What Makes an Outstanding Captain
 

Hi all. I would like everyone's view. What are the top 10 attributes of an Outstanding Captain? (Commander)

* be courteous to the passengers on the bus
* don't shout at folks that don't have the Octopus Card ready when they board,
* stop at the bus stop when a passenger presses the button,
* dont slam the brakes on
* don't run the aircon on high in the winter

thats 5 already

we're talking about the Hong Kong CityBus Captain, right?


:}:}:}:}

... and his long-sleeved shirt...:cool:

What Makes an Outstanding Captain
 

1. Can fly the aircraft with experience and confidence.
2. Doesn't interfere unduly when FO is handling (Refer to 1)
3. Is courteous to all of his crew and passengers.
4. Knows when he really has to say something to the IFD or FO or take control.
5. Sets an example by dressing correctly as prescribed by his company by, for instance, wearing his cap when appropriate and wearing a long-sleeved shirt when he 'kin well likes!* :}


* Have to say that, if you do, you really have to be careful that the vent doesn't get caught on the thrust levers (The only reason I can see for doing away with long-sleeved shirts on the flight deck).

Basil - easily overcome by wearing a pair of white, Cape leather, gloves that reach the elbow! http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/sr...lies/wink2.gif

An outstanding captain is an individual who forgets how he got treated when he was a First Officer and does it better.

Luckily it seems that in CX times are actually changing and exactly this is happening.

I like your list Basil, especially point 3. I cringe when I see Captains lambasting and berating ground staff, engineers, dispatchers etc. where the hell do they get this attitude from? It has always seemed to me to be a sign of their own insecurity and damaged personalities. Maybe it makes them feel Big and Important. But it reflects badly on the rest of us, and I resent that.

I'm not a fan of Chinese Soap Operas but I've become aware of that series Triumph In The Skies, and noticed the stereotypical way the Expat cockpit crew are represented. Mostly as a-holes. Think about that next time you walk through TC in uniform.

Sometimes and I say sometimes we get a little fed up being kept in the dark or even straight up lied to by ground staff. Then we get a little vocal. :ok:

I love it when we do stand up for what is right then later get blamed for the delay!! On more than one occasion I've had to use the ACARS OOOI times to prove my point in correspondence where they tried blaming the crew for a delay.

:=

So don't blame us for getting a little cranky every now and then.:ouch:

But nitpicker - what exactly is your motivation? An on-time departure?
I don't see it as my job to enforce that. As that guy sitting in a small room behind a locked door (which they've insisted on) I'm largely out of the loop now. That's somebody else's job to arrange. Ranting at the ground staff or ATC will get you exactly nowhere. All it will do is raise the temperature in the cockpit, and elevate your blood pressure. I've rarely seen one of these rants make a damn bit of material difference. Possibly made things worse in fact!

I do recognise that there are some folk who just cannot sit still, and who feel they MUST rant and rave, even if it only makes them FEEL like they're achieving something. As if management are looking over their shoulder and making notes - perhaps writing them up for a commendation "Most on-time Captain" or somesuch. Like its a bloody competition.
Just read ze FCOM or the Standard when you feel it coming on. You'll live longer.

PS Very early in my career I flew with one of those ranting captains. Fifteen years later I heard he had a stroke during climb and died after a 3 month coma caused by oxygen starvation to the brain. There was no better candidate for it than that poor man.

On Learning to Be a Captain:

“I've been asked many times, "flying is one thing, but how do you learn to be a captain?" For me it was easy; I paid attention to Tom and his contemporaries who ran a good cockpit, allowed their FO's to participate in decision making and never really got too excited about anything. I've seen the other side of the coin too and flown with captains who where verbose, raised their voices often, needed to throw their weight around and acted as though everything was monumental. Through keen observation however, I learned that the minute these fellows raised their voice and said "I'm the captain," they lost their command authority. Sound decision making, quiet leadership and sticking to your guns always wins the day. You should never have to remind someone that you're the captain. “

-Anonymous


On Great Captains:

• “They don’t scream, shout, and run when things are difficult. They have the quiet, confidence-exuding quality of patience and self-control when everything around them is coming apart,”

-TWA Capt. Bob Buck(ret.)


On Making Mistakes:

“Rule two: This is a two-man, or to be more politically correct, a two-person aircraft. The simple truth is that we're both going to miss things, like you just did when you didn't put the pressurization back into auto after testing it a moment ago. The rule here is: Whoever gets to it first gets to it first. No lectures, no dirty looks, no NTSB hearings. If you see I missed it, just fix it”.

-Retired Delta Captain


These are just a few samples of a collection of great quotes I keep. I thought they would add to the thread.

Along the same lines, best advice I ever heard , "it's only a screwup if we BOTH miss it"

It must be a HKG thing then, you can try it with me, once maybe, you will learn never to do it again.:p

HK Airlines is full of good captains then, why all the sh1tty publicity?

:) You may jest, but, when I left The Mob, I continued to wear my gloves until someone nicked them and, blow me! you CAN fly an aeroplane without them :O

nitpicker330 and Killaroo,
I recollect once getting into a radio altercation with dispatch. By the time we departed, I was in no fit mental state to fly the departure. I gave that incident a lot of thought and didn't do it again.
That's not to say that you don't ensure that the hairy plane is fit to fly but it's the way you do it.
Sorry - teaching Grannies to suck eggs - I'll shut up now.

Captainbusdriver ; See what you've started! Hilarious & this is going to be the top entertaining read for a long time to come. But in answer to your opening question, I have to reply............Me........... and we'll leave it at that . Now, back to the Dancing Captain's vid which sets me up for the day.......priceless stuff coming outa Fragrant Harbour !!

Merry crimble everyone & safe flying for pete's sake !!

Killaroo---On two occasions I've been blamed for a delay which was not of my doing. Without going into long explanations the ramp staff lied and tried to blame me. I used the OOOI times record to proves they were lying and they backed down.

In our Airline they need a delay reason and are more than happy to pass the buck onto tech crew if it takes the heat off themselves, sad but true.

There is still a little "them v us" attitude with some ground staff ( especially at the staff travel counter )

You may be locked behind a ballistic door but that's no excuse, yes OTP is everyone's responsibility but with some the buck stops getting passed.

Fair enough, if you feel obliged - but there's never any excuse for discourtesy and invective, which I see all too often. Or for losing ones cool.

The guys who treat the Groundstaff like **** invariably treat their crew the same way, especially their F/O's. I often wonder what these guys home lives and relationships must be like.

Spanners, it's a global phenomenon. A little bit of power goes straight to some people's heads. It's quite interesting as a social science. But in HK there's often a certain added ingredient - racial prejudice. Totally out of order.

Thanks all keep posting
 

Hi all. Thanks for some useful comments. I totally agree, there is absolutely no point in yelling and screaming at ground staff and others. I have watched this disgraceful behavior too many times, have only ever witnessed this in Hong Kong.

Please keep the posts going the positive one's more importantly.

Making the FO feel foolish
 

I have been with a few Capt's that seem to enjoy making the FO feel foolish or Stupid. I would like to know what type of help the FO is going to give you after this type of behaviour. Knowing what I did with these experiences. I don't think much support would/will be given.

One Captain even expected me to dine with him on a night stop after him ridding me like a horse for two days. Sorry buddy! No f… chance!