Ask the pilot how hard it is to fly a plane
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Ask The Pilot is a regular Salon column. Recently there was a good one, essentially about how hard or easy it is to fly and land a plane nowadays:
“But wait, he goes on. “Most of the time,” says heyja, “pilots will push the seats back, push a button, never look out the window, arranging their Jeppsens [sic], drink their coffee, whine about the Democrats and their disappearing pensions.” (from Ask The Pilot)
to which he retorts:
“Compare, for a moment, an airline flight with a medical procedure. That’s as good an analogy as any, I think. I propose that in order to deliver an airplane safely to its destination, the knowledge and expertise required of the pilot are roughly equivalent to those required of a surgeon in order to safely perform an operation. Doctors and pilots both reap the benefits of advanced technology. It makes their jobs easier. Albeit not easy, and in no way does it diminish the requisite skill, knowledge, experience and responsibility.” (from Ask the Pilot)
Do you buy it? After all, he is an actual pilot. He should know 
Read the article: Tedium in the age of terror
Popularity: 10% [?]
November 27th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Pilots have the best part-time job in the world!
Those who make it to the big leagues and big money … they have flight dispatchers to plan their routes, ramp agents to do the weight and balance, and mechanics to check the plane.
The pilot takes to plane off and before the wheels are up, the auto-pilot is engaged. In modern planes, the airplane will even land itself!!!
The pilot is there to monitor the operation and to take over in an emergency. And to think they’re limited to an 100 hours a month.
…former pilot (non-commercial) and flight dispatcher