You forgot "two feet" unless your flying an ercoup.


"pacplyer" wrote in message
om...
"CFLav8r" wrote in message
.com...
I'm a real pilot, am I not?
I ask this question to the entire aviation NG, to find out if you
consider
yourself a real pilot.
The question came as I was returning from my mailbox this morning only
to
have my neighbor stop and ask me "why if your always getting aviation
stuff
(EAA magazine came this morning) in the mail do you not become a real
pilot?". And to this I answered "I am a real pilot".
He then said "No your not, you don't fly the big planes".
Well considering the source of the question, I just said just because I
have
a drivers license doesn't mean I want to drive a truck or bus.

This isn't the first time that I have had someone not consider me to be
a
real pilot.
Has anyone else had a similar experience?
And what if any was your response?
Or do you not consider yourself a real pilot?

David (KORL)
PP - ASEL -Instrument student

Question #1: Are you a real pilot?

David, you will go through this the rest of your life. And you will
wonder if you are a real pilot. It will just never end. Real pilots
fly STOL. Real pilots fly IFR. Real pilots teach other pilots. Real
pilots fly twins. Real pilots fly things that burn kerosine. Real
pilots fly acro. Real pilots fly jets. Real jet pilots fly fighters.
Real fighter pilots are from the Navy/Marines. Real Navy/Marine
pilots flew combat. Real jet pilots are Captains. Real Captains have
political power and get away with not wearing their tie...

As a 747/727/A310/DC10 pilot, people would ask me: "What airline do
you fly for?" I would tell them the name of my obscure freight/mac
charter outfit and then damn near every single one of them would pause
for a second and ask me Question #3: "Don't you want to fly for the
commercial airlines?"

My outfit IS a commercial airline flying under FAR 121 supplemental
rules. Explaning this to them always lead to a look of disbelief.
This goes on to this day and annoys me to no end.

Question #4 is always: Were you in the military?

Question #5 is always: How old were you when started flying?

It's like somebody gave the masses a script to read from or something.
Are you a real pilot David? ****in A' you are. Next time tell them:
Big airplanes are over 100 times safer to fly in than the planes you
fly. You don't have autopilots to bail you out; only your two hands
do the flying. I think all you guys that fly by yourselves are real
pilots. Most of my military co-pilots are terrified of the idea of
setting foot by themselves in a light plane with extreme limitations.
I worked with a few who thought they were up to it and crashed. How
about this: if you make it past 500hrs you will be a bonified real
old-bold pilot. ;-)