Airline Pilot Central Forums - One of the trusted

This was forwarded to me this morning by a retired TWA Captain (who retired off the Connie!). Now in his early 90's, he's still sharp as a tack and has some highly entertaining stories about flying the Connie non-stop from Paris to San Fransisco .... at 18,000 feet!

Given some of the negative media attention on pilots lately, I thought this might be worth some reflection. Enjoy!

************************************************** ******

One of the trusted

you are at cruising altitude. The westering sun is pink on the horizon. Your eyes flick over the gauges. The engines are contented. - another day, another dollar. You look down at your hands on the wheel. They are veined and hard and brown. Tonight you notice they look a little old. And, by george, they are old.

But how can this be?

Only yesterday you were in flying school. Time is a thief! You have been robbed, and what have you got to show for it? A pilot. Forty years a pilot.

The voice of the flight attendant breaks in on your reverie. The flight is running full. Can they begin serving dinner to the passengers? The passengers, the passengers. You noticed the line of them coming aboard; the businessmen, the young mothers with their children in tow, the old couples, the two priests, . A thousand times you have watched them file aboard, and a thousand times disembark.

They always seem a little happier after the landing than before the take-off. Beyond doubt, they are always somewhat apprehensive aloft. But they keep coming up in the dark sky despite their fears?

You have often wondered about that.

You look down at your hands again and suddenly it comes to you. They come because they trust you, - you, the pilot.
They turn over their lives and their loved ones and their hopes and their dreams to you for safekeeping.
To be a pilot means to be one of the trusted. They pray in the storm that you are skillful and strong and wise. To be a pilot is to hold life in your hands, to be worthy of faith.

No, you have not been robbed. You aren't just a pilot.
There is no such thing as just a pilot.
Your job is a trust.
The years have been a trust.
You have been and still are -- one of the trusted.