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Expert: - 1/3/2010


Question
Hello Laura,

I have Comm ASEL Inst ratings and about 2K hours. I fly Part 91 operations.

I have a short list of guidelines I've put together -- as an example of an item on that list, I long ago decided to make IMC circle to land ops safer by declining to fly them unless basic VMC exits -- but I've long wanted to put together a flight ops manual similar to that which Part 135 operations use.

Do you know of a low-cost source for a template or cookbook format for such a manual that I could use as a starting point?

Jerry


Answer
Hello Jerry,
I did a quick search to see what I could come up with online. The following link may be just what you are looking for. It is a Flight Operations Manual for Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. http://www.pnl.gov/atmospheric/docs/ma530/ma530_manual.pdf is the link to the file. You can use the program Able2Extract which has a free trial to extract the text from this file into a Word document which you could then edit as necessary for your specific needs and operations.
Another helpful link is from the FAA: http://www.faa.gov/licenses_certificates/airline_certification/media/n135toc.pdf When I opened this document, I found that one of the links listed as "General Operations Manual" takes you to a Word document with hyperlinks to a generic template from the FAA for a part 135 GOM. That will probably be even more useful to you as these files are already in Word!
The company where I work, Dynamic Aviation, has a 135 certificate with one of our King Airs on it. I could try to talk with someone who may have access to our part 135 operations manual, but hopefully the above links may be enough information for you. We do not actually fly much part 135 work. Most of our operations are done under part 91. Our website is www.dynamicaviation.com if you are interested to see what we do in our operations.
I hope this helps!
Thanks,
Laura

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Laura Laster

Expertise

I can help with questions about aviation disasters, aircraft operations especially general aviation and King Air information, aviation safety, and education questions on how to get into an aviation career. I can also answer general aviation questions as I am a commercial multi-engine pilot. I cannot answer questions about flight training or MBA schools in countries other than the USA or provide advice for non-US citizens interested in flight training. I cannot answer questions advising you what school to choose. I have no experience with aeronautical engineering so I cannot answer questions relating to engineering or schooling for aeronautical engineers. PLEASE don't ask me questions about any kind of engineering because it is outside my area of expertise, and I will NOT answer your question. I also cannot help you to choose a master's program for study as I do not have a master's degree in aviation. I cannot help with MBA advice.

Experience

I have been studying aviation disasters through doing my own research and a lot of reading since I was 13 or 14 years old. I am very interested in aviation safety and also am a commercial, multi-engine pilot. I am a dispatch manager at a private university working in their flight training department. I also have worked as an operations mamager at a small charter airline and was involved in getting the airline certificated under Part 121 rules. I was formerly a flight operations division manager for a company operating a large fleet of King Air aircraft (60) and so I have some business aviation experience as well as having flight instructed for one year after college. My operations manager job frequently involved coordinating international trips for aerial survey clients and hiring qualified pilots to fly aerial survey missions.

Education/Credentials
Bachelor of Science, Aeronautical Science with Flight Management Concentration: LeTourneau University (2004) :: Dispatch Certificate: Sheffield School of Aeronautics (2010) :: Commercial Pilot: Single and Multi Engine Land, Instrument Rating :: Flight Instructor: Single, Multi and Instrument :: Ground Instructor: Basic and Advanced

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