This week we had Delta Airlines Pilot Mike Comella as the guest speaker for the Rose Cafe. I enjoyed his conversational approach as he immediately opened the floor to absolutely any questions we had on his career and flights in general. There were many fascinating questions asked with even more fascinating answers. I enjoyed learning about how Mr. Comella had gotten to where he was now; it was one of those spur of the moment decisions that inevitably led him down a runway and into the skies, where he has been for the past 32 years of his life. Though I always trusted the safety of planes and flying, it was very reassuring to hear Mr. Comella speak with such confidence and knowledge on the safety of both the mechanics and regulations of commercial flights.

I really appreciated the opportunity to learn more about flying, a dominant form of transport to and from Cornell for someone like me that lives in Miami. Flying is so often left to the experts and unquestioned so it was surprising how much I hadn’t thought about all the times that I’ve flown, like how long can a pilot fly consecutively? what do the pilots that fly across the pacific for 12+ hours straight do? I was relieved to hear that there is a regulation on the number of hours a day, a week, a month, and a year that a pilot can fly to ensure they are well rested. I was surprised to find that for longer flights, they’ll have larger crews to allow for rotations and sleep cycles for the other crew members. It was a very cool experience all in all to be able to hear about the magic of flying from someone who practically lives in the sky.