Be a pilot for a day

The four things you protect as a Pilot

• 🦺
  Safety

  If Safety reaches zero, your day ends early with “Grounded for safety”. Safety slipped and the authorities have grounded you for review.

  19% of the choices in this role lower it, and 44% raise it.

• ⏰
  Schedule

  If Schedule reaches zero, your day ends early with “Hours behind schedule”. The delays piled up. Your flight became the day’s leading headline in the worst way.

  31% of the choices in this role lower it, and 21% raise it.

• 🙂
  Passengers

  If Passengers reaches zero, your day ends early with “A cabin in revolt”. Passengers lost patience. The cabin staff are now asking for a quiet room.

  25% of the choices in this role lower it, and 38% raise it.

• ⛽
  Fuel

  If Fuel reaches zero, your day ends early with “Out of fuel and out of ideas”. The tank ran low and the options narrowed. It will be a very short report.

  23% of the choices in this role lower it, and 12% raise it.

Tips for a better day as a Pilot

1. Do not chase one number. In every role, a day with all four meters between 50 and 70 beats a day with one meter at 95 and another at 10. As a Pilot, the danger is rarely the big mistake. It is the quiet neglect of one meter.
2. Watch Schedule most closely. In this role, 31% of choices lower it, which makes it the meter that slips away fastest. Safety is the most forgiving, with 19% of choices lowering it.
3. Read your advisors as opinions, not answers. Each one backs the option that helps the meters they care about, so when they disagree, ask which meter you can least afford to lose today.
4. Look for the choice that gives you something back. Many of the best options cost one meter a little and help two others. The tempting “easy” option often costs more than it seems.
5. Remember that choices can come back. A decision in the morning may return as a follow-up situation later in the day, so a quick fix early on can be expensive at six in the evening.

A sample day, step by step

Here is one example of how a careful player might get through a day as a Pilot. It uses six of the sixteen situations, picks the option with the best overall balance each time, and shows what each choice did. Your own day will be different, because situations are drawn at random and some choices bring follow-ups later.

1. 7:00 AM

   A very important passenger

   A famous actress is on board. The crew is excited and she has asked to move to a window seat.

   Chosen: “Offer a cockpit visit after landing”. A beautiful gesture.

   🙂 Passengers +10

   The road not taken: “Refuse politely”. Fair and professional.

   Standing after this call: 🦺 50 · ⏰ 50 · 🙂 60 · ⛽ 50

2. 9:30 AM

   A passenger feels unwell

   A flight attendant tells you a passenger is very unwell. A doctor on board is helping.

   Chosen: “Continue and keep monitoring”. A calm judgement with a few worried faces.

   ⏰ Schedule +5⛽ Fuel +5

   The road not taken: “Divert to the nearest airport”. It costs time and fuel, and it might save a life.

   Standing after this call: 🦺 50 · ⏰ 55 · 🙂 60 · ⛽ 55

3. 12:00 PM

   Fog at departure

   Dense fog sits on the runway. Passengers are boarded and the clock is ticking.

   Chosen: “Depart as soon as it is cleared”. Smooth, professional and on a tighter schedule.

   🦺 Safety +5

   The road not taken: “Push for a rushed departure”. It saves time and nerves.

   Standing after this call: 🦺 55 · ⏰ 55 · 🙂 60 · ⛽ 55

4. 3:00 PM

   A tight connection

   Twenty passengers have a tight connection. Your arrival is five minutes before their next flight leaves.

   Chosen: “Ask the next flight to wait”. It costs a favour and saves the day.

   ⏰ Schedule −5🙂 Passengers +15

   The road not taken: “Land on time and let them run”. A scene of people running with luggage.

   Standing after this call: 🦺 55 · ⏰ 50 · 🙂 75 · ⛽ 55

5. 6:00 PM

   A bird near the engine

   You see a flock of birds near the runway right after takeoff. One engine makes a small noise.

   Chosen: “Ask the tower for advice”. A calm and sensible talk.

   🦺 Safety +5⏰ Schedule −5

   The road not taken: “Return and check”. Safe and late.

   Standing after this call: 🦺 60 · ⏰ 45 · 🙂 75 · ⛽ 55

6. 9:00 PM

   A shortcut from the tower

   Air traffic control offers a shortcut that would save ten minutes and some fuel. It passes through a busy zone.

   Chosen: “Accept”. A fast route and a tighter workload.

   🦺 Safety −5⏰ Schedule +10⛽ Fuel +10

   The road not taken: “Decline”. A calm flight and a normal route.

   Standing after this call: 🦺 55 · ⏰ 55 · 🙂 75 · ⛽ 65

Situations you may face

Every game uses six of these sixteen situations, so you will not meet them all in one day. There are also 3 follow-up situations that return after specific choices and 3 surprises that can appear without warning.

• Fog at departure. Dense fog sits on the runway. Passengers are boarded and the clock is ticking.
• A passenger feels unwell. A flight attendant tells you a passenger is very unwell. A doctor on board is helping.
• The fuel question. Operations suggests carrying less fuel today to save money. The weather ahead is uncertain.
• A very cranky passenger. A passenger in row 3 is shouting about his seat. Others are looking.
• Turbulence ahead. A line of storm clouds lies across your path. You can fly around, through or above.
• A sleepy co-pilot. Your co-pilot is yawning wildly. He was up late with a newborn baby.
• A bird near the engine. You see a flock of birds near the runway right after takeoff. One engine makes a small noise.
• A tight connection. Twenty passengers have a tight connection. Your arrival is five minutes before their next flight leaves.
• A shortcut from the tower. Air traffic control offers a shortcut that would save ten minutes and some fuel. It passes through a busy zone.
• A child asks to see the cockpit. Before boarding, a small boy asks if he can see the cockpit. His mother is smiling nervously.
• A late crew member. One flight attendant has not arrived and the gate is due to close in ten minutes.
• Wrong luggage. A passenger says his luggage was loaded on the wrong aircraft. It has a very important gift in it.
• A very important passenger. A famous actress is on board. The crew is excited and she has asked to move to a window seat.
• Lightning outside. Lightning flashes in the clouds ahead. It is bright, and quite loud.
• A runway change. The tower changes your landing runway at the last minute. The new one is shorter.
• A question over the intercom. A passenger asks if he can propose to his girlfriend over the intercom. She is sitting right next to him.

Every ending (spoilers)