Good First Officers?

[Le Pilote]

That is really sad if you believe that.

Of course I don't believe that. It is what they call sarcasm. The internet shall not be taken seriously!

 

[CA1900]

I have had the pleasure to fly with the former, and the misfortune of flying with [a control freak FO, who] has his own agenda as how and when he expects things to be done (even if the captain is already complying with FARs, co. policy, etc.), and will ask endless "prompting" questions to try to get the captain to fly to the FOs expectations. Guys like this make for a long and tiring trip.

Boy, that's the truth. I had a fellow who did that kind of thing all the way to JFK one afternoon. "Hey, here comes 10,000" as I'm already leveling off. "Did you want that before landing checklist?" -- No, we're still in Connecticut, thanks.

I tried to be polite to a point, dropping hints that I had it under control. I didn't yet see the need to be harsh and direct, hoping he'd take the hints. He didn't. (It wasn't a safety issue, it was an irritating-me issue. Almost as bad!) He was also a nice guy who shared a crashpad with me, so I really didn't want to make waves unless necessary.

Well, it became necessary. He started doing it again on the way out of JFK (the long taxi to 13R), and I laid it out for him. I had had enough when he advised me, taxiing out and 8th in line for takeoff, "you need to put the ignitors on, that's a heavy ahead of us."

I had to really restrain myself not to snap his neck, because he'd been doing that kind of prompting for two hours straight, despite the fact that I had been doing everything dead-on perfect. I hadn't missed an altitude, heading, radio call, checklist -- nothing.

I calmly explained that, while I appreciate his wanting to make sure I don't forget anything, I'd appreciate the opportunity to do it myself at the appropriate time before being reminded. Number 8 in line for takeoff is not the appropriate time; crossing the hold-short line is. If I forget it then, please remind me. (No, I didn't forget. It's even on the checklist. )

I had to be careful not to jump down his throat, because the last thing I want is to create an atmosphere that when I really do forget to do something, he won't want to speak up:

We had an airplane have to get towed from near the runway back to the gate in Boston a few years back because the captain didn't notice the generator tie opening up, and the battery ran down. The tie opened on two previous legs (it's common in the 1900 after engine start; you just have to reset it), and when the FO spoke up about the bus tie on previous legs, he was told, "Don't worry about my stuff until you can do your stuff without making any mistakes." Nice attitude.

So that's what he did. He saw the bus tie open, and deliberately said nothing because of the berating he got last time. Number 3 for takeoff, and the steering (which was running only off the battery) died. The bus tie won't stay closed because of the huge draw on the dead battery. And there's obviously not enough power to start the second engine. The stack of airplanes behind him was not amused.


It's a delicate balance -- both parties need to know when to speak up, and when to let the other guy do his thing. Thankfully, most pilots seem to have that down pretty well.

Sometimes the best thing to do is just relax.

That sums it up beautifully! Don't make this job harder than it is.

 

[Rook]

The time I look for the most help is at the gate and on the ground.

When receiving the aircraft or changing aircraft, there are a lot of paperwork "gotcha's" to sort through, so if you get there first, check the logbook and other basic stuff to make sure that we get a head start on any changes that need to be made, but it's preferrable to brief me when I get there, . . . . "Captain, I noticed the ____ is _____ Do you want me to call mx?". If it is something cut-and-dried like a required MX check or an open item from the last crew, then call MX and get them out.

On the ground, especially at airports we don't get to very often, always have your "10-9" out and open, please. They may throw somethng unusual at us, and on the ground is the easiest place to get a violation, or at least look stupid.

Other than that- don't stop thinking . . . you are a captain in training. If something doesn't look right, speak up, but a little diplomacy works wonders. Work as a team. Keep it fun, but professional, especially on the radio. Oh, yeah, the radio . . . . when you are getting the ATIS and clearance, it's common courtesy to say, "ATIS (or clearance) coming up on Com 2" or something like that . . . always appreciated, by me at least.

Ty that was a great post. Sometimes I can't tell if you're a regional basher or not but once again great post. Love the sig by the way. Miss the prime time player days.

Rook

 

[Green]

-Learn a few good jokes (how do you seperate the two drunks from the prostitute? Close the cockpit door. What do you have to do to get a flight attendent in the cockpit? Grease her hips and put a twinkie on the dash...-Forget that take the fat one garbage. Give the captain the blondes, you get the brunettes, and you can fight over the redheads.
-Nobody likes a quiet cockpit and I've found that discussing politics/religion is a great way to break the ice.
-A good way to pick up chicks as a newhire is to wear your uniform to the mall on layovers. Girls really go for that.
-Keep your 10-9 visible and more importantly know where you are and where you're going.
-Don't do anything fast...
-If you don't know something admit it, Bullsh#tting never works.

 

[Ty Webb]

Ty that was a great post. Sometimes I can't tell if you're a regional basher or not but once again great post. Love the sig by the way. Miss the prime time player days.

Rook

Absolutely not a regional basher. When we had the Air Whisky feed at ATL, I spent a lot of time on the CRJ jumpseat. If it were up to me, the regional guys would get double the pay and double the respect, but no one has asked my opinion.

 

[prodigal]

Good FO

I haven't read this rather lengthy thread, so sorry if someone else already said it but . . .

"No problem captain, I'll take the fat one."

 

[Cardinal]

-If you don't know something admit it, Bullsh#tting never works.

For that matter;

If you didn't do something, admit it. If I didn't care about it, I wouldn't have asked about, yet I did ask, so tell me the truth so that we can get it done if necessary.

Don't wake me up to comment on our "great groundspeed."

Fly by the book at least on the first leg. If you don't, I must conclude you don't even know what's in the book. Thus I'm forced to comment on small deviations for fear we'll get hosed when a fed shows up.

Do your job in it's entirety before you start doing stuff that's normally my responsibility. It doesn't help me if you perform my acceptance stuff if I then have to take care of your paperwork.

Be the chameleon, to a point. I know it's hard, but that why FOs get paid the big bucks.