A Day In The Life Of A Pilot Options

[talldude]

What's a day in the life of both charter and airline pilot? I know of some points but perhaps any real charter or airline pilot can feel in the gap for me. I'm talking specifics here not broad points. Like list every action starting from your arrival at the airport to the time to catch a shuttle to the hotel at your destination. I'm just curious as to what goes on behind the scenes. For example it was only 3 years ago I learned that there is such an employee titled the "flight dispatcher" who plans the flight and gets weather info. Before that I always assumed the pilots planned the flight, lol I feel really dumb now.

[cgexx]

75 hours of paid flight time
290 hours away from home
53 hours of unpaid "duty" time at the airport
16 days off
Equivalent to working over 36 8-hour days at a regular job (290 hrs away/8 hours) and paid for 75 hours

[mikaela]

Hey Tall dude, Im not a pilot, but i know one who flys for a regional airline, flying saab340s.

Where he works, there is no such thing as a "flight dispatcher"...noone doing the boring work for him. Being the captain, he organises nearly everything before the flight.

Im guessing, flight dispatchers are only used for really large airlines, where pilots may have too many other preflight things to do, or it being so large, having to organise weather and passenger information would be too difficult.

I did experience a day in the life of a pilot for work experience, but i'll let the true pilots tell ya

[SF3aviatrix]

i know one who [flies] for a regional airline, flying saab340s....Where he works, there is no such thing as a "flight dispatcher". No one doing the boring work for him. Being the captain, he organises nearly everything before the flight. Im guessing, flight dispatchers are only used for really large airlines...

Every 121 or airline operation has a dispatch, so even if it may seem like they do it all they don't. (Are you talking about REX?) The dispatcher files the flight plans, figures burn & sends the release among many, many other things.

As far as "Day In the Life", visit http://www.jetcareers.com/
On the left hand side menu there are topics titled exactly that.

Here's one viewpoint about flying charter/Part 135: http://www.studentpilot.net/acf/ondemandcharter.html

but I KNOW Hawker will be along soon with his 2 cents....

[SF3aviatrix]

...I learned that there is such an employee titled the "flight dispatcher" who plans the flight and gets weather info. Before that I always assumed the pilots planned the flight, lol I feel really dumb now.

About The Dispatch Profession: Job Description

[Fast Jet]

Ranger or Sf3TrixusAvianicus might be able to help here.

[galaxy]

75 hours of paid flight time
290 hours away from home
53 hours of unpaid "duty" time at the airport
16 days off
Equivalent to working over 36 8-hour days at a regular job (290 hrs away/8 hours) and paid for 75 hours

That's a long day in the life of charter or airline pilot

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cgexx

Posted: 03 Jul 2005 08:01 pm

Hi everyone,

I am 44 years old, student pilot with 30 hours on board , and I remember while I was flying solo time on a great and pleasant afternoon with a few puffy clouds here and there spread throughout the the blue I was getting bounced around in the climb and in the landing part , I was feeling very uncomfortable , the pointer on the IAS gauge was fluctuating up and down , so after 2 circuits I abandoned…. Just couldn’t stay focus, couldn’t relaxed by any means … in contrast, I love flying when it is an overcast weather

[Fast Jet]

Trixie,

So, you walk into ops and they give you a bunch of paperwork.

Do you then sit down with your Captain and go through it with him/her or do you find a corner somewhere to study it? I wonder if you could tell me when do you allocate the time to analyse all the data, the Met, the fuel, the levels, etc., etc., the lot?

Therefore, how much time do you get to do a gross error check to see if the data is correct for this flight?

Or do you Gross Error check then plug in all the figures into the FMS?

How much time have you got? If you turn up early - and the stuff is not ready, can you ask for your paperwork or do you stay in the queue of next slot next served, my point being, do you get your paperwork on time, or do they mess you about - do you ever get rushed to preapre for flight and get into the air, if so, IF SO, can you utilise your power to bring things down to a manageable speed or do you have to play catch up to the departure slot.... I am merely interested, for future jobs.

[Fast Jet]

75 hours of paid flight time
290 hours away from home
53 hours of unpaid "duty" time at the airport
16 days off
Equivalent to working over 36 8-hour days at a regular job (290 hrs away/8 hours) and paid for 75 hours

So its c--p basically, unless you like flying and aeroplanes.

[SF3aviatrix]

Trixie,
So, you walk into ops and they give you a bunch of paperwork.
Do you then sit down with your Captain and go through it with him/her or do you find a corner somewhere to study it? I wonder if you could tell me when do you allocate the time to analyse all the data, the Met, the fuel, the levels, etc., etc., the lot?

Ha if only. We need to print our own release. The Capt will usually print one and bring it to the plane. (Sometimes you won't even see the Capt until you are at the airplane if they don't come into the crew room. I have flown with guys who have shown up and sat down 10 minutes before departure and barked out "Before Start Checklist"!) Unless there is wx that will be a factor along the way or the destination is near minimums (and we are both in the crew room), we usually review it onboard the plane. Not much data for us to 'analyze'. No long haul flights here. Check wx, check fuel load, check MEL status/compliance, match N-number & crew names to paperwork (people have departed with the wrong airplane before!) and review the AML/aircraft maintenance log and check open write up status (everything should be closed or MEL'd and placarded properly). The data is all worked out by the Dispatcher and we generally go with that. If the winds aren't much of a factor we may request a different altitude from the controller enroute. Or if the Capt wants an alternate or fuel added (if for some reason the dispatcher didn't) that is their discretion.

Therefore, how much time do you get to do a gross error check to see if the data is correct for this flight? Or do you Gross Error check then plug in all the figures into the FMS?

Gross error check?!? FMS?? LOL We don't have no stinkin' FMS...

How much time have you got? If you turn up early - and the stuff is not ready, can you ask for your paperwork or do you stay in the queue of next slot next served, my point being, do you get your paperwork on time, or do they mess you about - do you ever get rushed to preapre for flight and get into the air, if so, IF SO, can you utilise your power to bring things down to a manageable speed or do you have to play catch up to the departure slot.... I am merely interested, for future jobs.

The release is printable 1 hour before departure. I often look up the burns, planned fuel and weather in the computer and start to fill that stuff in on my weight & balance manifest before getting on the plane. Rushed? We are seemingly always in a rush. 30 minutes prior at the gate doing the walk around, do the cockpit scan, cockpit equipment check, set up NAVs & COMs, get ATIS, print departure clearance, send FOB to dispatch, run checklist, start an engine to use for HP/High Pressure airflow AC (no APU), complete manifest, prepare a TOLD/Take Off & Landing Data card (V speeds), brief the takeoff, start the left, two more checklists, then finally leave the gate.

And if that makes you feel rushed just thinking about it get this: yesterday we were followed by an EMB-120 into the airport. We both landed about 3pm and he pulled to the gate only 2 minutes behind us. By 3:15 we were boarding pax again and the EMB was already boarded and taxiing out! Another EMB was on the ground waiting for the gate and that plane was also turned around in 15 minutes! Before we ever got out of the chocks, two EMB120s were turned! Talk about rushed.....

[Hawker]

Well lets see......


I work for a MOM and POP business as a charter Captain! I like it, but I have no kids yet.

I get paid well, but I end up paying for it in time gone.

Here is how it goes where I work...

I am a 22 day pilot. This means that I am under contract to be available 22 days a month. But here is the crappy part. Days are deducted from this 22 only when i am working in some sort of capacity for the company. So Lets say like today... I didn't work, but I was "On-Call". Still they consider it a day off.

So lets say now that I fly 22 days in a month, which is rare, but still common. After I reach 22 days, i can Accept or decline a trip. If I take it, than I get paid Double my day rate.


On average, I work 18-20 days a month!

So you might ask, well what is the plus...
Well, I get tips... which last year added up to 2500 dollars. I get to go places that the airlines never go. I have 3 crossings of the Atlantic. 2 type ratings and a 3rd soon!

Oh and I live at home,,, NO COMUTING FOR ME!

[mpeterson]

http://img129.imageshack.us/img129/6171/pe...eterson56vn.jpg

that's what I look like after 3 hours of boredness in an airplane....

coincidently it's what I look like at 2:20 am after partying/drinking too.

[dozing4dollars]

A normal "day" for me, really doesn't accurately describe my day...

As a long haul international pilot, most of my flying is backside of the clock, all-nighters, across the North Pacific or North Atlantic.

Any semblance of normalcy is lost the moment the sun goes down on your first leg away from home. After that, its flying to destinations around the world, at all times of the day and night, in all kinds of weather, when your body clock is completely "wacked out".

In a 10-12 day trip, you will lose nights of sleep and get into a cycle of napping for a few hours in your rest periods.

You turn into a zombie...

Thank God for coffee and NoDoze !

[KLM777]

75 hours of paid flight time
290 hours away from home
53 hours of unpaid "duty" time at the airport
16 days off
Equivalent to working over 36 8-hour days at a regular job (290 hrs away/8 hours) and paid for 75 hours

It's funny I swear I saw this exact quote on another site...Jetcareers i believe :!:

[Ranger]

Trixie,

So, you walk into ops and they give you a bunch of paperwork.

Do you then sit down with your Captain and go through it with him/her or do you find a corner somewhere to study it? I wonder if you could tell me when do you allocate the time to analyse all the data, the Met, the fuel, the levels, etc., etc., the lot?

Therefore, how much time do you get to do a gross error check to see if the data is correct for this flight?

Or do you Gross Error check then plug in all the figures into the FMS?

How much time have you got? If you turn up early - and the stuff is not ready, can you ask for your paperwork or do you stay in the queue of next slot next served, my point being, do you get your paperwork on time, or do they mess you about - do you ever get rushed to preapre for flight and get into the air, if so, IF SO, can you utilise your power to bring things down to a manageable speed or do you have to play catch up to the departure slot.... I am merely interested, for future jobs.

Our flight plan releases are printed for us by our ops folks at the individual airports. Domestically, we print our own weather. On international trips it's done for us. The F/O and I will, TOGETHER, review the weather and the release. We discuss them and then I make a decision on the final fuel figure. As a supplemental carrier, we do not have dispatchers. We have flight followers.

As far as the accuracy of the releases, there are really two issues. One is the routing. That will either be verified or corrected by ATC when we receive our clearance by either the predeparture clearance (PDC) or the verbal delivery by a controller. The other issue would be the fuel figures. The FMS's will verify those figures after we've loaded them up. The only time that I've seen an "insufficient fuel" message is when I've screwed up loading those computers.

The accuracy of our releases is amazing. We blast off on a 12 hour leg and at the end the estimates that are printed on the release will almost always be within just a few minutes of the actual times.

[galaxy]

Read this :

*Caution* Its funny, but there is use of a bad word..

" Dear Captain "

[MaxeH]

thats not very nice

[galaxy]

The Copilot

I am the copilot. I sit on the right.
It's up to me to be quick and bright;
I never talk back for I have regrets,
But I have to remember what the Captain forgets.

I make out the Flight Plan and study the weather,
Pull up the gear, stand by to feather;
Make out the mail forms and do the reporting,
And fly the old crate while the Captain is courting.

I take the readings, adjust the power,
Put on the heaters when we're in a shower;
Tell him where we are on the darkest night,
And do all the bookwork without any light.

I call for my Captain and buy him cokes;
I always laugh at his corny jokes,
And once in awhile when his landings are rusty
I always come through with, "Boy, it's gusty!"

All in all I'm a general stooge,
As I sit on the right of the man I call "Scrooge";
I guess you think that is past understanding,
But maybe some day he will give me a landing.

— Keith Murray

[Fast Jet]

Thanks Ranger, that was excellent.

[Fast Jet]

[quote="galaxy"]Read this :

*Caution* Its funny, but there is use of a bad word..

" Dear Captain "

Oh, yeh!! I love this letter, we have it on the notice board of several places, here in England...cool!