Who's in charge here

[weasel pilot]

Sorry to be a stupid Yank fighter guy, (Perhaps multiple redundant), but the Captain, always the guy in the left, front seat (AKA: The Pilot) or was it the senior ranking officer on board?

Dave

[petet16]

Front left is the aircraft captain.

[Tonkenna]

Certainly on the RAF VC10s, with a standard crew it was the pilot in the left seat no matter what the rank of the rest of the crew (I have often flown with navigators 2 or three ranks up but still been the capt). If it was a check ride for one of the pilots it would be the checking officer even if he was in another seat (right-hand or jump seat!)

Tonks

[weasel pilot]

Thanks, Gents. Anyone know if this were true on other RAF types? In the USAF the the guy in the "left front seat" is always the Aircraft Commander (equivalent to your Captaain, I think) but the "Mission Commander" can be someone else. While in transports the two are almost always the same person, in other mission areas, not so. Prime example is the RC-135 were the Mission Commander is often the "Airborne Mission Supervisor" AKA, the lead SIGINT person.

[Tonkenna]

On the Nimrod they used to have Navigator and Air Electronic Officer captains down the back of the ac and the pilots would be 1st and 2nd pilots... there was an unofficial society called SABEC (the Society Against Back End Captains). Personally I think the pilot should always be the captain, and on an ac like that you would have a mission commander... but hey ho!