What is the definition of the title 'Captain'?
 

Chaps,

Sorry if this is an ignorant question but i'm still to avail myself of a definitive answer to the question: when does one become a Captain?

A colleague who is currently in the middle of doing his PPL suggests that as soon as you effect a solo you officially become a Captain.

Other theories is that you only become a Captain once you pass your PPL but then I have also heard that you need to have passed your CPL to be classed as a Captain, however John Travolta is often referred to as a Captain even though he only holds a PPL.

Or is it down to the number of type ratings you have (JT has many including a Boeing 707 which he actually owns).

Or is the term Captain quite simply another name for Pilot In Command?

Is there a definitive answer?

What's your friend's name?

W. Mitty?

Cusco;)

Technically whoever is PIC is the "captain". However a pilot of a light aircraft callign him/herself captain is like the operator of a small pleasure craft wearing a gold encrusted hat and calling themselves captain. You are just asking to be riduculed.

I would suggest to be a "real" captain, you must be PIC of a multicrew aircraft utilized in a commercial operation.

BPF,

Yes, those were my thoughts............but why then does John Travolta call himself a Captain and wear the uniform if he only holds a PPL?

K77.

Boeing 707 not big enough to justify the term?

If you owned and flew one of these I'd call you Captain.
It's even on a personalsied Reg N707JT

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3294/...e3a74fe887.jpg

John Travolta has an ATPL.

Not according to the official data!

As at: 21/06/09

Certificate: Private Flying

Ratings: Private Flying
Airplane Single Engine
Airplane Multi Engine
Instrument Airplane

B707 SIC Priviledges Only

These are the googled results of Captain so officially on your first solo you could call yourself Captain.

But thats a bit like the guy climbing into a C152 with a white shirt and 4 bars to take the girlfriend for touch and goes :rolleyes:
Everyone looks and thinks " what a pr_t" :O

In my eyes a Captain is a position where a uniform wearing a white shirt and 4bars is a requirement by others not an ego gesture made by self.

But then ferrying an empty business jet! USA jeans and shirts! into Africa full uniform as you wouldnt get anywhere around the airports without.

So maybe the question should be "when should you call yourself a Captain"???
Prob any aircraft operation which requires two crew and a division between the Captain and co pilot /first officer and that division to be shown to others.
It is a title of rank.

Pace

I could list a big long list of many long "why does John Travolta...." and the answer to each one would be "because he's a wee bit mental".... :ok:

I agree, but at least he has put his experience to some good use I suppose and flown some aid to Haiti!

He employs a crew and an operations organisation in Florida as I was speaking to his chief pilot on a renewal a couple of months back at Southern Jets.

Regardless he is a competant pilot in his own right and a good promoter of all things aviation :D

The aids to Haiti is big business with aids organisations competing with each other dont forget that.

Nothing is as it appears.

Pace

Anyone who flies a C-152, Warrior or whatever for fun and decides they're going to call themselves Captain is asking to be well and truly laughed at, and deserves to be. :}

I'm a commercial skipper on large yachts, and even though I have paid crew and passengers aboard, nothing makes me cringe more than when someone calls me by the C word. My first name, Skipper or just Skip are fine. Captain, no way. Not even if they're paying to be aboard and they really really want to.

I've noticed it seems to be a particular habit of many American commercial yacht skippers to call themselves Captain on their CVs. When looking through applications, I bin those ones right away. They're unlikely to be the sort of person I'll get along with terribly easily.

I was going to reply, "When it's your boat", but I see I would have been wrong.

Could they call you "Cap'n, ahaargh" and get away with it?

Oh yes, they could indeed. Only the 'ahaargh' would be the noise they made as I shoved them overboard should the Cap'n be the second time they'd used the word. ;)



Knievel, Does your colleague read PPRuNe? :E

So what do you do on a sunset evening around the Captains table? Ask your guests to call it the Skips table? from whence the food has come from ;)

Definition of Skipper

So size of your equiptment means everything :O You tell the girlfriend if your equiptment is large your a Captain if its small your a Skipper (planes and boats only of course ) ;)

Pace

Neither. I generally point them toward a nice restaurant ashore. If I'm enjoying their company, I accept their kind offer to take me along. If I'm not, I have urgent jobs to attend to aboard... so will have to stay behind and enjoy having them off the boat. :O

Ok, enough secrets given away for one day.

Fair enough - that is what I get for believing what I read in the press :\ !

He does seem fond of those four bars though doesn't he?

In seagoing, generally Officers are only referred to as Captain if they have a Masters Unlimited tonnage license and have sailed a commercial vessel of 3000GT+ in the capacity of Master. Anything smaller is just laughed at... It's more a recognition of the respect from the crew and those ashore.

Quite so, L'aviateur. Hence why I cringe so when people use the word.

Back to the topic; I wonder how many PPLs have smugly introduced themselves to others as Captain Soandso. :hmm:

Guilty - although not with pretentious intent.

At Denham we book out on the air and I was taught to say at the end "Captains name is xyz". So that is what I did - until one instructor politely told me at the end of a training flight "By the way - I am a pilot, not a Captain". :O