Taking responsibility for the flying
Apologies as a non-instructor for barging into the instructors forum, but I'm hoping that some of you chaps might have some useful views.
I'm regarded as one of the more experienced pilots in a couple of aircraft syndicates that I belong to (for the record 1100ish hours, with 80+ on each type, and a CPL(A) ), and as such often fly with refreshing or new syndicate members to check them out on type or help them brush up before we let them out unsupervised.
As you might expect, I run through pretty much the same things any of you would if I came to your flying school and wanted to rent an aeroplane I'd not flown before: systems, perf, paperwork, taxiing, variety of circuits, local area, stalls, standard emergencies. So far nobody I've checked out has subsequently bent either of the aeroplanes, so presumably I'm doing it about right.
However, I've just seen for the second time something I don't like, don't understand - and disturbingly both in an already qualified pilot.
The pilot simply won't take full responsibility for their flying: some combination of - won't bring the necessary (checklist / chart / kneeboard notes on the aeroplane / airfield plate), and to a greater or lesser extent in the air just won't accept full responsibility for the flight. Basically they just sit there expecting to be prodded about various things - whether it's navigation actions, who to call on RT, what approach speed to use: I've had a fair set.
Giving them some briefing notes and threatening physical violence if they don't read them before flying doesn't seem to change this at-all. It just seems to be a strange and disturbing attitude.
Needless to say, neither of them have I felt prepared to accept flying our aeroplane unsupervised - the first I sent off to a reliable FI from whom they never came back, the second I'm still scratching my head about.
Is this is common issue - and how do you pros deal with it?
G