Originally Posted by
Scoop
SOPA - Senior Officer Present Afloat. The most Senior US Naval Officer on a ship or a group of ships.
Actually I think it means
Standard Operating Procedures Amplified or something similar.
Scoop
Which is very similar to what's in our Vol 1 now - Amplified Procedures.
I've never seen what the big deal is. SOPA/SMAC was a comfortable way to fly, as you always knew EXACTLY what the other guy was going to do. That said, I never felt operationally restricted.
The one major downside of SOPA/SMAC, IMO, was in the preflight. We had a CA and an FO preflight (instead of PF/PM) and after a few months on the line I quickly started forgetting what all those "CA Switches" did. There was roughly half of the overhead panel that I NEVER touched, making it more difficult to keep your mind wrapped around the other guy's switches. But I knew 100% (
of 50%) of the Airbus!
Our current way is my new favorite way, and I'm sure the next "best way" will be fine too. A little common sense goes a looooong way.