Corporate CYA checklists

[greasy8driver]

I about to make a transition from 9yrs of 121 flying to the corp. world. I understand that corp. pilots wear multiple hats in the day to day operation. I was just wondering if any of you guys have a checklist you use to cover all your bases. A CYA checklist if you will.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

 

[TXGold]

Now thats funny. Why don't you hire your own dispatcher.

 

[greasy8driver]

Hey TxGold,

Like I said I'm new to the corp. side and I'm just looking for some advice. I can't tell you why they don't have a dispatcher, gee maybe cost. If you don't have any good advice then I'd rather not hear from you. Don't worry I bring plenty of experience to the table. I've had the oppurtunity to fly a four engine heavy left seat through every continent for several years.
I'm glad I made you laugh next time just look in your pants if you want a laugh.

 

[Spooky 2]

I about to make a transition from 9yrs of 121 flying to the corp. world. I understand that corp. pilots wear multiple hats in the day to day operation. I was just wondering if any of you guys have a checklist you use to cover all your bases. A CYA checklist if you will.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Sure there are all sorts of checklists that you can draw from. We use them for any number of tasks, mostly during the preperation phase of the flight planning. Simply to many areas that can cause you to fail just when everything is coming together. A lot of the detail work can be handled by your flight planning organization but only a fool would accept no responsibility for many of the details that need to be covered prior to starting the engines. Flying is the easy part. Making sure that all the details are arranged for the guests in the back is where you can really stub your toes. At my previous employeer it was a standing joke that "we were set up to fail everytime" simply because the owner was such a difficult guy to predict. Wasn't always pretty, but we did a dang good job of meeting his over the top demands, 356/24/7.

Each operation is unique, so what works for you, might not have any application for us. Listen to the guys that your working with and learn from their experiences and you'll probably be just fine. The key is listening and watching carefully when you are new to the game.

As for dispatchers as you would know them, probably not. However many large corp. flight departments, including a lot of Part135 ops have people that are dedicated to "packaging" your trip. These usually go by the name of Flight Coordinators and a good one is worth his/her weight in gold.

Good luck!

 

[Snakum]

My corporate checklist is ...

"Clear right"

"I'll take the fat one, sir."


You'll never go wrong with these two.

 

[Coool Hand Luke]

Use the A.W.A.R.E. briefing format. PM me if you want more info, I'll be happy to help.

Cheers! and congrats on the new job Greasy.

 

[seawings]

Checklist:

Many of our pilots and flight engineers have developed personal "gentle reminders" that they consult to confirm everything is complete. "What's in it"? What ever that person wants to confirm. Mine covers all the essentials from the simple (is the coffee pot on?) to the critical (have we sufficient fuel?). Let your imagination go...then reduce the print size, laminate and put in your wallet for easy consultation. Welcome to this side.

You start with a bag full of luck and an empty bag of experience. The trick is to fill the bag of experience before you empty the bag of luck. ​

 

[Spooky 2]

Use the A.W.A.R.E. briefing format. PM me if you want more info, I'll be happy to help.

Cheers! and congrats on the new job Greasy.

I have always found the AWARE briefing pretty inadequate for anything meaningful. Have yet to meet a FA that gave a hoot about the SID or routing you were planning on flying. I believe that AWARE originated at FSI and that probably explains the reason it's so poor. The real point is that yes you need to develope standard briefings and procedures that don't become so booring that they are simply ignored or glossed over by all who are involved.

 

[Coool Hand Luke]

I have always found the AWARE briefing pretty inadequate for anything meaningful. Have yet to meet a FA that gave a hoot about the SID or routing you were planning on flying. I believe that AWARE originated at FSI and that probably explains the reason it's so poor. The real point is that yes you need to develope standard briefings and procedures that don't become so booring that they are simply ignored or glossed over by all who are involved.

That's interesting Spooky. You are correct about the whole point....standardization. We are a Fortune 200 Part 91 corporate flight department and we use the AWARE briefing format. Never had any issues with it not being "adequate or meaningful", and it's what our training provider (yes FlightSafety) teaches. We do have and use a more detailed briefing form(developed in-house) when trips are flown with contract pilots and/or new hire pilots.

I am intersted in what briefing format you and your company use, as we continously evaluate industry best practices.

Thanks.

 

[400A]

It kind of depends on if you are going to a larger multi aircraft department, or a small one aircraft department. If it is a large department, follow company procedures and policies. If this is the case, I assume you will fly with a veteran first. Just remember to pay attention to how they do it. Assuming you do not see anything unsafe, they dont care how you did it at XXXXXXX.

In a smaller operation, just remember you are responsible for everything. Flight planning, passenger comfort, ground transpertation, catering, stock, crew coordination, maintenance, finances and the list goes on. I reccomend flight planning services for International ops. They can be worth their weight in gold.

PM me if you want to reveal details, I might be able to offer some help.