Line Check 314Alternative Seat Position Check 314Crew Resource Management 314Recent Experience 315Multi-Type Currency 315Freelance Pilots 315Company Training Captains 316TRI (MPA) – Minimum Requirements 316TRE – Minimum Requirements 317Table Of Contents xiiiSFI – Minimum Requirements 317SFE – Minimum Requirements 317Line Training Captain 317Guidance to Training Captains 317Simulated Flight Conditions 319On Becoming An Examiner 319Preliminaries 320The Briefing 320The Flight 321Glossary 323ACARS 323Adequate External Attitude Reference 323Aerial Work Zone 323Aerial Work Zone Plan 323Aerodrome 323Adequate 323Suitable 323Aerodrome Operating Minima 323Air Ambulance flight 324Approach Ban 324Approach to landing 325APU 325Avoid Curve 325Balanced Field Length 325Category I (Cat I) Operation 325Category II operation 325Category III operations 325Circling Approach 325Circling Minima 325Climb Compliance 326Cloud Base 326Cloud Ceiling 326Dead Man’s Curve 326Decision Altitude/Height (DA/H) 326Defined Area 326Despatch 326Dry Operating Mass (DOM) 326EADI 326ELT 326EPR 326ETOPS 327ETOPS Segment 327Extended Range Entry Point 327Final Approach 327Flight Manual 327Height/Velocity Envelope 327xiv Operational FlyingHigh Seas 327
Indirect Approach 327In-flight Visibility 327Inoperative 327Long Range flight 328Low Visibility Take-off 328Low Visibility Procedures (LVPs) 328Maximum Zero Fuel Mass 328Maximum Structural Landing Mass 328Maximum Structural Take-Off Mass 328Minimum Descent Altitude/Height (MDA/H) 328Minimum Weather Conditions 328Missed Approach Point (MAP) 328Non-precision Approach and Landing Operations 328Notified 329Obstacle Clearance Altitude/Height (OCA/H) 329Obstacle Clearance Limit (OCL) 329Precision Approach and Landing Operations 329Positioning 329Rule Distance 329Rule Time 329Runway Visual Range (RVR) 329Reported RVR 329Sector 329Short Range flights 329Specified 329State Minima 329System 330Threshold Distance 330Traffic Load 330Visible Moisture 330Visual Approach 330Visual Contact Flight 330Visual Reference 330Index 331By The Same Author 343CARs in Plain English 343The ANO in Plain English 343Canadian Professional Pilot Studies 343JAR Professional Pilot Studies 343The Helicopter Pilot’s Handbook 343The BIOS Companion 344IntroductionThis book has very little to do withflying, but everything to do withbeing a pilot—and the training andinformation you need after you getyour licence, but don’t always get.Certainly, no-one tells you thatAviation runs on paperwork, andthat you need to be a bit of a lawyerjust to read the regulations. If youwork, or are going to work, for asmall charter company, or in thecorporate field, it’s mainly writtenwith you in mind, but those in largeroutfits (like airlines) should still
benefit. The idea is to catch you, ifyou’ve just qualified, at the samepoint as when you left school, whereyour education really begins. Formore experienced pilots, some of thetips and tricks should make your jobthat much easier. It will be especiallyuseful to Operations Staff (likeFlight Despatchers), who often haveto put themselves in a pilot’s shoes,such as when inspecting PleasureFlying sites.Smaller companies can’t afford tospend too much time or money ontraining, although naturally theymeet minimum requirements (withthe emphasis on minimum). Notonly that, they tend to be rathershort on staff as well, needing peoplewho can be quite versatile. Youcould frequently find yourself(especially in a helicopter company)out in the field dealing directly withcustomers and making decisions onyour Company's behalf. Would youfeel up to this? It's hard enough tomaintain your basic flying skills, letalone become part of themanagement. It's well known thatwhat customers think of yourCompany depends not only on howyou fly the aircraft, but also on yourinteraction with them. As an aviationadvert once said, there's nothing likea curly sandwich to make yourpassengers query your ability as apilot! They will expect you to knowthe answers to all their questions,which will range from how long youcan fly on full tanks to the type ofform Customs need for the goodsthey wish to import. You might notthink it's fair, but you will rapidlyfind you're not really a pilot at all—you'll also be a combination ofHandling Agent, Freight Agent,Manager and Salesman, amongstother things. Mastering the aircraft isonly half the job.2 Operational FlyingIf you’re going to be in a remoteplace with no supervision, or be acorporate pilot, with no Commercialexperience to fall back on, butnevertheless faced with operating anaircraft on your own, this should bethe Ops Manual you don't have theincentive to write for yourself—allthe information needed to run aFlight Department professionally is
inside, in plain English as far aspossible, which leads me to anotherreason for writing it.The content of operations manualsis being standardised, at least withinEurope, under Joint AirworthinessRequirements, and therefore beingwritten by committee, with very littlethought given to the people whohave to use them. Any attempt atmaking the task easier for the targetaudience is actually frowned upon,so some sort of translation isneeded, especially as, in many areas,no deviation from the text suppliedis allowed (especially Duty Hours),which seems to have been written bypeople whose native language is notEnglish. Of course, no selfrespecting pilot likes readingmanuals, but it’s part of the job andshould be as easy as possible.To help things along, this bookloosely follows the JAR format forOps Manuals, containing all the stuffthe authorities wouldn’t let me put inthe manuals I wrote for severalcompanies, including humour—thebits that are written in legalese canbe slotted straight into your ownmanual when you get lumbered towrite one (where you can read it, justchange the wording to make itincomprehensible). So, as well aspassing on a few tricks of the trade,it’s a commentary on OperationsManuals, or at least the sort ofcommon-sense one I would like tohave seen when I started. Putanother way, it’s how I think thingsshould be done.Although the contents are largelybased on UK operating procedures,the basics of professional flying arethe same everywhere, and thedifferences will largely be interminology; for example, what theCAA calls an Air Operator's Certificateis sometimes called an OperatingCertificate in Canada. My point is that,wherever you are, you won't bewasting your time reading it, becausethere's something for everyoneinside, especially as JARs are“harmonised” with CARs (CanadianAviation Regulations) and based in parton American procedures anyway.One day, some of you will be ChiefPilots, or at least have a hand inrunning a company, however large.That's why there are some parts of
the book, such as Obtaining an AirOperator's Certificate or Setting Up ACompany (which take you over to theManagement side of the fence) thatmay not seem all that relevant at themoment, but you should read themanyway, as they will give you agreater insight into what youremployer had to do to get into aposition to pay your salary, as well ashelping you understand how yourcompany works—maybe they willhelp you with your own when thetime comes. You are definitely ofmore value if you are commerciallyminded and can save money (whichdoesn’t mean cutting corners).Whatever parts you read (all ofthem, I hope), this book should helpyou find your way round when it allseems Very Strange, and hopefullyIntroduction 3help you realise why certain thingshappen the way they do.Finally, being about as politicallycorrect as Attila the Hun, I make noapologies for not distinguishingbetween genders, because longwinded phrases would ruin the flowof the text, so the pronoun "he" alsoincludes "she", as it does in mostlegislation. Otherwise, the ladies flyjust as well as anyone else.Good luck and best wishes!Phil CroucherPS – After reading one of the earlyproofs, John Bulmer sent me this:“Never allow your ego, self-confidence,love of flying, pressure from a customer,boss or co-pilot, or economic need tointerfere with your good judgement duringany stage of a flight. There is no amountof pride, no thrill, pleasure, schedule orjob that is worth your licence or your lifeand the lives of your passengers.Complacency kills, and so does being acowboy.That all may seem obvious andunnecessary, but I learned it the hardway during the foolishness of my youth. Imay not have listened to that advice then,but if I had your book, who knows?”What Sort Of Company DoYou Keep?Wherever you end up, you will haveto get used to having no realinfluence except when actuallyflying. In other words, you may beThe Boss in your own office (thecockpit), but it will seem likeeveryone else is in charge of you
otherwise, especially in smallercompanies, where you end upamending publications, etc. as asecondary duty; you're being paidanyway, so when you're not flyingyou end up in the pool of cheaplabour—no sitting at home whenyou're not needed!Companies differ in what they allowyou to get away with. In some, beingaway from base with a problem maymean ringing Ops before you makeany kind of a move. On the otherhand, you may be able to makedecisions on their behalf there andthen, which the Ops Manual (nextchapter) is supposed to help with.Some airlines don't allow personalitems or conversation in the cockpit.There are three types of flying,Commercial Air Transport, Aerial Workand Private. Being a professional(well, potentially, anyway), you willonly be concerned with the first two.·
Commercial Air Transport existswhere payment (usually by apassenger) is given for the useof an aircraft, which in thiscontext means like a taxi, asopposed to self-drive car hire.You need to be aware that thereis considerable legal argumentas to when a flight comes underPublic Transport, or CommercialAir Transport, to use the newphrase, and you will find itsummarised in Legal Stuff(Chapter 14). As it is socomplex, any further discussionwill be continued there. Youmight find further subdivisions,especially in Canada, intoAirline, Commuter and Air Taxi.·
Aerial Work covers othersituations where payment is stillgiven, but in specialised rolesnot involving the usualpassenger or freight carrying,4 Operational Flyingsuch as photography or flyinginstruction, or any othersituation where you're gettingpaid to fly.·
Private flying speaks for itself, itsmost distinguishing featurebeing that no payment exists,other than by the pilot, for theright to use the aircraft in thefirst place, although this in itself
could cause problems (you cantake money for some 'privateflights', but see Legal Stuff).Within the above limits, thecompanies you could get involvedwith will also fall (broadly) into threecategories, with some blurring inbetween, in the shape of Scheduled,Charter or Corporate Flying.Scheduled“Scheduled Flying” is a legaldefinition describing services thatrun at predefined times with certainconditions imposed on them, suchas being open to all classes ofpassenger and the flights alwaysrunning, even though they may beempty (many companies use this as aform of sabotage, by sendingsomeone on a rival's flight just toensure the flight goes, otherwise theymight develop a "technical problem"if there are no passengers, cancel it,and save some money).This would mean that, althoughholiday flights and oilfieldhelicopters do indeed move atpredefined times, they are notsubject to the other restrictions andare not therefore "Scheduled", but asthe difference is mostly transparent,I’ll treat them as the same. Let's justsay they are regular services.Similarly, whilst airlines can providecharter flights, the word commonlycovers the Air Taxi companieswithin General Aviation, which itselfis a vague term—it usually meansanything below 5700 kg (12,500 lbs)Max All-Up Weight, encompassingAir Taxi, Flying Club and personallyowned aircraft, although the ICAOdefinition excludes aerial work.Scheduled Flying is said to be boring(actually it is), but it does have theadvantage of being organisedanything up to 4 weeks in advance,so you can at least have some sort ofplanning in other areas of your life;this is strictly enforced by theauthorities, and is covered more inChapter 7, Flight Time And DutyHours. Well, at least you know whenyou're going, even if you're not surewhen you'll be coming back! Theonly qualification to this depends onthe size of the Company.As the size of the operationdecreases, and sometimes with it theaptitude of the Operations
Department, you will end upwondering why they bother issuingduty rosters at all. Very often, in thissort of company, they are thrownstraight into the bin, as the crewsknow they bear no resemblance towhat will actually happen.Congratulations! You are probably ina Charter Company (or a flying club)disguised as an Airline, of whichthere are several. That is, they mighthave a lot of aircraft, but they willonly be capable of managing a few.You will need a well-developedsense of humour here, as the worstaspects of both types of companywill come to the fore, namely littletime to yourself and less informationfiltering down to the coal face, i.e.you. You can tell you’re in one ofIntroduction 5these when your workload increasesto keep them out of trouble.CharterIf scheduled flying is like busdriving, then charter flying is a taxiservice, which means you are on calltwenty-five hours a day witheverything geared to an instantresponse to the customer, leavingyou unable to plan very much. Don'tget me wrong; this can be fun withplenty of variety and challenge in theflying—but the downside is an OpsDepartment that lets you do all thework yourself, and being left hangingaround airports or muddy fieldswhile your passengers are away (withmissed meals, getting home late,etc.). Charter Flying is also whereyour other skills as Salesman and/orDiplomat come into play, as you willbe very much involved with yourpassengers, who are more than justself-loading freight!Thus, while you can move relativelyeasily from Charter to Scheduled, it'snot so straightforward the other wayround. As an airline pilot, you rarelysee your passengers, and the flying isvery different. Charter (or Air Taxi)is intensive, single-handed andstressful work in the worst weather(you can't fly over it) in aircraft withthe least accurate instruments. It canbe quite a culture shock for an airlinepilot, looking forward to potteringaround in a small aircraft untilretirement, to find there's twice asmuch work as before and it's all
happening at the same time.As a pilot, therefore, you can havetwo types of working day, dependingon the flying you do. In Scheduled,there is relatively little to do beforedeparture as a lot is done byothers—for instance, ground staffcheck-in and weigh the passengerswhilst engineers look at the aircraft,although you still need a workingknowledge of what they do, becausethe buck stops at the bottom.A day flying charter, however, is adifferent story. You could beworking at almost any time,provided the Duty Hour limits arenot exceeded (again, see Chapter 7).Departures are inevitably very early,as businessmen need to be wherethey're going at approximately thestart of the working day and returnat the end of it, so some days can bevery long.As you're only allowed a certainnumber of hours on duty, there's acontinual race to minimise them,sometimes working like a one-armedpaper-hanger to keep up witheverything. The flight plan has to befiled, the weather checked (as well asthe performance and the aircraftitself), the passengers' coffee andsnacks must be prepared and theymust be properly briefed and lookedafter (that's just the start).Usually, the only thing that canusefully be done the day before is toplace the fuel on board, and eventhat can be difficult if the aircraft isaway somewhere else. The flightitself is busy, too. As it's single-pilot,you do the flying, navigation andliaison with ATC. By contrast, thetime at your destination is veryquiet—after you've escorted yourpassengers through security and seenthem safely on their way (theterminal's naturally miles away fromthe General Aviation park) you haveto walk back to tidy up, supervise therefuelling, do the paperwork andhave your own coffee (if there's any6 Operational Flyingleft) while preparing for the returnjourney.If you're in a place you haven't beento before, you could always see thesights, but airfields are usually wellaway from anything interesting, withvery few buses to get you there
anyway. After a while, all youremember will be the same shops, sothe general thing is to join the rest ofthe "airport ghosts", or other pilotsin the same boat as you, and find aquiet corner to read a book. Youmay as well go to the terminal,because you have to meet yourpassengers there, but constantannouncements could drive you outto the aircraft again.However, while you may be on timeto meet them, your passengers willvery rarely be on time to meet you.One trick that many pilots adopt isto hand them a slip of paper(keeping a copy!) stating when theymust be back, and giving a reason,which may be weather or duty hours.Then, if they’re not back in time,they have very little recourse if youeither decide to go home withoutthem or stay the night. In Charter,it's also a luxury to have more thanone day off in a row, and those youdo get are needed by law, or turn upby surprise where you don't fly ifbusiness is bad, even though you’vestill gone into the office (the normalroutine is – if you don't fly, you'renot on duty, but common sensedictates that, if you're in the officedoing something that is traceable,such as doing exams with a date onthem, you'd better put down thehours). Some companies don’t allowany leave at all during Summer,which is the height of the busyseason, and only a week at a stretchif you do get it.CorporateCorporate flying, where you run theFlight Department for a privatecompany, is similar to Charter, butout of the Commercial AirTransport sphere, so therequirements (and paperwork!) arenot so strict (in Canada, however,so-called Private Operators, for largeaeroplanes, are legislated for).Having said that, most FlightDepartments are run to CommercialAir Transport standards, or better,and there is, naturally, no excuse forletting your own standards slip. Onedistinguishing feature is the way theCorporate world regulates itself—high performance intercontinentalaircraft follow essentially the samerules as single-engined General
