Posts

The Operating Environment

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  Many of us who fly understand the risks associated with flying in adverse conditions. Actually, I would say all of us. Those who fly and those who don't. But it's important to be acquainted with the factors that make an aircraft unstable in these conditions and what is it exactly that is creating the dangerous effect to understand how to predict and avoid it.  Wind is, at it's simplest, moving air. After all this is what aircraft are designed to do, this is how a plane becomes airborne in the first place, circulating air. However wind is not always a planes best friend. According to the Pilots Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, wind at it's worst has the capacity to rapidly change the performance and disrupt the flight attitude. Crosswind landings, especially for general aviation can be a dangerous feat.  There is a maximum crosswind component for every aircraft from ultralight to major airliners, which lists the maximum demonstrated crosswind in which a pilot has la...
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Weather hazards in aviation

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            Let's face it, I'm a Cessna pilot- anything and everything is hazardous to me. But there's one thing in particular that I encounter more often than any other thing, and that as a pilot-in-training I didn't quite understand the severity of. Today I'm going to talk about clouds.            I think I speak for all kids when I say that at one point, we've looked at a big fluffy cloud and wondered what it would be like to touch it. Or moreover; walk on it. The logistics behind that did not stray me when as an adult learning how to be a pilot I couldn't shake the desire to at least touch it. I waited and waited and waited for IFR training to finally pop the question. And much to my surprise... No, I couldn't just fly through a cumulus in my 172, open the window, and stick my hand out. Turns out that if I flew through one, I would have to deal with the weight of what created that cloud in the first place. And a ...
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Air Traffic Control Entities

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            Most of us are all pilots here, we understand that without Air Traffic Control the skies would be chaos and aviation would likely be non-existent. According to the USCA, " The first aerodrome to provide an actual air traffic control service was Croydon, south of London. In 1922, after a minor collision between an arriving and a departing aircraft, the aerodrome published a NOTAM in which it was stated that all the pilots had to obtain a sequence number for departure, as well as authorization from the tower for taking off. This authorization was given waving a red flag from the observation tower. Croydon was also pioneer in establishing an aeronautical radio-navigation system and ground-air communications".            To this day, ATC serves as the primary means of navigation to prevent collision and facilitate aircraft take-off, departure, and navigation. They do this by expediting the flow of traffic and ...
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The Airport and the Environment

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            We're all here because in one way or another, we are involved in the world of aviation. And for good reason! It's unlike any other mode of transportation, it's expansive, it's fascinating, and most importantly its FUN!            But just like any facet of life, aviation has its setbacks. There are many concerns revolving around the environmental impact of aviation. As someone working towards environmental preservation and aerial firefighting, I'd consider gas emissions to be one of the more damaging of these impacts- as it worsens our collective quality of life over time.                       Airplane engines burn fossil fuel, producing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere which leads to respiratory deterioration over time (among other things). Other substances produced by airplanes include sulfur oxides, lead, soot and nitric oxide; all o...
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Legislative Acts

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  As a member of the aviation industry, I 100% understand and acknowledge the need for preventative laws and regulations in place that keep us aviators safe and harmonious in respect to each others fields. While they're all important- the one that stands out the most to me is    (FAR) 43.12. According to the laws set by the FAA, this legislation falls under the category of falsifying or altering maintenance entries.  As described in a previous blog post, integrity within the aviation industry is the blueprint by which we develop a stronger, safer and trustworthy mode of transportation. Personal integrity lays at the core of aviation and its participants. Which is why it's so important to hold oneself accountable to the highest standards of recording data. Who would trust an aircraft that had only been 90% inspected?  "A n Oklahoma aircraft mechanic was sentenced to 90 days house arrest, 5 years probation and fined $57,500.00 for his role...
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Team-Based Human Factors Challenges

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  As described by the FAA, " Human factors (or ergonomics) is the discipline concerned with optimizing the relationships between people and their activities through the systematic application of the human sciences, integrated within the framework of system engineering.". This refers to the various facets of aviation, in this case, where we must collaboratively have a mutual understanding of expectations as they relate to safety, execution and wellbeing.  I work in an airframe and power-plant hangar, but not as something cool like an A&P mechanic, as an admissions counselor. My job is to recruit prospective students to train at our facilities and one of the ways I do that is by conducting tours and overseeing demonstrations of some of the mechanical projects behind the scenes. This can be hard on both teams when we are coordinating safety! While I want to make it an engaging experience for the students  and involve them as much as possible in the campus,...
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Emerging Security Threats in the Aviation Industry

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  After 9/11, the world of aviation forever changed both in execution and security.  President George W. Bush signed legislation creating  the Transportation Security Administration,  which ensured a forced airport screening agency labeled as TSA to replace the private airport security that airlines were individually hiring. All bags were to be checked, personal items were to be removed, privacy was of no concern. Every person who stepped foot in an airport would be monitored digitally as well as physically up until they exited the airport at their destination.  With the countless threats that terrorism posed, it was important to monitor all of the ways in which an attack could take place: one of which being suicide bombings. " Skill in constructing Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) or Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Devices (VBIED) is likely to influence the type of attack it might execute. Chemists with only rudimentary skills may be restricted to assembli...
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