Aviation Sri Lanka 

Flight Operation

Flight Operation involves a number steps which you may not have been aware of. For your reference, they are listed at the bottom of this page.  However, this page is mainly focused on some of the important steps involved in Pre-Flight preparation.  These are namely,

Although all the above topics are interlinked, for the easiness of understanding, they are discussed separately in the subsequent pages. The theory of flight operation is described taking the example of a flight from Bandaranaike International Airport to London Heathrow. Therefore, flight planning, route planning, fuel planning, meteorological information and other flight data are presented according to the said VCBI - EGLL route.    

The sequence of above steps are not in order but flight planning and collecting meteorological information would come last in the list as there might be last minute changes to them. The figure shown below depicts the flight, like every other commercial airline flight, follows a typical profile.

1.       Preflight: flight checks, push-back from and taxi to the runway.

2.       Takeoff: powers up the aircraft and speeds down the runway.

3.       Climb: The plane climbs to a cruising altitude.

4.       En route: travels through one or more center airspaces and nears the destination airport.

5.       Descent: descends and maneuvers the aircraft to the destination airport.

6.       Approach: aligns the aircraft with the designated landing runway.

7.       Landing: lands on the designated runway, taxis and parks at the Apron.

Flight Control Center or Flight Service Station (FSS) provides information (weather, route, terrain, flight plan) for pilots flying out of airports. Trained personnel in these centers make possible the flight by dispatching these information to pilots and other parties involved in the flight.

Pre-Flight:

·           Plan the flight

·           Prepare log sheets

·           Compute fuel load

·           Departure procedure reviewed

·           Charts and docs at hand

·           Set weather parameters /activate real weather

Pre-Engine start:

·           Brakes set

·           Nav points and frequencies checked

·           Nav radios set

·           Com radios set

Engine Start:

·           Parking Brake Set

·           Engine Area Clear

·           Throttle Set to Idle (stick throttle!)

·           Start Fuel Flow

·           Start Engines

·           Check Engine Operating Normally

Pre-Taxi:

·           Flaps 1 (or appropriate)

·           Check Control Continuity:

·           Confirm Full Aileron Movement

·           Confirm Full Rudder Movement

·           Confirm Full Elevator Movement

·           Get Taxi clearance (GND)

·           Identify (squawk)

·           Release Parking Brake

·           Taxi to departure runway - set parking brake when holding short of runway

Pre-Takeoff:

·           Check parking brake set

·           Check Set to Flaps 1

·           Check engine operating normally

·           Auto Pilot on (no service engaged)

·           Airspeed set to 230 KIAS (or appropriate)

·           Request Take off from Tower/Departure

·           "Cleared to" altitude set

·           Departure heading set

·           Timer reset

·           Taxi into position and hold

Takeoff:

·           Release Parking Brake

·           Set power to maximum thrust (full throttle)

·           @ V1 (Decision Speed) - go/abort

·           @ Vr (Rotate Speed) roll gently

·           Initial climb at 4-12° BA (Body Angle)

·           Positive Rate Of Climb >500 ft agl. - Gear Up

·           Retract Flaps:

·           Flaps Two: see POH

·           Flaps One: see POH

·           Flaps Retracted: see POH

·           Contact Departure

Post Takeoff:

·           Engage Auto-throttle

·           Engage Heading Hold

·           Engage Altitude Hold

·           Check gear up

·           Check flaps up

·           Check A/P Functioning Properly

·           Head for filed flight plan

Climb:

·           Rate of Climb - see POH (Set to (see POH) for expedited climb.)

·           Airspeed

·           250 KIAS under 10,000 ft.

·           see POH for cruising airspeed above 10,000 ft.

·           Increase throttle as needed to hold published climb airspeed

·           Log Take off data onto log sheet

Cruise(Enroute):

·           Airspeed

·           Ensure On Course Navigation

·           Log cruise data continuously

·           Prepare landing by revising the arrival airport charts

Descent:

·           Get TIS(Terminal Information Service) for arrival airport

·           Contact Tower (inbound)

·           Set Auto-Throttle to desired airspeed

·           "Cleared To" Altitude Set

Pre-Approach

·           Approach Plate Out

·           Approach Brief

·           Missed approach Brief

·           ILS Freq. Set (Once turned/cleared for approach)

·           Check for traffic

Approach:

·           Spoiler Armed

·           Fly published approach as briefed.

·           Normal Approach Airspeed:

·           see POH (Short Field Landings - see POH)

·           Landing Configuration set at outer marker

·           Gear Down

·           Flaps Full

·          EXECUTE MISSED APPROACH, establish a stabilized approach or deviate significantly from the ILS localizer and/or glide slope.

Landing:

·           Target Airspeed: see POH (Short Field Landings - see POH)

·           After touchdown:

·           Apply Brakes as needed to safely exit runway

·           Exit Runway at 15 Knots or less

Post Landing:

·           Flaps Ups

·           Clear runway (and notify Tower)

·           Taxi To Terminal/Ramp

Parking:

·           Parking Brake Set

·           Flaps Up

·           Spoilers Retracted

·           Engines Off

·           Log landing data

Debriefing:

·          Log into logbook (or  local despair logbook)

        ·          Log/Close your flight and don't forget to enter any aircraft relevant data

Best selling books about Flight Operation (Click on the cover for details)

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