largest pilot allowed

triple7

Well-Known Member
This is directed to Doug, and any other proffesional pilot on this board, but what are the ailines opinions on size in relation to hiring pilots and f/o. I know in the military there is a cutoff as some height and of course weight, but what about the airlines and regionals. any limits on paper, or any limits they dont let you know on height and weight? obviously if you are a slob it wil reflect poorly on you, but what about someone who is a "big guy".?
 
I dont know about hiring requirements, but when I was living in Pasadena, TX and visited EFD on a regular basis I would watch the Continental flight come in quite a bit. One day I saw the captain or F/O walk around the aircraft and he was HUGE. He looked like he was about 6' tall. If he was 6', he had to weigh around 260-280. I thought there were some weight requirements also, but seeing that guy kinda changed my opinion. I would definitely like to hear from Doug or anyone else on the inside what the scoop is on that.
 
The airlines won't discriminate against you because of your size. That would be illegal. Take a walk around the airport some day and you'll see pilots of all shapes and sizes.
 
Well, i am 6'5 290l bs...built like a linebacker....I am HUGE, but fit. anyone see that as a problem? I seemed to fit fine in the left seat of the falcon jet i toured a while back.
 
Although it would be illegal to put it down on paper anywhere, a pilot is one of the public faces of the airline. If you had two equally qualified candidates, and one looked like like a normal, fit person....while the other was about 50 pounds overweight, who do you think would be hired? I've even heard recruiting pilots say that they would want somebody who is going to look good in the uniform.

That's not to say big guys/small guys are out....they just prefer somebody who looks normal.
 
I would imagine that if you were literally morbidly obese you would not be able to pass your medical would you?
 
I've seen it say height and weight need to be proportional on applications....whatever that means. We have some 6'4" or 6'5" guys around UPS. We also have some seriously overweight guys but I gotta wonder if they were like that when they were hired....I doubt it. You have to be reasonably fit to look good in the interview, after that, you have to stay fit enough to hold a first class. Not a real high standard.

As far as physically being too big for the cockpit. I'd say it won't be a concern at the airline level. We had one female F/O candidate who has reportedly busted upgrades (yes, more than one) cause she's too short to reach the pedals properly and stands on the brakes during landings.

Now...when it comes to fitting in my 152...that's another story and some will have to learn in a larger aircraft because of their size.
 
I DO NOT fit in a 152..i dont even think i could pass teh w+b with an instructor next to me. None the less i fit fine in a 172. Now if i were any bigger i would not be able to fit. i am not obese....just built like a defensive tackle in the nfl. Anyone seen John Jansen of teh skins? im kinda like him. i think if it ever came down to it i would fit fine in an airliner.
 
It wouldn't be all that illegal to put something on paper...fire and police departments do it, federal law enforcement agencies do it. This is from Southwest's website:
Weight must be of such proportion to height that a neat appearance is maintained and physical ability to perform all functions is not hindered. <font color="red"> Men's uniforms range in waist size from 27 to 42 inches. Women's uniforms range in size from 0 to 18. No tailor-made uniforms are permitted. </font> Only standard uniform sizes are available. If hired, you must maintain compliance with the Appearance and Physical Performance Standards Policy throughout your employment.
In other words, if you're a guy with a 44 inch waist, or size 20 woman, you ain't working for Southwest as a Customer Service Agent. I would imagine that the same general policy applies to many of their other positions, like ramp, operations, provisioning, and pilots.
 
thats a sly way of enforcing an appearance code......saying, fint in these clothes or dont work. smart....apppearance is a neccesity in that line of work
 
I've seen some very tall pilots, in fact one of my fellow PHX commuters is probably 6'5 and 240 (estimated), even seen some obese FO's and captains, but I have never seen an obese new hire.
 
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I've seen some very tall pilots, in fact one of my fellow PHX commuters is probably 6'5 and 240 (estimated), even seen some obese FO's and captains, but I have never seen an obese new hire.

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Well, if you think about it, all that time on the road spent gulping down whatever fast food you can cram into your mouth in 15 minutes or less and then getting to a hotel in the wee hours when the gym is closed cannot be good for your waistline. Do that for 30 years and there's bound to be an effect!
 
Ok, size 18 for a woman is NOT THAT big compared to a man being a 42 inch waist! So the women have to be porportionately smaller then the men who are generally taller? Yah, that makes sense.
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Ok, size 18 for a woman is NOT THAT big...

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In THIS country!
 
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but I have never seen an obese new hire.

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Thats because the mean lady giving out food stamps to the starving flight instructor/regional/freight pilots doesn't give out enough to pig out on...just enough to live.
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In THIS country!

[/ QUOTE ] True, but we ARE in THIS country. Anyway, the point was not whether a size 18 woman is big. A size 18 women would probably be about 50 pounds over weight. But for a man to get to a size 42 waist, he would probably be about 100 pounds over weight.
 
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In THIS country!

[/ QUOTE ] True, but we ARE in THIS country. Anyway, the point was not whether a size 18 woman is big. A size 18 women would probably be about 50 pounds over weight. But for a man to get to a size 42 waist, he would probably be about 100 pounds over weight.

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yeah, but it is all muscle
 
And you could have some pretty musclar chics too.

42" waist being 100 lbs over? I dunno, everyone's different. I had a friend who was about 5'11" and weighed 280 lbs. by his own accord. I had no clue and I woulda guessed he was something like 230 lbs. The guy was built like a refridgerator. He didn't have a gut either, he was just one wide dude. He's slimmed down to about 200 lbs. now and he does not look like the same guy anymore; he's twigly with his build!

Just goes to show that everyone is made differently.

Cheers


John Herreshoff
 
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