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And suddenly the comment section is full of professional aviators.

by anilakar 3y ago

dotancohen 3y ago
Please don't post Reddit memes to HN.
CPLX 3y ago
I have a pilot's license. Many people do they are fairly common.
- arghwhat 3y ago
  To nitpick, most will have GA, not commercial (i.e., professional) licenses. But yeah, there's a lot of pilots.
  - engcoach 3y ago
    If we’re nitpicking then the pros have ATP licenses so they can fly for the airlines
    - arghwhat 3y ago
      If we're really nitpicking... In Europe and UK, an ATP is only required for those flying as pilot-in-command (i.e., captain) of a multi-pilot airplane for air transport purposes. In the US after a crash in 2009, ATP or R-ATP is required for all scheduled air transport flights, but that is not all commercial flights. Ironically, that crash was flown by two ATP holders and so this requirement change would not have helped. In both cases, a CPL is a prerequisite for the ATP (ignoring military hacks and some MPL stuff).
      - engcoach 3y ago
        Even charter flights practically require an ATP due to IFR and night flying restrictions on CPL holders
        arghwhat 3y ago
        Hmm? You can get instrument rating with CPL. There's also non-passenger commercial pilot jobs - cargo and agriculture for example. Those CPL holders are, by definition, professionals, even if other professional take the ATPL on top of their CPL.
        engcoach 3y ago
        I don’t have my FARs with me right now but I’m pretty sure CPL holders operating charter flights cannot fly in IFR or at night
xarope 3y ago
Why is it hard to believe? In a group of my professional peers (about 12 people), there's one pilot (to be clear, one person who has a pilots license, and flies regularly). Just like there are also rock climbers, mountaineers, weightlifters, marathoners, CCGers, OCRers etc. If anything, I would think we are more passionate about our hobbies, since it allows us to get away from thinking about work all the time!
kergonath 3y ago
It’s simple: - get a sample the size of HN’s readership, - apply the odds of each person having a license, - bias slightly because of the audience’s demographics (which skews wealthy and technical), - then consider that pilots are more attracted to aircraft-related stories, and suddenly it’s not surprising to have dozens of qualified people in a thread like this.

And suddenly the comment section is full of professional aviators.

dotancohen 3y ago

Please don't post Reddit memes to HN.

CPLX 3y ago

I have a pilot's license. Many people do they are fairly common.

arghwhat 3y ago
To nitpick, most will have GA, not commercial (i.e., professional) licenses. But yeah, there's a lot of pilots.
- engcoach 3y ago
  If we’re nitpicking then the pros have ATP licenses so they can fly for the airlines
  - arghwhat 3y ago
    If we're really nitpicking... In Europe and UK, an ATP is only required for those flying as pilot-in-command (i.e., captain) of a multi-pilot airplane for air transport purposes. In the US after a crash in 2009, ATP or R-ATP is required for all scheduled air transport flights, but that is not all commercial flights. Ironically, that crash was flown by two ATP holders and so this requirement change would not have helped. In both cases, a CPL is a prerequisite for the ATP (ignoring military hacks and some MPL stuff).
    - engcoach 3y ago
      Even charter flights practically require an ATP due to IFR and night flying restrictions on CPL holders
      - arghwhat 3y ago
        Hmm? You can get instrument rating with CPL. There's also non-passenger commercial pilot jobs - cargo and agriculture for example. Those CPL holders are, by definition, professionals, even if other professional take the ATPL on top of their CPL.
        engcoach 3y ago
        I don’t have my FARs with me right now but I’m pretty sure CPL holders operating charter flights cannot fly in IFR or at night

xarope 3y ago

Why is it hard to believe? In a group of my professional peers (about 12 people), there's one pilot (to be clear, one person who has a pilots license, and flies regularly). Just like there are also rock climbers, mountaineers, weightlifters, marathoners, CCGers, OCRers etc. If anything, I would think we are more passionate about our hobbies, since it allows us to get away from thinking about work all the time!

kergonath 3y ago

It’s simple: - get a sample the size of HN’s readership, - apply the odds of each person having a license, - bias slightly because of the audience’s demographics (which skews wealthy and technical), - then consider that pilots are more attracted to aircraft-related stories, and suddenly it’s not surprising to have dozens of qualified people in a thread like this.