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An 'aviator' (also ''pilot'' or ''airman'') is a person who flies aircraft, whether for pleasure or as a profession. The word is normally applied to pilots and flight instructors, but it can be applied more broadly, for example to include people such as wing-walkers who regularly take part in an aerobatic display sequence. In World War 2 the Royal Air Force employed blind pilots - the Non-Vis, or 'Bats' as they were usually known - who were some of the most sucessful pilots of the Battle of Britain. They navigated by using electromagnet pulses sent through their headsets and landed to the National Anthem. Frequently, if shot down, they were returned to the UK as being deemed by the enemy as not a threat. They didn't use guide dogs.
The word aviatrix was used to refer to female aviators, reflecting the word's Latin root, but is now seldom used, even as a gender-specific term. In civilian aeronautical usage, the word airman is synonymous with seaman in nautical usage. In U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) usage, an airman is the holder of an airman certificate issued by its Airmen Certification Branch.

Contents

History

United Kingdom

United States

Civil and Commercial Aviation

International

United States

Military

Aviators in space

See also

External links

History

Louis Blériot made a brief flight in his Type V monoplane on April 5, 1907.
The first certificate was delivered by the Aero Club de France to Louis Blériot in 1908, followed by Glenn Curtiss, Leon Delagrange and Robert Esnault-Pelterie. Sabiha Gökçen was the first Turkish female aviator and the first female combat pilot in the world.

United Kingdom

As of 2000 there were 31,885 private pilots and 16,449 airline and commercial pilots (ATPL and CPL) registered with the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Among private pilots, only 6% are female (approximately 1800). In commercial aviation this drops to only 2%.

United States

The Federal Aviation Administration estimates that there are 609,737 active pilots with US Airmen certificates as of December 31, 2005. [1] Of these, about 6%, or 36,584 are female. The state of Alaska has the highest number of pilots per capita; out of an estimated 663,661 residents there are 8,550 pilots, which is about 1:78.

Civil and Commercial Aviation

Civilian pilots fly privately for pleasure, charity, in pursuance of a business, for non-scheduled commercial air transport companies, or for airlines. Pilots that are employed by an airline are usually referred to as ''airline pilots'', with the pilot in command often referred to as the ''captain''. Commercial pilots are often responsible for duties including:

★ Briefing

★ Outside Check

★ Flight preparation

★ Taxiing

★ Flight

★ On Blocks

International

In some countries (e.g. Israel, Pakistan, Thailand and several African countries), there is a strong relationship between the military and the principal national airlines, such that many or most airline pilots have a military background. This is no longer the case in the Western world; whilst airline companies do employ many ex-military pilots, it is generally more common for employees to have spent all of their career as civilian pilots.
This may well be due to an increasing number of airline training schools throughout the Anglosphere and indeed throughout the globe, and the fact that military training and flying commercially are fundamentally different in many ways.

United States

Legacy airlines such as American Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta Air Lines have slashed their pilot wages due to competition from low-cost airlines. In fact, Southwest Airlines captains and first officers both start off with significantly higher salaries than the legacy carriers. As of May 2004, median annual earnings of airline pilots, co-pilots, and flight engineers were $129,250. [2] However, such salaries represent the upper level of airline salary scales. Salaries at regional airlines can be considerably less - according to the ''Bureau of Labor'', median annual earnings of commercial pilots were $53,870, with the middle 50 percent earning between $37,170 and $79,390. [3] Pilots making very large salaries are typically senior airline captains, while pilots making very small salaries are generally low-seniority first officers. Based upon voluntary pilot reports, many US airline pay scales are listed here: [4]. Most airline pilots are unionised, with the Air Line Pilot's Association(ALPA) being the largest pilot labour union in the US.

Military

Military pilots fly under government contract for the defence of countries. Their tasks involve combat and non-combat operations, including direct hostile engagements and support operations. Military pilots undergo specialised training, often with weapons operation and Air combat manoeuvring. Some military pilots are also civilian pilots.

Aviators in space

In human spaceflight, a 'pilot' is someone who directly controls the operation of a spacecraft while located within the same craft. This term derives directly from the usage of the word "pilot" in aviation, where it is synonymous with "aviator." Note that on the US Space Shuttle, the term "pilot" is analogous to the term "co-pilot" in aviation, as the "commander" has ultimate responsibility for the shuttle.

See also

★ List of aerospace engineers

★ Pilot licensing and certification

★ Workplace safety

External links

★ Fighter Pilots

★ Occupation Information - Pilot

★ Ask a Pilot Questions

★ [http://www.century-of-flight.freeola.com/Aviation%20history/aviation%20timeline/1907.htm An Aviation Timeline
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