A Cautionary Tale ?

[The Heff]

I think the reason why pilot's are embarrassed to call themselves 'Captain' is because the title of 'Captain' is normally associated with naval and merchant officers who have spent years working with a company to earn their rank and their command. A sea-going Captain in the Royal Navy might command a warship and her crew of over 200 men. A sea-going Captain in the merchant fleets might command an oil tanker with her complement of maybe two dozen men. An airline Captain might command a Boeing with her crew of...er...?

This post shouldn't be read as being detrimental to any pilots who use or have been awarded the title of 'Captain' by their line or company; I think everyone on this forum would be the first to agree that earning an ATPL or CPL is a great achievement, and is something that most, if not a great number of PPLs and NPPLs aspire to.

However, what I would like to discuss is whether we are captaining our vessels or are we piloting them? As Pilot's-in-Command we make command decisions that can either wreck or save the flight, and that in itself deserves accolade. Would we be less embarrassed to use our title if it wasn't equally used by a senior sea-going officer?