Operating behind a heavy vehicle is no easy feat – just ask those who drive trucks and steer ships for a living. But one thing’s for sure, the job of a pilot is right up there with what can arguably be categorised as a complicated and daunting role.
Malaysian content creator and cadet pilot James Junior recently shared an Instagram reel to his page @juniorjames973 of what a day in his life looks like. Brief yet impactful, the clip showed a classroom setup of what pilots really learn before getting behind the wheel of an airplane. After the video, James also posed a question to viewers, asking them to guess what subject he was studying in the clip.
“Learning how charts came to be and how our ancestors navigated back in the past was a heck of an experience, and we wonder how people can get lost today while people did better back in the day,” wrote James in the caption of his post.
Speaking to WORLD OF BUZZ about what flight school is really like, James said that there are typically two parts to training, ground school which includes examinations and classes, and the flying phase.
“Typically, our theory takes place for a duration of eight months with 14 subjects, where we are required to pass all of our theoretical examinations before we are cleared to proceed with real-life flying practice on the actual aircraft,” said James to WORLD OF BUZZ.
As for the Instagram Reel itself, James stated that he and his classmates were learning General Navigation, which teaches student pilots how navigation works and the fundamentals of how planes travel from one point to another.
“It was very challenging, yet I had a fun experience learning it. It’s one of my favourite subjects so far among all the others,” James added.
Mentioning the challenges that come along with being a pilot, James stated that the most arduous part of this journey is the time constraint for learning, as each learning phase lasts for just two months on average, with classes being conducted every weekday from 8am to 5pm.
Hoping to shine some light on what can be a serious journey, James hopes the public will learn to understand that becoming a pilot is not what it seems like in movies, and can be demanding.
“The typical scope of a pilot is to commit to a lifelong learning process, as you’ll continue to learn things every day. Learning never stops in the career of a pilot. But, whatever goal you have in life, never give up on chasing your dreams,” said James.
Being able to spot what James was learning in the video, other pilots also correctly guessed the subject posted in the video, with one user jokingly saying that it resembled that of Additional Mathematics.
“My navigation lecturer once said, ‘Man is never lost, he is just unsure of his location’,” light-heartedly added one user.
Another commenter also wrote how the cadets in the video were living his dream.
Click here to watch the full Instagram Reel.
Fly high in the sky cadet pilots! We’re all rooting for you.
Also read: UM Jokingly Trolls Students by Compiling Their Reactions When Sitting for Exams & It’s Hilarious
