Talk:Aircraft pilot/Archives/2013

Anyone can fly
"Anyone can fly an aircraft, with or without a certificate. However, at all times the aircraft must be under the operational control of a properly certified and current pilot, who is responsible for the safe and legal completion of the flight. The absolute authority given to the Pilot in Command is derived from that of a ship’s captain." Does anyone know if this is true in most jurisdictions? DJ Clayworth 18:02, 14 November 2005 (UTC)
 * Probably not. Thanks for pointing that out. Without a comprehensive survey, one could put "In some jurisdictions" or "In many jurisdictions", although they are both weak statements and I would guess it's true of all English-speaking jurisdictions. David Brooks


 * that statement above is ture. In Canada and US the aircraft must be in Operational control of a qualified pilot but someone else can be "at the controls".  So "anyone can fly in technically correct".--Captain433180 02:47, 4 July 2006 (UTC)


 * 14 CFR 135.113 - Passenger occupancy of pilot seat. § 135.113 Passenger occupancy of pilot seat. No certificate holder may operate an aircraft type certificated after October 15, 1971, that has a passenger seating configuration, excluding any pilot seat, of more than eight seats if any person other than the pilot in command, a second in command, a company check airman, or an authorized representative of the Administrator, the National Transportation Safety Board, or the United States Postal Service occupies a pilot seat.

Well, if the flight ends in an accident at least the pilot will have a lot of problems. The (wo-)man who flew but isn´t pilot will probably also have problems. Apart from this I think the statement isn´t true because you must have a licence! You can´t buy this only for money! You also have to prove that you can fly! Dagadt


 * That is just false. Anybody out for their first solo does not have a license.  Suitably qualified/authorised instructors may permit anyone to fly.  But we are both talking "legally" - not about plain (pun intended) ability.  See below.  Paul Beardsell (talk) 21:40, 14 January 2009 (UTC)

Coming to this very discussion late: What can be done legally and in reality are two different things in this, and many other, areas of life. Whether one can fly an aircraft has nothing to do with the legal position. There are plenty of people who can fly but who may not do so legally. Pilots with expired medical certificates. Pilots who are at this moment drunk. I'll add the word "legally" to the article. Paul Beardsell (talk) 21:37, 14 January 2009 (UTC)


 * The statement above is true, though worded poorly. I would phrase it thusly:  Anyone may handle the controls of an aircraft in flight, whether certified as a pilot or not.  However, a certified and authorized airman must accept full responsibility for, and final authority as to, the operation of that aircraft.  The certified pilot acts as Pilot In Command, a title similar to that of Captain of a seagoing ship.  To act as PIC, a pilot must be a licensed pilot, among other operational and medical requirements.  Thus, to operate an aircraft by yourself (solo), you must be a certified pilot capable of acting as PIC.  To simply handle the controls, all you need is a buddy who can act as PIC.  There is nothing wrong with a private pilot letting a friend try the controls.  During initial training of pilots, the instructor acts as PIC, while the student actually handles the controls.  I speak only for American pilots operating in the United States, and I refer to FAR parts 61 and 91.  Above I directly quoted FAR 91.3(a). 65.191.103.62 (talk) 09:45, 2 July 2010 (UTC)

Piloting has its own meaning
You can pilot a boat and a ship and neither of these is similar to aircraft flying. I think the term Piloting or Pilot needs its own page; that is to say, not just a disambiguation page. All of these types of piloting share a common theme. After a discussion of piloting in general there ought to be links to the different piloting pages. As of now, piloting redirects to Aviator and pilot redirects to the pilot disambiguation page. Regards, Icitrom 12:31, 30 July 2006 (UTC).


 * I entirely agree. There should be a page for "pilot" with a large section for it's aviation connotation, with a link to this page.  "Aviator" and "Pilot" do have different - if overlapping - meanings. 65.191.103.62 (talk) 09:49, 2 July 2010 (UTC)

"Pilot" is actually not a very accurate or well-defined term regarding aircraft. Pilotage, even in aviation, refers to a form of navigation, and a pilot is "one who navigates". I wanted to change the main article, but honestly, I am not sure how to find definite references regarding this topic. Hopefully someone with more expertise than I have can give a better explanation in the main article. Calling the person operating the controls of an aircraft a "pilot" is not a universally accepted title. Aviator is better, but still far too general. The USA navy calls the person actually operating the aircraft an Aviator or Driver. Both words are better than pilot according to international usage, but neither is completely accurate. Is it possible that after 100 years we still don't have a correct term for this position, job, occupation? I have a pilot's license, and I was trained in "pilotage", which has nothing to do with actually operating the controls of an aircraft, so it's kind of a conundrum for me. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 186.176.15.41 (talk) 06:20, 18 October 2013 (UTC)

Military pilots
1. There are very few military pilots listed. Anyone like to add?

2. The title was Other famous military pilots, which is misleading. I'll take out the "other" - but someone may want to rethink all this.--Tony in Devon 13:59, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

3. This belongs in the first section regarding the definition of aviator. In the United States, historically, Jmalin 19:50, 26 June 2007 (UTC)


 * actually it is not. I wanted to add this after my statement above.  navy "pilots" call themselves "aviators" because technically a "pilot" is another job altogether.  "Pilot" used in reference to aircraft operators is actually a slang term or colloquialism (sp?).  It has been generally accepted but does not accurately describe what an aircraft operator does, although PART of what he does is act as a PILOT.


 * The phrase "Naval Aviator" refers not only to the pilots, but to aerial navigators, weapons systems operators, radar intercetion officers (RIOs), and so forth. This should be made clear.98.81.14.60 (talk) 13:26, 23 August 2010 (UTC)