Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are becoming more and more popular for military use, but also for civilian usage. Currently, there are not many civilian companies that are using UAV’s. However, there are a few companies (government, universities) that hold a permit from the FAA to fly private drones.  UAV’s are currently being used for; Hurricane Hunting, 3-D Mapping, Protecting Wildlife, Agriculture, and Search and Rescue (Handwerk, 2013).  According to Handwerk, the uses of drones have been very effective and have excelled in these areas of work. According to the FAA website, there are a handful of regulations that are required to abide by for civilian recreational use. However, if UAV’s are being used for non-recreational operations, you must receive authorization by the FAA.

            I believe that it is only a matter of time before UAV’s will be integrated with the National Airspace System (NAS). In my opinion, integrating UAV’s and NAS is inevitable. Civilians using UAV’s, regardless of the reason, will push the boundaries and will eventually require cooperation between NAS and the operation of UAV’s.   If UAV’s are integrated in the NAS, there are bound to be some communication and safety issues. One major communication concern would be being able to interact with Air Traffic Control (ATC). If UAV’s are unable to communicate efficiently with ATC, the chances of and accident or incident increase drastically. As for safety risks, if UAV’s are integrated into the NAS, other aircafts will need to know where a UAV is located. If they do not, there is a chance for mid-air collisions, causing accidents to occur. I believe if drones develop a system so they can communicate with ATC, and a way for ATC to track them, this will help eliminate the safety risks, and will allow UAV’s to be integrated into the NAS safely.

            The use of civilian UAV’s is relatively new. With that being said, the military have used UAV’s, quite effectively for over a decade now. Since the terrorist attack on the World Trade Centers, “over 95% of all non-battlefield targeted killings have been conducted by drones” (Drones, 2014). The uses of drones have been so effective to the military because they are able to conduct surveillance. “In 2008, the CIA began a policy of signature strikes against targets outside of named kill list” (Drones, 2014). The signature strikes policy now allows drone attacks based on an individuals pattern of life or their suspicious daily behavior. Financially, the use of drones is cheaper than the use of military jets. The cost to build a military drone is between 5 million and 14.4 million dollars. In the United States, the cost of a military fighter jets vary on price, but range between 60- 100 million dollars per unit. So,, not only are drones cheaper, but they are also safer for the pilots. There is no chance of the pilot being gunned down in a drone.

            While doing some research for different jobs involving UAV’s, I found this website specifically for UAV careers. A lot of the jobs on this listing database were deployment and military jobs, however, there were quite a few civilian jobs. A civilian pilot job that I found was for Textron, the leader of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. This position was a Instructor pilots for a Gray Eagle UAV. As for management careers, I did not find a job listing. However, I would have to imagine that the manager would be responsible for making sure that the pilots are trained correctly, the scheduling for crews, making sure that the pilots are staying current on their ratings and performing proficiently.

References

Batey, A. (2014, September 2). The low-cost fighters to serve tomorrow's air forces. Retrieved February 28, 2015, from http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140903-low-cost-fighter-jets-take-

Top of FormBottom of FormCivil Operations (Non-Governmental). (n.d.). Retrieved February 28, 2015, from https://www.faa.gov/uas/civil_operations

Drones - ProCon.org. (n.d.). Retrieved February 28, 2015, from http://drones.procon.org/#background

Handwerk, B. (2013, December 2). 5 Surprising Drone Uses (Besides Amazon Delivery). Retrieved February 28, 2015, from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/12/131202-drone-uav-uas-amazon-octocopter-bezos-science-aircraft-unmanned-robot/

Model Aircraft Operations. (n.d.). Retrieved February 28, 2015, from https://www.faa.gov/uas/model_aircraft/

Weibel, R., & Hansman, J. (2005, March 1). SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS FOR OPERATION OF UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES IN THE NATIONAL AIRSPACE SYSTEM. Retrieved February 28, 2015, from http://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/handle/1721.1/34912/Weibel - ICAT Report - UAV Safety.pdf

Corporate Aviation

   In the past couple years; there has been a disagreement regarding corporate aviation and the necessity for their departments. Back in January of 2009, the Big Three Bailout occurred. However, the part that was in question was when the members of the Big Three arrived to meet with congress on their corporate jets. This move by the Big Three angered people. However, what people do not understand is how much a corporate aviation department can help a company. Before doing some research, I was angered by this as well, and wondered why they would need bailed out if they were able to fly these types of aircrafts. However, after researching about corporate aviation, I found that aviation departments are beneficial. “Time equals money, and when you add up all of those lost hours on commercial airline flights, it can make the cost of flying on a private jet more financially feasible” (Dermody, 2013). Companies that have their own aviation department, have the opportunity to save time, and in business, time means money. I think that it is important for companies to establish their own aviation department, not only to save time, but also to project their image of success.

         A corporate aviation department that is currently on the rise is Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola’s aviation department is located in Atlanta, Georgia. With Coke’s aviation department, they are able to operate in over 200 countries.  On the Coca-Cola website, the positions that you are able to apply for are; Pilots, First Officers, Flight Attendants, and Aviation Dispatchers (The Coca-Cola Company, n.d.). Coke Did not have any of the hiring requirements for the aviation department listed, but after doing a little searching, I found some requirements for a Captain position. They require a bachelor degree, but would prefer a master degree. They also require roughly 12 years of Captain experience. As for management jobs, corporate aviation departments offer many of the same jobs that commercial aviation offers. However, there are likely fewer jobs available, but that could change with the continuous growth of corporate aviation departments.

References

Amadeo, Kimberly. "Auto Industry Bailout (GM, Ford, Chrysler)." US Economy. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2015.

"Careers at The Coca-Cola Company." The Coca-Cola Company. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2015.

Dermody, K.C. "Comparing Private Jets to Commercial Airlines." - Jets & Planes. N.p., 13 May 2013. Web. 15 Feb. 2015.

NTSB Most Wanted List

The NTSB's 2015 Most Wanted List

For this blog we will be looking at the National Transportations Safety Board’s most wanted. The new 2015 most wanted list was recently made public, and the main focus for the aviation industry is the “Loss of Control in Flight in General Aviation” and “Strengthen Procedural Compliance”.

            Aviation transportation continues to become safer and safer. However, flights in General Aviation continue to be a safety concern. According to the article, (Preventing Loss of Control in Flight in General Aviation) “between 2001 and 2011, over 40 percent of fixed wing GA fatal accidents occurred because pilots lost control of their airplanes”. I believe that the loss of control by GA pilots is a significant concern, and I am glad that the NTSB and FAA have realized it. The NTSB lists a couple reasons why GA pilots, more frequently, lose control of their aircraft. One of those reason is, “ a GA pilot does not have the same pilot proficiency requirement that a commercial airline pilot does. Another reason that GA pilots seem to lose control of their aircrafts more often is because, they usually have longer intervals between flights. The average GA pilot only flies around 35 hours per year (Davisson, 2006). In my opinion, this number is way to low, and that is a major reason why we are seeing a loss of control by GA pilots.  The statistics have shown that the most dangerous phases of flight are: Takeoff, Climbing, Approach and Landing (Statistics, n.d.). With GA pilots not flying as frequent as airline pilots, they need to critique and sharpen their skills on their own time. It is difficult for GA pilots to do this if they are not flying as often, and that contributes to the reason for loss of control. After the NTSB states the information in the “Most Wanted List”, they back up their data with two situations where GA pilots lost control of their aircrafts. The first one, a pilot lost control while trying a circle approach. The second was a pilot losing control of his aircraft while he was maneuvering at low altitude. 

            The NTSB is continuing their proactive approach, and they listed multiple recommendations for GA pilots. These recommendations are below, and they are hoping that these recommendations will help prevent the loss of control issues:

• Be prepared to recognize the warning signs of an impending stall, and be able to apply appropriate recovery techniques before stall onset.
• Be honest with themselves about their knowledge level of stalls, and their ability to recognize and handle them.
• Utilize aeronautical decision making (ADM) techniques and flight risk assessment tools during both preflight planning and inflight operations.
• Manage distractions so that they do not interfere with situational awareness.
• Understand, properly train, and maintain currency in the equipment and airplanes they operate. They should take advantage of available commercial trainer, type club and transition training opportunities.

With the NTSB trying to make the GA pilots aware of the issues, I believe that it is the responsibility of the pilot to make the industry safer. I believe that pilots need to continue to educate themselves, fly more hours so they can sharpen their skills, and make smarter decisions while in the air. If the pilots educate themselves and make smarter decisions, they will be able to help make the General Aviation industry safer.

            The second aviation concern that the NTSB listed on their “Most Wanted” list is strengthening procedural compliance in commercial aviation. The main point of the article is to make sure that; pilots follow procedures, are trained correctly and are trained to use these procedures. If the pilots do follow these procedures, every flight should be safe. I believe that the use of procedures, or the lack of, is an issue with the safety of commercial aviation. However, the correct use of procedures was not the only issue that occurred in the flights the NTSB mentioned in the “Strengthen Procedural Compliance” article. In the crash in Birmingham, the pilots were descending too quickly and that was the cause of the accident. Regardless, if the pilots were following procedures, and continued to descend to quickly the result was inevitable.

            In my opinion, I think that the recommendations that the NTSB came up with would help in the safety of commercial flights, but I think more could be done. If companies would spend a little extra time training their pilots during recurring trainings, and in flight simulators, I believe that these types of issues could be prevented. Yes, following the procedures will help with safety, but I think that more simulator training, that simulate these types of issues, could help improve safety even more.

References

Davisson, B. (2006, September 1). Is 35 Hours Enough? Retrieved February 7, 2015, from http://www.planeandpilotmag.com/proficiency/pilot-skills/is-35-hours-enough.html#.VNjQ1mTF9RU

Fact Sheet – General Aviation Safety. (2014, July 30). Retrieved February 9, 2015, from http://www.faa.gov/news/fact_sheets/news_story.cfm?newsId=16774

Prevent Loss of Control in Flight in General Aviation. (n.d.). Retrieved February 8, 2015, from http://www.ntsb.gov/safety/mwl/Pages/mwl7_20

STATISTICS. (n.d.). Retrieved February 9, 2015, from http://www.planecrashinfo.com/cause.htm

Strengthen Procedural Compliance. (n.d.). Retrieved February 9, 2015, from http://www.ntsb.gov/safety/mwl/Pages/mwl10_2

The Role of Human Factors in Improving Aviation Safety - Text Only. (n.d.). Retrieved February 9, 2015, from http://www.boeing.com/commercial/aeromagazin