What I am saying (and I think this has been also mentioned by Tee Emm) is that there seems to be less and less in depth understanding about what you are doing and why you are doing it.
I'm with you now.
I am all for this thread which has raised some interesting topics but perhaps a more productive question to ask is how we can get these messages across effectively to line pilots.
Well you're getting the message to me and I'm a line pilot. There are about twenty really good points so far and a couple that I'm going to debate when I knock off work tonight. I think the tricky bit for line pilots is that they get told different things from each trainer. You can see from this thread that there are some very passionate people, they have their own ideas about how things should be done and they don't all agree with each other. There is not much more frustrating than having it suggested you do something on one check, and then on the next check doing it, only to have it suggested to you that you don't do that. That actually happens quite a bit in my experience. Maybe each airline should have a private forum where only check and/or training Captains can log in and formulate a united front on individual issues as they come up. The feet on the rudder pedals is a good example of what needs sorting out. As an F/O I always had my feet resting lightly on them.If it turns out that the other checkies don't have an issue with it, then the united front should be that it's fine to have your feet resting on the pedals (as is written into the books in two airlines I've worked for). Rather than have fifty F/o's adjust their habits with one Captain it would be better for one Captain to adjust the way he deals with the distraction.
Just my opinion, the main point is a united front would be good from the line pilots perspective.