Originally Posted by
spleener
Well Hans, I take on board the previous points about accepting visual separation and the wrong heading, and basically I agree. However, I venture that you are a lot more hands-on current by flying your A320 than the majority of long haul line crew. Please consider that many Captains do one takeoff and landing every 35 days and FO less so. I would change your final words to 'if you can't fly much, you can't fly much. I've been operating 4 CX types into SFO for more than 3 decades. As skills have deteriorated, I have consequently briefed to never accept accept the visual separation [you just can't follow, for example an A320 , in a B744 bugged up for 160kts Vapp ] and always brief the expected headings, altitudes, intercept and speeds which rarely vary. Finally, please don't forget you have a responsibility to safely manage ATC as well...
Yes, late night post. Currently bid 4 leg 4 day trips, 4 times/month, so get 8 landings per month (ask me about the time when I flew 800 legs in 6 months...). I remember doing a visual in my first year with my current operator, and while cranking it in trying to not overshoot final getting a "speed" alert (A320 telling you that you are losing energy). 60+ year old captain took control, AP/AT/FD off, assessed situation, and said, "looks good to me, you want it back?". He is my role model, and accepting skills to deteriorate because of lack of recency isn't great. Not trying to toss, but you can follow a A320, as long as you start with enough distance if your Vapp is that high. I do believe too many of us don't do enough to stay current, and I definitely feel most companies discourage pilots from staying current.
I have been looking at my reply, before I press submit,for the past half hour seeing if I can make it less offensive but not sure if I can, so sorry...