I sometimes get from visiting passengers: "Do you have to know what ALL those knobs and buttons do?" and then there are the regulars "Is this your normal route?" and "Aren't you afraid of heights?"
And then from the ladies I am always hearing "What time do you finish flying tonight captain and where are you staying?" I get soooo sick of always hearing that one.
Calcapt, the funny thing is when they visit the cockpit, they look at the circuit breakers too, and think those are all buttons we push. We don't push them! We pull them at strategic moments to reset the darn TCAS so we don't have to write it up!
My most unnerving question #1 was on GOJET, sitting next to a passenger.
"So, you fly this plane too?"
"No, I fly a saab 340."
"Oh. Thats a prop right?"
"Yes."
"Wow. So, do you think some day you'll have enough experience to move up to this regional jet?"
And my response: "well it actually would be opposite. I would be asking if the pilots up front here will someday have enough experience to handle a turboprop!"
My most unnerving question #2 comes from friends, after I tell them where I'm flying.
"So I didn't know united flies in there."
"Well, it doesn't. This is flying for Airways."
"I thought you flew for United. You switched?"
"No, its the same company. Just different paint."