On Wednesday, I attended the Rose Cafe where Mike Comella led a discussion about what it takes to be a pilot and the insights he has learned from his thirty-two years of aviation experience.  He first explained all the steps needed to fly for a major airline like Delta.  There are various certifications, such as a commercial license and instrument rating, each with different amounts of training hours required.  Comella said that it takes at least two years of training to meet the minimum requirements to fly for a major airline.  

Comella asked us if we have ever had bad flying experiences.  Nearly everyone has had to deal with turbulence and/or sick passengers sitting next to them.  I learned that pilots strive to minimize turbulence by carefully checking weather forecasts beforehand and adjusting the current altitude when necessary.  

I also learned how today’s airplanes have so many redundant systems in the event that one malfunctions.  I was surprised to hear that some newer planes do not have manual controls as a backup for certain systems, like the hydraulics.  However, these systems often have two other backups, and the probability of all three systems failing is quite low.  In addition, for planes with multiple engines, a pilot can perform an emergency landing with just one working engine.  

Comella also discussed how airline regulations have changed in the past decade to ensure pilots are not overworked and in need of more sleep.  These regulations limit how many hours a pilot can fly in a day, week, or month.  In some cases, pilots may have to turn around after leaving the gate if there is too long of a delay in taking off (the crew would need to be swapped out).  

Overall, I enjoyed this talk, since it enlightened me on what happens behind the cockpit door for every flight I have ever been on.  The talk also gave me a greater appreciation for all the hard work that pilots put in to ensure safety on each flight.