How do pilots practice landing?

During field carrier landing practice (FCLP), pilots perform repetitive “touch and go” landings at airfields, which simulate landing on an aircraft carrier.

How are pilots assigned flights?

Pilots receive their trips for the month through a process called bidding. Bidding is how pilots request a schedule based on their individual needs. This process then awards pilots their schedules based on seniority. Essentially, senior pilots’ preferences are awarded first then so on, down the line.

Are pilots allowed to fly manually?

Pilots flying with commercial airlines will typically only fly manually for the first and last few minutes of each flight. If a pilot logs 900 hours in a single year, fewer than 5 hours may involve manual flying.

What’s the point of a touch and go?

Touch-and-go landings can perform a crucial safety role when a plane lands with not enough space to come to a complete stop, but has enough space to accelerate and take off again. In British parlance, the maneuver is often called circuits and bumps.

Can a plane land by itself?

Yes a plane can land by itself using a system that is often referred to as “autoland”. The pilots can program the auto pilot to carry out the landing automatically whilst the pilots monitor the aircraft.

How do airline pilots determine flight paths?

Though flight paths are set ahead of departure, pilots determine mid-flight if a change—or slight re-routing—is needed. “Weather is a huge problem for us on the long flights,” says Anderson, noting that on a single flight, a plane often passes through three or four weather systems, varying in type, intensity, and level of difficulty.

How do automatic landings work on commercial planes?

The pilots can program the auto-pilot to carry out the landing automatically whilst the pilots monitor the aircraft. However there are limitations as to when the autoland system can be used. Automatic landings probably account for less then 1\% of all landings on commercial flights.

How do airplane pilots communicate with each other?

There are multiple radio systems for airplane pilots. One pilot is responsible for talking to air traffic control if they need to change course to avoid a thunderstorm; the other is manning the air-to-air communication between airplanes on their same flight path.