The Turnaround

[MikeSamuel]

Help!. .. .I need information for my A Level coursework on airliner turnaround. I need to know what tasks are involved, and a rough order in which these tasks are done. If anyone could help me out, I would be really grateful. I'm looking for around 25 different tasks as part of the operation, so I hope that large aircraft turnaround has this many.... .. .Cheers. .. .Mike

[Irish Steve]

turnround. .. .Not all of it, but this is the basics of the operation. It varies by aircraft type, size, and handling company <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="smile.gif" /> . .. .Mashall aircraft on to stand. .Chocks in. .Ground power on. .position safety cones around vulnerable bits of the aircraft. .position airbridge to main door. .Open aircraft doors and unload Pax. .Position stairs to rear doors if pax on aircraft while refuelling. .Unload bags. .deliver bags to inbound baggage hall. .Unload freight. .Load outbound bags. .Load outbound freight. .Service toilets and water. .Clean interior. .replenish catering. .Refuel. .prepare outbound flight documentatation, load sheet etc.. .Load passengers. .ensure all passengers are on board. .check catering and everything else is on board and correct. .check bag & freight totals correct. .remove airbridge. .attach towbar and pushback tug. .connect external headset to aircraft. .perform pre departure inspection. .remove ground power. .remove chocks. .push aircraft back. .remove tug and pushback bar. .ensure all starts of engines OK. .disconnect headset and walk away from aircraft. .Wave goodbye and rush to the next flight!. .. .Hope that helps

[tinyrice]

1.prior to arrival walk the ramp and check for nuts/bolts and other FOD ( Foreign objects )Remove. .2.Position the jetway and ground power cart.. .3.Aircraft parks at the gate.. .4.Ground crew chocks the wheels and plugs in ground power.. .5.If its a tight turn, a mechanic will plug in a headset and check with the crew for technical problems so they can get a jumps start.. .6.Jetway up and passengers deplane - b'bye,b'bye!. .7.Simultaneously the loaders will open the cargo doors and start slinging bags, the lav and water service carts will hook up and service their relevant equipment.. .8.Maintenance will conduct a walkround of the aircraft for damage and see if the drivers left any tread on the tyres or have picked up extraneous materials from the approach lights.. .9.Fuellers will hook up and refuel the beast.. .10.When the passengers are all off ( or close enough )the pilots will run like loonies to connect with their commuter flights home, or their next trip 2 concourses away. At some airlines the flight attendants may stay and help the cleaners to pick up the mess in the cabin.. .11.The cleaners will get on as the passengers get off and move from the front to the back where they'll get off ( or some similar process). .12.The food service troops will remove the old food for disposal and replace the peanuts and beer etc.. .13.New cabin crew gets on and checks their emergency equipment and where the coffee is.. .14.BREW COFFEE - nobodys going anywhere until the coffee brews.. .15.New cockpit crew arrives and one will pre-flight the cockpit, one will will walkaround the exterior of the aircraft and confirm that theres a reasonable chance the bloody thing will fly.. .16.When all are satisfied, the passengers board, fight over bin space and armrests until all are seated.. .17.The bags are loaded and weight and balance numbers are checked and passed to the crew either directly or via the airlines dispatch organization.. .18.Hook up the tug and fire up the APU, or fart cart if its inop, to provide air for engine start. .19.Final walkround by ground personnel to make sure all the doors are closed and nothings hanging off.. .20.Pull the external power and airstart after getting one engine started. If the APU's running alright (proving there is a God)then they'll start engines on pushback........and then. .21.Brakes off and triumphantly push back on time!. .. .It does vary a bit by airline but its a starter for ten. Some airlines like Southwest here in the states can do this whole thing in 20 minutes. Wide body jets like the majestic 747 are usually done in around an hour or so depending on the fuel load. Some airlines have done it faster, but then had to go back and get the flight attendants or the catering..........oops!

[easondown]

Yes I agree with most of the above, but nobody has mentioned anything about preparing the flight deck for the outbound leg. ie getting the weather, preparing the navaids, pfds, mfds, fms etc.