The Great Ongoing Aviation Thread (general and other)

[Llama_Llogophile]

Mr. LSL posted this in another thread, and I want to respond because I’ve been in this situation:

@LSLGuy

I flew with a pilot some time in 2022 who told me that when the original vaccine mandate came out he was fully willing to resign and abandon his career as an airline pilot before he would accept that poison in his system. It was evident that he was not blustering; he meant it. I replied that I’d been poisoned 4 times now with no apparent ill effects, twice before the mandatory idea ever reared its head.

The next hour or so in flight was … quiet. All business. Which is fine with me; we’re not all instant pals once locked into our shared broom closet for a few days. I’d rather have somebody with silly ideas be quiet than keep spouting. I imagine he felt the same way. I did not ask.

Good og, this is one of the worst things about our business.

One of my co-workers used to say, “We’re not on a 4-day date.” By which he meant we’re going to fly together, but we don’t have to be friends and hang out. That’s fine with me, and for the most part pilots are generally pleasant. But when they’re not… It’s the worst. I dread having to spend time with unkind, boorish people in the enclosed space of a cockpit. Really makes the job seem like a day in hell. Worse is seeing one you know on the schedule with you, which causes you to dread going to work.

So I’ve learned to watch for when they start probing. They make a comment somewhat adjacent to politics, gun control, religion or whatnot, and I try so hard not to take the bait. My standard response is to wag my finger and say with a smile, “Ah ah ah, not my first day in a multi-crew cockpit. We don’t know each other well enough to start talking politics.”

That usually ends it, or perhaps redirects the conversation to talking ABOUT talking about politics or other sensitive issues, which might be fine. But once in a while you run into one who can’t let it go. Seems like every pilot group has one.