Flying Magazine's Day in the Life of RJ Pilot
06-05-2013 | 12:54 PM
#141
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 727
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From: It's still a Guppy, just a bit longer.
Now, all that said. I do regret my choice of words in that one sentence. Not because of anything you or ShyGuy have said, but because some real-life friends who I respect have called me out on it. A far better wording would have been "The autopilot and autothrottles are unusually smooth and precise, relieving the pilots' workload in busy moments and freeing them to perform the most important function in any cockpit, the one task that no avionics package yet devised can do for them: think."
A little off topic but, I never liked the word Autopilot. It's a heavy word that's totally inaccurate, and I wish it were called something else. We don't call cruise control "auto-driver," nor do we call LASIK "auto-surgery". But for some reason, this combination of computers, cables, and wires that acts under the absolute control of a professional has been dubbed autopilot. It paints a completely false picture. If it really were an auto-pilot, it would require intelligence and the ability to think, plan, and judge. No amount of engineering can manufacture judgment.
Sam, you have a huge opportunity to, using written words, address millions of people about what we do as professional pilots, and to break down generalizations and misconceptions. It's an opportunity a lot of us wish we could have, but also a responsibility most of us wouldn't want. I hope you have a lot of success, but all I can ask is that you represent us well.
06-05-2013 | 03:27 PM
#142
Line Holder
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 74
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From: 767 Captain
06-05-2013 | 03:34 PM
#143
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Joined: May 2013
Posts: 1,271
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From: The Parlor
Yes, I did read the entire article.
The greatest tragedy in this is that most of what you wrote was good. However, you sunk the entire ship with the autopilot bit.
I'm a very laid back person and never get worked up over anything. This issue happens to be the one that gets me angry every time. It is my kryptonite.
You know (or should know) that the general public thinks all we do up there is press a "take-off" and "land" button while taking naps and talking about the FA's ass. Comments such as yours not only throws gasoline on the fire, it dumps an entire fuel drum on it.
As Airways mentioned, the readers of these publications vary but for the most part they are not airline pilots. They are going to take whatever you (an airline pilot) says to heart. When you put yourself out there you have a responsibility to our profession not to demean all of us in one swoop.
If we are not pilots who fly the aircraft then what are we? It may seem like a trivial issue to you...and it is clear to everyone that it is. But you are missing the big picture. We are pilots who fly aircraft. That is not something any monkey out there can do. If you think so then you have no business being in this profession.
With that said, you can't represent us to the general non-flying public as simply system monitors who can't fly the plane any better than the autopilot. I don't take issue with any other aspect of your article and couldn't care less if/when you will flow, if you have been furloughed, or any of that.
If you want to try your hand at stand-up comedy and self-deprecating humor then sign up for an open mic night at your local comedy club. An article such as yours in a publication as widely read as FLYING isn't the place for it. Especially if your idea of self-deprecating humor is reducing all airline pilots down to over-paid, under-worked people who don't really fly the plane.
The greatest tragedy in this is that most of what you wrote was good. However, you sunk the entire ship with the autopilot bit.
I'm a very laid back person and never get worked up over anything. This issue happens to be the one that gets me angry every time. It is my kryptonite.
You know (or should know) that the general public thinks all we do up there is press a "take-off" and "land" button while taking naps and talking about the FA's ass. Comments such as yours not only throws gasoline on the fire, it dumps an entire fuel drum on it.
As Airways mentioned, the readers of these publications vary but for the most part they are not airline pilots. They are going to take whatever you (an airline pilot) says to heart. When you put yourself out there you have a responsibility to our profession not to demean all of us in one swoop.
If we are not pilots who fly the aircraft then what are we? It may seem like a trivial issue to you...and it is clear to everyone that it is. But you are missing the big picture. We are pilots who fly aircraft. That is not something any monkey out there can do. If you think so then you have no business being in this profession.
With that said, you can't represent us to the general non-flying public as simply system monitors who can't fly the plane any better than the autopilot. I don't take issue with any other aspect of your article and couldn't care less if/when you will flow, if you have been furloughed, or any of that.
If you want to try your hand at stand-up comedy and self-deprecating humor then sign up for an open mic night at your local comedy club. An article such as yours in a publication as widely read as FLYING isn't the place for it. Especially if your idea of self-deprecating humor is reducing all airline pilots down to over-paid, under-worked people who don't really fly the plane.
06-05-2013 | 05:19 PM
#145
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 1,518
Likes: 0
From: B737 CA
Ask DALPA. They outsourced it. Actually, I guess NW-ALPA did. DALPA merely agreed to continue it, fought against any attempts to reverse it, expanded it once with a LOA, and expanded it again with a TA.
06-05-2013 | 05:47 PM
#146
*********
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,068
Likes: 0
Want to trade? You can have my modern jet and crew meal, I'd prefer to have your contract and job security.
Do you think we actually cruise around grinning about that kind of stuff? Most of us spend the entire flight talking and thinking about our next job and how quickly we can get it.
06-05-2013 | 06:44 PM
#147
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 1,518
Likes: 0
From: B737 CA
Good one, bud. Typical Delta - complain to someone who can do nothing about something that they changed/allowed themselves.
Want to trade? You can have my modern jet and crew meal, I'd prefer to have your contract and job security.
Do you think we actually cruise around grinning about that kind of stuff? Most of us spend the entire flight talking and thinking about our next job and how quickly we can get it.
Want to trade? You can have my modern jet and crew meal, I'd prefer to have your contract and job security.
Do you think we actually cruise around grinning about that kind of stuff? Most of us spend the entire flight talking and thinking about our next job and how quickly we can get it.
06-06-2013 | 12:07 AM
#149
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 1,518
Likes: 0
From: B737 CA
Long days with no scheduled breaks > 45 minutes, we contractually get them. Other times it's just leftover first class meals, if there are any. Our contract was negotiated by NW-ALPA and was based on their bankruptcy contract, they may have just pasted over the crew meal language.
06-06-2013 | 04:01 AM
#150
Line Holder
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 1,271
Likes: 0
From: The Parlor
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