concerning the flight testing field.....
 

What exactly are the qualifications and duties of an observer (as said in the description of this forum)?

Qualifications are normally an aero-eng degree, and whatever aero-medical training needed for the type. As a rule, the FTO is an Engineer who has been working for some time with the project and is more familiar with the nature of the tests than the TP, so that he/she can guide the testing as efficiently as possible. The only people I know employing anything close to full time FTOs are Westlands, but even there they are really FTEs very involved in the planning and reporting process.

I'd also recommend that any FTO should know their way around the groundschool and FRCs for the type at least as well as the TP.

Duties are primarily to operate any test equipment on board, to drive the testing side - often plotting rough graphs or tables through the flight to ensure that you go back with all the required data, this usually involves a fair amount of manual data recording and rough initial calculations as you go along. Sometimes where a lot of data is needed quickly (such as spinning) data recording is split between TP and FTO.

Secondary duties are as lookout whilst the pilot is concentrating on tasks, as prompter for challenge and response checklists (especially in emergencies), and in multi-crew aircraft, making the tea. In small aircraft, they may also be used as self loading ballast for lower risk tests.

G

Great thanks Genghis.

FTO's may also be scientists, whos duties are to opperate the scientific kit fitted to the aircraft. In some large aircraft types, one of the FTOs may plan and guide the flight, working on the flight deck with the captain and nav to make sure the best atmospheric conditions are met for the trial.
Again aeromedical and safety training are required, as are regular aircraft emergency drills.
An ability to make tea is also required!

Very interesting thanks.

Very recently achap who was on my tech course and gained his BCPL has landed a job flying out of Gatwick as an observer/monitor flying foward and back across the pond monitoring the new airspace/levels.The details are sketchy but if anyones interested i could find out more.Dont know why i posted this it just came to mind.He was going to do the instructors course to build hours,but said he could not refuse this as the pay was very good, and he would use it to do an upgrade instead.

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