Pilot Shortage

Currently, the US air carriers and private air companies are on track to see a huge pilot shortage in the coming years.  I believe this was brought on by the following factors:

• More than half of American pilots are over age 50 with a mandatory retirement age for pilots at 65
• Lack of qualified candidates
• FAA's new mandate requires all newly hired pilots have at least 1,500 hours of flying experience
• New ATP requirements
• New rest requiremnts 
• Low salaries & less benefits - Average regional pilot making $22,400 a year 
• Lack of students due to high costs of training
• Increase in air travel

This has created a prefect storm and many companies will start to experience hardship if these topics are not addressed. Companies that are going to be suffering the most have not taken the necessary actions to combat the pilot shortage.

This could be a great opportunity for students that are currently working on their certificates to get a higher paid careers in the Aviation Industry.


Pilot Shortage - Rising costs

Pilot Shortage or a Salary Problem

Worst Pilot Shortage in Decades

Export-Import Bank

The Export-Import Bank of the United States is a US agency that assists international companies finance goods produced in the United States to contribute to its economy. The bank extends low interest loans and credit to buyers that purchase goods produced in the US.

Boeing has been the biggest beneficiary of the Export-Import Bank; they were given $48.63 Billion for aircraft last year alone. More can be read here. Though great for Boeing, this has been bad for other US air carriers, such as Delta, American, and United because of most foreign carriers such as Emirates Airlines, Qatar Airways, and Norwegian Airlines can offer lower cost tickets. 

If the US does not continue to disallow Cabotage (which would let foreign air carries travel within a country and transport those citizens within that country), it could really hurt American air carriers' profits. Hopefully, the US government will continue to disallow Cabotage within the US and preserve American airline jobs.

I believe that the Export-Import Bank has its place but the airline industry needs to make sure this bank is not taken advantage of. Some possible solutions could be putting a cap on the amount of money offered to foreign companies to purchase certain items or products. This would be a great compromise both for the Airlines and Aircraft Manufactures.  

UAVs

UAVs are currently being used in the United States for a myriad of reasons, most for government agencies for security and surveillance. Recently, Amazon.com announced their Amazon PRIME Air; a drone base delivery system, that can carry up to 5 pounds of physical goods to one's doorstep. Another civilian purpose of UAVs that has become extremely popular is 3D Mapping/Aerial photography, in which Model Airplanes and Helicopters take 3D images of cities, towns, and landscaping for surveying purposes.

The FAA currently states that anyone operating a drone in the United States must obtain an experimental aircraft permit. I found this interesting read about how much the FAA really does have control over UAVs. You can find it here.

I predict that UAVs will be integrated into the National Airspace System (NAS) very soon. I am sure that there will be a lot of problems in the beginning with the integration, such as the interaction with GA aircraft, privacy and security issues, and (potentially) public perception. Will the public accept the use of UAVs or will they cry Big Brother and 1984? Or will they welcome a pizza-delivering drone?

One thing for certain is Military Application of UAVs are on the rise. More of our operations are completed by Unmanned aircraft. Most of the operations done by drones are surveillance, although drone attacks are on the rise. Financially, the use of cones makes sense as they are cheaper than maned aircraft. 

I found many jobs for UAV Pilots. Here are two interesting ones brassring.com & brandesassociates.icims.com.

Professional Organizations

It is extremely important to network with other professionals in your industry. One way to network in your profession is to join a professional organization. Joining professional organizations you will not only help you network with professionals in your industry, but it will also make your resume stand out from others. Two professional aviation organizations that I would suggested would be Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), and Airline Pilots Association (ALPA).

I am currently a member of AOPA, it provides me with great knowledge of what is currently going on in the Aviation Industry, more specifically the GA part of aviation. AOPA mission is as follows: "We protect your freedom to fly by…advocating on behalf of our members, educating pilots, non-pilots, and policy makers alike, supporting activities that ensure the long-term health of General Aviation, fighting to keep General Aviation accessible to all, and securing sufficient resources to ensure our success."

As I progress in my aviation career I would like to join ALPA. ALPA provides their members with important news about Airline Safety and Security. ALPA mission statement is "...to promote and champion all aspects of aviation safety throughout all segments of the aviation community; to represent, in both specific and general respects, the collective interests of all pilots in commercial aviation; to assist in collective bargaining activities on behalf of all pilots represented by the Association; to promote the health and welfare of the members of the Association before all governmental agencies; to be a strong, forceful advocate of the airline piloting profession, through all forms of media, and with the public at large; and to be the ultimate guardian and defender of the rights and privileges of the professional pilots who are members of the Association."

Belonging to these and other professional organizations will be assets in finding that life long career.

Flying Cheap

At the tail end of my career I would like to be a Captain for Delta Private Jets. 

Here is a Job Description for the Captain position at Delta Private Jets:

General Summary
Administratively responsible to the Chief Pilot and functionally responsible to the pilot-in-command of the assigned flight.

Responsibilities

• Must meet duty time limitations, rest requirements, be qualified, current, properly dressed, and possess all required certificates, licenses, and permits.
• Assist the pilot-in-command during all phases of flight in accordance with company policies and procedures.
• Assume primary responsibility for the safety of the passengers, crewmembers, cargo, and the airplane should the pilot-in-command become incapacitated or unable to perform his/her duties.
• Have primary operational responsibility for successfully completing the customer service portions of each leg as outlined in the policies and procedures manual.
• Review thoroughly and brief the pilot-in-command specifically on all customer service items including, but not limited to passenger pick up, passenger drop off, refueling, customs, private hangar pick up/drop off, private hangar communications requirements, and passenger catering.
• Must comply with all Federal Aviation Regulations, Company Operations Manual, Operations Specifications, Standard Operating Procedures, and Company Policies and Procedures.
• Perform all assigned and implied tasks using Crew Resource Management (CRM) principles.
• Update flight and duty records, determine eligibility for the next flight assignment and ensure any aircraft maintenance discrepancies are reported to the Captain and reported in accordance with Company Policies and Procedures.
• Participate proactively in safety and quality systems by identifying, reporting and mitigating hazards and quality issues; providing timely input to management; and applying systems processes to address quality and safety issues.
• Must maintain First Class Medical.
• Must be able to freely enter and exit all international borders.
• Perform other duties and/or special projects as assigned by the pilot-in-command, the Chief Pilot or higher authority.

You can read more about the Position here.

There are some safety and liability concerns with this job, such as getting adequate rest between trips and commuting long distances to catch flights.

I'd plan on to scheduling flights that would best for me, based on time amount of trips in a month. I'd also plan on living close to the airport that I am stationed at, even if that means moving away from my family and friends.

Professionalism, in my opinion, is when someone conducts their job with good judgment and in a professional, polite manner.

While watching the documentary, Flying Cheap, I noticed that Colgan exhibited a lack of professionalism. 1) The management team pressured pilots to fly while sick and/or fatigued. 2) The captain did not disclose that he failed past check rides and the management at Colgan failed to check. 3) Management, in an effort to save money, put contracted pilots in positions where they had to choose between making ends meet or facing other consequences. 4) Pilots sacrificed sleep to commute to airports because living near said airports was too expensive. 

Ways that I plan on maintaining a good level of professionalism include making sure that management does not push me into agreeing to flights that are dangerous to myself, the crew and passengers and making sure that I am not fatigued or stressed before a flight.

Most Wanted

The NTSB recently released their Most Wanted list, created to increase awareness of the most critical changes that are needed to reduce transportation accidents and save lives.

Three of NTSB's most wanted changes strictly pertained to aviation; (1) being the Unique Characteristics of Helicopter Operations, (2) General Aviation: Identify and Communicate Hazardous Weather, and (3) Strengthen Occupant Protection in Transportation.

One of NTSB's Most Wanted changes I would like to point out is one that I've witnessed and wondered how and why this issue has been ignored for so long: occupant protection. Currently, the FAA allows exemptions for children under the age of two, to travel unrestrained on the lap of an adult despite the FAA's requirement that we stow luggage, small bags, and even snacks and beverages during crucial parts of flight.

The NTSB has also left out some hot topic safety issues that are currently being discussed. These topics include; pilots landing at the wrong airport such as the Southwest and Boeing incidents, and the issue of pilots relying on too much automation. Such an incident that happened this summer when Asiana Flight to 214 crashed into the runway at San Francisco Airport, killing three. Here is an article about the topic: http://www.today.com/news/are-airline-pilots-relying-too-much-automation-1B11170594

Pilots today are relying too much on automation and are beginning to lose the necessary skills to pilot an aircraft. These two hot topics should have been included in the NTSB's most wanted list and have greater urgency because of the recent incidents as stated above.

There's great potential for new jobs, especially in the areas of management and safety administration in order to reduce the hazardous brought forth from the incidents.

BRAKES!!!!

Within the last 5 years have had many mishaps where pilots happen to land at the wrong airport. Most recently, Southwest landed one of their 737s at the wrong airport in Missouri. The airport at which they were suppose to land was about 7 miles north. Unfortunately, this is not a uncommon mistake.

Another Incident that of a aircraft that landed at the wrong airport was when a C-17 landed on the wrong runway. Video Can be Found here.

Aircraft landing at the wrong airport can present many hazards and complications. One of the most dangerous and most obvious would be an aircraft landing on a much shorter runway than what is needed, which could cause the aircraft to overshoot the runway and potentially damage or destroy property or worst, possibly injured or kill people. If the aircraft were to stop in such a short distance Aircraft could be damaged and not able to fly out of airport.

Many reasons such as fatigue, disorientation, loss of situational awareness and simple human error, can account for these mistakes. I believe most of these cases are isolated incidents, although some research should be done to identify if there are any other causes to be dangerous mistakes.

Southwest management decided to suspend the pilots involved in the incident until the investigation has completed. I agree with the decision to suspend the pilots of the Southwest flight. This was an incident that should have not occurred. The Southwest jet was carrying 124 passengers. The pilot should be sent for additional training to ensure proper training in situational awareness. Although, I do not believe the pilots involved in the incident should be let go due to this mistake.

Introduction

An open letter to my readers:

Hello,

First off, I am going to start by introducing myself. My name is Tom Simon, I am 25 years old and grew up in Sterling Heights, Michigan. I have been attending Eastern Michigan University for about 3 years now. I'm working on a Bachelor's degree in Aviation Flight Technology. I am a Private Pilot and currently working on my Instrument Rating. I am currently Vice President of Alpha Eta Rho, Sigma Chi, which is a Professional Aviation Fraternity.

I'm starting the blog for two reasons, one it is required for senior seminar and two I would like to share my story. Plain and simple... I would like this blog to help other students, whether they be Eastern Aviation students or traditional students wanting to know the processes of going about getting their certificates and how to deal with college being a aviation student.

 Tom Simon