Originally Posted by
WingLeveler
The LCA on the 320 who let me know that we would operate by the book and went so far as to emphasize his enforcement of the "no reading" rule in the cockpit. His brief ended with an "Oh, by the way, the only thing I do differently is that the ACARS preflight is always the FO's responsibility."
Cooperate and graduate, I say.
This is where iPads shine. Bring up company material on the pad, then some select reading material. Have the company snooze-text ready to display if needed, but otherwise, angle the screen a little and enjoy your Kindle or what have you.
Bonus points for saying "Damn, I have training coming up, need to brush up on systems and limitations a bit."
If all that fails, and Mr. "No reading in MY cockpit" tries to fill the painful void with sparkling conversation, tell him "I'm not being paid to be
your in-flight entertainment." Then stare out the window and wish the trip was over. Or think about how you're going to get off the next trip with him.
Every trip with a new CA, I breathe a vast sigh of relief if I see he is carrying a USA today, or whips out a motorcycle magazine in cruise. My plan as a new CA is to simply brief "As long as we do our jobs and don't bend metal, what you do in cruise is up to you."