Aviator

An aviator is a person who flies aircraft for pleasure or as a profession. The word is normally applied to pilots but it can be applied more broadly, for example to include people such as wing-walkers who regularly take part in an aerobatic display sequence. The word aviatrix is sometimes used of women flyers, reflecting the word's Latin root.

The term was more used in the early days of aviation and has connotations of bravery and adventure. As Steve Fossett has shown with his 2002 solo flight around the globe in a helium balloon, then his nonstop solo jet circumnavigation that completed on March 3, 2005, there are still challenges to be flown and records to be broken.

Anyone can fly an aircraft, with or without a certificate. However, at all times the aircraft must be under the operational control of a properly certified and current pilot, who is responsible for the safe and legal completion of the flight. The absolute authority given to the Pilot in Command is derived from that of a ship's captain.

In the UK, there are, on average, around 30,000 pilots registered with the CAA. Of these only 6% are female (approx 1800). In the commercial sector this percentage drops to only 2%.

The Federal Aviation Administration estimates there are 609,737 active pilots as of December 31, 2005. [1]. Of these, about 6%(36,584) are female.

The U.S. state of Alaska has the highest number of pilots per capita: out of an estimated 663,661 residents, 8,550 are pilots, or about one in every 78.

Civilian

Delta Airlines Pilots

Civilian pilots fly privately for pleasure, charity, or in pursuance of a business, for non-scheduled commercial air transport companies, or for airlines. When flying for an airline, pilots are usually referred to as airline pilots, with the pilot in command often referred to as the captain.

Captains at major airlines in the U.S. have an average salary of $129,250 per year. However, such salaries represent the upper level of airline pay scales. Salaries at regional airlines can be considerably less - in many cases, First Officers earn less than $20,000 per year. Pilots making very large salaries are typically senior airline captains, while pilots making very small salaries are generally low-seniority first officers. In practice, most pilots make reasonable average working salaries, though it is not particularly useful to talk about 'averages' because of the large variability. Based upon voluntary pilot reports, many U.S. airline payscales are listed here. Most Airline pilots are unionized with the Air Line Pilot's Association(ALPA)being the largest in the United States.

While some countries such as Pakistan, Thailand, and several African countries, there is a strong relationship between the military and the principal national airlines such that many or most airline pilots come from the military, that is no longer generally the case in the USA and Western Europe. While the flight decks of US and European airliners do have many ex-military pilots, they also have just as many if not more pilots who spend their entire career as civilians. In fact, with the increasing popularity of European-style airline training schools in the USA and the fact that military training and flying, while rigorous, is fundamentally different in many ways from civilian piloting, it seems likely that over time the percentage of ex-military pilots flying for the airlines will continue to decrease.

Military

Military pilots fly under government contract for the defense of countries. Their tasks involve combat and non-combat operations, including direct hostile engagements and support operations. Military pilots undergo specialized training, often with weapons operation and defensive maneuvering. Some military pilots are also civilian pilots.

Well-known aviators

People largely known for their contributions to the history of aviation:

While all of these people were pilots (and some still are) many are also noted for contributions in areas such as aircraft design and manufacturing, navigation, or popularization.