Do pilots age less?

It depends on the speed of the airplane. If the plane has speed zero, then they will return older. If they travel around the Earth at the speed for which time goes equally slow as the time on Earth, then they will return with the same age as the people who stayed on the ground.



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U.S. aviation industry - average age of active pilots by category 2002-2020. This statistic represents the average age of active pilots in the United States from 2002 to 2020, broken down by category. In 2020, the average active commercial pilot in the United States was 45.3 years old.

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The answer is no. While some airlines have an age requirement before you can fly a commercial flight, there's no age limit in wanting to become a pilot.

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Required Flight Ratings
You can receive your Commercial Pilot Certificate at 18, Restricted ATP at 21 and your ATP certificate at 23.

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At 25 your age is certainly not a problem. Some start sooner, others later but regardless you're far from “old”.

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No particular age is considered the “best” age to become a pilot. In the U.S., you can earn a student pilot certificate beginning at age 16, a private pilot certificate at age 17, and commercial pilot at age 18 — but these are minimums, not maximums!

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“Safety considerations drove the establishment of the current international standard of age 65 mandatory retirement, and raising the pilot retirement age would introduce additional risk into commercial aviation,” said Capt. Ed Sicher, the Allied Pilots Association's president.

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In any case, the position is a rare privilege in the US, with commercial pilots accounting for just 0.05% of the population. With this in mind, how exactly can you join this rare club?

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Chou did the math, and it turns out that frequent fliers actually age the tiniest bit more quickly than those of us with both feet on the ground. Planes travel at high enough altitudes that the weak gravitational field speeds up the tick rate of a clock on board more than the high speeds slow it down.

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There are no specific height restrictions for pilots under FAA rules. Flight schools and commercial airlines accept pilots for training as long as they are physically able to reach the controls and obtain a full rudder deflection in the aircraft they will operate.

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Yes, airplane pilots can wear glasses. (And many do.) If you wear eyeglasses or contact lenses, you can still become a commercial, private, or military pilot. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the military have certain minimum standards for prospective pilots.

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Bottom line: You're never too old to travel.

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The second came from the US Airline Pilots Association and looked at pilot deaths after the age of 60. Analysing these two sources, the study's authors deduced that the average age of death for pilots was 61, compared to the average age of death of the general population, which was 63.

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The lifestyle of a professional pilot can be quite challenging. Pilots often have to work long hours and are often away from home for extended periods of time. However, pilots also enjoy many benefits, such as flexible schedules, dedicated time off, and an above-average income at the airline level.

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