I myself am a logged student with 39 hours or so (thought about 25 of those were done when i was 10-11). I know the industry is not compatible with ganja, but is it a big risk?
Depends on what your cargo is. Flying a boeing 747 smoking a blunt is different than flying your own private taking ariel photos. Depends who you work for. I would look into being a self employed alaskan bush pilot, flying your own plane, delivering suplies.
I wouldn't fly high; end of story. Is that what you're thinking about doing? I dunno you're sorta going to kill the integrity of the entire pilot system. I doubt you'd be able to perform as quickly as you'd need to in say a departure stall or engine failure if you're blazed off you're ass. You're just going to end up killing yourself. Do me and all of your potential victims a favor and don't fly high. You're operating a complicated piece of machinery that requires your full attention at all points of flight. If you're asking if you can smoke weed (not while flying) and still procure a pilot's license, then you're fine. I do. The only test you have that could be debilitating is your medical license test. If you're getting a third-class they don't test for drugs although they do take a urine sample. From what I've read on the FAA's website, the urine sample only tests for some other imbalance they're looking for. Can't recall what it is right now. Just do some research and look over the FAQs. If you only have 14 hours, you haven't made it to solo time yet. Go through a few solo flights and see how you feel because you've gotta get comfortable with it all. It's easy having an instructor there to take control if anything goes wrong but after that point, you're the one who controls whether you live or die and you have to watch every move you make because you're always at risk of putting the plane is some ridiculous attitude and stalling or having a whole host of mechanical problems. The only way I see of dealing with those problems is sober with a clear head. Having dealt with one myself, it will scare the fuck out of you when that engine starts sputtering and all of a sudden you find yourself losing altitude quick.
I don't think they drug test up to your CPL, IIRC. IMHO I've flown stoned many times on simulators and whatnot, but I'd never fly high. Personally I'd say it would be safer blazing on a 747 rather than a single-engine cessna, because at 35k feet on autopilot in a plane where almost everything is computer controlled even right down to the approach path if wanted, not much can go wrong compared to a single-engine analog cockpit prop which feels the turbulence like crazy. Just out of interest, would there happen to be any pilots/simmers/aviation enthusiasts in the bay area? If anyone's down for some planespotting or just kickin' it with the aviation talk, or even flying, hit me up!
I'm retired today and I smoke weed. When I was in college learning how to fly I pretty much smoked every day but never when I had a flying lesson or solo flight. After I got a real job flying a LearJet after school, my company gave us plenty of notice that we would be drug tested when the FAA started the drug testing program for all commercial pilots flying under FAR 121 or 135...also flight instructors and mechanics. I quit cold turkey because I loved my job and wanted to keep it. On a trip to Jamaica I went to see an old friend I knew living in Golden Grove. He gave me a joint for my motorcycle ride back to Montego Bay. I smoked it...well half anyway...then spent the next month paranoid and totally obsessed not knowing if I would be random drug tested. Let me tell you guys....it wasn't fun. I faced blowing my career for that mistake. I had a good job, made a lot of money and almost threw my training and education out the window to get stoned. Now....I'm retired because of a medical condition and will never fly again. Please don't consider flying stoned. Flying jets is about as great a job as you'll ever find...don't make a stupid decision and blow it. BTW....of all the jet's I've flown, my favorite was a LearJet. It flys the way a Porsche would if it had wings. I always wanted to fly a Gulfstream 4 or 5, but I never had the opportunity. I did get a type rating in a Challenger but it was like flying a bus compared to the LearJets. Lots of room inside, but not much fun to fly. We used to call our Challenger "Miss Piggy"!!! She was ugly but pretty reliable and easy to fly.
Dude....please don't even suggest someone could become comfortable flying stoned. It's not something I'd ever get comfortable doing. I only have 30 years experience flying airplanes, 25 of those years flying jets around the world. Never ever would I consider smoking weed while I was in command of an aircraft. Being a pilot is a dream job, possibly the best career ever....don't blow it by getting high.
Son, you have no clue about what you are talking about. It's not safer "Blazing on a 747 on autopilot" than a Cessna 172. Unless you've flown Boeing simulator thru the whole list of emergency procedures, please don't suggest it's easy when you're stoned. I guarantee I could make you crash in 10 minutes flying a Jet simulator stoned if I were the simulator instructor. Your ignorance is simply amazing.
Not what I meant, although I see why you thought that. I just meant that the dude is going to do it regardless of any advice we give him, for the most part. So, before he decides to try it, he should get through his PPL and then (hopefully) he would realize how dangerous it would be and would make his own decision not to.
Hell yea just turn on auto pilot (not sure if it really exists) and burn a fat one. It's not like you're gunna blow a stop sign or hit a pedestrian...
It exists on some planes, and it doesn't do what you think it does on some others. If you're lucky to get a small single prop with autopilot, it more than likely only controls pitch or roll, not both. So you're always having to do work.
You have NO idea what you are talking about. No hate...just a comment about flying...please leave it to professionals....we've already got enough morons driving cars, blazing away thinking they are good drivers while being high. Get stoned..but do it at home!!!
How about blowing an assigned altitude above FL290...you've got other airplanes only 1000' above or below you with a closure rate of 1000mph. You think you can see another airplane coming at you that fast? Autopilots are wonderful things but it takes a brain to program one properly. Please keep flying your Flight Simulator program but don't get in a real jet.
A good friend if mine had a private license in high school he would rent a diamond star from the local airport. I flew kinda high a few times he didn't smoke though I even got to make the landing approach. He now flys commercial and owns a flight instuction school.
Exactly why I've been saying for years that mainstreaming flying cars would be the WORST idea. Most people can hardly handle 2D driving skills; that third dimension is a mindfuck.