correct answer to the question "don't you just push buttons?!"

[moo]

I need to get some ammo for those people that when finding out you're a pilot then reply "don't you just push buttons, I mean its all automatic isn't it?" GRRRRRRR!!!! :mad:
I end up waffling for so long on how thats not true that people get confused/bored!! So, bullet points would be useful! hehe! ;)

woops....sorry mods, was meant to go in JB....please move!

[birdlady]

An airline pilot may just push buttons but you can always point out what happens if the wrong button is pushed
Im being naughty here - playing devils advocate
On a more serious note:
1. you can always point out then why, if its just a case of pushing buttons, there are not more pilots out there. :hmm: :hmm:
2. Computers and gadgets have been known to fail due to mechanical errors so one needs to know what to do if this happens.
Generally, when I tell someone Im a pilot there first response is "But your a girl" := := :p :E

[Maude Charlee]

How about.....

"No, I have a co-pilot to do that."

or,

"No, we're too busy with the crossword and our Gin and Tonic to bother with button pushing. I mean, it's so working class."

[scroggs]

I just push buttons, me. When I'm not reading the paper or calculating my property and shares profits, or planning my luxury holiday home in Barbados.

[Hansard]

I don't let button-pushing interrupt me anymore. If I don't bother to push any buttons, the failsafe automatic button-pushing function kicks in, so I just let that do all the work.

[GRANTS]

A Doctor just cut people and close them.
anything more simple then that?...

[Gin Slinger]

There was a great comic line by Eric Morcambe; when confronted by some famous pianist, who claimed Eric's rendition of his piece was rubbish, Eric replied that he played exactly the same notes........just not necessarily in the same order.

When accused being just a button presser, therefore by implication unskilled, perhaps you could adapt Eric's retort to put the desired point across?

[Flying Rasta]

Happened to me before many times,
last time i said something along the lines of :"I’d explain it to you, but I don’t have any crayons with me." It shut him right up, and he steered clear of me for the rest of the Sem.

Increase the Peace
and keep it real.
:p :O :ok:

[Tinstaafl]

"Yes, we are. But it takes many, many years of training & practice to develop the skills necessary to know in an instant which, of the many hundreds available, is the correct button to push to prevent all on board experiencing a horrible, excruciatingly painful death."

[Genghis the Engineer]

A line I heard from a surgeon once covers it.

He explained that for a standard operation such as, for-example, removing an appendix he could teach a bright adult how to do it in half a day.

But, to teach the same bright adult what to do if something went wrong would take about another five years.

So, "yes I do - so long as nothing goes wrong".

G

[moo]

I think Tinstaafl has the best answer to them so far!! hahaha!! :}

[willby]

Or
" Yes but to push or not to push that is the question!".
Willby

[Reds Blues Greens]

I like the following saying:

Lawyers' mistakes end up in jail.

Surgeons' mistakes end up buried.

Pilots get killed for their mistakes.

:D

[FlayinSpanner]

Soooooo Moo/birdlady, as pilots know EXACTLY whats happens when they push a button or if they press the wrong button.....

Why do you think it takes four years to train an engineer and only one year for a pilot to get his frozen ATPL?

I think that generally speaking our pilot brethren are smart and know a fair amount of whats going on with the aircraft. But I dont think for one minute they could actually explain whats happening with systems or specifics of what does happen when they push that little button.

having experience in both fields, I think there is a certain level of hmmmm professional respect missing here?!

I do know of many pilots with assumed knowledge, but there is a term that Im sure you have heard whispered over the VHF when calling in for tech support? It is above all doubt the pilots worst enemy.

Finger trouble.

In answer to your request for one liner ammunition, remind them of the reason for the 747 having a humped roof.

For when the pilot has to sit on his wallet.
:ok:

[flighttime2.0]

The only bottons that get pushed in my cockpit is the air hostesses !!!!!!!

flighttime

[Crepello]

FlayinSpanner, I suspect you're trolling. If not, a word to the wise: The trick to playing Devil's Advocate is to know what you're talking about.

I dont think for one minute they could actually explain whats happening with systems or specifics of what does happen when they push that little button.
I'm an engineer for profit and a pilot for pleasure - only a PPL, but could describe in gruesome detail the actions of pressing each button. And with more than a passing knowledge of the ATP/ATPL syllabus, I can assure you that our higher-flying brethren could do the same.

Of course, we may pretend not to know, to avoid perplexing simpler minds... :=

[fescalised portion]

"The only bottons that get pushed in my cockpit is the air hostesses !!!!!!!

flighttime"

And what cockpit would that be then? I didn't know that they had room for a trolly dolly in a C152 !!!

[Send Clowns]

Spanner

As an ATPL instructor I can back up Crepello assure you that, at some stage, the holder of an ATPL has learnt what happens when he "pushes a button", or makes any other action for that matter. He or she learns the general case here, and any specifics during the type-rating training. Some of them may not remember or connect all they know, but that is the case for any training. However I know many people who take great pride in knowing exactly what goes on in their aircraft, and they are usually the best pilots.

Couldn't even hope to repair the thing, even with 4 years training, so much respect to you and all the engineers I know. That is not my aptitude - I fly, I teach and on an academic level I understand the systems well. The rest I leave to the people who are good with machines.

[moo]

Bizarrely spanner, I was an avionic engineer with 8 years experience on heavy metal, with a very reputable British airline who's training was first class, now I am in to my ATPL training, I am frequently asked by members of my class for in-depth explanations of particular systems that they find tough, or cannot find adequate explanations for.

I loved engineering with a passion and I miss it, but I love flying much more so. I wouldn't change the path i've taken to the cockpit, as my 'professional respect' is mutual for both disciplines ;)

[Maude Charlee]

Pilots can answer any question once you give us the 4 options!!! :}

"Yes sir/madam, I do push buttons and get paid handsomely for it. I presume that this means you must be one of the fools who actually have to work for a living?" :D

[moochooser]

Buttons ??:confused: I've never noticed any buttons, I just sit here and drink tea.

[Craggenmore]

How can you tell if there's a pilot at a party?

they'll tell you.....

(perhaps thats wht you get asked so much (but I know what you mean))

[flighttime2.0]

Hay Matt i'll leave the 152 flying for you , ive moved up in the market . Hope all is well over in sunny florida !!!

[Piltdown Man]

The correct answer is "Yes, that's all I do. And I'm well paid for it as well!" And then leave.

[Genghis the Engineer]

Four years to train as an Engineer????

Took me seven before I even started to be trusted with anything, and another two or three before they let me sign for it.

And, realistically, most pilots are doing something similar before they get a captaincy - i.e. real responsibility. The frozen ATPL is like a basic LWTR or Engineering degree, nothing but a starting point.

G

[Stall Inducer]

I ask them back - I take it you have computers in your office then? to which the answer 99% of the time is yes, then I ask if they just switch it on in the morning and the rest is all automatic these days? - it must be surely if there's a computer it does it all for you right? You must just sit there all day and do nothing then? As they start to dispute your assumptions they quickly realise their own - works for me every time.