4 ms·

I'd take it with a grain of (self-deprecating) salt. No one who truly "sucks at flying" makes it to the level of Airline Transport Pilot.

lisper 7y ago
Yes. As a pilot myself I can tell you with 100% certainty that he was absolutely being ironic.
- jonny_eh 7y ago
  Right, he was presumably messaging someone who knew him, and how good of a pilot he actually is.
  - jonas21 7y ago
    And this is why lawyers absolutely hate it when you write anything in an email. If you ever get sued or subpoenaed, someone is going to comb through your messages and pick a few statements out of context that make you look terrible.
bdamm 7y ago
Seriously. An Airline Transport Pilot must: * Have demonstrated precision flying, including precision power off landings, from a variety of altitudes and preconditions. * Multiple demonstrations of a wide range of flying capabilities, including recovery from loss of navigation, systems failures, and unusual attitudes. * Attained a 1st class medical certificate, which is actually quite challenging. Annual re-certification, and sometimes more frequently than that for pilots that have anything at all quirky going on in their body. This includes extensive health records (such as EKGs) sent to the FAA for analysis and includes relevant dental work. (Yes, pressure bubbles inside teeth can cause pilots to lose the ability to control an airplane.) Got a DUI? Pretty much eliminates flying for life. * Attained a flight instructor's certificate. Almost all airline pilots were flight instructors before becoming airline pilots. * 1500 hours flight experience, enough to all but guarantee in-flight emergency or systems failure will have occurred. * 1000 hours jet experience. * Attained instrument ratings, multi-engine ratings, etc. * And that's just to get past the interview. Then the real training begins. In all, that's a lot of training, and pilots pay about as much as a doctor to get that training. Since attaining a Private Pilot's license myself (which I found challenging and which ATPs consider kindergarten) I've realized that actual airline pilots are in general remarkably good pilots. Even if you, sitting in the back cabin, think the landing is rough, it's probably a really good firm precision landing considering the conditions.
- ryanlol 7y ago
  >Got a DUI? Pretty much eliminates flying for life. Not true at all, most of the ATPLs in my class were foreign and as such would be well beyond the reach of such rules.
  - bdamm 7y ago
    I'm only talking about American pilots flying in America, which any chief ATP @ Boeing most certainly would be.
    - ryanlol 7y ago
      Well sure, this particular guy almost certainly doesn't have any DUIs. It's only the statement about DUIs preventing flying for life I was objecting to, if someone really wants to become a pilot a DUI isn't going to stop them.

lisper 7y ago

Yes. As a pilot myself I can tell you with 100% certainty that he was absolutely being ironic.

jonny_eh 7y ago
Right, he was presumably messaging someone who knew him, and how good of a pilot he actually is.
- jonas21 7y ago
  And this is why lawyers absolutely hate it when you write anything in an email. If you ever get sued or subpoenaed, someone is going to comb through your messages and pick a few statements out of context that make you look terrible.

bdamm 7y ago

Seriously. An Airline Transport Pilot must: * Have demonstrated precision flying, including precision power off landings, from a variety of altitudes and preconditions. * Multiple demonstrations of a wide range of flying capabilities, including recovery from loss of navigation, systems failures, and unusual attitudes. * Attained a 1st class medical certificate, which is actually quite challenging. Annual re-certification, and sometimes more frequently than that for pilots that have anything at all quirky going on in their body. This includes extensive health records (such as EKGs) sent to the FAA for analysis and includes relevant dental work. (Yes, pressure bubbles inside teeth can cause pilots to lose the ability to control an airplane.) Got a DUI? Pretty much eliminates flying for life. * Attained a flight instructor's certificate. Almost all airline pilots were flight instructors before becoming airline pilots. * 1500 hours flight experience, enough to all but guarantee in-flight emergency or systems failure will have occurred. * 1000 hours jet experience. * Attained instrument ratings, multi-engine ratings, etc. * And that's just to get past the interview. Then the real training begins. In all, that's a lot of training, and pilots pay about as much as a doctor to get that training. Since attaining a Private Pilot's license myself (which I found challenging and which ATPs consider kindergarten) I've realized that actual airline pilots are in general remarkably good pilots. Even if you, sitting in the back cabin, think the landing is rough, it's probably a really good firm precision landing considering the conditions.

ryanlol 7y ago
>Got a DUI? Pretty much eliminates flying for life. Not true at all, most of the ATPLs in my class were foreign and as such would be well beyond the reach of such rules.
- bdamm 7y ago
  I'm only talking about American pilots flying in America, which any chief ATP @ Boeing most certainly would be.
  - ryanlol 7y ago
    Well sure, this particular guy almost certainly doesn't have any DUIs. It's only the statement about DUIs preventing flying for life I was objecting to, if someone really wants to become a pilot a DUI isn't going to stop them.