thermostat:

Whether the F/E was also a pilot was a matter of union contracts and/or airline policy. There was no such thing in a L1011 as a second officer so far as the FAA was concerned.

At TWA mechanic F/Es were hired before 1960 or so. After 1963 (the next hiring cycle) everyone was hired to be a pilot, but many had to serve their time in the F/E seat, whether 707, 727, L1011, or early 747s. None of them were called SOs. The company trained them to be F/Es.

Anyone with an L-1011 Maintenance Manual has more than enough information to reverse engineer the L-1011 Direct Lift Control (DLC) system. However, without a flying stabilizer like the TriStar DLC is just going to function like it does on the TriStar.

glhcarl:

That does not quite make sense. Sounds like you are saying DLC without a flying stabilizer is going to function just like the TriStar with a flying stabilizer.

Or, am I reading it wrong?

I have a lot of time in the 1011 but I hardly had a maintenance or engineering level of knowledge. I sure did learn how to make the best use of DLC, though, when hand-flying an approach and landing (which we did a whole lot in those days.)

L1011 FE
 

Aterpster, thanks for the info. I also had FE's on the 1011. However on the B727 we had SO's in the back seat.

thermostat:

I don't know what country you were operating in, but the 727 was the same as a L1011 in certification and FAA rules. The guy who sat sideways at that big, funny panel was required to have an appropriate F/E certificate. He did not have to have a pilot's certificate of any type whatsover.

Your company and/or union may have elected some additonal non-regulatory requirements for the F/E position. That often did happen. But, nonetheless, the FAA didn't recognize SO for that seat, other than perhaps on an ad hoc, local FAA basis.

I was captain on both types for a lot of time at TWA.

You read it right.

But I wrote it wrong.

Should have read: without a flying stabilizer like the TriStar DLC is just "NOT" going to function like it does on the TriStar.

S/O vs F/E.
 

I believe what is confusing a lot of people is the term used to describe the systems panel operator on L-1011(TriStar) 727,707,DC8 etc. The individual is not controlling (flying)the A/C. He/she is actually carrying out the function of a flight engineer. Some airlines(including mine) hire pilots and train them (and licence them) to operate the panel so to recognise this they call them pilot engineers (P/E) or third pilots(P3) or a second officer(S/O). Whether the crew member has a flying background or not he is performing the function of a flight engineer. So to sum it up.....S/O, P3 or third pilots are actually flight engineers, what they are called is academic. The individual is operating on a flight engineer's licence and not a pilot's licence.