Sounds like a differential equation. Do pilots have to study calculus?

Depends on the type of pilot and what they are doing.

For most pilots, the answer is most assuredly NO. Most pilot training syllabi assume very basic math skills -- arithmetic is about it. So things are presented in tables and graphs and tools such as flight computers (which until recently was nothing more than a specially marked circular slide rule) are taught to do the math and the trig.

But highly specialized pilots, particularly many test pilots, are highly educated engineers (or similar) and understand most if not all of the math underlying the design and operation of their craft. Those are likely to be the best sources of quality feedback to the design engineers regarding the performance of an aircraft and why it is not performing like it should and what changes might make it better.

 

The RNLI (UK) and the US Coast Guard both rank quite high in the list of institutions I really respect.

From this last I suffered plenty of inspections when calling US ports with our vesel but have nothing to complain about. They were just doing their job and remarkably well.

Funny thing is that on VHF, they never call you "Captain" but "Skipper"...

BTW, put also the (corrected) NOAA in the list. They do a very good job too.

 

The RNLI (UK) and the US Coast Guard both rank quite high in the list of institutions I really respect.

From this last I suffered plenty of inspections when calling US ports with our vesel but have nothing to complain about. They were just doing their job and remarkably well.

Funny thing is that on VHF, they never call you "Captain" but "Skipper"...

BTW, put also the NOOA in the list. They do a very good job too.

What's NOOA? Did you mean NOAA?

As for the captain/skipper thing, that's naval tradition. My understanding (not being a seaman myself) is that on a naval vessel there is exactly one Captain and the use of the word Captain always refers to that one person. So even if the captain of the ship is a lieutenant, they are called Captain on the ship. On a ship with Marines embarked and for whom the grade of Captain is very common, any marine Captain is given the courtesy promotion to Major is although they still were Captain's insignia and get paid at a Captain and only have a Captain's authority, they are addressed as Major so-and-so onboard the ship. Similarly, a naval Captain (someone who holds the pay grade of "Captain", equivalent to an Army, Marine, or Air Force full Colonel) is given the courtesy promotion to Commodore when on someone else's ship. The idea is that in a critical time there can't be any confusion as to who is being referred to when the word "captain" is uttered. So the people in the radio room will generally not use the term "captain" on the radio unless they are referring to THEIR captain. But (and I saw this a couple of time, but don't know how universal it is) when a boarding party comes onto someone else's ship, then while they may have called the person "skipper" over a bullhorn from their own ship or even from a dingy, they will address the person as "captain" once onboard the other ship. Part of it is just engrained habit, but part of it is rendering respect to the position and recognizing that, on that other vessel, that person IS the captain and has earned the respect (until proven otherwise).

 

Skipper is used in informal communications and to civilian units but almost never officially in military communications.
In tactical naval communications it was common to use the name of the command when issuing official orders to field units with call signs. This implied the orders were at that commands authority. For example if I were on duty and assigned to a ship like the USS Okinawa, I would call myself Okinawa on the radio. The actual 'Captain' or CO would be addressed as Okinawa 'Actual'.

 

FWIW from the NTSB:

NTSB Identification: WPR15LA089
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Sunday, January 25, 2015 in Maui, HI
Aircraft: CIRRUS SR22 - NO SERIES, registration: N7YT
Injuries: 1 Uninjured.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

On January 25, 2015, about 1644 Hawaiian standard time, a Cirrus Design Corporation SR22, N7YT, ditched into the waters of the Pacific Ocean about 230 miles east of Maui, Hawaii. The airplane was registered to Cirrus Design Corporation, Duluth, Minnesota, and operated by The Flight Academy, Kirkland, Washington, under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The commercial pilot, sole occupant of the airplane, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the repositioning flight. The cross-country flight originated from Tracy, California, about 0530, with an intended destination of Maui.

During a telephone interview with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge, the pilot reported that the flight was uneventful and a previous fuel transfer from the front and aft auxiliary fuel tanks was successful. However, as the airplane was about 900 miles from Hawaii, he was unable to transfer fuel from the aft auxiliary fuel tank. The pilot stated that numerous attempts to transfer fuel to the main fuel tanks were unsuccessful, and while in contact with the United States Coast Guard, he made the decision to deploy the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS). The pilot was informed of a cruise ship near his location and diverted towards their location. He further reported that once he was in the immediate vicinity of the cruise ship, he activated the CAPS and the parachute deployed. The airplane descended under canopy into the waters of the Pacific Ocean. The pilot stated that he immediately exited the airplane and inflated an emergency life raft and was extracted from the water about 30 to 40 minutes later.

The airplane became submerged within the water shortly after the pilot egressed. At this time, there is no intention to recover the aircraft.

 

More like, pilots learn how to use little charts prepared by engineers...
..and why engineers study calculus.

And it's even better if the pilot is an engineer...

 

And it's even better if the pilot is an engineer...

I'm not sure I would want a train driver flying my airplane.

 

I'm not sure I would want a train driver flying my airplane.

But at least then you know that you'll have the right about of coal and water on board before you take off.

 

But at least then you know that you'll have the right about of coal and water on board before you take off.

Just make sure you don't forget to bring a shovel...

 

And it's even better if the pilot is an engineer...

This engineer is a pilot, plane owner and fixer...

 

This engineer is a pilot, plane owner and fixer...

I went to Purdue University back in 1983... wanted to become the first mexican aerospace engineer. Stayed there for just one semester ... . then tragedy struck my family and I had to come back and study mechanical engineering instead ... guess God had other plans