About David A. NewMyer Expertise Can advise people thinking about beginning and aviation career and espcially those thinking about an aviation university program. Can also help with aviation scholarship questions. I am particularly strong in questions related to starting a flight career, choosing a university flight or aviation management program, aviation internships and aviation scholarships. Also, I can assist with questions about airport management and planning careers and oveall aviation industry employment questions.
Experience
Past/Present Clients Prepared In addition to aviation education, I work at a major university, I have worked as an airport planner preparing airport system plans, airport master plan and environmental assessment reports for the Chicago area in general and for several
individual Illinois airports.
Question what's a typical day on the job for the commercial pilot?
Answer Hi,
Thanks for your question, I will try to assist!
There are a number of websites that you can examine that will give you more detailed answers than I can give here. However, the typical day for an airline pilot, of course, depends on the type of airline that the pilot flies for. For example, a pilot at a smaller, regional airline might fly several "legs" or flights in one day into smaller airports under variable weather conditions, with many of the flights an hour or less. This can amount to a very strenuous flight schedule and you might have to do this type of flying as much as 100 to 120 hours a month--perhaps flying 20 to 22 days a month. On the other hand, a pilot for a major international carrier might fly just one flight segment in a day, but, it would be a long one: Perhaps 8 hours long, or longer with a relief pilot. There are some pilots who do this type of flight two times in a month, working a total of 8 to 10 days in the month (including rest periods between the long flights). And, of course, there are pilots in between that who fly medium to long domestic flights and who might work 12 to 15 days per month, flying a total of 85 to 90 hours in a month.
During a given flying day, a pilot will normally have to show up at the airport at a given time specified in the pilot contract or rules, but, normally at least 90 or so minutes prior to flight time. This "show time" is required for the pilot to do the pre-flight weather and flight briefings with the airline dispatch office and then get the loads on the flight (how many passengers, how much cargo, how many bags, etc, which, of course allow the pilots to do/confirm the pre-take off planning such as weight and balance, take off distances, routes of flight, en-route weather, and destination/arrival planning. During the flight, particularly short flights that include any flying time over or near a major city, there is a lot of communication to be done with the air traffic control system. Also, there are important communications that have to be done with the flight attendants on board the flight (if any) to ensure the safety of the people in the cabin;and, there is some communication that has to be done with the passengers, especially if the flight is delayed. Once the flight is flown, the pilots have to do some paperwork in the cockpit after arrival including informing the maintenance department of any discrepancies on the aircraft noted during the flight.
You can imagine that, on a regional airline where a pilot might fly several flights in one day, there is a lot of pre-flight planning and post-flight paperwork on multiple flights in the same day. And, it all has to be done correctly and without error since the safety of the aircraft and its passengers/cargo are at stake.
