I announced to the Pub. that I had just returned from a freighter trip and one old bugger asked when was I going to be considered good enough to fly passengers ! I told him I VOLUNTEERED for the freight trips because a) freight doesn't complain ( as has been mentioned already ) and b) you can play with the aeroplane and only your Captain will complain.
Once had a Captains' windscreen totally mist over on a night landing, he was a ' new' Captain and was forbidden to 'give' landings to co-pilots until he had more experience in Command, and suggested that therefore he had to change seats ! ( he was actually more experienced from the right hand seat than the left at that stage ) I talked him out of that but he insisted on completing what became a somewhat firm landing himself instead of handing it to me.
Walking through the terminal we heard a passenger remark to his wife that it was a poor landing - but I suppose the co-pilot did it !!!
I heard of a 707 Capt. telling the handling co-pilot that he wanted to hear the landing gear oleo relays clicking in and out as they landed vveerrry smoothly. The landing was OK and the Capt. handled the next leg. His landing crashed it in from a great height, and having finally wrestled the beast to a halt, the co-pilot leaned across and said " Click, f***ing Click " !!
People used to ask me why I was still flying at nearly 60 yrs. old ? Cos I'm still trying to get it right, I said.
My last flight, 747-300 and an Instructor too, was in a cross-wind and I didn't make the best job of it that was probably possible that night - and I will never get the chance to redeem myself now, sod it !!
If you push the pole forward at an estimated 5 ft. above the deck on a 747, you can just rrollll the main wheels on. Sometimes. Feels great.