A corporate pilot wears multiple hats. In addition to flight duties the pilot will often be responsible for coordinating aircraft cleaning, maintenance, and storage; scheduling rental cars and hotel rooms, and he or she will most likely also be responsible for self-dispatching the flight: getting the airplane ready, analyzing the weather and runways for each destination, and selecting the best FBOs for refueling and guest services. Finally, a corporate pilot also handles the baggage and ensures the guests are safe and have a premiere flight experience while onboard.

The knowledge base a pilot is responsible for is considerable. Aside from the regulations he or she needs to be proficient with aircraft systems, avionics, equipment; the textbooks for the various levels of certification including private, instrument, and commercial; and of course meteorology. Most importantly a number of Emergency Procedures need to be immediately available in the Pilot’s mind should the need arise. In the event of an accident any discrepancy from proper procedure will be deemed as pilot error. Thus, the Pilot is fully responsible for any information he or she chooses not to remember.

The following tool can be helpful in evaluating ten distinct attributes and combine to provide an overall score for a corporate pilot. Each category is scored from a 1 to a 10, with 10 being the highest for a maximum score of 100. Scores above 90 are unrealistic, because the more professional the pilot the more likely they are to recognize areas where improvement is warranted. Scores lower than seventy indicate that there are several areas that should be appropriately addressed.

Corporate Pilot Self-Assessment Tool