飞行员操作飞行手册Pilot Operational Flying Manual

帅哥

be kept well away from prying eyes

who may pinch your business if they

see destinations and customer

names, so don't put them near

windows. Movements Boards should

be constantly updated as they're a

major reference point. What goes on

them is up to you—just use

whatever information you think will

be needed. The biggest Movement

Board of the lot is the map, which

will usually have a string-and-weight

arrangement with a Nav Ruler that

makes it easy to calculate

complicated distances.

Linked to Movement Boards is the

Diary. There will be a scruffy one

that's used daily, but there should

also be a backup filled in after the

day's work. In it should go all the

scheduled work, upcoming pilot and

aircraft checks (a week or so before

they're due). Some people use files in

which go Royal Flights, etc.

As mentioned before, there will be a

quotes file. It is suggested that this

be looseleaf, each page being filled in

at the time of each query. If a trip

looks like it's going to happen, then

that page should be put into a

pending file until confirmed, when

it's put into a Diary file.

The Diary file is simply 32 file

holders, not necessarily in one book,

representing each day of the month

plus one, and all prepared

documentation for a flight is placed

in the file for the relevant day. The

benefit of this system is that Royal

Flight information (and anything else

that's only valid for a day) can be put

in there as well, which makes it easy

to bring it to the attention of the

staff concerned.

You can see that communications

are beginning to be of vital

importance. A good

communications network is an

essential part of modern aviation.

Without knowing as quickly as

possible what's going on, it's very

difficult to plan ahead and foresee

problems that might arise. Many

methods are used, VHF radio, telex,

AFTN, fax and even HF Single Side

Band radio for those longer

distances, and you should encourage

your pilots to use it often, because it

helps with scheduling if you know

where they are, aside from allowing

quick responses to incidents.

304 Operational Flying

The most common, however, is the

telephone, and the correct use of it

saves many problems. The first

problem is that there is no record of

what's been said, so important

messages and decisions made on the

telephone must be followed up

immediately by telex or fax, since

these are commonly accepted in

business as a substitute for official

correspondence on Company

notepaper. When taking down a

message, always ensure you have the

correct information and names, so

you know who to blame later. The

telephone should be answered as

soon as possible, and before

answering, be sure you have a fair

chance of helping the caller. When

answered, they should not be left

帅哥

holding. If they have to be for any

reason, ensure that nothing can be

overheard that shouldn't be! A

definite reason linked to holding is

essential, and regular assurance that

the problem is being dealt with is

helpful as well.

Don't use jargon or be familiar with

people you do not know; refer again

to previous comments on being an

ambassador of the Company. Always

terminate a phone call leaving a

positive impression.

Corporate Flight Departments

Here you may well find yourself

actually in charge of a Flight

Department in the proper sense of

the word. A charter company in fact,

without the necessity of bothering

with charges, although if they are

offset between companies within the

same group (known as chargebacks),

they will normally be handled by

Accounts.

Chargebacks are one way of

allocating time between users in

large companies, paying for the

machine on paper, but if the rates

are too high, the end result is that

the departments who need it most

can't afford it and therefore can't use

it, which seems a bit pointless. A

side-effect is that it opens the door

to small charter operators who can

do the job cheaper, and then money

flows outside the Company instead

of staying in it. Another is that

Accounts have a chance to do a bit

of empire-building, as they are the

only ones who get any work out of

it, namely chasing money round in a

circle.

If you're employed as a full-time

pilot, your Company will probably

already have an aircraft, so it’s

unlikely that they will charter in

except for times when they've lent

their aircraft out. Leasing (self-drive)

is a good half-way house between

chartering and owning. The cut-off

point where owning an aircraft

makes more financial sense than

leasing is about 200 hours a year, so

the average flying rate for Corporate

aircraft is at least 200-300 hours per

year, but some get up to 600 or 700.

Your company may do things the

other way round and lease their

aircraft out to commercial operators.

This causes problems, especially

where allocating priorities are

concerned, and if this is done

extensively, Management will have

to get used to the idea of either

going without their aircraft or hiring

another. Sometimes trying for extra

money on the side defeats the object

of getting an aircraft in the first

place, but that's not your problem.

Setting Up A Company 305

Despite chargebacks, Company

policy may dictate that the costs of

operating the aircraft are not actually

charged against the Flight

Department (for instance, in one or

two companies they come under

Sales). Whoever looks after it,

Management will (naturally) want to

know where the money is going and

how much will be wanted next year

so they can budget properly. This

means getting involved in statistics

帅哥

because as a Company employee

you're being paid anyway and you

have nothing else to do, right?

If you do get lumbered with all that,

you may find it easiest to add some

columns to your Tech Log to fill in

as you go along. Who is flying is

often more important than just

noting how many, so possibly you

may like to account for Corporate,

Divisional or Production employees.

Don't forget marketing, freight and

sales. Some useful tools for making

Impressive Reports (especially in

comparison with other forms of

transport) include:

· Average speed. The number of

miles flown divided by the

number of hours airborne.

· Average fuel consumption. Fuel

burned divided by hours

airborne (chock to chock),

including ground runs, etc.

· Load factor. The total number of

passengers divided by the total

number of sectors, a sector in

this case being a nonstop flight

from A to B regardless of the

ultimate destination. Nonrevenue or non-productive

sectors (positioning, training, air

tests) if included will adversely

affect the load factor, but will

give a better picture of

operational efficiency.

· Ac Miles travelled. Total miles

travelled by the aircraft.

· Pax miles travelled. Aircraft miles

travelled multiplied by the Load

factor (if you're wondering why

these need to be calculated, it

gives a quick indication of

productivity).

· Cost per hour. Total cost divided

by number of hours flown.

· Cost per aircraft-mile. Total cost

divided by the number of miles

flown.

· Cost per passenger-mile. Total cost

divided by passenger miles

(obtained by dividing aircraft

miles by the load factor).

Being A Chief Pilot

First of all, you should not be on the

Duty Roster. The job requires so

much management that you become

ineffective on both sides if you try

and do too much—there's simply

not enough time (you can see the

responsibilities in Chapter 1). Any

flying you do should be strictly to

keep current and step in when

there's a shortage.

As mentioned before, you will be the

main point of reference for

officialdom, because you dictate the

flying policy of the Company.

Another plus point is that you get to

argue with Management when they

want to put commercial pressure on.

Very often you will find yourself in a

position where you're made to seem

very unreasonable:

"Oh, go on, it's just a little snag.

You've got another one and if you

306 Operational Flying

don't use this aeroplane I've got to get

one all the way from up North. So

what if none of the gauges work?"

or (and this is a true one):

"It's only a small crack in the fuel

帅哥

tank, and it's at the top, so if you

don't fill it all the way up, it won't

leak out."

are common conversations between

a Managing Director and a Chief

Pilot. Come to think of it, it's more

common between MD and pilot so

the Chief Pilot doesn't know

anything about it. If a pilot comes to

you with a problem like that, you

must back him to the hilt, even if

you think he's wrong. You can

always sort that out in the pub later.

All this involves your personal

integrity and credibility—referring to

previous comments about money

management, very often if you need

to lease a plane, the lessor will take

your word for it (as holding a

position of responsibility) that they

will get paid. In fact, less-thanhonest Management have been

known to hide behind the reputation

of members of their staff, with the

resulting loss of several peoples'

good names when the money wasn't

forthcoming. You are warned!

Being a Boss

Money is not a motivator. If people

are unhappy, they will be just the

same very soon after a pay rise –

watch what happens to your

engineers if you don’t give them

enough spare parts. You will find

that, left to themselves, most people

do the job well enough without

supervision, and want to do well at

what they do. You will get the best

out of your staff if their goals align

with those of your Company, and

that happens when you give them

the ability to make decisions, or

assume responsibilities. Any

problems are 99% down to bad

leadership. Remember that you’re

not as concerned with what people

get up to when you’re there, but with

what they do when you’re not there!

In short, if you want your staff to

look after you, you have to look after

them

Training and Testing

Your training doesn't stop once

you've passed all those exams. It will

be there for the rest of your career, if

only to maintain your licences. Of

course, there may be some to

increase your qualifications in the

offing, but that is outside the scope

of this book. If your Company is like

any other, they will try to recruit

already qualified crews—they're

cheaper, but once in a while they

may have to take on somebody who

needs a top-up as far as licences are

concerned. If so, they will have to

submit proper training syllabuses

and include them in the Ops Manual

if they do it regularly. If they don't

intend to do type conversions, they

should say so.

Actually, the trend now is to have a

separate Training Manual, one for

each fleet, in fact, but the whole

thing could end up in the Ops

Manual if it’s small enough. It’s for

people concerned with training,

including sub-contractors, or even

those from manufacturers

converting you on to a new type, but

it doesn’t need to be carried on

board. If you have to write one, it

will need the same official stuff as

帅哥

the Ops Manual, that is,

amendments, training organisation,

duties, responsibilities, etc.

Licensing

As you know, an aircraft cannot fly

unless it carries a properly licensed

and type-rated flight crew of the

numbers and descriptions required

by law. Licensing and training

requirements (in UK, anyway) are

covered by the ANO. CAP 54 gives

a detailed look at what's required for

the grant of a Professional Pilot's

licence, but a brief summary is given

shortly. In Canada, look at the Pilot's

Licensing Handbook.

Most people who start flying as a

career do so for other reasons than

money; they see themselves as being

permanently engaged on their

favourite hobby and being paid for

the privilege. Professional flying is a

bit different, though.

You must realise from the start that

you need a professional attitude

towards your financial rewards as

well as your flying. In many cases

(except when there's a shortage), you

could probably get just as much

308 Operational Flying

satisfaction and much more money

in your pocket day from working in

another field and flying for fun.

Think about it this way; to gain a

CPL/IR for an aeroplane at current

rates on a full-time approved

residential course costs over

£100,000 ($150,000)—of your money

(or at least somebody else's that you

have to pay back in some way),

assuming you do it in the minimum

time. That gives you a licence that

makes you employable only by an

Air Taxi Company without having

extensive continuation training that

may consist of anything up to 35

hours, depending on how good you

are. An airline will require you to do

a Jet Orientation Course (JetOC) on

top of your CPL, which just about

takes you on-line as a co-pilot once

you’ve done Line-Oriented Flight

Training (LOFT) as well. Even in a

simulator where you don't actually

have to fly the aeroplane to get your

type rating, that will cost at least

£20,000 more.

It’s not that much different for

helicopters—in Europe, where it’s

over 3 times more expensive and

you need more hours to get your

licence (700 under JARs, for the

moment, anyway), anyone who can

afford their own training would, in

terms of pure financial reward, have

to think twice before working as a

pilot, because that sort of money can

be considerably more productive

elsewhere. Mind you, it’s ultimately

not that different in North America.

Even though you only need 100 or

150 hours to get your ticket, you are

still unemployable, unless your

family owns the company (and even

then the insurance companies would

have something to say), so you either

have to do a couple of years as a

hangar rat, that is, washing

windscreens until your company sees

what you’re like and trains you up, or

buy the hours yourself. To be even

remotely interesting to an employer,

帅哥

you need at least 1000 hours on top

of your CPL, or some sort of

specialised training, such as a

mountain course (preferably both)

and maybe an instrument rating,

depending on the job.

When you budget for your training,

don’t just count in the cost of your

course, but the time afterwards

going around companies to get

hired; just sending resumes is no

good at all (this could take up to

four years). Note that you may well

need more than the minimum hours

required – certainly, as far as the

PPL is concerned, the average time

taken to pass is 67.7 hours, against a

minimum of about 40.

To all that must be added the year's

salary you don't earn while you're

training, which means that you have

to ensure a high enough salary that

will give enough return to pay back

this "loan" of, say, £65,000

(assuming you would earn £10,000

as an 18-year old). That's as big as a

mortgage, so you would need the

cash flow to be able to pay yourself

back around £750 per month for 25

years—and that's before you start

eating! (Mind you, it could be taxdeductible).

But why be negative? Flying is the

sort of profession where economics

tend to take a back seat, and it’s not

always money that motivates people,

so you will need to know that there

are generally two grades of licence

that entitle you to earn money as a

pilot, the Commercial Pilot's Licence

Training & Testing 309

(CPL) and the Airline Transport Pilot's

Licence (ATPL).

For what people would normally

think of as Commercial Air

Transport purposes (that is, where

passengers or cargo are carried for

money), the CPL covers you for

command of aircraft up to 5700 kg

in weight and the rank of First

Officer for anything else (though I

don't think you'll find too many CPL

holders in the front end of a 747).

You can't have a CPL until a certain

age, but you can take the exams

beforehand—some of them up to

twelve months in advance.

Neither can you have an ATPL until

you are much older and get a lot

more hours under your belt and pass

some more exams; though not

necessarily in that order. The ATPL

covers you for command on

anything, subject to type rating.

Although the ATPL includes an

Instrument Rating as part of its

structure, the CPL may be issued

without one, which makes it a useful

first step, but you're generally

unemployable without an IR. If you

have an ATPL, but allow any of the

requirements that makes it valid

lapse (such as a 6 monthly medical

or an IR), then it reverts to a CPL.

The Chief Pilot will have discretion

to use pilots with all sorts of

variations, provided a suitable

training program is established.

If you join, say, an Air Taxi

Company already type rated and

with about 250 hours charter

experience, your training will be as

little as possible and take the format

帅哥

of the Base, or Proficiency Check. It

will (or should) include a technical

exam relating to the aircraft type. As

a result, you could find yourself just

completing the following in order to

get on-line:

· Emergency and Lifesaving

Equipment Check

· Base or Proficiency Check

· Area Competency Check

· Recent experience

· Line Check

You need the Emergency one first,

or at least the paperwork needs to be

dated that way. If you require type

rating as well, you will also need a

Type Technical Examination and

1179 Check (a proper training

syllabus will have to be laid down for

this, and will consist of a number of

hours of ground and air training,

typically 25 and 5 respectively),

together with a minimum of 2

observed sectors (or 2-3 hours,

whichever is the greater) before a

final Line Check (in Canada, Line

Checks only seem to be relevant at

the airline level). If your Company

expects to train and convert pilots

regularly, they will need to include

the training syllabus as part of the

Ops Manual. If it's a one-off

occasion, a Flying Staff Instruction

should cover it.

Unless the aircraft you are

converting to is very similar to one

you already have on your licence,

you will probably also have to renew

your Instrument Rating on type

(definitely on a helicopter). If you're

unlucky and not only require type

rating but also have less than 250

hours charter experience, you may

find yourself doing an initial Line

Check with at least six observed

sectors (which must consist of a

310 Operational Flying

minimum total of about ten hours)

before your final Line Check.

The observed sectors are not part of

basic training, but are to allow you to

settle down and to help check on the

training procedures. All of the above

is variable, however, and will change

between companies.

Training in General

Unfortunately, companies don't

share information readily, either for

commercial reasons or lack of time,

and so-called self-starters, who pay

for their own training, may cause

problems (no disrespect). The thing

is, their training can be of varied

quality, and until JAA is fully

running you can pass the relevant

exams with the absolute minimum

of training, particularly with

relevance to company procedures

for commercial operations.

As I said before, a typical pilot's

qualifications necessarily revolve

around piston-engined aircraft,

whereas airlines fly jets, and the

disparity can be a continual headache

for training departments. When you

join a company, you must be taught

about high altitude, swept wing,

electronic aircraft and control

management, amongst a multitude

of other subjects, including multicrew co-operation and CRM. This

has to be paid for by somebody.

帅哥

If the expertise isn't already in the

company to deal with this, it will

have to be imported, and no

accountant likes Company money

going outside. When the opportunity

allows, the Chief Pilot or Training

Captain may carry out check flights

to ensure the highest possible

standards are maintained, the

intention being to maintain a 100%

safety factor within the Company

and keep the Company's Quality

Control procedures going. This

ultimately can only be achieved by

adherence to all rules and mandatory

regulations, common sense and the

cooperation of all concerned.

Every company must have a

Training Policy, codified in a

Manual. It's meant to be a separate

volume, but can be included in the

Ops Manual if there's room, and one

copy may need to be lodged with the

authorities for reference purposes.

Training flights should take place at

licensed aerodromes, and weather

minima should not be less than that

required for Commercial Air

Transport, although you are allowed

to make one or two more instrument

approaches in one session than you

would normally be allowed to. No

training, checking or emergencies

should be undertaken on revenue

flights except final or routine Line

Checks—in other words, training is

done on non-revenue trips.

As soon as all items of any check

have been completed, the person

conducting the test signs all

applicable licences, amends the

training records and informs

Operations of the results so they can

amend their own records and

boards. In addition, someone of

higher authority (the Managing

Director or Chief Pilot) must sign

check forms on behalf of the

Company before they become valid;

for obvious reasons, the Chief Pilot

shouldn't sign his own. If you fail a

test, the circumstances are reported

and arrangements are made for

repeating it. A certain amount of

training may be done after

Training & Testing 311

consultation with a suitably

appointed Training Captain, who

will make the necessary

recommendations. It will be usual

for any Examiner to be a fully

qualified Commander so passengers

can be taken home legally should a

test be failed anywhere en route.

Basic flying training is carried out by

a qualified Instructor, as is initial

training for Instrument Ratings or

first twins. Other training may be

carried out by any appointed

Training Captain, who ought to be a

TRE as well. Specialised training for

specific tasks (such as sling work,

etc.) should be given by a Training

Captain experienced in the particular

type of work.

When you get selected for

commercial air transport duties, a

training folder will be opened on

your behalf, in which will be a

personal sheet with details of your

licence, qualifications, previous

experience, the usual stuff, plus all

帅哥

the training forms that get filled in as

you go along. The Training Captain

gets to look at it before he gets his

hands on you, and adds to its

contents in the shape of reports, etc.

Initial Training

As a minimum, this should include:

· Fire and smoke training

· Emergency and Survival (water

or otherwise)

· Ground Training (handling,

elementary servicing,

contamination, etc)

· Medical/First Aid

· Passenger Handling

· Communication

· Discipline and Responsibilities

(i.e. company indoctrination)

· Crew Resource Management

(including Pilot Decision-

Making)

· Specialised tasks (slinging, water

bucketing, low visibility, etc)

· Dangerous Goods

Conversion Training

Try this lot for size:

· Normal procedures

· Fire and smoke training

· Operation of doors and exits

· Evacuation slide training

· Evacuation and emergency

procedures

· Crowd control

· Pilot incapacitation

· Safety equipment

· Passenger briefing/safety

demonstrations

Recurrent Training

Each year, you should have sessions

on:

· Emergency procedures, including

pilot incapacitation

· Evacuation procedures, including

crowd control

· Touch drills for opening normal

and emergency exits

312 Operational Flying

Checks Required

There are two things to note about

checks; firstly, there is an increasing

bias towards a written element, and

secondly, if you take a renewal and

fail it before your previous check

expires, the first one expires as well!

As far as keeping your licences

current is concerned, you will find

yourself subject to the following

checks in addition to those needed

for normal licence upkeep, which

you should already know about:

Emergency and Lifesaving

Equipment Check

This is the one you do before

everything else, and there are two

versions; one done every year and

another every three. The annual one

is valid for 12 months, plus the

remainder of the month of issue, but

if you take it in the final 3 months,

you can extend to 12 months from

the previous expiry date. Similar

conditions apply to the triennial.

It requires knowledge of the use and

location of all emergency equipment,

and must contain a written element.

Usually, for small aircraft, a simple

plan with boxes to put the location

of any emergency equipment in will

帅哥

do, but increasingly two pages of

multi-choice questions are in order.

Emergency training is usually

organised by the Flight Safety

Officer and should cover a range of

subjects from First Aid (appropriate

to the aircraft) to fire and smoke

drills and water survival training.

Practical experience is necessary, so

expect to cover the actual donning

of a lifejacket and protective

breathing equipment, actual handling

of fire extinguishers, instruction on

the location and use of all emergency

and safety equipment and exits and

security procedures.

Every three years you can expect the

actual operation of all types of exits,

actual fire-fighting with aircraft

equipment, experience the effects of

smoke in an enclosed area, with

actual use of all relevant equipment

in a simulated smoke-filled

environment, handling of

pyrotechnics, real or simulated, and

demonstration in the use of the liferafts, where fitted.

If you can provide documentary

evidence of all the above having

been done at a previous company,

you might get away with it.

Type Rating Test/Renewal Check

The Type Rating Test must be

passed after your conversion and

before it goes on your licence. The

Renewal Check is needed every 6

months by the ANO, where it's

referred to as a Certificate of Test (but

only for licensing) in order to

maintain currency. As a Schedule 11

check, it must be carried out by an

authorised Type Rating Examiner

(Schedule 11, sponsored by a

company—see later this Chapter).

Some countries combine this with

the Base, or Operator Proficiency

Check (below) and call it a PPC, or

Pilot Proficiency Certificate.

Operator Proficiency Check

Otherwise known as the Base Check,

or a PPC in Canada, this is a look at

your ability to carry out emergency

manoeuvres at your normal flight

station. It's valid for 6 months, plus

the remainder of the month of issue.

There is some talk, in Canada, at

least, of replacing it with recurrent

Training & Testing 313

training. It's needed on each aircraft

flown and, although the statutory

requirement is to assure your

continued competence, it's also used

for training, as it’s a good time for

practising drills and procedures that

rarely arise in normal operations. It

also includes an element of CRM, as

do many others.

Some items in a Base Check will be

covered by touch drills (which are

normally best attended to on the

ground), as well as a general

discussion of operating procedures,

emergencies, recognition and

diagnosis of aircraft system faults,

pre-flight briefing, etc. Additional

precautions may be considered if

you operate in extreme weather

conditions. The complete list should

be covered over two checks.

Occasionally, if two aircraft are very

similar, OPCs may be carried out

alternately on each type. On multiengined aircraft they will also be

expected to be carried out alternately