Sadly the general public is ignorant towards flying. It no longer holds the magical and mysterious thought it used to.

It's sooo true.  Ignorance angers me to no end

Ramp Monkey
A woman was looking at the animals on display in a pet store. A man walked in and said to the shopkeeper "I'll take a Ramp Monkey, please". The shopkeeper nodded and took a monkey out of a cage. He put a collar and leash on the animal and handed it the man, saying, "That'll be $5,000." The man paid and left with the monkey. The surprised woman went to the shopkeeper and said, "That was a very expensive monkey.  Most of them are only a few hundred dollars. Why did that one cost so much?"The shopkeeper answered, "Ah, that's a Ramp Monkey. He can drive tractors, load cargo, and guide aircraft into gates. All with no back talk or complaints. He's well worth the money." The woman then spotted a monkey in another cage. "That one's even more expensive! $10,000! What does it do?" "Oh, that one" replied the shopkeeper. "That's a "Flight Attendant Monkey, she's attractive and personable. She can serve drinks and meals, and even evacuate passengers from an aircraft in an emergency. A very useful monkey indeed." The woman looked around a little longer and found a monkey with a $50,000 price tag. The shocked woman exclaimed, "This one costs more >than all the others put together! What in the world can it do?" "Well," said the shopkeeper, "I've never actually seen him do anything except drink beer and play with himself. But his papers say he's a Pilot."

It is said how the public is mostly ignorant towards GA, hell, they have airports shut down due to noise! Pity there is nothing us pilots can do to change it...

People are surprised when I explain that keeping a plane right-side up is no big deal, but when I go into how much knowledge is required even to get a PP cert., any thought that it's as easy or simple  as earning the right to drive a bus is quickly dismissed. And there are a lot of weird misconceptions out there- I remember a co-worker who showed some interest in taking a ride with me, until he found out that we wouldn't be under ATC control the whole time. It wasn't that he didn't trust me specifically, he just refused to accept that a mere pilot could be responsible for navigating safely using his own knowledge and common sense. Even after another co-worker went up with me and raved to everyone about how good a pilot I was, etc., I knew not to ask this other guy if he wanted to go. I have another friend who's just leery about  putting his life in my hands, as he puts it. Doesn't think anything of climbing aboard an airliner crewed by people he doesn't even know, but just can't wrap his mind around the idea that some guy he knows could fly safely. Weird. I've found that in general, the average person takes flying for granted when it comes to airlines, but views operation of light aircraft as some sort of arcane, crazy stunt, undertaken by lunatics. So really there are opinions out there that haven't changed in 100 years, despite the everyday neature of GA operations.

Most people I talk to dont understand that getting a PPL dosnt automatically plant you in the left seat of 747 either.

I know plenty of people who think nothing of flying on an airliner but would never dream of setting foot in a light aircraft. There's also plenty of people scared stiff of flying in any sort of aircraft. When it comes down to it, pilots are ordinary people just like anyone else. Plenty of ordinary people fly nowadays & many have their own aircraft but they don't have the word PILOT tattooed on their forehead. Don't put bus drivers down, I couldn't do their job for £10,000 per week. The same goes for ramp rats.

I'm not sure OTTOL's comment is actually intended as a joke. He's a commercial pilot so I imagine he knows what he's talking about.

PS. I have no doubt that OTTOL is a competent pilot & good at his job but I've met a few in my time that should never have been allowed within 100 yards of an aircraft. On second thoughts, make that a mile.