Answer this - when flying New York to LA what is the average pilot doing?
When flying New York to LA the average pilot is bearing the legal responsibility for their passengers safety at better than 8 miles a minute and some thirty plus thousand feet up in the atmosphere in a hostile and threat filled environment. They are monitoring numerous systems in a complex machine that has a finite amount of fuel that is rapidly disappearing.
Long before the fuel tanks run dry, there are no gas/service stations nor can one call 911 {emergency/aid phone number} and have the police, ambulance or fire department personally physically appear, our “average pilots” had better deal with any in-flight contingency and arrive safely regardless of what they encounter during their several thousand mile journey. This isn’t just another day in the office; Groundhog Day (Bill Murray movie) nor is the safe outcome of the flight guaranteed. Our “average pilot” must ensure the safe completion of the flight-and it isn’t going to happen without determined and intelligent effort. As I mark the transitory hours, continents (NY to LA) and vast oceans passing by I see a lot of determined and intelligent effort being exerted on my flight deck.
On our flight to LA our “average pilots” are tasked with protecting their passengers regardless of the changing weather (rapidly moving cold fronts, windshear, crosswinds on ice covered runways (NY not LA), clear air turbulence and embedded thunderstorms or super cells {Delta 191 @ DFW, AA in Little Rock}), security and traffic demands of an intricate national aviation system. Few people shoulder the responsibility for the safety of 75-500+ people every time they go to work; do you?
While our “average pilots” are so occupied, everything they say is being recorded by the cockpit voice recorder; the jet itself is monitoring, recording and relaying hundreds of parameters to the company that then audits for operational compliance. Their every transmission is also monitored and recorded by the regulatory authorities. The actual flight path is being watched closely and recorded. Our average pilot is conducting their flight in accordance with a vast amount of government and company regulations while being highly scrutinized. That is what is happening on my flight deck when I fly from New York to LA.
There is a little more to it than: LNAV, VNAV & USA Today. [Engage the autopilot and read the newspaper.]
Some people MAKE things happen.
Some people watch things happen.
Other people wonder what happened.
............. worth keeping in mind all the time while here on PPRuNe..........
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*"sciolist"... Noun, archaic. "a person who pretends to be knowledgeable and well informed".