What makes a good First Officer?

SurferLucas said:
After we parked, he and I had a closed door talk. He ended up calling in sick and flying home. That left me in LAX for 4 hours awaiting a new Captain.

Atleast I got to eat at the In-and-Out burger next to 24R!
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Great story and great example. Captains are human, too. Sometimes we all need some help. No shame in that. Nice work- I like how you handled that.
 
Bumblebee said:
here's the story... I was flying with a captain who told me he was very depressed about his fiancee, and how he sometimes felt suicidal...I put my hands behind the yoke when we were close to the ground (it was the last leg) and told him that he should not say stuff like that, particularly when we're flying!

I was prepared to knock him out if necessary. He is a very nice guy, and I didn't really feel in danger, just uncomfortable.
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I believe that. I think you would have a solid right hook. :D
 
Lee D said:
I believe that. I think you would have a solid right hook. :D
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right, but from the right seat I needed a good left cross! From the captain's seat the right would be fine....but this is about what makes a good FO!

As far as talking all the time, I could easily reach over and kill their hot mic..there is one guy I would fly with who would ask 80 thousand questions, never listen to the answer and then wonder why captains had a hard time with him. I started to answer once, and he interrupted me and I reached over...turned off his mic and told him, you asked, leave that off until I finish...he did finally learn to at least pretend like he was listening, whether he actually heard was another story altogether.
 
cmill said:
Theres some people who look like their always on edge or about to lose it no matter the situation. That doesnt mean that they cant handle it. I wouldnt start to worry until he actually starts to screw up.

My boss is about as high strung as they come. Always fiddling with a knob or a lever or bitching about something, but that doesnt make me trust him any less.

Until you have a concrete reason to doubt someone, dont waste your energy worrying about it.
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Well, like you said in that last sentence, that's what I'm getting at. I'm sure we've all flown with someone having a bad day...week.. or month maybe.

Had a bad year myself, once. Told the waiter to take it back. (Hyuck!)

That said, I'm not advocating the minute the Captain looks at you funny to bash his head in with the crash axe and take command. Not at all.
Lord knows we've had plenty of THAT kind of thread.

I'm just suggesting that Captains are human, too, and a good FO should be alert to know if maybe you should talk some things out to make sure there's good communication and both of you maintain your SA.

The Captain is "where the buck stops." The FO is still responsible to back him up, even if he's having a less than stellar moment. I'd liken it to a partnership ... like with Police officers, maybe. Not that I know much about that, but it seems like an apt analogy.
 
Bumblebee said:
right, but from the right seat I needed a good left cross! From the captain's seat the right would be fine....but this is about what makes a good FO!

As far as talking all the time, I could easily reach over and kill their hot mic..there is one guy I would fly with who would ask 80 thousand questions, never listen to the answer and then wonder why captains had a hard time with him. I started to answer once, and he interrupted me and I reached over...turned off his mic and told him, you asked, leave that off until I finish...he did finally learn to at least pretend like he was listening, whether he actually heard was another story altogether.
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Errr I meant left cross, but think of the energy you could get out of that punch from the right seat if it were a right hook. Just pop the shoulder straps off and don't skin your knuckles on the CVR mic or compass. :D

Someone from work is probably reading this right now thinking I need some form of anger management. ;)
 
Firebird2XC said:
I'm just suggesting that Captains are human, too, and a good FO should be alert to know if maybe you should talk some things out to make sure there's good communication and both of you maintain your SA.

The Captain is "where the buck stops." The FO is still responsible to back him up, even if he's having a less than stellar moment. I'd liken it to a partnership ... like with Police officers, maybe. Not that I know much about that, but it seems like an apt analogy.
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I think that's good comparison.

I don't care how much time and experience you have, the cockpit is a complex, busy environment with a large number of variables present at any time. No flight or its variables will be exactly the same. You will have moments where you miss things. Automation, SOP, FARs, ATC and aircraft systems are there to help us when we miss something, but usually the other guy/gal in the cockpit is the first layer of safety when that happens.
 
"What makes a good First Officer?"

1. Be technically proficient.

2. Make the captain's job easier, not harder.

3. Regulate your assertiveness as per the criticality of the situation.

4. Determine what type of captain you want to be by observing the best and worst of those captain's you fly with.
 
B767Driver said:
"What makes a good First Officer?"

1. Be technically proficient.

2. Make the captain's job easier, not harder.

3. Regulate your assertiveness as per the criticality of the situation.

4. Determine what type of captain you want to be by observing the best and worst of those captain's you fly with.
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this^^^^^^^^^^
 
B767Driver said:
"What makes a good First Officer?"

1. Be technically proficient.

2. Make the captain's job easier, not harder.

3. Regulate your assertiveness as per the criticality of the situation.

4. Determine what type of captain you want to be by observing the best and worst of those captain's you fly with.
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FTW! Most excellent.

There's always the 'soft sell' when things aren't going so smoothly.
When it's the Captain's leg, and you're on approach and his hand is on the thrust levers, gently caress his hand with yours, look at him and whisper "coupled approach.."

Intimacy fosters better relationships, right?







(no homo...). ;)
 
Firebird2XC said:
FTW! Most excellent.

There's always the 'soft sell' when things aren't going so smoothly.
When it's the Captain's leg, and you're on approach and his hand is on the thrust levers, gently caress his hand with yours, look at him and whisper "coupled approach.."

Intimacy fosters better relationships, right?

(no homo...). ;)
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We have to do this every take-off. In the DHC 6 we don't have a door and the power levers are on top, so to the passsengers it looks like we are holding hands for departure! Some people even comment on it, "why do you guys hold hands up there." And for a joke, we always say the NFP should gently squeeze the hand of the FP just to know he has your back. :)
 
Firebird2XC said:
When it's the Captain's leg, and you're on approach and his hand is on the thrust levers, gently caress his hand with yours, look at him and whisper "coupled approach.."









(no homo...). ;)
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This has NOTHING to do with flying but this post immediately reminded me of this clip....sorry to get off topic.

[YT]w9lYDSpTiOI[/YT]
 
Firebird2XC said:
. . . at one point started swearing at the rampers. . . .
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I'll admit - I've gone Marine Corps on a ramper or two . . . and once, a FA.

And an agent the other night in Toronto.

And a Captain in Austin once, but that's a different story. He apologized, and told me he'd appreciate it if I didn't call the company . . . lol. Maybe in Vegas . . . .

:o
 
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