How many hours of flight have you clocked so far?
I have 27 hours of flight.
Does it take 10,000 hours to be good at Aviation as well?
10,00 hours of flight is a huge number even for the airline pilots. So,yes.
Before we start, I wanted to know how you ended up in the Aviation industry. How does that story go?
I ended up in the aviation industry with a dream. Ever since I was a child I loved the look of a airplane flying in the sky and having the freedom to do so. I originally wanted to join the military to become a fighter pilot but due to my bad eye sight they wouldn’t let me in so instead to took up the airline route.
Can you talk about how you decided to be a pilot and fly planes for a living?
I decided to train as a pilot because it was my childhood dream to become a person in position to have that freedom of flight.
What is it really like?
Training as a pilot is the most rewarding experience in my life, but it isn’t for the weak.There will be times when you have second thoughts about training or having a career. It is not secret about airline pilots mental health being on decline due to the stress of the job and being away from family.
Sure there is a process you went through after deciding to make the cockpit your office. What was the first step and how far, or close are you to being a tried and tested aviator?
The first step I took to train as a pilot was reaching out to my regional flight school and having what we call is a discovery flight. A discovery flight is your first hour of flying where you try out the instruments and flight controls. For my very first flight it was a huge rush of excitement and a little bit of fear.
What's the air travel industry like? What are the major airlines and what makes it all interesting?
The air travel industry is a great opportunity to have a rewarding career in aviation. The major airlines in the United States are Delta Airlines, United Airlines, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines and many more. The interesting thing about the air travel industry is we are welcoming the new way to fly which is called supersonic flight. United Airlines recently revealed that they are going to have supersonic jets in their fleet. This is the future and it’s going to be great.
They are going to have supersonic jets in their fleet. This is the future and it’s going to be great.
Care to shed light on the difference between flying first class, middle class and business class?
The difference of classes or airline travel is the luxury of each ticket. An Economy class ticket gets you the most basic class which has your seat and maybe some beverages. Premium Economy is like the last ticket but more leg room and wider seats. Also, it may have additional perks like better food. A business ticket gets you full meal service, in-flight entertainment and an amenity kit on American Airlines, to a seat that converts to a full lie-flat seat, personal minibar, multi-course meals served on fine china and a full bar area complete with bartender and canapés on Emirates. Lastly, a First class ticket is a luxurious experience that varies depending on the airline. The experience of first class can range from JetBlue’s Mint, which features a 6-foot, 8-inch lie-flat seat with adjustable firmness and a massage feature, a door for privacy, in-flight entertainment and full meal service to Etihad’s The Residence-a 3-room suite with living room, bedroom with a double bed and private bathroom with shower.
Have a joke for you. A 6 year old kid sees an object flying in the sky. He has no idea what it is. What do you think it is? Is it a bird or a plane?
I’ll probably Joke with him and tell him it’s a bird.
Are there any inside jokes common among aviators and flight attendants?
Yes we do have our own jokes. One joke we like to say is “What noise does a 747 make when it bounces? “Boeing, Boeing, Boeing!”
What's every aviators dream?
Every aviators dream is to simply fly and perfect their skills by learning. “A good pilot is always learning”.
Humans, most of them, are crazy about making a difference in the world. To inspire and perhaps be a role model. How do pilots make the world a better place?
Pilots make a world a better place by showing the world that we can do the impossible. We, as a humans since the dawn of time, wanted to fly. Many experiments and trials and errors lead to deaths and crashes but over time we prevailed. We showed the world we can do the impossible.
"The first thing they teach you in flight school is that no matter what always fly the aircraft meaning if you are in a emergency situation, you are supposed to fly the plane no matter what."
Let's talk about what it takes to be a pilot. What are the qualifications required to fly passenger planes?
The basic qualifications to become a passenger pilot is you need to be 21 years old, have more than 1,500 hours of flight, commercial pilots license and most importantly gain experience from flying.
What's the first thing they teach you in Flight school?
The first thing they teach you in flight school is that no matter what always fly the aircraft meaning if you are in a emergency situation, you are supposed to fly the plane no matter what.
Can you break down Air Space laws. How do they actually work?
Airspace laws are always a very interesting topic. Each area that you are flying over has a limit on how close you can fly over. I usually fly around the Chicago land area and they are very strict on how we fly in the city. We have to make a call and get confirmation to have clearance to fly in that area. But if we want to fly over rural areas, there is less of a strictness of rules compared to Chicago.
Denzel Washington flew and landed a plane upside on water in one of his movies. How is that possible?
It’s a great movie. I enjoy it. But it’s not possible. It’s a good thought though. They were in a situation where the elevator was locked in a position forcing a nose-down pitch attitude, which caused a rapid dive. By going inverted, the nose will be pointed skyward, but there would still be no control of the pitch. With enough power, the plane would now climb skyward under negative G’s, but the pitch attitude would still be uncontrollable.
Sky Marshals. Are you in a position to talk about how they work to protect passengers and maintain safety during flights?
Yes. They call themselves “the quite professionals”. Their role in the flight is to protect personnel, passengers and the aircraft from crimes and acts of terrorism.
Let's pretend you are about to fly a 747 full of travelers. What's the standard process of getting into a plane and flying it?
Well, with all aircrafts, we go though a list of procedures. The most important of the procedures is preflight. Preflight is a procedure to make sure the aircraft is in working order to confirm the aircraft is safe to fly.
Can you do a mock up pilots pre-flight announcement where he introduces himself and describes the itinerary? The Stage is yours.
“This is your captain speaking Alexandro Rocha I will be flying this aircraft at this speed and our time of arrival will be this time enjoy the ride and sit back.
What are most pilots like? Or in a different way, what's a common trait in most pilots? What kind of people are they?
Best thing about flying for a living?
Us pilots are very appreciative of aviation and the hustle. There is not one pilot I met who doesn’t talk with pride about there lessons or flights.
The best thing about flying for a living is to do what you love and get paid for it. They always say find something you love so when you work it won’t feel like work.
If a plane loses one of its engines mid-flight and starts losing altitude fast. What are you trained to do in that situation?
Like I said, the first thing we learn in flight school is no matter the situation always fly the plane. In that situation, we have to assess the situation by looking at the pilots operating handbook and see if we can fix the problem though that cockpit. If nothing happens we have to find the nearest airport and land the plane in a emergency landing.
Are there any emergency parachutes hidden in secret compartments?
It’s rare but some military aircrafts have them. I have never seen one in the planes I fly but maybe one day.
Have you figured out what kind and size of private plane you want to own yet?
Yes one plane I would love to own is a P-51 Mustang but they are the Lamborghini or aircrafts and very hard to get.
The car Industry has Rolls Royces, Lamborghinis, Bentleys, Fords, GMC, Mercedes and what have you. Which are the biggest aircraft makers known to man?
It’s funny you ask that question because during ww2, the major car companies made war birds for the war effort. But the major companies that make aircrafts are Boeing, Raytheon Technologies, Leonardo, and Bombardier. Funny enough they make military aircrafts as well.
If anyone can really tell if the earth is flat, it must be pilots. You've been up there. Do flat earthers have it right?
There is no way flat earth exists. The world is a globe. When you fly you see the world curve at the right altitude. If the world was flat, airline travel would not exist.
What's the biggest trend in the industry right now?
The biggest trend in aviation world is Supersonic Jets. As I explained, major airlines want those jets in there fleet.
Will we see electric, autonomous, self flying planes any time soon?
There is electric planes out there but not as common as the average aircraft but over time they will be common.
