Flight engineer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In aviation, a flight engineer is a member of the aircrew of some aircraft who is responsible for monitoring and controlling certain aircraft systems during flight.
[edit] Description
Flight engineers typically monitor and adjust engine, pressurization, fuel, environmental, hydraulic, and electrical systems during a flight. They may also be responsible for certain preflight and postflight aircraft inspections.
In civil operations and some military aircraft the flight engineer sits behind the pilot and co-pilot in the cockpit, facing a side panel of gauges and indicators. In other military aircraft, flight engineers sit between the pilots (P-3 Orion and C-130H). And on Tupolev Tu-134, the flight engineer sits in the nose of the aircraft. The flight engineer is the aircraft systems expert onboard and responsible for troubleshooting and suggesting solutions to in-flight emergencies, as well as computing takeoff and landing data.
The advent of computer technology, increased system reliability, and the glass cockpit have eliminated the requirement for flight engineers on modern airliners, and 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. Newer aircraft monitor and adjust systems automatically, by computer, and report malfunctions directly to the pilot-in-command and the copilot.
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, and it is not the most senior member of the cabin crew. 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.
