In The Hot Seat

Reflections on Upgrading to Captain

- Sam Weigel

There are days in every pilot’s life that are destined to be remembered forever: first solo, the Private Pilot check ride, the first time landing a taildragger or seaplane. Those of us who fly for the airlines don’t have many memorable flights, which is by design. Airline flying, done properly, is a mildly enjoyable experience, and a perfectly forgettable one. That said, even at the airlines there are a few prominent milestones, and upgrading to captain for the first time is a big one.

All who have done so distinctly remember their first time in the left seat. In my case, it was April 15, 2008, and I was flying an Embraer 175 with 76 passengers from Minneapolis to Washington’s Dulles International Airport. As I lined up on Runway 12R and pushed the thrust levers forward, it seemed utterly surreal that so many souls were entrusted to my 26-year-old hands, and they all had no clue that it was my very first time. And then I got busy and forgot about it, and as with most things in aviation, after a few more flights the surreal became routine. But I always remembered that flight, and that feeling.

The airlines make a pretty big deal out of being a captain, which often seems a bit strange to general aviation pilots. So why the big fuss about the left seat anyway?