Aircrew, also called flight crew, are personnel who operate an aircraft while in flight. The composition of a flight's crew depends on the type of aircraft, plus the flight's duration and purpose.
Aircrew, also called flight crew, are personnel who operate an aircraft while in flight. The composition of a flight's crew depends on the type of aircraft, plus the flight's duration and purpose.
In commercial aviation, the aircrew are called flight crew. Some flight crew position names are derived from nautical terms and indicate a rank or command structure similar to that on ocean-going vessels, allowing for quick executive decision making during normal operations or emergency situations. Historical flightdeck positions include:
Aircraft cabin crew members can consist of:
From the start of military aviation, additional crew members have flown on military aircraft. Over time these duties have expanded:
The basic principles of air navigation are identical to general navigation, which includes the process of planning, recording, and controlling the movement of a craft from one place to another.
A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation. The navigator's primary responsibility is to be aware of ship or aircraft position at all times. Responsibilities include planning the journey, advising the ship's captain or aircraft commander of estimated timing to destinations while en route, and ensuring hazards are avoided. The navigator is in charge of maintaining the aircraft or ship's nautical charts, nautical publications, and navigational equipment, and they generally have responsibility for meteorological equipment and communications. With the advent of satellite navigation, the effort required to accurately determine one's position has decreased by orders of magnitude, so the entire field has experienced a revolutionary transition since the 1990s with traditional navigation tasks, like performing celestial navigation, being used less frequently. Using multiple independent position fix methods without solely relying on electronic systems subject to failure helps the navigator detect errors. Professional mariners are still proficient in traditional piloting and celestial navigation.
A flight engineer (FE), also sometimes called an air engineer, is the member of an aircraft's flight crew who monitors and operates its complex aircraft systems. In the early era of aviation, the position was sometimes referred to as the "air mechanic". Flight engineers can still be found on some larger fixed-wing airplanes and helicopters. A similar crew position exists on some spacecraft. In most modern aircraft, their complex systems are both monitored and adjusted by electronic microprocessors and computers, resulting in the elimination of the flight engineer's position.
The Observer Badge is a military badge of the United States armed forces dating from the First World War. The badge was issued to co-pilots, navigators, and flight support personnel who had received a variation in the training required for the standard Pilot's Badge. The Observer Badge survived through the Second World War and into the 1950s, at which time the concept of an Observer Badge was phased out in favor of the modern Aircrew Badge and Navigator-Observer Badges. In addition to wings for Naval Aviators and Naval Flight Officers, the United States Navy still maintains an "Observer Badge" which is issued to flight-qualified mission specialists, such as a select number of meteorologists and intelligence officers in both the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. The U.S. Air Force awards its USAF Observer Badge, which is identical to the USAF Navigator Badge, to Air Force officers who have qualified as NASA Space Shuttle Mission Specialists, have flown an actual mission aboard the shuttle and/or the International Space Station and who are otherwise not previously aeronautically rated as an Air Force pilot or navigator.
A Flight Officer Badge is a decoration used by some of the world's air forces, to include naval aviation of the world's navies, marine forces and coast guards, to denote those who have received training as co-pilots, navigators, observers, or other aircraft officer flight crew personnel. The primary difference between a flight officer and a pilot is that the pilot is responsible for the actual flying and control the aircraft, while the flight officer assists with such duties as navigation and weapons and/or sensor systems operation.
In all forms of aviation, ground crew are personnel that service aircraft while on the ground, during routine turn-around; as opposed to aircrew, who operate all aspects of an aircraft whilst in flight. The term ground crew is used by both civilian commercial airlines and in military aviation.
A naval flight officer (NFO) is a commissioned officer in the United States Navy or United States Marine Corps who specializes in airborne weapons and sensor systems. NFOs are not pilots (naval aviators), but they may perform many "co-pilot" or "mission specialist" functions, depending on the type of aircraft. Until 1966, their duties were performed by both commissioned officer and senior enlisted naval aviation observers (NAO).
The title flight officer was a military rank used by the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, and also an air force rank in several Commonwealth countries, where it was used for female officers and was equivalent to the rank of flight lieutenant. The term flight officer is sometimes used today to describe job title positions as aircrew members.
A loadmaster is an aircrew member on military transport aircraft or civilian aircraft tasked with the safe loading, transport and unloading of aerial cargoes. Loadmasters serve in the militaries and civilian airlines of many nations.
A bombardier or bomb aimer is the crew member of a bomber aircraft responsible for the targeting of aerial bombs. "Bomb aimer" was the preferred term in the military forces of the Commonwealth, while "bombardier" was the equivalent position in the United States Armed Forces.
The Aircrew Badge, commonly known as Wings, is a qualification badge of the United States military that is awarded by all five branches of armed services to personnel who serve as aircrew members on board military aircraft. The badge is intended to recognize the training and qualifications required by aircrew of military aircraft. In order to qualify as an aircrew member and receive the Aircrew Badge, such personnel typically undergo advanced training in aircraft in-flight support roles.
In aviation, the first officer (FO), also called co-pilot, is a pilot in addition to the captain, who is the legal commander. In the event of incapacitation of the captain, the first officer will assume command of the aircraft.
A Weapon Systems Officer (WSO), nicknamed "Wizzo", is an air flight officer directly involved in all air operations and weapon systems of a military aircraft.
Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Training Squadron 253 was based at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, and responsible for providing the Fleet Marine Force active-duty and reserve KC-130 squadrons with qualified replacement pilots and enlisted aircrew. Known as the "Titans", VMGRT-253 was a subordinate unit of Marine Aircraft Group 14, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing.
Varig Flight 820 was a flight of the Brazilian airline Varig that departed from Galeão International Airport in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 11 July 1973, for Orly Airport, in Paris, France. The plane, a Boeing 707, registration PP-VJZ, made an emergency landing in onion fields about five kilometres from Orly Airport, due to smoke in the cabin from a fire in a lavatory. The fire caused 123 deaths; there were only 11 survivors . Relief Captain Antonio Fuzimoto was the pilot who handled the controls and landed the plane in the field.
Naval Aircrewman (AW) is an enlisted general rating of the U.S. Navy. Sailors in the AW rating serve as aircraft systems operators or inflight system maintenance technicians aboard U. S. Navy fixed and rotoray winged aircraft. They perform duties as varied as aerial gunners, rescue swimmers, radar and sonar operators, airborne mine countermeasures system operators, strategic communications systems specialists, loadmasters, repair technicians, and various other functions depending on the specific aircraft type in which they fly. The rating is divided into five subdivisions termed "service ratings". Those service ratings are: Naval Aircrewman Operator (AWO); Naval Aircrewman Helicopter (AWS); Naval Aircrewman Tactical Helicopter (AWR); Naval Aircrewman Mechanical (AWF); and Naval Aircrewman Avionics (AWV). All five service ratings are identified by a single AW Rating Badge. Many technologically advanced navies have a similar trade.
An air observer or aerial observer is an aircrew member whose duties are predominantly reconnaissance. The term originated in the First World War in the British Royal Flying Corps, and was maintained by its successor, the Royal Air Force. An air observer's brevet was a single wing with an O at the root. Although today sometimes a manned aircraft is still utilised for aerial observation, industry and the military use both satellites and remotely piloted vehicles for this function.
The aircrews of RAF Bomber Command during World War II operated a fleet of bomber aircraft carried strategic bombing operations from September 1939 to May 1945, on behalf of the Allied powers. The crews were men from the United Kingdom, other Commonwealth countries, and occupied Europe, especially Poland, France, Czechoslovakia and Norway, as well as other foreign volunteers. While the majority of Bomber Command personnel were members of the RAF, many belonged to other air forces – especially the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF). Under Article XV of the 1939 Air Training Agreement, squadrons belonging officially to the RCAF, RAAF, and RNZAF were formed, equipped and financed by the RAF, for service in Europe. While it was intended that RCAF, RAAF, and RNZAF personnel would serve only with their respective "Article XV squadrons", in practice many were posted to units of the RAF or other air forces. Likewise many RAF personnel served in Article XV squadrons.
An airborne sensor operator is the functional profession of gathering information from an airborne platform and/or oversee mission management systems for academic, commercial, public safety or military remote sensing purposes. The airborne sensor operator is considered a principal flight crew or aircrew member.
In-flight crew relief, is a term used in commercial aviation when referring to the members of an aircrew intended to temporarily relieve active crew members of their duties during the course of a flight. The term and its role are almost exclusively applied to the secondary pilots of an aircrew, commonly referred to as relief pilots, that relieve the primary and active captain and/or first officer (co-pilot) in command of an aircraft to provide prolonged breaks for rest or sleep opportunities.
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