Aircraft pilot
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they are involved in operating the aircraft’s navigation and engine systems. Other aircrew members, such as flight attendants, mechanics and ground crew, are not classified as aviators.
In recognition of the pilots’ qualifications and responsibilities, most militaries and many airlines worldwide award aviator badges to their pilots.
History
The first recorded use of the term aviator (aviateur in French) was in 1887, as a variation of “aviation”, from the Latin avis (meaning bird), coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne (“Aviation or Air Navigation”). The term aviatrix (aviatrice in French), now archaic, was formerly used for a female aviator. These terms were used more in the early days of aviation, when airplanes were extremely rare, and connoted bravery and adventure. For example, a 1905 reference work described the Wright brothers’ first airplane: “The weight, including the body of the aviator, is a little more than 700 pounds”.
To ensure the safety of people in the air and on the ground, early aviation soon required that aircraft be under the operational control of a properly trained, certified pilot at all times, who is responsible for the safe and legal completion of the flight. The Aéro-Club de France delivered the first certificate to Louis Blériot in 1908—followed by Glenn Curtiss, Léon Delagrange, and Robert Esnault-Pelterie. The British Royal Aero Club followed in 1910 and the Aero Club of America in 1911 (Glenn Curtiss receiving the first).
Types of pilots
There are the following types of pilots:
The Air Sports Equipment Guide (SPL) that flies aviation sports equipment (only in Germany)
The pilot who flies a plane:
the commercial aircraft pilot (ATPL -A or MPL) flying a commercial airliner
the professional aircraft pilot (CPL -A) flying a commercial airplane
the Private Aircraft Leader (PPL -A) flying a private plane
the light aircraft pilot (LAPL (A)) flying an aircraft up to 2 t MTOW
the glider pilot (SPL / LAPL (S)) flying a glider
the private (PPL-H), commercial (CPL-H) or traffic helicopter operator (ATPL-H) (helicopter pilot) who controls a helicopter
the airship leader, the one airship travels
the hot air balloon guide (private, commercial pilot) or gas balloon guide (PPL-D)
the military pilots, the military aircraft flying with or without combat mission or traveling
Combat pilot (eg fighter jet)
Fighter pilots (eg fighter aircraft)
Bomber pilot (eg bomber plane)
Combat helicopter pilot (eg combat helicopter)
Reconnaissance plane (eg manned “reconnaissance plane”)
Transport pilot (eg mil. “Transportflugzeug”)
Pilot, controller or drone pilot of an unmanned aerial vehicle (eg Mil. Unmanned Aeral Vehicle (UAV) or Remote Control Vehicle (RCV))
Civilian
Civilian pilots fly aircraft of all types privately for pleasure, charity, or in pursuance of a business, and/or commercially for non-scheduled (charter) and scheduled passenger and cargo air carriers (airlines), corporate aviation, agriculture (crop dusting, etc.), forest fire control, law enforcement, etc. When flying for an airline, pilots are usually referred to as airline pilots, with the pilot in command often referred to as the captain.
Airline
There are 290,000 airline pilots in the world in 2017 and aircraft simulator manufacturer CAE Inc. forecasts a need for 255,000 new ones for a population of 440,000 by 2027, 150,000 for growth and 105,000 to offset retirement and attrition: 90,000 in Asia-Pacific (average pilot age in 2016: 45.8 years), 85,000 in Americas (48 years), 50,000 in Europe (43.7 years) and 30,000 in Middle East & Africa (45.7 years).
Boeing expects 790,000 new pilots in 20 years from 2018, 635,000 for commercial aviation, 96,000 for business aviation and 59,000 for helicopters: 33% in Asia Pacific (261,000), 26% in North America (206,000), 18% in Europe (146,000), 8% in the Middle East (64,000), 7% in Latin America (57,000), 4% in Africa (29,000) and 3% in Russia/ Central Asia (27,000).
By November 2017, due a shortage of qualified pilots, some pilots are leaving corporate aviation to return to airlines. In one example a Global 6000 pilot, making $250,000 a year for 10 to 15 flight hours a month, returned to American Airlines with full seniority. A Gulfstream G650 or Global 6000 pilot might earn between $245,000 and $265,000, and recruiting one may require up to $300,000. At the other end of the spectrum, constrained by the available pilots, some small carriers hire new pilots who need 300 hours to jump to airlines in a year. They may also recruit non-career pilots who have other jobs or airline retirees who want to continue to fly.
Automation
The number of airline pilots could decrease as automation replaces copilots and eventually pilots as well. In January 2017 Rhett Ross, CEO of Continental Motors said “my concern is that in the next two decades—if not sooner—automated and autonomous flight will have developed sufficiently to put downward pressure on both wages and the number and kind of flying jobs available. So if a kid asks the question now and he or she is 18, 20 years from now will be 2037 and our would-be careerist will be 38—not even mid-career. Who among us thinks aviation and especially for-hire flying will look like it does now?” Christian Dries, owner of Diamond Aircraft Austria said “Behind the curtain, aircraft manufacturers are working on a single-pilot cockpit where the airplane can be controlled from the ground and only in case of malfunction does the pilot of the plane interfere. Basically the flight will be autonomous and I expect this to happen in the next five to six years for freighters.”
In August 2017 financial company UBS predicted pilotless airliners are technically feasible and could appear around 2025, offering around $35bn of savings, mainly in pilot costs: $26bn for airlines, $3bn for business jets and $2.1bn for civil helicopters; $3bn/year from lower pilot training and aviation insurance costs due to safer flights; $1bn from flight optimisation (1% of global airlines’ $133bn jet fuel bill in 2016); not counting revenue opportunity from increased capacity utilization.
Regulation have to adapt with air cargo likely at the forefront, but pilotless flights could be limited by consumer behaviour: 54% of 8,000 people surveyed are defiant while 17% are supportive, with acceptation progressively forecast.
AVweb reporter Geoff Rapoport stated, “pilotless aircraft are an appealing prospect for airlines bracing for the need to hire several hundred thousand new pilots in the next decade. Wages and training costs have been rapidly rising at regional U.S. airlines over the last several years as the major airlines have hired pilots from the regionals at unprecedented rates to cover increased air travel demand from economic expansion and a wave of retirements”.
Going to pilotless airliners could be done in one bold step or in gradual improvements like by reducing the cockpit crew for long haul missions or allowing single pilot cargo aircraft. The industry has not decided how to proceed yet. Present automated systems are not autonomous and must be monitored; their replacement could require artificial intelligence with machine learning while present certified software is deterministic.
Single-pilot freighters could start with regional flights. The Air Line Pilots Association believe removing pilots would threaten aviation safety and opposes the April 2018 FAA Reauthorization Act’s Section 744 establishing a research and development program to assist single-pilot cargo aircraft by remote and computer piloting.
Africa and Asia
In some countries, such as Pakistan, Thailand and several African nations, there is a strong relationship between the military and the principal national airlines, and many airline pilots come from the military; however, that is no longer the case in the United States and Western Europe.[citation needed] While the flight decks of U.S. and European airliners do have ex-military pilots, many pilots are civilians. Military training and flying, while rigorous, is fundamentally different in many ways from civilian piloting.
Canada
Operating an aircraft in Canada is regulated by the Aeronautics Act of 1985 and the Canadian Aviation Regulations provide rules for Pilot licensing in Canada.
Retirement age is provided by each airline with some set to age 60, but changes to the Canadian Human Rights Act have restricted retirement age set by the airlines.
United States
In the United States in 2017, there were approximately 600,000 active pilots and this was down from a high of over 800,000 active pilots in 1980.
In 1930, the Air Commerce Act established pilot licensing requirements for American civil aviation.
Commercial airline pilots in the United States have a mandatory retirement age of 65, having increased from age 60 in 2007.
Military
Military pilots fly with the armed forces, primarily the air forces, of a government or nation-state. Their tasks involve combat and non-combat operations, including direct hostile engagements and support operations. Military pilots undergo specialized training, often with weapons. Examples of military pilots include fighter pilots, bomber pilots, transport pilots, test pilots and astronauts.
Military pilots are trained with a different syllabus than civilian pilots, which is delivered by military instructors. This is due to the different aircraft, flight goals, flight situations and chains of responsibility. Many military pilots do transfer to civilian-pilot qualification after they leave the military, and typically their military experience provides the basis for a civilian pilot’s license.
Unmanned aerial vehicles
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, also known as “drones”) operate without a pilot on-board and are classed into two categories: autonomous aircraft that operate without active human control during flight and remotely piloted UAVs which are operated remotely by one or more persons. The person controlling a remotely piloted UAV may be referred to as its pilot or operator. Depending on the sophistication and use of the UAV, pilots/operators of UAVs may require certification or training, but are generally not subject to the licensing/certification requirements of pilots of manned aircraft.
Most jurisdictions have restrictions on the use of UAVs which have greatly limited their use in controlled airspace; UAVs have mostly been limited to military and hobbyist use. In the United States, use of UAVs is very limited in controlled airspace (generally, above 400 ft/122m and away from airports) and the FAA prohibits nearly all commercial use. Once regulations are made to allow expanded use of UAVs in controlled airspace, there is expected to be a large surge of UAVs in use and, consequently, high demand for pilots/operators of these aircraft.
Space
The general concept of an airplane pilot can be applied to human spaceflight, as well. The spacecraft pilot is the astronaut who directly controls the operation of a spacecraft. This term derives directly from the usage of the word “pilot” in aviation, where it is synonymous with “aviator”.
Pilot certifications
Pilots are required to go through many hours of flight training and theoretical study, that differ depending on the country. The first step is acquiring the Private Pilot License (PPL), or Private Pilot Certificate. This takes at least 40 hours of flight time with a Certified Flight Instructor (CFI).
In the United States, an LSA (Light Sport Aircraft) license can be obtained in at least 20 hours of flight time.
The next step in a pilot’s progression is either Instrument Rating (IR), or Multi-Engine Rating (MEP) endorsements.
If a professional career or professional-level skills are desired, a Commercial Pilot License (CPL) endorsement would also be required. To captain an airliner, one must obtain an Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL). After 1 August 2013, even when being a First Officer (FO), an ATPL is required.
Some countries/carriers require/use a Multi Crew Coordination (MCC).
Responsible pilot
General
A Pilot in Command (also commander; English pilot in command, PIC is who a) aircraft leads a valid permit has, over the aeromedical fitness features, and is determined by the holder of the aircraft for this purpose. Commercial aircraft are usually flown by two pilots, but there must and can always be only one PIC (see also below: cockpit crew).
Special case
The PICUS (short for English pilot in command under supervision) is a pilot who leads an aircraft on his own responsibility, but z. B., because he lacks the appropriate license, flies with a special flight order. Usually this is the case with training flights. The pilot flies (as a PIC) a plane in solo flight. As a student pilot, this requires a flight order from a flight instructor.
Private pilot
Private pilots fly aircraft in non-commercial operations and may not receive any remuneration for their work (with a few exceptions such as employment as a flight instructor, for example). This means that every transport of passengers against payment is prohibited. There are a variety of different licenses that allow flying privately. Depending on the appropriate permissions, private pilots are not restricted in size or weight to the types of aircraft flown.
The private pilot license PPL-A is the exit for all other flying licenses. Every professional pilot must first acquire the PPL or their knowledge as part of the training.
Professional Pilot
While pilots were pioneers in the early days of aviation, the profession became a pilot with the first commercial flights. Nowadays, a distinction professional pilots that are commercially active in the aerospace and airline pilots, mostly with airlines fly. For commercial flights with aircraft up to 5.7 t MTOW, which can be flown by a single pilot, is the professional pilot license (Commercial Pilot License, CPL). On the other hand, responsible pilots require the Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL) or the Multi-Crew Pilot License (MPL) for the commercial operation of aircraft that require a crew of more than a crew of more than 5.7 tons MTOW. For copilots the CPL is sufficient. In total, 9588 people in Germany had an ATPL or MPL license in 2010.
Cockpit crew
If more than one person is required to operate the aircraft, they work together:
The captain or commander (English Captain (CPT)) is the commanding pilot of a commercial aircraft (Pilot In Command (PIC)), who is responsible for the safety of the aircraft and occupants and at all times the decision and authority to do so. However, he does not have to take over the entire flight time and the control; mostly this is alternated during the flight with the First Officers (see below). The one who is currently sensing the control (ie starting, landing and making directional or altitude changes) is called Pilot Flying (PF), the other onePilot Not Flying (PNF), or during a monitoring activity (eg by a flight instructor) Pilot Monitoring (PM).
Check captains are responsible for the education and training of on-the-fly personnel including practice.
The first officer (English First Officer (FO)), also known as copilot or co-pilot, supports and represents the flight captain. He also performs autonomous flights, but does not have the command authority on board.
For some airlines, the career of the co-pilot begins as a second officer (English Second Officer (SO)). Depending on the training model of the airline, the activity is either not different from that of the first officer, or the second officer initially works on long-haul flights as the Cruise Relief Copilot (CRC), which only sits at the helm while cruising.
The Senior First Officer (SFO) is a special form of first officer and is entitled to replace the captain during the cruise (as such Pilot In Command Relief (PICR)). From a distance of approximately 7500 km, an SFO is used on most scheduled airlines.
The flight engineer (English Flight Engineer (FE)) does not control the aircraft, but operates its technical systems. In the past, this included engine / thrust / power control and fuel system control via dedicated controllers. Flight engineers today only work on older aircraft with three-man cockpits, while today’s modern long-haul aircraft are equipped with partially automated two-man cockpits, in which only the two pilots are working.
In the past, a radio operator and a navigator often belonged to the crew. These were replaced from the 1960s by the expansion of radiotelephone traffic and the introduction of automatic navigation systems such as INS.
Working time organization
In October 2009, the Vereinigung Cockpit criticized pilots’ working hours as unsatisfactory and threatening for the safety of passengers. Referring to an EU commissioned study (Moebus report), she explained that the EU’s rules on flight time and rest periods favored dangerous fatigue and exhaustion.
The assumption that the career of a pilot is reconciled with work and family life is considered to be a major reason for the low proportion of women among the pilots and candidates for this career, with less interest from girls in technical careers, In view of the shortage of staff, the airline Lufthansa implemented a (now reinstated) program in 2000, which enabled job sharing for pilots with small children and part-time work and was also open to flight captains.
Aeronautical suitability
A prerequisite for flight training and piloting is airworthiness. A distinction is made in the area of Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA):
Class 1 for professional pilots
Class 2 for non-commercial pilots
The aviation doctor issues the Medical Certificate of Fitness (English medical certificate), which must be carried by the pilot, according to the Aeronautical Medical Examination. The pilot is responsible for whether he is currently able to fly. If he has doubts about whether he is fit to fly, he must turn to the competent licensing body or better his aviation doctor.
Flight training
The flight training for the different types of pilots is regulated in detail by the Joint Aviation Authorities and takes place in a flight school, z. B. in an air sports club or at a pilot school. As part of the training usually the radiotelephony certificate (AZF, BZF 1, BZF 2) is acquired, which entitles the pilot to carry out the radio and to use radio navigation devices.
Even after completing the training, the pilot can take further training steps that enable him to lead larger and more complex patterns, the so-called “ratings”. After the basic training to the airplane pilot – PPL (A) – is entitled to drive single-engine, piston-driven aircraft (supplement: old regulation, until May 2003: “with a maximum take-off weight of 2 tons” [so-called E class]), Additional ratings, eg. B. for multi-engine airplanes, jet engines or heavier patterns can be purchased separately (in part only after reaching a minimum number of hours) in theoretical and practical training steps.
But even within the class of single-engine, piston-driven machines covered by pilot license PPL (A), a so-called “pattern instruction” is required in order to be allowed to operate an aircraft of this type. This pattern instruction usually takes one flying lesson, during which the peculiarities of the aircraft are taught and some take-offs and landings are practiced.
Flight license
In the area of the Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) the following licenses are issued by the competent aviation authority after completing the relevant flight training and passing a theoretical and practical test:
Sport Pilot license, SPL
Glider Pilot license, GPL
Private Pilot License, PPL -N up to 750 kg / 2 t MTOW (from English Private Pilot; national)
Pilot license for light aircraft, LAPL (A) up to 2 t MTOW and max. three passengers, only valid throughout Europe.
Private plane license, ICAO compliant (old PPL-A) or EASA-FCL
License for Commercial Pilot, CPL
License for Transport Pilot, ATPL
Multi-Crew Pilot License, MPL (Line Pilot License, partially comparable to the ATPL)
Licenses for private, professional and transport pilots are issued for both airplanes and helicopters. If there is a license for a airplane is, a (A) ‘appended to a helicopter a, (H)’ z. B. ATPL (H).
The flight license is to be carried by the pilot during the flight.
The training and licensing of pilots is regulated in Germany in the LuftPersV. Recently, training and licenses have been carried out according to JAR-FCL (Joint Aviation Requirements for Flight Crew Licensing). The JAR-FCL do not follow – unlike the German law valid until 1998 – the Age 60 Rule, which originated in the United States. Therefore, and based on the positive findings from other states, which allow a license up to the age of 65, there are doubts about the special age limit for pilots to the age of 60 years. Also the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg ruled on 13 September 2011 that airlines forcing their captains and co-drivers to retire at the age of 60 are in breach of European law.
Female pilot
The profession of pilot is one of those women who are less represented. Worldwide in 2017 only 3% of women are pilots, of which 450 have the rank of commander and in Spain of 6,000 people who practice this profession there are only 198 pilot women. Among the factors that affect the lack of women in the profession is the cultural factor and the economic factor to pay for the studies.
Source from Wikipedia