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

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Information Publications (such as

NOTAMs, Air Pilot, AICs, Royal

Flights, the Landing Site Register,

etc.), and arrange exemptions and

clearances for particular tasks.

Note: Although Ops are supposed

to ensure the validity of all licences,

medicals, periodical checks and

training, you still have to keep your

own up to date.

The Ops Manager also ensures that

Company accident and incident

procedures are followed, processes

amendments of the Operations

Manual, assesses landing sites,

categorises airfields, calculates

specific weather minima, obtains met

forecasts for planned routes and

destinations, and arranges overnight

accommodation for night stops,

amongst other things. Most

important is the arrangement of an

accurate and up to date flight watch

of all company aircraft movements

and a standby telephone coverage

outside normal working hours. This

is not legally required under some

circumstances, such as Day VFR in

Canada, but is still Good Practice.

A company that actually gets the

Ops Manager to do all that is setting

quite a high standard (naturally, the

above duties may be delegated).

Unfortunately, what happens is that

whoever owns the Company has a

nephew, niece, girlfriend or

whatever, who ends up doing the job

instead. In that case, the best thing

you can do is either leave the

company, or this book around! In

Canada, Ops Managers must hold,

or have held, a pilot’s licence for one

of the types flown, or have

appropriate experience, and rightly

so. While on the subject, the biggest

thing you need out of Ops is

information, so try and make sure

they get it from the customer, or you

will continually find yourself having

to fix other peoples’ problems

illegally, as when you turn up for a

sling job expecting a 200 lb load and

find it’s actually nearer 600, which

means pressure on you to go

overweight to get the job done.

The Operations Manual 17

Quality Assurance Manager

The Quality Assurance Manager

(who may well be the Chief Pilot in

disguise) ensures that the company's

quality system is established and

implemented, in this respect

assuming the role of “management

representative”, or a focal point for

staff to refer to. Duties include the

issue and withdrawal of all Quality

System documents and forms, and

maintaining a list of them, together

with the aforementioned regular

checks of documentation, etc.

Routine flights should also be

accompanied occasionally to confirm

that normal procedures are being

followed, but this will likely take the

shape of a Training Captain doing a

Line Check. A typical job is to

ensure that new pilots joining the

company have their paperwork done

correctly. More about Quality in

Chapter 3.

The Company Pilot

In small companies, it will be policy

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to operate on a single crew basis as

far as possible (less wages to pay),

with the designated Commander

occupying the Captain's seat as per

the Flight Manual. It's therefore

important to maintain your own

standards, because you'll be on your

own a lot.

You may think it a little over the top

to see somebody with large amounts

of gold braid emerging from a small

aircraft and be wondering on what

occasions you can call yourself

“Captain”. As far as I can make out,

it used to be a convention that if you

had either 5000 hours, an ATPL of

some description or a Training (IRE)

qualification, you were entitled to do

so. The trouble was that as smaller

airlines became popular, they didn't

have people so qualified and

passengers were wary of flying with

pilots who didn't have the shiny stuff

on their sleeves. Thus, the various

rank gradings have become blurred

and you're a commander (small c) if

you're in charge of any aircraft, in

the same way that people in charge

of smaller seagoing vessels are Ship's

Masters, as opposed to Captains.

You may also be wondering why the

commander has to be designated –

this is so the Subsequent Board of

Inquiry can pin the blame on the

right person. In the USA, for

example, under certain

circumstances, four people can claim

PIC time, including those in the

passenger seats! This would naturally

include whoever is doing the poling,

but if someone in another seat has

better qualifications, or is the owner

or operator, that would qualify, too,

especially in court (so watch it).

Certainly, in the military, the Captain

has never been necessarily the first

pilot (it could easily be a senior

officer in a passenger seat), since the

Captain is responsible for the final

disposition of the aircraft (which,

when you think about it, could also

include a purser). So, there is a

difference between acting as PIC

and logging PIC time, and it should

be spelt out clearly to save legal (and

CRM) trouble later - having two

Captains on board, with neither sure

of who's in charge can be a real

problem. Either they will be scoring

points off each other, or be too

gentlemanly, allowing an accident to

happen while each says "after you".

How do you sort out the mess if you

have someone in the left seat who is

a First Officer pretending to be a

Captain, and someone in the other

18 Operational Flying

seat who is a Captain pretending to

be a First Officer?

Anyhow, as an Aircraft Commander,

you are first and foremost subject to

any Air Navigation Orders or

Aviation Regulations that may be in

force. Inside the Company, you are

responsible to just about everybody

else (but especially the Fleet/Base

Manager or Chief Pilot) for ensuring

that aircraft are flown with prime

consideration for the safety of

passengers and persons on the

ground; not negligently or wilfully

causing an aircraft to endanger

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persons or property while ensuring it

is operated in accordance with

performance requirements, Flight

Manuals, checklists, State authority

regulations, the Operations Manual,

Air Traffic Regulations, The Air

Pilot, Aeronautical Information

Circulars and NOTAMs.

Seems a bit much, doesn't it? Hang

on.......

It's also up to you to keep your

licences and personal flying

logbooks up to date, and to ensure

you are medically fit for your duties

(a Board of Inquiry or insurance

company may interpret the words

“medically fit” a little differently

than you think if you fly with a cold

or under the influence of alcohol).

You must keep customers and the

Company informed of any accidents,

incidents and alterations caused by

bad weather or other reasons. In

remote areas, this will include a

position report every hour or so.

Yours is the final responsibility for

supervising the loading, checking

and refuelling of your aircraft and

making sure that all passengers are

briefed on Emergency Exits and the

use of safety equipment (see later),

although you also have the right to

exclude certain persons, such as

drunks, etc.

You must check that the aircraft is

serviceable with a current Certificate of

Release to Service (or equivalent) and

with previously reported defects

noted in the Technical or Journey

Log as being rectified or transferred

to the Deferred Defects lists by a

person so qualified. Any defects

must be allowed for in the Minimum

Equipment List (MEL) or CDL.

You must ensure that no weight

limitation is exceeded, that the C of

G will remain inside the envelope at

all times, and that performance is

sufficient to complete the flight, as

well as leaving a duplicate copy of

the Loadsheet and Technical Log (or

Operational Flight Plan, in Canada)

with a responsible person before

each flight, and ensuring that all

documents are correctly completed

and returned to Ops at the end (all

documentation must remain valid

throughout the flight). Of course,

nobody ever does this, but you are

supposed to.

You should not permit any crew

member to perform activities during

take-off, initial climb, final approach

and landing that are not required for

safe operation, and take all

reasonable steps to ensure that,

before take-off and landing, the

flight and cabin crew are properly

secured in their allocated seats (cabin

crew should be secured in their seats

during taxi, except for essential

safety related duties).

Whenever the aircraft is taxying,

taking off or landing, or whenever

you consider it advisable (like in

The Operations Manual 19

turbulent conditions), you should

ensure that all passengers are

properly secured in their seats, and

cabin baggage is stowed.

In an emergency situation (that is,

requiring immediate decision and

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action), you should take any action

considered necessary under the

circumstances, which means you can

break all the rules in the interest of

safety. You can apply greater

margins to minima at any time.

You should ensure that a continuous

listening watch is maintained on

appropriate radio frequencies at

appropriate times, which, officially,

is whenever the flight crew is

manning the aircraft for the purpose

of commencing and/or conducting a

flight, and when taxying.

You should not permit a Flight Data

Recorder or Cockpit Voice Recorder

to be disabled, switched off or

erased, especially after an incident or

accident, unless you need to preserve

what's on the CVR (because it erases

automatically as power is reapplied).

Although it's part of Ops' job to get

a met forecast, it's actually your

responsibility, so you may as well do

it yourself.

Your behaviour and representation

of the Company in front of actual

and potential clients must be

exemplary.

Finally, here’s a little gem, from

about 1919, which comes from

Recollections of an Airman, by Lt Col L

A Strange. Nothing changes!

"…As a pilot of a machine, you are

responsible for that machine all the

time, and it is always your fault if

you crash it in a forced landing

occasioned by any failure, structural

or otherwise, of the machine or its

engine. It is your fault if, in thick

weather, you hit the top of any hill

that has its correct height shown on

your map.

It is entirely your fault if you run out

(of petrol) when coming home against

a headwind after four or five hours (of

flying), or if you fail to come down on

the right spot after a couple (of) hours

cloud flying.

It is your fault if you have nowhere to

make a landing when the engine fails

just after you have taken off; in the

event of a forced landing, your

machine is a glider that should take

you down safely on any possible

landing place.

It is your fault – well, it is a golden

rule to assume that whatever goes

wrong is your fault. You may save

yourself a lot of trouble if you act

accordingly."

The First Officer

For legal, safety, weather or duty

reasons, a second pilot may occupy

the other seat, performing the duties

described here. Although two-crew

operations are meant to be based on

teamwork, sometimes the flight will

actually be operated on a single crew

basis, despite the first officer's

presence (meaning the Captain does

all the flying). Whether this happens

or not depends on Company policy,

and you may actually find the

equivalent of a Pilot's Assistant in

the other seat (see next page).

Much of any pilot's job consists of

cross-checking and monitoring,

which is even more important when

two-crew in a complex aircraft. To

minimise errors, set procedures are

20 Operational Flying

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used for multiple crews, for which

see Chapter 8. In fact, every

Commander has a management role,

which includes training, and allowing

P2s to gain experience whilst

retaining the ability to recover from

any situation.

First Officers must know of the

duties and responsibilities of the

commander in case of incapacitation,

so they will more than likely find

themselves preparing and

maintaining the navigation and fuel

logs in flight, because they should be

fully aware of the intended route,

weather, etc. that may affect it.

Constant briefings from the

Commander are essential, as the FO

naturally must know the game plan if

there is going to be a takeover at any

stage. This even extends to the

routes to be flown, minimum safety

altitudes, overshoot action, etc. All

this "interaction" is part of Crew

Resource Management, of which more

later. In addition, First Officers carry

out checks (the Commander reads

them, or vice versa), make radio calls,

cross-check altimeters and other

instruments and monitor each flight

continuously.

They're supposed to advise you (as

Commander) of any apparently

serious deviations from the correct

flight path, such as specific warning

if, on an instrument approach, the

rate of descent exceeds 1000 feet per

minute or the ILS indicator exceeds

half-scale deflection, or of any

instrument indicating abnormal

functioning, which is difficult with a

lot of head-down work of their own

to do. In addition, they carry out

secondary checks on engine power

after the throttles have been set.

If, for any reason, you become

incapacitated, they should be

prepared to assume command,

further described in Chapter 8.

They also supervise the loading and

refuelling of the aircraft and prepare

the loadsheets for the Commander's

signature before each flight, if it's

not already done by a handling

agent. When it's raining, they do the

preflight check.

First Officers are also supposed to

“support the commander” during

interactions with the remainder of

the crew, including helping him out

of the bar. See also Chapters 4 and 8.

The Pilot's Assistant

In aeroplanes, particularly when

pilots are in short supply, some

companies may use an extra crew

member to ease your workload,

mainly completing paperwork as you

go along, who won’t be a pilot, but

be called a "safety pilot", to confuse

things. Naturally, what they're

allowed to get up to depends on

their experience, but, unless in dire

emergency, if they do not hold an

appropriate Professional Licence

(with all relevant checks), they are

not allowed any part in the physical

controlling of any aircraft flying for

Commercial Air Transport.

In the light of this, their duties

should be clearly spelt out in the

Ops Manual, possibly more than

anybody else's. For example, those

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with an R/T licence may carry out

radio calls at certain less critical

points, under your supervision.

Other duties may include preparing

flight plans, looking after refuelling,

keeping logs, reading check lists,

tuning and identifying radio aids,

briefing passengers, checking doors

The Operations Manual 21

and seat belts, etc. They will only be

used if you have a serviceable

autopilot, and certain minimum

qualifications, such as 1000 hours

total flying, which must include 400

hours P1. If not, you will need a fully

qualified First Officer.

Minimum qualifications will be

something like a PPL with valid IMC

rating and a Flight Radiotelephony

Operator's Licence.

Cabin Attendants

These are needed when you have

more than a certain number of

passengers (see somewhere in

Chapter 6).

Hash-slingers are responsible to the

Purser, or No 1, who is responsible

in turn to the Commander for

ensuring that catering is ordered for

flights to which they are allocated,

and that such stores are correctly

used in proper cabin service to the

passengers.

It's their job to make sure that all

passengers are briefed before takeoff on the items in the Passenger

Briefing Card (or video), which

includes being properly seated with

safety belts fastened for take-off and

landing or any other times in flight

as and when instructed. They must

also ensure that doors and

emergency exits are kept clear of

obstructions during take-off and

landing, and that loose articles are in

overhead lockers or underneath a

seat, if applicable.

Of course, they serve meals and

refreshments as well, but don't

underestimate their qualifications—a

proper training course is quite

rigorous. The old RAF joke about a

coffee machine being a flight

simulator for a Loadmaster is not

appreciated!

In UK, there isn't a Cabin Crew

Licence as such; any certificates are

granted internally by the company.

Others

There may well be other staff

around, such as Flight Despatcher,

Flight Follower, Ramp Officer,

Senior Steward(ess), etc. who are not

catered for here, but it shouldn't be

hard to deduce what they get up to,

given the above examples. There

isn't a specific qualification for Flight

Despatchers in UK, either, but,

sometimes, they get a whole week’s

training.

However, let’s not forget:

Customers

These are the most important people

in any company, for obvious

reasons. However, different parts of

the industry allow them a greater or

lesser degree of freedom in dictating

how the job is done (we’re talking

about air taxi or aerial work here),

which will range from specifying the

number of hours pilots will have

(fair enough) to insisting that they

shouldn’t wear a seat belt or that you

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pull torque over the limits to get the

job done (unacceptable). Please do

not get me wrong – most customers

are entirely reasonable and rely

totally on your judgement as a

professional, but there are some with

enough knowledge to be dangerous,

who have no respect for your

position and are the ones who need

the most tactful handling. It’s easy to

say that you don’t need that type of

customer anyway, but money is

money, so what works (for me,

anyway) in those situations is just to

22 Operational Flying

say you don’t feel comfortable doing

whatever they ask, and suggest an

alternative (most important). Don’t

explain why, it just confuses the

issue and gives them something else

to hang you with when they

complain to head office later. They

won’t get the story right anyway, so

don’t make it worse.

Admin

Otherwise known as Operational

Control and Supervision in the Ops

Manual, this section would deal

generally with Company matters of a

non-flying nature.

Supervision of Company

Operations

Somebody has to decide how many

people are needed to operate your

aircraft. For a small outfit, one

manager may supervise more than

one department, and whoever it is

will be lumbered here.

Additional Instructions and

Information

As mentioned before, instructions

and information not already in the

Ops Manual are made the subject of

Flying Staff Instructions, with copies

distributed to all departments on a

‘need to know’ basis. For nonoperational matters, watch out for

Administrative Notices.

Accident Prevention and

Flight Safety Program

Flight safety awareness will be

fostered by circulating accident

reports, incident bulletins, General

Aviation Safety Information Leaflets

(GASILs) and flight safety

magazines. Incidents and accidents

involving aircraft types or equipment

operated by the company should be

highlighted, and the Flight Safety

Officer (FSO) should bring to the

attention of the appropriate

manager(s) anything that may

involve revising procedures.

The FSO’s responsibilities are

described in Chapter 1.

Operational Control

The procedures for this are normally

overseen by the Ops Manager.

Public Relations and Press

Enquiries

As mentioned in the Introduction,

how a Company is perceived by its

customers depends on its image,

which in turn depends on its

employees. How you conduct

yourself with respect to potential

clients (including on the telephone)

helps too. Very often, whether a

Company gets work or not isn't

based on price or service, but on its

24 Operational Flying

image. Advertising, for instance, is

not geared to making you buy a

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particular product directly, but by

enhancing your view of it. So it is

with your Company, and you are one

of its least expensive and most

important ways of advertising—it's

not a good idea to be seen too often

in the local bar in uniform, at least,

not an identifiable one.

Formal statements should not be

made to the Press or other sections

of the media without Management

instructions.

Expenses

Aviation is an expensive business,

even for those who ordinarily

wouldn't be expected to invest in it;

the effects filter down quite

markedly. It's common practice for

pilots to pay landing fees and

suchlike as the trip progresses (some

airfields won't let you go until fees

are paid, and sometimes the Mafia

will have their hand out), and the

subsequent shock to your bank

account may be severe unless you've

been given a float which is topped

up weekly. Expect a sizeable one and

try and get it repaid as often as

possible—there's no reason why you

should subsidise the Company (you

may be lucky and get a Company

cheque book or credit card).

The taxman also allows Companies

to pay a tax-free subsistence

allowance per duty hour, but some

may pay meal allowances instead.

These are for missed meals and the

fact that you wouldn't necessarily

choose to eat at such expensive

places as airport cafeterias, which

unfortunately are usually the only

places available when things are

busy. Also, you will find your life

insurance gets loaded, and this will

help to offset the cost.

Sometimes there may be an

allowance negotiated by your union,

but you may find it's for airline pilots

only.

Quality System

Life these days is very complex, and

operating aircraft is no exception.

Indeed, the rate of change is such

that legislators can hardly keep up

with avionics, and Inspectors are

even further behind, so the onus is

on companies to self-regulate, which

is where the Quality System comes

in. Anything affecting goods or

services delivered to customers is

subject to it, based on ISO 9000 (or

9002, the latest version), which is

supposed to ensure that the

Company product is of the "required

quality" or, in officialese, is “assured

as conforming to specified

requirements and is supplied in

accordance with the Company's

quality policy and procedures”.

ISO 9000 is an internationally

recognised standard for quality

systems, previously known as BS

5750 in the UK, where “quality” is

defined as satisfying the customer's

needs—as far as ISO is concerned, a

product or service is of the required

quality if it performs the function it

was designed for. Well, a cheap

watch performs a function, but I

think Rolex would have something

to say about it being “quality”! The

truth of the matter is that the system

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was designed for manufacturing, to

produce low return rates, which

doesn’t always translate well to

service industries.

The International Standards Organisation

is Geneva-based, and 9000 has been

around since 1987. It is a generic

management system standard which

doesn't have much to do with the

end product, except for ensuring its

production under sound

management procedures, leading to

efficiency and consistency, and,

ultimately, cost reductions. Side

benefits are improved employee

motivation, customer relations and

better perception of the Company

image. Yeah, right.

You need some sort of internal

auditing system, in which all

company functions are continuously

monitored. Certification, by the way,

is not actually done by ISO, but by

consultants appointed by it.

Documented working procedures

are officially a Good Thing for

controlling the business (like

checking your suppliers are up to

scratch) and ensuring that everyone

26 Operational Flying

knows what their job is, which, in

the case of Aviation, is mostly in the

Ops Manual anyway, so all this is

arguably a duplication of effort, aside

from Accounts and Admin.

For now, you can safely skip this

chapter, because it’s mostly boring,

but is here in case you want to use it

in yourself one day and are

wondering where to get the text

from. To save time for now, this

whole chapter is condensed in the

next paragraph:

Translation: All staff must help to

streamline Company procedures,

which will be investigated and

corrected at an appropriate level, as

well as being audited regularly. The

Quality Assurance Manager will

monitor and record the details and

present them in management

reviews at least twice a year.

Quality Policy Statement

This is a statement from senior

management demonstrating

commitment to the process,

unfortunately, in the case of some

companies, being extremely

pompous (check out a very senior

UK airline). It’s supposed to let

customers know that the Company

knows what their needs are. Look

for something on the Company

noticeboard called a Mission Statement.

Then ignore it.

All staff should strive to maintain

the highest standard of service to

customers and adhere to, maintain

and improve the quality system.

Effective corrective and preventative

action to eliminate nonconformances shall be an essential

part of it, and all personnel shall be

made aware of the need to identify

and rectify deficiencies. Any

deficiency noted or brought to the

attention of the Company shall be

investigated at a level commensurate

to the seriousness of the problem,

and effective corrective action shall

be taken. Procedures shall be

established to provide for the

control, monitoring and analysis of

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corrective and preventative actions

employed by the Company.

Corrective and preventative actions

in response to Company deficiencies

shall be analysed by the Quality

Assurance Manager, who shall be

responsible for ensuring the

recording and analysis of nonconformances, including customer

complaints, and identifying specific

areas that may require action to

prevent and eliminate the causes.

A review of corrective and

preventative actions for effectiveness

shall be included in Management

review procedures.

Management Reviews

A program of reviews will be

implemented by the Quality

Assurance Manager to ensure

compliance with all aspects of the

quality system, and to ensure its

continuing suitability and

effectiveness in satisfying the

requirements of ‘the standard’,

together with the company's stated

quality policy and objectives.

Recorded follow-up action is taken

as necessary to verify that

deficiencies are corrected and to

ensure that repetitions are avoided.

At least twice a year management

shall hold a review of the quality

system and shall complete a report

with actions required, time scales

and responsibilities for

implementation.

Quality System 27

Information regarding the

effectiveness of the quality system

shall be obtained from the records

of internal quality audits, nonconformance reports and

customer/supplier complaints

together with reports from members

of the company's staff, which shall

be regularly sought by management.

Documentation

All documents must be issued,

amended, revised and controlled in

accordance with procedures

monitored by the Quality Assurance

Manager. Prior to issue, documents

will be reviewed and approved for

adequacy and fitness for purpose by

the Quality Assurance Manager and

the personnel concerned with the

function of the document in

question. Up to date issues of

appropriate documents shall be

available at all locations where

operations require their use, and

obsolete documents will be removed

from all points of issue or use. All

changes to, or introduction of,

computer generated documents that

comprise part of the quality system

shall be subject to the procedures

above. The nature of the computer

system means that obsolete

documents will no longer be

generated once changes are made.

Each document shall be identified

with an issue number, date and

unique description. A master record

of controlled documents shall be

maintained so the current issue

number and date can be identified.

A document is re-issued if any

amendment affects the intent of it.

Changes shall be highlighted in the

text with the amendment history

records being updated to reflect the

latest issue. Grammatical or spelling