same as ours.

Ah yes. It is only the adjustment.

and grip the base...

my seat position seems more influential than the armrest. Also, while the armrest has "settings" or whatever you call them, I find that from one airplane to the next the settings are not perfectly identical. They are more "ballpark" and I still have to fine tune them each airplane.

I see many FO gripping the sidestick in many different ways, and while it may seem easier at first to handle the sidestick by the base, or by the top using only the thumb and the index fingers, the most important thing is to have the index finger ready to transmit on the radio, and the thumb ready to press the takeoverbutton in case the other pilot gets incapacitated. Teaching any pilot to grip the sidestick in any way different than the airbus way is not a wise thing, in my opinion...

I’m a base gripper. You raise good points, but the PF isn’t usually the one talking, and if you need to quickly press the push button, you’re not usually going to be the one holding the sidestick.

FWIW, our manual says the pm must be in a position to immediately assume control. For most people, most of the time (in my company) that doesn’t involve a hand on the sidestick. I may rest my hand near the base if I’m concerned, but unless I’m concerned that I’ll have to take control, I’m not touching the sidestick.

The real problem is only during rotation and approach and landing.That's where you can't be be searching but have to be ready to push the button. Other than that even if AP trips there's no problem. Even if it goes in alternate law it's OK. There are only two IR related failures where it can go straight in direct law and you may need quick intervention if the other pilot doesn't handle it well. No issue really.

As I said, if it seems it my be necessary to take over, I'm ready to go. Agree with you on the AP thing. Often, I see guys guarding the controls below (random altitude). I can't figure it out. If the AP falls out, it'll keep doing exactly what it was just doing. I'm left to conclude it must be a holdover from a previous type. Don't even mention the guy I saw guarding the thrust levers with the AT on :ugh:

Ha. I do that on approach and after take-off till we are clean. It’s definitely a hold over from a previous type but it’s also a mindset thing. We are in a critical phase of flight and my brain needs to be on the stick and thrust levers. If I physically put my hands on the controls that helps get my brain in the right space. I find it particularly important when flying an approach after a long sector when I’m feeling a bit tired.

Edit: I think I used to do it even more in the past. I remember someone commenting that “you ex Dash 8 drivers always seem to like your hands on the thrust levers”. I had been guarding the thrust levers for the entire descent. This was in a 146 so no auto thrust but also few, if any, thrust changes required.

I'm not saying that you are doing anything wrong, obviously you have your experience and know how to navigate your cockpit, but once I had a cadet, newly released, as PM, trying to take over the controls when I was doing the flare because he thought that "I was doing it wrong" (let's put this aside, please). He didn't announce anything, he didn't use the priority button. If I didn't had my finger ready to push the red button, his input plus mine would have put the airplane in a very compromised situation. Imagine this same thing while in turbulence, AP disconnected, you are trying to keep the airplane somewhere acceptable withing the flight envelope, while the guys next to you goes into panic, tries to over command the sidestick, and is unable to say anything coherent on the radio. That time you'll really need to have both fingers where they are meant to be.

Oh boy. A little too keen, was he? Lesson learned, and thanks for sharing. We’re certainly not immune to it here, but for the most part, there aren’t any “cadets” flying Airbuses. You’ll have a fair bit of airline experience before getting into an Airbus or Boeing, so that sort of thing should be minimised. I think that in both seats, it’s rare to find the PM guarding the controls at my airline.

I’ll definitely keep it in mind the next time I’m paired with someone new though.

Probably not a popular angle:

When given the authority, I insist the s-s is held the way it is meant to be notwithstanding the exact thumb placement or ptt finger choice. ​​​

Everyone can learn that. Some decide they might not want to use the plane as designed, uncovering a larger training issue which is best tackled early and swiftly.

(note to self: ok, boomer)

I’m beginning to wonder if conventional control columns have this much variation in the way they’re grasped.

Check Airman: Many years ago my then company employed many pilots from the defunked Ansett Airlines and I was involved in a lot of their initial line training.

One aspect that stood out with them was that when they were PF (as co-pilots) they would always do the rotation with only their right hand on the control column and the left resting on their thigh! Vey odd - I have never seen that in any other company/ Perhaps an Aussie thing?

When I struggled (a lot) to fly the -500 straight and up OEI this was a drill. To grab the control column only without any action on the yoke. Given the shorter arm, definitely both hands. 😎