Having spent 10 years of military flying as an FE, with a lot of flexibility and top cover to get an aeroplane around the world with no support, I will never forget the warning given to me on my first flight with a major civil airline. My instructor said that there were no more fiddles with the physical aircraft, performance calculations or abnormal and emergency proceedures. He pointed out a court room in a hypothetical subsequent inquiry and a barrister asking me why I had chosen to ignore a limitation, carry out an unauthorised proceedure or fudge some performance figures. He also pointed out that my company would not support me in order to avoid lawsuits and to protect its reputation. I have since operated with that sage advice in mind and commend all professional pilots to do the same.