Pilots in Command

Airline pilots are looked upon as leaders by passengers, crew, and employers alike. Newly hired pilots, as well as current pilots upgrading to become Captains, are required to have training, experience, and skills that demonstrate practical leadership ability and professionalism. Beyond accumulated experience in the flight deck, pilots need straightforward guidance on how to fulfill the role of pilot-in-command. Pilots know that when things go wrong, everyone looks to the Captain—the pilot-in-command—to make things right.

Pilots In Command: Your Best Trip, Every Trip goes beyond what is required by flight training curricula, into what is both a rarity and a necessity: solid advice to student and professional aviators about how to be transformational leaders. This third edition offers new insights into the airline training process, common experiences, and practices new pilots face when entering the airline industry; expands the previous edition’s discussions on culture, professionalism, pilot schedules and bidding, and safety for today’s airline operations; and includes new tips on maintaining professional excellence and optimizing your quality of life as an airline pilot. This edition also includes a new chapter on preparing for and completing the initial qualifications course, encompassing aircraft systems training, flight deck procedures training, maneuvers training, line oriented flight training (LOFT), and the line oriented evaluation.

Focusing on a range of topics that all tie into the application of basic leadership skills, the author covers crew roles, crew briefings, flight attendants, crew resource management (CRM), threat and error management (TEM), transitioning to the line and initial operating experience, ground services, dispatch, customer service, abnormal and emergency situations, layovers, crew dynamics, 14 CFR Part 117 rest rules, safety, and a new model of transformational leadership and professionalism for pilots.

Essential for new airline pilots and Captain upgrade candidates, Pilots In Command shares the insights and techniques typically gained only from years of experience and interaction with your fellow pilots and crew at 35,000 feet.