When I was young I remember watching movies like top gun and remember thinking to myself, man that's is the best "job" ever. To be able to fly around in fighter jets all day, it's not really cosidered a job, because in part of how much fun it is. I always thought chicks dig the guy flying the stealth fighter jet, and its true (atleast in movies).
I always wanted to fly fighter jets for the milatary, with all the respect those guys get, the awesome equiptment they get fly, and some crazy manevers they get to perform. Obviously, milatry pilot will start off in basic training per milatary/air force requirements. It's very hard to find information online on becoming a fighter pilot, my guess after doing some research it you start off joing the air force, and pass the basic training that given. After that you would request to become a fighter pilot and go through some pretty rigorous training, both in the classroom and in the air. If the officer in command see's that you excel in both, then you have a good chance in becoming a fighter pilot. However the use of fighter pilots is becoming rare nowaday just because it seems everything the air force does is with the use of a pilot-less aircraft or a drone plane. Either way is an elite group of men and women that get to call themselves a fighter pilot.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Automation updated
I want to update my view on automation. At first, I didn't see the need for it, I thought it was a waste of money, now I think it's wonderful. In fact it could end up saving money. There's an article I saw about unmanned aircraft. Right now unmanned aircraft is being used by the milatary, so it's not too far of a wait. And it can't be done without automation
In this article, it says that Today, the U.S. military trains twice as many ground operators for its unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as pilots for its military jets. Its UAVs started off by flying surveillance missions, then took on ground attack; now they are being readied to move cargo and evacuate wounded soldiers. And for commericial flight, automation has helped airlines; what started out as 5 pilots is now done to a pilot and co-pilot.
Do we even need those two? Many aviation experts think not. "A pilotless airliner is going to come; it's just a question of when," said James Albaugh, the president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airlines...Some problems have to be fixed first, Fully automated planes can't yet visually identify nearby planes, and as for the remotely piloted ones, the civilian variety can't communicate with ground stations, because they haven't got enough bandwidth.
One factor that's often cited for keeping a pilot in charge is what's known as shared fate. That's the reassurance passengers get from knowing that the human in the cockpit wants to live just as much as they do.
In this article, it says that Today, the U.S. military trains twice as many ground operators for its unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as pilots for its military jets. Its UAVs started off by flying surveillance missions, then took on ground attack; now they are being readied to move cargo and evacuate wounded soldiers. And for commericial flight, automation has helped airlines; what started out as 5 pilots is now done to a pilot and co-pilot.
Do we even need those two? Many aviation experts think not. "A pilotless airliner is going to come; it's just a question of when," said James Albaugh, the president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airlines...Some problems have to be fixed first, Fully automated planes can't yet visually identify nearby planes, and as for the remotely piloted ones, the civilian variety can't communicate with ground stations, because they haven't got enough bandwidth.
One factor that's often cited for keeping a pilot in charge is what's known as shared fate. That's the reassurance passengers get from knowing that the human in the cockpit wants to live just as much as they do.
So this may be ancient history in a few years.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Captain Chesley Burnett Sullenberger III "Sully"
The hero of the Hudson as he is called. Captain Sully is most known for saving all 155 people on board of the Airbus A320, after a birdstrike caused both engines to shut down, and thus forced landing in the Hudson river. Sully was the Captain of US airways flight 1549, which was on Janurary 15, 2009. Not only is Sully an influential person in aviation, but was also named TIME magazines top 100 most influential hero's and icon of 2009.
Sully's aviation career got off to an early start, by the age of 16 he had already learned to fly in a Aeronca 7DC. And at the age of 18 he enrolled at US Air Force. Sully was employed by US Airways from 1980 to 2010. In his new position with US Airways, sully is a manager pilot, in addition to flying for US Airways, he will join the safety team. During his 40 years of flying he has over 19,000 of flight time.
I believe Sully is influentian to aviation because not only did save the 155 people on board, but he also went infront of congress and flat out told them that its not easy now a days to become a pilot. In this article Sully and his copilot explain there pay has been cut big time, and the pension is long gone.This is an intresting quote from the Copilot Jeffrey B. Skiles, "unless federal laws are revised to improve labor-management relations experienced crews in the cockpit will be a thing of the past." And Sullenberger added that without experienced pilots "we will see negative consequences to the flying public."
Sullenberger himself has started a consulting business to help make ends meet. Skiles added, "For the last six years, I have worked seven days a week between my two jobs just to maintain a middle class standard of living."
Sully's aviation career got off to an early start, by the age of 16 he had already learned to fly in a Aeronca 7DC. And at the age of 18 he enrolled at US Air Force. Sully was employed by US Airways from 1980 to 2010. In his new position with US Airways, sully is a manager pilot, in addition to flying for US Airways, he will join the safety team. During his 40 years of flying he has over 19,000 of flight time.
I believe Sully is influentian to aviation because not only did save the 155 people on board, but he also went infront of congress and flat out told them that its not easy now a days to become a pilot. In this article Sully and his copilot explain there pay has been cut big time, and the pension is long gone.This is an intresting quote from the Copilot Jeffrey B. Skiles, "unless federal laws are revised to improve labor-management relations experienced crews in the cockpit will be a thing of the past." And Sullenberger added that without experienced pilots "we will see negative consequences to the flying public."
Sullenberger himself has started a consulting business to help make ends meet. Skiles added, "For the last six years, I have worked seven days a week between my two jobs just to maintain a middle class standard of living."
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
China's Airline Industry
What if I told you that China is projected to beat us in our own game. Yup, you heard me an article in aviation week said that China is projected to have the number 1 airline for commerical air travel by 2030. Statistics from the FAA show U.S. carriers had 704 million domestic and international passengers in 2009, and the forecast is for 1.21 billion by 2030. However, the Civil Aviation Administration of China has projected that Chinese carriers passenger numbers will increase from 230 million in 2009 to 700 million by 2020 and 1.5 billion by 2030.
Although China's internation airlines suffered last year, it's domestic travel still increased 22%, and is forecasted to be a growth of 17% this year.
There are 3 main state owned carriers in china, Air China, China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines. All three reported heavy losses in 2008, as higher fuel prices took their toll, but the government, knowing how important is to the indusrty responded with bailouts. The other airlines in China, either merged or shutdown.
Something intresting I read is that the Chinease government, not the airlines get to choose which aircraft to order for the airlines. I can see why alot of companies can fail because of that.
Similiar to what the American Aviation indusrty is waiting for; NEXTGEN, China is expected to get their own NEXTGEN, except they will get their's much sooner than the US. They are expected to open up its low altitude airspace completely in 2015 to encourage more flights from private jets. Boeing's own projection is that China will spend US$600 billion on 5,000 new planes in the next 20 years. And it is targeting to win at least half of these new aircraft orders. That is surely to create many jobs in China, as they will be looking to expand both domestically and internationally.
Although China's internation airlines suffered last year, it's domestic travel still increased 22%, and is forecasted to be a growth of 17% this year.
There are 3 main state owned carriers in china, Air China, China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines. All three reported heavy losses in 2008, as higher fuel prices took their toll, but the government, knowing how important is to the indusrty responded with bailouts. The other airlines in China, either merged or shutdown.
Something intresting I read is that the Chinease government, not the airlines get to choose which aircraft to order for the airlines. I can see why alot of companies can fail because of that.
Similiar to what the American Aviation indusrty is waiting for; NEXTGEN, China is expected to get their own NEXTGEN, except they will get their's much sooner than the US. They are expected to open up its low altitude airspace completely in 2015 to encourage more flights from private jets. Boeing's own projection is that China will spend US$600 billion on 5,000 new planes in the next 20 years. And it is targeting to win at least half of these new aircraft orders. That is surely to create many jobs in China, as they will be looking to expand both domestically and internationally.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
New Flight Charters
The corporate aviation company that I picked is New Flight Charters. A brief overview of the company is that it was founded in 2003 and flies under part 135 and operate under air carrier certificate CCJA746C. They fly a bunch of different aircraft from the Bombardier CRJ 200, to the King Air 100, to a Citation Mustang. All and all I counted over 65 different types of aircraft. The large cabin jets are from $4000-7000 per hour and the midsize jets are from $2,600-3800, the turboprops are a little cheaper and go from $950-1400 per hour.
New Flight Charters fly from large cities in the U.S like, L.A, San Francisco, South Florida, New York, and Chicago, just to name a few (you can choose over 4,000 places to take off from in the U.S). And they also guarantee the lowest price. I could not find specific job requirement, however they say that they are the most qualified and have 26 Years Chartering Experience, 32 Years FAA-Certified Aviation Experience, 83 Years Executive Management Experience, and 16,700 Hours Personal Flight Experience.
The President of the company is Rick Colson, and also they have three charter managers, Blake Smith, Nanette Poorman, and Michelle Murphy. They all are very experienced in aviation and some even have flight experience in big aircraft.
To be continued...
New Flight Charters fly from large cities in the U.S like, L.A, San Francisco, South Florida, New York, and Chicago, just to name a few (you can choose over 4,000 places to take off from in the U.S). And they also guarantee the lowest price. I could not find specific job requirement, however they say that they are the most qualified and have 26 Years Chartering Experience, 32 Years FAA-Certified Aviation Experience, 83 Years Executive Management Experience, and 16,700 Hours Personal Flight Experience.
The President of the company is Rick Colson, and also they have three charter managers, Blake Smith, Nanette Poorman, and Michelle Murphy. They all are very experienced in aviation and some even have flight experience in big aircraft.
To be continued...
Sunday, October 23, 2011
The new space economy
"The new space economy is getting real," when I heard these words, I was thinking of flying cars and the Jetsons flying through the air. Well, I was close, it turns out it was space travel. There is alot going on in space travel now..What we thought was taking place in the future is starting to take place now. In this article by SPACE, it says there are meetings taking place now to have Virgin Galactic fly the first tourist aboard commerical spaceships in just a few years. It's not bad if your rich (starting price is $200,000). If you choose to fly it may be in this:
NASA is also getting involved in space travel. They realize how realistic this has become within the past few years. On the NASA website Human space travel is getting ready to go beyond Earth's orbit. Imagine going to Mars or Jupiter, what was just a thought 20-30 years ago is now being planned for the future.
Speaking of NASA, they are the pioneer's for space travel, they sent a man to the moon, and have successfully gained much knowledge of outer space. This website explains the history of NASA, and goes to show how far we have come. It's gone from going to the moon in 1969 to trying to let everyone buy there way to see outer space.
In terms of aviation, I don't believe it will hurt pilots or managers, I see one as a nessecity and the other as a luxury. In some ways I see it opening careers for aeronatical engineers, because they get to design and build better performing space shuttle's.
NASA is also getting involved in space travel. They realize how realistic this has become within the past few years. On the NASA website Human space travel is getting ready to go beyond Earth's orbit. Imagine going to Mars or Jupiter, what was just a thought 20-30 years ago is now being planned for the future.
Speaking of NASA, they are the pioneer's for space travel, they sent a man to the moon, and have successfully gained much knowledge of outer space. This website explains the history of NASA, and goes to show how far we have come. It's gone from going to the moon in 1969 to trying to let everyone buy there way to see outer space.
In terms of aviation, I don't believe it will hurt pilots or managers, I see one as a nessecity and the other as a luxury. In some ways I see it opening careers for aeronatical engineers, because they get to design and build better performing space shuttle's.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
ETS Problems
The EU has said that all airlines flying into Europe must pay for the emissions which are not environmentally friendly. The problem is that no airlines, especially American carriers that fly in the EU airspace for about 1/8 of the trip want to pay. I have to say that to me it makes no sense, why would anyone want to pay. I can understand the EU's actions, but some of the rules they made, like any US carrier traveling to the EU would have to pay the EU for the entire trip, not just for the emissions going over the EU, but the entire trip, that's not the right solution, it's kind of greedy.
The conflict between the US and the EU is between money. The U.S has a bill that would protect American carriers from having to pay extra for flying in the EU. In the end I think the EU will backdown and leave it as it was.
In this article, the EU estimates that aviation will increase emissions by 130% in 2012 compared with 2005 when it was at 60%, they say it will cost them 3.5 billion euro's per year, which is why the EU is charging a fee. The EU will be charging every aircraft operator that fly's into or out of the EU, and they will follow their annual cycle; operators will require that aircract operators watch their own annual emissions, and file a report of it, and have it verified. Also airlines will have to write how they will lower their emissions...As if they didn't have enough to take of.
The conflict between the US and the EU is between money. The U.S has a bill that would protect American carriers from having to pay extra for flying in the EU. In the end I think the EU will backdown and leave it as it was.
In this article, the EU estimates that aviation will increase emissions by 130% in 2012 compared with 2005 when it was at 60%, they say it will cost them 3.5 billion euro's per year, which is why the EU is charging a fee. The EU will be charging every aircraft operator that fly's into or out of the EU, and they will follow their annual cycle; operators will require that aircract operators watch their own annual emissions, and file a report of it, and have it verified. Also airlines will have to write how they will lower their emissions...As if they didn't have enough to take of.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Reno Air Race
In this AOPA blog, Alton Marsh talks about the Reno Air Race that claimed the lives of 11 people; including 1 pilot and 7 spectators. In the update he says that something may have happened to the tail horizontal control surfaces and may have lead to the accident. There is a video avialable in the AOPA blog showing the aircraft in a nosedive and hitting the ground. The aircraft was like most sport type aircraft; heavily modified, which makes one think, when will the FAA start to limit modifactions for sport aircraft.
Monday, October 3, 2011
A380 Vs. B787
These two aircraft are the newest, top of the line and most appealing to customers in the aviation industry. Least to say these two aircraft are the big money makers and pilots all over the world love flying these aircraft more than any other.
I'm going to be talking about the A380 today. According to the Airbus website, it is the world's largest aircraft and can hold 525 passengers in a normal seating (1st class, business class and economy class,) and because it has an upper deck it provides more than 50% more floor surface than the competition. The A380 will come in two different versions, one for airlines (A380-800,) and one for cargo (A380F). For this blog I'm going to looking at the A380-800.
The A380 has a range of 8,300 nm...thats over 9500 miles and has a fuel capacity of 85,472 gallons.
Airbus projects that in the first 3 years 15 million passengers will have flown the A380. Their have been a total of 236 orders of the A380 and 57 deliveries to 6 airlines; Emirates, Singapore airlines, Qantas, Lufthansa, Air France, and Korean Air.
**bar graph courtesy of wikipedia
The bar graph does a good job showing which airlines are in right now and whose in for the future of the A380.
In 1988 a few Airbus engineers worked to break the monopoly set by Boeing. Airbus and Boeing both stated reseach together on "very large aircraft" in 1994 and that ended farily quicky. And in 1999 Airbus designers decided it was time to bring the Airbus to life, The project cost them about 10 billion dollars to complete.
I believe the A380 will have a postive effect on the manufacturs of airbus. I mean the unit cost of one complete A380 is around 375 million dollars, so imagine selling 200-300 of these. It will bring money to company. As far as Boeing goes, I think they ran into competition and I can't wait to see the new 787. But honestly, their's no doubt Boeing has lost money because of Airbus. Finally as a future manager in the industry I can't wait to see the income the new planes bring in. I think with these two companies competing for service with airlines, it will bring out the best of both companies (hence new airplanes).
I'm going to be talking about the A380 today. According to the Airbus website, it is the world's largest aircraft and can hold 525 passengers in a normal seating (1st class, business class and economy class,) and because it has an upper deck it provides more than 50% more floor surface than the competition. The A380 will come in two different versions, one for airlines (A380-800,) and one for cargo (A380F). For this blog I'm going to looking at the A380-800.
The A380 has a range of 8,300 nm...thats over 9500 miles and has a fuel capacity of 85,472 gallons.
Airbus projects that in the first 3 years 15 million passengers will have flown the A380. Their have been a total of 236 orders of the A380 and 57 deliveries to 6 airlines; Emirates, Singapore airlines, Qantas, Lufthansa, Air France, and Korean Air.
The bar graph does a good job showing which airlines are in right now and whose in for the future of the A380.
In 1988 a few Airbus engineers worked to break the monopoly set by Boeing. Airbus and Boeing both stated reseach together on "very large aircraft" in 1994 and that ended farily quicky. And in 1999 Airbus designers decided it was time to bring the Airbus to life, The project cost them about 10 billion dollars to complete.
I believe the A380 will have a postive effect on the manufacturs of airbus. I mean the unit cost of one complete A380 is around 375 million dollars, so imagine selling 200-300 of these. It will bring money to company. As far as Boeing goes, I think they ran into competition and I can't wait to see the new 787. But honestly, their's no doubt Boeing has lost money because of Airbus. Finally as a future manager in the industry I can't wait to see the income the new planes bring in. I think with these two companies competing for service with airlines, it will bring out the best of both companies (hence new airplanes).
Sunday, September 25, 2011
NextGen advantages and disadvantages
NextGen is a new technology that I can not wait for. There has been a lot of talk about NextGen for a few years now. There are many benefits of NextGen which I will talk about, but with anything good, it will come at a cost for someone.
In this short video by the FAA they say that in 2009 we had 689 Million passengers and 36 Billion pounds of cargo and those numbers are expected to increase by 50% in 2025. So with more air traffic we know we will be needing a new, better and faster system. NextGen provides pilots, and ATC with real time information. Pilots will know where they are in relation to other aircraft and the ground. We will be moving from radar systems to satelitte technology. More airplanes would be able to fly closer together; 500 feet of vertical seperation will be the new standards. All this will lead to 20% reduction of en route errors, reduced fuel cost, more direct routes which will lead to faster flights, and fewer delays, and enhanced security by giving the FAA, Homeland Security, and the Military more effective means of watching traffic.
The FAA has already invested 128 Million in 2007, 216 Million in 2008, 659 Million in 2009, and 868 Million in 2010. That is a lot of money that shows that NextGen is coming soon. The problem lies with general aviation. If all aircraft will be required to install new equipment, how will aircraft owners afford to install new equipment, in partical the Automatic Dependent Surveillence Brodcast (ADS-B). The airplanes will litterally talk to each other to avoid mid air collisions by informing the pilots where to go. Another problem is that the NextGen system will eliminate 75% of the FAA workforce (according to my avt 315 professor). So it will come with cost, but is expected to save money in the long run.
In this short video by the FAA they say that in 2009 we had 689 Million passengers and 36 Billion pounds of cargo and those numbers are expected to increase by 50% in 2025. So with more air traffic we know we will be needing a new, better and faster system. NextGen provides pilots, and ATC with real time information. Pilots will know where they are in relation to other aircraft and the ground. We will be moving from radar systems to satelitte technology. More airplanes would be able to fly closer together; 500 feet of vertical seperation will be the new standards. All this will lead to 20% reduction of en route errors, reduced fuel cost, more direct routes which will lead to faster flights, and fewer delays, and enhanced security by giving the FAA, Homeland Security, and the Military more effective means of watching traffic.
The FAA has already invested 128 Million in 2007, 216 Million in 2008, 659 Million in 2009, and 868 Million in 2010. That is a lot of money that shows that NextGen is coming soon. The problem lies with general aviation. If all aircraft will be required to install new equipment, how will aircraft owners afford to install new equipment, in partical the Automatic Dependent Surveillence Brodcast (ADS-B). The airplanes will litterally talk to each other to avoid mid air collisions by informing the pilots where to go. Another problem is that the NextGen system will eliminate 75% of the FAA workforce (according to my avt 315 professor). So it will come with cost, but is expected to save money in the long run.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Post 9/11 Airport Security
Yes, we all know aviation security is a hassle. As a Pakistani-American citizen I know how much TSA can be bothersome, but security has come a long way and there is still much to learn. There is an intresting article on CNN about how the Israelis have been doing there security; in particular El Al airlines. They actually interview everyone that boards the aircraft and believe it or not they have not had one incident...so it must work, a technique that I think most flyers will embrace more so than the screening.
In the article I looked at this week, a poll of over 2000 American passengers showed that nearly 1/3 of Americans are more concerned about security now then they were 10 years ago, and 84% said they believe American will be hit with another attack from a citizen of a foreign country in the next 10 years.
In the article I looked at this week, a poll of over 2000 American passengers showed that nearly 1/3 of Americans are more concerned about security now then they were 10 years ago, and 84% said they believe American will be hit with another attack from a citizen of a foreign country in the next 10 years.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Automation and human error
I want to start off with a basic example of my view on automation...how often do we try to do something on a regular computer/labtop and mess up? (or how often does the computer mess up?) For me it's quite often. Don't get me wrong, I think automation is a great thing, just like I think computers are a great thing. But I don't think we should have to rely on a computer to fly a plane. Dr. Tartalone has told his flight students numerous times that most likely when we start flying it's not going to be something fancy, like a G-1000 system...it's going to be something simple in a DC-9.
In another example Dr. Phil told about some pilots that were trying to taxi a brand new freshly painted Airbus A-380, and they somehow made the plane think that it was in the air, so when they hit the brakes on the ground it didn't work, and they ended up totaling the new plane into a sound barrier.
If there is a complanency with automation that can be a big problem, as a avt. manager I would have more training every time new automation/technology comes out. Even if it cost more, training is an essential, but will end up saving lives in the end.
The key advantage in automation in avtiation is giving pilot more Situation Awareness. It gives pilots a faster, and easier way of making a decision. But with that fast and easy decision will come alot of money being invested. So even if it doesn't work, atleast the lights look cool.
* http://aviationknowledge.wikidot.com/aviation:automation
In another example Dr. Phil told about some pilots that were trying to taxi a brand new freshly painted Airbus A-380, and they somehow made the plane think that it was in the air, so when they hit the brakes on the ground it didn't work, and they ended up totaling the new plane into a sound barrier.
If there is a complanency with automation that can be a big problem, as a avt. manager I would have more training every time new automation/technology comes out. Even if it cost more, training is an essential, but will end up saving lives in the end.
The key advantage in automation in avtiation is giving pilot more Situation Awareness. It gives pilots a faster, and easier way of making a decision. But with that fast and easy decision will come alot of money being invested. So even if it doesn't work, atleast the lights look cool.
* http://aviationknowledge.wikidot.com/aviation:automation
Sunday, September 4, 2011
The Beginning of Stealth
I am a 1st generation american citizen. I grew up and haved lived in Michigan my entire life. I am currently studing at Eastern Michigan University, and I'm majoring in aviation flight management, however i was majoring in avt flight tech and have about 50 hours of flying time in a cessna 172, and I hope to continue flying after I can get my career started.
I first got started with avtiation after switching majors and switching schools. From Henry Ford Community College, to Saginaw Valley State University and now at Emu. My uncle was in the Pakistan Air Force about 25 years ago, and tried to persuade me to do the same, but I chose college instead.
I have to admit I was very nervous flying, but i'll never forget my final landing...it was as smooth as butter, trust me, my butt bone is still hurting from some of my horrible landings, so I am very happy that I ended it (for the time being) on a good note.
I am happy to say that this will be my final year before I get my degree. I am looking foward to that day.
Until next time,
Fly High
I first got started with avtiation after switching majors and switching schools. From Henry Ford Community College, to Saginaw Valley State University and now at Emu. My uncle was in the Pakistan Air Force about 25 years ago, and tried to persuade me to do the same, but I chose college instead.
I have to admit I was very nervous flying, but i'll never forget my final landing...it was as smooth as butter, trust me, my butt bone is still hurting from some of my horrible landings, so I am very happy that I ended it (for the time being) on a good note.
I am happy to say that this will be my final year before I get my degree. I am looking foward to that day.
Until next time,
Fly High
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