When I first saw the poster for an airline pilot coming for the Rose Cafe, I was plunged into the past when my dream was to become a pilot. There was a good three or four years where I was convinced that I wanted to be a pilot. Although I no longer aspire to being a pilot, I still found the cafe very interesting. He addressed a couple of questions that really interested me back then- what was it like flying with a co-pilot? how do you start the process of becoming a pilot? what is it like staying in different hotels most nights?

A life of travel and unpredictability seemed very appealing to me back then. I didn’t anticipate wanting to settle down anywhere, and couldn’t imagine anything better than traveling from one place to the next every day. After hearing his account of a pilot’s work schedule, I wonder if perhaps the idea I had of a pilot’s lifestyle was entirely wrong. There doesn’t seem to be quite as much freedom as I had once thought, what with there being restrictions on how many hours you can put in every week and the short overnight rests at hotels. Not to mention, it can get cramped in the cockpit for long international flights.

As much as I appreciate the service that pilots provide travelers like me, I have to say that I’m glad I abandoned that career path. As wide and open as the sky is, it must feel pretty uncomfortable when you’re stuffed into a cockpit for upwards of ten hours.