Cool Jobs: Pilot

I bet you have wondered what it's like to fly through the sky. I know I did when I was a kid (yes, Mr. Wingo started life as a kid). And while we can't soar silently through the sky like a bird, we can become pilots!

Being a pilot has to be one of the coolest jobs. And there are so many types of piloting jobs! You could fly people on an airliner, you can fly packages, you can fly for the military as a fighter pilot, you can fly small planes, big ones, and all sizes in between. You can even use your super hero pilot skills to help save lives by being a firefighter from the air or an ambulance pilot. Yes, there are airplanes that serve as ambulances! Believe it or not, they even use helicopters to harvest Christmas trees! There are all kinds of pilots.

And All Kinds of Aircraft

Different aircraft do different jobs. Helicopters are used when a pilot needs to land in a place that doesn't have a runway. The police even use helicopters to find bad guys. Big airplanes are typically used to haul big loads. Airliners and cargo aircraft can haul tens of thousands of pounds! In fact, a big airliner like the Boeing 747 can haul 308,000 pounds! That means it can haul 450 people, about 300,000 footballs, 985,600 cowboy hats or 15,400 wiener dogs!!

Sea planes can land on water!

Fighter jets are the fastest and most maneuverable planes in the sky.

Cargo planes are HUGE!!

Small planes are fun and easy to fly.

This is the first working airplane flown in 1903 by the Wright Brothers. Orville and Wilbur were driven to solve the problem of flight. They used their brains and their courage to change the world!

Airplanes like this fight fires. They land in lakes to get their water, then fly to the fire. Once they are there, they drop their water on the fire and then return to the lake to get more water.

Gliders don't have engines! Another plane pulls them into the air and releases them. Then they use their long wings to stay aloft.

Becoming A Pilot

To be a pilot, you must take flying lessons. You can enroll in a special school or just take lessons at your local airport from a teacher called a flight instructor. Even kids can take lessons, but you won't be able to get your license until you are 17 years old. If you fly gliders, you can get your glider rating at 16.

Pilots have to plan their flights before they takeoff. They need to know how much fuel is required, how long the flight will take, what route they will fly, how to fly around weather and talk to air traffic control. They also have to know how to takeoff and land. Pilots are also required to know a lot about their airplanes. A lot more than you have to know to drive a car.

Once you get your license and some experience, you can get your Commercial pilot's license. This means you can make flying your job.

Pilots learn how to talk to air traffic control. It is hard at first, but with just a little practice, it becomes easy.

Flying is a fun and rewarding job. It takes dedication and hard work, but if you want to do it, you can!