ABSTRACT
Crew-reducing automation has been relatively successful in many commercial airline cockpits during normal flight conditions. However, the military operate their transports in a very different manner to commercial airlines. This chapter aims to develop an understanding of the Flight Engineer's (FE) roles and responsibilities on-board the C-130, as well as information regarding their background, training and experience. It describes issues regarding the use of automation and its "hidden" costs and losses. FEs were encouraged to divulge any extra information or diverge into relevant areas and issues. All interviews were conducted in a quiet room and recorded on cassette. Because of the semi-structured technique, interviews ranged from 15 to 45 minutes. The semi-structured interview technique was chosen as it has proven very useful in exploratory and planning phases of research, and for gathering background information to enable domain understanding.
