The Duty Pilot is crucial to running a smooth operation at the airfield. These notes are designed to help smooth your day as duty pilot.
The Duty Pilot is crucial to a successful day at the field. Do it right and everyone is happy! Stuff up organising the day and you have long waits for towing, unhappy members, and dissatisfied Trial Flightists. By each taking turns at running the ground operation we get to focus on our own flying the rest of the time and keep the costs down.
If you cannot do your duty it is YOUR responsibility to find a replacement. To find a replacement, contact indivudals you can swap with from the roster: https://www.glidingmatamata.co.nz/members/roster/ Contact details can be found in the membership list. Only send a bulk email to all members as a last resort, as often no one will answer.
Remember that for a successful day you need to actively organise the day:
SETUP the launch point
GREET people onto YOUR airfield
ORGANISE the flying list
Keep good RECORDS
COLLECT the money
TWO-SEATERS TO THE LAUNCH POINT
Unless earlier bookings have been made, have the hangar door open at 10am.
Wash, DI, and get the twins onto the line.
The singles can be tended to by club members wanting to fly them!
FLYING LIST ON WHITEBOARD
Anyone wanting a club glider - including trial flights - gets listed on whiteboard
Mark people off when they launch
If you keep the list up to date no one needs to bug you and everyone can see what is going on
KEEP RECORDS AND COLLECT MONEY
Record the time of every launch and landing on the flying sheet of ALL gliders
Trial Flights should be recorded as such on the daily flying sheet
Trial Flight vouchers: Mark then as USED, and put the date onto them, put them into the money box, and mark "voucher" on the flying sheet in the payments area
Collect club members money before or after their flight
At the end of the day reconcile BZA's launch list with your flying sheet to ensure all launches have been recorded and paid for.
Ensure EFTPOS receipts are labelled.
Keep the EFTPOS machine off to save battery power. Hold the red button to turn it off, and press it to turn it back on.
ORGANISE
Ensure safety of everyone moving on the field
Maintain flying list on whiteboard so everyone knows when they are up and make sure people are getting ready to go so they don't hold up the launch point when it is their turn
Ask bystanders to help push planes off the field after they have landed
Ensure there is a wing runner available when a glider is about to be launched.
In short, be proactive, and ask people to help!
TRIAL FLIGHTS
Trial Flightists may be future members, help to pay the club's bills, and influence the public's opinion governing our sport.
Actively welcome Trial Flightists onto your airfield
Get them to sign liability release (attached to Certificate of First Flight)
Ask if the voucher holder want to upgrade their flight to a higher level, especially if the weather isn't that great.
Give them their signed Certificate of First Flight.
See Keeping Records above about how to record Trial Flights on the flying sheet, and what to do with vouchers.
Tell the person about our 6 day courses, and give them a brochure or flyer.
Feel free to DELEGATE so you can go and do a bit of flying yourself... but you need to ensure the job is going to be done or the day falls apart quickly.
Make sure you start on time- if you start late the day only gets more confused from there. People tend to stand around and talk at the hangar - encourage them to get the twins down to the launch point first, then talk!
Have fun! It is after all the airfield, you are surrounded by friends and fellow gliding enthusiasts, and hopefully the sun is shining!