30 Sep 97 16:28, Charles Mielke wrote to Jim Sanders:
 CM>     I have heard of several cases, maybe quite a few, where
 CM>     the co-pilot was quite deferential to the Captain rather
 CM>     than speaking up when he should have.
 CM>     Timidity in a co-pilot is NOT a desirable trait.
I can recall being trained by the Chief Pilot of the part 135 operation I 
worked for when I was upgrading into the C-402.  This old gent lived to 
fly.... had a somewhat unsuccessful USAF career (to others standards) because 
he passed up certain assignments that would have advanced his career in order 
to stay in flying slots.  He was an incredible pilot, but he set some very 
high standards.
He was somewhat less than affectionately known as Col. GD.  I always dreaded 
flying with him because if you did something he would have done differently, 
the first thing you'd notice is his fingertips dancing in his lap.  Shortly 
after that would come a deafening blast of verbal abuse that would leave you 
shaking.  We used to joke about how his pilots would exit his cockpit with 
their hair looking like they'd been riding a motorcycle sideways.  Not what 
you'd call an atmosphere conducive to learning.....
Anyway, there I was, making screwup after screwup, waiting for the inevitable 
ax to fall.  I couldn't concentrate because I was waiting for the roasting to 
begin.  I see his fingers starting to tap his lap.....at last he starts in on 
me.....but only for a moment.  I exploded, pulled off my hood and headset and 
slung them in his face with considerable force.  He looked surprised, told me 
to take him home, and didn't say another word.
Naturally, the whole flight back to Rock Hill, I just *knew* I was going to 
be canned.  FWIW, I flew the C-402 better than I'd flown it up until that 
time and made a squeaker of a landing.  He didn't say a word.
Well, he didn't fire me.  We went up a couple more times in the 402 and then 
he signed me off.  And I never had him verbally abuse me again.  To tell you 
the truth, I think he saw that I had murder in my heart and that he was very 
close to experiencing the ejection seat.  :)
I tell you, when I rode with less experienced pilots, I made it a point *not* 
to abuse them, thought I did have exacting standards: "Did they clear us to 
8,020 feet?.....Get back down there."
Jay
--- GoldED/386 2.50+
---------------