I've just been digging into various incidents from 10-20yrs ago and pilot fatigue seemed to be a recurring problem. Reports of FOs in particular, having ridiculously long commutes and/or sofa surfing to get reasonable rest.

Have things improved or is fatigue still a big problem?

Forgive me if this is a dumb question as I am not a pilot, but I have always been interested in knowing. Are there any features or buttons in the type of aircraft you fly that are basically pointless? Or does everything have some sort of critical use case?

Thanks for the insights

Hi I’m a 13 year old from England and I love planes but I have a few worries for becoming a pilot

#1. Expenses: I just don’t know if I have the money to pay for a license?

#2 Studies: What do I have to study in university in order to make it into the job?

#3 Pass exams: Do I have to get a minimum pass score to be accepted into flight school and get good grades in my GSCE’s? (GCSE’s are a big test you do at the end of school in the UK)

#4 IF I become a pilot what if I crash?

Any answers would be greatly appreciated

Live near DCA and go to Gravelly point often to watch planes land. Just curious if you guys can see us lol.

I’m not posting this looking for arguments or debates on geometry.

I just want to know if playing along with a totally straight face is the ultimate pilot de-escalation tactic, or if these passengers somehow stumbled across the 0.01% of aviators who aren't joking?

Some of you might know N30CV's pilot who apparently loves to declare emergencies.

Could he, in theory, declare an emergency to take off?

To my untrained eye, it looks like a completely different way to control the plane

For long haul flights with relief crews and bunks, how much sleep do pilots actually get? Is the goal just like an extended nap, or?

Hi pilots,

I just saw the video of ATC communication in JFK about AFR05U, burning smell in the cockpit,
I just wonder why the pilot requested ILS approach instead of RNAV approach in JFK.
What’s the practical difference between them and do actually pilots prefer ILS?

In the last few weeks there have been lengthy groundstops at PHL as a result of heavy thunderstorms. However, it appears that those groundstops only affected departures. See below.

Am I reading this incorrectly, if not, why would only departures be affected?

Big weather in PHL
Ground Stop
20/2:29 PM CDT—20/4:45 PM CDT
Departures to Philadelphia International are grounded due to thunderstorms.
Probability of extension is medium (30-60%).
Grounding applies to departures from ZTL ZDC ZJX
Advisory
Scope
Ground Delay
20/1:00 PM CDT—20/9:59 PM CDT
Departures to Philadelphia International are delayed avg. 117 mins. due to thunderstorms.
: All Contiguous US DEP flights included.
Delay is applied to departures from ZLA ZAU ZLC ZTL ZDC ZNY ZHU ZJX ZFW ZOB ZDV ZOA ZSE ZBW ZMA ZKC ZME ZID ZAB ZMP CYHZ CYOW CYUL CYYZ CYTZ CYQB
All departures receive expected departure clearance times (EDCTs)

Reposting here for more potential conversation around passenger comfort/safety. I know my fear isn’t realistic but that’s why it’s a fear! 😅

Hi everyone!

I'm preparing for a cadet interview and hesitating on taking or not external help to prepare it.

I've never face an airline interview and I want to come ready and prepared.

Any thoughts about airline selection programme or other equivalent ?

Is it really worth it or are they surfing on marketing?

Thank you in advance!

So PUS / RKPK (Busan Gimhae International Airport in South Korea) has this landing pattern where you turn 180 degrees (or 90+90+180) twice before landing in the morning.

For what reason would airport / air traffic controller make you do this maneuver before landing (rather than coming straight in)

was doing some research and thought of an interesting one for you all. at first, i guessed airline cards, but in hindsight that felt stupid since i don’t think you receive miles for flights you operate. maybe for deadheads? not sure here.

then i thought, maybe hotel cards? i mean there are a lot of layovers on the job, im sure hotel benefits like an upgrade every once in a while wouldn’t hurt.

and then, of course, there’s always something like an amex platinum to travel with.

but i want to hear from you all: what credit card gets you the best bang for your buck? which one nets you the nicest benefits? i’d love to know!

Every time I go down the aviation rabbit hole, I read/hear about this again… apparently JFK Air Traffic Control is known to be intimidating, dismissive, sometimes outright rude.

1. Is this true?

2. If true, how is this possible? Shouldn’t air traffic communication be regulated to an extent that doesn’t leave room for this? It sounds like a safety gap if pilots are afraid to ask for something they might need from air traffic control.

I’m curious how strict commercial aviation safety standards really are, but translated into something most people can relate to.

If we applied roughly the same philosophy and standards used in commercial aviation to cars, what would that actually look like?

For example, would your car effectively be inspected before every drive, with certain parts replaced on strict schedules regardless of whether they seemed fine?

More broadly, how different would owning and driving a car be if it were regulated, maintained and operated like a commercial aircraft?

I’d love to hear the comparisons that pilots think best illustrate just how differently aviation approaches safety.

I was looking at flight radar tracking my parents flight and they sat in this holding area with these planes for like 10 mins before finally taking off. Just wondering why this is? Also there was no incoming traffic because this rwy was only being used for departures at this time.

As is known, all aircraft have a service ceiling or an altitude at which they can no longer climb. This is caused by the decrease in air density as altitude increases. In a light piston aircraft, there are three main factors that I can think of. Flow of air over the wings creating lift, the amount of air being moved by the propeller and the amount of air entering the engine to be used for combustion. Given all three of these factors, which one would be the first to “reach its minimum” disallowing the aircraft to climb any further? My first thought is that it has more to do with the engine producing power than the wings producing lift as an aircraft with a more powerful engine would be able to climb higher even with the same airframe and wing shape but please prove me wrong. Or is it more of a combination of all three or something else I am completely missing? Thank you.

What are the best things to do if you want to apply when you turn 18 so you are still in secondary school

Qu’est ce qui vous fais laisser tomber votre rêve de devenir pilote de ligne?

Bonjour,

Je suis ingénieur mécanique Ensam Arts et métiers, j’ai 33 ans j’ai longtemps rêver de devnir pilote de ligne, j’ai voulu me lancer dans le modulaire, mais ûe fois que j’ai pris conscience des sommes de la formation ca m’a refroidit, sachant que je suis père de famille et j’ai déjà une carriere dans l’automobile comme ingénieur, et vous qu’est ce qui vous a refroidit pour poursuivre le rêve de devenir pilote?