Captain thoughts, one year completed (almost)
- Thread starter derg
- Start date
Richman
JC’s Resident Curmudgeon
Great write up, especially since I'm about to go down the same path.
An old timer once told me two things:
1) Parking brake....best safety device ever invented.
2) Don't yell...you're the boss, and have already won the argument before the first word is spoken.
That time after upgrading were probably a tich easier back in the day, even when TTU (time to upgrade) was around the same amount of time. There was more orderly progression, and you probably didn't have the wild age/experience disparities that you find today. The other "issues" that exist today probably didn't happen much back then, either.
Unlike Derg, I'm going to an airplane that will probably have a preponderance of newbies on it, which makes for a whole other experience. I used to do IOE on the 727 panel. It was a fairly decent job...make sure they don't dump the fuel, trip the packs or say F@#$ on the PA, and you pretty much had it handled. OTOH, watching someone else do it while you do your job as well (on a new jet, no less), will probably be a handful. The good news is most of the new cats have jet experience, and the 717 ain't your daddy's DC-9.
Richman
An old timer once told me two things:
1) Parking brake....best safety device ever invented.
2) Don't yell...you're the boss, and have already won the argument before the first word is spoken.
That time after upgrading were probably a tich easier back in the day, even when TTU (time to upgrade) was around the same amount of time. There was more orderly progression, and you probably didn't have the wild age/experience disparities that you find today. The other "issues" that exist today probably didn't happen much back then, either.
Unlike Derg, I'm going to an airplane that will probably have a preponderance of newbies on it, which makes for a whole other experience. I used to do IOE on the 727 panel. It was a fairly decent job...make sure they don't dump the fuel, trip the packs or say F@#$ on the PA, and you pretty much had it handled. OTOH, watching someone else do it while you do your job as well (on a new jet, no less), will probably be a handful. The good news is most of the new cats have jet experience, and the 717 ain't your daddy's DC-9.
Richman
Nick
Well-Known Member
But maybe they will at least have accumulated at least their first couple hundred hours in the jet before they make it into your base.
BobDDuck
Island Bus Driver
After my experience last night, I'd say it's pretty much so easy a caveman could do it. That said, it's got some really goofy quirks that will kick your ass (which you can totally say here!) if you aren't aware of them.
Nick
Well-Known Member
Let me guess...a four letter word that starts with "P" ?
jtrain609
Antisocial Monster
P-funk?
People still think they're two mutually exclusive bands. Ha!
jtrain609
Antisocial Monster
"George Clinton? P-funk? The parliament funkadelic? That's the grand daddy of funk! What's he doing at The Pit?"
killbilly
Vocals, Lyrics, Triangle, Washboard, Kittens
"that's got to be a cover band. George Clinton would never play the pit."
jtrain609
Antisocial Monster
I'm pretty sure David spade was 12 years old in that movie.
Rocketman99
Frozen Guppy Manipulator
There is a ramper in LGA that looks just like Gutter. I swear to Noodle. I've only ever seen him twice, I guess he shares similar work ethic.
BobDDuck
Island Bus Driver
PFunk and Burning Roofs aside... not sure what you are referencing.
I was talking about some electric gremlins involving the VIAs and the MCDUs mostly, but also the TCAS.
The autothrottles are great (wahoo low speed protection) but act goofy sometimes in idle decent.
The plane has a habit of blowing through the localizer, even when it is armed, especially at speeds greater than 200 knots.
Also (and this may just be due to our frequent cycles) the engines have a habit of coming apart every once in a while.
But it really is a pretty amazing plane. There is something to be said for doing a 1:1 descent.
Maximilian_Jenius
Super User
O-M-G! So you're telling me that Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars didn't create funk?
Tommay85
Well-Known Member
95% of my flight time is PIC and lowely freight dawging, so take it for whatever that's worth, and I'm way younger than you, @Derg kind of I guess. Most of what I thought I knew about leadership has been from my mere 4 months as an ACP and may be written as such. I was way off initially and probably still am, but learning never stops.
Delegating duties properly is another thing a good captain(leader in general) does IMO. Which I think you already said... but the "insert acronym for company manual" says who should do what, but frankly, the captain can do A LOT more if needed if it doesn't interrupt the overall decision making, but it does reduce the work load a bit for the already task saturated crew members in a time crunch. I've seen the other side of that where the duties are followed as per the manual, but not at all conducive to an even workload for the crew in it's entirety and ends up not being very efficient. I know you already do walk-arounds as per your endless posts about where you are but nerdedly(which is a word, at least today) with the airplane in the picture, which shows nothing of interest!
One of the biggest saftey concerns I've seen in the crew environment, which might be partially due to the low experience of our FOs, is to NOT ignore them. I realize the guys Delta is hiring are probably plenty experienced, but crashes have happened in almost every sector due to this breakdown. Resort to the most conservative option until the disagreement is resolved. Which might sound pretty broad sweeping and too simple, but I'm willing to bet that the majority of the time, the more conservative option is a higher altitude or a go-around which is safer than being lower with one of the pilots confused. Not efficient at all, but it is safer. Maybe YOU'RE the one brain farting.
This may be the ACP in me talking more than PIC, but take ALL of the responsibility regarding a decision, good or bad. Keep the heat off of your subordinates in other words, the leader(captain in this case) should have been aware of the situation anyways.
I don't believe ramifications should ever be brought upon another crew member unless they were negligent or not proficient in their duties. If it's the latter, hopefully the company has a just safety culture and fixes the problem with retraining. The former is hopefully termination. That being said, taking care of your crew members usually will work out to them taking care of you. Which is as little as paying for dinner/drinks/strippers/blow/???
Figuring out how to inspire everyone you come into contact with to do their job the best they can or to do it the way you want it done(as per the SOP at a minmum) is the most challenging thing a leader can do. Reading a person's personality to diffuse their weaknesses or prejudice is the hardest part. For example, it might not be realistic with every flying job, but getting out of the plane and talking to the guys on the ground goes a very VERY long way. They probably won't remember you, but I bet you my awful pay that they will do what you want and will go about their day for at least 10 minutes with a better attitude. Another example, the cabin doesn't actually belong to the FAs. Inspire them to run the back the way you want it. Easier said than done I know(and I don't actually have any experience with this), but I did say that this is the most challenging part of being a leader. The nice thing is that most leadership qualities are easily transferable and a lot of it comes down to properly interpreting what you're working with.
Discipline doesn't exist in my vocabulary. Inspiring people before that word even enters my head is the primary focus and should be the primary focus of anyone in a leadership position. Obviously, it may come to that on certain occasions, but learning how to inspire change instead will forever be an on-going learning process. The more gray/bald your head is is probably better with some people early on.
Give credit when credit is due. Everyone under the sun wants credit for doing a good job no matter how minuscule it is or how badly they screwed up before. Give it to them when warranted. Situationally dependent of course, but if they did a good job, given the situation, give them credit for it. This is part of the inspiration process as well.
There's a bit more I could share, welcome or not welcomely received, but I'm coming back from party time, the sun is up, and need to sleep...
TL,DR Inspire, Delegate when needed, pay for the cocaine, don't be a veiny man part to anyone(there's a place anywhere you go to get a good yelling in by yourself), gray or shave your head
@z987k just because haha
Delegating duties properly is another thing a good captain(leader in general) does IMO. Which I think you already said... but the "insert acronym for company manual" says who should do what, but frankly, the captain can do A LOT more if needed if it doesn't interrupt the overall decision making, but it does reduce the work load a bit for the already task saturated crew members in a time crunch. I've seen the other side of that where the duties are followed as per the manual, but not at all conducive to an even workload for the crew in it's entirety and ends up not being very efficient. I know you already do walk-arounds as per your endless posts about where you are but nerdedly(which is a word, at least today) with the airplane in the picture, which shows nothing of interest!
One of the biggest saftey concerns I've seen in the crew environment, which might be partially due to the low experience of our FOs, is to NOT ignore them. I realize the guys Delta is hiring are probably plenty experienced, but crashes have happened in almost every sector due to this breakdown. Resort to the most conservative option until the disagreement is resolved. Which might sound pretty broad sweeping and too simple, but I'm willing to bet that the majority of the time, the more conservative option is a higher altitude or a go-around which is safer than being lower with one of the pilots confused. Not efficient at all, but it is safer. Maybe YOU'RE the one brain farting.
This may be the ACP in me talking more than PIC, but take ALL of the responsibility regarding a decision, good or bad. Keep the heat off of your subordinates in other words, the leader(captain in this case) should have been aware of the situation anyways.
I don't believe ramifications should ever be brought upon another crew member unless they were negligent or not proficient in their duties. If it's the latter, hopefully the company has a just safety culture and fixes the problem with retraining. The former is hopefully termination. That being said, taking care of your crew members usually will work out to them taking care of you. Which is as little as paying for dinner/drinks/strippers/blow/???
Figuring out how to inspire everyone you come into contact with to do their job the best they can or to do it the way you want it done(as per the SOP at a minmum) is the most challenging thing a leader can do. Reading a person's personality to diffuse their weaknesses or prejudice is the hardest part. For example, it might not be realistic with every flying job, but getting out of the plane and talking to the guys on the ground goes a very VERY long way. They probably won't remember you, but I bet you my awful pay that they will do what you want and will go about their day for at least 10 minutes with a better attitude. Another example, the cabin doesn't actually belong to the FAs. Inspire them to run the back the way you want it. Easier said than done I know(and I don't actually have any experience with this), but I did say that this is the most challenging part of being a leader. The nice thing is that most leadership qualities are easily transferable and a lot of it comes down to properly interpreting what you're working with.
Discipline doesn't exist in my vocabulary. Inspiring people before that word even enters my head is the primary focus and should be the primary focus of anyone in a leadership position. Obviously, it may come to that on certain occasions, but learning how to inspire change instead will forever be an on-going learning process. The more gray/bald your head is is probably better with some people early on.
Give credit when credit is due. Everyone under the sun wants credit for doing a good job no matter how minuscule it is or how badly they screwed up before. Give it to them when warranted. Situationally dependent of course, but if they did a good job, given the situation, give them credit for it. This is part of the inspiration process as well.
There's a bit more I could share, welcome or not welcomely received, but I'm coming back from party time, the sun is up, and need to sleep...
TL,DR Inspire, Delegate when needed, pay for the cocaine, don't be a veiny man part to anyone(there's a place anywhere you go to get a good yelling in by yourself), gray or shave your head
@z987k just because haha
Last edited:
Nick
Well-Known Member
Oh...the only reason I jokingly wrote it the way I did was because I thought for sure that the #1 item would be "PROF"! Not intuitive and a lot of button pushing compared to what I was used to.
On the topic of blowing through the localizer, I haven't seen that yet, but we saw a puzzling maneuver a few days ago. Fully established on a LOC and G/S at about 3000'. All of a sudden, it cranks itself into a 30 degree bank to the left...we were on a visual and no traffic around so we did let it go just a couple seconds to see what it's plan was, and apparently, the plan was...off to the races or something...definitely not anywhere near the localizer, or even the airport. Our heading was 20-30 degrees left of the localizer in calm wind when we turned it all off a moment later.
Next you're going to tell me that Pharrell doesn't constantly rip-off Curtis Mayfield!
BEEF SUPREME
Well-Known Member
There are two kinds of captains that I used to race sailboats with. The kind who yelled and the kind who didn't yell. I raced with the guys who didn't yell.
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