I have no problem with the abort brief. Usually one of the few that I actually find helpful. After the first leg, "abnormals and aborts as previously briefed" works great. If you happen to be in MDW, then you need to revisit that brief because it is different.

The briefs I find useless are the approach briefing when it's visual, and all the extra crap they have added on that dang NATS briefing card which is useless 99.9% of the time. I never brief the transition level/altitude on domestic flights. Waste of time. I had one captain that after the brief was over would add that in on every leg. I kept leaving it out, and he always added it back in. Total waste of time. Maybe I'm just an idiot though....I don't know.

The issue with all the callouts has long been noted by the NTSB and our ASAP reports show all too many times either an incomplete understanding of the automation or the PM failing to make a timely callout. Personally I think Delta is trying to address it but the pendulum has swung too far and the Standard Text didn't help (e.g. approaching vertical path and approaching inbound course).

The Flight Safety Foundation released an industry report on Pilot Monitoring. The NTSB and FAA are hardover on the incident data and the report is an attempt to standardize what the crews should/should not do and when they should/should not do it. Looks like several Delta pilots wrote it. Its supposedly written for Pilots and no pyscho-babble. I haven't read it all, but so far like it. The final study is available on the FSF website at Flight Path Monitoring | Flight Safety Foundation

The first cover worked on day one but quit in the morning. The second didn't work out of the box in the CPO's office. Third one works good so far. I've been playing on this thing all morning. It's growing on me. Wish I could draw on the en route charts like the plates but minor. Finding the ballnotes was tough until I saw the little symbol in the lower left corner. All the applicable ballnotes for your zoom level are there. Easy peasy!

R1

FOM states to only brief transition altitude/level if other than 18,000.

Projecting 693 ATL7ERBs by June! Holy cow, that's a big category!

Personally, I hope every new hire next month gets ATL7ERB.

:)

As a new FO, I appreciate a detailed abnormals/abort brief on the first leg of a trip. I also think it's worthwhile to re-visit the abnormals on subsequent legs. It takes very little time and sets a professional tone.

'Approaching Inbound Course' and 'Approaching Vertical Path' are also fine callouts IMHO.

What I really wish I could do as the pilot flying is configure the gear and flaps myself. It seems like everytime I want to want to configure, the Captain is talking to ATC, which causes unnecessary delays in configuring. But then again, it's probably just me...

MCFlyer

Whats the deadline for bid awards 1600 or 1800 est?
Nm found it:On or before the 17th @1800E
Wow thats a long time they have to do it.

[QUOTE=80ktsClamp;1763873]I swear if I read one more time "will not backfill" when it pertains to widebody positions...

The scary part is Delta not backfilling widebody positions during this up cycle. 10 to 20 B747 Captains to be displaced starting in 2015. Record profits and still shrinking from the top.

[QUOTE=Roadie85;1763912] Yep. Widebody RFP was suppose to be announced 3rd Q, then October, now Jan. JV partners are all getting 350's, 787's, A-380's, 777's. We are getting 737's, 321's, 717's, RJ's, and a few 330's. Delta, the largest domestic US airline in the world that flies anywhere in the world via JV partners.

It takes a lot of licking of those suction cups to get the efb holder to stay on. There has to be a better way.