When someone hears the word “Pilot“, the first image that often comes to mind is Leonardo DiCaprio walking through an airport in “Catch Me If You Can”, surrounded by cabin crew, oozing glamour and confidence. It’s the dream job, right? The perks, the high-paying salary, the five-star layovers. But is that really all there is to it? Is there a side to aviation that doesn’t make it to the Instagram reels and movie screens? Let’s take a step beyond the spotlight and explore the darker side of this profession—the part no one talks about. Let’s dig into the dark side of the moon.
here’s the darker side, even before touching the controls a pilot has to survive a aviation version of “squid game“.
First Game: The Pilot Inspection – survive the Doctor’s Gauntlet
where a team of Doctor run a series of medical checks as if you’re preparing for space travel. These medicals aren’t just to check “Are you fit to Fly” but to check if you’re a superhuman in every possible way.
Eyesight – better than eagle, having 6/6 fine! 6/9 better luck you’re now one step closer to the red stamp, hearing – tested with frequency so low that you start hearing the buzzing sound of light in the room because you got to hear a pin drop at 40000ft, Your ECG is examined like it holds the secret to time travel, your urine sample is treated like radioactive material, and if your BMI crosses the holy line, you might as well Fold your dreams into a paper airplane and throw them out the window. Even a mild allergy, a twitchy heartbeat, or an old sports injury can send your aviation dreams into a nosedive faster than a jet in freefall.
And the best part? It doesn’t end after you get your license—these exams are recurring, and each time you walk into that medical office, it feels like walking into a courtroom waiting for a life sentence.
Second Game: The Theory Maze – Fourteen Subjects. One Brain
This is the part where you either make it or break it. The moment your social life files a flight plan and vanishes into uncontrolled airspace. Still think flying a plane is the hard part? Try memorizing instrument errors, crunching formulas to calculate aircraft speeds, or figuring out how much fuel can legally and safely be carried. Your brain will enter a flat spin and trust me, this one isn’t recoverable. Fourteen subjects. Yes, you heard that right—fourteen. That’s how much you have to study just to become a pilot.
Air Law – will have you feeling like you accidentally enrolled in law school, Meteorology – turns you into a part time weather reporter, and Principles of Flight – is physics with wings and pain. Eventually, you’ll start seeing aircraft performance graphs in your dreams and wake up in cold sweats muttering V-speeds. And if you’re thinking you can forget the subject after passing the exam lol….think again. With recurrent exams happening often, there’s absolutely no chance of leaving any subject behind.
Third Game: The Cockpit Trail – where Every mistake has Turbulence
when you think you have crossed the most difficult part, here comes the flight training, yet another make or break phase of a pilot. From the first flight till you get you’re pilots license its pure “sweet hell“. with the Best views, the Sun rises, the Sun sets, the G force experiencing maneuvers comes the shear pressure of you’re instructor/ DPE constantly watching you like the neighborhood grandma from whom you can’t escape. every flare, every radio call, every button pressed is watched.
Fourth Game: Duty calls and it never stops calling!
Just when you think you’re done with the difficult part of your career, along comes the most awaited, glamorous phase. But is it really like Leonardo DiCaprio strutting through an airport in Catch Me If You Can? Heh… not quite.
Welcome to the chapter of your life where you’ll juggle and jog between aircraft to aircraft, hotel to hotel, layover to layover. The part where sleep becomes a luxury. Your schedule’s a game of roulette. Weekends, festivals, birthdays? Good luck. Your cousin’s wedding? You’ll be 36,000 feet above it. Your best friend’s party? You’ll be navigating turbulence instead of tequila shots. And guess who becomes your new best friend? Fatigue.
Those glamorous layovers you once imagined? Turns out, they’re usually just long enough to eat overpriced airport food and stare at a hotel ceiling before waking up for another preflight briefing.
Fifth Game: Wings over Wounds
After all this struggle, if someone were to ask me, “Is it really worth it?” definitely yes! because It’s the closest we’ve come to flying like birds. It’s the kind of feeling that wipes out all the struggle in a heartbeat. When the thrust lever is moved forward, the engines roar, the aircraft accelerates down the runway, and the wheels lift off the ground… it’s magical. There aren’t any words to explain that feeling. The cockpit view? The best office view in the world.
Yes, the path to the cockpit is difficult. Yes, there are sacrifices to be made. And yes, it is incredibly tiring. But what you get in return isn’t just a license to fly. You gain discipline, a deep sense of responsibility, and the knowledge that every passenger on board trusts you with their lives. And you know what? That’s a privilege only a few ever get to earn.
It’s not always glamorous, and it’s rarely easy. But it’s worth it. Because the view from 36,000 feet? It changes you. The sky becomes your second home, and every landing feels like a personal victory.
So to those still fighting through the games hang in there.
The journey may be tough, but the destination is unlike anything else. The sky, after all, was never meant for everyone but only for those brave enough to chase it.
Project aviator 
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