Fo is a little behind the curve

Q

QuasarZ

Well-Known Member
What do you Captains do if the First Officer is brand new to the airplane and has low time (300tt) and is just really behind the power curve? First pilot job flying a turbo prop.

Just curious what people would do. This was an interview question.
 
Help him out, it's not like you can't fly the whole damn thing yourself if it came down to it anyways right? At that point you're PIC and CFI. What else would you do anyways?
 
Think about whether last month's life insurance premium check cleared? (with a smile on your face)

That is 100% what I would say at an interview. I might ask who was hiring these clueless FO's too :)
 
QuasarZ said:
What do you Captains do if the First Officer is brand new to the airplane and has low time (300tt) and is just really behind the power curve? First pilot job flying a turbo prop.

Just curious what people would do. This was an interview question.
Click to expand...
Put the CFI hat on and be patient.
 
Instruct, dont denigrate technique, but precision and consistency is mandatory, don't tolerate performance less than what he's capable of, but don't be an overbearing jackass either. His performance is in part a reflection of yourself - do your damndest to get him good and trained up.

I've experienced something similar now, learning how to be a captain and ignore the small things was the hardest thing I've ever experienced in the airplane. I have a long learnkng curve ahead of me to be a better captain for sure, but initially it was very difficult to say nothing and let him learn from his own mistakes. You can't let him do anything unsafe, but you've gotta let him learn on his own.
 
ppragman said:
Instruct, dont denigrate technique, but precision and consistency is mandatory, don't tolerate performance less than what he's capable of, but don't be an overbearing jackass either. His performance is in part a reflection of yourself - do your damndest to get him good and trained up.
Click to expand...

What if all he is capable of is following the flight director into the ground 5 miles short of the airport (on a VFR day) because he set the modes wrong and even when looking outside and seeing 4 red on the PAPI ignores it and goes back to following the magenta line?
 
BobDDuck said:
What if all he is capable of is following the flight director into the ground 5 miles short of the airport (on a VFR day) because he set the modes wrong and even when looking outside and seeing 4 red on the PAPI ignores it and goes back to following the magenta line?
Click to expand...
You can't let him do anything unsafe. But saying, "dude, the flight director is set wrong this is.going to fly us into the ground" will do the trick. Then if he doesn't comply a simple, "glideslope, look ouside you're too low," finally, "alright, I have the flight controls," folllwed by a thorough debrief should help.
 
BobDDuck said:
What if all he is capable of is following the flight director into the ground 5 miles short of the airport (on a VFR day) because he set the modes wrong and even when looking outside and seeing 4 red on the PAPI ignores it and goes back to following the magenta line?
Click to expand...
*facepalm*
 
I think we've drifted too far to the " let everyone figure out everything on their own." I know it's not politically correct in this day and age of aviation where " as long as we don't get violated or killed" it's a good day.

I'm not saying be a douchenozzle or intimidate, but ESPECIALLY with someone with 300 hrs you need to put the instructor cap on. Give heads up on upcoming gotcha items, don't let him sink into bad habits. You saying nothing validates his actions. I'm still amazed at some actions and I know they occur because other captains are too intimidated to correct them - ie sucking up flaps on landing rollout before we're even off the centerline, not doing walk arounds etc.
<Rant off> beer time.
 
Different people learn differently. For me, it often took making the mistake on my own and suffering the consequences to learn. Flying with an instructor/captain/more experienced pilot who always pimps you on little things is great, and makes the flight seem easy, but for guys like me, it doesn't make for quick learning. I'd say hang on as long as you can possibly take it, and try to see if the guy figures it out, or at least bails himself out of the whole he has dug. Then debrief it professionally post-flight. I'm sure there are some special considerations when carrying paying pax or if on a revenue flight, but if we're just talking about little headwork/cockpit management/SA issues, I'd say the guy can probably learn better by making his own mistakes. If safety of flight becomes an issue, that is a whole other bag of worms of course....
 
Help him out. No one is going to learn everything from indoc and the sim, it takes time in the AC to plug everything together. He / she made it through training, so they're capable for the job.
 
Be patient. Teach as much as you possibly can, but don't be afraid to tell him/her to sit back and observe if you have more important issues to take care of at the moment.
 
The learning curve in a transport category aircraft is much steeper than your typical Cessna or Piper single/twin. Most folks are going to need a few hundred hours in type to really feel comfortable at the controls. You can't let a new person do anything that puts you and the PAX in harm’s way, but if you micro manage every aspect of their flying and performance you are not going to do them any favors either. In fact I think you may just make the crew environment more toxic and the flight more dangerous by micro managing and berating the other crew member.

Step in and help as needed, don’t let anything dangerous happen, but don’t sweat the small stuff. Most new pilots will put the puzzle pieces together just fine with a little experience.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top