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Post by Jorge on Jun 28, 2015 21:57:49 GMT -5
The Crew Chief is usually - at least in the US Army - the Senior Enlisted soldier on the aircraft in charge of the cargo whether inside or outside the helicopter. I believe in the Air Force of today they are called "Load Masters", but essentially have the same mission - take care of the cargo, whether it's passengers or pallets. In the Army we got the term from the Army Air Forces that called the enlisted guy in the back looking after the cargo the "Crew Chief." When it was more than one enlisted outside the flight deck (Flight Engineers and Radio Operators were enlisted) then the Crew Chief was in charge of those that were in the back working on making sure the cargo was secure. In the Navy, if I'm not mistaken, it's the same for aircraft like the C-130 for example.
The airlines, depending on the company, use the term in a different way. At American Airlines, the Crew Chief is the senior mechanic that signs for the aircraft when it's taken to the maintenance hangar for work. He/she is just below the Foreman and is also responsible for up to 10 mechanics that may be on shift. In the Navy, the same mechanic job (the one that signs for the aircraft) is called, "Plane Captain" if memory serves correctly.
In a passenger operation, the Crew Chief would be similar to the Purser while the other enlisted crew members would be similar to the Flight Attendants. In any case, the Crew Chief is still subbordinate to the Flight Deck Crew, specifically the Captain. The bottom line is that they are in charge of everything behind the flight deck door while there is something back there so that the flight deck crew could concentrate on flying, navigating, and communicating.
Help out here if my memory is off, guys. Thanks.
Hope this helps.
Jorge
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Post by volkerboehme on Jun 29, 2015 12:22:17 GMT -5
Hi,
Regarding sextants: 'Domestic' configurations might not have an astrodome installed. On the other hand, aircraft without astrodome might be using a periscopic sextant instead. This device would be extended like a submarine periscope when needed and could be retracted when not required, causing considerably less drag than a large, fixed perspex dome. Compare 'short' Lockheed Constellatiüons to the later Super Constellations.
Folks, thanks for explainIng the Crew Chief term.
Best regards, Volker
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Post by herkpilot on Jun 30, 2015 0:02:08 GMT -5
re: crew chiefs. In the modern Air Force, the crew chief (and often an assistant CC)"owns" the acft when its on the ground. The aircrew only "borrows" it to fly. On the ground,at home base, they answer to the flight chief and maintenance control. The position evolved from the "flight mechanic" who was part of the in flight crew. The CC is responsible for coordinating all routine ground maintenance, repairs, refueling, towing and cleaning. His name is usually painted next to the crew entrance door on large aircraft. Flying crew chiefs often travel with "their" aircraft when it's going off station for longer missions and do their job while the flight crew sleeps at en-route stops. They often end up sleeping on the acft. It's an incredibly responsible and hard working job for men and women who are generally only senior airman or junior sergeants. They are the ones who really make the flight line work and the acft fly.
Hy
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Post by Defender on Jun 30, 2015 4:29:24 GMT -5
Hi again Nik,
One of your questions was why these aircraft were apparently certificated as requiring only 3 crew. This is an extract from the Civil Aeronautics Board's 1948 regulations,
CIVIL AIR REGULATIONS _____
PART 41—CERTIFICATION AND OPERATION RULES FOR SCHEDULED AIR CARRIER OPERATIONS OUTSIDE THE CONTINENTAL LIMITS OF THE UNITED STATES
41.33
Flight navigator.
When required. An airman holding a flight navigator certificate shall be required solely for navigation for that route or segment thereof for which the Administrator has determined that:
celestial navigation is necessary, or
other specialized means of navigation necessary for the safe conduct of flight cannot be adequately accomplished from the pilot station.
So the FAA aircraft certification was by no means the only regulatory issue. The "Administrator" would be the CAB or the FAA, not sure which. Note also the word "solely".
Best regards
Bill
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Post by dutchman2 on Jun 30, 2015 9:37:19 GMT -5
Look at the Ken Mitchell Boeing 314 (Clipper)on this sites downloads under Boeing. I believe if has the full navigator layout (sextant etc.) as well as the how to documentation. Check out any of the old Boeing Clipper flight deck photos. The nav station is a large counter top. My wife would like to see something like that at our next kitchen remodel.
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Post by mrcapitalism on Jun 30, 2015 13:11:37 GMT -5
I think as others have mentioned, some of the problems with "vintage era" RNAV is that the infrastructure doesn't exist in FS9/FSX. Flight simulator is designed to replicate the modern airspace system with modern navigation facilities and air traffic procedures. In order for you to perform the role of Flight Navigator, you're going to need to obtain RDF bearings from ground based stations. As I understand it, that procedure relies on voice communication from ground based radio stations. Some of those stations are aboard navy ships stationed at specific Lat/Long across the globe. Those ground stations and/or ships don't exist in flight simulator. The default ATC system isn't programmed to handle bearing requests from ground stations, and I don't think the simulator is able to handle the radio frequency range used by the communication equipment (UHF I assume?). The next best option for you might be to replicate the stations with extremely long range NDB stations and an ADF receiver which may realistically be installed in the aircraft. Those files might already be online... I don't know. LORAN transmitters don't exist in FS9/FSX, and both ded reckoning and pressure pattern flying can be accomplished realistically in the simulator. So the best you're going to do is use what resources are available to best simulate the task. The same problems face "classic era" procedures when navigating by radio ranges. Radio ranges don't exist in flight sim. However, most ranges were upgraded to 'omni-directional' radio ranges (VOR's) which are coded into the simulator, and the procedures remain relatively unchanged to this day. You can still find a radio range network for download, and I think there are even gauges which can simulate the A-N tone so you can navigate without a course needle. TL:DR, you can get as in depth into navigation as you really want.. I just stick with the "virtual navigator/ GPS" it apparently replicates the same results anyways. Also I disagree with other posters on the addition of extra flight crew for safety. Aviation regulations very specifically dictate under which conditions a navigator must be on board, and airlines are very sensitive to labor costs and aircraft payload when purchasing aircraft and making equipment decisions for certain routes. They're only going to put a navigator on the airplane when they are legally required to do so. Here are the current United States FAA regulations regarding the requirement for a navigator for scheduled airline operations (121.389) Also, here's a link to the FAA Flight Navigator Handbook
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Post by chris_c on Jun 30, 2015 13:24:30 GMT -5
Actually, Radio Ranges for the CONUS and Canada are available for FS9. Search for rr40.zip over at Flightsim.com. This is why a number of us maintain several FS9 installations where at least some of the modern navigation aids have been toned down or removed. There are all sorts of innovative early nav aids addons for FS9 including at least one that allows you to home in on commercial AM radio stations in the US.
Chris
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Post by mrcapitalism on Jun 30, 2015 13:55:34 GMT -5
There are all sorts of innovative early nav aids addons for FS9 including at least one that allows you to home in on commercial AM radio stations in the US. Chris I did mention the range network that could be downloaded. I didn't know there was an AM homing addon.. that sounds great! I know there's also a beacon airway network as well. I think my point is that the user has to find, download, and install them.
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Post by nikdunaev on Jul 1, 2015 7:36:53 GMT -5
Thank you everybody for your answers!
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Post by nikdunaev on Jul 1, 2015 7:46:01 GMT -5
Went browsing for the said add ons now.
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