FLC BECOME INVOLVED IN APCH BRIEFING AND MISS XING RESTR.

Narrative

RELATIVELY 'LIGHT' ACFT: WE TOOK OFF; ABOUT 233 METRIC TONS; VERSUS 377.8 METRIC TONS MAX WT. AT TIME OF INCIDENT; WE WERE ABOUT 200 METRIC TONS DSCNT BRIEFING (MINE) STARTED IN CRUISE; BUT CONTINUED DURING DSCNT; BECAUSE: 1) CAPT (PNF) HAD TO COMPARE HIS STAR AND APCH PLATES TO MINE. (HE HAD NOT INCORPORATED THE LATEST COMMERCIAL CHART REVISION INTO HIS CHARTS.) 2) MY BRIEFING WAS TOO LONG AND POORLY ORGANIZED. FLYING WHILE TALKING; I HAD PLENTY OF NAV INFO: HIS VOR ON LVZ; MY VOR ON STW; AND INS (NO GPS UPDATE) WITH ALL OF THE STAR FIXES CORRECTLY PROGRAMMED IN. I FIXATED ON THE WRONG INFO AND MISTOOK DISTANCE TO STW (INS FIX #5) FOR DISTANCE TO HARTY (INS FIX #4); XING HARTY ABOUT 1000-2000 FT TOO HIGH. NO TFC CONFLICT. INCLUDING 'SIMULATOR' TIME; I'VE GOT ABOUT 150 HRS IN TYPE. PRIOR TO THAT; I FLEW 750 HRS IN THE GLASS-COCKPIT VERSION OF THIS ACFT; IN WHICH XING ALTS ARE ROUTINELY MADE WITH BULLSEYE ACCURACY. HOWEVER; OVER THE PAST 40 YRS; OVER 85% OF MY FLYING HAS BEEN IN JURASSIC ACFT; SO I HAVE NO EXCUSE. HENCEFORTH; I'LL TRY A BIT HARDER TO FINISH THE DSCNT APCH BRIEFING; BEFORE I START THE DSCNT. NOTE: 1) THE CAPT; WHO IS; IN GENERAL; A GOOD PLT; MADE THE SAME MISTAKE THAT I MADE. 2) SOMETIMES; THE MOST IMPORTANT CONVERSATION IN PROGRESS IS NOT BTWN THE CTLR AND THE 'CONTROLEE:' IT'S A 10 OR 20 SECOND EXCHANGE BTWN CREW MEMBERS; (ABOUT 50% OF ALL PLTS AND 99% OF ALL CTLRS DON'T REALIZE THAT; AND IT WOULD TAKE ONLY A MIN TO TEACH THIS LITTLE-KNOWN FACT IN ATC TRAINING.) CAPT IS RELATIVELY YOUNG AND FEARS TO ANNOY A CTLR BY MISSING A CALL. (I; ON THE OTHER HAND; AM A CRUSTY OLD FART AND DON'T GIVE A '...' WHAT THEY THINK OF ME!) PASSING ABOUT FL260; PROBABLY TOO LATE; CAPT STARTED TO GET THE FLICK; AND HE WANTED TO TELL ME TO 'STEEPEN' THE DSCNT. HOWEVER; OUT OF HABIT; HE WON'T TALK WHEN THE CTLR IS TALKING; FOR FEAR OF MISSING A CALL. (THIS; HOWEVER; IS NEW YORK: THE CTLR'S MOUTH RUNS CONSTANTLY...).