I want new FO's up to speed as quickly as possible. Taking landings from them, when I have more than enough, doesn't increase their experience level as rapidly as possible.
misd-agin is offline Report Post Reply
The problem lies with the company training department. Low hour new first officers will naturally have problems with landings especially in crosswinds and windy conditions. The captain who gives away landings to inexperienced first officers under those conditions is asking for trouble. Why? because heavy/hard landings are frightening to the passengers and the QAR will soon have the captain on the mat for lack of good judgement in giving away the landing where more than usual skills are required.
The answer is simulator specialised training. Most simulator type ratings are accented towards automation throughout the conversion course. Even the most basic of handling skills - the instrument rating test - is primarily on automatics with perhaps a teeny weeny bit of raw data hand flying tossed in for good measure.
Inexperienced newly graduated cadet first officers who legally are in command of a bloody big jet transport should never be put in that position of responsibility until they have been proved highly competent in pure flying skill and not merely ticked off in the right boxes as being found competent at monitoring a computer from the RH seat.
Simulator training for these newbies should include a high proportion of hand flown non-automatics, non flight director, circuits and landings, go-arounds and emphasis on wet runway crosswind landings on limiting runway lengths - not on huge 10,000 ft runways in the simulator where the risks involved with landing long never show up simply because the aircraft eventually stops with several thousand feet remaining. No wuckin furries mate - plenty of room.
During recurrent training in the simulator the same type of manual handling needs to be accented for captains, too.