Young Captain...

[bart]

I have found respect is the key and that it is a two way street. In my experience, If I respect the young captain and his abilities (they must have done something right to get where they are), the respect is mutual.

I have also found that by not respecting the other person, regardless of position, the have no room to respect me. Though I wish I had entered the game sooner, this is the way it is. I have yet to fly with a captain older than me and suspect it will be a long time before I do.

I find that like Surplus1, if I put my attitude, experience, maturity and good judgement to work for the purpose of benefitting the captain, they end up learning and having a high opinion of me. I also find myself learning from them.

At the end of the day, the experience is more enjoyable when I respect their authority and do what I can to put them at ease, after all I am sure it can be intimidating to them to know the guy in the left seat was driving when they were in diapers...

 

[350DRIVER]

I think "age" is usually irrelevant and is used as a a cop out in most cases. You are either a competent, safe, experienced, proven pilot OR you are NOT "regardless" of your age- I truly believe that age is a meaningless number since it is not how many years you have been on this planet B U T what you have actually done and accomplished in your years here- At my company I am the youngest at 23 and the oldest is right at 70 so go figure BUT each and every pilot has been put to the test and the same standards so if you are 23 or 70 it really doesn't matter at all- (a cop out in most cases) At this point in the ball game you either know your stuff or you don't and "IF" you don't then it will be known to many and you probably will not get too far in this industry and should start looking at other avenues to pursue- IF you are "professional" then age will never become an issue on the flight deck and each crew member will respect the other to the utmost- I have never had a problem with this issue nor do I think "age" will ever be an issue due to the fact that it is not your "age" that is recognized and respected it is your piloting skills that are in "question" and being "tested"- As for some stating that at 23 "we" don't posess the "experience" I beg to differ (a cop out once again) since the regulations don't give one knowledge "breaks" and the "younger" so-called "less experienced" pilots are allowed to know less than someone that is in their 50's- Like I said you will be tested the same and pushed the same regardless of whether you are 23 or 70- Most of the people that make "age" an issue appear to be the older pilots nearing the "magic 60" - why? I have no idea, possibly because of the changing times as well as the era that they were accustomed to along their way up the ladder.- - -

Saying we "lack" experience because of "age" would be comparable to someone saying that a young heart surgeon right out of their res/intern is not "experienced" enough to do a double bi-pass operation because he isn't as "experienced" as the 55 year old surgeon that has been doing it for 20 years and has developed "people skills" . (last time I checked the "young" doc's still had to pass the same boards and prove themselves prior to being given the knife) The bottom line is that you are"proven" by the time you get to that point and the same holds true in aviation- Line and sim checks are NOT changed to make sure certain age groups are given a "break" due to their so-called lack of knowledge/experience in the industry-


C H E E R S

3 5 0

 

[Timebuilder]

Although any recently upgraded captain can be competant, safe, experienced and proven, my life experience suggests to me that there are degrees of all of these qualities.

If you are on a path of constant improvement (learning=a change in behavior) you will need many more takeoffs, flights, and landings in order for these improvements to occur. In order to have this increase of experience, time will have to pass in your life, i.e.: age.

Can a young captain be better at his job than someone older? I'm sure there are many examples of that, when the older captain has less experinece (time) as a captain, or if he has no desire to improve.

Certainly, an older person has had opportunities for life experience that will exceed those seen by a young captain. The standards the young captain has met are a baseline, not the be-all, end-all measure of the job, but a beginning of a long experienced air transport professional.

Like Caveman, my job is to make the other guy's job easy, whether it is our newest captain, with whom I will fly this afternoon, or one of the owners, who is a seasoned captain and check airman with a 121 background. I'm still older than everyone here, and I probably will always crew with someone younger than myself. That's fine. My first intent is to be the best FO they ever saw, then I'll set my sights on becoming the best captain I can be.

If you always aim for excellence, the rest will take care of itself.

 

[CL60]

My answer would depend on the individual in question.

If the 23 year old captain was an egomaniacle a-hole, yes I would have a problem. If the 23 year old captain was a competent pilot and a good leader, no problem. The same could be said of a person of any age.

The whole situation is based solely on one's subjective perception of a 23 year old's ability to handle the job and themself in a manner befitting a captain in every sense of the title.

Don't let age or gender or race or any other predjudice interfere with your ability to learn and grow.

 

[surplus1]

Kudos to Caveman and Timebuilder. You both have the "big picture".

 

[PuffDriver]

Kudos to Caveman and Timebuilder. You both have the "big picture".

Congrats guys, you have the blessing of Capn' Surplus. Now you can sleep at night

 

[puddlejumper]

One of the main defferences between a 2,000 hour pilot and a 20,000 hour pilot is that the high-timer has made at least 10 times as many mistakes. Regardless of age, it is all about one's experiences and how well they accept the advice and relate to other pilot's experiences to be constantly enhacing their own. Some pilots will catch on to things quicker than others, but I feel that we all learn through experience, and how better to learn than from the mistakes and guidance of others?

I've never flown 121, but I've had a few Eagle Jet Int'l timebuilders ride along with me while flying skydivers and it usually takes a few flights to prove myself, as a younger pilot, but once the older guys figure out that I have decent flying skills and judgement they tend to respect my position as PIC more as they fly the plane to log time.

The same thing would go for instructing older students. I could tell that they were a bit skeptical at first due to my age but once they could tell that I knew what I was doing, it was business as usual.

-PJ