Questions you get sick of answering

Them: "So how long have you been training?"
Me: "About 3 years"
Them: "So can you take-off and land a plane by yourself yet?"
Me: "Yes, I did that about 2.9 years ago"
Them: "WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So when do you get your commercial license?"
Me: "I have my Commercial Pilot's license and I should be flying for a corporate flight department or airline by next year."
Them: "NO WAY! So you're gonna be very wealthy next year, like making $200,000 a year, right???"
.........etc etc etc...
 
In Boston recently during bad weather as the crew is approaching the gate:

Female pax: "Are you the captain?"

Me: "Yes mam."

Pax: "Is it going to be bumpy today? because if it is, I want to take my Valium now."

Me: "Yes mam, I am afraid it is, but it will be perfectly safe. You have Valium do you?"

Pax: "Yes, I take it with me every time I travel."

Me: "Wow, I am a nervous flyer as well. You don't happen to have a couple extra I could talk you out of do you?"

Pax: "Sure, ahhhhh wait just a minute, you can't take Valium and fly a plane can you?"

Me (smiling): "No mam, but I wanted to see if you would smile."

Pax (smiling now): "You had me worried there for a minute."



This passenger thanked me on the way out for making her trip a little less stressful with our brief and mildly humorous chat in Boston. Sometimes allowing you passengers to make that physical connection with their pilot(s) makes nervous flyers a little more relaxed.
 
bumblebee said:
That's what makes you special! Every one wants to but very few actually do it.
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Ah yes, but secretly they've all been studying everything there is to know about planes and now know everything. :panic:


This girl at work overheard me talking about flying with another coworker the other day:

Her: So you fly?
Me: Yep
Her: I could fly. I can pretty much operate anything with an engine. (blah blah blah I'm so wonderful, I bet flying is a cinch)
Me: Well golly, I should have just taken my lessons from you. :whatever:
 
calcapt said:
This passenger thanked me on the way out for making her trip a little less stressful with our brief and mildly humorous chat in Boston. Sometimes allowing you passengers to make that physical connection with their pilot(s) makes nervous flyers a little more relaxed.
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You feel safer when you know it's a real person up there. If that makes sense.
 
NotCoolEnufToFly said:
Ah yes, but secretly they've all been studying everything there is to know about planes and now know everything. :panic:


This girl at work overheard me talking about flying with another coworker the other day:

Her: So you fly?
Me: Yep
Her: I could fly. I can pretty much operate anything with an engine. (blah blah blah I'm so wonderful, I bet flying is a cinch)
Me: Well golly, I should have just taken my lessons from you. :whatever:
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Who is this "her"? I'll bet she's uber thin and fairly attractive. Yes?
 
"He'll never get a job as a pilot, none of the airlines are hiring right now."
-Stopped getting that one when he got hired

"Excuse me, do you know where gate 32 is?"- yes, because he knows the location of EVERY gate at EVERY airport in America

"OMG, I can't believe you paid for his training" - yes, I did. If I want to make stupid decisions, I'm plenty old enough to do so. I haven't regretted it yet...

K
 
THEM: Where do you sit?
ME: Up front, ma'am. In the cockpit.
THEM: Then who serves the drinks?

or...

THEM: Huh... there's no bathroom on this plane, is there?
ME: Nope.
THEM: Gosh, I've never been on such an informal operation!

As if relieving yourself at 30,000 feet is considered a "formality."
 
calcapt said:
This passenger thanked me on the way out for making her trip a little less stressful with our brief and mildly humorous chat in Boston. Sometimes allowing you passengers to make that physical connection with their pilot(s) makes nervous flyers a little more relaxed.
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Bet she was hot. She was, wasn't she? WASN'T SHE?!
 
#1 question I can certainly do without:

Is this plane safe, it's so little?

Absolutely not......I fly it day in and out.....but then again, I have a death wish. I'd recommend you get off NOW before we all die!
 
"So, when your a pilot, can you fly me around?"
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Why is it the exact same annoying question, trickles down through the whole shabang of society? How is it that different people everywhere (who have never met) seem to come up with the same questions - verbatum?

The above quotes is just ONE example... And they say it with that goofy tone of voice, that half comical tone. Or the one where they say "you're not going to crash us are you?" But they say it with that stupid, I have already had four beers (but in reality they are sober) and I don't know my rectal oriface from my elbow, laugh......... :banghead:

OR OR OR when the idiot making the stupid comment has friends around and they all have that dumb smile, followed by the stupid laugh....
:yeahthat:
 
In defense of the ignorant for a sec - most people don't understand the relationship of the commericial license to flying for hire vs. 121 vs. 135 and all that stuff. I was only vaguely aware of some of those things before I started research, about 6 months before I found JC.

To the non-flying public, "commerical" = "airline." They simply don't know about things like time-building, minimums, PIC and FAR groupings for different types of flying.

So yeah, while they're dumb questions, they're probably coming from ignorance. This is a PERFECT opportunity to educate the uneducated, constructively, and let them walk away knowing something they didn't know before.

No matter how funny the reply you want to say is. :)
 
"Aren't you afraid of heights?"

Yes.

"How do you deal with it?"

I close my eyes.

I also get sick of answering the "Well, are you any good?" when I mention I'm a pilot. I used to tell them about ratings and licenses, but when they reponded with a blank look I usually say something along the lines of, "Really good. I've only crashed once. And my copilot will be getting out of the hospital any day now, his wife says he's drawing in his applesauce on his lunch trays now... which is a really good sign."

Another favorite from people (pilots and non, men and women), "You don't look like a pilot." And when I'm wearing something they don't expect to see on a pilot, like a skirt, heels, whatever... "How do you fly in that??" Um, the same way everyone else does. I don't charm the dang thing into flying.
 
NotCoolEnufToFly said:
What if I just work at one?! :p

I've had family/friends ask me why I don't just fly to see them, now that I'm a pilot. I'm like 'STUDENT' pilot... not to mention I live in Arkansas and you live in ________, it'd be cheaper to buy a ticket anyways!
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It definitely would be!

I think most people don't realize what it takes one you get to where you are in flying. Here was an annoying one at the FBO

Guy: "who has the most expierence?"
Me: "well CFI xxx has around 3,000 hours, CFI yyy has around 1,500 hours, but is all booked, CFI zzz has around 450 hours, and CFI aaa has been flying for many years, I do not know his TT."
Guy: "well, Id want to fly with the guy who has the most experience."
Me: "I understand, but keep in mind it can be about student/instructor chemistry more than expereince."
guy: "Oh, so do I get a discount flying with the lower time CFI (half kidding)?"

:panic: :banghead:
 
n57flyguy said:
I think most people don't realize what it takes one you get to where you are in flying. Here was an annoying one at the FBO
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Not that I know everything. I still have a lot to learn but hanging around JC and now taking lessons, I do know a little more than the random person who has only been exposed to aviation as a consumer who uses airlines to travel. However, you wouldn't think so the way they INSIST that they know what I should do, how long it should take me, what I should be making...

I had a customer at the store the other day trying to convince me that I should start applying at airlines. When I tried to explain to him that that's not the way it worked, he insisted it was and I just listened and smiled my fake polite smile. No need to argue with these people.

Then he wanted to know how much it was going to cost to get my PPL. I told him it was $110/hr and he asked how many hrs I would have to have, so I told him. "Oh, less than $5000," he said. So then I tried to explain that it's definitely going to take me more hrs than that, plus the cost of supplies, ground instruction, testing and that I probably wouldn't actually know until I was done. He didn't understand. I think he was having a hard time understanding that some people take more than the minimum amount of hrs to learn the material. He was stuck on the idea that as soon as you have those hrs you should have your license. :banghead: I don't even try to explain to people like that anymore. He knows, I don't. End of story.
 
NotCoolEnufToFly said:
Not that I know everything. I still have a lot to learn but hanging around JC and now taking lessons, I do know a little more than the random person who has only been exposed to aviation as a consumer who uses airlines to travel. However, you wouldn't think so the way they INSIST that they know what I should do, how long it should take me, what I should be making...

I had a customer at the store the other day trying to convince me that I should start applying at airlines. When I tried to explain to him that that's not the way it worked, he insisted it was and I just listened and smiled my fake polite smile. No need to argue with these people.

Then he wanted to know how much it was going to cost to get my PPL. I told him it was $110/hr and he asked how many hrs I would have to have, so I told him. "Oh, less than $5000," he said. So then I tried to explain that it's definitely going to take me more hrs than that, plus the cost of supplies and that I probably wouldn't actually know until I was done. He didn't understand. I think he was having a hard time understanding that some people take more than the minimum amount of hrs to learn the material. He was stuck on the idea that as soon as you have those hrs you should have your license. :banghead: I don't even try to explain to people like that anymore. He knows, I don't. End of story.
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If he pulls that crap again just punch him in the face. He'll be so shocked you'll start cracking up and he'll start listening. Woohoo!
 
NotCoolEnufToFly said:
Not that I know everything. I still have a lot to learn but hanging around JC and now taking lessons, I do know a little more than the random person who has only been exposed to aviation as a consumer who uses airlines to travel. However, you wouldn't think so the way they INSIST that they know what I should do, how long it should take me, what I should be making...

I had a customer at the store the other day trying to convince me that I should start applying at airlines. When I tried to explain to him that that's not the way it worked, he insisted it was and I just listened and smiled my fake polite smile. No need to argue with these people.

Then he wanted to know how much it was going to cost to get my PPL. I told him it was $110/hr and he asked how many hrs I would have to have, so I told him. "Oh, less than $5000," he said. So then I tried to explain that it's definitely going to take me more hrs than that, plus the cost of supplies, ground instruction, testing and that I probably wouldn't actually know until I was done. He didn't understand. I think he was having a hard time understanding that some people take more than the minimum amount of hrs to learn the material. He was stuck on the idea that as soon as you have those hrs you should have your license. :banghead: I don't even try to explain to people like that anymore. He knows, I don't. End of story.
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I know what you mean, I most certainly don't know everything but I am suprised what all these hours cruising on JC has taught me, about everything avaition. Of course experience is the best teacher, but that will just take time.

Also, sitting on the line (like the example I posted) has taught me a lot about people. I havn't had any like in your case, but I have gotten some left field stuff about what I should do. Usually I see where they're coming from but other times I've got no clue whats going on up there.

As far as cost, you sound like your on the right track. It might cost you $5,000, it might cost you more. Either way it is how comfortable you feel and your CFI feels.

But yeah, you'll always get those people, listening to them is the hardest part.
 
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