Yeah, it's the insurance thing. I saw the papers at the last school I worked at and they wanted anybody that was in their aircraft to be approved by a member of the staff. Enter the checkout. Depending on the aircraft it could be anywhere from one quick flight to a few hours. Some aircraft owners I've flown with have required insane hours to jump in their aircraft.

I've done a couple of these checkouts and in most cases the only way I've known was when checking their certificates and logbook. Aside from that yeah, I've had a couple guys swing way past the centerline or start pitching up for the flare at 100 feet. In almost every case, these guys realized it wasn't their big jet and adjusted before I could say anything. It is different, and I'd want somebody who has recent experience in that aircraft with me if rolls were reversed.

I've had a few that were a little huffy about it, "I fly a 767, I don't need some 500 hour guy telling me what to do". So I didn't tell them what to do, not my place. They're rated to fly the airplane. My job is to make sure they know the differences and fly safely. In the process I will probably learn a little more about flying too.