Originally Posted by
Uplinker
Yes and no. Do you know the physics of, and how every part of your aircraft works? The FMC, the TRUs, the radios, the packs, the generators, the weather radar? Probably not. You probably know how to use the equipment but maybe not how it actually works.
The “six figure salary” (I wish), is not for being an engine or avionics engineer, it is for being an experienced Captain and all that entails; with legal responsibility for the safety and management of the crew, passengers and aircraft under their charge. How much does a GP earn. - £200,000 ? Do they know and recognise every disease and malady without having to look it up? How much does a dentist or an MP or your local council leader earn?
In the past of course, airlines carried flying engineers who did know how all the systems worked. Then, economics decided to do away with them by computerising some systems and transferring everything to the overhead panel, to be controlled by the remaining two pilots. - whilst also flying the ‘plane. And other systems became much easier to use through developments such as FADECs.
Well, i did at one time hold an aircraft engineers licence, and now an ATPL. But things I gave an example of are BASIC aeronautical knowledge, and pilot's should know this. AF447, the only thing that agreed on the flightdeck were the 3 ADI's, why didn't they "fly attitude"? Piloting an aircraft in the modern era is not that difficult really, if you think it is maybe you should consider another profession. If the "responsibility" worries you the former applies too. By the way responsibility is only an issue if YOU make a mistake. So by inference, what you are saying is that you should be paid a lot of money so that you don't make a mistake? Kind of a bizarre reverse Mafia protection racket argument there. Why do you compare pilots to GP's? Apples and oranges surely? No comparison. GP's, in the UK at least, operate in a non competative market. Pilots do. Sorry for straying away from technical discussion, but some inane comments deserve to be replied to.