Any Gay pilots?

[Pacific Blue]

Currently I have my UK PPL, and was looking to train commercially for airline work. My question is, in the real world how easy is it being a pilot and being openly gay?
Would this effect future promotion, and which airlines in the UK are more accepting?
I know it may be a strange question as it shouldnt matter, but would like to hear from anyone who is in the same boat.

[vapilot2004]

I have known more than a few commercial pilots (both guys and gals) that happen to be gay. They were not broadcasting this fact but for whatever reason :cool: would open up to either myself or my better half.

I admit to offering such lame advice as 'choose your close friends wisely' in the past to many friends.

Perhaps there is more sanity over in the land of the more rooted cousins.

Either way, we should always insist that one's career success should never be restrained by label-imposed limits.

[Miserlou]

As you say, it 'shouldn't' make any difference but it alsp depends on what you mean by 'openly gay'.
If this means you're going to mince in, hand on hip and present yourself with, "Hi luvvies, I'm Pacific Blue and I'm a woolly!" then I doubt you'll be high up on the hiring list. In the same way, breeders don't tend to mention which team they play for in general conversation. Of course, there are also those who don't figure out their preference until later in life.
However, in 20 years of flying I know a number of 'out' pilots, both in the left and right seats. (In fact, more gay pilots than gay cabin crew.) Often, it was years before I found out; the subject never arose and it didn't change anything.
I like to think we are accepting of all types but it is still a case of fitting in with a group.
I cannot comment on any companies which are more accepting because I just don't know and I don't think it should influence your decision to choose a career in aviation.
Good luck with your training.

[ETOPS]

but would like to hear from anyone who is in the same boat.

Mixed metaphor alert :eek:

[fireflybob]

It is now illegal within the UK for an employer to discriminate on the grounds of a person's sexuality.
The important thing is that you are able to do your job correctly and this also includes general behaviour under the terms of your contract.
It may be somewhat outdated now but when I trained at Hamble in 1969 the guidance material said that cadets (and therefore pilots) should have the dress and deportment of an airline officer. So maybe there is a fine line between "flaunting it" or quietly getting on with the job and not raising the issue unless fellow crew members broach the subject or unless you, as an individual, feel ok to come out with that particular person.
My general comment is to advise caution since whilst probably 99.9% could not care two hoots about your orientation there are still a few prejudiced souls out there in positions of authority who might affect your prospects of promotion - for this reason, make sure that, if anything, you are the best you possibly can be at your job.

[Dash-7 lover]

Quite a few of my pilot mates are.......no issues at all, one of them was part of an all-gay male crew - Capt, F/o and both cabin crew...great fun!

[TheGorrilla]

Flown with lots of gays. Some through sexual preference, others just acted gay!

It's the thought of a female pilot with the hairy hands and adams apple that scares me!! :\

[Miserlou]

I heard a story that there used to be a female Maersk pilot who used to be a male Maersk pilot.

[UP and Down Operator]

I heard that one too. What a bugger to find out too late :E :uhoh:

Couple of gay guys in my current company, both in the cabin and the flightdeck. All nice guys and topic never raised unless someone asks directly.

Personally i like the lesbian cc better though, as i can discuss qute pax with her :}

[Piltdown Man]

I'm not openly homosexual, just a normal pilot. As long as you too are a normal pilot, your sexuality will not affect your career.

[HeavyDog]

Just in case if you ever sit there questioning the sexuality of the person next to you, just look at their habits. If they wipe over all the hand control surfaces with an alcohol wipe before flight, that should give you some ideal.

[Pacific Blue]

Thanks guys for your advice.

[Miserlou]

Anyway, you're just a bit confused at the moment.
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I'm the only gay in this village!!!

[Old Smokey]

This is a nonsense thread. In any society, profession, trade, religious group, you name it, there will always be a certain number of people who are overtly male heterosexual, overtly female heterosexual, and all shades of sexuality between these two extremes - so what!

I'm an overtly heterosexual male (with a strong preference for keeping company with heterosexual females), but amongst my friends, colleagues, and family, exist what is probably a normal average number of homosexual people of both genders (and at least one of indeterminate gender). I like all of them. Whether they choose to 'advertise' their sexual preference or not is up to them, c'est la vie!

So why the hell has this issue surfaced on a Professional Pilot's forum? Professional pilots of ALL genders (and variations between) are expected to behave in a professional manner, and with the decorum that has become expected of our profession. They DO.

I have flown with a lot of hetero males, lesser numbers of hetero females, and about the same number of homosexuals. ALL of them behaved in a professional manner, and with the decorum that has become expected of our profession. (The women flew the best).

This IS a nonsense thread, perhaps I've added to the nonsense.

[BellEndBob]

Old Smokey.

So, you are not at all bothered by the sexual preference of Pilot, indeed it does not belong on a forum such as this (according to you), and yet you appear to know the sexuality of everyone you have flown with.

So which is it?

[Old Smokey]

BellEndBob,

If you refer back to my post you'll see that I included the words "Whether they choose to 'advertise' their sexual preference or not is up to them, c'est la vie!", so obviously I have no idea about a person's sexuality unless they 'advertise' it or declare it. Either way, it matters not at all to me, provided that their conduct is professional and in keeping with the behavioural standards required of us. Inevitably it is, regardless of their sexuality, and thus not an issue on a Professional Pilot's forum.

You asked of me - "So which is it?" - I think that I've illustrated that it doesn't matter a jot to me, so there's no answer to the question, it's a non-question relating to a non-issue.

[metar]

I'm openly gay but never really flaunted it at any point of my career. Nobody ever seems bothered if it is discussed. I also have plenty of gay friends flying as instructors / airline pilots.

Not a big deal really - but worth watching out for the old RAF types sometimes!

Enjoy!

[OneMileHigh]

I used to be a bit of a homophobe, but have changed my thinking on the subject.:}

I am red blooded and straight. Now, when I am on the flight deck I don't give a stuff about the sexual leanings of my other pilot. But, when it comes to some of the horny chicks slinking up and down the aisle...........Well I just consider that with a gay in the cockpit then theres less competition for me. :)

There's always a silver lining, so let there be more gays!!! :hmm:

Now, where's that trolley? :O

[John2006]

re starting an old topic here, Im a Avation student at the universtiy of leeds and some of my fellow students raised a point that a homosexual pilot flying with a straight captain may find it difficult to talk to each other, say when the captain starts talking about women, thus degrading parts of CRM. As a gay guy who hope to get a ppl, it worrys me slightly. What are other peoples thoughts, especially those in the industry?

[Intruder]

What does talking about women have to do with CRM? All those off-topic topics are for cruise, when CRM needs are minimal.

[redsnail]

We have gay pilots in our company. As ever when flying with someone new, the topic of conversation in cruise/dinner tend to be very general and safe until you know the other person. Then it's game on. :ok:
I'm a female pilot and the guys don't talk about women (in that way) to me, so I think that the guys would act the same way when flying with a gay colleague. I have chatted to the gay guys, tonne of fun and none have said that they have encountered any issues. Whilst they are open about their sexuality, they are not "in your face" with it.

The key is to be professional and not be "precious". The same applies to female pilots.

[riverrock83]

You would be hard pushed to find any profession in the UK which doesn't have people in it who are gay, given that about 1% of the population are gay (0.5% bi-sexual). From the sounds of things though, there may be a higher % of pilots than that!

There are very few people now who care about working with gay people. Even from a conservative Christian point of view, there is the concept of "love the person but don't condone what they do" - so they are happy to work with gay people (and you will find gay people in conservative churches), even if pushed there would be an awkward conversation to be had.

The worrying thing is why you even needed to ask this question?

[Capt Claret]

Im a Avation student at the universtiy of leeds and some of my fellow students raised a point that a homosexual pilot flying with a straight captain may find it difficult to talk to each other, say when the captain starts talking about women, thus degrading parts of CRM. As a gay guy who hope to get a ppl, it worrys me slightly. What are other peoples thoughts, especially those in the industry?

I think you're being a bit too stereotypical.

Not all straight captains talk about women, and no doubt not all gay captains talk about men. There are many topics of conversation on the flight decks I've frequented. And as a captain, I've not found conversation stilted with any individual because of their sexual orientation, ever.

[smallfry]

Quite a few gay Pilots and Cabin Crew in my mob... Doesn't make the slightest bit of difference to anyone. Fit in with the group, make the day go well, and who cares?

[Telstar]

Loads of gay pilots here at one of the biggest LoCos in the world, never heard of any issues. Not much time given for screaming queens but I don't think there is in any walk of life. All the gay guys I know just fit and do their jobs, same as anyone. They don't make any more of an issue about their sexuality then the straight people do.:ok:

[Cyber Bob]

Miseriou wrote, "(In fact, more gay pilots than gay cabin crew.)". Really? You can only flying freight then fella!!!

[bcgallacher]

Spent over 40 years as a ground engineer with various companies in a variety of countries and I do not think anyone gave a damn about the subject - the important bit was how good at the job a person was not his preferences.

[Flyit Pointit Sortit]

Sorry, totally disagree with the comments about talking about girls in the flight deck.

The gay guys I have flown with have given me more of an insight into the female psyche than I ever could have hoped for:ok:. still totally clueless about the opposite sex though!!!:ouch:

Seriously, I can only talk from a straight point of view, most pilots under 40 don't give a stuff and those older dinosaurs are largely realising that the old attitudes are no longer relevant or accepted and in an airline today.

In fact you probably find that bigots are more unacceptable to an airline nowadays. :D:D

Barriers have been broken down and gay pilots have shown incredible fortitude to demonstrate professionalism in the face of adversity. It would be a shame if their efforts have been in vain and you decide not to follow your chosen path, purely on who floats your boat. Besides nowadays, the airlines don't seem to care who flies their aircraft as long as they have the ability to pay for it.

A word of caution though, excessive campness may still result in an awkward environment and affect your personal demeanour during the interview process. Pilots are ultimately responsible for the safety of passengers in an emergency situation and part of the interview process includes an element of whether the person will be able to cope. A perma - tan and perfectly manicured nails, may influence the interviewers thinking.

Good luck

[sevenstrokeroll]

if you are worried about what you will talk about in flight, as in average small talk conversation, and not about things like: gee captain , number two is running, '' a little hot"...then you shouldn't be a pilot

we talk about all sorts of things in the cockpit...just like everyone else in the world

topics I've talked about (non aviation)...drumming. and I found another pilot who plays the drums and we are beboping along at FL350 doing paradiddles all along.

politics...it can get pretty profound...so be carefull...religion too.

talk about pretty girls...sure, AND IF YOU DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT PRETTY GIRLS, CHANGE THE SUBJECT TO:WE DON"T GET PAID ENOUGH!

ITS LIKE REAL LIFE...do you go up to strangers and say: HI, I'm gay?

that's doesn't work too well

Try: Gee, its a nice day...hope the weather holds out.

AND pay attention to the flying FIRST, not about GAy or straight or transgender

But , like anyone who is not a very, very close friend...straight or gay...don't tell me about your sex life unless it has come up before.

[Fliegenmong]

"Just in case if you ever sit there questioning the sexuality of the person next to you, just look at their habits. If they wipe over all the hand control surfaces with an alcohol wipe before flight, that should give you some ideal."

WTF??? :confused::confused:

[sevenstrokeroll]

WTF is right

I use alcohol wipes and offer them to the other...they always accept happily

oh, and I'm not gay...and my illnesses have been reduced due to using the wipes.

[Old Fella]

In fact you probably find that bigots are more unacceptable to an airline nowadays.


FPS. Why is it that anyone who believes that being homosexual is not in keeping with the way men should conduct their sexual activity is a bigot? I really don't give a fig about what individuals do, but because I do not understand why they do does not make me a bigot.

[Hansard]

We have several gay and lesbian pilots in our company, gay cabin crew and gay and lesbian employees in ops and management. Our male/female and minority group ratios in the pilot workforce seem to be above the average and we have several who were recruited with medical restrictions. All welcome here.

[AerocatS2A]

FPS. Why is it that anyone who believes that being homosexual is not in keeping with the way men should conduct their sexual activity is a bigot? I really don't give a fig about what individuals do, but because I do not understand why they do does not make me a bigot.
Why do you think the "bigot" label is being applied to you?

[Artie Fufkin]

Why is it that anyone who believes that being homosexual is not in keeping with the way men should conduct their sexual activity is a bigot?

:)

I object to having an unelected head of state, believing that It would be far more sensible and democratic to elect someone of talent and competence, rather than giving the job to someone purely on the basis of who their parents were.

And they call me a republican. But why? :confused: it's all a bit too tricky for me!

[Mac the Knife]

Depends what you mean by "openly gay"

I work in a large hospital with (I presume) a normal complement of gay people. We have a few screaming queens who can be very amusing (they are in effect making a second profession of their gayness), but most of our gay staff don't make a big thing out of it and one only learns of it after quite a while.

I judge people on whether they are kind, able and professional - if they are then they're in by me - their sexual orientation is not my concern and whether it's homo or hetero I see no reason for folk to wave it in my face.

Don't make a secret of it or stand up and loudly announce it - be yourself, do your job well and you'll find that most people (perhaps disappointingly) don't care that much.

Make a great performance out of being gay or straight and you'll just irritate people.

[dontdoit]

Loads of brilliant, great fun gay guys & girls where I work. I tend to find that the gay thing is a bit like religion - ok as long as they don't ram it down your throat.