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The flight engineer's panel (right) on the Concorde aircraft.

In aviation, a flight engineer (FE) is a member of the aircrew of some aircraft. The flight engineer is responsible for monitoring and controlling many of the aircraft systems during flight.

[edit] History

The first airplanes only had a single operator: the pilot. The pilot was responsible for flying the airplane, navigating, and ensuring that all systems worked correctly. The pilot had to have a great deal of knowledge of the technical details of the airplane, or disaster could occur from mis-handling or failure to recognize and execute corrective action of a minor malfunction. There was also the danger of CFIT (Controlled Flight Into Terrain) due to loss of spatial awareness because the pilot was focused on trying to correct a malfunction.

As airplanes became larger and more complex, and as longer flight durations became possible, a co-pilot was added to the crew to spread the workload and enhance safety. The copilot assisted the pilot or airplane commander in the flying of the airplane. They would typically trade off actual flying duties to avoid problems of fatigue. They would also cross-check each other on critical operations, reducing the chances for unintended disasters. Both the pilot and copilot still needed to have a great deal of knowledge of the details of their airplane, since between them they had to resolve any problems that arose in flight.

Having two people that could fly the airplane meant that one of them could devote the major part of his attention to actually flying the airplane, while the other pilot attempted to resolve a problem with the airplane. As the pilots typically also had to do their own navigation on long flights, one pilot (typically the copilot) could serve as a navigator while the other pilot flew the airplane.

Originally civil air transport planes could be operated by a single pilot with no copilot. After a few accidents causing passenger death or injury were attributed to pilot error, the regulating agencies required passenger airplanes to be set up with a two-person cockpit, and required a copilot on the flight.

As airplanes became larger and more complex to operate, the workload on the pilot and copilot became excessive at certain critical parts of the flight regime, notably takeoffs and landings. Piston engines on aircraft required a great deal of attention with their multitude of gauges and indicators. Inattention or a missed indication could result in engine or propeller failure, and quite possibly cause loss of the airplane if prompt corrective action was not taken.

In order to dedicate a person to monitoring the engines and other critical flight systems, the position of flight engineer was created. The flight engineer did not actually fly the airplane, instead the flight engineer had his own specialized control panel allowing him to monitor and control the various aircraft systems. The flight engineer is therefore an integrated member of the flight deck crew who works in close coordination with the two pilots during all phases of flight. The flight engineer position was usually placed on the main flight deck just aft of the pilot and copilot. One of the first airplanes to have an official flight engineer position was the Avro Lancaster bomber used in World War II.

[edit] Duties

Flight Engineers monitor, set and adjust engine power during take off, climb, cruise and go-arounds, or any time the pilot flying requests the F.E. to set a specific power setting during descent and approach. F.E's also set and monitor the following systems during flight: pressurization, fuel, air conditioning, hydraulic, and electrical systems. F.E's are also responsible for preflight and postflight aircraft inspections. On aircraft where the F.E's station is located on the same flight deck just aft of the two pilots (all western three man deck aircraft), they also monitor aircraft flight path and cross check pilot selections.

On some military aircraft(C-5, KC-10) the Flight Engineer sits behind the co-pilot in the cockpit, facing sideways to operate a panel of gauges and indicators, and on the Tupolev Tu-134 the flight engineer sits in the nose of the aircraft. On other western military aircraft F.E's sit between, slightly aft of, and slightly higher than the pilots, e.g the (P-3 Orion, C-130H) aircraft. The F.E's chair can travel forward, aft and it can swivel laterally 90 degrees, this enables him to face forward and set the engine power, move aft and rotate sideways to monitor the systems panel. The Flight Engineer is the aircraft systems expert onboard and responsible for troubleshooting and suggesting solutions to in-flight emergencies and abnormal technical conditions, as well as computing takeoff and landing data.

The basic philosophy of a three man flight deck on western aircraft should an abnormality or emergency arise is as follows, the Captain hands over the actual flying of the aircraft to the Copilot, then the Captain and Flight Engineer together review and carry out the necessary actions required to contain and rectify the problem, this spreads the workload and ensures a system of cross checking which maximizes safety. The Captain is the manager and decision maker (Pilot Not Flying, PNF), the First Officer/Copilot is the actual flyer of the aircraft (Pilot Flying, PF), the Flight Engineer reads the check-lists and executes actions required under the auspices of the Captain, (PNF). There can be occasions when the roles of the pilots during a emergency are reversed, i.e. The Copilot becomes the PNF and the Captain becomes the PF, one such example was on the A300 B-Series aircraft when there was a complete loss of generator supplied electrical power, whereupon the standby instruments that were powered was on the Captains side only, this required the Captain to be PF, the PNF and Flight Engineer would then resolve the issue.

During World War II many bomber aircraft incorporated the flight engineer position. However, this Engineer also doubled as a gunner, usually operating the dorsal ball turret as was the case of the B-17.

[edit] Elimination

The advent of computer technology, reliable software, and a desire by airlines to cut costs by reducing flight deck crew, has eliminated the requirement for Flight Engineers on modern airliners. The same general logic has led to the removal of the Flight Engineer position in many modern military aircraft. Flight Engineers are a rare sight today, however older aircraft still flying today such as early model Boeing 747s, the Boeing 727, the Lockheed L-1011, and the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 still require Flight Engineers.

Some air transport organizations refer to the Flight Engineer as a second officer if he or she is also a pilot. On many commercial airliners, the Flight Engineer is third in command, after the captain and first officer. Some airlines treat the Flight Engineer position as the first of a three-step promotion path for pilots (the two remaining steps being First Officer and Captain); others treat Flight Engineers as completely independent crew members, and in this latter case the engineers may have a strong technical and mechanical systems background instead of training as pilots.

On new generation two-man deck aircraft, sensors and computers monitor and adjust systems automatically. There is no onboard technical expert and third pair of eyes. If a malfunction, abnormality or emergency occurs it will be displayed on an electronic display panel and the computer will automatically initiate corrective action to rectify the abnormal condition. One pilot does the flying, (PF), and the pilot not flying (PNF) will resolve the issue. The PNF has the additional workload of monitoring the pilot flying and carrying out his requested commands, doing the radio work and reading the checklists to ensure that the computer has done its job and that follow up procedures are accomplished as per checklists.

[edit] External links

• Computer Testing Supplement for Flight Engineer FAA 1999