More homework:

David A. Barrios

Ms. Chacon

Senior Project

30 October 2006


Commercial Airline Pilot


Job Description:

Since the dawn of mans existence, we’ve looked to the heavens and asked our maker so that we would be able to fly alongside the wings of eagles. It is through these romantic and foolhardy notions and the innovations of two brothers who owned a small bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio that we found ourselves aloft in the air. It is my dream, as was the dream of my ancient ancestors of long ago, to fly. It is as an commercial airline pilot that I shall find myself achieving my dreams. A pilot is defined by Webster’s as “One who operates or is licensed to operate an aircraft in flight.” In this brief definition, the dozens of details of the responsibilities of a pilot are eliminated; for a pilot finds himself in charge of his aircraft, his passengers and the crew who depend on his expertise and experience to bring them back to terra firma so that their round way trip doesn’t become a one-way affair. A pilot finds himself traveling across the world on the payroll of a certain airline to deliver their passengers to a given destination. Yes, it would be wonderful to dwell upon those romantic notions but the facts are that to become an airline pilot, one must deal with a mountain of work, thousands of dollars in expenditures and extreme amounts of effort before you can find yourself in the cockpit of your 747 en-route to Washington D.C. with a stop at Newark.
Salary:
The salary of an airline pilot pre-September 11th was rather high. Note that a pilot on Delta Airlines could expect to make up to $300,000 a year before 9/11. In the aftermath, they find themselves making around half of that salary; something around $150,000. Salaries have seen a rising trend as of late, yet these last five years have seen a tumble in the wages of pilots. Today the typical new pilot starts at a salary of $70,000, but salary depends on three factors – seniority, position, and aircraft. The positions available as a pilot are First Officer, Captain, and Senior Captain with first officer being the “Co-Pilot” and the captain of course being the “Pilot”. A senior captain is merely a more seasoned captain, experience-wise. A Captain is no doubt going to make more money than a First Officer while a Senior Captain makes a bigger salary than the regular Captain.
Employment Possibilities/Opportunities
The employment opportunities in this field at the moment are immense. The aviation industry is reaching a point at this very time where many veteran pilots find themselves nearing retirement, thus opening up new job offerings which were not available in decades past. Why now? Pilots are supposed to retire at the age of 60, the industry historically stated in the 1950’s but not until the 1970’s were their more pilots hired by airlines. These young pilots from the 1970’s are the ones who now hold seniority in the majority of airlines and are now retiring or reaching the age of mandatory retirement. This will create a shortage of pilots which in turn will lead to the more job opportunities.
I wish to be a commercial airline pilot but if one looks at the whole field of piloting, one will see many variants of pilots, ranging from: military, aerobatics, flight training, charter, and so on. Therefore, there is a rich scope that I can find my piloting skills going to, almost assuring me of constant work.
Education Requirements
There are two methods that one can use to make it into the field of commercial aviation: through the military and through the civilian world. Military pilots get higher priority but must serve at least 12 years in the service with the armed forces paying for their tuition and flight training. The civilian method is a tad more arduous, going to flight schools such as the illustrious Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Now, here is the arduous portion comes in because tuition to Embry-Riddle comes to around $45,000 a year. Despite the costs, you’ll find that Major American airlines recruit Embry-Riddle pilots for the known prestigious education and training offered by the institution.
The prerequisites for a pilot are numerous; the most important is a Bachelor’s degree of any major. This requirement is in favor of the individual looking to be a pilot, for if he fails he may go back to whatever he got his degree on and is not limited to the aviation field. Of course, airlines pay more attention to those with degrees in Aviation related subjects such as “Aeronautical Science” which emphasizes physics and mathematics which are vital for pilots to know.
To be picked up by an airline, you need your Commercial Pilots License , allowing you to start off as a First Officer. To become a captain, one needs their Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) license. Of course, the starting point for these two licenses is getting your Private Pilots License (PPL). The PPL will allow you to get behind the yoke of any single engine aircraft, though you can have no more than 2 passengers on board and cannot charge for passage. With the PPL you can then get your Instrumental Flight Rules (IFR) which allows the pilot to fly in a variety of weather as well as at night under the use of their instruments. After this you can get your get your Multi-Engine Rating which allows to fly a twin-engine aircraft. Then you can proceed with attaining your CPL. Lastly there is the ATP which allows you to become the Pilot in Command (Captain) of a heavy aircraft. What are the prerequisites for these licenses? Hours. For instance a minimum of 250 hours is needed for the Commercial Pilot License but for ATP you need a total of 1500 hours.
Internship/Experience
The four years that I have spent in the AFJROTC unit here in Hialeah High School has given me the required Experience needed here. The four years have given me a plethora of knowledge in the aerospace field. I have learned over time the basic principles of flight and last year I was a part of the Ground School program offered by the corps which was an intensive course teaching you on many of the necessary items of piloting; from the nature of weather and its effect on flight to how to file a VFR flight plan and how to maintain contact with ground controllers at all times. With this knowledge at hand, I now understand more about the necessities of piloting and the processes one deals with when flying.




Why have you chosen this career?
The question asks: “Why Have I chosen this career”. Why? Because I love it. I love the concept of flight and am not fueled by monetary wants. It is just a passion that I’ve had since childhood and to deny it would be torture. I require the feeling of command and responsibility in the cockpit of my aircraft and cannot find it in any other way than in the air.
One would worry about the risks involved with flight; but as we have all read, air travel is easily the safest method of transportation around. Note that for every crash there are over a million flights successfully conducted. The reason we find aviation to be dangerous is that hundreds may die in an accident which is a sure a great story for reporters everywhere. They seek to sensationalize stories and fueled the public with fear of flight: an unfounded fear. So, why not participate in the safest of all transportation areas?
I’ve also find myself able to make the necessary split second decisions that define piloting. It seems that through time, I’ve gained an aptitude for such things. Therefore, if I’ve been able to gain this and a cool nature while under pressure, why shouldn’t I find myself in the cockpit of a commercial aircraft? A pilot has the lives of hundreds at his hands; yes. But I have found it easy to use my critical thinking skills at all times needed. So I must be good in a bind, or so I figure.
I am a man who finds himself solitary at times. One of the few dreams I have is of flight. I don’t imagine myself having a family to tie me down. So the awful hours and the three weeks away a month from home a month won’t do much trouble for me. I can attend to many more flights without thoughts of home and my family hurting performance or hurting my emotions.
Though overall, it returns to this lifetime passion I’ve had for flight. This is what leads me to want to slip the surly bonds of eart so that I may touch the face of god. Despite the long road one must embark upon to find themselves in command of an aircraft, it is worth it if only to achieve that dream. I have the mental skills and the quick thinking needed and do not have the normal attachments which would hold me back from a full-fledged career but more than anything else I’ve got a dream about me and a plane and the blue skies above my head.














Bibliography
Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. 11 October 2006. ERAU.edu 17 October 2006
<http://www.erau.edu>.
Federal Aviation Administration. 8 October 2004. Federal Aviation Administration. 17 October 2006 <http://www.faa.gov>.
Six Figure Salaries. 10 October 2006 CareerProspects.org. 17 October 2006. <http://www.careerprospects.org/Trends/salary-sixfigure.html>.
Transportation Security Administration. 26 September 2006. Transportation Security Administration 16 October 2006. <http://www.tsa.gov/>.
Wikipedia. 16 October 2006. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 17 October 2006 <http://wikipedia.com/>. Path: Airline Pilot