Commercial Pilot + Sport = ???

[xxRED BARONxx]

Hey guys just wondering if anyone has had any experiences trying to play sport whilst being a commercial pilot. Main reason im asking is cause I really like playing soccer but I know that if I get injured it will definately impact on me performing my duties as a commercial pilot so as much as I'd love to keep playing im at a bit of a cross roads about it.

Any opinions/personal experiences/pros and cons would be appreciated!!

Cheers

[NIK320]

If you don't play sport you may become a bit more than pudgy and CASA avmed will take away your class 1 ;)

Buggered either way...

[Lookleft]

What if its an eye injury or you are knocked unconscious? Just having sick leave is only half the problem getting your class 1 back is the other. In that way being a commercial pilot is a big consideration if you are going to play a contact sport.

[the_rookie]

I have also been thinking about this. Footy is a big part of my life, and would be interesting to see if any of the pilots who moved interstate have joined the local clubs.

[Grievo]

Rory Underwood - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rory_Underwood)

Rory Underwood.

England Rugby Union International and RAF jet pilot.

Lace your boots up mate. :)

[training wheels]

A friend of mine who later became a captain at Ansett was also an AFL footballer for Essendon. But he had to give up footy at that level because of the risk of injury.

[gobbledock]

What about playing sport while actually flying, combining both at the same time?? Just don't do it from a Choppa, CASA don't approve!

[Di_Vosh]

I think some of you guys are overthinking this.

You can get injured playing sport, and that injury can prevent you from flying, but so what? There are plenty of normal everyday activities that can leave you permanently injured and not be able to fly again.

Are you going to stop driving a car? Are you going to stop drinking at the pub with your mates? Use power tools in the shed at home?

There's an amazing amount of stuff out there that can kill or injure you.

One of my mates was an FO with Ansett. Didn't stop him from being an Army reserve Commando. I took a year off flying and did a tour of Iraq for six months as a soldier. Plenty of my pilot friends race cars, ride motorcross, ride horses, shoot, hunt, etc.

If you're going to stop doing things that you enjoy, simply because it may

impact on me performing my duties as a commercial pilot

then you run the risk of becoming a very sad individual, IMHO.

DIVOSH!

P.S. Gobbledock LOL! :ok:

[Cravenmorehead]

I played Aussie Rules and A Squash and had a bit of a run in Rugger right up until I was 30. Then I took up triathlon as it was non contact. I had lots of injuries black eyes concussions and various ankle and knee injuries.
My employers never seemed to mind. But then again I hardly ever took sick days just for the concussions.
It is good for the soul to have an Interest away from flying and your job.
Maybe tennis or golf if you are really worried about your future. Safest sports I can think of. Plus soccer is pretty much non contact anyway.
Craven

[Wizofoz]

The main problem isn't injury, it's time.

VERY hard to commit to a team sport with the irregular hours you fly as an Airline pilot.

[Homesick-Angel]

Alas, I think this was my last year playing footy. I have been saying that for the last 8 years tho. I've gotta a bung everything, fortunately nothing to stop me flying tho. In recent years I have thought more about the risks tho, and thats probably a good time to stop.

I have trained (sometimes played) with local clubs all over the place on my travels, and particularly in regional areas they're always keen to have an old hack run around, or certainly dont seem to mind if you join in anyway.

I think I might just stay involved by training as it keeps the verandah away from the tool shed, and its great to get out and have a kick even if you dont get the fix of the game.

I guess there are other inferior sports to participate in:}, but there's nothing like chasing the pigskin with ya mates...

The thing is, are you gonna wrap yourself up in cotton wool for your whole life?Maybe its a good idea, but maybe you miss out.

[18-Wheeler]

I raced sports cars for the entire time I was flying, never made a secret of it and it was never a problem for the company.
I finished with that flying stuff in 2009, ad my first heavy crash last year in the racer so fortunately my sport never interfered with my work.
(Though it helped pay for a lot of it! :D)

[Trent 972]

16 year old girl Netballers and 40 year old male Soccer players keep Orthopaedic Surgeons in fast cars, big boats and large mansions. Good luck with that!

[Mach E Avelli]

Jeez guys, stop stressing. I had 50 years as a pilot, during which time I raced motorbikes (one crash), drove in a major car rally (in which we crashed twice - no injuries), did 300 hours in hang gliders (three crashes) and so many solo offshore passages in my various boats I lost count.
To keep fit I ran with the HHH in stinking heat and made a point of always drinking a dozen beers after each run.
Injuries? Broken rib (motor bike) dislocated elbow (hang glider), broken ankle (HHH) and once laid my hand open with a knife while sailing and had to stitch it myself.
Not surprisingly I couldn't get loss of licence insurance, but what the hell - something's gonna get you in the end.
Soccer is surely fairly low risk anyway? From what I have seen of that game, it is more dangerous to be a supporter in the crowd than a player.

[Wanderin_dave]

16 year old girl Netballers and 40 year old male Soccer players keep Orthopaedic Surgeons in fast cars, big boats and large mansions. Good luck with that! What kind of car does your cardiologist drive? :E

I play sport 3 times a week (soccer and basketball), but the closest I've come to hurting myself lately was when I tripped and fell off the wing a few weeks back, thankfully on to soft ground :ugh:

The positives of sport well out way the possible negatives.

[the_rookie]

I have also been thinking about this. Footy is a big part of my life, and would be interesting to see if any of the pilots who moved interstate have joined the local clubs.
Not stressing, im just trying to see if its possible

[Metro man]

Airlines like to see some form of sporting activity, I remember being asked about which sport I played during an interview.

Skills such as team work, leadership and coordination are developed which you will need during your career. The physical fitness side if things is also important, Emirates won't look at you with a BMI over 30. You may find the dangers of being an unfit slob out weigh the dangers of sporting injuries.

Probably best to stick to the safer mainstream sports. Being an adrenalin junkie who enjoys dangerous activities isn't what the airlines want.

[Worrals in the wilds]

Being an adrenalin junkie who enjoys dangerous activities isn't what the airlines want. You're asking for a soap box rant re actual injury rates of 'dangerous' activities versus social footy, soccer and the like. ;)
Tech diving, climbing and so on are reasonably safe if you get proper training. More people get carted off to hospital after they decide to give soccer/surfing/running a crack for the first time in fifteen years without factoring in their lack of fitness. :ooh:

I'm not a pilot but I have worked irregular hours for decades, and varied rosters can make team sports difficult. Not impossible, but difficult, particularly if it's the standard 'two nights a week training and game on Saturday' format. :sad:

[tail wheel]

I was a Member of the Australian Olympic Drinking Team for many years and it didn't impact my airline career. Indeed, I think the inebriants I worked with in aviation probably enhanced my Olympic training. I also raced stock cars and sailed off shore yachts, often whilst engaged in serious Olympic training.

Never hurt me or affected my career! :ok:

How about Bruce Dickinson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Dickinson), B757 airline pilot, Iron Maiden musician, PPRuNe Mod and a good guy?

[Di_Vosh]

Being an adrenalin junkie who enjoys dangerous activities isn't what the airlines want.

Really?

I've never seen evidence of this.

DIVOSH!

[NzCaptainAndrew]

I dont play sport, but I now keep fit by going to the gym and doing a lot of circuit training/cardio and fitness boxing. other pilots I know do anything between tramping, golf, rockclimbing, tennis etc!

[RENURPP]

It's a long time since Ive been "tramping" but I used to relly enjoy it.:E

[4Greens]

Take up golf and or tennis. These are sports that you can play at slip ports round the world. Relatively safe and keep you vaguely fit.

[apache]

Doctors will HATE you playing a contact sport like rugby union/league ....l


Mind you doctors hate you doing anything that's fun!

Sport is good. And if you don't do it whilst you're young, then your Whole life will be a "what if"..... Besides, if you are any good... You can earn a bucketload more than if you were a pilot!

[Metro man]

Being an adrenalin junkie who enjoys dangerous activities isn't what the airlines want.
Really?

I've never seen evidence of this.


Nice stable personality, someone who can be trusted with a $500+ million insurance risk. Someone who isn't interested in seeing how far he can push the limits, someone who won't do anything stupid with one of the companies aircraft and end up on the news.

Someone who won't go and do a low fly past with company executives on board, as a former CX pilot found out.;)

Be as close to the "profile" as you can be when going for an airline job. Navy blue suit, white shirt, red tie, black shoes, neat haircut, clean shaven, plays golf etc etc etc.

[apache]

Holy crap metro man.... Maybe you really do belong in Asia!

Just be yourself!

Airlines do not want robots..... They wanna see someone they can sit beside for 8-12 hours, and be away with for 14 days at a time.


It would bore me stupid to be paired up with some automaton, who didn't have a personality, or any real life experience, and have to sit beside him/her for hours on end watching a magenta line with an occasional waypoint go past.

Play sports!!!... Enjoy. Get some good stories. Stay fit and healthy. Meet some mates outside of flying.


Aviation is NOT the be all and end all of life!

[Metro man]

I can't recall seeing too many people in the crew room with facial tattoos, tongue piercings and multi coloured hair, we just don't seem to employ them.

Every applicant who was interviewed on my intake was wearing a suit and was neatly presented.

If you want to go for an airline interview dressed for night clubbing and tell the interviewers how much you enjoy the thrill of danger and how much risk taking excites you then you are free to do so.

BTW A charcoal grey suit, pale blue shirt and conservative tie would also be quite acceptable. The outfit I described earlier is simply a safe choice which I would be quite happy to wear to any airline interview. The key is to fit in and present a professional appearance.

There aren't that many airlines out there offering a good career anymore, if you want to fly for QF/CX/EK you'll probably only get one chance with each so try not to mess it up.

[Worrals in the wilds]

I agree re the interview attire, but I don't see why 'extreme' sports don't fit in with that. Most people who are any good at them enjoy the planning, the challenge, taking personal responsibility and getting off the couch.

Aren't those good skills for a pilot to have?:confused:

The stereotypical tattoed crazy adrenaline junkie type is mostly just that; a stereotype. IME, for the most part the 'crazy dude' types don't have the discipline for that type of sport anyway. The guys who are good (defined as not ending up all over the six o'clock news) tend to be quiet, methodical and often quite conservative in other ways.

[Aurukun Dreaming]

Red Baron, you'll find aviation is very exciting and full of great people. Sadly it is also full of very dull people.

I work for an airline and we fly lots of aeroplanes around worth lots of money. Many of us enjoy surfing, snow sports, footy and other exciting things. We don't have stretched earlobe earrings nor have tattoos of anchors below each ear. On the other end of the spectrum, we don't wear navy jackets nor do we refer to an attractive woman as 'a nice bit of crumpet'. I know it's a crazy notion but some of even enjoy living our life!! Keep it down though.

If you wear a tweed jacket with elbow patches and carry a timepiece on a chain, you should probably listen to metro man.

If you're a human being however, then keep the sports up

[Charlie Foxtrot India]

I combined flying with karate training and competitions, it's one of the few martial arts you can practise at home if you miss training and you can move around dojos quite easily to fit in with your work schedule.

I used to do a lot of rowing but had to give up fours and go to single sculls because of irregular hours, you just can't do team/crew stuff in this job, too much depends on the weather/ATC/students who turn up late.

[Metro man]

I go SCUBA diving, within normal recreational diving limits. This, I don't regard as extreme. The technical divers down at 100meters cave diving with multiple gas cylinders are a different matter. A dive master/instructor qualification would probably be looked on favourably, especially if going for a position in the training department.

Some airlines prohibit staff from skiing during stop overs, this may have something to do with the number of people who return from ski resorts with limbs in plaster.

Emirates offer their pilots very good medical and insurance cover, extreme activities could put your coverage in jeopardy.

Mainstream stuff such as tennis, squash, golf, cricket etc won't raise any eyebrows. I wouldn't put bungy jumping down on an airline application.

BTW I have been white water rafting, gliding, dived ship wrecks, been elephant trekking and climbed up the side of a volcano. I have flown in a war zone where three of my companies aircraft had been hit by gun fire. Also I have flown in the highlands of PNG (which was worse).

I am a member of a gun club and shoot regularly with a 45 cal pistol and a pump action shot gun. This sort of thing I leave off my resume just in case one of the interviewers has a "thing" about fire arms. I'm mainstream when applying for a new job.

I'm now going to put on my slippers and sit in my favourite arm chair by the fire.;)

[Tinstaafl]

I do indoor inline skate racing. Might even participate in outdoor racing this year.

Here's a pic from the National Comps. Not that I went in it but it's representative of the racing. These guys make me look like I'm standing still...

http://www.inlineplanet.com/2007-07b/Resources/io11.jpg

[Worrals in the wilds]

I'm now going to put on my slippers and sit in my favourite arm chair by the fire.
Nah, don't do that. Come draining, it's loads of fun! :}
Just kidding. Urbex activities are certainly best left off the resume. :suspect:
Agree re the firearm thing. I used to shoot socially and some people get really weird about it :eek:. I find with diving, 99% of people haven't heard of the more interesting sort anyway so it's a fairly safe claim. :8