Fly captain

A fly captain is known as the fly man in theaters in the US & Canada. The fly man is in charge of a fly crew which operates a fly system in a theatrical production. Ordinarily a fly man will coordinate with the set designer to get flying scenery safely into the fly loft (or fly gallery) and to plan and delegate flyrail cues. The fly man can also be a stage (left) manager in a small theater. The flyman is usually responsible for all matters of safety involving the fly system and also for making sure rail cues are executed quickly and properly. The fly man supervises the loading and unloading of counterweights in a fly system.

In some countries, the Netherlands for example, it is not allowed to operate more than 250 kilograms by hand. Therefore, computer controlled fly systems are used, which require two types of certificates, one for computer controlled flying itself, and one for the specific type of machinery used in the venue (so for every venue, a different certificate is mandatory).