Being a commercial pilot. Questions?

Question

I have interest is airplanes ever since I was a child.

I am 24 and in college and will enter the medical field. But part of me wants to be a commercial pilot.

I've heard that you have to be able to handle stress. Specificaly, what kind of stress?

When in high school, I read that you have to be good at physics. Can any of you commercial pilots give me specifics on this? In college when becoming a pilot, what physics do you learn? On the job, day to day, what physics do you use?

Is this career worth it? If you had to do it again, would you have chosen another career?

What are some negatives about this career?

Answer 1

As a graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's Aeronautical Science Program, it's great to hear that you enjoy aviation, and I'd like to ensure you that a career as a commercial pilot will be very rewarding and challenging. There should always be a little room to enjoy yourself, even in air carrier operations.

With that being said, I will warn you that being a pilot, whether that be recreational or ATP(airline transport pilot), is not for the faint of heart. Like rising to any other profession it will most likely involve sleepless nights to master concepts, and trial and error to reach your goal. However, as a commercial pilot when you are at work carrying passengers, each life that steps on board is in your hands, and your aptitude and the decisions you make, can be the difference between an on time arrival and a disaster. For some thats the source of the stress. The flight environment, especially in unpressurized aircraft can also be physically stressful especially if you out of shape. Long haul flights, overnight flights, or early morning flights can change your circadian rhythm which will lead to more stress.

A commercial pilot at the least should have an elementary understanding of a broad range of physical science subjects. Electromagnetism and Circuitry-Navigation Equipment and Aircraft Systems. Radiation-Weather. Newtonian Properties-Thrust and Aircraft Performance. Ideal Gas Law-Aircraft Systems, Weather, and etc. Wave Properties-Radio Navigation and Communication, ie HF, VHF, UHF, EHF, AM, FM etc so you can understand why some communications are limited to line of sight and therefore cannot be used at certain distances offshore.

The performance charts in an aircraft's AFM(Airplane Flight Manual) or POH(Pilot's Operating Handbook) are based entirely on physics of all kinds. ie.  take off distance charts show changes based on weight- A=F/M, dry or wet runway- coefficient of friction, wind- changes dynamic pressure Q felt on the wing, etc

In addition to having a grasp of a variety of physical science topics, it's also a good idea to develop a good quick mental elementary algebra mind. This will be very useful as you will always be doing quick mental calculations, and it will eventually become second nature. But be careful, its known to spill over into your everyday life lol.

The worthiness of the career is in the eyes of the beholder. Since the aviation industry is highly cyclical, unlike the medical field, and there will be hard times to come that may slow down or even sideline a commercial pilot's job. However, if being a pilot is something you're seriously considering, I would recommend taking a discovery flight to determine if you like the flight environment when you're actually behind the instrument panel. If you still enjoy it then sit down with a CFI, and explain what you want to achieve, and from there on you can craft you're own path to get there.

I could do it again I wouldn't change a thing. Some negatives are barriers to entry since flight training is expensive and time consuming. Its a cyclical industry so you have to be prepared for both  2007(good year) and 2001(not so good year). It might be harder to live where you want since you have to be pretty close to the airport you're based at. It can take a toll on a relationship. Life Insurance premiums are higher for rated pilots.

Some helpful sites to visit are, www.aopa.org, www.faa.gov, www.sportys.com.

I hope this helped give you a little perspective. If you wanna know any more specifics and/or nuances feel free to email me.

Answer 2

I'm an Aviation student at the University of North Dakota. As far as Physics required for a Commercial Aviation BS there is a required physics class (just 1) Physics 150. The Material covered in the class for the most part has nothing to do with aviation. it covers "Topics: Newtonian mechanics, gravitation, work, energy, fluids, electricity, magnetism.” iaw coarse catalogue.

Flying is awesome. That's the positive. Some of the negatives to the professional pilot career is the lack of job stability in the commercial market. Constant overnights. Time away from loved ones. Low seniority equates to working all holidays (maybe that's all careers)

You have to love the field to enjoy it. that's a question you have to ask yourself. Some pilots love it and would do nothing else. Some (most) complain constantly and are always looking for a better career but can’t get away from the love of flying.

Take a private pilot class and see how you like it. You’ll probably get hooked.

Answer 3

There's no more stress to handle in flying than any other job. You do not need to know physics.. You should be able to comprehend what you need to learn but you'll get everything in training; Is the career worth it? Worth what? I enjoyed my forty years at it. Wish I could have playe third base for the yankees but never could hit a curveball.