How do pilots stay so calm?

Top 5 Commercial Pilot Skills to Master

As a commercial pilot, you need a specific knowledge base and set of skills. Aside from what you learn through your pilot training, there are a few other skills that are helpful for a commercial pilot. Even though they may sound like character traits that you are either born with or without, it’s important to remember that anyone can improve in them.

They are just as much skills as being able to read or draw—some people have more of a natural ability, but with time and practice, anyone can excel.

Commercial Pilot Skills to Master

#1. Keeping Calm Under Pressure

This skill is hugely important for pilots. While you hope that you never encounter emergency situations while in the air, you cannot guarantee it. So, being able to keep a cool head and work through the procedures you know or come up with a new course of action is crucial. If you are able to stay calm, you have a much easier time thinking though the best plan to keep your passengers, staff, and yourself safe.

A few ways you can improve in this area include knowing the emergency plans inside and out and practicing in lower stakes situations. If you are familiar with the emergency procedures, you will be better able to stay calm and do what you know is the best thing in that situation. However, even the best laid plans might not work in every situation, so you can practice remaining calm by putting yourself in stressful, but risk-free, circumstances. This could be timed puzzles or problems to solve.

#2. Quick Thinking

Like keeping calm under pressure, being able to make snap decisions at a moment’s notice is incredibly valuable for commercial pilots. Again, while you ideally are never in this situation, it is still important to be prepared if something ever happens. Being able to make quick decisions, especially under pressure and with limited time, makes you a better equipped pilot. These skills are important if you have to go off-book in a situation where you don’t have a protocol, or the protocol is not working.

There are easy ways to work on improving this too. You can practice with things that may seem silly, like timing yourself to make quick decisions about what to eat or wear. Like with staying calm, it’s a good idea to become very familiar with the emergency procedures, so in the moment you can decide which parts are helpful and which need to be adapted for the circumstances.

#3. Leadership

Leadership is a skill that will serve anyone in any workplace but is especially helpful for commercial pilots. If you hope to become a captain at some point in your career, this is a skill you need to be deliberately develop. You need to be able to lead your whole crew smoothly and effectively. The most effective way to be a leader is to cultivate respect among your peers—if they like you and view you as competent, they are more likely to follow where you lead. This is important if you become a captain, as you will oversee the plane.

Though this may seem like a harder to obtain skill, anyone can become good at it. It is important to remember that an effective leader shouldn’t be commanding or controlling but should work with his or her staff to come together for the right result. Also, a good leader knows when someone else has more authority or experience than him or herself and will step out of the way when needed—don’t try to run the plane if you haven’t been given that responsibility.

#4. Teamwork

Teamwork is another good life skill that is especially useful in the cockpit. As a commercial pilot, you work with your co-pilot, the in-flight crew, and the ground crew. It is vital for the success of each flight you take that everyone can work together. As the pilot, you are a key part of this. You work with the ground crew prior to take off to make sure the plane is all set for your flight and making sure you land in the right spot at the right time. You work with your in-flight crew to ensure that passengers have the best experience possible.

Becoming a great team player is not something you can do alone. Ask your family and friends—or better yet, your coworkers—to do teambuilding exercises with you. Games like human knot, where your group works together to untangle yourselves, or a scavenger hunt are great options for this.

#5. Communication

Of all the skills listed here to help commercial pilots succeed, this is the one that is invaluable for everyone. Communication can make or break your success in the workplace—if you have fantastic credentials and stay cool in a crisis but struggle to communicate effectively with coworkers and employers, you are less likely to succeed your career. Being able to communicate with everyone on your team, from your copilot to your in-flight staff to your ground crew is essential to each flight running smoothly and landing safely.

To practice this skill, you need to bring in other people once again. Work to make sure that what you say to the people you interact with makes sense and conveys what you mean. If you don’t do it right the first time, talk with them to figure out what went wrong and how to do it better next time.

J.A. Air Center

To succeed as a commercial pilot, you need not only a pilot’s license and extensive flight training, but a variety of personal skills that will help you in the field. From being levelheaded no matter the circumstances to effectively working and communicating with your team, your skill set should expand beyond what you learn in the classroom. At J. A. Air Center, we want to help you become the best pilot you can. Don’t hesitate to contact us about our training programs.

Related Posts

January 31 , 2023

Life of a Pilot: How Many Hours Do Pilots Work?

The everyday life of a pilot looks glamorous to many people. Flying to a different destination several times…

December 20 , 2022

FAA Airman Medical Certificates

Although not required to begin flight instruction, you won’t get too far in the world of aviation without…

November 29 , 2022

IFR vs VFR Flying | How to Understand The Difference

If you’re getting started in the world of aviation, you may or may not have encountered the terms…

i want to be pilot Essay

“I want to be a pilot when I grow up… because it’s a fun job and easy to do. That’s why there are so many pilots flying today. Pilots don’t need much school, they must learn numbers so they can read instruments. Pilots should be brave so that they won’t be scared if it’s foggy and they can’t see, or if a wing or motor falls off they should stay calm so they’ll know what to do. Pilots have to have good eyes to see through clouds and they can’t be afraid of lightning or thunder because they’re closer to them than we are. The salary pilots make is another think I like. They make more money than they can spend. This is because most people think plane flying is dangerous except pilots don’t, because they know how easy it …show more content…
I want to be a pilot

“I want to be a pilot when I grow up… because it’s a fun job and easy to do. That’s why there are so many pilots flying today. Pilots don’t need much school, they must learn numbers so they can read instruments. Pilots should be brave so that they won’t be scared if it’s foggy and they can’t see, or if a wing or motor falls off they should stay calm so they’ll know what to do. Pilots have to have good eyes to see through clouds and they can’t be afraid of lightning or thunder because they’re closer to them than we are. The salary pilots make is another think I like. They make more money than they can spend. This is because most people think plane flying is dangerous except pilots don’t, because they know how easy it is. There isn’t much I don’t like, except girls like pilots and all the stewardesses want to marry pilots so they always have to chase them away so they don’t bother them. I hope I don’t get air sick because I get car sick and if I get air sick I couldn’t be a pilot, then I’d have to go to work. I want to be a pilot

“I want to be a pilot when I grow up… because it’s a fun job and easy to do. That’s why there are so many pilots flying today. Pilots don’t need much school, they must learn numbers so they can read instruments. Pilots should be brave so that they won’t be scared if it’s foggy and they can’t see, or if a wing or motor falls off they

Related
Decent Essays

Biography on Charles A. Lindbergh Essay

Biography on Charles A. Lindbergh Essay

The book CHARLES A. LINDBERGH LONE EAGLE gives a very detail description of his life and it helps show how he wanted to advance aviation even if it meant risking his own life. He went to the university of Wisconsin to study mechanical engineering, which he was fascinated with. He was always

• 753 Words
• 4 Pages

Decent Essays
Decent Essays

I Want To Be An Army Rotary Wing Aviator

I Want To Be An Army Rotary Wing Aviator

How can I put into words a drive so strong it has been on my mind for several years? I will have to start at the beginning; I have always been fascinated by flight, but more specifically rotary wing aviation. I didn’t know being a helicopter pilot was something attainable until a few years into my military career. Before then, I had always held pilots in the same regard as legends; the stories I had heard fell on my ears with a reverence that made the pilots seem almost beyond human. Pilots were talked about and written about and were in movies, but weren’t actually people, not something a new private sees as possible to do. When I finally saw two actual pilots in line at the Post Exchange it hit me, they are people. What do I need to do to

• 596 Words
• 3 Pages

Decent Essays
Satisfactory Essays

Royal Canadian Air Cadet Essay

Royal Canadian Air Cadet Essay

Personally, when I joined the Air Cadets at the age of 13, I had little to no interest in the Canadian Armed forces, let alone earning a pilot’s license; I was sort of pushed into it because all of my close friends were joining. My interest in the cadet career, nonetheless, increased with every weekly training.

• 521 Words
• 3 Pages

Satisfactory Essays
Decent Essays

Charles Lindbergh ‘s Influence On Society

Charles Lindbergh ‘s Influence On Society

With his new found fame, Lindbergh spent much of his time in promoting the aviation field while going around the United States with his iconic plane the Spirit of St. Louis. While visiting various cities in the US, he would participate in countless parades as well as give speeches. His fame grew to such height that he was soon regarded as an international celebrity who was nicknamed “Lucky Lindy” and “The Lone Eagle”. By 1927 he released a book entitled “We”, about his historic flight which quickly became a bestseller. Throughout all his rising fame and influence, Lindbergh had always stuck to helping the aviation industry as well as other causes which he felt important.

• 1049 Words
• 5 Pages

Decent Essays
Decent Essays

Personal Narrative: Growing Up In A National Honor Society

Personal Narrative: Growing Up In A National Honor Society

I was five when I saw an f-22 Raptor break the sound barrier. There was a lull in the atmosphere as it silently glided across the sky, I counted. one, two, three; it was out of sight. Behind it came the sound like a tsunami on an empty beach, crashing and rattling everything in its path. It was beautiful. I looked to my aunt, uncle, and mother all in battle dress with a grin. I knew I had to fly. The discipline I learned from growing up in a military family has prepared and inspired my pursuit of flight.

• 552 Words
• 3 Pages

Decent Essays
Decent Essays

The Rise Of The Tragic Galveston Hurricane

The Rise Of The Tragic Galveston Hurricane

“Change is hard at first, messy in the middle and gorgeous at the end,” said Robin Sharman. Advancements and progress that came from innovational minds took time and there were many obstacles and hardships. During the 1900s the world gave birth of the bright minds of the Wright Brothers that gave the world’s first successful airplane, also the modifications of the corset gave way to new fashion styles and trends and finally the tragic Galveston Hurricane paved the pathway of new mechanics and progressive ideas. Before, the thought of people being in the air and flying seemed impossible and dangerous, but the 1900s was a decade of advancement and many innovative minds such as Orville and Wilbur Wright, tried to build a “flying machine”. Unlike

• 351 Words
• 2 Pages

Decent Essays
Decent Essays

Tim Ravich Research Paper

Tim Ravich Research Paper

Despite a busy academic and professional life, it was not hard for him to find his passion: aviation law.

• 644 Words
• 3 Pages

Decent Essays
Good Essays

Eagle Scout Monologue

Eagle Scout Monologue

“ Well Jacob there are many reasons I wanted to join the military.” “The first one is, you don’t need to got to college, the second thing is, I am an Eagle Scout so I have the basic fundamentals that I need to know to join.” “And third thing is I believe will do really well with

• 1897 Words
• 8 Pages

Good Essays
Satisfactory Essays

Who Is John Douglass Mindhunter

Who Is John Douglass Mindhunter

John Douglas started out as wanting the be a vet, but he was never a student with high grades in school and could therefore not study to be a vet. He instead went to university and work at the air force, but he didn’t

• 256 Words
• 2 Pages

Satisfactory Essays
Decent Essays

AT-120 Scholarship Essay

AT-120 Scholarship Essay

I’ve been in love with flight since January 3rd of 2014, when I flew with Mach 1’s instructor Laura McGhee. That day, I witnessed the beauty of flight in a small plane for the first time. To this day, I still remember the excitement I felt when I sat in the Cessna Skyhawk 172 and the indescribable feeling during takeoff. That was the day I discovered that I want to fly. The freedom in its purest form, the joy that swells within, my personal experience and knowledge I gained in ground school, and the possibility of a future career in aviation are why I’ve decided that I crave flight, and why I want to fly.

• 476 Words
• 2 Pages

Decent Essays
Satisfactory Essays

Luke Bannister: A True Drone Race

Luke Bannister: A True Drone Race

Luke Bannister, is a sixteen year and a champion drone racer. As drones are becoming more popular around the world the first person to view the EPV racing is where a drone’s user puts on headsets and navigates with a real-time view from the camera mounted on board. Luke won the World Drone Prix in Dubai where it is the biggest world drone race. The British teenage drone pilot Luke Bannister attended Paris Drone Festival in Paris France September 4, 2016. Luke’s goal is to go to the University, become a pilot and fly a real plane one day. He first got into flying acrobatics at age of ten. Then when he was eleven he built his own planes at his local model aircraft club.

• 125 Words
• 1 Pages

Satisfactory Essays
Decent Essays

A Hero’s Journey

A Hero’s Journey

Everything had started as an adventure. He had joined the crew of Alpha 42 because he wanted to be apart of the first humans in history to find water on Mars and save the dying Earth.

• 787 Words
• 4 Pages

Decent Essays
Better Essays

James Doolittle And The Fiery Horse Called War

James Doolittle And The Fiery Horse Called War

A child who could never even dream of a man attempting to slay anyone who hampered his path to conquer the world. A child who is now known as the ruthless war hero, and fearless pilot. But he, as do all, had a beginning. A beginning of which still makes up who he was.Born on December 14, 1896, James (Jimmy) H. Doolittle lived in Alameda, California for the first few years of his life(Biography). He spent a majority of his youth in Nome, Alaska. It was here that he made record of becoming a well known boxer(New). Ever since his youth he had learned how to stand up for himself, and others, and though still in his childhood enjoyed learning about all things involving aviation.In Nome, Doolittle would pilot dog sleds and fight bullies all thanks to his father, Frank, carpenter and a gold prospector but was the reason the family had moved to the breathtaking sublime city in Alaska(History). Jimmy always did academically excel, which in a sense did hamper his passion for certain aircraft, and interestingly enough, pointed him towards the mining industry.For instance, once Doolittle graduated from the Manual Arts High School held in Los Angeles, he went to Los Angeles City College, only to study mining at the University of California, Berkeley, of which he won admission, and then to the School of Mines(New). Once graduated from college, he went on to pursue his childhood obsession of becoming involved in the flight industry, but little did he know just the impact he would

• 1442 Words
• 6 Pages

Better Essays
Decent Essays

Personal Narrative: Overcoming My Fear of Flying Essay examples

Personal Narrative: Overcoming My Fear of Flying Essay examples

As a kid I was tough, I did anything and everything. But flying scared me. I was in Hawaii and flying was unavoidable if you wanted to go anywhere. My father lived in California so when I decided to visit him I also had to face my fear and fly over the ocean. My want to see my father had to be stronger than my fear or I may never have never had the chance to know him. It was after September 11th so flying was even more intimidating. But knowing my family was on the other end made it easier, so I took my first flight by myself to California.

• 795 Words
• 4 Pages

The Soft Skills That Commercial Flight Pilots Must Possess

You’ve had an interest in airplanes for your entire life, and maybe you’ve even been allowed to fly supervised, or perhaps you feel like you have a knack for it. You’d love to pursue a career as a commercial flight pilot. What skills make you well-suited for the job?

The following soft skills are recommended for aspiring commercial flight pilots:

This guide to commercial flight pilot skills will paint a clear picture of what hiring managers are looking for when they choose pilots to work for their airlines. We’ll also discuss how long your commercial pilot education will last.

What Does It Take to Become a Commercial Pilot?

The first step to becoming a pilot is enrolling in a commercial flight school. As you continue your education and obtain your license, you’ll have opportunities to develop and solidify a certain set of skills.

While every commercial pilot has different experiences and personalities, the following skills are widely regarded as important when working in this exciting yet demanding career role.

Leadership

Think of yourself as the captain of the ship as a commercial flight pilot. You’re the one who makes the final calls and then follows through.

You must be quick on your feet, as you can rarely deliberate decisions long when you’re thousands of feet in the air.

You should have a commanding presence so that when you issue instructions, the rest of your team is ready to listen. Developing a track record of successful decision-making will inspire more trust among your crew in your abilities, and eventually, your leadership role will be a seamless transition.

Self-Confidence

As we established, there’s little time for deliberation as a commercial flight pilot. You also have no leeway for self-doubt. You cannot be the type of person who makes up their mind only to second-guess themselves several minutes later.

You must be cool and confident in yourself and your ability to guide and lead a team. After all, if you don’t feel confident, then that will rub off on the rest of your crew. They too will begin to doubt themselves.

Besides confidence in your leadership skills, you must possess unwavering self-esteem regarding your flight abilities as well. This confidence will come through knowledge and practice, both of which you can obtain bountifully at a commercial flight school.

Although you will inevitably make mistakes in your career, a confident flight pilot can shake off those errors, learn from what they did, and take care not to repeat the same mistakes in the future.

Calm Under Pressure

Most commercial flights will occur without a hitch, but for the ones that don’t, tensions will rise high, and quite quickly at that. Your customers can panic over unexpected turbulence or a small issue with the aircraft.

In high-anxiety situations, you may find that your crew also feels nervous.

A commercial flight pilot is allowed to feel fear and anxiety, but they cannot express it. Even in very stressful situations, they must maintain their calm.

This collected exterior can inspire the rest of the crew to calm down as well, as the sight of their pilot maintaining their composure alleviates the crew’s stress.

The sooner you can put your emotions in check and rein in a situation, the calmer your customers will be as well. The moment will pass, the flight can continue, and it’s because you stepped up and calmed your nerves.

Communication

When you talk, your crew listens, but what are you really telling them? Communication skills are a must for a commercial flight pilot and could be one of the most critical skills to learn.

You could know everything about flying a plane and being an expert pilot, but if you can’t communicate to your crew, incidents can still happen.

You must be a clear communicator who’s able to issue commands on the fly. When your crew hears those commands, there’s no ambiguity. This way, they can quickly carry out what you requested.

Teamwork

No pilot commandeers a plane completely on their own. It’s through a combination of your talent behind the wheel and your crew that the plane gets your customers safely to their destinations.

Even if some of your crew members might not get along with each other, you can inspire unity. It’s when crew members take it upon themselves to do jobs on their own that incidents are likelier to happen, and you know that.

You also don’t let your role as a pilot get to your head. You’ll have to work with others in esteemed roles such as flight dispatchers, air traffic controllers, and even fellow pilots at times. You don’t assume that you know best just because you’re the pilot.

Further, you do your best to make your crew members feel important. Although your role is technically superior, you don’t treat them like they’re less than you. You play up their skills and abilities to bolster their self-confidence so that your crew may be more effective in their respective roles.

Awareness

Awareness of all sorts is a valuable skill to have as a commercial flight pilot.

You must have systems awareness to stay abreast of your aircraft when it’s in flight. Spatial orientation and awareness will help you determine geography.

Modal awareness is crucial for flight areas such as heading, altitude, and speed. Commercial flight pilots require environmental awareness as well to have a solid understanding of the terrain, weather, and surrounding aircraft.

How Long Does It Take to Become a Commercial Airline Pilot?

You happen to possess many of the skills that make commercial flight pilots in demand. You’re ready to become a pilot, but how long will it take you?

That depends on the pilot school requirements, which can vary per school. The average amount of schooling you must obtain to complete a commercial license takes a year, but it can be more time depending on the program you select.

Once you complete your training and obtain your licenses and ratings, you will likely need to continue building flight hours as a flight instructor. Although the process can be time-consuming, the abilities and knowledge you’ll learn along the way will make the process worthwhile.

How to Become a Commercial Airline Pilot

If you’re ready to take the next step and enroll in a commercial flight school, consider California Flight Academy. You’ll work your way towards a Commercial Multi-Engine Rating so you can work as a pilot-in-command at a public or private airline.

Along the way, you’ll earn the required FAA Instrument Rating and Private Pilot License as well. California Flight Academy also has a proven track record of graduating successful commercial pilots who live around the world. This network can help you get connected to airlines who are hiring and help accelerate your career.