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What is the daily life like of a pilot?

I realize that every one is different, and that every company is different, but in general how long are pilots away from home for? Do most of them pretty much live in hotels in different cities, or do they usually get to be home quite a bit? Also, about how long will it usually take to get a pilots license? Do they usually get to work with the same people, or are there different crews every flight? #airline-industry

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David’s Answer

I’m a corporate pilot for a financial company. We fly executives and other company employees. In our company, we get to be home a lot. In normal times, we go on one or two overnight trips per month. Most of our trips are “day trips” where we leave and return the same day.

We have 10 pilots in our flight department and we take turns flying together. Since we fly with the same people over and over, getting along with each other is as important as flying skills!
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Aftab’s Answer

Frankly I liked the life of a flight crew member. It took me to exotic places, provided rooms in 4 and 5 star hotel for free and paid me daily allowance.

But I had the luxury of having a spouse who did not work and stayed full time with children

I stayed in touch with my spouse on phone from outstations and brought her gifts and we would go out to eat and enjoy the evening most of the times when I came back

You could be gone on Christmas and thanks giving and new year days because some body has to fly the airplanes

Children were mostly happy with me

You fly with different crew members each time and develop a good friendship with them

But remember what happens in cockpit stays in cockpit like what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas

You don’t talk about others behind their back. No body is perfect but each of us has many good attributes and you should focus on the good elements.

Overall I have no regrets to say the least
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Gary’s Answer

Braden, Wayne’s answer was pretty spot on. The only thing I will add is as a pilot we are always have an eye on the weather as to how it could affect our day. We start each flight checking the weather, the aircraft and the paperwork. Some airlines because of the different work hours of the pilots and flight attendants the pilots often end up going to a different plane then the flight attendants each flight.
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Wayne’s Answer

Most pilots and flight crews (flight attendants) do three to four day trips. The crew will stay together as a team for those 3 day or so trips. Pilots can only work a limited number of hours in a 24 hour period and can only work approximately 90 to 100 flight hours per month. The crews bid the routes / schedule they want to fly by seniority a month at a time. If you are not senior enough to bid a route then you will be on Standby. When on standby you need to be ready to be at the airport and report for duty within limited amount of time (depending in the airline) approximately 1.5 to 2 hours after you get the call to report. So this means you always have a bag packed ready to go.
They do stay in hotels when they are away from their home base. Some pilots my select a route like Seattle to Hawaii spend the night in Hawaii and leave the next day to fly back to Seattle. Take a day or 2 off and then fly again.
To fly as a commercial pilot for the Large Airlines, you will need a Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) which also requires you have a First Class Medical, (required every 6 months).
I would go to or call the local flight school where they offer flight instruction and they will have a training course laid out to get you to a Commercial / Instrument / Multi-Engine Pilots certificate. Minimum hours for a Private Pilot's license is 40, however it will usually take around 60 flights to get your private pilots license. Single engine aircraft will rent for around $100 per hr and the flight instructor will charge around $30 per hour when flying.
Most large airlines also require a degree. A lot of the Community Colleges will offer a 2 yr course where you can acquire a 2 year degree along with your Pilots License, then transfer to a 4 year college to get your 4 year degree.
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