three eighty,
A lot of that was quite a time; and what a time it was!
Again, those were the times when Captains were 'TIN GODS' and co-pilots were just passengers lifting and dropping gear, with no opinions whatsoever relating to the safety of the airplane and it's occupant. A passenger in the cockpit that was to be seen doing stuff, but never heard.
Also the times when expressing an opinion to a Senior Captain got you in a world of trouble; because as a younger Captain, your opinion was classed as insubordination and rebellious! And by the way, what did you know anyway?
A time that make me realise, that truly, the young must grow and the old will die eventually!
The advent of wasteful management of dear resources, flying with no discipline or CRM.
A time when the guy in the left seat decided if we all lived or died even if he had an empty skull!
A time when you had to kiss ar$e to get ahead in the industry; because if you didnt belong to the clique with the so called 'Generals' of the air? You were f**ked!!
A time when just slight discomfort at the decision of the left hand seat bagage, would lose you your next PC or Recurrent.
A time when the frog in the left seat told us stories of how they flew DC3's in 300kt jetstreams that hit them head on, leaving them holding over the same position for 3 hours.
A time when the dimwitt would dictate what happened, when it happened and how it happened with no consideration for other ideas.
A time when Mr Captain could decide that though we were overloaded, we could still depart because he had done it a thousand times before.
A time when FLYING for those who came into it for the love of it, were turned into total dummies because Captain was GOD!!!
I fear that many co-pilots from that era have now become Captains as empty headed as their predecessors!
This is evident when you change airplane on them suddenly and watch their performance on newer equipment.
It sadly was a time of plenty, but unfortunately, that was a time when there were no thoughts of it ever ending and irresponsibility was rife!
A time when Captains were made in their 20's and had to bow to the older ones in order not to lose that most treasured extra stripe!
We are where we are today because our predecessors did not leave good precedence!
To be honest, I am glad we are past those times and glad they shall never return.
It would gladden my heart NOT to hear such stories from any of my children who ever decide to fly for a living.
Now we all know better!