# How attentive need a pilot be? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 11, 2008, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-attentive-need-a-pilot-be/433144 "2008-01-11T16:47:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-attentive-need-a-pilot-be/433144/1 "2008-01-11T16:47:52Z")
Especially a private pilot flying a small plane? Say he/she has all the modern equipment. Seems to me you could watch a DVD, as long as you glanced up once in a while. Do private pilots read or otherwise fight boredom while on a long trip? Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![brewha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-attentive-need-a-pilot-be/433144/2 "2008-01-11T17:12:33Z")
Unless the plane is equipped with autopilot, the pilot needs to constantly fly the plane. Even a perfectly trimmed plane will drift a bit and pilot needs to see that and correct for it. If it does have autopilot, then the pilot could take a nap if he/she so desired. But I wouldn’t reccomend it. I heard a story (I’ll see if I can find a link) about a guy who was flying to Florida in a small plane equipped with autopilot. He took a nap. When he woke up it had over shot his destination and was about two hours out to sea. He didn’t have enough fuel to get back and ended up ditching his plane in the ocean. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-attentive-need-a-pilot-be/433144/3 "2008-01-11T17:21:54Z")
[QUOTE=mangeorge] Do private pilots read or otherwise fight boredom while on a long trip? [/QUOTE] I’ve been on some long trips (seven hours from Southern California to Southern Oregon). There were lots of things to keep me occupied. As **brewha** points out, I’m busy flying the aircraft. And there’s looking outside. First, visual references are useful for maintaining course. The gyro’s fine; but it’s better to keep the nose pointed to, say, a specific mountain or something. There’s scanning for other traffic. It’s a Big Sky, but there are other people in it. It’s fun to see other aircraft. Then there’s pilotage. It’s satisfying to pick out points on your sectional and checking your watch to see how you’re doing. And it’s just plain pretty looking out of the windows. The scenery is much nicer at eight or ten thousand feet than it is up high. Interesting, too. You can see where water has flowed in the desert, you can see interesting geological formations… all kinds of things. I’m not IFR rated, but dad was and he was an instructor. So I got several hours of actual flight in IMC. Nothing grabs your attention like the flight instruments when you can’t see outside and you can feel the vertigo. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-attentive-need-a-pilot-be/433144/4 "2008-01-11T17:22:46Z")
[QUOTE=mangeorge] Especially a private pilot flying a small plane? Say he/she has all the modern equipment. Seems to me you could watch a DVD, as long as you glanced up once in a while. Do private pilots read or otherwise fight boredom while on a long trip? Peace, mangeorge [/QUOTE] NO, and bordome is seldom an issue. Flying a light aircraft pretty much demands all of the pilots attention. There are no roads to follow, so keeping track of your position takes a fair amount of attention. On a long flight you need to occasionally check ground speed, otherwise a change in winds may leave you short of fuel. As you burn off fuel, you tend to start climbing, so keeping the aircraft at the correct altitude needs occasional attention. Depending on the weather, just keeping the wings level and headed the right direction can take nearly all your attention. 1-2 degrees heading error can turn into tens of miles off course on a longer flight, and fixing those errors burns fuel, and takes extra attention that can be in short supply. Time needs to be included for scanning for traffic. Since there are no roads, traffic can appear from any direction in three dimensions. Any left over time gets used for additional traffic scans, thinking about where you might be able to land if the engine were to quit, checking the fuel mixture, cross checking the gyro against the whiskey compass, etc. etc. etc. By my estimation, flying a light aircraft requires perhaps 4-5X the attention that a qutomobile driver SHOULD devote to driving, and 10-20X what average drivers actually put forth. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-attentive-need-a-pilot-be/433144/5 "2008-01-11T17:24:27Z")
[QUOTE=Kevbo] By my estimation, flying a light aircraft requires perhaps 4-5X the attention that a qutomobile driver SHOULD devote to driving, and 10-20X what average drivers actually put forth. [/QUOTE] I do put forth the effort when I drive. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-attentive-need-a-pilot-be/433144/6 "2008-01-11T17:42:38Z")
I’m (obviously) not a pilot, but I’d say that properly driving a car would take at least a much attention as flying a well equipped plane. At least it should. That’s what brought this question. I’m only good for about an hour behind the wheel. So I stop before 90 minutes or so to stretch and “adjust myself” and maybe get something to eat or drink. I’ll stand up in a meeting that drags on after an hour or so too. Do pilots stop just for a stretch? ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-attentive-need-a-pilot-be/433144/7 "2008-01-11T17:47:00Z")
If you get bored flying in small planes as the pilot, you need to quit flying before you kill yourself or someone else. Even after many thousands of hours, I was never bored, even going over the same routes. I would get frustrated after a while as I would want to go faster. So one day you get a faster plane and that is fun until … you start wanting to go faster. Then you figure ways to go faster, (improving your flying technique) you make Wx reports to Flight Service, & there is always something to look at. Long distance over water in big iron is about the only place I could get bored after I had made about 100 trips in perfectly functioning aircraft with no weather problems. You know, the day that hell freezes over. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-attentive-need-a-pilot-be/433144/8 "2008-01-11T17:51:17Z")
[QUOTE=mangeorge] Do pilots stop just for a stretch? [/QUOTE] When we’d fly to Oregon we’d stop for fuel in Marysville in the Skyhawk. That’s about half way, and it was a good place to attend to ‘physiological imperatives’ and to grab some food. The Skylane had long-range tanks and could make it to Medford in one hop, but those seats get uncomfortable after a while so we’d still stop in Marysville. In local flying, especially flying the helicopter, I wouldn’t be up for more than a couple of hours so there’s no need to ‘pull over’. Most piston aircraft aren’t exactly powerhouses, so it takes time to climb to altitude. I’d rather keep the altitude and cruise speed than to land. Of course when I drive I’ll do 300 or 400 miles at a stretch, stopping only for fuel. I take care of the physiological imperative and food at that time, unless the PI absolutely demands that I find a rest stop. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-attentive-need-a-pilot-be/433144/9 "2008-01-11T17:52:12Z")
[QUOTE=Kevbo] There are no roads to follow, so keeping track of your position takes a fair amount of attention. [/Quote] Well, most pilots fly with some sort of GPS receiver, which seriously reduces the moment-to-moment effort needed to “stay found”. > [@](#): > > Time needs to be included for scanning for traffic. Since there are no roads, traffic can appear from any direction in three dimensions. Very true. In my experience, many pilots don’t spend enough time at this, and the trend is downward. This seems especially true for IFR-equipped planes, and those with TCAS. (A commuter pilot told me that for many pilots TCAS has removed the last reason to look out the window.) > [@](#): > > By my estimation, flying a light aircraft requires perhaps 4-5X the attention that a qutomobile driver SHOULD devote to driving, and 10-20X what average drivers actually put forth. I think you’re being generous to pilots. Much of the time enroute, it seems to me the workload is not too different from driving: More things to check, but a lot less traffic calling for immediate attention; rarely a penalty for neglecting some item for 30 seconds or so. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-attentive-need-a-pilot-be/433144/10 "2008-01-11T17:56:52Z")
I should add that boredom isn’t my problem with long sitting, but physical discomfort is. I start figeting and “switching sides” for example. That can be dangerous, especially in traffic. I don’t get bored, not really, while driving. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-attentive-need-a-pilot-be/433144/11 "2008-01-11T18:02:50Z")
I’d say they need to be quite [attentive.](http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080111.wEmergency11/BNStory/National/home) January 11, 2008 at 1:41 AM EST > [@](#): > > An Air Canada jet that went on a terrifying roller-coaster ride at 35,000 feet that put 10 people in hospital has left a host of questions about what caused the frightening plunges and rolls. > [@](#): > > Minutes later, the captain came on the intercom and announced a “computer malfunction,” and that he was flying the aircraft manually. > [@](#): > > Ms. Harvey, a frequent flyer, said she felt a sudden bump, followed by a dramatic roll to the left that left the wings pointing directly toward the ground and the sky. Ms. Harvey said she felt wrenching movements as the pilots fought to level out the plane. ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-attentive-need-a-pilot-be/433144/12 "2008-01-11T18:03:41Z")
I agree with previous posters that pilots _should_ have a high level of attentiveness but there’s a difference in the type of attention. Drivers must pay _constant_ attention to the roadway and their position therein, lest their car wander from its lane, or strike slowing traffic in front. Pilots can let their attention wander for long moments, and in fact they must, in order to attend to navigation, cross-checking, systems management, traffic scans, and usually some level of contact with air traffic control authorities. Case in point: I delivered a new Cessna to its owner a few months ago and found myself on a long cross-country flight. With the new systems available on even the smallest of planes (this was a single-engine 4-seater) lots of the mundane tasks are handled automatically. After entering my entire flight route (airways, vor stations, arrival routes, etc.), the autopilot took care of nearly everything. All altitude changes and course changes were done by the autopilot… it simply followed the course line I had laid out. Many of the navigation frequency changes were handled automatically as well (it simply re-tuned the radios as it saw fit). My task was simply to oversee everything, and I spent the majority of the trip either listening to XM radio, or experimenting with all the new gadgets. As I flew, I used the onboard weather displays to watch for problems along my course (the system collates ground-based weather radars and satellite images and presents them on a large screen as they would appear along my flight path. Since the new plane had worldwide weather and nav databases, I could move the cursor along the map and see current weather conditions for almost any airport in the world. It was amazing). As another example, when ATC called and requested that I modify my route, all I did was slew the screen cursor to the new route point, and press one button. My formerly straight route was redrawn on my nav screen with a dogleg, and the airplane obediently turned to follow it. I literally didn’t touch the control yoke at all except for the immediate tasks of takeoff and landing. The system also collates the returns from ATC radars\* and present other aircraft on the nav display as moving symbols with direction pointer and altitude. If any of the other planes get close enough to present a hazard, the symbol is highlighted (yellow) and an aural warning announces “Traffic, Traffic”. You can even decide whether you want a pleasant female voice, or a stern male voice to caution you (I set it for the gal voice, obviously) 😛 So to answer the OP’s question, constant attention is a good idea, and is required, but with the new equipment, and a little luck, a pilot can let his attention wander quite a bit. [Here’s](http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a162/rbp2/Cessna_Trip_038.jpg) a picture I took of the nav display during the flight. Notice the course line drawn thru the middle of the screen, and the position of my aircraft shown as it progressed along the line. All those little symbols shown in rows along my flight path are potential vertical obstructions. If you’re wondering why they’re in neat little rows, so was I, at the time. Turns out it was [these](http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a162/rbp2/Cessna_Trip_036.jpg) as I flew over them. If you’re still reading, [here’s](http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a162/rbp2/Cessna_Trip_003.jpg) a picture of the new plane in the hangar at the Cessna factory, just before we took if for its maiden flight. \*This service is not available everywhere, just in busy areas. ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-attentive-need-a-pilot-be/433144/13 "2008-01-11T18:05:36Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > This seems especially true for IFR-equipped planes, and those with TCAS. (A commuter pilot told me that for many pilots TCAS has removed the last reason to look out the window.) OK, I think I get what IFR means, but what does TCAS stand for/mean? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-attentive-need-a-pilot-be/433144/14 "2008-01-11T18:07:55Z")
[QUOTE=pullin] If you’re still reading, [here’s](http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a162/rbp2/Cessna_Trip_003.jpg) a picture of the new plane in the hangar at the Cessna factory [/QUOTE] Do want. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-attentive-need-a-pilot-be/433144/15 "2008-01-11T18:09:30Z")
[QUOTE=Eureka] OK, I think I get what IFR means, but what does TCAS stand for/mean? [/QUOTE] IFR = Instrument Flight Rules (as opposed to VFR, Visual Flight Rules). IMC = Instrument Meteorological Conditions [TCAS = Traffic Collision Avoidance System](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TCAS). ETA Link. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-attentive-need-a-pilot-be/433144/16 "2008-01-11T18:17:43Z")
I am a perpetual flight student in real life and also a flight simulator enthusiast. These two things are related for this point. I have always found it a real issue to look outside the plane and not just fly by instruments. Instrument skills are great but not when you are learning visual flight. Flight simulators taught me to fly by the instruments and I did it oddly well from day one of real life flight training. OTOH, staring at the instrument panel all the time is very bad and can lead to loss of situational awareness or even a mid-air collision. Flying a small plane requires constant attention but it isn’t the same as driving a car. Sometimes it is necessary to break out a big aeronautical chart and study it while flying. The same certainly isn’t recommended while driving down the highway. You still have to pay special attention to everything especially then though. Once, my flight instructor and I were doing a short flight from Hansom in suburban Boston to another suburban airport. We broke out a map so that he could show me how to identify landmarks. This went on for a few minutes and then he gasps, yelled “My Plane!” and dove as fast as was safely possible down a few hundred feet. It turns out that we were seconds from busting Logan’s airspace. I still don’t know how he realized that but it would have been bad news for him and his aspiring airline career. In short, I don’t think the attention required is as hard as driving down a congested interstate highway but it is different. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-attentive-need-a-pilot-be/433144/17 "2008-01-11T19:01:21Z")
[QUOTE=Leaffan] I’d say they need to be quite [attentive.](http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080111.wEmergency11/BNStory/National/home) January 11, 2008 at 1:41 AM EST [/QUOTE] I’m pretty sure that any snoozing pilots would have been instantly alert. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-attentive-need-a-pilot-be/433144/18 "2008-01-11T19:11:46Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] Do want. [/QUOTE] It is beautiful, isn’t it. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-attentive-need-a-pilot-be/433144/19 "2008-01-11T19:18:10Z")
Great post, **pullin**. What’s it like to fly a beauty like that, and then turn it over to it’s new owner? Weren’t you tempted to take a few extra days? And what’s the price tag for one? **Johnny L.A.'s** looking for one. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-attentive-need-a-pilot-be/433144/20 "2008-01-11T19:38:45Z")
[QUOTE=mangeorge] Especially a private pilot flying a small plane? Say he/she has all the modern equipment. Seems to me you could watch a DVD, as long as you glanced up once in a while. Do private pilots read or otherwise fight boredom while on a long trip? [/QUOTE] EEEEEEEK! :eek: No, no DVD’s or reading of novels! If you’re flying visually you need to look _outside_ a lot. You need to confirm that where your instruments say you are and where you actually are match. You need to watch for other airplanes. Even with collision avoidance and GPS you still have to pay attention - birds, for example, do not come with transponders or TCAS attached but they do share the sky with people. If you’re flying IFR you need to be watching the instruments even more. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-attentive-need-a-pilot-be/433144.md?page=2)