Procedures

We all have them, there in the background, helping out in some facet of our lives. From the loop swoop and pull that helped us remember how to tie our shoes as children, to the signal, followed by the shoulder check that kept our parents car away from those in the lane over as teenagers, and our own cars later in life. Procedures. Some may be learned from others, while other procedures seem to creep into our lives without us having been aware of it ever happening. My life at work is dictated largely by procedures that have been put together to make my life as a pilot easier. In theory, a copilot should be able to fly with any given captain within the company and be able to know, even if they have never flown together, how and when checklists will be called for, when the landing gear and flaps will be retracted on departure, and when they will be brought back out for landing among other things. I find a certain comfort in these procedures as it adds an element of familiarity in a world that is constantly in motion. Regardless of what airport I am taking off from in whichever end of the world, once I have climbed the aircraft to 400 feet, I would call for "flaps up, set climb power and after take-off checklist" Or so it used to be. Since leaving my former job and starting my new one, I have had to leave behind the procedures that served me well for three years, and learn a new set of procedures that will hopefully help to keep me safe in the years to come. While the experience I gained at my last position has certainly helped in the transition to my new job, I have found it difficult to forget the long ingrained procedures from my past. Even something as easy as calling for flaps to be set at 17 degrees has been made into a chore by differing companies with differing procedures. In my last position, 17 flap was referred to as approach flap while at the new company it cannot be referred to as anything but 17 flap. Now before I ask for something to be done in the cockpit, my mind must run a translation to be sure that my terminology will match what the new companies procedures call for. Here, a call for approach flap will be met with a questioning raised eyebrow. While this may seem like an innocent enough mix-up of terms, if this particular mistake was made at the least opportune time, it could make both my and the captains life more difficult than necessary while we try to figure out how to bridge the communication gap. I know with time, I will come to know the procedures I am trying so hard to remember accurately as intimately as I knew my former procedures that are making life difficult now. In the meantime I will be spending my free time reading and re-reading the new procedures, and hoping for understanding Captains.