Left seat is iminent

JDean3204

JDean3204

Well-Known Member
Starting upgrade training next week and am pretty nervous about it. I know it is just a caravan and most companies fly them single pilot, but this will be my first PIC experience transporting passengers. Also, I was hired as an FO with very low time, never been a CFI and never had someone next to me that I was ultimately responsible for. That seems to be adding to the stress as I want to be a captain who instills confidence their FO. The weather this time of year has already been exciting to say the least, so it will be a good test for me! Although I am nervous I am very excited to take this step and continue to grow and learn as a pilot. Any pointers out there for me??

** Guess I should learn how to spell IMMINENT while I'm at it as well.... :) **
 
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I'll never forget my first single pilot leg carrying passengers for a "carrier".

I'd just finished training with Cape Air in Hyannis and shipped south to the Caribbean for the winter season. After doing some fam flights to get to know the routes I would never fly they let me loose to carry passengers.

So there I was. Sitting up front in the left seat of the mighty 402 by my lonesome self. I gave my welcome aboard/safety speech as sweat poured off my un-acclimated body (the Cape in November is not like PR in November). Feeling pretty good about the delivery I smiled and turned around to begin my before engine start flow.

And there, staring me in the face, were the window shades.

"What the hell do I do with these things?" I thought. We'd never used them up north and the only time I'd seen anyone deal with them was on one of the useless fam flights.

"Well, I think they just sort of twisted them . . . and they . . . fold . . . but . . . this . . . . isn't . . . working . . . what . . . god . . sh*T . . piece of . . !!!!!"

And all the folks in the back are looking at the sweat soaked "captain" that doesn't know how to fold the window shades.

Well, after an epic battle and multiple uttered epithets I managed to solve the rubik's cube of the sunshades and they collapsed into beautiful little disks.

The rest of the flight went perfectly, so I guess my only point is this, flying is the easy part. It's the rest of the stuff that can get in your way :D

Keep an open mind, listen to your peers, and don't be afraid to speak up. Everything else is easy.
 
Congrats. Enjoy the upgrade. I think that I learned as much from the "weaker" captains that I flew with as I did from the great ones. Take all the good and bad attributes that you've experienced in captains and sort through them, picking out the good ones that you want to incorporate into your repertoire and tossing out the bad ones as you vow to not be like that guy.

Remember that your FO is a resource. You'll get a lot more out of them if you incorporate them into the decision making process, solicit their opinion, and don't task-saturate them. Keep an eye on them and when they're getting busy, slow the operation down. Remember, YOU set the pace now. That's one of the fun things about being the boss, setting the tone and the pace. You can keep things at a comfortable pace and still be efficient. In fact, probably more efficient than if you're rushing.

When you brief never say, "I'm really laid back." Or, "I'm pretty standard." When I hear a captain say, "I'm pretty laid back." I know that he's not. When they tell me they're standard it usually means, "I'm standard on about 90% of things. The other 10%, I know a better way of doing. And you should do it that way too." :)
 
@JDean3204, congrats on the upgrade. As others have stated here, take your time in all that you do. If you find yourself feeling uncomfortable, don't dismiss it.
Also, use the pilot to your right, treat them as you wanted to be treated while you were sitting there; NOT they way others treated you. That pilot to your right will either save your butt or not..........YOUR attitude and professionalism will determine which they choose to do.

P.S. Don't forget to open BOTH fuel valves before you hit the starter. It's not good to scare the passengers right off the bat.....(....:rolleyes:)

ppragman said:
He's in a caravan...so...I mean, he doesn't even have to do that... ;)

But to the OP, congratulations! Do your job, know the airplane, fly to profile, and don't do anything dangerous and you'll be fine.
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I'm pretty sure @Kingairer already knew this.....humorous antidote.
 
obx said:
Congrats. Enjoy the upgrade. I think that I learned as much from the "weaker" captains that I flew with as I did from the great ones. Take all the good and bad attributes that you've experienced in captains and sort through them, picking out the good ones that you want to incorporate into your repertoire and tossing out the bad ones as you vow to not be like that guy.

Remember that your FO is a resource. You'll get a lot more out of them if you incorporate them into the decision making process, solicit their opinion, and don't task-saturate them. Keep an eye on them and when they're getting busy, slow the operation down. Remember, YOU set the pace now. That's one of the fun things about being the boss, setting the tone and the pace. You can keep things at a comfortable pace and still be efficient. In fact, probably more efficient than if you're rushing.
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You got that right... Slow is Smooth. Smooth is Fast.

To the OP:
Remember, it's almost a given that the Pax have no idea that you are screwing up the little things you are sweating over, so don't sweat 'em, but learn 'em and move on.

To second all the others who have mentioned "the little stuff", I would suggest learning where all that "little stuff" resides in the plane. Can't tell you how embarrassing it was to be running around trying to find the seat belt extender the first time a passenger actually needed one. Worst, I know it must have been embarrassing for the passenger who was already feeling pretty self conscious about almost putting the Navajo on it's tail as he stepped onto the plane.
 
milleR said:
I'll never forget my first single pilot leg carrying passengers for a "carrier".

I'd just finished training with Cape Air in Hyannis and shipped south to the Caribbean for the winter season. After doing some fam flights to get to know the routes I would never fly they let me loose to carry passengers.

So there I was. Sitting up front in the left seat of the mighty 402 by my lonesome self. I gave my welcome aboard/safety speech as sweat poured off my un-acclimated body (the Cape in November is not like PR in November). Feeling pretty good about the delivery I smiled and turned around to begin my before engine start flow.

And there, staring me in the face, were the window shades.

"What the hell do I do with these things?" I thought. We'd never used them up north and the only time I'd seen anyone deal with them was on one of the useless fam flights.

"Well, I think they just sort of twisted them . . . and they . . . fold . . . but . . . this . . . . isn't . . . working . . . what . . . god . . sh*T . . piece of . . !!!!!"

And all the folks in the back are looking at the sweat soaked "captain" that doesn't know how to fold the window shades.

Well, after an epic battle and multiple uttered epithets I managed to solve the rubik's cube of the sunshades and they collapsed into beautiful little disks.

The rest of the flight went perfectly, so I guess my only point is this, flying is the easy part. It's the rest of the stuff that can get in your way :D

Keep an open mind, listen to your peers, and don't be afraid to speak up. Everything else is easy.
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Awesome!
 
Kingairer said:
Don't forget to put the gear down and you'll be fine.
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And don't be afraid to go around when you get that sick feeling in your stomach. War story:

After OE on the Airbus on my first leg on my first flight as a captain for a major landing on the shortest runway in our system, I was slammed dunked into SNA. Of course forgetting to tell the FO to "Activate the Approach" did not help matters. I was high but at least I was fast :( ...went around at 500'.
 
Everything you have learned, every plane you have flown and every moment you have flown in your mind has led you to this point. The company has enough confidence in you to let you upgrade. Be the good pilot that you already are, use your best judgement and you'll be fine. The fact that it's "only a caravan" is irrelevant. Everyone, every single pilot on the planet started out in smaller equipment. You are still the PIC, you are still flying pax and you are still building hours and experience. That's all that really matters.

Show them what you are made of, prove that they made the right decision in giving you this opportunity. Be steady, stable, reliable, personable and confident and your flying will exhibit these same qualities. Don't overly think anything and don't doubt/second guess your decisions. Rely on your F/O and know that you are perfectly capable to do this job. It's a big step for you in a long line of more steps and accomplishment which lie ahead.

Congrats! Relax and have fun. Enjoy yourself, be the example/set the tone and wear that fourth stripe well. Pretty good Christmas present isn't it?
 
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killbilly said:
Interesting. Having flown with you as a student, I'd say you manifest that pretty well already.
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Thank you sir! I guess what I meant was, it's a target that doesn't get hit, but something to continually keep your sites on. The advice to the OP with a new command is to be humble enough to "confidently" tell his FO, "I don't know", so they can both solve a problem. When needed...
 
Most F/O's are already plenty confident. Pilots are mostly Type A and you will find equally difficult personalities flying both seats. Be confident yourself, but also courteous, professional and never arrogant. Don't be afraid to make a decision without excessive hand wringing when things need to get done quickly, at the same time know when to take your time and use all your resources when your ticket and/or reputation are on the line.

The ATP decision tree:

A - ss - is my ass (and my passengers' asses) going to be safe?
T - ticket - is my certificate going to be in jeopardy?
P - aycheck - is the status of my employment going to be jeopardized?
 
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