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

帅哥

changes need not necessitate another

issue change. Changes in computer

generated document or forms

format or content are not

highlighted, but by their very nature

comprise a re-issue.

Supervisors

Supervisors shall carry out regular

checks of pre-flight planning,

returned flight documentation, flight

and duty time records and technical

documentation. Appropriate flying

personnel (e.g. chief pilot,

nominated training captains) should

accompany a selection of routine

flights to confirm that normal

operating and flight deck procedures

are being followed.

Auditing

All activities are subject to internal

quality audits, the results of which

form an integral part of the input to

management reviews. Audits

confirm the relevancy of procedures

and identify unsatisfactory ones

before they cause trouble, comparing

how the operation is run against how

it should be.

Internal Audits shall be planned and

documented so that all aspects of the

System are reviewed to ensure

continued effectiveness (obvious,

really). The frequency of such audits

shall be determined according to the

results of previous audits and the

significance of individual aspects of

the system. Whatever happens, all

aspects of the Quality Management

System should be audited at least

twice a year.

28 Operational Flying

Audits shall be performed with

check lists identifying key elements,

such as:

· Activities, processes, work

areas, materials storage

· Computer data integrity and

accuracy

· Documentation & technical

data

· Compliance with industry

standard practices

· Compliance with regulatory

authority requirements

Audits of specific areas shall be

carried out by a suitably qualified

and experienced person who is not

directly responsible for the day to

day operation of the audited

function. That person may be

contracted in from outside the

Company; in this case he shall

submit proof of training, experience

and qualifications to the Quality

Assurance Manager who shall assess

his suitability to carrying out internal

audits. The person, or the company

that employs him shall be included

on the list of Company approved

suppliers if assessed as suitable for

the task.

Audit findings shall be documented

on the Audit Report Form. Audit

Reports will be reviewed by the

QAM who will instigate corrective

actions and changes to procedures as

necessary. Subsequent instigation

and evaluation of required actions

taken shall be his sole responsibility,

but will be monitored by the Internal

Auditor.

帅哥

Reviews

A review of the Quality Management

System to assess its suitability and

continued effectiveness shall be

undertaken twice yearly at a meeting

of the Managing Director and all

staff concerned with the operation

of the system.

The review shall view objective

evidence of internal audits, nonconformance documents, Customer

Complaints records and Supplier

Performance. Specific

recommendations and actions shall

be logged and these shall be

completed within agreed time scales.

Details of methods, responsibilities

& documentation shall be defined in

written procedures.

See – told you it was boring!

Crew Composition

The minimum flight crew should

never be less than that in the

Certificate of Airworthiness, or

Flight Manual, in that order. You

might regard that as stating the

obvious, but such words are legally

required in an Ops Manual.

Anything registered in UK over 5700

kg needs two pilots for Public

Transport, but otherwise:

IFR

Aeroplane

Two-pilots

In IFR or at night, you need two

pilots on turbo-jets, pressurised

turbo-props and multi-engined turbo

props capable of carrying more than

9 passengers (or less than 10 without

pressurisation).

Single-pilot

You can fly single-crew in IFR or at

night in unpressurised multi-engined

aircraft if you have been trained and

checked in the single-crew role (with

particular reference to cockpit

management), the autopilot is

serviceable, with at least altitude hold

and heading mode, you have a

headset and boom microphone with

a control column transmit button,

and there is a conveniently placed,

illuminated chart holder.

Helicopter

Two-pilots

You must have 2 crew if more than

9 passengers are carried, and both

must have an IR. The commander

must also have an ATPL(H).

Single-pilot

Only if less than 9 passengers are

carried, and you must have an IR,

and a serviceable autopilot, with at

least altitude hold and heading

mode, a headset and boom

microphone with a control column

transmit button, and a conveniently

placed, illuminated chart holder, as

well as being trained in the singlecrew role, with particular reference

to cockpit management.

VFR

Aeroplane

You must have at least 500 hours or

an IR to operate on your own as a

30 Operational Flying

CPL holder when more than 50 nm

from the departure aerodrome.

Helicopter

You must have 2 crew if over 9

passengers are carried, and an ATPL

(H) if you’re the boss. Otherwise a

CPL(H) will do.

帅哥

Cabin Crew

Required in aeroplanes carrying

more than 20 passengers, or capable

of carrying more than 35, when at

least 1 is present. The minimum

number should be about 1 for every

50, or fraction of 50, passenger seats

installed.

Designation of Aircraft

Commander

No matter how many pilots are

carried, one will be nominated as

commander. See the Introduction for

reasons why.

Incapacitation

See Operational Procedures.

Qualifications

These are sometimes dictated by the

insurance company, customer

requirements (such as large oil

companies with their own safety

departments), or, in a large company,

the Personnel Department, who

mostly don't have a clue. The

minimums will vary according to

supply and demand, but here is what

the CAA will expect. Naturally, any

licence you need must be valid – for

example, medical certificates are not

mentioned here because the licence

requires one anyway.

Commanders

You only need recent night takeoffs

and landings if passengers are

carried.

Aeroplane

The minimum requirements are:

· successful completion of the

single-crew or command course.

· an ATPL, or a CPL and 500 hrs

total time (or valid IR) when

carrying passengers under VFR

more than 50 nm from a

departure aerodrome. For a

multi-engined aeroplane in IFR,

this changes to 700 hours total

time, including 400 PIC, which

includes 100 IFR, of which 40

must have been on a multi (the

400 hours PIC can be 800 P2 if

gained in an established multicrew system).

· 50 hours IFR on type, of which

10 as PIC, for single crew.

· Valid IR (when IFR) and

recurrent checks.

Recency

A minimum of 3 take-offs and

landings in the past 90 days, which

may be done in a sim; 90 days may

be extended to 120 if accompanied

by a TRI or TRE when line flying.

As single pilot under IFR or at night,

a minimum of 5 IFR flights,

including 3 instrument approaches in

the past 90 days, or an IFR

instrument approach check.

Helicopter

700 hours on helicopters, of which

300 must be PIC, and 100 hrs

instrument time (10 as PIC). The

300 PIC can be 600 P2 if obtained in

an established 2-crew system. You

32 Operational Flying

must also have 25 hrs in the

environment concerned.

Helicopters under 5700 kg MAUW,

in IMC or at night with visual

ground reference, must have either

two pilots or one pilot with an

autopilot.

帅哥

Recency

3 takeoffs, 3 circuits and 3 landings

in the preceding 90 days (can be

done in an approved simulator), or

120 days by supervised line flying. If

relevant, at least 5 IFR flights

including 3 instrument approaches

on the type in the last 3 months.

Co-Pilots

ATPL or CPL, valid IR (when IFR)

and recurrent checks.

Recency

Must have flown aeroplanes on the

relevant type during take-off and

landing during the past 90 days. For

helicopters, 3 takeoffs, 3 circuits and

3 landings in the preceding 90 days

(can be done in an approved

simulator), or 120 days by supervised

line flying.

Cabin Crew

Minimum age is 18 years, and must

be medically fit. Additional

qualifications may be required for

Senior Cabin Crew member, or

operation on more than one type.

Crew Health

Precautions

People holding (flying) medical

certificates should not exercise

licence privileges if they suffer from

any illness, injury or disability, are

taking a drug or receiving medical

treatment that could impair their

ability to safely exercise them.

Whilst nobody should object to you

taking a drink or two the evening

before a flight, you should

remember that it can take over 3

days for alcohol to clear the system

(it remains in the inner ear for

longest). Within 24 hours before a

planned departure, you should not

drink alcohol at all; certainly not on

standby. The maximum blood level

is officially .2 mg per ml, a quarter of

the driving limit in UK, but it’s not

only the alcohol that causes

problems – the after-effects do as

well, like the hangover, fatigue,

dehydration, loss of blood sugar and

toxins caused by metabolisation.

Although it appears otherwise,

alcohol is not a stimulant, but an

anaesthetic, which puts to sleep

those parts of the brain that deal

with inhibitions, etc. The problem is

that these areas also cover

judgement, comprehension and

attention to detail. In fact, the effects

of alcohol are the same as hypoxia,

dealt with elsewhere, in that it

prevents brain cells from using

available oxygen. One significant

effect of hypoxia in this context is

the resulting inability to tell that

something is wrong.

As far as passengers are concerned,

although they get cabin service,

persons under the affluence of

incohol or drugs, of unsound mind

or having the potential to cause

trouble should not be allowed on

board—certainly, no person should

be drunk on any aircraft (people

aren’t generally aware that one drink

at 6000 feet is the same as two at sea

level). This is not being a

spoilsport—drunks don't react

properly in emergencies and could

actually be dangerous to other

people (which is why I always get an

帅哥

34 Operational Flying

aisle seat – I don’t have to get round

people in the way). Therefore, it's

not just for their own good, but that

of others as well. If you need to get

rid of obstreperous passengers (long

word number 1), you can always

quote the regulations at them (or

even use sarcasm), but don't forget

to fill in an Occurrence Report.

Although the symptoms of colds

and sore throats, etc. are bad enough

on the ground, they may actually

become dangerous in flight by either

distracting or harming you by getting

more serious with height (such as

bursting your eardrums, or worse). If

you're under treatment for anything,

including surgery, not only should

you not fly, but you should also

check there will be no adverse

effects on your physical or mental

ability, as many preparations

combine chemicals, and the mixture

could make quite a cocktail. No

drugs or alcohol should be taken

within a few hours of each other, as

even fairly widely accepted stuff

such as aspirin can have

unpredictable effects, especially in

relation to Hypoxia (it's as well to

keep away from the office, too—

nobody else will want what you've

got). Particular ones to avoid are

antibiotics (penicillin, tetracyclines),

tranquilisers, antidepressants,

sedatives, stimulants (caffeine,

amphetamines), anti-histamines and

anything for relieving high blood

pressure, and, of course, anything

not actually prescribed. Naturally,

you've got to be certifiable if you fly

having used marijuana, or worse, but

it seems that people do in the USA,

which is why your medical results are

faxed to a central office.

Pilots generally are discouraged from

giving blood when actively flying,

and some dental anaesthetics can

cause problems for up to 24 hours

or more, as can anything to do with

immunisation. If you do give blood,

try for a gap of 48 hours, including

bone marrow donations. Although

your blood volume is restored in a

very short time, and for most donors

there are no noticeable after-effects,

there is still a slight risk of faintness

or loss of consciousness (syncope).

After a general anaesthetic, check

with the doctor first.

You shouldn’t fly within 48 hours of

deep-sea diving to more than 10

metres. Food poisoning can also be a

problem, and not just for

passengers—the standard precaution

(like in Airplane!) is to select different

items from the rest of the crew, even

in the hotel.

Don't forget to inform the

authorities (in writing) of illnesses,

personal injuries or presumed

pregnancies that incapacitate you for

more than 20 days (you can fly up to

the 30th week of pregnancy in

Canada, if your doctor agrees, but

wait for 4-6 weeks afterwards before

flying again). There's also an upper

age limit of 60 that affects

commanders on Commercial Air

Transport (can you sue for age

discrimination?). Pilots involved in

帅哥

34 Operational Flying

aisle seat – I don’t have to get round

people in the way). Therefore, it's

not just for their own good, but that

of others as well. If you need to get

rid of obstreperous passengers (long

word number 1), you can always

quote the regulations at them (or

even use sarcasm), but don't forget

to fill in an Occurrence Report.

Although the symptoms of colds

and sore throats, etc. are bad enough

on the ground, they may actually

become dangerous in flight by either

distracting or harming you by getting

more serious with height (such as

bursting your eardrums, or worse). If

you're under treatment for anything,

including surgery, not only should

you not fly, but you should also

check there will be no adverse

effects on your physical or mental

ability, as many preparations

combine chemicals, and the mixture

could make quite a cocktail. No

drugs or alcohol should be taken

within a few hours of each other, as

even fairly widely accepted stuff

such as aspirin can have

unpredictable effects, especially in

relation to Hypoxia (it's as well to

keep away from the office, too—

nobody else will want what you've

got). Particular ones to avoid are

antibiotics (penicillin, tetracyclines),

tranquilisers, antidepressants,

sedatives, stimulants (caffeine,

amphetamines), anti-histamines and

anything for relieving high blood

pressure, and, of course, anything

not actually prescribed. Naturally,

you've got to be certifiable if you fly

having used marijuana, or worse, but

it seems that people do in the USA,

which is why your medical results are

faxed to a central office.

Pilots generally are discouraged from

giving blood when actively flying,

and some dental anaesthetics can

cause problems for up to 24 hours

or more, as can anything to do with

immunisation. If you do give blood,

try for a gap of 48 hours, including

bone marrow donations. Although

your blood volume is restored in a

very short time, and for most donors

there are no noticeable after-effects,

there is still a slight risk of faintness

or loss of consciousness (syncope).

After a general anaesthetic, check

with the doctor first.

You shouldn’t fly within 48 hours of

deep-sea diving to more than 10

metres. Food poisoning can also be a

problem, and not just for

passengers—the standard precaution

(like in Airplane!) is to select different

items from the rest of the crew, even

in the hotel.

Don't forget to inform the

authorities (in writing) of illnesses,

personal injuries or presumed

pregnancies that incapacitate you for

more than 20 days (you can fly up to

the 30th week of pregnancy in

Canada, if your doctor agrees, but

wait for 4-6 weeks afterwards before

flying again). There's also an upper

age limit of 60 that affects

commanders on Commercial Air

Transport (can you sue for age

discrimination?). Pilots involved in

帅哥

accidents should be medically

examined before flying again.

Flight Time & Duty

Hours

Your personal performance

diminishes as you get tired—but you

don't need me to tell you that. Nor

do you need to be told that, on

average, at least 7 hours’ sleep is

needed per night where peak

performance requires about 9.

However, scientists also state that it's

not so much the amount of sleep

you get, but when you get it that

counts, so fatigue is just as likely to

result from badly planned sequences

of work and rest.

The problem with fatigue is that it's

difficult to legislate for. Not only

that, your performance can start to

fall off well before you actually feel

tired. Variations across time zones,

for instance, can range anywhere

between 8-70%. Some people can

cope with vastly disrupted work

patterns—most of us can't.

A surprising amount (over 300) of

bodily functions depend on the cycle

of day and night—we have an

internal rhythm, which is modified

by such things. You naturally feel

best when they're all in concert, but

the slippery slope starts when they

get out of line. The best known form

of desynchronisation is jet lag, but it

also happens when you try to work

nights and sleep during the day—

bright light can fool your body into

thinking it's day when it's not, and is

actually used for circadian rhythm

disorders. One day for each time

zone crossed is required before sleep

and waking cycles get in tune with

the new location, and total internal

synchronisation takes longer

(kidneys may need up to 25 days).

Even the type of time zone change

can matter—6 hours westward

requires (for most people) about

four days to adjust—try 7 for going

the other way! This Eastward flying

compresses the body's rhythm and

does more damage than the

expanded days going West; North-

South travel appears to do no harm

(it appears that our bodies run on a

25-hour cycle, which is why

Westward flying suits us better).

36 Operational Flying

Symptoms of jet lag are, naturally,

tiredness, faulty judgement,

decreased motivation and recent

memory loss. They're aggravated by

alcohol, smoking, high-altitude

flight, overeating and depression, as

found in a normal pilot's lifestyle.

In view of all this, you have a

maximum working day laid down by

law, intended to ensure you are

rested enough to fly properly. It's

similar to truck drivers' hours, except

that there's no tachograph;

companies and pilots are trusted to

stick to the Ops Manual and the

authorities reserve the right to spot

check the paperwork at regular

intervals, mainly looking to see that

flights are planned within the

Company's scheme (if you don't see

an Inspector for long periods, then

you can assume that your Company

is well regarded in this respect).

帅哥

In UK, at least, these regulations do not

apply elsewhere, so corporate pilots (or

unpaid instructors) have no

protection, apart from any basics

under the ANO (in Canada, private

operators - of large aeroplanes - are

covered in CARs, and have

approximately the same limitations

as their commercial brethren).

Consequently, you could find

yourself in continuing battles with

Company executives, to whom

working 28 12-hour days non-stop is

not uncommon – if you are

moonlighting from the military, you

must count that time as well. It’s fair

to point out, though, that it’s

difficult to introduce Duty Hours

into a corporate environment—the

schedule changes so often that you

would need a lot of extra staff to

cope with it. I suppose you could

point out that if the aircraft is not

flown under the regulations, the

insurance becomes invalid.

Depending on the size of the

company, the FTL Scheme, as it’s

known, will be written in

consultation with various interested

parties such as Staff Unions, but

most just insert the relevant

documentation (CAP 371 in UK)

into their Ops Manual as it stands, as

(while recognising differences

between companies) there's actually

very little latitude allowed in what

goes into this section, despite the

fact that the requirements were

originally written "in basic form with

reasonable freedom to apply them

with common sense" (with apologies

to Douglas Bader, who had a hand

in writing them originally).

Since the second edition of CAP 371

was published, several things have

changed (due to the opening up of

Third World countries, night freight

and increased pilot mobility,

amongst others) and flight up to

maximum limits and beyond are now

the norm. There are, therefore,

amendments to CAP 371 which

reflect new working practices and

have many anomalies removed,

while trying to keep the same

structure of the document; you’ll

mostly find them in Notices to AOC

Holders, as well as Sub-part Q of JAR

Ops 1 & 3.

It's unlikely that General Aviation

pilots (or any in a non-scheduled

environment) will notice much

difference, though, as GA rarely

changes. Most of this Chapter is

geared towards outfits in the soleuse charter business, where the

passenger seats available are 19 or

less, so it has to cater for a wide

variety of aircraft and circumstances.

Flight Time And Duty Hours 37

Mainly, though, it assumes that

Company operations are confined to

an area within which local time

doesn't vary by more than 2 hours,

and there's no in-flight relief to

extend duty hours.

In some countries, such as Canada,

knowledge of flight time limitations

is actually part of the Commercial

Pilot’s exams, whereas in UK you

don’t really start finding them out

until you join a company. Also,

before we start, this section is not

帅哥

necessarily in the same order you

would find in a manual, as I have

tried to put it into a more logical

sequence, so you can understand it

better. Definitions, for example,

have been placed where the terms

they relate to actually arise, rather

than in one lump at the beginning.

Put simply, there is a basic working

day, which generally is 10 hours long

(14 in Canada). This may be longer

or shorter, depending on the time

you start and the number of crew

you have; the earlier you start, the

less time you're allowed, but this

could be offset by carrying extra

crew, when appropriate. Within the

resulting Duty Period there may be a

maximum number of flying hours

which cannot be varied, such as 7

hours' helicopter flying within 12 on

duty. If you need an exceptionally

long working day, you can always

apply for an exemption to cover it.

In Canada, the initial description of

this subject is in CARs, Part VII,

Subpart 0, so start looking at

paragraph 700.14. It’s further

amplified in CASS (Commercial Air

Service Standards), in paragraph 720,

etc. These are the only two places

you will find it mentioned. Further

differences will be found in your

Ops Manual, as the Company can

get exemptions for special situations.

The reason why it’s so high is

because the flying season is short,

especially in the North, and full use

must be made of the time available.

That doesn’t mean you can abuse the

rules, though—there are stiff fines

for breaking the limits, for

companies and pilots, so beware.

You can do as many hours as you

want in the basic 14-hour day,

limited only by refuelling, eating,

etc., but if you extend to 15 hours,

you can only do 8 hours flying.

Cabin staff also have duty hours,

which are essentially the same, but

up to an hour longer at the start of

the day, as they have to prepare the

aircraft for passengers.

Your Responsibilities

These stem from various provisions

of the ANO and CAP 371 and/or

JAR Ops 1 or 3, or CARs in Canada.

Firstly, you must inform the

Company of all your flying

(including Aerial Work, which in

turn includes paid flying instruction),

except private and military flying in

aircraft under 1600 kg MAUW.

Exempt military time must be for

the Royal Air Force Cadet

Organisation, that is, air experience

flights. Anything else counts.

It's also up to you to make the best

use of any opportunities and

facilities for rest provided, and to

plan and use your rest periods

properly—you should inform

Operations if you can't sleep

properly, for example, who might

arrange a specialist.

Then there's the Aircraft Crew and

Licensing part of the ANO (CARs in

38 Operational Flying

Canada) which says that you're not

entitled to act as a member of a

flight crew if you know or suspect

that your physical or mental

帅哥

condition renders you temporarily

unfit to do so (what about if you’re

permanently unfit?).

In short, all this means you should

not act as a crewmember (and

should not be expected to) if you

believe you are (or likely to be)

suffering from fatigue which may

endanger the safety of the aircraft or

its occupants.

Company Responsibilities

Duties must be scheduled within the

Company's approved scheme, and

rostering staff must be given

adequate guidance. Work patterns

must be realistic with the intention

of avoiding, as far as possible, overrunning limits. As a result, they must

avoid such nasties as alternating day

and night duties (see Early Starts and

Late Finishes) and positioning that

disrupts your rest.

Unless you're in an airline or on the

North Sea, it's obviously difficult to

schedule much in advance, but

companies must advise you of work

details as far ahead as they can

(though not less than 7 days), so you

can make arrangements for adequate

and, within reason, uninterrupted

pre-flight rest. Away from base, it's

normally the Company's job to

provide rest facilities (the legal

definition is “satisfactory in respect

of noise, temperature, light and

ventilation”), but they may lumber

you with finding them, as you're on

the spot—they are allowed to claim

that short notice precludes them

doing it. Note that bush and firefighting camps must also meet the

definition of “suitable

accommodation”, which, in Canada,

at least, should start as a singleoccupancy bedroom subject to

minimum noise, but can change to

something suitable for the site and

season, so you can’t win. On seismic

support, for example, the only place

you could get to hide is inside the

back of your helicopter.

All this being said, it must be

pointed out before we go on that

very, very few companies below a

certain level are actually honest

about their duty hours. The reason is

fairly simple in most cases—if you

kept to the letter of the law you

would duty-hour yourself out of

business, especially when there's not

a lot of staff around. Otherwise, the

companies simply have no respect

for the law or their employees; many

are cheapskates and beat down the

room price, so you will get the

noisiest and hottest for "suitable

accommodation". Also, believe it or

not, some companies don't regard

Vancouver or Seattle as being on the

West coast of N America (haven't

they got an atlas?), so their minimum

rest periods can be reduced to 25

hours rather than the 2 local nights

needed for San Francisco.

Discretion here is the better part of

valour, but falsifying duty hours is

but a short step removed from doing

it to other documents, and that

would never do. It's hard to give you

any advice, except to point out that

being pedantic can often be counterproductive – that is, sometimes you

just have to swallow things.

Maximum Duty Period (FDP)

A Duty Period is any continuous

period through which you work for