A pilot has revealed some of the questions he gets asked by passengers about what it’s really like to fly a plane in comparison to driving a car
A pilot has given a fascinating insight into what it’s really like to fly an aircraft and how it differs from driving a car.
For most of us, going on holiday doesn’t involve much thought about the journey; flying can be a pleasant experience. We board a plane, enjoy some refreshments and land in a new destination ready for fun. But for pilots, every journey carries a huge responsibility.
Becoming a pilot requires years of dedication, strong spatial awareness and the ability to handle high-stress situations. A former US army veteran turned commercial pilot has been sharing his cockpit experiences on TikTok and answering passengers’ questions.
Recently, one curious follower asked if aeroplanes have gas pedals like cars. The pilot, known as @PerchPoint on the app, explained: “We do have pedals on both the captain and officer side. We have two pedals – right and left foot. But they control the rudder which is for directional control.”
He added: “And they [the pedals] also kind of pivot forward a little bit so we can control the brakes. We can step on the left pedal for left brakes or the right pedal for right brakes. That’s for like directional control or using both pedals to slow down when we land.”
“There’s lots of switches and buttons but no gas pedals,” he clarified.
Explaining how pilots propel the aircraft forward, he revealed that two or four thrust levers are manually operated. “We take them both and push them forward – one for the left engine and one for the right,” he clarified.
If the plane has three or four engines, it has an equivalent number of levers. The pilot also shed light on the fact that airplane windshields differ from those in cars.
He explained that the windscreens are divided in half, allowing the pilot and co-pilot to use their own window side and operate the windscreen wipers independently for each windscreen. He further pointed out that the only distinction between a captain and first officer pilot is that the captain has the final say on decisions, but they both control the aircraft together.
In another video, the pilot shared that he often gets asked about flight information by passengers at the airport – even if he isn’t piloting their plane. The pilot admits that he often has to use Google to find information about flights.
He stated: “The general population overestimates what pilots and aircrew actually know. If anyone stops and asks me for directions to their gate or maybe just information about their flight, I am more than happy to help because obviously we are more familiar with the system.”
“But, in the grand scheme of it all, we don’t have special access or necessarily more information about someone else’s flight other than our own than anyone else would have about their flight.”