Pilot Ranks

Ever wondered about the pilots on your flight? Get to the boarding gate early enough and you'll probably see them heading on board and even if you don't see the specific pilots for your flight, you will always see some around the airport.

Generally you will see epaulettes with stripes on them and wrist stripes on the sleeves.

One stripe - Cadet/Trainee - you are much less likely to see this in the airport as it is used by trainees. A trainee is studying and working towards obtaining 150 flight hours to be able to move to the next rank.

Two stripes - Second Officer - third in command, in a three flight crew setting the Second Officer will normally act as flight engineer. this means carrying our pre-flight and post-flight inspections, as well as monitoring the systems during the flight. In long-haul flights the Second Officer may also act as a third pilot for some parts of the flight. It normally takes two years to move to the next rank.

Three stripes - First Officer - second in command, the First Officer works wit the Captain to prepare the flight and will complete inspections and checks. On a long-haul flight the First officer will operate the flight for some time. It can take many years (as many as twenty) to move to the next rank as well as 3000 flight hours.

Three stripes - Senior First Officer - some airlines have an extra rank based on experience as a First Officer. With it comes greater responsibility due to their greater experience. As well as offering greater experience for a larger aircraft, it also gives First officers some progression whilst waiting for a Captain's role.

Four stripes - Captain - the Captain has overall command of the flight and is responsible for safety, passengers, crew and the flight itself. They will be in charge of pre-flight planning and checks, the flight itself, and then all of the post-flight checks. the Captain sits on the left in the cockpit.

Some airlines also use pips - this is normally to highlight that the pilot is a commercial passenger pilot.