Savina Paül, pilot: “The cockpit is full of buttons, but there's something that will surprise you.”

Savina Paül, an airplane pilot, offered a unique insight into the cockpit and the crucial role of the pedals in aircraft operation. According to the pilot, "An airplane cockpit is full of buttons, but there's something that will surprise you."

Savina Paül explains that, in addition to the side stick and the throttle and flap levers, the pedals perform essential functions both on the ground and in flight. "I'll explain what they're for. To start with, they're used to find the perfect position in the cockpit. For example, since I'm not very tall, I need to keep them close to me in the minimum position," Paül explains, showing how the pilot's ergonomics depend on the adjustment of these controls.

On the ground, the pedals allow you to maneuver the aircraft, along with the handwheel, or tiller, which controls the nose wheel with a range of up to seventy degrees of rotation. "On the ground, the pedals help us move across the surface, along with the handwheel, which gives much greater control over the nose wheel," explains the pilot. Furthermore, their braking and trim functions during takeoff and landing runs are essential for maintaining safe operations.

During flight, the side stick is the primary control instrument, while the pedals are rarely used. Paül clarifies that “the pedals control the tail rudder, but we hardly ever use them because doing so would generate a very abrupt movement. We would only use them in very specific cases, such as an emergency engine failure during takeoff, where there is a significant asymmetry.”

The pilot adds that these situations are rare in real life, but they are trained extensively in the simulator. Furthermore, the pedals are crucial in crosswind landings using the De-Crab technique, which consists of pointing the nose into the wind and, at the last moment, centering the aircraft on the runway.

With this type of explicit and educational content, Savina Paül helps passengers understand her profession better and highlights elements that often go unnoticed by passengers, showing that each button and pedal serves a vital purpose in the safety and control of an airplane.