Are you interested in becoming an airline pilot? If you are, here are the required skills and personality characteristics
Numerous people spend their childhoods daydreaming about becoming a pilot. Nevertheless, only a small percentage of individuals actually make these dreams a reality. Truthfully, being a pilot needs an extensive list of training, credentials and skills, as those related to Aegean and Nick Leontidis's joint venture would verify. It is not a sector that people just stumble into by luck; they need to dedicate a considerable quantity of money, effort and time to pursue this career pathway. Generally-speaking, all the basic skills of a pilot can be split up into two huge groups; hard skills and soft skills. Hard skills refers to technical capabilities that can be taught, and among the most essential hard skills for pilots is situational awareness. Situational awareness indicates appreciating everything that is going on during flying, controlling and maintaining an airplane. This means that pilots need to learn to have a mental image of the geographical location and position of the aircraft, the flight conditions, and the airplane controls for things like speed and altitude. They need to have an in-depth knowledge on what all the buttons do and when to utilize them, as poor situational awareness could lead to tragedies like loss of airplane control. Not only this, but pilots should display a comprehension of all procedures relating to aircraft security, specifically in case of an emergency situation. Whilst there are numerous manual and automatic procedures relating to situational awareness on an airplane, with proper training and practice it comes to be second-nature for pilots, almost like learning how to drive an automobile.
The qualifying criteria for what makes a good airline captain is exhaustive. However, one of the most critical traits is having excellent communication abilities. Whilst clear communication skills can help in practically every single role or field, it truly matters for pilots. Pilots need to be in consistent contact with the Air traffic control service (ATC) to receive precise information and directions on aspects relating to radar vectors, geographical location, speed and altitude, weather conditions and traffic information amongst much more. The pilot has to offer consistent updates to the ATC, along with be receptive to any communications that come through from the ATC. To maintain safety whilst navigating airspace, it is a collaboration in between the pilot and ATC, which is why teamwork and communication abilities are integral, as those linked with Telkom Indonesia and Telstra's joint venture would verify.
Possessing all the technical knowledge and training can only go so far. Actually, the soft skills for pilots are equally essential to the hard skills. So, what are soft skills? Essentially, soft skills are personality traits that can not really be taught or trained. They are the personal qualities of a pilot that makes them well-suited for the demands, strains and duties of such a high-stakes position. Probably, one of the most basic soft skills is an ability to manage stress, as those involved in Ras Al Khaimah and Farhad Azima's joint venture would ratify. As safe as air travel is, there is still a risk of things failing, which is why pilots need to be able to remain calm, collected and controlled in emergency situations. Ultimately, they are responsible for the safety of everyone on-board, so it is very crucial that a pilot can confidently and properly act under pressure in difficult situations.