page_title: Flight engineer
section_title: Duties
hierarchical_section_title: Flight engineer / Duties
caption_attribution_description: Cockpit Il-86 RA-86095
context_page_description: A flight engineer, 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.
  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 FE 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 an FE, the FAA type certificates of subsequent four-engine reciprocating engine airplanes and early three- and four-engine jets required flight engineers.
context_section_description: 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 FE sets and adjusts engine power during takeoff, climb, cruise, go-arounds, or at any time the pilot flying requests a specific power setting to be set during the approach phase. The FE sets and monitors major systems, including fuel, pressurization and air conditioning, hydraulic, electrics (engine driven generators, auxiliary power units), 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, draw through cooling system, forced air cooling system, 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- and four-man deck airplanes), they also monitor an aircraft's flight path, speed, and altitude. A significant portion of their time is spent cross checking pilot selections. The FE is the systems expert of the airplane with an extensive mechanical and technical knowledge of aircraft systems and aircraft performance. On some military airplanes (Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, Boeing E-3 Sentry, McDonnell Douglas KC-10) the FE 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. On the Tupolev Tu-134 the FE sits in the nose of the aircraft. On other western military airplanes, such as on the Lockheed P-3 Orion and Lockheed C-130H Hercules, FEs 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, E-6B Mercury and E-3 Sentry the FE is responsible for starting and shutting down engines at the start and end of each flight, and also during in-flight shutdowns which are carried out to save fuel on long range operations. In some militaries, the aircraft's FE 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 or she 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 them to face forward and set the engine power, then move aft and rotate sideways to monitor and set the systems panel. The FE 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's seat on modern aircraft has a complete range of motion (side to side, forward to aft, swivel, up and down) to accommodate the many positions required to monitor and operate the aircraft systems.
  The basic philosophy of a three-person flight deck in many flight operations, should an abnormality or emergency arise, is for the captain to hand over the actual flying of the aircraft to the first officer (co-pilot). The captain and FE 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, or co-pilot, is the actual flier of the aircraft (pilot flying, PF), and the FE reads the check-lists and executes actions required under the auspices of the captain. There can be 
caption: The cockpit of a non-operational four-engine Ilyushin Il-86, with its flight engineer's station at right
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