Why do pilots have uniform (plus the strips: 3 for co-pilot, 4 for captain)?? Train drivers and others don't!

Question

Why do pilots have uniform (plus the strips: 3 for co-pilot, 4 for captain)?? Train drivers and others don't!

Answer 1

--Inherited from the maritime professions.

Answer 2

They interact with the public and must have a professional appearance.  Same as officers onboard ocean going vessels.  You normally do not see train engineers.  As far as the epaulets (stripes) goes, there are actually more than the 3 and 4 stripes.  It is a formal way to display seniority/rank.

1 stripe....normally not used (certain airlines/companies may use usually trainee or a seniority indicator)

2 stripes....Flight engineer and/or second officer

3 stripes....First officer (co-pilot/2nd in command)

4 stripes.....Captain (Pilot in Command)

Stripe color is dependent upon airline/company unless within the military.

Answer 3

A uniform indicates the appurtenance of an individual to an organization - it is a basic unit of identification among a heterogeneous collection of people.

The strips qualify the level of authority of the person within the organization - for pilots, it shows the level of decisional hierarchy.

It all originates from the way work is divided and managed within a large, complex system.

Answer 4

The uniform is to provide a professional appearance.  In most countries other than the United States, locomotive engineers wear uniforms.  Light rail and streetcar crew members wear uniforms, and conductors on passenger trains wear them everywhere.

Most airline operations continue some aspects of the military bearing and discipline in which most flight crew members received their training.  Insignia of rank are important in that setting.

Answer 5

The primary reason for uniforms is to inspire the public's confidence in the profession.

There is an 'unwritten rule' that says that a clean-shaven pilot, with well-kept hair, in a sparkling clean and well-pressed uniform is CAPABLE of saving my life and is worthy of my trust.  

Compare this to the image of a Jungle pilot, unshaven with toothpick in mouth, crappy sneakers, tattered jeans in a dirty old Cessna 172 about to carry you on a flight. In a world where many people STILL are afraid to fly, they would NEVER get into that Cessna. They would prefer to walk away without a refund.

The reality is that the bush pilot may be VERY experienced, but image is everything to a nervous passenger.

The stripes are different to establish rank. Bear in mind that the MAIN reason for this entire show is to demonstrate to the passengers that there is a proffesional team at work.  

Dentists, Doctors, and many other proffesionals have to do it for the same reasons. Would you trust a dentist looking like that bush pilot to do your ROOT CANAL?

Answer 6

For starters, they could teach any HS grad to run a train, but to fly an aircraft full of people

takes a little brighter bulb.

So they earn the things.