I think that as we move to "electronic preflight information generation" this is going to be a fertile area for bullsh*t generation.
It's easy enough to print off everything back home. Personally I print everything (and throw away all no longer relevant paper immediately after each flight) though the last time I printed a W&B schedule was for the JAA IR initial test.
But, a travelling pilot, once away from home, is hardly going to be printing out much stuff. Especially if using an Ipad from which printing when on the move is as close to torture as one can get in the IT business. Perhaps the simplest method is to email a PDF to the hotel reception for them to print, but I've noticed that Apple banned apps from their shop which provide an airprint driver to a PDF file...
On long trips I used to carry the Canon IP90
but stopped doing that a year ago, because - for the legs I didn't preplan and thus did not have printed from home - I was happy to replace the printed stuff with the Ipad and take a chance on it not packing up. Plus a handwritten waypoint list.
The problem is that it's so easy for a yellow jacket type to interpret stuff in so many ways. For example a requirement for a PDF copy of W&B, showing date/time, is just bizzare.
was required to present all above mentioned documents including plog, W&B sheet, recent NOTAMs and complete weather information during check performed by our agency after landing to Zadar (LDZD). It took 30 min for them to complete the check :(
Was this for a VFR flight, or a specific local rule in Croatia?
Unless I have full tanks, and 3 or more POB (including me), I dont do W&B, and when I do, I dont always take it with me. I carry a paper PLOG with basic information, paper chart and paper airfield plates, but any other pre-flight information like NOTAM's / Weather I just view online and dont record anywhere.
But, a travelling pilot, once away from home, is hardly going to be printing out much stuff. Especially if using an Ipad from which printing when on the move is as close to torture as one can get in the IT business. Perhaps the simplest method is to email a PDF to the hotel reception for them to print, but I've noticed that Apple banned apps from their shop which provide an airprint driver to a PDF file...
There are easier ways ;)
PocketFMS uses allows you to "print" to a HTML document in its cloud. So as long as you have a internet connection you can then print this to paper from any internet connected computer.
So you "save to the PocketFMS cloud" and are given a unique URL. You can then go to this URL on any internet connected PC and print off your document.
I also use this to store my notam briefings. So for a trip today, I'll save the file as NOTAM20130131. I might not bother to print it but if ever asked to prove that I did a NOTAM briefing I just need to enter my unique PocketFMS cloud URL and the file name above, and I can see the exact briefing that I had.
Indeed, I can even see which NOTAMS I deemed relevant to my flight and which ones I did not.
I can print other things such as plogs in the same way. It's easier than trying to print to pdf from an ipad and then emailing it to someone else.
dp
In terms of W&B....I have a single page with various combinations of common loading scenarios (solo, 1pax, 2 pax + bags) and fuel state (full, tabs, zfw)....any specific loading can then be compared to a more conservative generic load case... I've only been ramp checked once (in the UK) and I wasn't asked for W&B anyway!
Was this for a VFR flight, or a specific local rule in Croatia?
It was after VFR flight from Zagreb to Zadar prior to IFR flight from Zadar to Sarajevo. I was on tight schedule to pick-up the friend in Zadar, clear the customs and depart to Sarajevo, according to previously submitted plan and return from Sarajevo to Zagreb in same day. And that's why 30 min delay was nothing I needed at that moment.
It's nothing specific for Croatia, I believe it's defined in laws in whole EASAland.
When I arrived here, someone told me to make sure I had a copy of Weather and NOTAMs for each flight printed out in case of ramp check... I just used SkyDemon/Metoffice/NATS AIS... the tools I had used before. When I was ramped checked the guy "helpfully" pointed out that the DFS do log your reg and time of flight so that they can check if you have briefed properly.
That's bull of course. The only source of authoritative requirements is the law and only if the law says "print out on paper" you have to print it. Most countries offer their law texts online and instead of believing some random "knowledgeable" person, one can read the law.
For Germany it's §3a Luftverkehrs-Ordnung (LuftVO):
Very rough translation
§ 3a Flight Planning
(1) During preparation for a flight, the pilot in command shall acquaint himself with all documents and information required for the safe conduct of the flight and shall ensure that the aircraft and cargo are in a safe condition for operation, the maximum takeoff mass is not exceeded, the required licenses are present and the applicable entries in the aircraft log book -- as required -- are made.
(2) For a flight that leaves the vicinity of the start aerodrome (cross country flight) and before a flight according to instrument rules, the pilot in command shall inform himself to a sufficient degree about the available aviation weather reports and forecasts. Before taking off on a flight for which a flight plan is required, it is required to consult a flight information service (Flugberatungsstelle). The first paragraph still applies.
(3) A flight leaves the vicinity of an aerodrome when the pilot in command is no longer able to observe the traffic in the pattern.
This deliberately vague and it is up to the pilot (and a judge) to decide what is sufficient. Nobody can require you to printout anything and you don't even have to prove that you have requested it, just say that you did. Only in court you might have to convince the judge that you have actually done it. As to the thing with consulting the flight information service, using the DFS NOTAM fullfils this requirement.
I never print out NOTAMs, sometimes I keep them in my email inbox for IFR but they are 99.9% irrelevant for IFR anyway. Nothing requires me to print out W&B. I have a web app that I use and for my personal aircraft I know by heart what I can legally carry and that is enough.
I cannot find the answer through a search, so here is the question…
What documents must be carried on a EASA aircraft, flying through EASA land?
Airworthiness, registration, radio station license, operator’s handbook, weight&balance, journey log, insurance certificate.
Now the question is: in what part of regulations is the list defined?
Once part NCO is in operation it is listed in NCO.GEN.135.
Weight and balance is not there. Quick search in part NCO found nothing.
Xtophe wrote:
Weight and balance is not there.
Maybe because it is part of the AFM? Although the w&b sheet is often not inserted in there.
