what a pilot is like....

[Craig.]

Calm down Nexus
But i do agree with Doug, i couldnt be a bus driver for all the money in the world. It is a very difficult job and while it may not require the same level of training as a pilot position, i can assure you it is just as stressful if not moreso, for alot less money.

[Nexus]

Problem is I am calm...you should see me angry  ;)
I have those characters at my flight school aswell, they think they own the world just because they are pilot students.
They have a mental age of a 3 year old.  8)

[Craig.]

In todays world, of high prices and lack of airline jobs, all pilots should be kissing their aircraft and thanking the god which gave them the opportunity to be there. I can assure you there are a million other people who would love to take their place.

[Rocket_Bird]

I agree to where Bus Drivers shouldnt be disregarded, they do hard to make a living.  Bus drivers do there part, and whew... do they drive miles after miles.  They are heros!  Admittingly, being a pilot can be like the same thing.  There are differences.  The joy of making the pilot thing special is that not everyone can do it and theres a different learning curve... not everyone enjoys it either.  Im sure not everyone enjoys truck driving either, but im sure there are people out there who do.  I wouldnt mind driving a bus personally  ;)

[OTTOL]

I'm not sure OTTOL's comment is actually intended as a joke.  ;)

Actually.......that was a joke sent from another pilot friend of mine who flies a 738 for Miami Air. He just sent it the other day in an Email and I thought the timing was appropriate. In my opinion, you shouldn't take yourself too seriously and should make yourself the butt of your own jokes on occasion.

PS. I have no doubt that OTTOL is a competent pilot & good at his job but I've met a few in my time that should never have been allowed within 100 yards of an aircraft. On second thoughts, make that a mile.

Thanks for the vote of confidence Doug. I haven't scratched one yet in 25 years behind the wheel (I'm knocking on my skull for good luck as I type that last sentence).

Sorry I just hate when "pilots" (you do not even qualify there yet) think highly of themselves and disregards the hard working people

A couple of things to ponder: I don't think he intended to offend or belittle bus drivers or any other blue collar workers. He just used a common expression, perhaps without regard for who might be offended. Since you're in the aviation training trenches yourself, I'm sure you understand the highly competitive environment that accompanies the profession by now. I've been around the business long enough to know that this level of competition often manifests itself in the form of cocky behavior and in the case of an instructor, captain or more senior pilot, an aggressive or demeaning attitude.  In plain English: a 30 hour student pilot comes off as though he's Captain of the next Space Shuttle and some flight instructors and Captains feel the uncontrollable urge to project their own mentor's harsh words upon the next generation. Finally; I don?t know how old Beefhole is (I've been fooled before on these forums and have learned not to assume too much) but I'm guessing that perhaps he is younger and personally take into consideration, the fact the just about anyone and especially a younger person, who is in the early stages of flight training and who is just beginning to experience the thrill of flying airplanes, tends to display an excessive amount of enthusiasm.
As far as public perception. I blame TV and Movies(especially the evening news) for painting a picture of a commercial and general aviation fleet that are flying time bombs ready to drop out of the sky and pilots who are overpaid and only leave the pub long enough to run to the airport, just in time for the next flight.
I was talking to a friend of mine the other day. She had just gotten home from vacation and visiting another friend who owns an airplane. She told me a story of her great adventure and how this friend took her for a ride in this "little experimental contraption". After a few minutes of prodding and questioning, I finally figured out that the plane she flew in was a Lancair (probably a IVP from the speeds she said the guy was claiming).  That's public perception.......A half million dollar four place rocket, with a 25,000 foot ceiling and  avionics that make airline captains jealous, not to mention a nearly flawless safety record,  is perceived as a rickety bucket of fiberglass that some mad scientist glued together in his tool shed.

[Nexus]

Well, I do admit that my aggressive behaviour was a little uncalled (my bad Beefhole!)
But I just interpret his message as busdrivers are not as good people as pilots - which is awfully wrong.  :)

and I had spent the better part of last week in the schoolbooks, so I guessed I needed to vent the frustration :-/

[C]

If you're in a room full of people, how can you tell which one's a pilot?...




...He'll come and tell you...

(in the same way, if you're in a room full of pilots, you can tell who's a Harrier pilot in the same way... )

[beefhole]

Nexus, for the love of god.  You must stop overanalyzing.

What I'm saying is that not everyone can be a doctor, surgeon, engineer.   Anyone can be a bus driver.  Not everyone can be a pilot.  That's the only point I'm making!  That it'd be nice for people to understand the hard work it takes to get to this point, as opposed to the work you have to put in to be a bus driver.  I'm not saying that I'm more important than anybody.  It's funny because I agree with your post whole-heartedly.

And I didn't just pull that outta my ass (where most things come from), I was quoting you...

EDIT: I swear you're a hex on me Nexus! My post was grossly misworded.  Why does this keep happening? ARRGGH!

[Woodlouse2002]

Aside from the cost of learning I shouldn't think becoming a GA pilot is any harder than being a bus driver. It's probably easier in fact cause there's far less traffic up there than down here.

[beefhole]

Wasn't necissarily referring to GA, but I would still consider that quite a bit of work.

[Hagar]

What I was getting at & I'm sure what fired Nexus up was the arrogant attitude of some pilots who seem to think they're better than anyone else simply because they can fly an aircraft. I've met a lot of pilots of all shapes, sizes & abilities over the years & most of them are pleasant, ordinary people. You probably wouldn't even know they're pilots from their appearance. Unfortunately there's a element among them that strut around putting on all sorts of airs & graces & thinking they're something special. In my experience these are the very same ones that should never be allowed anywhere near an aircraft. They're unpopular even among their colleagues. Please don't get like them.

Some of the best pilots I've had the pleasure of knowing are the most modest & friendly people you could ever wish to meet.

[Rocket_Bird]

Rule #1, Don't be an egotistical showoff just because your a pilot.  Its those who usually gets the most embarassing moments    

[beefhole]

I know rocket wasn't implying this, but for the folks who don't read every post, that's not me-I misworded my previous post.

[N556EP]

LOL i read a quote somewhere : "Mary what does your daddy do for a living?"

"Oh Nothinhg, he's just a pilot"