So you want to know how to become an Airline Pilot? It is a big leap from flying a 172 as a Private Pilot to flying the “Big Iron” as an Airline Pilot. You might think that having 1500 hours in your logbook is all you need to get an ATP (Airline Transport Certificate). You might think that honing flight skills, learning great navigational practices, and developing the ability to properly speak on the radios would be the ticket to becoming a Professional Aviator. The basic skills of flight are: Aviate, Navigate and Communicate, Right? Most jet pilots have 1500 hours in their logbooks, and they are certainly experts at these basic skills. However, they are also masters at dedication, perseverance, and passion; all crucial attributes of a pilot that are not normally taught explicitly in flight schools.
If a student pilot is dedicated to excellence, they will learn to aviate, navigate and communicate in a professional way. To be dedicated to excellence means that you are committed to the safest practices, and holding yourself to the highest standards. Examples of this mentality might mean that you do a go-around when you are unstable, actually perform weight and balance calculations before every flight, adhere to personal minimums, mentally prepare for each and every flight by chair flying, etc. Essentially, you treat every flight as though you are an airline pilot, and have precious passengers aboard. “Aim small. Miss small” as Mel Gibson says. In the pursuit of excellence, which is never obtained, you become a life long learner that is always striving to be better–learning from past mistakes–Always striving to be safer.
Being dedicated to excellence does not mean you will always achieve it. In fact, at the airline level there never was and will never be a perfect flight. Still, if you are shooting for perfection you will land somewhere close to it. When you fail, be humble enough to learn from the mistakes that you made. Being a life long learner makes a person dedicated to excellence. Humility is not just a skill. It is a mentality. It is commitment. This level of commitment takes perseverance in the face of hardship.
Aviation is innately stressful. Humanity was simply not created to defy the forces of gravity. Aspiring pilots face hardship inside and outside of the cockpit that will test their resolve; the complexity of flight, self doubt, internal personal conflict, laziness, and financial problems are only a few things. These setbacks, failures, and mistakes only lead to the end of a dream if the dreamer decides to quit. The one that perseveres simply decides to never quit. As aspiring students watch their flight instructors show up day in and day out they get a good look at this quality: perseverance. Again, you will not find a lesson in a school syllabus about the importance of learning perseverance; this is developed in the student as trials come their way. This attitude will allow aspiring pilots in airline training to be committed to getting through the toughest of times. They must decide to never quit.
A love for aviation will help you to not quit. Passion for flight might be the single most important quality of a future airline pilot. Someone who is truly passionate about flying will be dedicated to excellence, and will persevere through hardship. This passion for aviation is developed through enjoyment. As an instructor, my students inevitably would lose this enjoyment at certain times during training. They would lose sight of the ultimate goal. We love flying because it provides us the freedom to travel to places many would never see, for the sense of accomplishment we feel when a dynamic and gusty crosswind landing is accomplished, and many other reasons. When my students would lose sight of this it was always time for a fun flight down the St. Johns river or flight up to St. Simmons Island. They needed to remember that they loved this pursuit that they worked so hard for. Again, good instructors can pass down their passion to others by making flight fun and destressing the cockpit environment.
All three of these attributes of a professional pilot go beyond mere skills. What is being laid out in this article is a demeanor. It is a way of life. An understanding that pilots have one of the best jobs that can be done, and it is a privilege to do it. We can teach our students this way of life, but they will most likely learn it from observing us as we go through the day to day grind of being flight instructors and aviation professionals.
Primary Flight control not only teaches the flight skills, best navigational practices, and radio work needed to be a Professional Pilot; the flight school goes beyond that by allowing their students to learn from aviators that are dedicated to excellence, persevering in hardship, and passionate about the craft of flying. This school will give you the skills needed inside and outside the cockpit to become an airline pilot and make the big leap.
