Editing Flight engineer (section)

== Duties ==
[[File:Cockpit Il-86 RA-86095 (9294538702).jpg|thumb|left|The cockpit of a non-operational four-engine [[Ilyushin Il-86]], with its flight engineer's station at right]]

The flight engineer ("air engineer" in the Royal Air Force) is primarily concerned with the operation and monitoring of all aircraft systems,<ref name="USA Today">Cox, John. [https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/columnist/cox/2014/03/23/flight-engineer-cockpit-duties/6668151/ Ask the Captain: What does the flight engineer do?], ''[[USA Today]]'', March 23, 2014. Retrieved August 14, 2014.</ref> 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,<ref name="Air & Space-2011.11" /> including fuel, pressurization and air conditioning, hydraulic, electrics (engine driven generators, [[auxiliary power unit]]s), 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.<ref name="Air & Space-2011.11" /> 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.<ref name="Air & Space-2011.11">Eldridge, Andrea. [http://www.airspacemag.com/flight-today/confessions-of-a-flight-engineer-80609332 Confessions of a Flight Engineer: Flashlights, timers, and breath mints required], ''[[Air & Space/Smithsonian|Air & Space Smithsonian magazine]]'', November 2011.</ref> 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 (aviation)|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-130 Hercules|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 they 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.

[[File:B-24 Liberatir mid-upper turret.jpg|thumb|Flight engineers on military aircraft are sometimes responsible for operating weapons systems like the top turret on this [[Consolidated B-24 Liberator]].]]

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 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 [[Airbus A300|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 FE to resolve the issue.

During [[World War II]] many U.S. [[bomber]] aircraft incorporated a flight engineer's position. However, this position also doubled as a gunner, usually operating the upper turret, as was the case of the [[Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress]]. On some commercial airliners with a flight engineer, the FE is the third in command, after the captain and [[First Officer (civil aviation)|first officer]].