Anal retentive a-hole Captains

[TurboS7]

We'll at least it wasn't me. I havn't flown but once this month. Tomorrow I leave for HNL for 5 days and have to figure out how to live on Waikiki beach with only $30.00 per day per diem. The food is easy but I have to buy my crew a Mai Tai for every mistake, usually that breaks me. Guess I shouldn't be so anal retentive.

 

[Timebuilder]

Hey, D, take me along! I want to do some surfin'!

 

[cornbread]

cornbread: I don't follow you... who is Uncle "H"?

flight-crew, disregard. I thought I knew who you where based on your first post and others. my mistake.

cheers

 

[General Lee]

Before I was hired at Delta I jumped on a Delta 757 with a real anal Captain. His brief to me, a commuter pilot, was "You know to SHUT UP below 10,00ft, right?" I said, "Ummm Yes..?" He then listened the the FO's brief (he was an F15 guy he told me prior, and he was actually NICE!!!) and then the Captain said, "You are going to put the Autopilot on at 1000Ft AGL because there are studies showing that PAX comfort is better that way...) The FO was pissed. It turned out that the Captain was a sim training guy and this was his one trip this month. I was quiet most of the flight until the Captain misheard the controller on Approach and said he was cleared for a visual on the wrong runway. The FO didn't catch it, and I heard the controller say there were parallel approaches in progress. I said to the Captain that he was lining up for the wrong runway, and he dismissed me. Luckily the tower corrected him eventually and we landed safely. He didn't say thanks to me, and I didn't say thanks to him for the ride. I am sure there are a lot of guys like that, who do not like CRM.

Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[Timebuilder]

That's a good example of the old CRM:
Captain Runs the Machine

 

[Rvrrat]

variables ad nauseum

As noted in above posts, good people can & do make poor or bad choices and have the capacity to respond to situations in an unprofessional manner.

It appears that where things go wrong is when people equate a position of authority with power and miss the aspect of responsibility inherent in the position. The benefits of CRM are well documented; sadly some folk insist on reinventing the wheel daily.

Even still, the person who started this thread has not indicated that CRM or lack thereof was a factor. Inquiring minds await thoughtful revelation.

 

[Timebuilder]

Even still, the person who started this thread has not indicated that CRM or lack thereof was a factor. Inquiring minds await thoughtful revalation.

You're right, it wasn't indicated. Not directly.

When someone complains that a superior is being anal retentive, it usually means that something is being required of the complainer, something that the complainer feels was unjustified. I saw a lot of this during four years of academy training. Sometimes it was about the shine on a pair of shoes, or the press on a uniform.

When requirements are expressed in a cockpit, other than "shut up, this is my airplane", it is usually in the context of command and company procedures. His choice of words in his complaint indicate that the captain was demanding, but it does not indicate that he was outside the range of his discretion. That suggests to me that this captain may be adhering to the rules a little too closely for this FO's taste. That would be a CRM issue, since what happens in the area of cockpit communication falls in that area.

Just a thought.

 

[IAHERJ]

I think we've all flown with someone we thought was anal-retentive. As a first officer you just have to deal with it and do things his/her way. When you get into the left seat someday you will have the power to run the show your way. There are things today that I do that I swore I'd never do when I made it to the left seat. You take on a bit of a different perspective once you rotate your butt across the center console at a different angle.

IAHERJ

 

[banned username 2]

The guy had been at the regionals for over 5 years. So I have to ask myself, why did he never make it to a Major during those great hiring years in the mid to late 90's? Now other FO's have to deal with his s.hit because he's bitter. **CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED** lifers.

A little word of advise... watch the sticks your throw for one could be a boomerang and come right back and WHAP you up side the head... You too could be a lifer at a Regional... Have you looked real closely at the Airline Industry as of late??? No one is going anywhere fast...

There are going to be a LOT of "Lifers" at the Regional level...

Just my $0.02 worth

 

[banned username 2]

And to ms6073: I'll air whatever the h.ell I want to on any public forum. Thanks for your advise but please shut the trap.

This board used to be so much better and friendlier.

Maybe, just MAYBE the Captain wasn't the one with the attitude problem...

Not making a statement, but merely an observation....

 

[IAHERJ]

True statement Falcon Captain. That's why the pilots of Mesaba, ASA, and COEX are out there as we speak negotiating the contracts of the futures for "regional" carriers. These airlines along with Mesa and a few more currently negotiating will be trying to dictate wages and work rules that will make all of our careers (long or short) at "regionals" more rewarding.

 

[Timebuilder]

While I don't do my "Amazing Kreskin" impression anymore, I think you're right.

The regional airlines will indeed be the destination for most 121 pilots during the forseeable future. I'll change my mind when three major carriers put 3,000 pilots back to work, for starters.

This will certainly cause a change in the pay and benefit status of the regionals.

 

[Blubaron]

Hey cornbread I know exactly who "H" is and "Cheers" sounds familiar too..

 

[bobbysamd]

"Lifers"

I appreciated the comment(s) that maybe the Captain asked the FO to actually look at the checklist instead of doing it the easy (you know where) way. I also liked the comment how the Captain might have gotten there via you-know-what. Timebuilder's "direct track to internship" comment carries a good amount of truth.

Just a brief comment, though, about "lifers." Being anal and being a lifer are mutually exclusive. Of course, there is a difference between doing what you're supposed to do and being anal. However, you're supposed to do what you're supposed to do and a captain is not wrong to expect it.

Quite a few people who are just happy to be flying are probably "lifers." And, at their regionals, they are probably revered and are institutions. If my career would have gone my way, I would have been a "lifer." I would have been thrilled to death about it, too. I had a friend who enjoyed very much what he was doing as a commuter captain. He flew plenty but had plenty of time off. He lived in our home town and didn't have to relocate. He earned a fair wage.

Don't be so quick to generalize. There is a danger in dealing with absolutes.

Just my .02.

 

[Typhoon1244]

Flight-crew: five years makes you a lifer? You must be new to the airline business. Take my advice and adjust your view of what a "long time" is. If you think five years is too long to spend between career steps, you're setting yourself up for real disappointment.

And forgive me for being blunt, but it sounds to me like you were the bitter one in that cockpit. By coincidence, MetroSheriff and I were recently discussing captains who have reputations for being flaming a__holes. We'd hear horror stories about these guys, and then when we flew with them ourselves, we had no trouble with them. Why? Because we know our job, do it well, and play well with others.

It's the guys with lousy attitudes who usually have trouble with the anal-retentive a__hole captains. Does "anal-retentive" by any chance mean he actually expected you to do your job the way the company and the feds want you to?

 

[MetroSheriff]

Doggone it Typhoon, mind your own business!!!!

ROFLMAO.

I think were gonna need our snow boots this weekend. It looks like JFK is fixin' to get hammered. Maybe it'll cancel.

 

[Timebuilder]

I've got my boots out for tomorrow. I won't be at JFK, though. TEB, maybe.

 

[bestpilotever]

Mysimple solutionto dealing with anal retentive captains....Just tell the airline you wont come work there unless you can go right to the left seat. that is my plan! I dont want deal with some of these people telling me how to fly.

 

[MetroSheriff]

I've got my boots out for tomorrow. I won't be at JFK, though. TEB, maybe.

If'n the weather man is to be trusted, TEBs not going to be a picnic tomorrow.

 

[bulldog]

I recall one particular Captain who was a jekyl/ hyde type. At the time I had all of 250 hours in the AC and in the 121 environment. So, I did what was appropriate, I kept my mouth shut and complied with whatever he wanted and however he wanted it. By the second leg of the day this anal retentive Captain started teaching me about the AC. I'll de darned if he didn't teach me more in the 6 legs we flew that day than the previous couple months combined. Lesson learned!! If we can leave our own attitudes on the ground we might just learn something.

Bulldog