Roles of a First Officer

[kieranmp]

This may seem like an obvious question to some however I would like to know the roles and responsibilities of a newly qualified first officer?

[bluesideupsometimes]

Do everything the Skipper says :):}

[INSIDEVIEW]

Check with the fuel Truck(its raining)..:}

[ElNino]

Same as a non-newly qualified FO

[Just another student]

Basically carry out the duties inline with the company operations manuals. Complete pre-flight paperwork, check notams, weather etc complete peformance data ( depending on company) check gross weight charts etc
once at the plane, complete cockpit set up etc
After that, carry out your role as pilot flying or pilot monitoring, as agreed with the Captain.
All good fun :)

[Awyrennwr]

Should you find yourself working as a FO in the corporate sector, in addition to the above you may also have to do, but not limited to the following tasks:-

Plan and file the flight
Order/Purchase and prepare catering
Meet and board the passengers
Brief the passengers
Go back and serve drinks if there is a quiet moment in the cruise
Disembark the passengers
Clean the aircraft (inside and out)
If your still standing at the end of the day there will be a pile of Jepp updates to do.
FO's with my company are also responsible for flight expenditure.

Far more interesting and rewarding world than that of the airline FO.

[speedrestriction]

Ask lots of questions (at the right times of course).

[Flying_Mech]

I'll take the fat one sir.. :}

[realtoptotty]

the fat one being the not SLF bag of course!:rolleyes:

[boogie-nicey]

FO= Flap operator

[obsidianUK]

gear up, flap up, shut up! :}

[south coast]

the 3 things a fo should say...

1. can i carry your bags
2. good landing captain
3. i'll take the fat one

[Gullyone]

In my experience the F/O can be the one guy who can rescue the situation when things get busy. Maybe I should say the PNF, who could be the Captain.

[TwoDeadDogs]

Hi there
Be the guy who doesn't have to prompted to do things, ie; don't sit there like a statue waiting for the Boss to tell you to check with the refueller/met/ramp agent/engineer.You need to be ahead of the game, not trailing it.
Don't be intimidated by ground staff.If you have a question, no matter how dumb you think it might sound, ask it.Ground staff, and vice versa, can be so focused on their own roles that they can lose sight of your tasks.
Watch the refueller like a hawk.Don't let him overfuel/underfuel just for a convenient round-off on the truck meter.If you're weight critical, such as when you have to go into short strips, you need to be on the ball with this one, as most refuellers have no idea what being weight-critical means.
Do a proper walk-around.Ask the engineer if you have any doubts and don't be rushed 'cos that's the day you'll go and fly with a panel open.I've seen FOs sent back by the Skipper for doing too casual a walk-around, to do it again.
Be in early.In such a time-critical industry, being late is bad news and not good for your reputation.
Be humble(this may be a new concept to some).Shut up and learn and don't gob off at anyone.Most of the people you meet on your first day, no matter what trade they pursue, have more actual live airline experience than you have, so be nice, pay attention when they speak to you and display the appropriate respect.If you act like a superior pilot being, you will rapidly be put in your place.
You are, in effect, starting the real practical phase of an apprenticeship, so sit up in class, pay attention to the teachers and keep your paperwork tidy, just like you shoudda done in school....
regards
TDD

[Sir Thomas]

As it was explained to me , my only job is to keep the captain from getting the sack.

[Sky Wave]

kieranmp

Some helpful replies and some not so helpful replies. I'm a reasonably new FO for a UK loco so I'll give you a brief rundown of a days work.

Arrive before the captain, and print off computerised flight plans and weather. (this is prepared by ops so all we have to do is put the flight numbers in and it all prints out.)

Check the WX and the CFP, make sure you have all documentation required.

Meet the captain, discuss the WX and agree a fuel figure. (The captain will usually ask which sectors you wish to fly and will ask you what fuel you require). The captain has the final say on fuel but will also be sure that the FO is happy with the fuel taken.

Once you are out at the aircraft the duties are basically split between pilot monitoring and pilot flying regardless of who is captain.

The PM will do the walk round and the PF will set up the FMC and Navaids for the flight.

FO specific tasks in our company are keeping the journey log (CHOX and Airborne Times, Crew Duty Hours, Fuel Uplift), and doing the majority of the pre-flight panel scan. Capt specific task is to maintain the tech log, call for the clearance, give the welcome aboard PA, talk to ground crew for pushback etc..

When the FO is PF, he/she will set up the FMC/Navaids and will brief the captain on how the departure and arrivals will be flown, what flap settings used, taxi route etc. The captain will offer advice and obviously step in if unhappy with any aspect of the operation, but if you do everything per SOP's, make sensible decisions and fly reasonably the captain will just sit there and do nothing more than the tasks of the PM.

Hope that helps.

[BusinessMan]

Best way to see what a 1st officer does is to see it. The site below has videos of airline flights, taken from specially placed flightdeck cameras (and others) and will give you a good idea of exactly what goes on frompoint of view of both pilot-flying and PNF. Both pilots talk you through all they do and show you round cockpit etc during flight.

http://www.itvv.com/details.asp

The 'platinum collection' ones are far better as they use more cameras and are better produced. I got the Go 737 & BMI Fokker 100 ones and can recommend both

[Megaton]

Different roles depending on the company. Where I work you most definitely do not pitch up early for work as either F/O or capt. To do so, would give the company further excuse for claiming all manner of industrial practices had become the norm. Also, our F/Os are expected to fulfill the role PICUS pretty much in toto; depening on the capt, and there are few exceptions, you will do everything apart from sign the tech log and make the welcome-on-board-apologies-for-Heathrow PA. Obviously if you start making completely arbitrary and unsupportable decisions on, for example, fuel, the skipper will step in but you will be expected to demonstrate on a daily basis that you have the potential for command.

[high-hopes]

Do a proper walk-around.Ask the engineer if you have any doubts and don't be rushed 'cos that's the day you'll go and fly with a panel open.I've seen FOs sent back by the Skipper for doing too casual a walk-around, to do it again.


Seen crews pushing back with pitot covers on. :E
If they can't spot that on a walk around I wonder what they were thinking of !

[equinox_code]

"Also, our F/Os are expected to fulfill the role PICUS pretty much in toto; depening on the capt, and there are few exceptions, you will do everything apart from sign the tech log and make the welcome-on-board-apologies-for-Heathrow PA."

what is picus and in toto? every time i think i've got the hang of what's required of this job, some new words get thrown into the equasion. also, what are notams? and does it stand for something particular?

more questions. what does WX, CFP and RHS stand for and mean? and when people talk about sectors, is that normally in reference to the route they take, or how many flights they do in a day/week?

[redsnail]

PICUS
Pilot in command under supervision.

In toto. Latin
In it's entirety or completely.

Just realised there's some more.
WX does mean weather. :ok:

CFP. Not sure on that one, we use OFP. Operational Flight Plan.

[future captain]

WX = weather?

RHS - Right hand Seat aka the FO aka First officer.

[Megaton]

Thanks, Reddo. And genuine apologies if that post sounded like I was trying be clever. What I was trying to show was that different companies have different expectations of their first officers. I like it where I am because I'm allowed to get on and make decisions. Also, it's been company policy for a long time to order aircraft with tillers (for steering on the ground) for both capt and first officer - definitely makes yoy feel more involved rather than just an organic auto-pilot!

[redsnail]

Nurries HP.

Our mob the FO is pretty much captain in training. Except when it's raining and then they can take the covers off. :E I did it for 2 years so now it's their turn. :ok:

Our guys are encouraged to make fuel decisions when it's their leg (ie sector). I pretty much leave them to it unless experience dictates we take more or it's a tankering leg. While I am not a training captain I feel it's my duty to pass on the tips and tricks that I've picked up from other guys. It's only fair and I definitely encourage the FOs to speak up as I am not perfect.

As for taxiing? Sheesh. That's been the hardest part of the job. :ooh:

[Flying Farmer]

At Manch or LGW the last thing I want is the taxi ta very much :}

As for the role of a F/O I would say the hardest thing to juggle is to be able to speak up when things go a little astray. Some ways of voicing concern are a little more diplomatic than others, think of a scenario and how best to approach that situation.

With hours and perspective views change on what is not acceptable ie; a stabilised approach. Our ops manual is very flexible on this, but some lower hours guys are not comfy unless a protracted final is flown. The key here is to comminucate with your Capt, ask him/her to talk you through what they are doing, just basic good CRM.

[maximus_747]

Just a question, and when the useless gobshiit f/o pulls the captain out the ****, what is it then :eek:

[Flying Farmer]

It's called a normal days line flying and for every time the FO saves the day I will guarantee the Captain has pulled the FO out of the proverbial many times more :E

[fireflybob]

Prime role of the second-in-command?

To monitor the operation and advise the captain of any significant deviations from SOPS etc.

There is loads more trivia the FO has to deal with but monitoring of the flying is, in my opinion, the number one priority.

Another way of looking it is that Captains are paid to not make mistakes FOs are paid to make sure they dont!