Well I can't speak for those chaps flying long haul in heavies, but a shorthaul typical day is sumat like this.
Turn up 1 hour and fifteen minutes before departure. Typical report time is 1 hour before, but being a keen F/O it's politically correct to get there before the captain and have made a start on the paperwork.
Enter crewroom, check white board to see if you have to phone crewing. Wander round, say 'ello to everyone. Pick up flight docs from appropriate destination slot. Envelope is pre-prepared for us by ops. So it will include SWORD flightplan, big picture weather (you know the one that covers europe and the upper winds chart), battery for mobile phone and crew list. And Voyage report..almost blank. (except on weekends, turn up extra 15 mins earlier as we have to do all paperwork)
Find empty desk and spread out paperwork over it. Write crew names on SWORDS and fill in voyage report. Wander over to notice boards and see if your aircraft has any tech notices against it. Wander over to computer and check loads for flight, slot delays, stand aircraft is on and whether it is there or is inbound.
Dump all this paperwork on desk, wander over to computer and get latest weather for destination and en-route alternates....not hard to do as computer is pre-setup so you hit the key for your destination and it vomits out the AIS and forecasts for all airfields en-route and alternates.
Pick up printout which is normally about 8-10' long. Depending on your frame of mind...cut it into little page size bites, seperating wx from AIS, and stapling the AIS into one doc and wx into another.
Sort out mound of paper on desk into neat piles, put SWORD flight plans into two piles (your copy and Capt Copy).
Get coffee, find FCN folder (flight Crew Notices) see if your up to date and have signed for them all. Note FCN from Chief pilot telling all flight deck not to write on FCN's as they are legal documents. Write 'I agree' on FCN alongside other assorted comments from other flight deck. Check to see if capt is up to date. If not leave folder open on appropriate page.
All this takes around 10 mins. Drink coffee, Capt turns up as minute hand clicks on report time....bundles in and starts to rummage around in your neat piles of paperwork. pauses to scan FCN's, writes 'bollocks' on chief pilots FCN. Meanwhile you offer to get him a coffee from machine. Inexplicably coffee machine breaks down and then resumes working when Capt tries. Both sit down together. Capt scans wx and then having decided that its okay for you to have a shot says 'what do you fancy doing'. You say which leg you want to fly. Pilot who is flying first leg briefs wx and AIS and decides fuel for outbound leg. Return pilot decides fuel for return leg. Capt asks about load, tech faults, stand of aircraft, is it in yet. Being smart F/O you already have got this. Capt briefs cabin crew, you phone up the despatchers and ask for fuel.
All this takes about 15 mins. Wander out to aircraft P1 outbound does walk round and P2 gets in cockpit and presses lots of buttons. P1 returns to cockpit and says 'what can I do to help', P2 asks P1 to do FMS. P2 works out performance and requirement for ant-icing etc. P1 checks performance, p2 checks FMS.
P1 gets clearance from ATC. Despatcher asks if they can board aircraft, Capt normally says 'yes if its okay with the purser'. Despatcher wanders off. Appropriate checklists caried out. First cup of tea arrives. P1 briefs departure, speeds, emergencies and other significant items, then nominates a return airfield if it all goes tits up..normally the one you are leaving from. Second cup of tea arrives. Pax gets on. Capt says hello over PA. Final paperwork from despatcher arrives. Perfomance checked against final loadsheet and amended as necessary. Capt gives despatcher copy of tech log page. Despatcher gets off. Purser confirms pax on board against manifest with Capt and Capt tells purser to close door. Have chat with captain waiting for departure time. P1 Calls ATC for start...standard hassle ensues as all ricraft want to go at same instant. Get start clearance. PI liases with engineer. Having got all the above discover you've got no tug or crew, cancel start, call for tug and crew, get start clearance. Commence pushback. P2 starts engines, P1 monitors. After start checks. Engineer disconnects and leaves hopefully taking tug and crew with him.
P1 calls for taxi, Capt taxis regardless of whether he is P1 or not. Appropriate checks carried out, confirming flap settings and speeds. Get transferred to tower, get cleared to line up. Appropriate last second checks carried out. Cleared to take off. P1 takes control and takes off, get gear up on positive climb, 500' get the FMS on and working, 600' switch autopilot on. clean up aircraft. 'Bing' cabin crew (one bing on chime button') to let them know they can work. 3rd cup of tea arrives with biscuits. talk to lots of people during climb P1 flies, p2 works radio. get to cruise altitude, sit back look out of window. Drink lots of tea, B'fast, lunch, dinner arrives. Complain about standard of catering (SOP), get second b'fast, lunch, dinner..complain about standard of catering, get more tea. 10 mins goes by, trays taken away, more tea arrives. 10 mins go by, tea and biscuits arrive, fight for jammy dodgers with capt. Capt eats jammy dodgers. More tea arrives. look at Alps..the mountains that is. P1 talks to pax. Drink tea. read newspaper. Go off on one about something you've read in paper. Drink tea. P1 Gets weathers en-route. P1 briefs for descent and approach. Descend and approach as briefed...unless it's Italy when strange things happen. 10 mins before landing tell crew its ten mintues to land. or forget to tell crew ten minutes to land. Crew finds out its near landing time as gear goes down. All hell breaks lose in pax cabin as Cabin crew attempt to carry out full club service and clear up in the 2 minues before touch down. Shortly before touch down, purser tells capt cabin is secure. Capt asks for another cup of tea. tea arrives, Capt doesn't drink it. P1 lands disconnecting AP at appropriate time. Dsicussion ensues as you tear down runway with reversers and lift dump devices deployed as to why the landing was crap...light winds, cross winds, no winds, too hot, too cold, Monday etc. etc. Aircraft slows down. Capt becomes P1 or stays P1. Taxi onto stand. pax gets off. Turn aircraft round. More of same till get home.
Get off aircraft. Fill tech log with lots of little things you thought were wrong. Engineers write 'thank you, please report further'. Head into crewroom. Capt signs voyage report, put paperwork into old paperwork box. Dump mobile phone battery into battery box.
Say goodbye. walk to car. Go home.
Current record is 8 cups of tea and one can of coke before having to leave flight deck for physiological reasons.
That's about it really.
Great fun.
