Commercial Aircraft Operations Flashcards
schedule regulation
generally regulated by the country of registration and the sovereignty in which the operation in conducted
flight deck crew
detailed procedures, operating manuals + checklists, captain has emergency authority
cabin crew
responsible for passenger safety
trained for aircraft emergencies, evaluation procedures, medical assistance, care of special needs passengers, flight regulations, meal servicing
annual recurrent training
crew resources management (CRM)
addresses the effective use by the flight crews of all resources available to them
people, flight deck instrumentation, personal skills
situational awareness, use of automation, team building, task delegation, information transfer, problem solving
flight crew scheduling
roster: crew members flight activity for some period, sequences of flight duty and says off, range from 65 to 100 hours spread over 10 to 18 duty days
duty day can be one to four flight legs
spontaneous filling of open seat
flight crew sign in
sign in at the airport flight operations office 1 hr prior to departure, flight planning tasks, first officer may proceed to aircraft earlier than captain to begin pre-flight duties while captain completes necessary paperwork
operations/planning
airline operations control center (AOCC) staffed by certified flight dispatchers, flight planning includes best routing, fuel burn, generate flight plan.
flight plan
general info (aircraft type, engine type, routing info, time constraints), flight plan route, detailed routing, alternate airport information, fuel information
fuel
reach destination airport, reserve fuel, weather, cruise speed and altitude, ferrying fuel (tankering), takeoff and landing performance, payload
takeoff planning
load is determined and available runways considered, max runway, climb limited weights, calculated by dispatcher and load manager, adjustment made with weather or other factors
runway limited weight
most restrictive performance based on runway length, slope, obstacle clearance, brake energy, and tire speed
climb limited weight
based on ability of the aircraft to climb at minimum angles with and without all engines operating normally
Vmcg
minimum control speed on ground, aircraft must be able to continue a straight path down the runway with a failed engine, without relying on nose gear reactions
V1 decision speed
short time after critical engine failure speed, above this speed, aerodynamic controls alone must be adequate to proceed safely with takeoff
Vmc minimum control speed
minimum airspeed at which when critical engine is made inoperative, it is still possible to recover control of the airplane and maintain straight flight
Vr rotation speed
must be greater than v1 and greater than 1.05 Vmc
Vmu minimum unstick speed
minimum airspeed at which airplane can safely lift off ground and continue take off
Vlo liftoff speed
must be greater than 1.1Vmu with all engines or 1.05 Vmu with engine out
V2 takeoff climb speed
demonstrated airspeed at the 35 ft height. must be greater than 1.1 Vmc and 1.2 Vs (stall speed in takeoff config)
cabin crew briefing
en route flight time and destination weather, taxi time, security issues and alerts, ride conditions, inoperative cabin components, crew meal services, adherence to sterile cockpit periods, safety relevant/operational issues
pre flight
airworthiness of aircraft, exterior walk around examination, interior cockpit setup, systems checks, lots of checklists.
autoflight programming
autoflight initialization and FMS programming (manual control, tactical modes, strategic lateral and vertical navigation modes)
use of autopilot is often discretionary, takeoff manually by pilot, landings also mostly manually controlled
fuel slip and other documents
confirm the fuel quantity and distribution
other docs include water and lavatory servicing verification, security inspection confirmation, documents accompanying restricted cargo, armed passenger, customs declaration, jumpseat rider identification confirmation
pre departure
20 mins before: finalize FMS and autoflight programming, update weather and airport info, obtain route clearance from ATC
5-10 before pushback: turn on fasten seat belt, takeoff briefing, close aircraft doors, connect pushback tug
prior pushback: load closeout, final takeoff performance data calculated, weather changes
gate departure
move jetbridge, de ice aircraft, remove wheel chocks, call ATC recieve pushback clearance, start engines
taxi out
taxi to departure runway, checklists, captain ensure cabin is ready for takeoff
takeoff
can be cleared for takeoff or hold short of the runway or taxi on the runway and hold short there, roles pilot flying pilot monitoring, accelerate the aircraft, aircraft centerline tracking and engine parameters, pilot monitoring calls out v-speeds
once airborne: cleaned up (gear up, slats/flaps up), traffic situation outside
terminal area departure
aircraft accelerated to maximum low altitude climb speed, engage autoflight mode, standard instrument departure, complies with radar vectoring commands, commence in flight service, above FL100 accelerated to optimal climb speed
climb + cruise
compare optimal and max cruise altitudes with desired cruise mach number, coordinate cruise altitude and speed with ATC, monitor weather and turbulence, request route shortcuts with ATC, passenger related activities
en route control centre
traffic above and between terminal airspace
area control centers (ACC) manage air traffic in lower flight information regions
upper area control centers (UACC)) manage air traffic in upper FIRS (above FL245)
international airspace coordinated by ICAO
surveillance
position reporting: radio comms to ATC when no other surveillance system is available
radar systems: fundamental aircraft surveillance system
primary radar: measures distance between radar station and aircraft
secondary radar: requires aircraft equipped with transponder
en route navigation systems
ground based transmitters, aircraft navigate on radials to and from VOR stations, distance measuring equipment (DME), VOR systems limited to line of sight
other systems: NDB (non directional beacon), GPS (global positioning system), INS (inertial navigation system)
en route trajectories
normally cannot take shortest track, there are ‘airways’, connections between waypoints, pilots still request shortcuts
descent
top of descent (TOD) 20-30 mins remaining, requests initiate descend with ATC, descent profile determined by ATC restrictions, weather and operational situation, prepare cabin and galleys for landing
terminal arrival
approach controllers below 18000 ft, standard arrival (STAR) followed until initial approach fix (IAF), radar vectoring, runway used for landing and possible delays, finalize approach preparations
final approach
IAF to FAF, then runway, ILS (instrument landing system) during IMC, pilots may use visual approach during VMC, cleared for approach crew starts procedure, carefully examine weather and wind
landing and rollout
combo of reverse thrust and ground spoilers and wheel braking to decelerate, minimize runway occupancy time, use high speed taxiways, assume the taxi and comms tasks, reports any adverse wind or braking conditions, request taxi-in instructions
taxi in
ground controller advises which taxiway, clearance by tower required for crossing active runway, diligence by crew for airports which are unfamiliar or undergoing construction taxi to ramp area, marshaller or automated parking guidance system
parking
setting the parking brake and opening a cabin door trigger IN event (used to determine various metrics such as flight duration), doors disarmed, start passenger disembarkation, secures cockpit and cabin before departing aircraft
post flight
debriefs/reports are required by cockpit crew in instances of non standard operations or issues, crew begins preparations for next flight leg, discuss aircraft discrepancies or operational issues
