Pilot : The Job

Pilot : The Job

The job of pilot increasingly calls for technical and managerial skills and less and less for actual piloting aptitude due to the arrival of ever more sophisticated aircraft.

It has three basic requirements: precision, maturity and intellectual honesty.

Training is an important feature of this profession as to be a pilot also means regularly going back to the classroom. Refresher courses, professional development training, change of aircraft type, courses for promotion to Captain or Instructor… all these are compulsory within the framework of the FCL 1 regulations which govern aircraft pilot licensing.

Links:
www.icao.int
www.raes.org.uk
sia.aviation-civile.gouv.fr available in English

Career Opportunities

These days a pilot’s career usually begins with a period as a co-pilot.

Entry levels are getting higher and although the number of companies is decreasing in certain countries, new companies are arriving from elsewhere in the JAA area. The first step on the ladder often requires an aircraft type-rating.

After 3 to 4 years of experience the pilot will have acquired the minimum of 1,500 hours to obtain their ATPL and move on towards reaching the position of Captain.

In terms of career progression, those who wish to can also become an SFI (Synthetic Flight Instructor for co-pilots), a TRI (Type Rating Instructor for Captains) or even examiner (TRE) on top of their role as pilot. These specialisations have specific prerequisites.

The other alternative to a career as an airline pilot is a career in Business Air Transport or even in the Aerial Work sector (agricultural, civil security, training etc).

A message from the Head of Training

“The difficulties currently being encountered by the aviation sector are making people think twice about starting a long and expensive pilot training programme. To answer the question of whether it is advisable to go through training now, it is necessary to put the length of the training and the cyclical nature of air transport in perspective.

In fact, the slowing-down of this sector will, as always, be followed by a dramatic increase in the need for qualified pilots. The pilots trained during the period when the sector is slowing down will therefore be the first to be available and to join airlines. In addition, the conditions for entering a career as an airline pilot remain favourable on a global level.

The need for pilots for the years to come remains high in order to match the delivery of aircraft ordered from different constructors by airlines over the last 3 years.

In fact, deliveries of aircraft by the constructors Airbus and Boeing have even increased because the assembly lines are accelerating their production rate. Analysts also expect a near-doubling of the worldwide fleet in the next 20 years going from 18,800 to 35,600 aircraft in 2028.

If you add to that the orders placed with smaller constructors (ATR, Embraer, Bombadier, Dassault etc) it makes several tens of thousands of pilots who need to be trained in the next 10 years to put these planes into service. Even if the aviation landscape is changing against the background of a crisis, our students of 2010 have not made a mistake since there are once again more of them this year than last year.

I wish them and all of the student pilots who will join us in the future every success and a great career in this exciting world of aviation.”