Have you ever wondered what pilots do in the cockpit during long stretches of flying?

While passengers can be distracted by entertainment screens, personal devices, or just getting some shut-eye, those at the very point end of the plane have to stay alert.

There are rules and regulations about when they are allowed to chit-chat, what they can talk about, about what topics that are best avoided.

 Christchurch-born Fiji Airways First Officer Nicola Armstrong  provides answers to this questions:

What are you allowed to do during a flight while it’s on autopilot?

I think one of the biggest misconceptions is that the autopilot does all the work. This is definitely not the case.

We’re constantly monitoring the flight path, managing communications through different airspaces, discussing weather avoidance, diversion planning, coordinating our sleep, planning our arrival, just to name a few – there’s lots to do to ensure we deliver a safe and enjoyable flight.

Are you allowed to sleep during some flights?

During long-haul flights, there are up to 3-4 pilots sharing the workload equally and regular rest breaks are provided while ensuring there are always at least two pilots at the controls.

There’s a secret spot behind the cockpit where we sleep. It’s very discreet and you wouldn’t even know it was there. It has a bunk, a chair and it’s nice and quiet, so we can get some shut-eye.

Are there any interesting rules for pilots that people might not know about?

Our sterile cockpit policy means that any general chit-chat is only permitted during cruise control. Below 10,000 feet, the conversation is directly related to the flight.

What sorts of things do you and your co-pilot chat about?

As part of our role, we’re constantly communicating with one another to ensure everything is running smoothly, but once we’re in cruise control, we can have general chit-chat like discussing our interests and family updates – just like the general work chat that you would expect anywhere.

Sometimes I won’t fly with a particular pilot for a few months so it’s nice to catch up on what they’ve been up to.

There’s just one unspoken rule, that we don’t talk about politics or religion in the cockpit.