So I haven't been able to find an aetherhunt pilot lately and I was looking into learning it myself. How hard is it to do? What exactly does a pilot do besides just fly around? Any tips, comments and input is greatly appreciated!

The pilot is responsible for flying the ship, yes. Pilots are also typically the ones calling targets during an aetherhunt, asking for siphoning and shockwaves at the proper times, etc. Piloting is not hard to do, at all. The reason no one wants to do it, though, is because it's the one module that you absolutely -do not- want to try automating. People are lazy, y'know? If you have a pilot who isn't paying attention for at least 98% of the hunt, you're likely going to die. Nobody wants to die.

Moreso, no one wants to be responsible for said deaths, when they're a result of their not being willing to pay attention for the long haul.

1. Learn your way around.
2. It helps to have Gliding. I say 'helps' because, while it's possible to do so without, you'll probably die if you get caught in a dragon chase.
3. Raise your Patience and Tolerance For Nonsense skills to at least Mythical.
4. Practice practice practice.

eritheyl:

The pilot is responsible for flying the ship, yes. Pilots are also typically the ones calling targets during an aetherhunt, asking for siphoning and shockwaves at the proper times, etc. Piloting is not hard to do, at all. The reason no one wants to do it, though, is because it's the one module that you absolutely -do not- want to try automating. People are lazy, y'know? If you have a pilot who isn't paying attention for at least 98% of the hunt, you're likely going to die. Nobody wants to die.

Moreso, no one wants to be responsible for said deaths, when they're a result of their not being willing to pay attention for the long haul.

1. Learn your way around.
2. It helps to have Gliding. I say 'helps' because, while it's possible to do so without, you'll probably die if you get caught in a dragon chase.
3. Raise your Patience and Tolerance For Nonsense skills to at least Mythical.
4. Practice practice practice.

Just what I was looking for, thanks! I'm already transed aethercraft. What exactly does a shockwave do? And when's the proper time to call for it. Can I explore by myself without getting killed?

Shockwaves stun you/critters when you/they move into that square. You can cleanse the stun though, and dragons can't.

If you're just exploring, put up a forcefield and don't stay in one place too long if you've just stirred up a beast. Just run from dragons, they are -fast-.

How you use shockwaves will depend on what you're hunting and what method you want to use. Ask people in your org how they do it, because it varies from place to place. Basically, you want to keep the beast in a shockwave until they die. It takes eight seconds to be released from a shockwave, and as Sylphas said, you can have your empath release you early.

The best way IMO to get a hang of piloting is to find a pilot who in an aetherhunt is willing to talk you through the whats and whys of what s/he is doing. You obviously need practice to really get the hang of it, but having someone to walk through the basic theory behind it is extremely helpful.

That said, there are quite a few little tricks that you can pick up over time, such as attack patterns of beasts and shortcuts you can take in certain circumstances, but the most straightforward and uncomplicated patterns of e.g. dragon hunting are easy to get down with a little bit of practice.

Also, I highly recommending keybinding the numpad (with various control keys as necessary) to control ship movement. Getting yourself torn apart by a dragon because you mistyped pilot steer n or whatever alias you're using is not particularly desirable.

When you first start piloting for aetherhunts, I recommend starting with gargantuans on Ethereal. They're slightly more complex to bash than dragons (unless you just steal the what ends up being far less efficient dragon pattern for them), but they're also much, much, much less dangerous and are a good place to get used to steering the aethership. Once you do start hunting dragons, it's very easy and uncomplicated; you just need to be continually paying attention so you can move quick enough to not explode.

Oooh. AND what no one else will tell you: Prepare going from your shockwave-hunting grounds to dock and back quite frequently as your crew needs to quit and you need to conscript a new crew. You'll definitely need the begging skills and access to commune, market, and social aethers to request a new crew. Probably hardest parts of the job.That and checking to make sure all gunners are gunning and the crew stays away. The former is sarcastic, and latter definitely true.

Ytran:

The best way IMO to get a hang of piloting is to find a pilot who in an aetherhunt is willing to talk you through the whats and whys of what s/he is doing.

If someone would sit there and fire a barrage of questions at me while I'm trying to pilot a hunt...they better be listening good and get it down for themself, cause they won't be invited on any of my future hunts :b