Quote:
Originally Posted by timmae
Side question(s)... When I travelled last week I was watching a person whom I assume to be the Pilot inspecting the plane before boarding. Is that typical? If so, how much do you need to know about the plane materials/build?
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Yep, I'll get more in depth with what goes on in a typical flight and what my duties end up being but for now that is correct. It's called a walk around and one of the pilots will walk around the plane prior to every flight. In short it's a general inspection of the exterior of the plane. I'm looking for any damage and checking the general condition of the tires, engines and all the pressurized systems. If something isn't right the leak would be fairly obvious. If the weather is bad I'm also looking at any ice or other contaminants on the wings. Pretty much if all the big parts are there and nothing is leaking we are good to go. That's the line we like to say anyway.
As for systems knowledge. It's extensive. That doesn't mean that I am able to just whip out any bit of knowledge about any system and just know exactly what's going on, but you have to know and have a working understanding of not only the operation and limitations of the engines, aerodynamics and basic how a plane flies stuff, but also hydrodynamics (hydraulics and fuel) and electricity. Throw in pneumatics with the pressurization and anti-icing of the plane and you've got a basic idea of what things we have to know. Now put all of it together in a plane (they are all different and yet somehow similar at the same time.)
When I was in initial training I think it was something like 40+ hours of systems computer learning. We have reviews every quarter that we also have to go over as well. In the end it's not that we have to be able to build the plane, but for general knowledge and understanding so we can better deal with things that might go wrong and help address the how and why and what is there that can be done about it.