Own slang and a ban on beards: 20 secrets of pilots that they usually don’t share with passengers
We imagine the work of the pilot as a complete romance: sky, plane, girls. So it is, moreover, it is paid well. Yes, another small detail: this is a huge work and responsibility for hundreds of lives, constant stress, the struggle for flights and retirement at 32 years old. Writes about this AdMe.ru.
After passing tests trainee sits in the seat of the co-pilot, and an experienced co-pilot - "insurer" is assigned to the crew for at least 50 flights. At the end of the program, the trainee passes a flight test in flight conditions under the supervision of an examiner and only then is allowed to work independently as a co-pilot.
Flight simulators, pretending to be a real flight, outside look like a severed nose of an airplane, they equipped the electro-hydraulic system of mobility, that is, it shakes “in an adult way”, they reproduce noise, overload, inertia and turbulence, and a quite realistic landscape floats outside the window.
The instructor standing at the monitor will not let you sit down and land, because before you sit at the helm, the pilot must in your own skin to experience emergency situations: malfunctions on board, emergency landing, landing in difficult weather conditions and even such a nightmare as a collision in the air. Such training help bring actions to automatism and learn to make decisions with lightning speed.
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In Russia pilot should to fly 90 hours a month and 900 hours a year - the duration of the flight time is maximum for Russian civil aviation. Normal value in the USA, Europe and China - 100 hours a month, 900 hours a year in the European Union and 1 hours in the USA and China.
Timetable looks like as follows: 4/3, 4/4, 3/3, 4/3. The first digit before the fraction is the number of days on flights, and the second is the days of rest. Pilots may request other types of schedules, such as 6/6. Between flights minimum rest 12 hours requiredand between night flights - 24 hours.
No fixed crews. Co-pilots and flight attendants are changing. If the crew is not flown, then no one relaxes. The basic principle of the crew called crosscheck when one checks the other. That is why pilots are always on board 2.
There is a course “Speech Rhetoric” for young commanders. There learn speak clearly, clearly and at the same pace - calmly, regardless of the circumstances.
To many pilots must not wear a beardso that during an emergency, the oxygen mask fits snugly to the face. But this rule depends on the policy of a particular airline.
Passport at all not clogged visas, as, for example, a trucker: is general declaration, in which the entire crew is registered, and this allows you to stay in the country without a visa for some time. Although each country may have its own standards.
The pilots menu is similar to that of business class passengers. First and second pilots always eat different food: if one recovers, the other will be able to replace it. And they call on-board meals “chicken meat”.
Aviators have their own slang. For example, if you hear a pilot complaining about a “milk clog”, it means that today there is fog with precipitation. “Ash-trap” is called a self-propelled ladder, “lord of the ring” - a circle manager, “Serpent Gorynych” - a machine for removing icing. Passengers are called “mullet,” “patients,” or “organisms.” “Economists” are economy-class passengers, “businessmen” are business-class passengers, “truffles” or “first-timers” are the first. Umka is an unaccompanied child.
Aircraft are also called in a special way.: “Watermelon” - Airbus, transport aircraft - “shed”, Boeing 747 - “hunchback”. Airports also have slang names: Moscow Vnukovo and Sheremetyevo - Granddaughter and Sharik, Koltsovo in Ekaterinburg - Katya.
Each pilot has his own pre-flight traditions, but all greet one machine. Considered bad omen put on a new shirt and take pictures before the flight. Often before difficult flights pilots do not shave, so as not to frighten off luck. Buttons must not be sewn before the flight. You should not use the word "last" in relation to the flight, only "extreme".
Candidate for the position of commander aircraft being considered and approved by the flight methodological council of the airline, moreover, only qualifications are not enough, there should be a free vacancy. To increase, a raid on this type of aircraft is required for at least 1 hours and nerves of steel - not everyone is ready to fly independently, can make decisions quickly and knows how to organize a crew. As a rule, there are many co-pilots who are ready to take the left seat, the competition is high and they choose the best of the best.
Responsibilities between pilots share equallybut the final word is always up to the captain. Before the flight, the pilots discuss who will take on which functions, who will fly, and who will monitor. For example, the first takes off, controls the autopilot in horizontal flight and lands. The second monitors the work of the pilot and conducts radio communications with the dispatcher.
All the pilots pass self defense training and once a quarter they recall the emergency features that may occur during the flight, and then demonstrate how they are able to cope with an emergency. Once a year a complete medical examination. Periodically tested for psychological compatibility of the crew.
Pilots are recognizedthat are under pressure from airline policiesTheir task is to spend as little expensive fuel as possible. Many say that this affects their decisions and is very worrying, because if for some reason the plane deviates from the course or needs to fly to a reserve airport, then the fuel may simply end and it will be a terrible dream for the crew.
- class="p1">Flight preparation begins at least 2 hours in advance. Pilots enter the office through a separate entrance and undergo a full search. Before each flight - a medical examination during which pilots ask about health, measure the pulse and pressure, look at the throat. If a crew member feels unwell, a pilot from the backup crew, who is always on duty at the airport, will fly.
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After a physical examination, the pilots go to the briefing room to get a “runner” (flight task) and discuss the flight: check the weather report on the route, choose the optimal route and alternate aerodrome. Then the commander calls the senior flight attendant and instructs him.
Pilots to the plane are leaving in a special minibus. For the airline, each such trip costs $15. They move around the airfield in green vests with reflectors.
Before flight the commander performs a full check of the on-board systems. Second pilot conducts external inspection of the aircraft, or, speaking on an airsleng, “does physical exercises”. Checks for the absence of Remove before flight files on the front desk - if there are any, the plane will not be able to "pull the paws" - remove the landing gear, and establish them so that insects do not get into the holes and moisture does not get. He also looks at the state of "bast shoes" - pads, "snout" - nose, "tailbone" - tail, "belly" - the middle part of the fuselage, examines all the main nodes.
In airplane no the ignition key, as in a car, it is turned on by a button. Pilots call the dashboard "accordion", and there are a lot of buttons on it, among them there are uncommon like an outdoor light switch or a weather locator control panel. The buttons have arrows and text, which facilitates decoding, so that even without many years of experience, the pilot understands the purpose of each. Although even if he forgets what's what, there is a cheat sheet on the plane.
Contrary to popular belief pilots do not snore in their cockpithoping for autopilot. The autopilot is turned on most of the flight, but the pilots talk to the controllers, control the instruments, study documents, conduct conversations, record the necessary parameters and, if necessary, take control. The exception is long flights with reinforced a crew whose members replace each other.
- class="p1">If the pilot asks for passengers to buckle up, the situation is standard, and if the crew members, the plane is into a zone of strong turbulence. Pilots wonder why passengers are so afraid of turbulence, because it cannot cause a fall, but simply brings significant inconvenience. Moreover, to reassure passengers, often the word turbulence replaceannouncing: “We are flying through an air pocket”
If something is wrong with the plane, passengers will not dedicate in detail and in many cases they will not be informed at all. Emergency landing occur all the time, it's just that the news doesn't talk about it that often. Most often this happens due to lack of fuel and technical problems.
Most people fear destabilize. Pilots have a reaction to fear worked out: they begin to act more accurately, choose a priority task for themselves and solve it. They are taught to fly effectively under stress. For example, to bring themselves to life in a stressful situation, they must smile, touch their hair or cap, suppress thoughts of a negative development of the event, and perform breathing exercises to relieve tension.
A maximum of extreme situations are practiced during training, on the simulator. However, the decision on how to act in each case is made by the crew commander. For example, Damir Yusupov, a pilot of the Ural Airlines plane, which made an emergency landing on a corn field near Moscow, is recognizedthat he had critically little time to react to the unstable operation of the engines. The decision changed several times, as a result he changed his mind about releasing the chassis, Airbus got on the “belly”, and this saved the lives of 224 passengers and 7 crew members.
Only in the cockpit Yes sliding windows but opening them is allowed only on a hot day at the airport. Pilots also have special orange curtains that are lowered so that the sun does not dazzle.
Pilots constantly are fighting with stewardesses because of the temperature in the cabin. Temperature controlled by using a thermostat located in the cockpit. Flight attendants are hot because they are constantly on the move - running around here and there and asking to lower the temperature, and it’s cold for passengers and pilots.
Aviators translate their mobile in airplane mode, because at the height they are constantly looking for a network and are quickly discharged. And passengers are asked to remove the phones, not because the equipment will interfere with the devices of the aircraft, but thereforethat when force majeure occurs, everything will be buried in telephones, it will be necessary to act quickly, and use Mobile will be a distraction.
Before the flight, the commander and co-pilot agree about which of them will welcome on board. If the pilot is in a good mood, he will definitely joke and tell you about the weather in the territory over which the plane flies. Sometimes both pilots get in touch with passengers.
During the flight, pilots have a lot smoking, for example, leave the cab for more than 5 minutes. And they go to the toilet in a special way: if one leaves the cabin, one of the cabin crew sits down in its place. This is a precaution in case of emergency.
- class="p1">Pilots and cabin crew have code phrases meaning danger. Secret language coinedso as not to sow panic on board. Mayday means an emergency. Pan-pan - a phrase that is pronounced three times with minor problems on board at the beginning of a dispatcher call. Easy Victor - urgent evacuation, according to the regulations, after signaling, the team must remove passengers in 90 seconds.
Pretty common the problem is glass cracking in the cockpit. This can happen due to a collision with birds, from sudden changes in temperature, pressure, damage seals or mounts. Depressurization of the cabin and the cabin does not occur, because the glass for glazing the cabins of airliners is very strong, three-layer. The thickness of each layer varies from 1 to 25 mm, and the total thickness reaches 100 mm. So if there is a crack in one of the layers, it is usually not dangerous. You can safely continue the flight. In this case, the crew acts according to the situation: it follows to the destination, or returns to the airport of departure, or makes an emergency landing in the nearest.
Pilots love to drive Instagram accounts, and we are grateful to them for this, because they see our planet from a special angle. Most often, aviators use the hashtags #pilotlife and #pilotsview. But sometimes behind it follow serious problems and penalties, because there are strict rules governing the actions of the airline crew during the flight, and photos for social networks are not included. But pilots remind that there are stages when you can escape from control, and during critical phases of flight they are on their guard.
Pilots perceive feature films about aviation with humor. All these moments when ordinary people understand how to land a plane, or when holes are patched right in flight, are impossible in reality. But recognizethat if the pilot was a film consultant, then probably such a film would be boring.
The crew Yes flight benefits - "travel card". Each company has its own bonuses for employees, for example, for 10% of the ticket price you can fly to any place where the airline flies.
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Novels with colleagues not prohibited. There are many couples who meet on board. At the same time, family members and even a colleague should not be carried into the cockpit if he is not included in the flight task.
- class="p1">The applause was received only by Russian passengers, but their pilots anyway don't hear in his cabin since they are sitting in headphones and talking on the intercom. A pilot with 30 years of experience said that passengers are "happy early", there is no logic in applause when touching the ground, because taxiing is still ahead. They have the concept of gate to gate - when the flight is over, taxiing was successful and it would be nice to hear applause, but at that moment everyone had already left the cabin.
Retired pilot can to leave when its flying time is over 6 hours for men and 000 hours for women. There were cases when people retired at 4 years old. In connection with dangerous and stressful working conditions, an additional payment for pension is provided.
Aviators themselves count them. his profession is dying and are sure that in a couple of decades they will be replaced by technology. This is confirmed by forecasts: by 2036, the aviation industry will face a record shortage of pilots, more than 637 thousand specialists will be required all over the world and the only salvation is automation.
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