washington

I am very excited to find this site as I have often pondered from my seat (wedged between sweaty, nervous travellers) questions about the noble and under-appreciated pilots that bring us to our exciting destinations. While I was growing up as a youth in Salina, Kansas I used to ride in a Continental Trailways bus to Wichita—the “Big City”!! I always wanted to see what the bus driver saw, I’d race excitedly toward the front of the bus and stand behind the yellow line and try to get a glimpse of the man in uniform sitting tall and proud behind the wheel of this ship of the plains… What had he seen across the USA? Who had he met? Maybe even famous people? I was so awestruck by their power and dignity.

As I travel in skies to business destinations (I sell commercial video displays) I wonder what the bus drivers of the sky see and do… What do you have in common with your brothers that piloted the four-wheeled silver chariots of the past? Do you feel less in touch with your patrons while encapsulated in your cockpits? Do you sit on the same cushioned Taxi Driver beads? Do you bring a thermos of coffee? Do you get to play country music on the radio?

I’m interested to hear from you all about your “road stories”, as I’m sure some of the other readers of this site are. Please regale us with some of the lonely poetry that you experience while bringing us from city to city!

Respectfully,
Washington

jungle

Very well written questions. I think most of us are going to tell you we don't relate to bus drivers, beaded seats or a lot of distractions in the cockpit. Short flights don't allow much time for anything except monitoring the radios and ther continuous stream of chatter from all quadrants.
On longer international or trans-continental flights there is ample time to meditate on the mode of transport and I think most of us relate our trade more to that of sailors plying the seas. Lots of nautical terms and tradition survive on aircraft to this very day. Ships were the only form of transport to undertake the very long distance travel until the aircraft arrived. We shared the navigation, rank, nomenclature and many other things with these vessels. Many of the early long range aircraft were flying boats and looked to combine the two vehicles in roughly similar proportions.
We share very little with the bus.

LAfrequentflyer

Except maybe "man overboard" in flight...

-LAFF

jungle

That has been known to happen, although mainly due to structural defect or incorrect seating in the wheel wells by stowaways.

GotheriK

You can be in control of a machine the size of a football field that hurdles through the sky at 400kts, decked out with high-end technology costing several million dollars, powerplants capable of providing power to a small town, and as many buttons and switches as the Space Shuttle, and people still call you a bus driver.

I'm joining the Air Force, **** I don't want to be a bus driver.

ToiletDuck

Is this for real or flame?

GotheriK

Flame, no way anyone's that clueless. I'd suggest a delete. Even a thread name like "Pilot Pride" is made of epic fail.

jungle

You haven't dealt with the general public very much, right?

If it's flame bait don't get excited, if it isn't it may well be a legitimate question. Pilots tend to forget the level of understanding the public has about aircraft. Most of us share a similar lack of understanding with regard to nuclear submarines.
In any case, it is well written, and that in itself is to be appreciated. If you can't take a light jab, intended or not without crying for your mom, man up.

Ewfflyer

In the world of airplanes, I'm the mid-range to low-end sports car. It's fast, but if you put some money and say.....a jet engine on it, it'll be faster! Sometimes I even fly it like that!

Low & Slow

Here's a haiku for you:

cheap tickets abound
greyhound terminal refugee
strap in and shut up