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Not Him Again...
Contributed by: Captain Cargo
What makes a good Captain? There's a question. I've flown with
great pilots who were bad Captains, and vice versa. One cynic
suggested it was the ability to sign bits of paper without
compromising yourself. I think it's all about personality, being able
to get the crew to work together even if you don't like them.
Inevitably in freight and other fringe areas of aviation it is about
getting the job done as well - without whining about it!
Yeah, crewing messed up the schedule, the hotel was a bit noisy,
the crew are hungry, but they certainly aren't going to feel better
when the Captain is sitting there on his wallet and moaning all the
time, or criticising people. I see crews flying with certain Captains
arriving in the crew room looking much more tired than they should,
having been bombarded for the last few hours with an endless stream of
negative vibes.
Of course, it is not only Captains who moan; but it is the Capatain
who has the ultimate responsibility and the authority to stop it in
its tracks when it is affecting morale. All it takes is a good joke, a
change of subject, a cup of coffee. I remember when I was in the
right-hand seat, I'd call up crewing and ask them who I was flying
with. Some names would send me to work in a negative frame of mind
because I anticipated a negative atmosphere in the cockpit. It's
amazing how often expectation leads on to reality. It took years for
me to stop asking who I was flying with and just get on with it, and
when I did work got better.
Obviously, there will always be personality clashes in the cockpit;
the trick is not to let it get too personal. So what if the flight
engineer is a raving fascist, or the co-pilot believes in UFO's, we're
all paid to get a large piece of metal from A to B, not to debate the
company's problems among ourselves. For me, a good Captain is the one
who gets it there safely with a happy crew. If you want to talk about
anything negative, do it on your own time.
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