Multi-engine takeoff briefing

[SW3NAVAJO]

What is an example of the multi-engine crew briefing given before takeoff?

 

[labbats]

For our training, we review all takeoff data and engine out scenarios before asking tower to take the runway.

Paperwork involves a 1000' speed check, accel-stop distance, T/O length, available runway, and estimated full throttle manifold pressure for the most part. Then we say that if there is any problem, what we will do for that airport and verify who will fly if that occurs.

 

[FracCapt]

What is an example of the multi-engine crew briefing given before takeoff?

My briefing is as follows....

"Here we go dude....let's get the flock out of here.."
or
"Let's make like a tree, and get out of here."

That is all.

 

[bertengineer]

Takeoff Brief

On the takeoff roll we are going to ratate at (75) knots. Should an engine malfunction occur prior to (75) I will bring the throttles to idle, apply fuill brakes and bring the aircraft to a full stop. If the malfunction occurs after rotation speed and runway is remaing, We will land straight ahead on the remaining runway, power to idle and full brakes applied. After rotation and no runway remaining, Set blue line to (80), I will put the mixture to full, full forward on the props, full throttle, identify the failed engine, verify, secure the failed engine, flaps up and gear up to come back in for a full stop landing. Otherwise, normal takeoff to the north....then your planed flight

 

[SAMRA]

For two crew ops ours goes something like this:


This will be a left seat off of XX. Vmc is 76 rotate is 95. In the event of a malfuntion below Vmc with sufficient rwy the calls will be power to idle, brake straight ahead. In the even there's an emergency after Vmc or without sufficient rwy, calls will be blue line to 400 (agl) Flaps up gear up, identify, varify, secure the engine return for landing on XX (rwy).

That is for the first take off of the day. Every take off after that it's just:
Left/Right seat off of XX as per breifed this morning.

I hope this helps. SOPs may be different with the company you will fly for use the SOPs that your company has provided.

Cheers.
PS. Are you looking for what we call on take off to? IE airspeed alive etc..?

 

[bobbysamd]

Takeoff briefing for light twins

For our training, we review all takeoff data and engine out scenarios before asking tower to take the runway.

Paperwork involves a 1000' speed check, accel-stop distance, T/O length, available runway, and estimated full throttle manifold pressure for the most part. Then we say that if there is any problem, what we will do for that airport and verify who will fly if that occurs.

Further, review V-speeds. State what you would do if you lose the engine before rotation, which, of course, would be to reduce power on the remaining engine and stop. If you lose the engine after takeoff, you will establish Vxse or Vyse as applicable, remain at or above blueline, maintain control of the aircraft, full power on both engines, reduce drag, identify, verify, feather, climb to a safe altitude, report to ATC, enter the pattern, and execute a landing with one engine inoperative. You would say you will lower the gear only when the runway is assured and extend flaps only as necessary.

Something like that should work for typical light twins. Bertengineer, above, gives a good takeoff brief, similar to Riddle's.

Some of the callouts I recall from the FSI Alitalia program include "full power," "airspeed alive," "rotate," "postive climb-gear up," "gear up-lights out" (meaning the three-green), "climb power-climb power set," etc. We were not training Seminole pilots but eventual DC-9 pilots, so Alitalia's callouts were good enough for me.

 

[minitour]

I don't know how this relates to multi engine, but I like the briefing my CFI had me memorize...still do it after the private ride just to make sure I know what's going on...


"This will be a (Normal/short/soft field) takeoff as outlined in the Pilot's Operating Handbook. If I lose an engine on the takeoff roll, I will close the throttle, apply the breaks, maintain directional control, and bring the aircraft to a stop on the remaining runway. If I lose an engine after takeoff and have sufficient altitude, I will aviate, navigate, investigate, communicate, declare an emergency, and return to the airport only if able. For this takeoff we will rotate at __, Vx is __, and Vy is __. Any questions?"
(at which time usually my passenger looks at me with that George W. Bush deer in the headlights look on her face)

I suppose you'd have to throw in all those other V speeds that pertain to multi engine ops, but it's pretty thorough...plus if you miss something, it gives the other person a chance to ask "any questions"...after the questions are answered, call tower and go...

Hope this helps

-mini

 

[SAMRA]

If you give your passenger a takeoff brief when your flying single pilot, imho your an idiot. For that matter, if you even open your mouth when flying single pilot for any checklist your an idiot.

 

[falconpilot]

This briefing may not apply exactly to your type of aircraft, but I think you will get the general idea.... This is the briefing that I use in just about every aircraft that I fly.... After the take off data has been reviewed by both pilots...

"ok... this will be a standard left seat departure. anything prior to 80kts we will abort. anything after 80kts and prior to V1 we will only abort for engine failure, fire, or loss of directional control. anything after V1 were going flying... we will make ________ traffic (left or right) back around for the ________ approach (visual, ILS, etc..) to runway _______. "

If you are taking off IFR in low weather you would want to divert to the closet airport that has good weather. Obviously that may not always be possible. That would also be part of my take off briefing. We operate out of an airport that has very minimal emergency equipment, so we also brief what airport we will go to in the event of a problem. No matter how you do it..... Just make sure that you and the person sitting next to you are on the same page. That way incase the **CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED** really does hit the fan, there won't be asses and elbows flying everywhere. Hope that helps....

 

[minitour]

If you give your passenger a takeoff brief when your flying single pilot, imho your an idiot. For that matter, if you even open your mouth when flying single pilot for any checklist your an idiot.

SAMRA,

I disagree...as a private pilot, my passengers are almost always going to be family or friends, most of which have never flown commercially, let alone a 152 or 172...the last thing I want them doing is freaking out if I lose an engine during/after takeoff...I want them to know what I'm doing before I do it and why I'm doing it calmly and not in a panick like them...which is why I also let them know in the preflight briefing that if there's an emergency, I'll tell them to pop the door and WHY they need to pop the door...it really helps to calm them down knowing they have a competent pilot sitting next to them and not someone thats just anxious to get it up

as far as verbalising on checklists with single pilot ops...I think verbalising just makes it easier not to forget anything...sure I've memorized them and incorporated them into flows but there's no reason NOT to verbalise...

if being safe makes me an idiot then im guilty...but id rather be an idiot than a smoldering ball of aluminum at the departure end of the runway...

thanks for appreciating an attempt to help

-mini er..."idiot"

 

[prpjt]

For that matter, if you even open your mouth when flying single pilot for any checklist your an idiot.

My wife would probably agree, with me being an idiot, that is. I vebalize checks at critical phases of flight: after takeoff, cruise, descent and landing. I suppose it's more like verbalizing the flow. There are only 3 or 4 things to do at each point, and I'd just rather have it on the tape (cvr) than not.

As for a takeoff briefing, it really depends what you fly and who with. I noticed in a few replies people are briefing to apply the brakes, and if this is with a student I can understand. I suppose what I'm getting at is, have it mean something and get rid of the fluff.

I can remember one Capt. years ago that would give a brief so long and detailed, that by the time he was done you had no clue as to what was about to happen.

We used takeoff,speeds, abort plan, return plan, initial heading and altitude. V1 and Vr were the same in our planes so it went something like this.
" Visual take off 13L, rotate at 96. any red light before 96 we abort. After 96 we're flying and handle it in the air. Our emergency return is a left turn and visual to 18..our departure is a left turn to 100 and climb to 2000.Any questions?

I don't do a takeoff briefing out loud since I fly single pilot now, but I still run through it my head every takeoff. Be safe.

 

[gear_guy]

"Uhhh.....Standard."

 

[puddlejumper]

3 F's, 3 T's

Single pilot, I like to run through my F's and T's taking the runway for takeoff and clearing after landing...

Fuel: Qty, totalizer, selectors and boost
Flaps: Set or retract
Flight Plan: Have a plan, departure or close flightplan on arrival
Trim: Three set
Transponder: Set and ALT or STBY
Time: Start timer, note time, whatever

More a flow than a brief, but it's helpful.

When I was instructing, I always taught a RADE brief for takeoff...

Runway: Distance available and required
Airspeeds: Vmc, V1, Vr, V2, Vx, Vy, Venr...
Departure Procedure: Have a plan
Emergencies: Brief similar to previously posted. 80 kt check, actions before or after V1...

That's about it for me.

Be safe!

-pj

 

[bertengineer]

Briefing

If you give your passenger a takeoff brief when your flying single pilot, imho your an idiot. For that matter, if you even open your mouth when flying single pilot for any checklist your an idiot.

Good info to give to people!!! You will be the one to freeze in the event of an emergency because you did not brief the possibility of a bad situation, or what you will do to correct it. Get it fresh in your head, even if you are by yourself.

I will read about you in the mishap report someday! Probable cause " Pilots improper preperation for flight!"

 

[SAMRA]

My God people. I stick by what I say. There is no need to read aloud a takeoff breifing. I never said don't do one, I just said don't do it out loud. For those of you that are PPL if you want to explain to you pax, whomever they might be, great. But when flying commercialy you'll soon learn that alot of people are affraid of flying, and freaking them out by saying anything to do with an emergency during takeoff wont make them feel at ease. Your preflight breifing should have covered everything you need to tell your passenger. When your lining up for takeoff it's not the right time. I only do trend monitering on dead legs as not to alarm the passengers. Anything you can do to help put peoples anxiety at ease goes a long long way at the end of the day.

Again this is for single pilot commercial ops.


As a side note. I think everyone of you should do an aborted takeoff just prior to your descion speed. The first time I had to do one was well into my commercial flying. You should know what your airplane can and can't do. You'll learn something very valuable that could save your ass one day.

Cheers.

 

[falconpilot]

The question at the begining of this thread was "What is a example of a multi engine CREW briefing giving before take off?" Not a crew to passenger briefing... Atleast that's how I took it....

 

[gear_guy]

As a side note. I think everyone of you should do an aborted takeoff just prior to your descion speed.
Cheers.

Uhh...I think I'll save that stuff for the sim and hope it is realistic enough to give me an idea of how the airplane will handle. Not sure if it is good advice to be telling everyone to do an aborted t/o at v1. Of course, it's probably even dumber to actually follow that advice. Maybe next time I can start an inflight fire in the cabin so I know exactly how smokey it's gonna get in that there plane. It could save my a$$ one day.

 

[SAMRA]

Well last Navajo sim session we forgot to cover that, seeing how the FA kept interupting us. Moron.


Do you not practice single engine manuevers? Do you not simulate other emergencies? Have you ever landed in a field for a procauntionary landing? I have done all. And I believe I'm a better pilot beacuse of it. Practicing emerg. senerios once a year during re-current training really isn't going to cut it when the real deal comes to town. As luck would have it I was going over all the drills for the 'ho when later that day on short final my left turbo packed it in. It started a fire and I delt with it accordingly.

I'll bet you have never landed off of a paved runway before. I'm also willing to strech that out and say you've never had to actually deal with somthing that require imediate attention. So until you come to that point, keep your mouth shut.

 

[bertengineer]

Keeping my mouth shut!

I'll bet you have never landed off of a paved runway before. I'm also willing to strech that out and say you've never had to actually deal with somthing that require imediate attention. So until you come to that point, keep your mouth shut.

4 engine C-130, two engines out, two operating on the same wing. 120,000 lbs. Dumping fuel like you read about.

Now I will keep my mouth shut.

 

[gear_guy]

Thanks for your enlightening post samra.

Never had an emergency action??? Did you see ATP and 3 types in my experience. That's what a type ride consists of you moron.

Wow I guess you could really teach me a thing or two. Except you know nothing about my experience, do you? It just so happens I have been in real emergencies. Explosive decompression at FL350. I guess until you climb that crappy ho to 350 you can keep your mouth shut. The difference is I don't carry mine around like a badge of honor. I learned and moved on. Give me a break! Is this how you are gonna defend telling people to do v1 cuts in a non training environment. Look, if they need to do it, the FAA will make sure they do. We don't need you telling us how and what to do.

 

[SAMRA]

In what **CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED**ing world would you do a v1 cut in a non training enviroment? You sir a moron for assuming I do whenever I feel like it. As for mr. 800 hour instructor being a passenger in a plane and flying it is two different things. As soon as you step into the real world of flying and out of instructing I'll continue to have a civil argument with you.

Don't try to compare flight instructing and flying a lear pavement to pavement to what I do on a daily basis with a 'claped out ho.' Do you know what a hermon nelson is? Let alone how to fix one at -35? I didn't think so.

I'm glad your happy with what you do, gear_guy. Perhaps you can go to a flight school and tell all the aspiring pilots there how hard you work at 3-5-0.


Since this is turning into a pissing match, PM me to continue, or start a new thread. I don't want to hijack this guys thread.

 

[troy]

Not to rain on anybody's parade, but I can fix a Herman Nelson....

 

[Flying Illini]

Take-off briefing:

DA-10/DA-20:

Departing rwy XX, runway is clear and dry (uncontaminated), field elevation is XXXX, temperature is XXXX, runway length is XXXX, runway required is XXXX. Route is (insert "SID briefing" or "Direct to" or "as filed"), Initial altitude is XXXX. We will abort for anything (depending upon runway length we may use 80 kts or V1 as primary abort speed, I'll use 80kts in this example) prior to 80 kts, after 80 kts we will abort for the "big-5":, engine failure, engine fire, thrust reverser deployment, loss of directional control, or uncommanded pitch trim. After V1 we will take any problem airborn and treat it as an in-flight emergency. We will climb V2 to XXXX altitude before addressing the problem. We will return to this airport (or go to XXX airport). This will be my leg from the right seat (in my case) using standard callouts. Any questions, comments, or concerns?

 

[Thedude]

Take-off briefing:

DA-10/DA-20:

Departing rwy XX, runway is clear and dry (uncontaminated), field elevation is XXXX, temperature is XXXX, runway length is XXXX, runway required is XXXX. Route is (insert "SID briefing" or "Direct to" or "as filed"), Initial altitude is XXXX. We will abort for anything (depending upon runway length we may use 80 kts or V1 as primary abort speed, I'll use 80kts in this example) prior to 80 kts, after 80 kts we will abort for the "big-5":, engine failure, engine fire, thrust reverser deployment, loss of directional control, or uncommanded pitch trim. After V1 we will take any problem airborn and treat it as an in-flight emergency. We will climb V2 to XXXX altitude before addressing the problem. We will return to this airport (or go to XXX airport). This will be my leg from the right seat (in my case) using standard callouts. Any questions, comments, or concerns?

Now...when you have an actual emergency you expect me to remember all that. Noooo. It always amazes me how many people over-brief.

 

[Flying Illini]

Now...when you have an actual emergency you expect me to remember all that. Noooo. It always amazes me how many people over-brief.

No I don't expect you to remember all of that. A lot of it is just informative in nature i.e., Runway length is XXXX, runway required is XXXX. What is expected to be remembered is if an emergency occurs before V1, that we abort, if one occurs after V1, we're flying. Speeds are a good thing to remember and they're bugged in case you forget V2, initial altitude (which varies depending upon terrain) is good to remember since initial assigned altitude (set in the alerter) doesn't always match the briefed altitude that you will go to to deal with a problem. I guess when reading it (and when I was typing it) it seems like alot to brief, but you have it memorized and you know what the really important stuff is. It takes you 15-20 seconds to brief.
My opinion is this, I would rather have an emergency occur after a thorough take-off brief because then both pilots are on the same page. You don't have to try and tell the other guy what you are going to do while you're trying to fly a sick airplane.

 

[Lead Sled]

There have been some pretty good (and very usable) briefs given so far. Mine tend to be quite specific for the first flight of the day and then become somewhat less specific on subsequent legs. ("...As previously briefed...") However, unusual or special circumstances are always thoroughly briefed each and every time. One of my pet peeves is when a crew starts using the phrase "Standard Briefing" or something equivilent - I believe that without being verbalized, at least daily, the phase eventually becomes the brief, not the individual components of your standard briefing.

Nowadays, I am paired with another experience pilot and we've worked out a briefing technique that works well for us - but then we only fly with each other and we're always in the same airplane.

One other important thought...

Make sure that you always have the mindset that something "untoward" might happen to you on this takeoff. It's just as dangerous to develop the "expectation of success" prior to takeoff as it is during an approach to minimums.

Lead Sled

 

[gear_guy]

Now...when you have an actual emergency you expect me to remember all that.

No worries....If you fly with SAMRA you'll get all the experience you need. You'll be so experienced that you'll be able to fix a hermon nelson at -35.

Funny stuff!!!

 

[fokkers&beer]

To twist a Jimmy Buffett song lyric, brief what you'll fly, fly what you brief. I just cap the speeds, and what we will do when all hell breaks loose including which runway we will return to, if it happens AFTER V1. Remember that ATC will give you anything you could possibly want when you say the E word.
At the beginning of a series of trips I'll give a complete briefing with memory items, recap that the captain will call the abort, but everybody needs to call any lights or malifunctions. This brief is important, but in my opinion overbriefing and being longwinded on every takeoff can be counterproductive, and turn off the other crewmember.

 

[gear_guy]

....the captain will call the abort, but everybody needs to call any lights or malifunctions.

Just my opinion, but I have never seen the PF call the abort. The way we do it is: The pilot flying(PF) is looking outside and aborts for loss of directional control. The Pilot not flying(PNF) makes all the calls since he is looking inside the cockpit. If he sees anything abnormal he calls abort. We try to stay away from interpreting lights and buzzers and whether or not to abort. This can cause some problems. You don't have time on the takeoff roll to have the PNF report a light or malfunction and the PF make a judgement on whether or not to abort. By that time you're already through V1 and trying to stop it could cause problems. We just abort for anything below V1 and fly for anything after V1. It makes things real simple. And if you've done your calculations correctly you have nothing to worry about. On a side note, I used to fly with a guy who would abort after V1 if there was enough runway(in his opinion). Very dangerous!, and eventually someone will get hurt doing that.

Now I can go back to briefing aspiring pilots at the local flight school....
Sorry I just couldnt resist.

 

[ThomasR]

Briefings

Military pilots fly with each other regularly which negates the feeling that a briefing is necessary. However, when you feel it is warranted by all means do it. Bad things happen when you least expect it and it is very convenient to know what the other person in the cock-pit is going to do. Don't let someone roll their eyes at the precaution stop you from being safety conscious.

I flew with THE maintenance officer once returning a downed helicopter to base from a forced landing at a small air strip in Michigan. I had never flown with him before and was unsure what our combined reaction would be should the aircraft suddenly fail to stay airborne. He was confident since maintenance was his forte, but I was concerned so I gave a briefing of what I planned to do and what I expected from him in the event of an engine failure. He gave me eye roll and a glancing shrug. I felt a bit embarrassed but maintain I did the correct thing. Fortunately the flight went without incident.

Flying into unknown weather with an "old hat" in the other seat without a briefing; we were on short final still IMC, on course, on glide slope when suddenly this guy makes a grab for the controls. So we are fighting for control wobbling all over the place IMC and I say WHAT THE F--- ARE YOU DOING! He says I thought I saw the runway out my side window. It was actually the taxi way which would have been fine with me if he had the sense to say something before getting all gangster on me.

Flying special forces jump team we had a "hung jumper" snagged on the ground handling pins at the top of the skids. Fortunately we shared a briefing just before initiating the jump course. Even knowing what to expect we both were stunned for a moment hearing the jump master yelling commands to his trooper in distress. The JM went out the cargo door and was gone, I thought because he had to parachute. He was tethered with a "monkey strap" dangling from the side of the helicopter wrapping his troop to the skid to keep him from deploying his chute. [a chute deployed inside the aircraft will kill everyone on board]. The JM was definitely a hero.

There was a lot of stuff happening and without some format of what to do it could have been very serious. All four of us acted with a clear understanding of what the others were going to do. We pulled our asses out of some pretty tall flames that day. I will never forget that jump master going out that door without a chute [only a very small string between him and all our deaths].

Practice being safe.