Commercial Pilot

Pilot and navigate the flight of fixed-wing aircraft on nonscheduled air carrier routes, or helicopters. Requires Commercial Pilot certificate. Includes charter pilots with similar certification, and air ambulance and air tour pilots. Excludes regional, national, and international airline pilots.

O*NET reports this occupation under titles such as: Captain; Charter Pilot; Check Airman; Commercial Helicopter Pilot; Commercial Pilot; EMS Helicopter Pilot (Emergency Medical Service Helicopter Pilot); First Officer; Helicopter Pilot; Line Pilot; Pilot

Tasks

• Check aircraft prior to flights to ensure that the engines, controls, instruments, and other systems are functioning properly.
• Co-pilot aircraft or perform captain's duties, as required.
• Consider airport altitudes, outside temperatures, plane weights, and wind speeds and directions to calculate the speed needed to become airborne.
• Use instrumentation to pilot aircraft when visibility is poor.
• Monitor engine operation, fuel consumption, and functioning of aircraft systems during flights.
• Order changes in fuel supplies, loads, routes, or schedules to ensure safety of flights.
• Contact control towers for takeoff clearances, arrival instructions, and other information, using radio equipment.
• Plan flights according to government and company regulations, using aeronautical charts and navigation instruments.
• Start engines, operate controls, and pilot airplanes to transport passengers, mail, or freight according to flight plans, regulations, and procedures.
• Check baggage or cargo to ensure that it has been loaded correctly.
• Obtain and review data such as load weights, fuel supplies, weather conditions, and flight schedules to determine flight plans and identify needed changes.
• Conduct in-flight tests and evaluations at specified altitudes and in all types of weather to determine the receptivity and other characteristics of equipment and systems.
• Choose routes, altitudes, and speeds that will provide the fastest, safest, and smoothest flights.
• Write specified information in flight records, such as flight times, altitudes flown, and fuel consumption.
• Coordinate flight activities with ground crews and air traffic control, and inform crew members of flight and test procedures.

Knowledge

• Customer and Personal Service
• English Language
• Transportation
• Geography
• Public Safety and Security
• Mechanical
• Law and Government
• Computers and Electronics
• Physics

Skills

• Monitoring
• Critical Thinking
• Active Listening
• Reading Comprehension
• Speaking
• Active Learning
• Learning Strategies
• Writing

Abilities

• Problem Sensitivity
• Perceptual Speed
• Control Precision
• Near Vision
• Oral Comprehension
• Oral Expression
• Deductive Reasoning
• Inductive Reasoning
• Information Ordering
• Selective Attention
• Response Orientation
• Reaction Time
• Far Vision
• Depth Perception
• Written Comprehension
• Spatial Orientation
• Multilimb Coordination
• Rate Control
• Speech Recognition
• Speech Clarity
• Time Sharing
• Flexibility of Closure
• Written Expression
• Manual Dexterity
• Visualization
• Arm-Hand Steadiness
• Category Flexibility
• Speed of Closure
• Glare Sensitivity
• Hearing Sensitivity
• Auditory Attention
• Fluency of Ideas
• Originality
• Visual Color Discrimination
• Peripheral Vision