Duties
The Flight Engineer (Air Engineer in the Royal Air Force) is primarily concerned with the operation and monitoring of all aircraft systems, and is required to diagnose and where possible rectify or eliminate any faults that may arise. On most multi-engine airplanes, the Flight Engineer (FE) sets and adjusts engine power during take off, climb, cruise, go-arounds, or at any time the pilot flying (PF) requests a specific power setting to be set during the approach phase. The FE sets and monitors the following major systems: fuel, pressurization and air conditioning, hydraulic, electrics, ice and rain protection, oxygen, fire and overheat protection, and powered flying controls. FEs are also responsible for preflight and postflight aircraft inspections, and ensuring that the weight and balance of the aircraft is correctly calculated to ensure the centre of gravity is within limits. On airplanes where the FE's station is located on the same flight deck just aft of the two pilots (all western three-man deck airplanes), they also monitor aircraft flight path, speed, and altitude. A significant portion of their time is cross checking pilot selections. The flight engineer is essentially the systems expert of the airplane with an extensive mechanical and technical knowledge of aircraft systems and aircraft performance.
On some military airplanes(C-5, E-3, KC-10) the Flight Engineer sits behind the co-pilot in the cockpit, facing sideways to operate a panel of switches, gauges and indicators, and on the Tupolev Tu-134 the flight engineer sits in the nose of the airplanes. On other western military airplanes, such as on the P-3 Orion and C-130H, FE's sit between, slightly aft of, and slightly higher than the pilots. On civilian airplanes the FE is positioned so that he can monitor the forward instruments, pilot selections and adjust the thrust levers located on the centre pedestal; the FE's chair can travel forward and aft and it can swivel laterally 90 degrees, which enables him to face forward and set the engine power, then move aft and rotate sideways to monitor and set 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 airplanes 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 flier of the aircraft (Pilot Flying, PF), and 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 an 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 were on the Captain's side only, requiring the Captain to be PF and the PNF and Flight Engineer to 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 upper turret as was the case of the B-17.
On all commercial airliners with a Flight Engineer the FE is the third in command, after the captain and first officer.
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