Let’s talk about First Officers,

There is a lot of public misconception about first officers and captains. I remember one time I was still a first officer having a drink with the captain I was flying with. We started talking with some people sitting next to us, and one of them asked: “So, which one of you is the pilot?”

At first, I didn’t understand what his meaning was. Didn’t everyone know it takes two pilots by regulation to fly most passenger jet airplanes? Apparently not, because we had to explain we BOTH were pilots and that we normally alternate who is flying each leg.

Another time, we were flying a Challenger business jet from Seoul, South Korea, to Jeju, South Korea.

It was a short flight. An hour or so.

One of our passengers wanted to sit in the cockpit during the flight (it’s allowed in private planes), so we let him sit in the jumpseat between us.

I was flying from the right seat, and the captain was doing radio communications from the left seat. My landing was nice and soft (for once), and the passenger between us was amazed! He said: “WOW! You have an auto-landing system in this plane!??”

“Uhh… No. What do you mean?” the captain asked.

“Well, I watched you the whole time, and you had your hands on your knees during the landing! The plane landed by itself! He said.”

We laughed and told him that I, the First Officer, had been flying the whole time!

After experiences like these, I have realized how little the general public understands about pilots working in multi-crew aircraft. For many, the captain is the only pilot.

In reality, we usually alternate duties, so each of us flies every other leg. Sometimes the first officer can be a more experienced pilot than the captain. For example, you can work as a captain in one airline for 20 years, but you may have to start as a first officer when you move to another airline.

Being a captain usually means you have a lot of experience, but often the first officer can be just as qualified to act as a captain; the upgrade decisions are usually made based on needs and money savings by the airline, so not everyone gets upgraded once they reach the required experience level.

FunkyPilot Academy Issue 3

I suppose I should talk about the comic book a bit!

In FunkyPilot Academy, Captain Jack flies with first officer Lando Harris (He’s the one in the screenshots!).

Lando is ready for a captain upgrade, but he gets blamed for an accident he didn’t cause…

Lando and his pet parakeet, Peet, end up homeless and living in a tent. Out of desperation, he ends up a thief, for a while at least… Everything will be revealed in FPA Issue 3!

Issue 3 is all about Lando, the first officer. I hope things turn out well for him!

If you are a pilot and have funny experiences as a first officer, I would love to hear about them! Let me know by comments or by emailing me: [email protected]

Best regards,

Vesa Turpeinen

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Flight training should be fun, and becoming a pilot is really not that difficult, that’s what FunkyPilot Academy is all about!