Most first officers aspire to become captains but with that status comes responsibility for the lives of hundreds of passengers.

To ensure the safety of aircraft and passengers, a balanced mind is as crucial as a correctly working head-up display (HUD), shown on an Embraer E195.

Teamwork in the cockpit is vital at critical moments, such as when reading and confirming checklists or inputting data into the flight management system (FMS), shown on an Airbus A320.

A complex array of screens and buttons form part of the electronic flight instrument system (or glass cockpit) operated by today's flight crews. There is fierce debate over whether computers lead pilots to be less skilled at manual flying.