Maybe I’m missing something here, but how does a terrorist (or anyone) go from learning to fly a small Cessna to flying a jumbo jet? For example, even the cockpit itself should have befuddled someone trained on a small plane.
- Jinx
I’m not sure if you are referring specifically to one of the terrorist pilots. It was pretty clear in the media that the terrorist pilots had received professional flight simulator training in the jets they hijacked. This should be enough to allow a pilot to be able to steer these jets. They did not have to worry about landing (the most difficult job a pilot does).
Easy. All it takes is money, time, and a lot of work. There are several schools in the U.S. that will take a prospective pilot from never-having-been-in-an-aircraft to an ATP (Airline Transport Pilot) for a few tens of thousands of dollars. The student earns his or her private license, instrument rating, commercial license, mutli-engine rating, etc. until s/he eventually earns his or her ATP.
The terrorists (take that Reuters!) seemed to have had quite a bit of experience going in. Given enough dedication and money, though, even a zero-timer can become an ATP in a relatively short amount of time.
Yes, at first I heard they went through professional flight schools, but later reports keep talking about amateur flying lessons - in FL and also, now we learn in Germany!
It just seems like local flying lessons wouldn’t teach as much…so I posted this thread.
True, they didn’t have to land or take off (assuming the planes achieved cruising altitude and then were taken over). But, the cockpit of a commercial airliner is not as simple as a private plane. These planes didn’t just fly under seige during the last few moments. These guys had to know how the work the switches and levers to maintain the proper “attitude” of the plane at all times prior to the point of impact.
- Jinx
Granted the cockpit of an airliner looks complicated, but the essential controls are the same as in the Cessna; control yoke, rudder pedals and throttle. There are only a half dozen instruments you would need to pay attention to and if the day was clear you wouldn’t need to worry about some of those.
At the core of it the whole process is easier than you might think. If you were to go to your local airport to begin flight instruction (which I would encourage; go to http://www.beapilot.com) on your first flight you would taxi, takeoff, control the plane through some simple maneuvers and land. Granted your would have an instructor right next to you to help, but for the most part it would be your hands on the control for most of the flight.
So, if I personally use my own money, complete the training, and earn my ATP, can I actually be hired by an airline? I’ve always just assumed that ex-military pilots pretty much got all those jobs.
With all the airline layoffs, I don’t know about jobs there. Why not check their online sites for positions and requirements?
Airlines hire people with the relevent qualifications if you don’t have your ATPL then you won’t be hired, if you do you may be hired ex military or not. I know a lot of airline pilots only a couple are ex-military.
And to answer the OP, take off, landing, navigation and correct radio procedures aside, if you can fly a cessna you can most certainly fly a 767 into a building.
Uh…Jinx… there is no such thing as “amateur flying lessons”. ALL flight instructors must meet the same requirements to get their instructor’s license, regardless of whether they work through a university, formal flight school, or work free-lance at a turf-strip rural field.
Don’t be fooled by appearances - two airline captains come out to the humble field I use and fly single-engine planes for fun on their off hours. They’ve been known to provide instruction to the locals (being licensed instructors) but in no way would I describe them as “amateurs”. We also have three older gentlemen who instruct part-time, all three former airline captains with decades of experience and tens of thousands of hours in all sorts of airplanes. Again, I wouldn’t call them “amateurs” either. In fact, they may be better instructors than some younger and less experienced instructors working out of universities.
And, by the way - when I first showed up at my local airfield another fellow had just shown up as well, with a newly issued commercial license. After several years of flying for profit and education at my local field he was hired by an airline and is now captain. Some of those “amateur” flying lessons result in professional airline captains of no less quality than those produced by the military or flight academies.
Not to get too picky, but the attitude is maintained mostly by the yoke (that’s the wheel-thingy for you ground lovers) and rudders, which work the same on a 747 as a Cessna or Piper trainer. Steering a jet airliner in cruise isn’t as difficult as you might think, although personally I’d like to get some simulator time before trying it (apparently, the hijackers had the same opinion). Also, quite a few of those complicated looking dials, switches, and knobs have a simpler counterpart in smaller planes so they aren’t as puzzling to a pilot as to a non-pilot. That’s also why the hijackers were able to shut off the transponders before the real pilots could signal a hijacking - they knew what they looked like and how to turn them off. The take off and even more so the landings are the most difficult part, and the hijackers didn’t take off or land, they just stuck to the less difficult tasks.
As for the switches and dials - it is possible to get quite a bit of information on what they all do even without entering a cockpit. Hence, the manuals found in cars and hotel rooms with information on 757’s and 767’s.
Yep - provided you meet the physical requirements and charm your way through the interviews. Last I heard, about 60% of the airline pilots these days are strictly civilian trained. The military just isn’t training enough people to fill the needs these days. Haven’t been for decades.