Should we really be calling ourselves "pilots" ??

[MadMitch88]

I'm getting increasingly disturbed that we like to call ourselves Phantom "pilots".

I feel like it's insulting to REAL pilots who fly REAL aircraft and spend thousands of hours of study and training to become certified, especially commercial airline transport pilots who hold hundreds of people's lives in their hands from the moment they take off until the moment they land. What about military pilots who fly dangerous combat missions and get fired upon with anti-aircraft guns and missiles? Don't you think they deserve a lot more respect than some guy sitting on a lawn chair and sipping a Coke on a balmy summer day while he buzzes around the backyard with a plastic toy?

I've been irked for many years hearing the term "healthcare provider" evenly applied to a nurse's aid who spent 6 months in community college learning how to take a blood pressure vs. a brain surgeon who spent 10 years of rigorous education and training after college to become certified to crack open a patient's skull and remove a tumor. It's insulting that a "doctor" gets lumped into the same terminology as a lab tech or nurse aid.

And who in the hell decided to start calling a guy who wears a silly hat and sits at the controls of a choo-choo train an "engineer" when real engineers have to take very difficult math & physics & chemistry courses in college to earn that title?

I think it's time we stop acting macho and stupid and start calling ourselves "Phantom Operators". An operator is somebody who controls a machine, and that's exactly what we do. Otherwise, we are only fooling ourselves into thinking we are real pilots to make us feel important. Only insecure crybabies act like that. :roll:

 

[IrishSights]

Re: Should we really be calling ourselves "pilots" ??

Oxford dictionary: A person who operates the flying controls of an aircraft.
???
It depends on how seriously you take flying these things, what you use it for, and how seriously you take yourself.

I think you worry to much... go fly and enjoy yourself

 

[480sparky]

As one who has spent 39 years in the electrical field, taken numerous proctored tests, documented thousands of hours of OTJ training, taken hundreds of hours of classroom time and taking scores of hours of CEU classes every year... for the sole purpose of being able to call myself an electrician, I don't feel one bit slighted by the DIYer who buys a pair of strippers and a how-to book at Home Depot who calls himself an electrician.

Anyone who flies full-size aircraft who's offended by us calling ourselves pilots needs to check their ego at the door.

 

[Hughie]

I qualified as a solo glider pilot many years ago, and although this is a long way from the proficiency and breadth of knowledge and experience that many commercial and military pilots have and use on a daily basis; I can tell you that for me flying a glider is MUCH easier than flying a fixed wing R/C aircraft. So we need some balance here. Yes multirotors with some flight software can make things simple - it's true. But it is just a word.

What criteria do you want to use to define a pilot? I start with the English dictionary and refer to IrishSights' post above.

 

[MadMitch88]

What criteria do you want to use to define a pilot? I start with the English dictionary and refer to IrishSights' post above.

A pilot is defined as someone "who is in control of an aircraft".

Given that the FAA isn't really sure if UAVs are classified as aircraft or not, then why should we be calling ourselves "pilots"? Is a 4 yr. old kid who makes and throws a paper airplane a "pilot"?

We are Phantom "operators" --- nothing more, nothing less.

BTW, the U.S. Army calls drone pilots "Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operators". So they don't consider them "pilots".

 

[Hughie]

What criteria do you want to use to define a pilot? I start with the English dictionary and refer to IrishSights' post above.

A pilot is defined as someone "who is in control of an aircraft".

Given that the FAA isn't really sure if UAVs are classified as aircraft or not, then why should we be calling ourselves "pilots"?

Aah but last time I checked, the FAA had no jurisdiction over how I fly

 

[MadMitch88]

Anyone who flies full-size aircraft who's offended by us calling ourselves pilots needs to check their ego at the door.

You're a Phantom "operator". Pilot is a title reserved for people who risk their own lives and others when they climb into a REAL aircraft.

 

[MadMitch88]

Aah but last time I checked, the FAA had no jurisdiction over how I fly

You **** Brits --- beyond the icy grip of our American govt. bureaucracy!

 

[IrishSights]

Re: Should we really be calling ourselves "pilots" ??

You're a Phantom "operator". Pilot is a title reserved for people who risk their own lives and others when they climb into a REAL aircraft.

Actually your getting plain arrogant...go fly some and relax...

 

[N017RW]

Anyone who flies full-size aircraft who's offended by us calling ourselves pilots needs to check their ego at the door.

You're a Phantom "operator". Pilot is a title reserved for people who risk their own lives and others when they climb into a REAL aircraft.

Pilot: Noun-

1.
a person duly qualified to steer ships into or out of a harbor or through certain difficult waters.

2.
a person who steers a ship.

3.
Aeronautics. a person duly qualified to operate an airplane, balloon, or other aircraft.

I'm in the #3 category/definition.

 

[Buckaye]

Re: Should we really be calling ourselves

You're a Phantom "operator". Pilot is a title reserved for people who risk their own lives and others when they climb into a REAL aircraft.

Actually your getting plain arrogant...go fly some and relax...

+1

Who cares?

If we're picking titles... I'll be super king über of the universe badass extraordinaire.

I guess I'd add... If a dude walks up to me in the airport and says "I'm a pilot" I don't think I'd be rocking the response "me too" :lol: But when talking with fellow hobbyists... I don't care what people refer to themselves as..

 

[CallMeAlan]

I've been irked for many years hearing the term "healthcare provider" evenly applied to a nurse's aid who spent 6 months in community college learning how to take a blood pressure vs. a brain surgeon who spent 10 years of rigorous education and training after college to become certified to crack open a patient's skull and remove a tumor. It's insulting that a "doctor" gets lumped into the same terminology as a lab tech or nurse aid.

Why isn't a nurse's aid, who takes BPs, possibly gives injections, and possibly wipes bottoms, providing healthcare? Even the elderly lady who brings a cup of tea to a bed bound patient is providing healthcare. They are all healthcare providers, including the guy who puts a blood sample into an analyser to get a full blood count or a U and E.
The term 'Phantom Operator' is really just rather silly and just reminds me of the man who operates the lathe or the switchboard. As said, a pilot is someone who is in control of an aircraft. Well, my Phantom and F550 are certainly aircraft, so I'm a pilot, thank you.

 

[garrock]

Controlling a UAV is also about being a Helmsman
Interestingly, most definitions of Helmsman omit crafts controlled in an atmosphere and instead define them as ground or space based.
Why has society generally excluded aircraft as also being helmed ?

Transport vehicles helmed by humans:

• 
  Drive a car
  Ride a motorcycle
  Ride a bicycle
  Run a train
  Steer a ship or submarine
  Pilot a spacecraft (or satellite)
  Pilot an aircraft

Helm Operated UAV ?

• 
  RC Car
  RC Boat
  RC Aircraft
  RC Satellite (HAM radio OSCAR)

A space satellite is somewhat synonymous to a UAV. they are unmanned but yet controlled by humans.

 

[Khudson7]

Why is a driveway a place we park our cars...
Whi is a parkway a place we drive our cars...
Because it just is...MadMitch, you must really be bored, bad weather there must have you down.

 

[garrock]

Because it just is...you must really be bored there, bad weather there must have you down.

LOL... but those are comparing apples to oranges. that is.. the places a vehicle parks compared to how it is controlled.
(me is far from being bored as will be revealed in a month or so.)

As to the title of this thread; perhaps we should call ourselves: UAV Operators.

 

[aartsf]

Re: Should we really be calling ourselves "pilots" ??

I'm getting increasingly disturbed that we like to call ourselves Phantom "pilots".

I feel like it's insulting to REAL pilots who fly REAL aircraft and spend thousands of hours of study and training to become certified, especially commercial airline transport pilots who hold hundreds of people's lives in their hands from the moment they take off until the moment they land. What about military pilots who fly dangerous combat missions and get fired upon with anti-aircraft guns and missiles? Don't you think they deserve a lot more respect than some guy sitting on a lawn chair and sipping a Coke on a balmy summer day while he buzzes around the backyard with a plastic toy?

I've been irked for many years hearing the term "healthcare provider" evenly applied to a nurse's aid who spent 6 months in community college learning how to take a blood pressure vs. a brain surgeon who spent 10 years of rigorous education and training after college to become certified to crack open a patient's skull and remove a tumor. It's insulting that a "doctor" gets lumped into the same terminology as a lab tech or nurse aid.

And who in the hell decided to start calling a guy who wears a silly hat and sits at the controls of a choo-choo train an "engineer" when real engineers have to take very difficult math & physics & chemistry courses in college to earn that title?

I think it's time we stop acting macho and stupid and start calling ourselves "Phantom Operators". An operator is somebody who controls a machine, and that's exactly what we do. Otherwise, we are only fooling ourselves into thinking we are real pilots to make us feel important. Only insecure crybabies act like that. :roll:

I just feel sad for you ... did you take a cource "how to get depressed" [emoji30]

 

[dptcalvin]

*facepalm

 

[MadMitch88]

Re: Should we really be calling ourselves

Actually your getting plain arrogant...go fly some and relax...

I'm actually the exact opposite of arrogant. I'm demonstrating extreme humility by wanting to call us "operators" and reserve the title of "pilot' for those people who actually put their lives on the line when they fly an aircraft.

Sounds like you need your fragile ego stroked by giving yourself fancy titles like "pilot" when all you do is buzz a little 2-pound plastic toy in the yard.

 

[dptcalvin]

It's the interwebz. Why do people take things so seriously?

I wonder how many people here actually claim to be pilots IRL? I sure don't, but I have no problem with this forum being called Phantom Pilots. I think a Phantom Pilot is different from a "pilot," as well.

 

[MadMitch88]

Why isn't a nurse's aid, who takes BPs, possibly gives injections, and possibly wipes bottoms, providing healthcare? Even the elderly lady who brings a cup of tea to a bed bound patient is providing healthcare. They are all healthcare providers, including the guy who puts a blood sample into an analyser to get a full blood count or a U and E.

You're missing the point. Doctors and nurses shouldn't be lumped in with nurse's aid and lab techs as "healthcare providers". Doctors and nurses spent a very lengthy time getting their education and training and deserve more respect with esteemed titles like "doctor" and "nurse" versus some generic, watered-down term like "healhcare provider".

Do you call your soulmate a "wife" or simply a "female co-habitant"? Do you call your kids "son" or "daughter" simply "biological products of copulation" ??

Titles are important in this world. We need to start respecting them and assigning them only to people who deserve and earn them.