Right Seat Captains

CaptBill said:
That's all well and good, but if you continue to write up "there is a screw loose on the captains seat" you and me are going to have issues.
Maintenance has never found a loose screw on any of your write-ups, but then again, I was probably out doing your walk arounds.
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Er, isn't that, "There is a screw loose in the Captain's seat?" ;):D:cool:
 
CaptBill said:
That's all well and good, but if you continue to write up "there is a screw loose on the captains seat" you and me are going to have issues.
Maintenance has never found a loose screw on any of your write-ups, but then again, I was probably out doing your walk arounds.
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You are by far the best person I have flown with....EVER!
 
T-Gates said:
Personality traits aside, Captains can build their own barriers to CRM by believing that they somehow possess more knowledge than the person in the right seat, therefore, that's what makes them a Captain.

In reality, that's 110% wrong.

The knowledge level requirements for a First Officer and a Captain at every airline I have worked at have been identical. Having given check rides to both seats, I held both seats to the same knowledge requirements. What makes the difference between the Captain and the First Officer is that, traditionally, the Captain should possess more experience to be able to wield that knowledge more effectively and take responsibility for it's application.

Now because of the absolute seniority train wreck that this industry has become, the most experience in the cockpit is not always weighted on the left seat. There are plenty of regional airlines out there who have FO's with thousands of hours of PIC in type pulling gear for brand new Captains. And every combination in the middle.

A good Captain will poll their crew to find out their experience so that they may use that experience effectively as situations warrant.

I learned a good lesson in this from a Captain at a previous airline. We were dispatched into an airport with a 7000' runway which was wet, and there was a 20kt. crosswind, and was only served by a VOR approach. To top it off, we had a FAA Inspector on the jumpseat. The Captain looked at me and said "Didn't you just say you went to recurrent last week?". I said yes, and he told me that If I felt comfortable, I should take the leg since I was probably more current on non-precision approach procedures than he was.

That really stuck with me. Here was a Captain, with many years flying wide-body aircraft, who recognized that because of this one specific situation, his First Officer was probably better suited to fly the leg than he was. It wasn't because I was smarter, or more experienced, but that the specifics of the day leaned towards the fact that my recency of experience with non-precision approaches would be of benefit. Where many, many Captains, possibly even myself before that day, would have just taken the leg because it seemed like the "normal" thing to do.

Those are the guys you try and model yourself after and who end up building the most CRM friendly environments in the flight deck.
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Great post, Mike.

An example of what you're talking about is actually right here at my shop. The experience in the 767 is most certainly weighted to the FO side, though we do have some captains here with previous experience. The majority, however, came over from the right seat of the 747 to the left seat of the 76, and have never flown one before.

And that's fine. It's not a hard airplane to fly by any stretch, but the good guys/gals in the left seat (the majority, I'd say) appreciate the extra experience in the right seat, and see us as assets. I know I'm not the final authority on the flight, but I'm more than happy to help out a bit extra where I can based on my previous experience in type. It'd be very poor form for me to say "I'm just the FO!" and hang it all on the captain, when myself and a number of other FOs have a lot more time in the airplane.

Now, I have run into the opposite type, who thinks that seniority trumps experience in the airplane (for example, the cat with <100 in type who was telling me and another guy that we all use boards too much on the fleet*). Those people are usually called "Tools," and don't get invited out for a beer. ;)

* Tied with the high-mins guy who told me that "in his experience," we could depart significantly overweight and still land with plenty of gas. Oh no, no no no.
 
NewYorkophile said:
I'm also sure we've all heard the fighter euphemism: The only thing I want you to say is "2", "Lead's on fire", and "I'll take the fat one." I'm sure that culture is a little different (and yes, wingmen are treated as crewmembers).
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Although that's a funny saying -- and rest assured that it is humor/sarcasm, and not reality -- it exists against an important underlying basic competence and skill that the wingman is understood to have (let me know if this sounds familiar to anyone):

- He is completely knowledgeable about, and competent in the operation of, both his machine and the sensors/weapons on board. He is perfectly capable of operating the aircraft across the range of both administrative and tactical stages with no assistance from his flight lead (and/or, in the case of the 2-seat fighter I spent time in, his other crew member).

- He has enough knowledge of tactics and mission requirements that he can step in to lead the mission if needed; if his flight lead dies, or is damaged, or for whatever reason, he can instantly switch hats to execute (even if it is with less proficiency than his flight lead).

In essence, every wingman is also expected to be a flight lead.

Sound familiar?

In my limited experience in the multi-pilot crew environment (only about 25% of my flight time), the CRM skills that single-pilot/single-cockpit pilots use to lead a 2, 3, 4-ship, or larger formation, are precisely the same CRM skills that a Captain/Aircraft Commander uses to command his multi-pilot crew aircraft. By that same accord, the CRM skills that a wingman uses to be effective are the very same ones that a FO/Copilot uses.
 
Chameleon is the best advice I can give...And, is a bit tedious at times, especially flying with 25-year guys that HATE their job, the company, their wife, etc...I just tune them out and do the job...
A good Captain sets the tone for a positive and constructive introduction and briefing. Identifying threats&strategies to increase flight safety, and encouraging open communication between crew members...Sounds like CRM/TEM doesn't it? :)
 
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Seggy said:
Stop thinking you are doing 14 day Asia trips with that bag.
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Once again you have no idea what you are talking about. I had the standard 22" bag and the rampers in IAD used it as a speed bump. The great people at the stopoverstore.com replaced the 22" with the 26" bag and threw in the attachable duffle. So before you go spouting off that I bought the large bag do your research, SON!

:)
 
amorris311 said:
Once again you have no idea what you are talking about. I had the standard 22" bag and the rampers in IAD used it as a speed bump. The great people at the stopoverstore.com replaced the 22" with the 26" bag and threw in the attachable duffle. So before you go spouting off that I bought the large bag do your research, SON!

:)
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Somehow I can picture this happening while having the ramper never stop.
 
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