We have a huge number here busy telling us it's a cr@p job but the moment somebody who is not a pilot tells them the same thing they get very defensive and call them a "wanna be". A "wanna be" what? in a cr@p job?? you can't have it both ways!
Hey it's the same for EVERY job! the grass is ALWAYS greener on the other side!
Just reading the mess that was on FFS and flying...
Here's a briefer... applies to probably >99% (wild guess) of abnormals in real life.
1. If you can't do it in the FFS, U won't be able to do it in real flight.
2. If you can do it in the FFS, U might still not be able to do it in real life...
Desert Knight,
Try this...
Climb out on prop in foreign airspace with no more than US$40 amongst the 4 of you on board because someone screwed up the funds transfer. You're cleared to climb with a descending jet on a collision course but there's no way of knowing since you nor the jet is TCAS equipped, and you got an ATC calling altitude checks every 30 seconds when suddenly someone at the back saw your tank cap flew off... you have 30 seconds to do the following:
1. stop climb without spewing the fuel out.
2. make an emergency call
3. get a visual on the descending jet.
4. ensure ATC gets the message and stops the other jet's descend, if not repeat.
why 30 seconds? Well, 30 seconds after the first alarm, the jet appeared 1000ft above me <3NM... had he continued descent, his wake would have killed us or spewed all the fuel out... excessive imbalance danger.
Then, spend the next 5 minutes explaining to the ATC delicately that you request to return to your departing airfield due to your emergency despite the fact that there are nearer airport with better facility... Yet landing at those airports would have costed >40USD, and no money to buy additional fuel!
Now, can the simulator train you for this?
Can the simulator train your ear to hear cracking noises of a fatigued wing spar?
Can it simulate the fear of death? Well, maybe if you have a requirement of making zero errors (even the irrelevant ones) otherwise you'd be permanently banned from flying anywhere in the world, then it could come close
Sure, I've had serious fun on the simulator, even doing loss of both hydraulic systems one by one, then engine fire... on the 732 with the old MCP... I probably went through most of the abnormal procs with flying colours... BUT....
I to this day dare not say I can land the 732... the most I'll come to is that it's worth the shot if there is no other choice... However, if *God forbids* U or me ever get into the situation... just pray the aircraft is in tact, A/P still on, NAVs have just been recently calibrated, Autoapproach capability(autoland better
), auto throttle present and working, GOOD WEATHER, and can still remember the right prayers ! :P U know why? U'll need it no matter how many hrs on the FFS U have...
Now I think the right attitude for you would be like NightOwl said...
I'd have a better chance of a safe landing then you, since I know the aircraft systems better than you... No MORE...
Are pilots overpaid button pushers? Well, buttons can fail... even if pilots are button pushers, they make their money by knowing what to do when those buttons fail
Now airlines looking for pilots? Try the new (and old) 320 operators out of Singapore... and oh yeah, "the usual middle eastern airlines" like Emirates, Etihad, Qatar... but timing's crucial...