@Fragman444,
There’s all types of people who are pilots… and that’s a good thing. It provides different perspectives, different skills, and different strengths.
I’ve known people who had zero idea what they wanted to do with their life during High School, but were well accomplished in school and extracurricular activities/sports. On a whim, they decided to apply to the USAF Academy (which some kids spend their lives up to that point trying to get a slot and don’t get the chance). Once in, they had no idea what they wanted to do and on a whim, decided to go for a pilot slot and had no idea what it was about. They graduated, went to pilot training and finished at the top of the class. They ended up flying F-22s.
I’ve seen other people who were airplane fanatics since they were a kid who either dropped out of pilot training or were eliminated. Sometimes, their expectations of what they thought flying was about didn’t match reality. Sometimes airsickness got the better of them. A few people find out they have a fear related to some aspect of flying they can’t overcome. Sometimes they didn’t pick up flying skills fast enough. Some people couldn’t figure out how to think ahead of the jet and would only react to things after they happened in flight. Much of the time, they just didn’t like flying as much as they thought they would.
For the people who become fully qualified pilots, there are people who see it as “just a job” and have zero interest in aviation besides getting a paycheck. For many of them, they said they never spent a single cent on aviation and they refuse to ever spend a single cent to fly on their own. There are others who spend every waking moment in aviation and their life is centered around it. Then there’s everyone else in between.
There are some “Johny Goldenhands” types that have really good stick and rudder skills and pick it up immediately. There are others who don’t have as good stick and rudder skills, but have really good conceptual understanding of aviation and have a phenomenal memory for the tens of thousands of pages of rules, regulations, and flight manuals. There are some people that really struggle initially, then something finally clicks with them and they get really good at it. Then there’s everyone else in the “average” category.
Tying this back into PMDG 737, these days, flying large aircraft is mostly focused on systems monitoring: data input, confirmation of data input, monitoring correct progression of the planned flight profile, understand how to get the systems to respond correctly when you need to deviate from the plan due to weather, ATC direction, or aircraft malfunctions, and having the knowledge and training to work though unexpected events, malfunctions, or anything else you can’t 100% plan and program in advance.
Modern complex aircraft have systems and avionics handle most of the math, physics, and navigation problems for the aircrew. That’s how large aircraft only need 2 people in the cockpit now. Like the PMDG 737 demonstrates, modern complex aircraft are flown through following established procedures, correctly using complex systems and avionics, and thinking ahead to start working through changes to the plan early. Pure stick and rudder skills are now relegated to a secondary importance until an emergency situation takes place.
Most pilot math these days is simple rules to follow to quickly calculate fuel usage, how far it will take you to descend, and some navigation related rules of thumb. If you can add and subtract, you have the math skills you need to fly in modern aviation.
To put it more clearly, many US airlines have removed the requirement to even have a college degree. You just needed to have graduated high school now…
Medical conditions, self-doubt, lack of desire, or money, really are what will keep the vast majority of people out of aviation these days.
