Flight engineer

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
The flight engineer on a Avro Lancaster checks settings on the control panel from his seat in the cockpit

A flight engineer is a member of the flight crew in an aircraft who monitors and operates aircraft systems. Flight engineers work in multiple types of aircraft: fixed-wing (airplanes), rotary wing (helicopters), tiltrotor, and space flight.

As airplanes became even larger requiring more engines and complex systems to operate, the workload on the two pilots became excessive during certain critical parts of the flight regime, notably takeoffs and landings. Piston engines on airplanes required a great deal of attention throughout the flight 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 (FE) was created. The Flight Engineer (FE) did not actually fly the airplane; instead, the Flight Engineer (FE) had his/her own specialized control panel allowing the FE 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. Earlier referred to as the flight mechanic on the four engine commercial seaplanes like the Sikorsky S-42, Martin M-130 and the Boeing 314, the Flight Engineer role was referred to as the Engineer (much like a ship's engineer) on the first very large flying boat, the Dornier Do-X where he/she operated a large and complex side facing engineering station similar to later large transport aircraft. The first commercial land airplane to include a flight engineering station was the Boeing 307 but only ten were built before the onset of World War II; during the war the Avro Lancaster bomber and Handley Page Halifax required a Flight Engineer as these large bombers had only one pilot. The first military operation involving Flight Engineers was in February 1941 on a Short Stirling, and was the first four-engined bomber raid of the war by the RAF.[1]


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 (engine driven generators, Auxiliary power unit, Gas turbine compressor/air turbine motor (APU, GTC, ATM), ice and rain protection (engine and nacelle anti-ice, window heat, probe heater), oxygen, fire and overheat protection of all systems, liquid cooling system (Boeing E-3), draw through cooling system (Boeing E-3), forced air cooling system (Boeing E-3), 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/four -man deck airplanes), they also monitor aircraft flight path, speed, and altitude. A significant portion of their time is spent cross checking pilot selections. The flight engineer is 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 outboard to operate a panel of switches, gauges and indicators or forward to operate throttles, lighting controls, flight controls, 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 (in the case of the C-130A-H models, slightly higher than the pilots. On the P-3 Orion and E-3 Sentry the Flight Engineer is responsible for starting and shutting down engines at the beginning and end of flights and also during in-flight shutdowns which are carried out to save fuel on long range operations. In most cases, a military Flight Engineer is also authorised to make and certify repairs to the aircraft when it is away from its base. This can eliminate the need for technical repair crews to accompany the aircraft on short deployments. 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/her 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 FE seat on modern aircraft has complete range of motion (side to side, forward to aft, swivel, up and down) to accommodate the many positions required to monitor and operate aircraft systems.

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 US 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.



On two-pilot flight deck airplanes, 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 (PF) does the flying and the other pilot (PNF) resolves the issue.

The elimination of flight engineers on certain airframes has become a topic of controversy among aerospace professionals following several incidents in which pilots may have been overcome by task saturation. Modern technological advancements in today's aircraft have reduced the dependence upon human control over systems. However, aircraft designed with the dependence upon a flight engineer to identify and correct in-flight malfunctions exhibit a higher mission-successful rate than aircraft modified with an electronic flight malfunction/correction analysis system. For this reason, some military aircraft still retain flight engineers, since the cost of hiring extra crew members is less of an issue for military and government organizations than it is for commercial operators.


  1. ^ "The History of the Air Engineer", Flight Lieutenant D C Stringman (1983), publisher unknown

External links[edit]