Your first job as a career pilot could very well hold the title of “first officer.” What exactly does that mean? By definition, the first officer is the second in command of the aircraft—no, it doesn’t make much sense to me, either. I wish they still referred to the position as “co-pilot” since that’s what all of the people outside of aviation call it. Regardless of the nomenclature, the title eliminates confusion as to who is actually in command of the airplane, not necessarily who is flying it.
To avoid in-cockpit power struggles, there has to be a pilot in command (PIC) of the airplane. The PIC, usually titled “captain,” is the person who will make the final decision about how the flight is dispatched and operated. He or she is ultimately responsible for managing the flight from the moment he or she boards the airplane. The first officer (FO), of course, is there to step up to pilot-in-command duties in the event of incapacitation of the captain. Perhaps the most obvious difference between a captain and FO is the size of the respective paycheck—which can be double that of the FO. Responsibility pays, in this case.
How the flying duties get divided is based on company policy. Most airlines and large fractional operators have the captain and FO trade legs while remaining in their respective seats. Corporate pilots may swap seats and trade PIC responsibilities, depending on the company and its policies. Either way, FOs should get plenty of stick time and experience analyzing weather and adding input to the captain’s decisions. After all, FOs are tomorrow’s captains and need the experience.
At most companies it’s seniority, not hours logged or flying skills, that allow you to move up to captain. So in terms of flying skills or experience, the first officer may well be the better man or woman for the job. But, in the interest of playing the seniority game, the person hired first gets the fourth stripe.
Good captains are humble folks who realize the only reason they are in the left seat is because they got hired first. A good captain doesn’t have a massive ego and is able to recognize that, despite thousands of hours logged, he is not the ace of the base. He listens to the FO’s input and consults with his FO before making critical decisions.
On legs where the FO is the pilot flying, a captain should let the FO make the decisions and fly the way he or she likes—within reason, of course. Unless the FO is compromising the safety or comfort of the flight, the captain will simply be the pilot monitoring; working the radios and dialing in changes to the autopilot/flight director (AP/FD) control panel, or FMS if the autopilot is off.
Airlines have clear procedures that each pilot performs depending on whether the autopilot is engaged. If the AP is off, the pilot flying only concentrates on flying the airplane. The pilot not flying handles radio communications, checklists, and all entries into the boxes. If the AP is on, the pilot flying handles the entries into the flight management system (FMS) and AP. Some airlines and flight departments have variations on these procedures, but all are in agreement that the point is to keep the pilot flying concentrating on flying, and the pilot monitoring to handle nonflying duties and monitor the performance of the pilot flying.
When I arrived at a regional airline 11 years ago, I thought I knew a thing or two about crew operations from my experience as a charter and occasional corporate pilot. I was wrong. I was taken aback by the seriousness with which airlines adhered to the roles of pilot flying and pilot monitoring.
Early in the simulator sessions when I was the pilot flying, if I’ heard ATC issue a vector, I’d reach up to spin the heading knob only to get my hand whacked by the captain. From the instructor in back I’d hear, “That’s right, captain, don’t let him do that.” No matter how busy the pilot monitoring is, you don’t deviate from the rules—even if you’re just trying to help out.
After I began to fly actual trips, I started to realize that this method really does work. How else can two strangers work like a well-tuned machine to efficiently operate a complicated airplane in a sometimes-harried environment? I quickly realized how primitive my “crew” experience was in the charter world.
Now, the FAA, motivated by the success of crew resource management (CRM) training in larger airplanes, is mandating formal CRM training for charter operators flying under Part 135 regulations.
Will it be overkill? I’m not sure a strict CRM plan for two pilots flying a single-pilot airplane is warranted or necessary, but the FAA thinks so. Time will tell if CRM training can dramatically drop the number of accidents at the air-taxi level as it has with the scheduled airlines. If nothing else, starting CRM training earlier in their career paths will better prepare pilots for future jobs flying larger airplanes.
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