If you’ve spent more than an hour in an airport in your life, you’ve seen pilots bustling through the terminal on their way to Honolulu, Tokyo, or Sheboygan. In trail is almost always a suitcase with a wide briefcase attached to it. Does it have the keys to the airplane? Tools? What does the pilot need so badly that he carries it with him nearly everywhere while at work?
The kitbag has the essential documents and charts the pilot needs to safely complete the flight. Even as a student pilot you would be mostly familiar with all the contents.
There is a flight operations manual. This is the airline version of the FAR Part 121 regulations (the scheduled air carrier equivalent to Part 91 for general aviation). The FOM contains carrier specific rules and regulations that are either similar to the Part 121 regulations, or more restrictive. These rules and regulations outline the dos and dont’s of operating the aircraft.
Next is the aircraft operating manual. This is a lot like the pilot’s operating handbook. It contains all the operating specifications of the aircraft that are pertinent to daily flight. In addition, the normal and emergency checklist procedures are included in detail, as a supplement to the normal and emergency checklists in the aircraft. Most abnormal or emergency checklists will direct you to reference this book at some point.
Finally, the charts. Regardless of weather conditions, airlines operate the aircraft on instrument flight rules for every revenue flight. That means they must have the applicable charts and approach plates for every airport they intend to travel to. This actually takes up several binders and is the heaviest and bulkiest lot of the entire group.
Put all of these items together in a kitbag and you’ve got yourself a quick and easy way to throw your back out. Easily weighing in at more than 40 pounds, it’s no treat to haul around. On top of that, charts expire, get revised, added, or deleted. Manuals get updates and revisions, too, requiring long and tedious work to update and maintain.
Pretty soon it just might not exist; electronic flight bags are gaining traction and popularity with airlines and corporate flight departments alike. Ironically, the EFB isn’t a bag at all. It does, however, carry all the charts and manuals in digital format. It’s lighter and easier to use, and the updates are more efficient.
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