andyb99]

thanks for your reply
i just have one question,
i noticed you said you have your bs in aviation science...
how long (years in college) did that take to get?
is it difficult? im assuming physics is pretty heavely envolved

[Trash8mofo]

4yrs. Yes, physics is pretty much one of the hardest class. If you do plan on getting an aviation degreee, I hope that you would consider double major on something else.