Pilots Reveal What It’s Really Like To Fly For A Living – And There Are So Many Misconceptions

<script>!function(n){if(!window.cnx){window.cnx={},window.cnx.cmd=[];var t=n.createElement('iframe');t.display='none',t.onload=function(){var n=t.contentWindow.document,c=n.createElement('script');c.src='//cd.connatix.com/connatix.player.js',c.setAttribute('async','1'),c.setAttribute('type','text/javascript'),n.body.appendChild(c)},n.head.appendChild(t)}}(document);</script><script id="68dd23abe4b0f3800bcd9018">(new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b';cnx.cmd.push(function(){cnx({"playerId":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","mediaId":"08c84a5b-3feb-488c-aa2a-afface2f24c4"}).render("68dd23abe4b0f3800bcd9018");});</script><div class="content-list-component text"><p>Myths and misconceptions surround the job of a pilot. While Hollywood often glamourises the cockpit, the day-to-day reality is far more complex and human.</p><p>From assumptions about who’s in the cockpit to what their schedules look like at home, myths about aviation persist.</p><p>To separate fact from fiction, HuffPost asked pilots to share the truths behind the most common misconceptions about their profession.</p><h2><strong>Myth: Autopilot does all the work</strong></h2><p>“It’s a myth that pilots just push ‘autopilot’ and the plane flies itself so pilots can just sit back and relax or sleep,” Scott Place, a captain with Delta Air Lines, told HuffPost. “Modern aircraft are highly automated, but pilots are constantly monitoring systems, making decisions and handling unexpected situations.”</p><p>He added that pilots are allowed to sleep only under strict conditions on long-haul flights with designated rest periods and relief pilots.</p><p>“Yes, autopilot helps, but it