PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - VA Captain stands crew down after bungled approach
Old 11th Sep 2017, 08:03
  #46 (permalink)  
Di_Vosh
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Melbourne
Age: 60
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Funny

I've heard pilots with over 35 years of flying as widebody jet pilots still referred to as "bloody cadets" when someone wants to put them down.
This kind of thing happens in other industries as well. Ask any Army Reservist. Or any industry where there is an accelerated course where junior people get put on-par or above more senior people (e.g. Brand new Lieutenant vs. Platoon Sergeant).

IME this attitude is in part due to jealousy, but also based on the REALITY that the said Cadet (or Lt, etc.) has been placed in a position above their level of competency.

By 'Above their level of competency' I mean that while they may have the requirements on paper, practically they are often hanging on by their fingernails and require guidance and mentoring until their REAL competency matches (and then exceeds) their qualifications.

And like any other good pilot, a good cadet will become a good FO and a good Captain, and I don't think anyone here has said otherwise.

What they have said (repeatedly) is that the cadet is more likely to require more help initially than someone with more experience.

I'm generalising obviously, but that doesn't make it less true, IMHO.

But...

when someone wants to put them down.
You write this as if the person who said "Bloody Cadets" put the other person down.

You're suggesting that someone with 35 years of widebody experience (who must now be at least 53 years old) has been 'put down' by a comment like that.

Please.

The correct response to a comment like that is "F*ck off, D*ckhead"!

I'll use myself as an example. People can try to put me down. I grew up being called a wog, as well as all other kinds of names, mainly due to being an Italian in a primary school that was basically WASP.

I get abused online as well. Anyone reading this who also remembers the EAA Vs. SAA EBA debate a couple of years back might remember all the abuse I copped on that thread. Did it put me down?

No.

Why not?

Because I don't GAF what people's opinions of myself are. Pretty simple stuff, really. I have a thick skin, and it's difficult to survive in this industry without one.

Has a Cadet ever been abused by a CP, HOFO, or SBP? Has a Cadet ever realised that they've been pineappled by their boss, and can't do anything about it because if they complain about it they'll get sacked? Has a Cadet spent months and years on end being called a "Pukin white c*nt" by our some of our northern passengers?

Possibly not.

Does it make them a better pilot? No.

But it does help them acquire the ability to be able to take criticism, whether justified or not, without being triggered.

Something you might want to learn, perhaps.

DIVOSH!
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