Preventing pilot fatigue with software

In the world of aviation, pilots spend many hours in the air. They also spend many hours doing routine checks and admin work, too. Since they are an essential part of operations, they need to be highly alert and rested. You cannot have a pilot or crew that is tired and not performing their best. That is why aviation safety authorities recommend limiting the amount of time that pilots are on duty. The Flight and duty time limitations (FTL), try to reduce crew and pilot fatigue so that it does not endanger flight safety in any way. In Leon, we have several tools to help when planning duty rosters according to these regulations.

Crew duty planning

When planning a crew for flights, you need to ensure that the available personnel are well rested and ready for the day. All personnel needs to be always alert out of concern for the safety of passengers and the public. It is exceptionally important when it comes to pilots. Pilots need to follow strict guidelines set by air traffic authorities. These regulations are published and stipulate all guidelines for crew duty limits.

In Leon, we have an advanced FTL engine that enables all our customers to calculate crew rosters that are compliant with all regulations. Read all about it here: Master the Duty Scheduling with the all-new Crew Calendar.

Customer FTLs

Each client delivers their documentation that is compliant with regulators according to their specific obligations. The FTL is programmed into the system, after which it can be used to start working out schedules for the crew.

Customers can customise everything to their operational needs but still need to ensure that flight and cabin crews perform at the proper level of alertness while on duty. The system ensures that a safe duty roster is followed when planning flights. Additional limitations are set for flight duty per day, week, month and year, in addition to minimum rest per day and month, and subject to previous duties.

FTL Calculator

FDP (Flight Duty Period) Calculator is a tool that helps you plan crew duties according to your Flight Time Limitations.

Have you ever tried the FDP Calculator in Leon? It helps you in planning Crew duties in accordance with your (FTL) Flight Time Limitations. Watch the video or read about it here: https://t.co/aFaSSuEUSP #aviation #LeonSoftware #FTL #Flightsoftware #crewcalculator pic.twitter.com/5D23YSlLoZ
— Leon Software (@LeonSoftware) December 15, 2020

As you can see in the post above, the following values are considered:

Start of duty - this is reporting time for duty.
No. of planned sectors - number of sectors planned for one duty.
Split Start - STA of flight preceding split.
Split End - STD of flight following the split.

The results include single, extended and double crew. Basic duty length calculation based on the Max FDP table implemented in Leon. Basic duty result gives you the reporting and post-flight duty times and is based on the Max FDP. The latest time block is the latest time allowed for Block On. This is basic duty reduced by the check out time.

Customise and the Florida variation

Clients can customise the FTL to their needs and include exemptions to rests periods as well as recalculate sectors for longer flights.

When working out the crew schedules - you can use several different options to optimise it for your needs. For instance, can set the extensions by standard time (using the maximum allowed times of FDP), you can also define it by a sector (here you can define the times for each sector).

The less used option is the Florida variation which allows a less-restrictive approach to calculating the sector count. It works out two days off at the home base and gives you alternative limits instead of regular limits for the 28-day period used in cumulative duty calculations. This helps with some long duty sectors, for example, such as two long sectors to be counted as one sector.

Each year, Leon verifies the accurateness of hundreds of thousands of flights. The FTL calculation engine is adjusted to follow any existing regulations. It is configured, in line with the client’ operations manual and other rules. Since Leon has clients that are compliant with regulations across the world, you can rest assured that the software is compliant and auditable.

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