Originally Posted by
Timbo
As has been beaten to death here already, being a 'good pilot' is pretty much assumed when you walked in the door, with thousands of accident free hours.
And it this stage of the game, it's assumed when somebody says another person is a "good pilot" it's akin to a law enforcement person being called "good cop". It's NOT because he can write tickets and slap the cuffs on somebody like nobody's business. It's because he's a sharp/level headed dude, easy to work with, well liked/respected by coworkers, always does the right thing, whatever. Just like a "good pilot" is.
Originally Posted by
cencal83406
For the FOs outside of SSP... Is there any way to "prove" or demonstrate capacity to run a cockpit?
I've noticed that certain personality test questions seem to lean in that direction when it comes to "outside the cockpit" behavior, which IMHO does not equate very well with in cockpit behavior.
To the point, when it comes to activities with friends and family, I personally don't "take the reins". I'll suggest stuff to do but see no need to lead anyone in that regard. Doesn't seem like that would be a good indicator of in-cockpit leadership ability anyway.
Or, is that exactly what they want? Someone to demonstrate that they are "in charge" all the time?
Since in the 2007-2008, AND in the short 2010 hiring FO's were hired, I'd say YES. You can either do this job, or you can't. You can either be a leader, or you can't. Now that's not to say that being a CA doesn't sharpen/hone those skills tremendously, the FACT remains. A candidate's ability/capacity or potential to take charge/lead will be seen/realized