labbats
Zulu who?
- Joined
- May 25, 2003
- Posts
- 2,593
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172driver said:What's it like flying with some of these high time captains who think they're God's gift to aviation, that they paid more dues than you, that they fly like Chuck Yeager, and are as sharp as Einstein?
Examples:
I find that the captains with this kind of attitude usually can't fly for sh!t and that they have very little situational awareness. I am a fairly humble and quiet guy and try to trust the captain to do his/her job well but there are many out there who have to be coached through an entire 4 day trip. I often wonder how some of these guys would fare single pilot.
By far, the majority of captains out there are excellent pilots, decision makers, and leaders but it sure seems to me that many of the higher time, higher age guys have either lost a lot of skills or become complacent. I'd take a recently upgraded 2500 hr academy grad in the left seat any day over a 25 yr airline captain.
Experience only takes you so far. After you've got 500 hrs in the plane, you fly it as well as anyone. Once you've seen all the airports and weather conditions, you get a pretty good handle on that side of things. After that, it seems to me to be about keeping your head in the game, hand flying once in a while to keep your skills sharp, and earning the respect of your crew by being a competent and likeable captain.
Yes, I am an academy guy. No, I'm not the best pilot on earth and I do make mistakes but I do not EVER have to be continuously babysat through a leg or a trip like many of the captains I have flown with. Experience does not always breed competence and competence can be found with relatively little experience.
172driver said:Experience only takes you so far. After you've got 500 hrs in the plane, you fly it as well as anyone.
labbats said:I try and get all the info I can from every captain I fly with. Most are very cool about it and will tell you little secrets they've learned from flying this plane for 4000 hours. Some will talk down to you a bit, but they're few and far between.
Standby 1 said:Well said and my sentiments exactly. I learn from every captain I fly with (a few I learn what not to do, but it is still valuable learning). 99.9% of them at my company are awesome.
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It's terrible. It's almost as bad as having a guy sit in the right seat and pout for four days because the company didn't hand him four stripes when he walked in the door.172driver said:What's it like flying with some of these high time captains who think they're God's gift to aviation, that they paid more dues than you, that they fly like Chuck Yeager, and are as sharp as Einstein?
bailout said:Its simple.. we have a few of these "class act" captains here. When they start b$tchin about the way you fly simply state "Your controls" and let them fly every leg from then on out. Tell them, yes you are captain and I respect the position, BUT you are not my boss. It completely humiliates even the biggest jerks.