Do you think that every person could fly a heavy jet, if it just would pass the flight school and type-rating?

Question

Do you think that every person could fly a heavy jet, if it just would pass the flight school and type-rating?

Answer 1

Not a chance. Some people have lousy depth perception, and some people will not follow directions. Would you ride with just anyone in the front? Just think about how many people are bad drivers, even with licenses.

Answer 2

Of course every person could fly heavy jets IF they could complete flight school and obtain the type ratings. Not every person has the desire or the ability to do so, however.

Answer 3

Anyone with normal intelligence and in reasonable health (no serious handicaps that might interfere with flying) can learn to fly heavy jets, given sufficient time and money for instruction, practice, and (legally) certification.  Some people have more natural talent for flying than others, but anyone can learn to pilot a plane.

Answer 4

Yes, I think anyone can do whatever they put their mind to, if they really wanted to do it.

Answer 5

PVT Pilot, ASEL + type rating is all that's required legally.  The guy that invent Nautilus had his wife checked out in his 707.  If you can drive a stick shift you have the coordination to fly a plane.

And if you pass the checkride, you passed.

Answer 6

Flying ANY airplane requires a level of awareness, humility, moral reasoning, and technical competence that only a certain percentage of people are able to achieve.  You MUST be strongly aware not only of the subject matter, but of the responsibilities of a pilot and the scope of your own ignorance.

A neighbor of mine is a successful businessman who used to fly a nice twin engine airplane as part of his business operation.  He gave his son flying lessons for his 16th birthday.  The day after his son soloed in a Cessna 152, he was heard telling his friends, "I can fly anything with wings."

The following weekend, the boy and two of his close friends disappeared.  With horror, his father noticed that the spare key to his Beechcraft Baron was missing.  The remains of the boy and his two friends were found in the wreckage in a wooded area about 8 miles from the airport.

That's what I mean about moral awareness and a sense of the scope of one's ignorance.  I will never forget the first time I grabbed the handles of a 4-engine piston powered cargo airplane that was my stepping stone up to heavy airplanes.  This ship grossed about 112,000 pounds, by comparison to the more than 800,000 pounds of the 747-400 that was the culmination of my career.

I sat there thinking, "What am I doing here?  This is like flying an apartment building!  I don't know enough to do this..."  (I had 2,500 hours, including lots of twins and some turboprop airplanes.)  In the long run, my instructors and I agreed that it was that attitude that made me a safe pilot when I had transitioned to the "aluminum barn," as crews called it.  Ultimately I have fond memories of that old rattle-bucket.

But the journey from non-flier to pilot to heavy equipment pilot is a long one, and, frankly, most people wash out before they get those type ratings.  I'm not bragging personally; I happened to have the required talents.  But look around you at the insurance salesmen, architects, football coaches, police officers, and county managers--a certain number of them are former commercial pilots that did not make it through the type ratings.

It is not correct to say that "If you put your mind to it you can do anything."  Not always true.

So yes, I would say that anyone who is capable of passing flight school, flying charter and instruction, and/or going through the military commission system, and then getting through the hiring process and the type ratings is capable.  But that "anyone" is going to end up being a pretty selective group.

The few, the proud, the crazy and goggle-eyed.  But also cautious, humble (in a special way) and always ready to admit you're scared and don't know what to do next.

That's your safe pilot, in a nutshell

Answer 7

No.  The Arab hijackers of 9/11/1 flew heavy jets without even beginning flight school for them and without B757 or B767 ratings.