Squawk Ident
Based on your experience in aviation, what’s the best advice you could give to the younger pilot generation entering the workforce?
Would like to advise many things to the new generation of pilots. 1 Be aware of the good behavior of the captain you have flown with. 2 Always act in accordance with the aircraft’s manual and the requirements of the company you work for. 3 Remember to behave professionally as you aviate, navigate, communicate, and note. 4 Be ready to answer any questions about what you do in the cockpit. 5 Always make flying the main priority in your life when you are about to fly. 6 Sleep well and in a quiet place before you are scheduled to fly. 7 Remember to tell yourself at all times that you are at your best in the cockpit.
Hakan Kantas
ATP. Citation 650
Captain & Gen Mgr
Boydak Air
Ankara, Türkiye
Main advice I could provide is to concentrate on hand flying. There is far too much reliance on technology as a primary source of aviating. It should be a tool. I recommend you always keep hand flying as primary. It will save your life and perhaps others’ too.
Ronald Butts
ATP. Pilatus PC-12
President
Tiger Air International
Palm Bay FL
Important advice to the new pilot generation is to not forget the old-school equipment and procedures and the principles they were built on.
Ed Hamilton
ATP. Falcon 900
Chief Pilot
Echco Aviation Consulting
Cartersville GA
Stick to your aviation career and never give up. Always aim for your goal.
R Glaub
ATP/CFI. Airbus A320
Former ASI/OPS
FAA
Lakeville MN
Best advice would be to learn and use all the basics of flying. Take advantage of the knowledge of the professional pilots you fly with, and put the good training in your toolbox. You are your own best insurance.
Raymond Davis
ATP/CFII. Cessna 182T Skylane/172S Skyhawk SP
Mission Pilot, Instructor Pilot & Check Pilot
Civil Air Patrol
Hendersonville NC
Study hard and never stop gaining knowledge. All information is available somewhere, in some publication or database. Read, read, read.
Kirk Hart
ATP. Learjets, Citation I & King Air 350
Owner & Retired Pilot
Capstone Aircraft Appraisal
Kalamazoo MI
Public safety aviation, such as police, fire, SAR, EMS, and natural resources, provides great flying opportunities.
Dan Schwarzbach
Comm-Multi-Inst/Helo. Bell 412 & MD 500
Exec Dir & CEO
Airborne Public Safety Association
Frederick MD
Join the Air Force if you want to be a complete pilot. The training is free. I’d advise getting the best training possible, do your time, and go commercial if you like. In my opinion, top-shelf corporate is better than the airlines.
Paul Lasen
ATP. Bonanza F33A
Chief Pilot
Sparks Co
Georgetown TX
Have over 60 years of flying experience combined in the US Air Force and commercial aviation. One obvious difference between them was the training. In the Air Force, we trained for all possibilities. One night, around 11 pm, I was flying to San Antonio when the engine on my single-engine aircraft quit as I pulled back on the power for descent. I was at 40,000 ft and fortunately it was clear. I was able to circle down and land because we always practiced such events. One time, I saw that a civilian pilot had crashed, killing all on board, after losing only one of his 2 engines. I did some research and found the civilian crash rates for such an event were higher than the same USAF rates. I attribute this to the training we did in the Air Force. The bottom line is to train for all possible events so that, when they occur, they won’t be completely unfamiliar.
Bruce Wilcox
ATP. Citation II
Former COO
Clifford Development
San Antonio TX
Think about it carefully before you start writing those big checks for training. Only go into flying if you’ll never be happy doing anything else. Also, consider the fact that this job is about taking other people where they want to be. And no one cares if you don’t want to work during holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, or family events.
William Misuk
ATP/CFII. Citation Latitude
Captain
NetJets
Fort Worth TX
Be smart and careful is my advice. You are only ever a step away from a decision that could cost your career. Choices that are recoverable in the business world can be career-ending in aviation. Also, your online persona remains forever, so manage it thoughtfully. As a former hiring manager, I can say that this is the first place employers are going to look to find out who is really behind that résumé.
Gregory Hampton
ATP. Global 6000
Captain & CAM
Solairus Aviation
Sandy Hook CT
Work hard, stay focused, and keep trying. That would be my main advice. I came from humble beginnings and did not have a surplus of money to pay for flight training. Hang out at the local airport, show yourself to be clean-cut, responsible, and trustworthy, and people will help you out with your goals. It will likely take time to develop and nurture these relationships, but I enjoyed the journey, as opposed to just rushing for the destination of becoming a professional pilot.
James Gaither
Comm-Multi-Inst/CFI. Citation Latitude
Contract Pilot
Lexington NC
Make your way into the maintenance department and, if possible, become even a non-paid helper. You will find that the experience will enable you to describe snags more accurately and know what actually happens. For instance, when you trip and/or e-handle an engine. Your pilot training may tell you what a particular lever or action does, but not necessarily how it is accomplished.
John Laing
ATP/CFII. Lockheed L-188 Electra, Convair 580 & Bellanca Viking 300
Owner & President
Adastra Aviation
Delta BC, Canada
If you do this, do it because you have a passion for it. Please, don’t do it for monetary reasons. There are many ups and downs in this profession, and in the end it’s all worth it if you really want to be a pilot. If it’s money you chase, my advice would be to find another line of work. Flying is either in your blood or not. I’ve been flying over 50 years and look forward to work every single day. I’m too old for the airlines. However, I can still teach, and I plan on doing that until the day I die.
Jim Seeds
ATP/CFII/A&P. Embraer ERJ 175
Captain & Check Airman
Envoy Air
Corinth TX
Put down the phone, get a tailwheel endorsement, fly a Piper J-3 Cub, and don’t become an “autopilot cripple.” Consider being a real pilot, not an automation manager. This is especially important when a crisis occurs.
Jeff Hanson
ATP. Cessna 210
Former Captain
FedEx
Cape Coral FL
Learn to fly stick-and-rudder as well as all the new electronic instruments and devices, so that, if it ever fails, you can still be safe and fly your airplane.
Scott Alperin
Comm-Multi-Inst. TBM 700C2 & Glasair Sportsman
President
Sla Flyer
Steamboat Springs CO
It seems that most pilots want to fly for the airlines. My whole career has been flying for corporations. I have had just 2 corporate jobs in the 40 years I’ve been flying. Those positions have given me a life where I’ve been home almost every night when not in initial/recurrent training. Corporate jobs expand your ADM (aeronautical decision making) because most SOPs (standard operating procedures) give the pilot the final decision as to go/no-go and for the destination that meets the passenger’s needs. I’ve talked to large corporate flight department managers and, while the salaries are now close to those of the airlines, the quality of life, including home life, is far better than with the airlines. When presented with the total lifetime money earned over the 2 career paths, most choose the corporate position over the airlines. Some who have chosen the airline path have left it and returned to the corporate path. My advice would be to look closely at the corporate flight departments of both big and small companies. A lot of the time, small companies become big companies because of the flight departments.
Gary Butler
ATP. Pilatus PC-12NG
Chief Pilot
HJ Aviation
Wapakoneta OH
At some point, make sure to get at least 100 hours flying a real airplane. By “real airplane” I mean one with steam gauges and no autopilot. The 100 hours should be used visiting challenging backwoods airports with no instrument approaches, grass runways with no lights, one-way-in and one-way-out airports, airfields with tall trees at both ends that require you to figure out landing and takeoff performance, and highly sloped runways. Experience anything that is out of the ordinary so that it can be in your brain bank when you experience that “Sully moment” in your career.
Bert Zeller
ATP/CFII. Phenom 300E & Pilatus PC-12
Chief Pilot
Two Rivers Aviation
Meridian MS
Here are my top recommendations. 1 Get lots of rest. 2 Study hard. 3 Don’t smoke or chew tobacco. It comes in handy when you have a decompression, like the two I had. 4 Be nice and polite to everyone, no matter who they are – from the rampers, office workers, mechanics, and fellow employees to everyone you meet. Just remember that first impressions are lasting and will get you a long way in this industry.
Ben Morgan
ATP. Boeing 737
Line Captain
Trunkline Gas Co/Southwest Airlines
Memphis TN
I have 3 important pieces of advice for the younger pilot generation: 1 Enter one of the major airlines’ pilot pathway programs where completion guarantees you a job. 2 Graduate from one of the FAA-approved universities with a pilot training program. 3 Enter a military pilot training program. Don’t wait – do it as early as possible. And always remember that, in the airlines, seniority is important.
Albert Herndon
ATP. Boeing 767/727/707, McDonnell Douglas DC-9/
MD-80, Lockheed L-382, Convair 440 & Douglas DC-7, DC-6/DC-3
Captain
Pan American World Airways
Herndon VA
The advances in automation and navigation are far beyond what I could have imagined when I was a young pilot over 3 decades ago, and the ease with which the younger pilot generation learns these and uses them well is a credit to them. Given that, I think that, while these significant advances are great, the advice I have to offer is probably as old as the Wright Brothers: Fly the aircraft, be able to aviate, navigate, and communicate, in that order of priority. Also, know your aircraft, be able to fly if need be without the automation, and know how it handles, and be as comfortable hand flying it as when using the automation. Know your systems – automation can add to safety when a system fails, but what if the automation’s algorithms have it wrong, or for whatever reason it doesn’t work as advertised? Then it comes down to you and how well you understand that system as far as what action to take. Therefore, stay in the books and keep up the stick-and-rudder skills, know your aircraft well, and be able to fly it well without help from the automation.
Michael O’Brien
ATP/CFII/Helo. Airbus H160 & Leonardo AW139
H160 & AW139 Captain
PHI Aviation
Pensacola FL
Listen and work hard. Keep up to date with all changes in the aviation industry.
David Amlund
ATP. Gulfstream G450 & Falcon 900/50
Check Airman
Contract Pilot
Ocala FL
Only look at a career in aviation if you can’t live without aircraft. Aviation is expensive, challenging, and dynamic. There are other cheaper careers in which to get rich quick. Aviation has many ups and downs depending on economic conditions, and even furloughs might happen over the years. However, it can be rewarding if you dedicate yourself to it.
Fernando Dos Santos
ATP/A&P. Praetor 600/500
SIC
Flexjet
Cocoa FL
Safety first! Don’t take unnecessary risks, and never assume anything. Show up every day, and this means being prepared. Be rested, fit, alert, and proficient in everything – not just landings. If you don’t feel it, don’t fly. Furthermore, have a thirst for continuous learning, ask questions, and ask for help when necessary. Stay humble, because we don’t know everything, even after 30,000 hrs of flying time. Stay true to yourself. Take responsibility for everything you say or do – in other words, own it! Remember that we’re all human and we’re going to make mistakes. The most important thing is how we recover from our mistakes. Enjoy your flying, share your knowledge, and have an awesome and safe career!
Luis Corrons
ATP/CFII. Boeing 737
Former Pilot
Southwest Airlines
Anthem AZ
You may not always know where you are going. Also, trips fall apart and AOGs happen. The industry is also super economically driven, and your best laid plans will change. My advice would be: Always try to make connections, chat with others, and build relationships.
Jacob Meinig
Comm-Multi-Inst/CFI/A&P. Cessna 421C Golden Eagle & Lancair Evolution
Contract Pilot & Avionics Installer
Flying Wires and Advanced Avionics
Redmond OR
Do not assume that someone will put you in a nice business jet when you have 400 hrs TT and your commercial/instrument ratings, and maybe 20 hrs in a low-hp twin. Also, make contacts and try to flight instruct at an airport with plenty of based business jets. Talk to those pilots and make friends with the desk folks at the FBOs. Tell the flight students you instruct about your goals, since they often know someone who is connected. Keep healthy habits in order to maintain your FAA first-class medical certificate for a long time. And have fun!
Jeff Karch
Comm-Multi-Inst/CFII. Citation I/SP
Owner & Pilot
Jeff Karch
Chandler AZ
My advice to the younger generation of pilots would be to do it only if you love to fly. Don’t do it for the money.
Jim Dahlquist
ATP. Learjet 45
Pilot
Moyle Petroleum
Rapid City SD
With a job at a major airline, don’t let your ego dictate what and where you fly. Quality of life is far more important.
Roger Valentine
ATP/CFII. Boeing 737
Captain
United Airlines
Spring TX