>(and remember that it wasnt that long ago that certain charter co's insisted that the FO requested that the skipper gave him a bit of speedbrake rather than just using it himself)<
Just a note but this restriction hasnothing to do with whether or not one is happy for the right hand pilot to have the responsibility of operating speedbrake but the harzards or having to extend one's arm/hands over the flap/thrust levers in order to access the speedbrake.
Also, if you are flying the aircraft it is SOP to call for flap settings, so why not ask for speedbrake operation? This seems like a sensible utilisation of crew resources, to me
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