Aviator

Aviator

How to be an Aviator

The term aviator came from the Latin word, Avis, which means bird. The term was invented way back in the mid-1860 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aerienne.

Aviators are also called as aircraft pilots. They are the ones responsible for operating the directional flight controls during military flights, commercial flights, and private jet flights.

Any other personnel or crew like flight engineer, navigator, and flight attendants are generally not considered as pilots.

To be an aviator in the United States, one must get a license. This license should be issued by the Federal Aviation Administration. Though there are several types or levels of a pilot license, the most common and basic is the Private Pilot License or the Private Pilot Certificate. This type of license allows the pilot to operate an aircraft anywhere in the United States and carry passengers.

To be an aviator requires one to be at least 16 years old. He must know how to speak, read, and understand English properly so he would not have a hard time understanding the aviation rules and communicating with the Air Traffic Control. He must also pass the written examination and the basic medical examination. Aside from these basic requirements, he must get the complete instructions and briefing from the Certificated Flight Instructor and pass the “check ride” provided by the Federal Aviation Administration approved examiner.

To get the Private Pilot License or the Private Pilot Certificate, the student pilot must complete and pass the required number of flight time hours, which is 40.Though some schools require the national average which 60-70 hours. But regardless of the set flight time hour requirement of each training school, reading, flight planning, and ground review are not included in the required number of flight hours.

The topics that one must learn to get the Private Pilot License are the following: weather, aircraft systems, and aerodynamics, navigation, regulations, and aircraft operations.

An aviator can either be a civilian pilot or military pilot. A civilian pilot can operate aircraft of all types – whether if it’s for pleasure, business or commercial that includes private jet flights (non-scheduled or scheduled passenger and cargo carriers). He can also operate an aircraft for corporate aviation, agriculture, law enforcement, and many more.

The military aviator operates an aircraft with the military forces or armed forces of the government. The military pilot’s responsibilities differ a lot from the civilian pilot’s. Military pilots need to undergo special training most especially with weapons. They may be the fighter pilots, bomber pilots, test pilots, astronauts, and transport pilots. They share the same goal, and that is to perform combat and non-combat operations. These operations include the direct hostile engagements and support operations.

Both types of aviators have their unique goals, tasks, and responsibilities.

In the United States, the commercial airline pilots are mandated to retire when they reach the age of 65. Before, their retirement age was 60, but it was increased to 65 and took effect last 2007.