From the mysterious disappearance of Malaysia Airlines MH370 to the recent diversion of Sichuan Airlines, the profession of pilot has once again become the focus of global attention. In the recently concluded college entrance examination, pilot major has become one of the most popular candidates. Flying in the blue sky and being all-powerful among the clouds is the childhood dream of many people. Is being a pilot really as glamorous as people think? Gao Feng, one of the youngest captains of Shanghai Juneyao Airlines, tells us the ups and downs of being a pilot.
Captain's award ceremony
When you think of a pilot, many people picture a dashing man in a crisp uniform, wearing sunglasses and pulling a black suitcase. Gao said with a smile that every pilot has made extraordinary efforts to achieve this handsome image.
Before becoming a qualified pilot, students have to pass hundreds of medical examinations, psychological tests and political audits, boring theoretical study in English, not to mention rigorous flight training. When Gao Feng was admitted to Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics to study flight, he thought he would have access to aircraft on the first day of class. In fact, they first had to learn aviation meteorology, instrument procedures, flight principles, aviation engines, aviation medicine, cockpit resource management and many other theoretical courses. It was not until later that they came into contact with the simulator.
Airline practice is that pilots have 3,500 or 4,500 hours before they are considered "pass." Gao Feng flew a small plane for a while, and then he has been flying Airbus A320 models. Generally speaking, it takes 2700 hours for such small and medium-sized aircraft to be promoted to captain. Gao Feng joined Juneyao Airlines in 2012 and began to serve as captain in October 2016, and so far, he has been flying safely for more than 5300 hours. His path to the top seems to have been smoother than many, thanks to Gaofeng's solid expertise and deep flying experience.
Gao Feng was interviewed by US television
Gao Feng told us that there are three main sources of domestic civil aviation pilots, one is the general sense of the national recruitment or commissioned to graduate from the flight academy, the other is "military conversion to civilian", that is, military aircraft pilots to civil aviation, and the other is hiring foreign pilots. Now domestic civil aviation pilots serious, in addition to the high cost of training, time cost is also one of the main reasons for this phenomenon.
Gao Feng entered Nanjing University of aeronautics and Astronautics to study flight in 2006, and then further studied at CAPT Aeronautical School and sierra academy of aeronautics. It took him nearly ten years to become a captain from his contact with flight. It is clear that the standards for pilots are strict.
Pilots work a split of duty and flight hours, and the average flight is about 10 hours, including travel from home to the airport. Moreover, the working hours are not fixed. On the morning flight, I have to get up before 5 am, on the night flight, I can't go home until 2 or 3 am, and sometimes I have to stay up all night on the red-eye flight. As a captain, Gaofeng flies almost any route at any time and, in his words, he is used to it.
Gao Feng has to do a lot of preparatory work before each flight. In his opinion, the occupation of pilot and driver is a little similar. The inspection of aircraft before flight is like the inspection of car conditions, and knowing the weather conditions in the airline area is like inquiring the road conditions. Having said that, it is not difficult to see Gao Feng's love for flying career that he can do such careful and rigorous work every day for ten years.
Pilots must be licensed to work, which is a prerequisite to ensure flight safety. Many wondered what was in the pilot's black suitcase. Gao Feng told me that the registration card, flight license, flight record book, medical certificate are required, the rest is optional luggage. It is worth mentioning that currently Gao Feng holds the private pilot license, instrument license, commercial license and airline license, as well as the blind landing qualification. However, every time he takes off and lands, he tries to make all the details perfect as when he started flying.
Generally speaking, pilots are not allowed to leave the cockpit at will during the flight. The flight for several hours is very boring to outsiders. However, Gao Feng thinks that because of the flight, he can see the beauty that ordinary people cannot see, shuttle in the blue sky and white clouds at an altitude of 10,000 meters, feel the beauty of the sparkling Milky Way, and see the thunderstorms flying in the clouds. Lightning bursts in the sky, overlooking mountains and rivers, and encountering the night of different cities. This is an unparalleled experience of flying, but also a rare pleasure in his work.
In his life, Gao Feng loves sports very much. Running and playing football are his favorite ways to relax after work. When he is stationed abroad, he also finds time to exercise. Gao Feng said with a laugh, the pilot work intensity, not a good body can not do.
As the representative of young pilots in the field of civil aviation, Gao Feng's daily life lets us see the tip of the iceberg of civil aviation pilot work. Behind the bright and bright is countless efforts and sweat. We have reason to believe that under the leadership of the young generation like Gao Feng, there will be numerous outstanding pilots in China, adding bricks to the development of the civil aviation industry.
