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Tuesday Twitter........Pilots and AMEs


Kip Powick

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Over the years I have seen AMEs do things I couldn't or wouldn't be able to do.  I think as a group they are under-appreciated and under-paid.   I also believe that what pilots do is completely misunderstood by non-pilots.  The reason for this is that the only time most people see pilots is when they are in relax-mode with their feet up drinking coffee or sitting around telling jokes.  The real work happens behind a locked door.  I had a flight attendant one time in the jumpseat on a 2 hour flight to a destination with CAT2 weather and a slippery runway.  The whole flight was a blizzard of approach plates, updated weather, landing distance calculations, a rapidly changing plan of do-this-approach-with-the-tailwind-because-the-limits-are-lower-but-if-the-runway-gets-worse-do-this-approach-so-we-can-stop-on-the-runway and then re-doing it every time the wind or runway conditions or ceiling would change.  She told me later that she had a new appreciation for what we do up front and for how complicated it can get.  Of course this is what pilots do all the time although not usually as complicated.

Kip started this thread as humorous and I don't want to spoil it with a dissertation.  I intended to just write a few lines and it got away from me but I've wondered over the years about where the pilots-think-of-themselves-as-gods trope comes from.  I think it comes from confidence.  In much the same way as my mother, who was a nurse, would say that surgeons walk around the hospital like gods.  And, no, I'm not comparing pilots with surgeons except for the fact that both occupations require a certain amount of self-confidence in one's ability.  Really, you want your pilot and your surgeon to be confident.  I guess any profession/career/occupation that puts individuals in charge of a complicated process will lead to a confident personality presentation to the outside.  All that being said I fully acknowledge that they are some pilots (and some surgeons) who really are arrogant, self-congratulating, jerks.

As an aside;  A few years ago I had a rather invasive internal surgical procedure done.  At my six month follow-up with the specialist/surgeon he brought up what he thought was an interesting parallel between a surgery and a flight - once initiated both commit you to a completion.  I realize lots of things are like this; once you mix the catalyst into the resin you are committed to doing the fiberglass repair and once you mix the eggs into the batter you are committed to make the pancakes but, anyway, he seemed to think the higher level of commitment was significant so I thought I'd share that.

 

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1 hour ago, seeker said:

Over the years I have seen AMEs do things I couldn't or wouldn't be able to do.  I think as a group they are under-appreciated and under-paid.   I also believe that what pilots do is completely misunderstood by non-pilots.  The reason for this is that the only time most people see pilots is when they are in relax-mode with their feet up drinking coffee or sitting around telling jokes.  The real work happens behind a locked door.  I had a flight attendant one time in the jumpseat on a 2 hour flight to a destination with CAT2 weather and a slippery runway.  The whole fight was a blizzard of approach plates, updated weather, landing distance calculations, a rapidly changing plan of do-this-approach-with-the-tailwind-because-the-limits-are-lower-but-if-the-runway-gets-worse-do-this-approach-so-we-can-stop-on-the-runway and then re-doing it every the wind or runway conditions or ceiling would change.  She told me later that she had a new appreciation for what we do up front and for how complicated it can get.  Of course this is what pilots do all the time although not usually as complicated.

Kip started this thread as humorous and I don't want to spoil it with a dissertation.  I intended to just write a few lines and it got away from me but I've wondered over the years about where the pilots-think-of-themselves-as-gods trope comes from.  I think it comes from confidence.  In much the same way as my mother, who was a nurse, would say that surgeons walk around the hospital like gods.  And, no, I'm not comparing pilots with surgeons except for the fact that both occupations require a certain amount of self-confidence in one's ability.  Really, you want your pilot and your surgeon to be confident.  I guess any profession/career/occupation that puts individuals in charge of a complicated process will lead to a confident personality presentation to the outside.  All that being said I fully acknowledge that they are some pilots (and some surgeons) who really are arrogant, self-congratulating, jerks.

As an aside;  A few years ago I had a rather invasive internal surgical procedure done.  At my six month follow-up with the specialist/surgeon he brought up what he thought was an interesting parallel between a surgery and a flight - once initiated both commit you to a completion.  I realize lots of things are like this; once you mix the catalyst into the resin you are committed to doing the fiberglass repair and once you mix the eggs into the batter you are committed to make the pancakes but, anyway, he seemed to think the higher level of commitment was significant so I thought I'd share that.

 

Part of the reason (besides a love for all things aviation) I became a pilot on top of being an AME is to fully understand the entire "Circle of life" of aviation.  I have been a baggage handler as well.  The only 2 front line jobs I have not held would be a CSA and FA.

Understanding ones impact on the entire operation goes a long way in knowing exactly how you fit into the puzzle and why certain things are important.  EVERYONE has his/her place in the puzzle and planes dont fly until all the pieces are in place.  missing pieces cause accidents and any piece can be the missing one.

Sure the training requirements differ and the pay scales differ but in the grand scheme of things we are all just pieces in a big puzzle.

if a bag gets misrouted on an otherwise uneventful flight, what will the passenger remember?  Not the Flight Crew or Cabin Crew.  Not the Cleanliness of the cabin.  Not the Checkin Line.  they will remember the baggage handlers losing their luggage.  Period. 

The biggest puzzle piece is the one perceived by the customer.  Nothing else.

 

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