Sky is the limit
Biswajiban Sharma

Remember Orville Wright — He ''strapped himself to a barrel with wings and an engine and flew forty yards''. Or Charles Lindbergh, who sat in a soap box and flew across the Atlantic. That was in 1927. Decades later, man still longs for the blue expanse, for that fleeting moment when he is alone in the stratosphere and can only feel his heart palpitating and the adrenalin rushing through his veins as he catches a glimpse of the receding Earth.

Man's basic instincts have not changed much since the days of Charles Lindbergh and Orville Wright, except that aviation today has a lot more to offer - glamour, thrill, good money and the ''prospect of lunching in New York and dining in Tokyo''. Nor does one have to squat in barrels and soap boxes; their modern-day avatars are the Concord and the Airbus.

But along with the risk and the thrill of scaling dizzying heights comes onerous responsibility -- for the billion-dollar flying machine and the numerous lives that have been entrusted in your hands.

So, if you are ready to accept piloting as adventurous but serious business, get ready for the expedition of a lifetime.

A commercial pilot has to be fully aware of the weather, the flight conditions, the routes, the time zones and the sky limits. And mind you, there are no signboards in the sky. Of course, there is the Air Traffic Control, which monitors the takeoff and the landing. The pilot also has scores of instruments and panels to steer him through the blue expanse and alert him to any mechanical and technical snags.

Result: Flying is one of the most sought-after careers in the world. Given that the world aviation industry has shown consistent growth in the recent years, there is going to be no dearth of jobs either, September 11 notwithstanding.

Your workday depends on the number of pilots a plane needs and whether you are flying an international or a domestic aeroplane. In international flights there could be no limits to your working hours. However, you won't be in the pilot's seat for more than four hours at a stretch.

Usually, the captain or the senior commander takes all the important decisions and is vested with the overall responsibility for the flight's safety. He is the team leader and must establish an effective crew atmosphere, with good communication and resource management.

A Trainee Pilot goes on to become a Pilot or First Officer on Board. The first promotion is as a Commander or Captain and after that as a Senior Commander. Moreover, seniority is determined by the hours of flying and successful completion of various training programmes.

If you are a commercial pilot, you will be flying different types of aircraft: From a 16-seater plane to 747 Jumbo jets to the Airbus.

But if you think that you can switch over to auto pilot, then hold on! To be a pilot, you must be an intelligent person with excellent analytical skills. You must have excellent scientific reasoning. You should have the abilities to face all kind of eventualities and even crisis situations. And you must be competent enough to take quick decisions. You should be physically fit and must have excellent leadership qualities.

There are a number of institutes recognised by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, which conduct training in this field. Most prominent among them is the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Academy at Rae Bareilly (Uttar Pradesh). The other major training centres are flying clubs at Mumbai, Karnal and Delhi (the latter is closed now) and HAL Rotary Wing Academy, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd., Bangalore.

To become a pilot one must have a licence. Basically, there are three types of licences:

Student Pilot License (SPL) - To become a commercial pilot in India, one has to first possess a Student Pilot License (SPL). To get the SPL, one should have passed 10+2 with science and be at least 16 years old. Then one should register at a flying club, which is recognized by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Government of India. Registration requires a medical certificate, security clearance and a bank guarantee. One can get an SPL certificate, after completion of the examination.

Private Pilot License (PPL) - Secondly, after a minimum of 15 hours of flying training with instructors, one is eligible to fly. Subsequently, you have to obtain at least 60 hours of solo flying experience to be eligible for a written test. For this, you have to be minimum 17 years of age, 10+2 pass with Physics and Mathematics. A few flying clubs and institutes allow you to register directly for PPL. This license does not allow you to work with commercial airlines.

Commercial Pilot License (CPL) - This can be obtained from any DGCA recognised flying training institute. Apart from 60 hours of flying experience, at least 250 hours flying of experience is required to be a commercial pilot.

Airline Transport Pilots Licence (ALTPL) - This is the last step to becoming a full-fledged airline pilot. It involves flying for over 1,500 hours in a variety of aircraft. Besides, one has to clear all the theory papers.

Gone are the days when the growth prospects were limited. Of late, pilots are in great demand both nationally and internationally. One doesn't have to sit idle for long. And, of course, the greater the number of flying hours the better the chances of landing a job.

Certainly, one gets a fat pay package in this field. Trainee pilots on international routes get Rs 80,000-1,00,000 a month or more (salary plus other allowances). And domestic airlines pay Rs 40,000- 80,000 a month. A pilot may earn Rs 2 lakh-3.5 lakh a month. But a captain makes Rs 2.4-4 lakh a month. A senior commander gets Rs 5 lakh a month in Air-India. The salaries include various allowances and benefits.