Difficulty of the job
 

Question:

From a technical and piloting standpoint, how difficult is it being a professional 121 (0r 135) pilot? Just all the regulations by themselves make my head spin. I look at all the complicated aircraft systems, complicated company procedures, and aalllllllll the other stuff pilots need to know. For me doing single pilot IFR makes me crazy. How do you guys do it? How do you learn and remember all the crap you need to know on top of basic piloting skill and decision making???

Lots and lots of studying, coupled with many hours on a CPT/'paper tiger', sim and having no life of course. :D

Mainly just practicing over and over your flows, procedures, callouts, etc, until you can do them in your sleep. Same goes for memory items and limitations... just know them cold, period.

From what I can tell...single pilot IFR is going to be the hardest flying you could possibly do. A lil studying and common sense take care of the rest.

Experience is what prepares you to be a safe, professional pilot more than anything else in my opinion. Single pilot IFR is a good way to get that experience, as well as flight instructing. Studying is necessary also.

From the looks these days all you need is Tons of Money to spend at one of the pilot mills and you are set to go fly a jet.......MAPD would love to have you

The job is easy. (Just don't tell anybody else that)!:D

It is everything else that comes with it that makes it hard.

I had a coworker tell me the other day that single pilot IFR is unsafe. I guess you can only go up from there...

To answer your qestion, you learn to prioritize. Yeah, there is a crapload to know to be a 121 Capt. On the day of your oral, you probably know half of it. Six months later is kinda scary. But you get out there and get the job done day in and day out, and things just kinda fall into place.

For myself, you learn to not sweat the small stuff. Prioritize.....

One step at a time. Flying an airliner is easy once the task of getting the job is finished. Training is hard.

Remember, airliners are flown generally with reliable autopilots, two sets of eyes, FMS for navigation, ATC tells us what to do in the terminal area, etc. Push buttons and that's about it for the job.

Getting it is the hard part. Doing it is the easy part.

Its a crew, You look out for your partner, he/she will look out for you. The hardest part is being able to feed yourself he 1st year.......... A year or two on the A/C the systems knowledge will get a lot easier, regs and what not, I dont think anybody knows em all, except for Johnny & Martha.........

Not overly difficult, just stay sharp, complacency can consume you. If you have a 2+ hour leg, whip out the ol FOM, and read a bit. Just a tip passed on to me from an old TWA guy, and now I pass it on to you.

At first it does seem a bit overwhelming, but as time passes it all gets easier and easier, eventually many of our duties and responsibilities become second nature....the biggest challenge at that point is how to stay sharp all the time, and not become complacent.

i agree wtih all the posts here. its difficult at first but with experience thing do get to become second nature and you will become more and more comfortable with your job.

I'm in training right now, and a month ago I was thinking to myself what the heck am I doing here. Now with the aid of a great training dept I am feeling more confident by the day and there is a light at the end of the tunnel....well the sims come up in a couple weeks but after that the light will still be there I hope. It helps being locked away for a couple months for training to study. Everyone keeps telling us also that it will be only a matter of time before we start to become complacent with the aircraft, something to watch out for later on.

Regulations???? We don't need no stinkin' regulations!!!:D

Seriously though, it's not that hard. Once you know what normally happens, it's pretty easy to tell if things are going away from the norm.:eek:

They trained a monkey to fly an airlplane, so it doesnt say much for us. Just waive that banana in front of us and we get the job done. Trust me, sipping on coffee, while reading a newspaper and occasionally glancing at the instruments isn't to tough. Have Fun!

It seems like a lot to know...and it is but it is the easiest job in the world when everything goes right. Just don't ever expect to and you shouldn't have a problem.

yes, if you can fly single pilot ifr then airline flying will be easy. all you have to do is learn a new plane. when i started out i thought "oh my, i am going from flying senacas and navajos to a crj". i knew the navajo like the back of my hand... now i know the crj like the back of my hand. lots of studying and time in the plane make the job easier, and more fun.

the job is easy. its the jm, extensions and bad pay that make it hard... :)

Being complacent is one of the bigges problems an airline pilot has. you fly so many non-event legs that you forget sometimes that something could go wrong. every monday that i fly i review my memory items and the emergency procedures (if i don't fly on a monday then i don't do it,, i will not think about work while i am at home.. :) ).

all in all i know it sounds like a lot, and there is nothing i could tell you that would make you not worry about it, but you will see when you get here that single pilot ifr in a GA aircraft is a lot more work than flying an airliner, with 2 pilots, and atc that "seems" to give you a little more attention.

Through repetition one grows strong, grasshoppa.