Re: New Forum Topic: \"You\'re the Captain\"
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I think the pax have no idea of the quality of the pilot at any time. The only criterion that 99.9% of the pax use is the landing. If it is smooth your a good pilot. If the landing is rough your bad.
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This is true that 99.9% of the passengers judge the landing only. However, you are really judged (and should be judging yourself) the entire flight. If you miss radio calls, are blowing through altitude assignments, not properly monitoring systems, etc., then even if you grease it on the flight was really a disaster.
As a low time pilot I can understand how captains would keep an extra eye on me. I don't blame them, since if I was in their position (as I most likely will be someday in the future) I would keep one eye always on that FO to ensure they are doing things properly. At least until I am confident in their skills and knowledge. I try to maintain very high standards in my flying and knowledge, hoping that after a flight or two my captain will develop confidence in me as a crewmember and part of the team.
If there was an FO I was flying with who was not flying up to par, I would try and reduce their workload to a point where picking up the extra work wasn't overburdening me. If they miss a radio call, I'll take it, and I'd make sure they recognize the mistake. If they are not flying up to par, then I'll ask them to take every third leg instead of every other leg, this way they can observe more and hopefully pick some things up. Sometimes the PNF duties are more difficult than the actual flying. As a captain, I am in a way a teacher, however I am not an initial CFI. If they are not flying up to the standards set forth by the company, and show absolutely no sign of improvement in a short time (a few flight hours), then I would most likely inform the CP that this pilot is overloaded on the line and would need remedial training (or be released). You can only give so much.
Often pilots new to an aircraft--particularly an aircraft more complex than they have flown previous--will be overloaded. In my first 25 hours (on IOE) there were times I would miss a radio call, forget to call for a checklist at the proper time, or bump on a landing. But I was expected to learn from those mistakes and show signs of improvement on a very steep learning curve. If someone is showing no improvement, then it might be time to consider extra training or be released.