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Aviation

Flight deck dynamics: captain Marek

The flight deck is a special office, and a very small one: just over two square meters. In this little closed space pilots can spend hours together. Is there an intimate atmosphere? There can be. Normally it’s just the two of us in the front. ‘What do you guys talk about all the time?’ cabin crew often wonders. They assume it’s kind of boring, only one other person to talk to, while they are in a cabin full of people. Every day in the flight deck is different. Some days are filled with smalltalk, silly jokes, and there are days with deeper, more personal conversations.

 

During several phases of flight pilots keep a ‘sterile flight deck’: we keep all communication to a minimum and relevant to the operation only. But during cruise flight there is time to talk, and on a long flight there is actually a lot of time to talk. When you are stuck together for hours, you can get to know the other person very well. Where I want to go with this story, is a day that I will never forget. It is a day I work together with a captain from Eastern Europe, let’s call him Marek.

I meet Marek in the crew room. We are scheduled to fly four sectors together today, and it is the first time that I meet him. He is based elsewhere in Europe, and works in my base for only a week. It is very likely that we will only fly together today, and that after the job is done we will never meet again. We introduce ourselves, prepare the flight paperwork, and together with the cabin crew we proceed to our aircraft to get ready for the first flight.

In cruise flight Marek clearly feels like talking. Some of my colleagues are more quiet and reserved, but this man is really out to get to know me. He is almost 60 years old, with plenty of flight hours and stories under his belt. Usually the journalist in me, eager to learn about a person, comes out. But Marek steers the conversation to revolve around me. So I tell him my story. I tell him about my flight experience, my time at University, my switch from journalism to aviation, my struggles to get a job, about my career plans, and about my family. ‘Are your parents proud?’ ‘Yes, oh yes they are.’ I tell him how I feel about living abroad, being an expat, about my passion for mountains and traveling. He wants to know all, and I feel comfortable telling him all.

With some colleagues you simply connect. Today is such a day. On this long day flying together there is a special atmosphere. Work goes smoothly. We have an excellent connection as professional colleagues, but also from person to person. Marek asks about my dreams for the future. He listens and comments, and sends out signals that he is somewhat proud of the young woman that he got to know.

‘I don’t know if I should tell you this’

Together we operate four flights, and now we are at the last flight of the day. We land, vacate the runway, and taxi to our stand. We shut down the engines, and perform the final checklists. It has been a long day. Before I leave the flight deck, captain Marek tells me that he had a good time working with me: ‘It has been a lifetime since I flew with a girl. It was such a great day for me.’ I smile. Then he gets more serious. ‘To be honest Eva, I will never forget this day.’ He pauses. ‘I don’t know if I should tell you this. My daughter… I had a daughter. She would have had exactly your age now. And all day I was wondering if she would have been anything like you?’

I look at him, and see the dynamics between us today in a whole new light. This hits right into my heart. But through his behaviour I notice that, despite the questions all day long, now is not a moment for questions. Marek instructs me to leave the airplane and take our paperwork with me to the crew room. Later, in front of the terminal building, we say goodbye and go our separate ways.

I am deeply touched. Never will I forget this day.

Aviation

Do passengers react differently to a female pilot?

To work in the flight deck, means to work in a male dominant environment. Over the last few years, more and more women have joined as pilots, also at the airline I work for. My colleagues and myself react to this with nothing but enthusiasm. Male or female, the consensus is: gender does not matter in judging one’s abilities to operate an aircraft. However, as female pilots we are still a rare species.

 

When passengers notice that it is a female pilot taking them to their destination, they often react to this. My experience is that their reaction is usually very positive: I get smiles, thumbs up, generally a surprised look followed by a smile. They ask if they can take a picture, or make a little smalltalk. I am used that people don’t react indifferent when they see me in my uniform, even when walking in the terminal. They will usually give a second look, point, smile, or look a little surprised.

Standing out

When you stand out, in this case by statistics, this naturally triggers a reaction. The encouragement and surprised-but-positive reactions give a daily boost. But sometimes, the reaction is a not so positive one. When I decided to write about this topic, despite all positive experiences, a particular situation came to mind:

‘Ehm. That is not the pilot, is she?’ ‘You? Pilot? You have got to be joking! This does not feel right. Tell me, do you even know the left from your right?’

I am in the flight deck, we are on the ground in the turnaround. This is the time on the ground, when the passengers of the flight we just completed are at their destination, and disembark. We prepare the next flight, while new passengers board the aircraft, and we will take them to their destination. As flight crew we complete the necessary paperwork, check the weather for the whole route, decide on the fuel that we order, prepare the departure, discuss how we will fly, what specialties we have to take into account for this particular flight, and then do the checklist to see if all that had to be done, is done.

Welcome on board

After all the preparations in the flightdeck, I get out of my seat to make myself a cup of coffee in the front galley. Passengers are still boarding. I get a smile, I nod and smile back. While I pour some hot water into my coffee mug, I hear a female passenger that just got on board of our airplane, ask to the purser: ‘Ehm. That is not the pilot, is she?’ Surprised I look in her direction, and we catch each other’s eyes. I reply: ‘Yes, she is the pilot, how are you madame?’ The woman looks somewhat confused, but smiles and shrugs.

Then a big man, who got on the airplane together with this woman, takes a little step forward. I am still standing in the galley. He turns in my direction: ‘You? Pilot? You have got to be joking! This does not feel right. Tell me, do you even know the left from your right?’

Male chauvinist

In my head, there is a brief moment of short circuit: This rude, middle aged man, standing in front of me, towering over me, staring at me. Left from right? Does this man have a daughter? Then how did he raise her, with what values and beliefs, and has he taught her dignity and self-respect? Where he gets the nerve..? Ah well, quick now, he is actually waiting for an answer:

‘Left, right? Who needs to know about that? I got my pilot license when I found it in a pack of cornflakes. Enjoy your flight sir.’

I nod and smile, and walk back into the flight deck.

Aviation

How did I become an airline pilot?

Besides why I chose for this profession of soaring the skies at 37.000 feet, the next question is how did I manage to get where I am today? I get lots of questions of which school I attended, how I afforded this, and how I got a job. There are many different routes, but this is my story in short.

Regarding flight schools and taking the modular route or an integrated course, I researched mostly online. Internet will give you a ton of information, check for example here. I visited several information days of flight schools in Holland. I chose to follow an integrated course: this is 2 years of full time studying. Everything is done in this period to get a frozen ATPL: all theory exams, flight hours flying single engine and multi engine, an instrument rating, all practical flight exams and an MCC course. I applied to the Dutch flight academy ‘Nationale Luchtvaart School’ (now CAE Oxford Aviation Academy), and passed the assessments to start flight training.

Pilot loan

How did I afford it? Flight training is very expensive, so I understand this question. When I started my training in 2008, there was a Dutch bank that offered ‘pilot loans’. If you got accepted in a flight academy, you could apply for a loan at this bank to fund your studies. I afforded my flight training by getting a loan, and it took me 11 years to pay it off. The bank now stopped with this construction, so these ‘pilot loans’ are something from the past.

I started flight training in october 2008; this was exactly the start of the ‘global financial crisis’. All I could do now, was study hard: get the highest grades possible, and pass all my exams at once. I knew getting a job at the end of the course would be extremely difficult. In 2010, when I graduated, the market was full of cadet pilots, and hardly any jobs, not even for experienced pilots. Welcome in the pool of unemployed cadets.

Pool of unemployment

Two long years I did everything I could to get a job, and kept improving my skills and CV. I tried to find work in an airline: if it was not as a pilot for now, then in another position. I managed to get a full time job at Martinair operations, where I worked as a dispatcher and crew scheduler. In the mean time I applied everywhere. I considered every airline, big or small, business jets, turboprops, open applications. I networked, I called airlines, I uploaded my CV into countless online databases. I spent hours of checking aviation websites and forums online, looking for chances. I made summaries of all the theory subjects, and invested in some more reading material to keep my knowledge sharp.

Living for the future

And there was more. I completed a bush pilot course in South Africa. I joined the editorial staff of the Dutch Airline Pilots Association and wrote voluntarily for their magazine. To obtain a certificate that would increase my chances on the German pilot market, I completed a German language course. I trained regularly on an expensive Boeing 737 simulator, to be ready anytime for an assessment. I kept my license and medical valid. For two years my whole life revolved around getting a pilot job at an airline. All my time, money and energy went there. I was only living for the future.

Airline interview

Then one day, in september 2012, I got the invitation for an assessment at a big European passenger airline. I knew that my time was now, otherwise maybe never. I felt a lot of pressure. But the night before the assessment I slept ten hours nonstop! I was so tired of preparing, and at the same time relaxed; I knew I had done everything I possibly could to prepare. I was ready. With this attitude I started my simulator assessment. My nerves did not ruin things for me, and I flew the best assessment I could think of. This was followed by an hour of technical an personal questions.

Job

To conclude the interview I got a firm handshake from the captain that had assessed me. He told me to start preparing for my type-rating on the Boeing 737: I had the job! This in now 4 years ago, and to recall this day still brings the biggest smile on my face. For those of you out there working hard to get a job, maybe for several years already: don’t give up! Keep working hard, keep improving. Many of us have been in this situation. Keep faith that you will get to that flight deck seat: you will, but it takes constant work, and the right attitude.

Aviation

From journalism to flying jets

‘Why did you want to be a pilot?’ It is a frequently asked question, and my story provides not the most obvious answer. It was not my childhood dream. My dad was not a pilot, nor anyone else in my family. I never ever imagined myself behind the controls of an airplane, until just before getting my ‘Bachelor of Arts’ degree, at age 22. Today I find myself flying jets for several years. So what happened between then and now?

 

In highschool I was a bookworm who excelled in languages. I had no clear idea where I wanted to go in my life, so I chose a broad range of subjects. I wanted to keep all options open, and therefore I also included all beta subjects. Probably I would ‘never in my life’ deal with these formulas again. With the goal of broad knowledge I struggled my way through maths, chemistry, and physics.

Challenging career

Growing up we all dream about our future. I was an eternal dreamer. In my head I created so many different possible futures. What would be my ideal job, and my ideal life? Holland, my country, is great, but I wanted to live abroad. To experience living in several countries would even be better. I did not want to work 9 to 5 with the same people every day. I desired to feel a real passion about my job. Together with her love for literature and writing, this Millenial narrowed it down: journalist! I would create insightful stories for respected media. I would live my life to the fullest, which in my eyes included living abroad, traveling, and a career that would always challenge me. How to get this lifestyle as a journalist? I planned to figure it out along the way, and started at University.                                      

Journalist in doubt

And so I studied literature and journalism. With several freelance writing jobs I payed for my study, and got experience in the field. I loved all the writing assignments. I got to interview famous Dutch authors, and truly enjoyed putting their words into the best articles I could. My grades were good. And then, doubt hit me. What if I was not on the right track? The kind of life I was aiming for required an amazing network, the best writing skills and building a name for myself. What if I would not succeed in all this, and be average at best? What if I ended up glued behind a desk, feeling envious when writing about the people who lived the kind of life I wanted to have? I tried to shake off these doubts, told myself that with attitude and perseverance one can reach a lot.

Several people noticed my doubts regarding a future in journalism. It was my mum who said: ‘Eva, why don’t you visit a flight school? See if this is something for you?’ Wait. What? I didn’t understand her comment. ‘You often express your admiration for the job of airline pilot.’ I did? It turned out I did. Several of my friends confirmed that I had sighed more than once ‘what an amazing job pilots have’. Apparently I had this subconscious dream inside me, and the people around me actually discovered it before me.

Could I be an airline pilot?

Now that my subconscious dream was out in the open, it became clear to me: indeed, I had always had this big admiration for the people flying jets. At the same time a voice inside my head told me this would be absolutely unattainable for me. This conviction is why I had always pushed this fantasy right back, deeply into silence. Could I be an airline pilot?

Some months went by. I researched as much as possible about the aviation industry, education, what the life of a pilot is like, and what it takes to become one. I graduated in maths and physics, with all those formulas I would never deal with again. It turned out I already met all the criteria to apply at a flight school. I realised that the profession of a pilot completely matched with my ideal kind of life. This job would bring more than I could have ever imagined for myself. And it might be attainable, if I dedicated myself to it. Becoming a pilot went from never crossing my mind, to something that became my ultimate goal. It was now time to stop dreaming and take action.

Dedication

I worked hard that year. I wrote my thesis ‘The change in literary culture’ to graduate University. At the same time I prepared for my flight school assessment. I spent days in the University library, and nights researching aviation websites. I was in the final stage of writing my thesis, when I got the invitation for an assessment at the flight school I hoped to get into. When I received the news that I passed the selection procedure, I was over the moon. I remember dancing in front of my mailbox, with the letter in my hand stating I got accepted to start flight training.

This brings me to the next question I get asked a lot: how did I become an airline pilot? I hope you enjoyed my personal story. – Am I happy I made the switch, and is airline pilot my dream job? Yes, absolutely yes!