Operations Manual Help

[~JB~]

I have been trying to write an operations manual for a skydive operation and I have been having difficulties. Any information on how to write one from transport is very vague. I also can't find a template or generic ops manual for a reference. Is there anyone who has done this before? Any help is greatly appreciated.

[photofly]

You're supposed to hire an ex TC employee for between $10k and $100k to do it for you. Since nobody at TC whose job description is relevant and who has the knowledge to help wants to jeopardize their lucrative post-retirement income, they don't publish anything.

[~JB~]

Well that's depressing....

[Meatservo]

There IS a template somewhere. I've used it twice now. It's just that the last time I did was right around when, although they had already invented "the internet", you had to be some kind of genius to use it. I called one of my former ops managers; lo and behold he knew how to find it and he helped me (both times).

I probably still have the template somewhere but it wouldn't do you much good, it would be hopelessly out of date by now. Doesn't even have a "dangerous goods" chapter!

Anyway, I am sure they provide a template. Good luck trying to prize anything out of the Transport Canada website though, those bastards, try even paying for your medical online, it's impossible.

Do you have any former management from a previous job you can phone and ask? Every company of reasonable size has some kid upstairs who is brilliant at this stuff. Maybe one of them can help if you're still friendly with them.

[A Regulator]

as you haven't mentioned the number of employees review what the manual has to contain. There are provisions to have a lot less content if you are the owner/operator. Once that has been determined print it out and review it then use the guidance material that is available and write what is required to how you intend to meet those required items, CAR and CASS. You might want to get a consultant but ask him for references first then call them and get their feed back. Remember anyone can call themselves a consultant, there is lots of information on the Internet on how to write manuals. Ensure you have someone who understands word processing innards to formatting, headers/footers, list of effective pages etc.

As you mentioned the manual is for skydiving check to see if there are any best practices for skydiving as I don't know anything about skydiving, what is weather requirements, type of aircraft used for opening clashing doors, what specialize training is required if any, what airspeed for jumping, seating positions for the jumpers, what is max wind speeds, any special procedures for experienced jumpers vs new jumpers. Etc.

[~JB~]

Thanks guys this is all very helpful. A little bit of background information: there are 5 employees one plane. I got my hands on an ops manual for a operation similar to ours and used it to help write mine. I sent it in and three months later TC sent it back pretty much said it had to be rewritten and it wasn't good enough. So I read through the CARS and found this :
(4) An abbreviated manual content for parachute jumping air operators operating no more than seven single-engined aircraft day or night VFR shall contain
(amended 2000/12/01; no previous version)

(a) a preamble relating to use and authority of the manual;

(b) a table of contents;

(c) amendment procedures;

(d) a list of effective pages;

(e) a copy of the Air Operator Certificate and operations specifications;

(f) a weight and balance system;

(g) a list of emergency equipment carried on board the aircraft;

(h) procedures for reporting overdue aircraft;

(i) accident and incident reporting procedures; and

(j) parachute jumping procedures for day and night VFR operations.

So I thought awesome this is way less information then I sent in the first time. I asked the guy from transport if I could have a version like this and he said he would never pass it because this isn't enough information. So now I'm back to square one frustrated and confused. I have a MCM, Chief Pilot PRM the only thing holding me back is this operations manual.

[photofly]

Your contact at Transport is waiting for you to ask him to recommend a former colleague of his as a private consultant.

[~JB~]

If that's what he wanted wouldn't he just recommend someone instead of waiting for me to ask?

[Bede]

~JB~,
Check your PM's

[Meatservo]

This is all pretty frustrating. What you have to remember is that Transport Canada doesn't exist to help you get in the air safely or legally. Their sole purpose is to protect the Government from transportation-related liability. That's it. They will be the most satisfied if you never fly at all.

[Navajo Flyer]

Welcome to the world of Transport Canada!!!

[co-joe]

It sounds like the previous posters are joking...unfortunately they are not.

[phillyfan]

How can you have a Chief Pilot without an Ops Manual? For example. If you are indicating the name of your Chief Pilot anywhere in the manual it can't be approved. The same would apply for your Ops Manager? Part of the approval of the Chief Pilot and Ops Manager involves an interview with Transport on the contents of the Ops Manual.
In addition. Copying another Operators Manual and submitting it, will be denied every time. The Manual is suppose to be a "Blueprint" of how your operation will function. Submitting another manual where your company info is simply inserted will be seen as what it is. It's going through the motions, trying to tick off boxes on the "Starting an Air Service, Checklist" 15 or 20 years ago that was the way it worked. Which is why most manuals appear to have been developed using the same template. It's gonna take a little more work then that in 2015. It can be done, but it's gonna take a whole lotta back and forth and tweaking. TC's job is not to write your manual for you. They can provide you with some guidance but they don't know how your company intends to operate on a day to day basis. A consultant won't know that either. He will ask you.

[Rockie]

Does this help?

http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/civilaviation/s ... r-4066.htm

[co-joe]

I'd just follow that if it were me. Apply for a full 703 AOC, but just day VFR since meat bombs don't jump through cloud or at night. Then you can do sight seeing flights, air photo, maybe some day vfr charter etc...In a year or more if they approve it, let us know how it went.