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I know and experienced that.
I was simply paraphrasing the article for those who didn’t read it. My point was just to not accept the bare minimum effort. How many times have you heard people saying anything greater than a 70% on a written is “x% working too hard”? I know it’s a joke, but still. Would you want a 70% pilot on your next deadhead? He can only keep the needle 70% centered on an approach down to minimums? He only has 70% of his memory items and limitations down?
As one of my military instructors said, “attention to detail, kicks de-tail”. I still say that to this day, and get quite a few crazy looks when I do. My examples above are pedantic. But humor me. What margin of error becomes acceptable? For me, it’s honestly just an internal struggle of constsntly trying to improve, and never accepting less than what I believe is my best. I’m not perfect. I mess up. I don’t sweat 0.02 or 0.03 X track. I’m not going to fish tail myself all over the sky just trying to get 0.00. But I STRIVE to be as CLOSE to perfect as possible. For me, I just enjoy the challenge. I enjoy maintaining my skills and trying to improve upon them. And my personal opinion is that that’s what separates amateurs from true professionals. Our companies and passengers expect professionals. And I have to agree with the statement that people with that mentality, either consciously or subliminally, portray themselves as such, and interviewers at the next level can pick up on that. But I could still be young, naive, and bright eyed and bushy tailed, so
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Originally Posted by DiveAndDrive
I actually never indicated that a good PT score was an indication of a good leader.I know and experienced that.
I was simply paraphrasing the article for those who didn’t read it. My point was just to not accept the bare minimum effort. How many times have you heard people saying anything greater than a 70% on a written is “x% working too hard”? I know it’s a joke, but still. Would you want a 70% pilot on your next deadhead? He can only keep the needle 70% centered on an approach down to minimums? He only has 70% of his memory items and limitations down?
As one of my military instructors said, “attention to detail, kicks de-tail”. I still say that to this day, and get quite a few crazy looks when I do. My examples above are pedantic. But humor me. What margin of error becomes acceptable? For me, it’s honestly just an internal struggle of constsntly trying to improve, and never accepting less than what I believe is my best. I’m not perfect. I mess up. I don’t sweat 0.02 or 0.03 X track. I’m not going to fish tail myself all over the sky just trying to get 0.00. But I STRIVE to be as CLOSE to perfect as possible. For me, I just enjoy the challenge. I enjoy maintaining my skills and trying to improve upon them. And my personal opinion is that that’s what separates amateurs from true professionals. Our companies and passengers expect professionals. And I have to agree with the statement that people with that mentality, either consciously or subliminally, portray themselves as such, and interviewers at the next level can pick up on that. But I could still be young, naive, and bright eyed and bushy tailed, so
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+1
Filler
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Yes, basic fitness (not SOF fitness) and military bearing should be a given for anyone who plans on going much further than E3. By no means is that the end all, be all. I got promoted by being smart, working hard, and having the luck to develop some critical skills and experiences early in the game before anyone knew they were going to be critical.Originally Posted by majorpilot
Then again, there are other fields for such individuals to advance. We’ve all worked for or seen the boss fixated on “always wearing a sharp suit” or the like. I wear a uniform and it always looks sharp; but I’ve found that leaders for whom that’s their main focus almost always lack needed critical basic leadership skills that are much more important than looks.
I did have a friend from way back who was always into fitness (as was I). He gained some media publicity for training for an iron-man while serving as the CO of ship on deployment. He would have the ship stop dead in the water so he (and only he) could swim laps around a destroyer for training. I found that to be odd and perhaps not appropriate, and I would have been uncomfortable with media coverage in any event. He ultimately came under indictment in the fat leonard business, so there might be a type of personality that manifests that way. But almost everyone I know who got command was fit, usually former athletes, probably reflects motivation and stamina (especially as you get older, gotta lead from the front).
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I did have a friend from way back who was always into fitness (as was I). He gained some media publicity for training for an iron-man while serving as the CO of ship on deployment. He would have the ship stop dead in the water so he (and only he) could swim laps around a destroyer for training. I found that to be odd and perhaps not appropriate, and I would have been uncomfortable with media coverage in any event. He ultimately came under indictment in the fat leonard business, so there might be a type of personality that manifests that way. But almost everyone I know who got command was fit, usually former athletes, probably reflects motivation and stamina (especially as you get older, gotta lead from the front).
Like this O-6? I bet he got 100s on the PT test. He sure did have that drive you were talking about, the drive to find 14 year old boys. The Air Force selection board really hit it out of the ballpark with this one.Originally Posted by rickair7777
Yes, basic fitness (not SOF fitness) and military bearing should be a given for anyone who plans on going much further than E3. By no means is that the end all, be all. I got promoted by being smart, working hard, and having the luck to develop some critical skills and experiences early in the game before anyone knew they were going to be critical.I did have a friend from way back who was always into fitness (as was I). He gained some media publicity for training for an iron-man while serving as the CO of ship on deployment. He would have the ship stop dead in the water so he (and only he) could swim laps around a destroyer for training. I found that to be odd and perhaps not appropriate, and I would have been uncomfortable with media coverage in any event. He ultimately came under indictment in the fat leonard business, so there might be a type of personality that manifests that way. But almost everyone I know who got command was fit, usually former athletes, probably reflects motivation and stamina (especially as you get older, gotta lead from the front).
word302
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You're asking the wrong questions. The real issue is can they keep up with attrition. Sure it's tough to keep instructors and LCAs from leaving, but that will never stop. If they can keep up with attrition and have a solid plan for instructor turnover, the juniority of the pilot group doesn't matter.Originally Posted by ZeroTT
So here’s an example. Regional with 1900 pilots. Seniority #100 hired 2014. Is that sustainable?
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I took that post as regarding the general experience level of a pilot group that is so incredibly junior.Originally Posted by word302
You're asking the wrong questions. The real issue is can they keep up with attrition. Sure it's tough to keep instructors and LCAs from leaving, but that will never stop. If they can keep up with attrition and have a solid plan for instructor turnover, the juniority of the pilot group doesn't matter.
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So the times of having an experienced FO in the right seat to catch a new Captains mistakes are well and truly over.
I've been on property for 3 years and that puts me in the top third of the company which is nuts when you think about it. I make sure to tell all my FO's to absolutely speak up and we'll help keep each other out of trouble. I know other new Captains though who like to lord their four bars over the new guys, and they convince these FO's to just sit there and shut up.
Originally Posted by Approach1260
Well at least at PSA the absolute most Senior FO you'll fly with as a Captain will be right about 2 years. That's about the maximum time you can avoid the forced Senior Upgrade.So the times of having an experienced FO in the right seat to catch a new Captains mistakes are well and truly over.
I've been on property for 3 years and that puts me in the top third of the company which is nuts when you think about it. I make sure to tell all my FO's to absolutely speak up and we'll help keep each other out of trouble. I know other new Captains though who like to lord their four bars over the new guys, and they convince these FO's to just sit there and shut up.
I understand you were probably trying to just say two years is about the longest you’ll sit in the right seat before transitions to the left.. however, being able to catch mistakes and be a good crew member in an operational and professional capacity is another matter NOT relating to just having to have 2 years before it’s acknowledged. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to tell the captain “we now need a T/O Alternate” , “we can’t descend like that in Canada, watch the altitude at XXX fix”, “Hey don’t you think we need to ask dispatch for a new alternate because I know you acknowledged it but it’s below the derived minimums”, “That runway is closed on the NOTAM when we get there”... I’m just saying I hate this type of statement because I’ve been very helpful some days and the captains appreciate it a lot when that’s the case I’ve found. I’m a one year FO at the airline, but my background also is in science and engineering so it’s the details that do matter and I believe in stayin engaged to the situations that are at hand... it’s not just “Captain *******” when dealing with a release or decision making, some FOs will say that but I think there are more than a few that strive for a more professional stance.
Happy Flying.
word302
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It's really nothing new. Smaller pilot groups have always been junior.Originally Posted by Slow2Final
I took that post as regarding the general experience level of a pilot group that is so incredibly junior.
