Pilot (aeronautics)
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who actively and directly operates the directional flight controls of an aircraft while it is in flight. While other members of a flight crew such as flight engineer, navigator, or any other person involved in the direct flight operations of an aircraft (whether it be a fixed wing airplane, rotary-wing, powered, or unpowered), are also considered "aviators", they are not pilots and do not command a flight or aircraft. Aircrew who are not involved in operating the aircraft's flight systems (such as cabin attendants and mechanics) as well as ground crew are not generally classified as aviators.
In recognition of the pilots' qualifications and responsibilities, most militaries and many airlines worldwide award aviator badges to their pilots, as well as other air crews. This includes naval aviators.
History
The first recorded use of the term aviator (aviateur in French) was in 1887, as a variation of "aviation", from the Latin avis (meaning bird), coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne ("Aviation or Air Navigation"). The term aviatrix (aviatrice in French), now archaic, was formerly used for a female aviator. These terms were used more in the early days of aviation, when airplanes were extremely rare, and connoted bravery and adventure. For example, a 1905 reference work described the Wright brothers' first airplane: "The weight, including the body of the aviator, is a little more than 700 pounds".
Podcasts:
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by Steve Kilbey
Aviatrix
by: Steve KilbeyWhen I was a kid, I'd look at the sky
Watching the birds, up there so high
Waking up cold with the sun in my eye
Shaking like a feather trying to fly
I'm gonna fly, fly, fly somewhere (now it's monsoon soon)
Fly, fly, fly somewhere (somewhere over the moon)
Following the vapor, leading the clouds
Far from the throbbing lake of the crowds
Alone I'm alone for crying out loud
Cumulonimbus, like a gray shroud
I'm gonna fly, fly, fly somewhere (now it's monsoon soon)
Fly, fly, fly somewhere (somewhere over the moon)
Look at the dials, it's all looking wrong
Turn on the radio, maybe they're playing our song
Down in the sea, south of hong kong
Why did you have to leave me so long
I'm gonna fly, fly, fly somewhere (now it's monsoon soon)
Fly, fly, fly somewhere (somewhere over the moon)
Yeah, now we're breathing thin air
You could lose an entire city up there
You could fall and fall nowhere
You could easily disappear up there
I'm gonna fly, fly, fly somewhere
Fly, fly, fly somewhere
Fly, fly, fly somewhere
Fly, fly, fly somewhere
I'm gonna fly, fly, fly somewhere
Fly, fly, fly somewhere
Fly, fly, fly somewhere
Fly, fly, fly somewhere