VNAV PTH is not the Devil...................
InChina,
I had a few more thoughts after reading through this thread again. It sounds like you are out in the frontier flying for a carrier that is trying to reinvent the wheel; no SOPs, PIC manipulates the flight guidance you fly whatever somebody else selects (sorry, but that’s weird), momentary exceeding of limitations brings harsh penalties, and as the FO having to be a complete chameleon adapting to every different Captain assigned as each conducts the flight in their own way (limited to no standardization).
It is not like the NG is a new frontier in aviation and flying a two pilot turbojet crew is some new invention; Aviation Safety Action Programs (self disclosure/no penalty in the interest of safety) standardized training and cultures of non-punitive atmospheres evolve over decades of learning what works and what does not work. In many ways it sounds like your carrier is choosing not to learn from the experienced gained by other carriers or understand how other well established carriers (from all over the world) conduct their flight operations. It sounds like your carrier may be trying to start from scratch. That is a tough way to run an airline. Part of the equation is most likely cultural, and that is a hard one as individual and national pride can be barriers to safety.
The other thing I wanted to mention was the VNAV PTH discussion. I did my share of knocking the system. But we still use it successfully every day. In fact we conduct RNP RNAV approaches to challenging airports that have limited, if any, conventional navigation approaches. The RNP RNAV approach is dependent on the VNAV PTH and it works well-extremely well! It seems like many pilots responding to your experience don’t use the system and descend in LVL CHG or VS. I was surprised. We use VNAV PTH successfully every day. Having said that I will admit that there seems to be an issue with the NG nudging, and going into, the over speed clacker at high altitude. It seems to be a problem up in the middle FL300s and above.
You got burned using the system, and that may lead you to never use it again. That’s your choice of course. I criticized the system, because it is not perfect, but I still use it and in many cases rely on it. VNAV PTH works fine for me, it just needs to be monitored (should not be a surprise). You can fly any way you want to. However I did not want my post to leave the impression that VNAV PTH was completely unreliable, always prone to over speed, and should be abandoned as a means to descend. Like I said we use it successfully all the time (140+ airplanes; 1,400+ crews).