First Officer

[GB68c]

Hi everyone

I'm currently studying towards my ATPL ground school examinations and as part of my course I have to perform a presentation, the subject of which is,'Describe a 'typical' day of a First Officer'. I'm terribly sorry about the simplicity of the question, but I'm trying to tap as many sources as possible to get a very detailed and in depth insight. Any info would be very helpful.

Thanks.

[bailey]

I'm currently studying towards my ATPL ground school examinations and as part of my course I have to perform a presentation, the subject of which is,'Describe a 'typical' day of a First Officer'. I'm terribly sorry about the simplicity of the question, but I'm trying to tap as many sources as possible to get a very detailed and in depth insight. Any info would be very helpful.

What?????? An presentation on a day in the life...........I am in the middle of my Atpl's and there ain't nothing that simple to be done. Wouldn't mind sitting my ATPLs wherever you are at though with less of the Permformance and POF quesions and more of the presentations!!!!!!!!;)

[Boeing 7E7]

Find some back copies of "Pilot" magazine. There's bound to be something written about somebodies experiences as a new FO etc.

[REvans]

There was a great post in the wannabe's forum where a FO (I think) on an ATR flying a charter for BAe wrote in some detail about his day including an engine failiure on the ground. It was a while ago though so it might take some searching!

[GB68c]

Thanks for the info, will look into those. The presentation is actually an added extra on top of all the ATPL exams, so it doesn't make things any easier. During my 7 months of ground school I have to do 2 presentations, this being the first. The first one is done on your own and the second as a group. It's based on a similar program that was run here for the British Airways cadets a few years ago. It's designed to build on communication skills, and team skills on the second talk. Thanks again for your help.

[silverhawk]

Horse sh"t

as part of your course--- is the school prolonging your time of study and exaggerating their costs. Ask them to show you where in the syllabus provided by the CAA/JAA where ANY presentations are required. This cannot be used as any sort of grading towards your licence so don't even bother to show up.

As far as the life of an FO is concerned,

arrive half an hour before report - and do everything before the venerable cpt turns up. He will then show you what you have done is wrong, only to admit post-flight that you are getting the hang of it.

refine your mind-reading skills

listen to the same stories repeatedly, but laugh ever-loudly

etc, etc, etc.

[BIGBAD]

I hope this helps, I’ve just bashed this out, I didn’t bother to re-read it so I’m sure there will be many grammatical errors and it might not make sense in bits but you should get the drift !!!

Any questions drop me a message, as there are some areas which I’ve not gone into too much detail

Well here is a brief idea of my typical day as an FO for a midlands based airline –

Report time is always one hour before departure, as the FO it is usual to turn up just a little bit before this just to get stuff organised. I’ll try to turn up about 10-15 min before the report time so that I can print of the latest MET and AIS for the trip, check which aircraft we have, the passenger loads, which stand the aircraft is on, if there is any slot and what defects the aircraft might have. I’ll also check a book we have called the FCN’s – flight crew notices, which is full of lots of the latest info on SOPs (standard operating procedures) and general info we should be aware of.

Once the captain has reported we will sit down together and go though our documentation. We will first look at the met chart which gives the overall picture for Europe – having a look for anything which might affect us , such as CAT (clear air turbulence), where the jetstreams are, the level of the tropopause,icing conditions, cb activity and frontal activity. From there we will look at charts detailing the upper level winds, there strength/direction and if the temperature at these levels is ISA standard or warmer/colder – as this effects engine performance and our final cruising level.

The next thing we look at is the actual and forecast reports for our departure, destination, alternates (for takeoff – if req, and destination) and airfields on-route. We will then decide who flys the aircraft out and who brings it back. Although the captain is always in charge the FO will fly on of the legs as P1 (under supervision) making all the decision from the flight planning stage and down route, of course if the captain isn’t happy with your decisions he’ll general tell you why he would prefer to do something else as opposed to what you have decided and this usual comes down to having more experience and is not seen as a reprimand for the FO but a learning experience and a way of building up your experience. We will also look at the AIS ( aeronautical information system or Notams – notices to airmen) this details anything which is not working at airfields, any work in progress or anything which we should be aware of as pilots. For example any taxiways which are closed, nav aids which are not working or danger areas which are active, etc…..

Having looked at the general picture we will then look at the computer generated flight plans. First we check it is for the right type of aircraft – as we operate two different sizes of the same aircraft, and then look at the winds the flight plan has been planned with. As a gross error check we compare this to the upper level wind charts previously looked at. We will then look the amount of fuel the plan has allowed for these conditions and change it as we see fit (always increasing, never taking any off) allowing more for icing conditions, flying at lower flight levels than planned, any air holding or long taxing that could be expected. We will also look at the three airports the plan has allocated as destination alternates – airports that we would go to if the airport we were flying to was to become closed or useable due to weather conditions. Making sure that there are no problems with them in terms of weather and AIS and ensure we take the correct fuel for the ones we would opt to for.

Having gone through this briefing we will then go and meet our cabin crew for the day and give them a brief. Usually letting them know the flight times, weather conditions which might effect them – ie turbulence and anything else which they should know ie what we would like to drink and when we would like to eat!!!!

After I’ve phone through the fuel figures, flight times and crew number to our handling agent the whole crew will walk out to the aircraft about 30-40 mins before departure, the earlier the better especially if it is the first flight of the day for that aircraft as there will be more cockpit checks to be carried out.

Once we get out to the aircraft if I’m flying the first sector I’ll do the walkaround whilst the captain does the cockpit checks. Doing the walkaround involves checking various things about the general external condition of the aircraft – looking for anything which is out of the ordinary i.e. rips, tears, dents drips, leaks and any ice accumulation as well as things specific to our aircraft.

Once back in the cockpit there are jobs which the P1 does such as getting the clearance setting up for the expected SID (stand instrument departure). The P2 will set the FMS (flight management system ) , which is essentially a navigation computer, about the details of our route and also work out the performance figures – this is working out the weight we can lift for the prevailing weather conditions.

The captain will also look at the tech log for the aircraft to see if the are any restrictions / defects we should be aware of as a crew.

Once this is all set up we’ll go through the before start checks, read my the P2 to the P1, and this is a general check of systems to ensure they are all set up ready for starting. The next thing to do is a brief, if I as an FO am the flying pilot I will give the brief to the captain, this includes an emergency brief – discussing what we will stop for on the runway, at which point we will continue the takeoff and what we will do as we get airborne, also for discussion are the initial safety altitudes, takeoff alternates, the SID we will fly, the radio aids required for this, the FMS route, the runway state and any precautions we may need for take-off – such as radars on, continuous ignition, wing/cowl icing on etc….

Whilst we are going through these checks we are also keeping an eye on refuelling, cabin servicing , get the APU (auxiliary power unit) started to heat up/cool down the cabin and provide independent electrical power, and passenger boarding – hurrying any of these along as required to ensure an on time departure. Once the passengers are on onboard we go through the final paper work – checking the loadsheet together comparing it to the figures we have planned on and making any changes as required. Once the head cabin crew member has given the captain the head count – which should match that on our loadsheet, the doors are closed, the captain has a quick word with the passengers and we are ready to go.

As P1 I’ll have a quick word with the engineer and pushback crew outside to make sure they are ready to go, get a pushback/start clearance from ATC and then start the pushback , I’ll ask the captain, who’s acting as P2, to starting the engines on the pushback.. Once we’ve been pushed back engines started, ground crew disconnect the tug and got the thumbs up we’ll go through the after takeoff checks. Once that’s all done all that’s left to do is get a taxi clearance , go through the pre takeoff checks and find the runway – easier said than done in some of the big airports, especially if you don’t visit them too often. On some aircraft only have a tiller on the captains side, this is a little steering wheel which is used to guide the aircraft on the ground, although the captain is taxing I’ll also be looking out for where we are taxing and for other aircraft/obstructions. I’ll also go through the before takeoff checklist while the captain is taxing but he’ll still confirm the items on the list.

Once we’ve been cleared onto the runway if I’m flying control will be handed over to me for the takeoff, ATC will clear us for takeoff and I’ll ask the captain to set thrust. Off we go down the runway and its not that dissimilar from flying a smaller aircraft – just keep the thing straight using rudder and into wind aileron. The captain will call “thrust set” I’ll quickly look down to confirm the correct N1 (engine fan speed) is set calling “confirmed” , the captain will call “80 knots” again I’ll call “confirmed “ the next thing I sure hear from the captain will be “V1” and then “rotate” on this call I’ll start to ease the aircraft of the ground at about 2-3 deg/sec to around 15 deg nose up.

The next call should be “positive climb” and I’ll request “gear up and speed mode” speed mode is an autopilot setting, I’ll continue to fly the aircraft until 500’ agl and then ask for “nav mode” another autopilot setting and then at 600’ agl request the autopilot to be engaged. That is on a standard day flying it with the autopilot.
I’ll then monitor the aircraft whilst the captain is doing the radios and P2 duties. The next thing we do is at acceleration altitude – 1500’agl when I’ll allow the autopilot to speed the aircraft up and the flaps/slats will be retracted at certain speeds.

All the way up to cruise altitude I’ll fly the aircraft whilst the captain is handling the radios. Once we’ve levelled off and accelerated to cruise speed – around .74 mach I will then hand control over to the captain and we will reverse roles, he flys it and I will monitor the radios and do the non flying duties.

The length of sectors I fly are around 1:30 to 2:30 hrs so there is more than enough time to go through various tasks, have a bit to eat and even have a quick look at the front page of the paper. Whilst the captain is flying, I’ll have to speak to the passengers, get various en-route weather for suitable airfields we could dive into if we had a problem, speak to our handling agent at destination just to let them know when we’ll arrive and any special requirements for our passengers, monitor the fuel and schedule, and finally brief for our arrival.


Once I’ve got the latest ATIS I’ll give the captain a brief for what we can expect as the arrival and approach. This involves looking at the STAR (standard instrument arrival) noting any specific speed altitude restrictions and anything we need to be particularly aware of ie ATC are likely to keep us high till the last minute or we can expect to get a shorter routing which again may leave us high etc….. We’ll go through the FMS to ensure that the details of the STAR match the FMS. I’ll also have a look at the radar vectoring plate to look at the outlying terrain and safety altitudes before looking at the actual approach. This could either be an ILS, VOR/DME, NBD/DME etc approach, again checking that the correct details are in the FMS, that we have all the necessary nav aids for this approach, and what we’ll do in the event of a missed approach.

All that remains to look at is the runway – the slope, distances available, lighting systems, what selection of reverse thrust will be required, and then the taxi route we can expect from the runway into the stand. After a final fuel check I’ll also look at how much fuel we can expect to arrive with which gives us an idea of how long we can hold for if required.

As the captain flys the descent, I’ll have a final word with the passengers, continue to handle the radios and run all the checklist for him and making any selections of flaps, anti icing and landing gear. Ideally the aircraft should be at around 210 kts at 15 miles. From here the captain will fly it down to our decision altitude at which point I’ll either call “land” or “go around” – hopefully land, at which point I’ll take control, taking out the autopilot if its out and land the aircraft.

On the landing roll below 80 knots the captain will take control as the tiller is on his side and once again I’ll take the radio calls, run the after landing checks and help him with where we are taxing to.

Once we get onto stand and the passengers are off we should have about 30 mins to turn the aircraft around, so its pretty much as before – the aircraft has to be catered, cleaned, refuelled, a walkaround has to be done, FMS set up again, new performance figures calculated. This time thought we’ll swap around and who ever was P1 on the last sector will now fly as P2 and vice versa, so in this case the captain will fly the bits I did last time and I’ll fly the bits he did.

After getting back to base, or our final destination we usually take around half an hour to shut the aircraft down or hand it over to the next crew, the captain will talk to the engineers about any problems we might have had and then its back to the crew room to finalise and paper work – another mission successfully complete.
:O

[silverhawk]

bigbads reply was certainly more in depth than mine

[Orangewing]

Also worth turning up a few minutes early to see if any of the galley staff - sorry, cabin crew, are worth getting hold of if you are on a nightstop!! Unlikely in my outfit though.:*

[M.85]

Silverhawk,

LMAO:E :ok:

[GB68c]

Thanks Bigbad, I think that's my research done!!

I know the presentation isn't actually a part of the syllabus for the ATPL, but it's part of the course I came on, The Airline Preperation Program at OATS. It is just one of the added extra's, such as industry visits to the Compass Centre at Heathrow, and more recently a visit to Cranebank. I also do a two week course in First Officer Fundamentals, I get interview advice, CV advice it's all aimed at putting me in good standing to get a job at the end of the course. Thanks for your great reply Bigbad.