Friday, November 10, 2006
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies aircraft for pleasure or as a profession. The word is normally applied to pilots but it can be applied more broadly, for example to include people such as wing-walkers who regularly take part in an aerobatic display sequence. The word aviatrix is sometimes used of women flyers, reflecting the word's Latin root.
The term was more used in the early days of aviation and has connotations of bravery and adventure. As Steve Fossett has shown with his 2002 solo flight around the globe in a helium balloon, then his nonstop solo jet circumnavigation that completed on March 3, 2005, there are still challenges to be flown and records to be broken.
Anyone can fly an aircraft, with or without a certificate. However, at all times the aircraft must be under the operational control of a properly certified and current pilot, who is responsible for the safe and legal completion of the flight. The first certificate was delivered by the Aero Club de France to Louis Bleriot in 1908, followed by Glenn Curtiss, Leon Delagrange and Robert Esnault-Pelterie. The absolute authority given to the Pilot in Command is derived from that of a ship’s captain.In the United Kingdom there were 31,885 private pilots and 16,449 airline and commercial pilots registered with the UK Civil Aviation Authority . Among private pilots only 6% are female . In the commercial sector this percentage drops to only 2%.
The United States Federal Aviation Administration estimates there are 609,737 active pilots with US Airmen certificates as of December 31, 2005. Of these, about 6%(36,584) are female.The U.S. state of Alaska has the highest number of pilots per capita: out of an estimated 663,661 residents, 8,550 are pilots, or about one in every 78.
The term was more used in the early days of aviation and has connotations of bravery and adventure. As Steve Fossett has shown with his 2002 solo flight around the globe in a helium balloon, then his nonstop solo jet circumnavigation that completed on March 3, 2005, there are still challenges to be flown and records to be broken.
Anyone can fly an aircraft, with or without a certificate. However, at all times the aircraft must be under the operational control of a properly certified and current pilot, who is responsible for the safe and legal completion of the flight. The first certificate was delivered by the Aero Club de France to Louis Bleriot in 1908, followed by Glenn Curtiss, Leon Delagrange and Robert Esnault-Pelterie. The absolute authority given to the Pilot in Command is derived from that of a ship’s captain.In the United Kingdom there were 31,885 private pilots and 16,449 airline and commercial pilots registered with the UK Civil Aviation Authority . Among private pilots only 6% are female . In the commercial sector this percentage drops to only 2%.
The United States Federal Aviation Administration estimates there are 609,737 active pilots with US Airmen certificates as of December 31, 2005. Of these, about 6%(36,584) are female.The U.S. state of Alaska has the highest number of pilots per capita: out of an estimated 663,661 residents, 8,550 are pilots, or about one in every 78.
// posted by wibsio3 @ 6:30 AM 
