Aircrew 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. Air crew consist of Flight Crew and Cabin Crew.
Aircrew 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. Air crew consist of Flight Crew and Cabin Crew.
A flight engineer (FE), also sometimes called an air engineer, is a member of an aircraft's flight crew who is responsible for monitoring and operating 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.
In earlier days, most larger aircraft were designed and built with a flight engineer's position. For U.S. civilian aircraft that require a flight engineer as part of the crew, the flight engineer must possess an FAA Flight Engineer Certificate with reciprocating, turboprop, or turbojet ratings appropriate to the aircraft. Whereas the four-engine Douglas DC-4 did not require a flight engineer, the FAA type certificates of subsequent four-engine reciprocating engine airplanes (Boeing 307 and 377, DC-6, DC-7, Constellation) and early two-, three- and four-engine jets (Boeing 707, 727, early 747s, DC-8, DC-10, L-1011, early A300s) required them. Smaller twinjets (DC-9, 737, BAC 1-11, Caravelle, Dassault Mercure) were never complex enough to require a flight engineer, while later large two, three, and four-engine jets (Airbus A310, A300-600, Boeing 767, MD-11, 747-400, and later) were designed with sufficient automation as to eliminate the need for the position.
Payload is the object or the entity that is being carried by an aircraft or launch vehicle. Sometimes payload also refers to the carrying capacity of an aircraft or launch vehicle, usually measured in terms of weight. Depending on the nature of the flight or mission, the payload of a vehicle may include cargo, passengers, flight crew, munitions, scientific instruments or experiments, or other equipment. Extra fuel, when optionally carried, is also considered part of the payload.
In a commercial context (i.e., an airline or air freight carrier), payload may refer only to revenue-generating cargo or paying passengers. A payload of ordnance carried by a combat aircraft is sometimes alternatively referred to as the aircraft's warload.