A lot of mystique surrounds the career of a commercial airline pilot, and pilots hear myths about their jobs every single day. Reasons for this include the fictional depiction of pilots as well as a handful of news stories. Being a pilot is an exciting and rewarding job, which is why pilots pop up in movies and TV shows quite often. However, this has led to a lot of misconceptions about what being a pilot is actually like. That’s why we’re here to dispel some common myths about being a pilot.
Pilots Need Perfect Vision
It’s not clear where this myth originated, but it’s widespread. You’ll often hear people say that they would’ve liked to be a pilot, but their vision’s too poor. Other people will say they can’t fly planes because they wear glasses. However, as long as you wear lenses or contacts to correct your vision, you can become any type of pilot. You’ll need to take a medical exam once or twice a year, including an eye exam. If your eye score is low, you’ll simply need to get some glasses.
Pilots Are Immune to Jet Lag
Another myth is that airline pilots are superhumans who don’t feel the effects of jet lag. This isn’t true at all. In many cases, pilots feel jet lag worse than the passengers. It may seem that pilots are immune due to their professionalism, but they still feel it. Also, many pilots have found ways to limit the let jag they experience, leading some people to think they’re immune to it.
Autopilot Does Everything
A big myth that pilots hear all the time is that their autopilot does all the flying for them, but this is simply untrue. An autopilot is a computer that the pilot operates. The pilot can set courses for it, but they still need to watch it like a hawk. That’s because the autopilot won’t detect situations such as flying right into a mountain. Pilots must maintain clear focus at all times when flying planes.
Pilots Fly the Same Routes
Finally, we frequently hear the myth that pilots always fly the same routes. Pilots need to be where the airlines need them the most, so their routes are varied. Pilots regularly spend lots of days away from home.
There you have the common myths about being a pilot. By now, you should have a more realistic idea about what commercial pilots do every day. It’s a noble profession that anyone can learn how to do.
