Originally Posted by ERJ135
That must really suck as a Capt to have an FO do that to you. Do you still get blamed for that even though you weren't at the controls? I did try to become an FE. Wouldn't jumped at a chance to fly with the 727 capts with decades of experience but, company went out of business. Being 21yrs old myself, there are still young guys that would love learn from the older folks.
as long as you're not being facetious... it wasn't that bad although i had to do the rug dance in the chief pilot's office. no damage to the airplane, just about a quarter inch of the half-round nubber on the bottom of the skid ground off. it didn't compress the skid. the bad part was that it happened at night and we were the only airplane landing (SJU). apparently it looked like a big 4th of july sparkler.
i had a good time as an FE (7.5 years) and i look back on that side-saddle time with fondness. i flew all over the world on the dc-10 from europe to australia/new zealand/bali/japan, etc and had a great time. those were kind of the last days of fun flying. most of the captians i flew with then are long gone but the memories remain.
honestly, i don't care how guys come up. i know a guy who went from zero time to CALEX in 13 months. just don't show up with your entire 300 hours and tell me what's what when i've been flying longer than you've been alive. ignorance should never be worn as a badge of honor.
thank you for your kind and thoughtful post.