For the non-pilots on this sight here are the answers to some statements which drive me crazy.
Statement. You only work 80 hours per month.
Answer. I sit in a pilots seat for 80 hours per month. I am away from home to achieve these 80 hours for something like 250 hours. This is because the company wants me to be away from home and I am on company business. If I calculate my pay check based on the time I am away from home instead of my actual flight hours my paycheck per hour is less than a quarter of what it would seem to be. It puts my paycheck in the hourly range of a well paid plumber and about what you pay per hour to get your car serviced.
Statement. Your aeroplanes land themselves.
Answer. Most modern aeroplanes can land themselves, given a properly equipped aeroplane, a properly trained crew and, more importantly, a properly equipped airport (usually the limiting factor). However, most landings are carried out the old way, by hand. The reason is that an automatic landing requires special, and time consuming, arrival procedures to be carried out by the airfield controllers. If all aircraft tried to land automatically, even if all of the airfields were properly equipped, the air traffic control system would grind to a halt at the major airports.
Statement. The computers fly the aeroplane.
Answer. Yes the computers fly the aeroplane AFTER THEY HAVE BEEN PROGRAMMED BY THE PILOT.
Unfortunately, computers are useless in real time tricky situations like avoiding thunderstorms. Without pilot intervention the computer WOULD not COULD fly you straight into weather which WOULD rip the wings off you aircraft.
Statement. Pilots are all highly paid.
Answer. The pilots at the top of the tree are highly paid, possibly 5,000 pilots. Another 25,000 pilots do quite well. Below this level it begins to stink. A new Reional Jet co=pilot makes about $21,000. In his second year the figure goes up to around $45,000. He is also spending a couple of hundred hours a month away from home, should we credit him with $21 per hour? The same as in any organisation. The guys at the top do well but the others are all trying to get there. Think about your own company.
Statement. Everyone else does the work, you just fly the 'plane.
Answer. Before Sept.11th as an aircraft captain I was responsible for planning the safe operation of the aircraft and seeing the flight was carried out efficiently and safely. It does not take much to say that but I assure you it kept you busy. In addition, I became involved when I thought it was needed in various phases of the ground operation. Since Sept.11th. I am now also involved deeply in security matters which add considerably to my preflight duties. I have been given no extra time before flight to carry out these functions. I assure you I am very busy every minute until the landing gear is raised. You cannot understand as a non-commercial pilot that the time I spend in flight in an aircraft is the time I have to relax.
I am sure other pilots can add to this list. The point is that when you talk about the job of flying and the pay check you can have no real concept of what is involved in the job. If you want to talk about our easy job and our massive pay for doing it PLEASE get the facts first!