Pilot Personalities?

[limesoda]

Just a quick one...

Would it be said that a pilot's personality is introvert, or not? Im just curious as to what kind of a personality flight schools like Oxford or CTC look for.

Also, why do pilot's have to wear short sleeves? I know its a stupid question, just interested!

Cheers

[Bealzebub]

Pilots have a whole range of personalities from introvert to extrovert and everything inbetween. The schools accept candidates with the whole range of these personalities.

Pilots don't have to wear short shirts, and many don't. On a flight deck where the temperature is usually well controlled, short shirts may be preferable.

[speedrestriction]

Generally the "ideal" is extrovert but that does not necessarily mean bubbly. There are all sorts of people in the flightdeck introvert, extrovert, quietly spoken, brash, funny, serious. The bottom line is you must be able to communicate and you must be able to get along with your fellow crewmembers. Short sleeved shirts don't take so long to iron:ok:

[redsnail]

Short sleeves are easier to keep clean. :ok:

The general trend for pilots if you're classifying from the Myers-Brigs is "stable-extrovert" - but, that covers a wide range and if you're "introvert" then that is not a fail point.
It's how you come across in the interview that counts for a lot more.

[LVL_CHG]

redsnail is right

I've been taught that employers after a "stable extrovert"

Whereas the other end of the scale would be an unstable introvert. Then ofcourse you have the other combinations available.

[pudoc]

Being both goal and person orientated was something that came up in HPL.

So in an interview try to convey that you set long and short terms goals for yourself but that you like people and teamwork.

[limesoda]

Thank you very much for the comments. It interesting to hear! Well anyway i will hopefully see you guys on the other side! So long as Oxford don't eat me ;)

[B2N2]

Pilot personalities?
Most of 'em are @ssholes....:E







Sorry, couldn't resist.....I'll get my coat

[limesoda]

I guess my dad is an A**H*** then?

[LVL_CHG]

Interesting your dad is sending you through OAA at a time like this.

Does he think the upturn will have come by the time you come out the other side?

[Gazeem]

Extrovert?

I thought I was until I met Cabin Crew who an talk non stop on a two hour transfer after a 12 hour flight!!

[sevenstrokeroll]

short sleeve shirts vs. long sleeve? simple...short sleeve are cheaper...pilots are usually cheap.
as far as personalities...I agree with B2n2...many are a#$holes, or shall I say apu tailpipes?

and maybe your dad is, in the cockpit, how would I know?

Some pilots are dumb, some are super smart (yours truly), many tried being nice and it backfired on them.

don't change your personality, study hard and think and be good at flying planes...don't worry about what oxford thinks of you. many other places to learn how to fly!

[Memphis_bell]

Sevenstrokeroll:

A+++++++ response !!! I got to second that !

[corsair]

would say the following:

Mature, confident but not arrogant, decisive but consensual, leader and team-player, listener who knows when to act, focussed but not nerdy, worldly and can talk to the customers on a level.

ENTJ is the classic, but basically not someone at extreme personality types.

Bottom line - someone whom you don't mind sitting next to for 12 hours and then sharing a beer with.

Go to uni and get life experience - it will add hugely to your personality, plus the market is dire at the moment and will continue to be so for at least a couple more years. Pretty much sums it up. It's beem my experience to select a pilot lately and it pretty much sums up as above. The guy hits all the high points at the moment. I was impressed. But I can't wondering how well he would have worked out if there was some kind of flexibility in the market.

[limesoda]

Haha Im only joking about my dad, just sounded like a sweeping statement. But hey, maybe i can be the first non-@sshole pilot? ;) Thank you for the advice ... i most definitely will NOT be changing my personality. Cheers city flyer, but the problem i will have is, how will i fund going to flight school after university? I would rather get out into the world of aviation sooner to be honest. I wouldnt be trained for another 3 years i don't think, so hopefully with the 787 and other factors like retirements, there may be a string of jobs. Im going to try my best, even if it means working as ground staff for a while!

[Groundloop]

hopefully with the 787 and other factors

What difference is the 787 going to make to the pilot job market? It does not need any more pilots to fly it!

[BigGrecian]

Personality plays a bigger part in training than people normally realise - particuarly the CPL.

You need to be positive, organised and a decision maker. Some people don't have these skills in their personality and really struggle in the CPL because of it. It's obvious when your completing your CPL training on the ground who around you will stuggle and need more hours than some of the stronger characters. However, this is true in any career.

[jez d]

A maxim that has proved itself time and again is that pilots' egos are inversely proportionate to their flying experience. Hopefully you will buck that trend :ok:

Short sleeve, always, unless you enjoy time spent at the ironing board.

[limesoda]

I'm not sure really groundloop? I'm genuinely curious on all of these topics. The more information i know, the better. Even if most of it is pointing towards not training, or at least waiting. What i don't understand, is why going to flight school is totally unrecommended or at least not encouraged by most people on this forum. At a solid flight school, with good links, surely the chances of me getting a job are above 0%? I have a couple of friends who both went through Oxford and they now both have positions as first officers at Easyjet. Are my chances really that bleak?

[BerksFlyer]

It's the timing. If you look at past threads from around 2006 the advice given would have been different.

[Lightning Mate]

Stable Extravert.

Wanna speak to a fighter pilot?

[limesoda]

I kind of guessed it was to do with timing. I hope i don't get caught out. Yes Lightening Mate i would love too!

[redsnail]

Charlie, did your friends join easyJet recently or a few years ago? If they joined recently, ask them if they are on a full time easyJet contract. If they are, great. However, most folks from Oxford are currently contractors (hint, big difference in pay!!) and if they want a full time easyJet contract, they are being sent to European bases.

[MaximumPete]

Takes one to know one!

Tootal nutters all of them!

[pudoc]

As redsnail points out, full time eJ contracts are good. Be careful of the rubbish contracts (the one you'd go on) though. Got a couple of friends on those, one says life is okay and he thinks of it as a stepping stone, and the other absolutely despises everything about it and wishes he stayed unemployed and worked in ops somewhere in the hope that he could work his way to a decent RHS job.

He told me he lives above a garage in a depressing flat and just breaking even with living costs whilst living hours away from his family. Although on the later point, I think that was him going into flight training without fully knowing what the reality was.

It's not all as rosy as OAA and their marketing department lead you to believe.

Won't turn this into a debate, plenty of those threads about.

[Northbeach]

Mr. Sun is not your friend; skin cancer. I would prefer short sleeves; easier to keep clean and iron and less mass to pack. However, I choose to wear long sleeves to minimize my exposure to sunshine for long periods at high altitudes.

Research skin cancer and pilots; unfortunately we seem to be at a higher risk.

Personalities; a complete mixed bag, the larger the company the more variation (in the civilian world).

[pudoc]

Suncream on your arms?

[redsnail]

Yep, I do. Especially in Summer. Also block out on my face every day. (Having lived in Oz for 35 years taught me that). :D

[Northbeach]

Suncream on your arms?

Skin cancer is a job hazard pilots should be aware of.

As a young person starting out in this industry I was unaware of the associated risks of skin cancer. Spending significant time above FL180, having a history of sunburn and being Caucasian (Other {darker skinned} races are not immune to skin cancer) all seem to be increased risk factors for developing skin cancer.

Sun blocking creams help, eliminating exposure is better (I’m not a doctor).

Safe flying and good health everybody!

[pudoc]

Do any of you get a sun tan up there? It's not all doom and gloom, long sleeve shirts are more trendy anyway. :D

Regarding Chief Willy's point, I believe that if you are very young (early 20s or younger) there is absolutely no reason why you shouldn't go modular. Jobs may take longer but at the same time you're very young and within a few years a good job might just come for you. Working somewhere in an airline will be good.

I've seen it happen myself. Friend finished training modular, got into ops and within 3 months the airline, Jet2, offered him a interview to be a pilot. He never once applied for the pilot job but someone knew he was qualified and offered it.

[limesoda]

Honestly there has been no mad rush for me to sign up chief willy, its just one of the many ways that are a possiblity. I will be attempting to get onto BA FPP but my chances are probably pretty low. Aside from that i will see if i can get onto an Easyjet or Monarch scheme. The reason why i am geared towards is because i wish to study my ATPL as i was going to Uni; a continuation through education. I don't want to hang around or wait. This won't be for another 3 years at least though. Sure i may not have a job initially which is why i will have to make do and find a job, but in the beginning its never going to be all fun, money and glamour.

I'm am a ginger. Which is why i will be adopting LONG SLEEVES ;) fair skin!

[Finals19]

Flying brings out the best and the worst in a personality. A well formed, non egotistical, non arrogant type could be a great pilot as long as they keep a level head and don't let the perceived "prestige" (lol!!) of the job go to their head.

However, in the younger formative years, its easy to let the job form "you" as a person.

I've flown with some great guys, but I think its only fair to say that I have also flown with some total megalomaniac idiots where the flight deck gradient is ridiculously steep to the point of being un-workable. Some of these have been the more "senior" guys who have been in the industry for years (or dare I say have come from ex-RAF!!) who see no reason to adapt to modern CRM methods....

[sevenstrokeroll]

help out a yank will you? you guys are speaking the queen's english...we don't understand that without a translator (there's an app for that!)?

anyway...what is a FROZEN ATP?

what is MODULAR?

mind you, I've been a pilot since 1975 with CFIIMETIATPMEL737 type et al

but we don't use the same terms.


and one more thought on the short sleeve vs long sleeve debate...I've been cold in the cockpit a whole lot LESS than I've been HOT in the cockpit...it can get awfully hot up there even with AC on max!

In the summer time, we are allowed to walk around without our jackets on and the short sleve shirt is more comfortable in the summer.

[limesoda]

Ahah i am enjoying the debate on the sleeves! I always got the impression that short sleeve shirts were the option so that nothing got in the way!

Yank Translations;
Frozen ATPL - Frozen Airline Transport Pilot Lisence means a lisence holding (1) Commercial Pilot's License with a Multi-Engine aircraft class rating, (2) a Multi-Engine Instrument rating, and (3) a certificate of Multi-Crew Cooperation (MCC). After 1500 flight hours have been completed, an ATPL candidate can take the FAA's ATPL written skills test.

Modular - Is a specific type of training in which you do your PPL, Instrument ratings, multi-crew all separately and so you can do it when you wish where integrated is more like taking a Uni Degree (or at least a similar process)

I am fairly planted on my aspirations and so they won't swing by much, but i will most definitely ensure that it doesn't dictate who i am or how i behave when i grow up

Joke: How do can you tell that theres a pilot at a party?
Answer: He'll tell you

[pudoc]

You groan when a FO wears long sleeve? Haha I hope that's a joke. :D

Joke: How do can you tell that theres a pilot at a party?
Answer: He'll tell you

Joke: How do can you tell that someones training to be a pilot?
Answer: His parents will tell you.