Love that clip. Love John Wayne. Love Ernest Gann.
Anyway, sounds like things are working out. Does the chief pilot support the captains? If so, after one flight Junior and I are having a talk. No beating around the bushes, no preserving of egos, etc. (Nothing demeaning or unprofessional. Just some frank discussion and teaching session.) Second time, Junior and I are going into the chief pilots office.
In regards to checklists...I don't get it. Every professional pilot I have ever flown with adheres to checklists 100%. This is almost the stamp/seal of a pro. Even for a one line checklist item above 18,000 (altimeters)...the checklist gets pulled out and read. Many amateur pilots don't do this. I give several BFRs annually....and I see this time and again. I suppose they find that it's not cool to pull out the checklist and read it. When I debrief them, they look at me like I have 3 heads.