Don't get me wrong , I am a great fan of CRM ( although it could do with a chapter on R.E.S.P.E.C.T ) and modern technology ( to a point ) but there are an awful lot of pilots these days who are just coasting .
I did enjoy my introduction to jet flying on what I thought at the time was the epitome of cool , the BAC 1-11 , and being taught different things by different trainers ( keeping a good notebook for each ones ideas ) , blasting around Africa with no FMC / GPS , any of that fancy-dan stuff , huge distances to any alternate , dreading the annual arrival of the ITCZ ( remember that anybody ? ) . I remember the gnashing and wailing that went on when some poor misguided new Ops Manager from UK enforced the use of checklists ( rather than just flying around with them holding the flight deck door OPEN ) and SOPs . The skippers were mostly Pathfinder crews from WW2 who were not used to any dilution of their powers , so their retirements were probably the best result for all parties.
Sorry us old gits get a bit misty-eyed about the old days , can we please have our own website / forum called something not too insulting ?
F.O.G will do - flying old gits , foregtful old.....,
ps still enjoying flying a modern jet , with all its inherent safety built in , but still concerned about the widespread lack of handling skills because of modern demands . ATC do not help much , how often can you get a visual approach approved these days , even when it is quiet at an airfield ?
Take care up there.