What is the definition of REAL pilot?

[secretk3]

www.mavicpilots.com

 

[BigDuke6ixx]

Definition of a real (aircraft) pilot: the person controlling the aircraft. You can be in the aircraft or remote from it. Being a Typhoon pilot is a massive achievement, while being a Mavic Pro pilot is no achievement at all.

 

[Skychs]

Yesterday while I was out flying my MP a kid walked up and asked about the drone and how it flies. In less than a minute I explained the two toggles and off he went. Come on guys ... the MP is a toy. Anyone can fly them. How they fly them determines if they are a pilot or not. ‍‍‍

 

[Jixxerz]

Mavic is basically a 2 year old tech cellphone camera on a really large tripod you can move in all directions.
It requires absolutely no knowledge of aviation, aerodynamics or similar to operate. It requires no skill what-so-ever to operate.
You're operating a computer which shields you from having to do any actual flying.

Thank you, I was just about to say the same thing. My daughter has never flown anything of any kind ever. She is 13. She has never even driven an R/C car. I handed her my controls mid flight and let her run out the rest of the battery. Within 5 minutes of handing her the controls she looked like she had been flying the Mavic for months. I have been flying R/C for around 25 years now. I have flown literally hundreds upon hundreds of different R/C aircraft including planes, helicopters, and drones. I can fully agree that it takes absolutely no special skills or abilities to fly a Mavic Pro, or most DJI drones for that matter. Now what do you think would've happened if I had handed her the controls of my T-Rex 800 mid flight??

 

[ViperDriver35]

This seems like a silly argument over semantics for the most part. If you have a Mavic and want to call yourself a pilot, I don't see why anyone else should care. I do think that the unqualified word "pilot" has become fairly ambiguous however. For example, here is a list of US Air Force specialty code designations regarding "pilots"

11AX Airlift Pilot
11BX Bomber Pilot
11EX Experimental Test Pilot
11FX Fighter Pilot
11GX Generalist Pilot
11HX Helicopter Pilot
11KX Trainer Pilot
11MX Mobility Pilot
11RX Reconnaissance/Surveillance/ Electronic Warfare Pilot
11SX Special Operations Pilot
11TX Tanker Pilot
11UX Remotely Operated Aircraft Pilot

I will add that 11UX (and 12U/18U) for what it's worth are the only "pilots" that get a different set of wings from the US Air Force



The USAF obviously considers UAV pilots vs other pilots to be a difference in kind not degree. However, they are still technically called "pilots," although colloquially are often referred to as "drone operators"

 

[Jixxerz]

A tethered balloon is not considered an aircraft, just like a kite. A manned balloon is, als well as any balloon with propulsion, remotely piloted or manned.

And piloting a drone is per definition done by a trained pilot, ask the airforce.

Correct. Air Force drone pilots are selected from already enlisted airmen. Their drone pilots ARE actual pilots that are capable of flying, or are learning to fly REAL aircraft.

 

[Jixxerz]

NASCAR drivers are pilots.
the word pilot is adequate for drone pilots. Air Force drone operators are drone pilots. It is the qualifier before that says what kind of pilot you are; fighter pilot, airline pilot, aerobatic pilot, airshow pilot, stunt pilot, drone pilot and so on. It does not matter what you call yourselves. What matters is, are you having fun?

NASCAR drivers are morons with little to no skill other than being able to hold the steering wheel turned all the way left and the accelerator on the floor. I feel pretty confident that if you took the drivers out, locked the wheels left and put a brick on the accelerator the race would turn out just like those idiots had been driving all along. Formula One, Moto GP, Rally Cross, Drag Racing even.....those are things that take actual skill.

 

[Brice LeCarre]

NASCAR drivers are morons with little to no skill other than being able to hold the steering wheel turned all the way left and the accelerator on the floor. I feel pretty confident that if you took the drivers out, locked the wheels left and put a brick on the accelerator the race would turn out just like those idiots had been driving all along. Formula One, Moto GP, Rally Cross, Drag Racing even.....those are things that take actual skill.

Not the point of my post.

 

[Jixxerz]

Not the point of my post.

Never said it was. You brought up NASCAR douches. I simply stated my views on said douches.

 

[cderoche]

The funny thing about all this is....
On one hand you have the people saying drone operators aren't real pilots... doesn't matter to me its just a title. Just like if people call me an A hole. I just ask that they refer to me as MR. A Hole.
Just say quad or drone pilot.
But then when you fly over the wrong nut case's house and he wants to fire off a surface to air missile at your drone you'd swear you were piloting, or operating an SR-71 Blackbird lol.

 

[cderoche]

Here is a list of pilots. Please call Hollywood and explain again to them what a pilot is!
List of television series canceled before airing an episode - Wikipedia

 

[UAVMan]

I think the confusion here is that most don't give a ****, as a previous comment said it's basically a toy. You slide a finger it takes off, you slide another it lands.

The Mavic has opened the door for any idiot with a smart phone to fly, no trimming, no balancing, just click and away....

Personally I love this, means I can concentrate on riding my bike or composing a shot. So whether you actually think you are qualified to become an astronaut or like me a smart phone accessory operator. Just be safe.

 

[radbrad1]

Call me old fashioned, but I decided to use a dictionary...

pi·lot
ˈpīlət/
noun 1. a person who operates the flying controls of an aircraft.


air·craft
ˈerˌkraft/
noun 1. an airplane, helicopter, or other machine capable of flight


SO, assuming that we can all agree that the mavic is a "machine capable of flight", then if you fly a mavic, YOU ARE A PILOT, according to Webster's Dictionary.

Case Closed. The Fat Lady has sung.

Call me old fashioned, but I decided to use a dictionary...

pi·lot
ˈpīlət/
noun 1. a person who operates the flying controls of an aircraft.


air·craft
ˈerˌkraft/
noun 1. an airplane, helicopter, or other machine capable of flight


SO, assuming that we can all agree that the mavic is a "machine capable of flight", then if you fly a mavic, YOU ARE A PILOT, according to Webster's Dictionary.

Case Closed. The Fat Lady has sung.

Some would call flying RC a sport, it doesn't make them an athlete. Kinda the same thing.

 

[Arkarian]

Is that your mom dancing? J/k

 

[blacksheep]

One of the replies mentioned us not being pilots but just controlling a computer. Airbus jets operate via fly by wire. The pilot isn't actually controlling the aircraft directly. Does not mean he or she is not a pilot. When I go out flying with my drone i am piloting it by any definition of the word and that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

 

[wayy510]

I think the confusion here is that most don't give a ****, as a previous comment said it's basically a toy. You slide a finger it takes off, you slide another it lands.

The Mavic has opened the door for any idiot with a smart phone to fly, no trimming, no balancing, just click and away....

Personally I love this, means I can concentrate on riding my bike or composing a shot. So whether you actually think you are qualified to become an astronaut or like me a smart phone accessory operator. Just be safe.

To be safe, these "pilots" require their 50 point pre-flight checklist prior to flying their toy drone......I mean "aircraft".

The real pilots of my Department's air patrol laughed uncontrollably when I mentioned these "pilots".

 

[tmoerel]

Funny...i don't see myself as a pilot and don't see myself as a drone operator. My interest is not flying the Mavic but using it as a flying camera.

So in my eyes I am a remote cameraman

 

[Awolfe57]

Mavic is basically a 2 year old tech cellphone camera on a really large tripod you can move in all directions.
It requires absolutely no knowledge of aviation, aerodynamics or similar to operate. It requires no skill what-so-ever to operate.
You're operating a computer which shields you from having to do any actual flying.

If you don't like this (from www.theuav.com)
"The UAV is an acronym for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, which is an aircraft with no pilot on board. UAVs can be remote controlled aircraft (e.g. flown by a pilot at a ground control station) or can fly autonomously based on pre-programmed flight plans or more complex dynamic automation systems."

Try my observation:
Per FAA, we register as one of two basic types of UAV "users", Commercial or Hobbyist. While someone operating a drone for profit is required to pass the Part 107 Drone Pilot certication test, both the hobbyist and the commercial drone users are piloting (operating the controls, navigating, maneuvering) an unmanned aircraft in federally regulated airspace. Further, Pilot to me is not just the operation of the controls, it implies a sense of responsibility to people on the ground and the other hobbyists and professional UAV Pilots.

 

[westonmavicpilot]

I think most of us don't give a **** whether we are called pilots or not, probably we just enjoy having fun and taking pics / video with our Mavics. It's pretty funny watching this thread with some really small minded people getting all worked up over a word though. If it carries on much further the boys over in the Android vs IOS thread will think you're trying to steal their thunder.... [emoji12]

 

[tmoerel]

I think we are seeing two kinds of people here. Those who fly drones to fly drones and as such would like to be seen as pilots and then there are those who use a drone as a remote camera and don't give a rats **** about what they are called.