As others have mentioned, communication is key. Officers should feel like they have easy, regular contact with you, but not such that your presence is overbearing or, as Weizhong mentioned, micro-managing. In my flight, I set up an IRC channel specifically for the three of us and had daily checkins in which I reviewed their critique and discussed it with them. Outside of that I was available for questions but I avoided discussing the flight outside of the check-ins unless they brought it up to me; I didn't want the flight to become all-encompassing or overwhelming.

When reviewing the critique, I tried to focus on specifics in terms of improvement, i.e. "Try to discuss more examples of how they could improve the clinical tone", or "Their narrative description isn't super clear on the ending, try to discuss that more". Helpful critique is specific, so I aimed to fulfill that same goal in my metacritique, and I think that's where flights become most useful for officers. If they know what they fall short on, then they know to look out for it and to improve on it; with that in mind they can go into each thread better prepared to give insightful and helpful feedback.

I think it's also important to regularly take input from your officers on the structure of the flight, ensuring that they are happy with how it's going and that the structure works for them. Circumstances can change and it's important to ensure that the system works for them across the whole flight and that you can respond to their changing circumstances (for example, if they have to reduce output or contact due to real-life commitments).

Flights are an opportunity to get to know your officers well and get a sense of how they will be on the site, especially if they're relatively new to it. By virtue of this, especially when working with newer folks, I think it's important to keep the floor open for other questions and/or issues that the officer might encounter. The flight is a chance for them to acclimate to site culture if they haven't already done so, and being available for those kinds of questions will help them get involved and feel comfortable on-site. If they feel confident in their understanding of the site at large, they'll be more confident in their critique and it should improve.

Try to keep the structure regular but flexible. As I've referenced above and others have too, circumstances can change, so it's important that you can respond to that and keep things flexible without losing the structure or core of the flight. There's no essential way to doing this, but ensuring that you can respond to the concerns of your officers and make alterations where necessary is good. During my flight under MalyceGraves, they checked with me to ensure the goals were achievable and within my range. As Weizhong mentioned, it's important to make sure they don't burnout; we all know what giving critique can be like and how easy it can be to burnout if you don't have healthy boundaries and good habits; building good habits can start in the flight with a structure that reflects good habits, but is also available to change as and when it needs to.

Speaking as someone who becomes ill for a prolonged, random period almost once every month, definitely plan ahead. Check in with your officer(s) ahead of time to figure out or have a concept of what their goals should be and write it out. Planning a couple weeks ahead would be beneficial for a commander if they were to suddenly become ill once a Flight starts coming around. From there on, it should be smooth sailing despite sickness and health.

Think up of many possible solutions for how to improve certain skills. Everyone learns differently, so it would be good to have a list of experience (what elements helped you to improve in that skill) and what you think would be good solutions for areas of improvement. If they worked for you, it will likely work for others too! ;)

Get to know your officer(s)! Help them to open up since you might not know if they're shy and not likely to communicate internal conflicts related to the Flight. Talk things out with them if needed, and encourage them to communicate whenever they are in need of something. Don't be dismissive about how an officer is feeling. Instead, help to guide and support them.

Remember to put your health and well-being into consideration! If you think you can no longer run or continue a Flight due to IRL considerations/commitments, let your officers and colleagues/local SCP Wiki staffers know. Don't push yourself unless you know for sure what you're doing. Love and take care of yourself above all else! <3

Log your commandership work so that you'll have references for future Flights. It will get annoying to have to remember and type the same things over and over again. Logging your work would save you time in the future, mmhm!

Model off of your favorite mentor(s). It's like that with teachers IRL, and those are usually the best teachers. If you've been a part of a Flight as an officer before, you have a major advantage. Use it! Pass on the knowledge and tradition! DO IT AS IF YOU HONOR, which you do, YOUR OWN MENTOR(S)!!!!

Most important of all… have fun! Flights should be a learning experience for every participant, so try not to stress out over making mistakes. That's how we learn. And of course, don't be afraid to ask questions as a mentor. There's always something new to learn and improve on. Be accepting of knowledge and experience, and you'll do great things!

Just gonna sneak this last one in… know when to put your foot down. If an officer isn't listening and exhibiting unacceptable behavior even after being asked to stop, they're not worth your precious time. It would be difficult to help someone if they're not willing to help themselves to your service. If you ever come across anyone like this, let staff know immediately. And be sure to send the bad officer a "You're fired!" PM! :D

• What should I do if a Flight has ended, and I feel the officer hasn't successfully completed the Flight?
• What should be done if an officer has to drop out during a Flight?
• What should be done if a commander has to drop out during a Flight?

One thing I've always thought about it making Flight commander positions more readily available to non-staff. To my knowledge, only one(?) non-staff member has mentored in a Flight before. While I'm under the impression that the option is available, I was wondering if there was any way to make these positions more visible?

I'm certainly not one to be able to accurately gauge the interest from non-staff, but I'm sure some Butterfly Squad members would be interested, including those who have taken Flights before as officers. My current thinking is an Announcements thread where you can sign up (á la recruitment threads). There'd have to be certain restrictions for who, exactly, can sign up, I'd imagine. Perhaps Butterfly Squad members, Reviewers' Spotlight users, and certain authors? Case-by-case basis may suit here.

This might save us some headache in the future, as I'm sure there are only so many staff members who are willing to take Flights, and so many who are willing to do it over and over again. At the end of the day, though, these are just my own musings and ramblings. Take what you will :P