As most of you know the current situation with the U.S. economy is not in a good position. It has greatly effected the aviation industry. About five airlines have officially filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. The oil prices have not even gone any lower, and travelers are feeling the strains from lost flights. At least Frontier airlines has chose to continue its flying operations and continued to pay its employees. As for the discount start ups like Skybus they have definitely felt the pressures from the economy, and have unfortunately left travelers stranded.
Now in my opinion I feel that even if you have to file bankruptcy you should still find a way to get your customers back to their original destination. I believe though that in the aviation industry as a whole they claim to be for the customer, but if they were then possibly these companies would not have had to file a chapter 11. Also along those lines of taking care of the customer should be the safety of the customer. Though American Airlines had forgotten about that and now they too are beginning to suffer by grounding some of the fleet just to repair the planes. It seems as though the airlines have forgotten that the money they get for flying comes from the consumer. If your airline is not safe and it does not get people to their destination on time then they won't fly your airline.
I know what it means to be a maintainer and have to work on an aging fleet, but I also know that safety of myself, my crew and those that fly is my number one priority. The commercial arena seems to have forgotten. Yes it is nice to have comfortable space in the cabin and be served a nice meal, but if my plane is going to have malfunctions in flight I won't fly that airline again if I don't have to. That is why it is always good as a traveler to keep up on the airlines and see how there record is and to find out if there has been any issues with the aircraft. To do so you just look onto the FAA website and you can usually find the information if you look under Advisory Circulars. Those are things that are published by the FAA when they find something that needs to be inspected on a certain type of airplane. If your not sure what type of airplanes an airline has you can usually find that directly on the airlines website. So remember that knowledge is power and you should be somewhat informed about the airline before you decide to purchase that ticket. Especially now while our economy is the way it is.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Saturday, February 23, 2008
International Travels
For everyone out there who is making any plans for traveling internationally I recommend making sure your documents are in order. Find out about the local laws for your destination and any other requirements to make your travels easier. Verify what documents you may need such as a passport and/or a visa. If you haven't been on the Department of State website for checking the requirements you might want to do so. Not to long ago there has been a new regulation for first time passport applicants to apply in person. Also there is a passport card that they are looking at using for traveling to places like Canada and Mexico. If you plan on traveling to a place like Japan make sure to have your passport ready, clean hands, and a nice smile. Now when entering into Japan as a regular traveling and not under government duties they will scan your finger and take your picture at the immigration counter. So again I hope that when you travel to first do a little homework and research your destination. It is good to know what is required and it will make your traveling experience a lot easier.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Airline Travels
I know that most people out there are tired of dealing with the security at the airports. Especially when new restrictions just seem to randomly appear that were not there before. Well here is another one, but it has been out there for almost a month now. When you decide to take your next flight remember to check for batteries.
Do to some recent fires the NTSB and the FAA are restricting the carrying of lithium non-rechargeable and rechargeable batteries. They did not say that the batteries were the direct cause of the incidents, but to be safe they have published this restriction.
They have said that the non-rechargeable lithium batteries made by such companies as the energizer company are unsafe if left open in checked luggage. If these batteries are left loose in luggage and something touches the contacts (ends) of the battery it can cause a short circuit causing the battery to fail. This failure happens in the form of over-heating and sparking; which can lead to fires. They recommend that if you do have these batteries in your checked baggage that they are kept in a plastic bag or container separate from other metals like loose change. If they are brand new and in their original packaging and in your checked luggage you should be ok to have them as long as the packaging is not opened.
As for carry-on luggage your are only allowed to carry lithium batteries on you if they are attached to the electrical equipment. They are limiting that only two batteries per person are authorized for carry-on; which that pretty much covers people who have cellphones and computer devices, like laptops, and PDA. If you want to check the regulation for yourself here is a link to the published report. http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/batteries.shtm
Do to some recent fires the NTSB and the FAA are restricting the carrying of lithium non-rechargeable and rechargeable batteries. They did not say that the batteries were the direct cause of the incidents, but to be safe they have published this restriction.
They have said that the non-rechargeable lithium batteries made by such companies as the energizer company are unsafe if left open in checked luggage. If these batteries are left loose in luggage and something touches the contacts (ends) of the battery it can cause a short circuit causing the battery to fail. This failure happens in the form of over-heating and sparking; which can lead to fires. They recommend that if you do have these batteries in your checked baggage that they are kept in a plastic bag or container separate from other metals like loose change. If they are brand new and in their original packaging and in your checked luggage you should be ok to have them as long as the packaging is not opened.
As for carry-on luggage your are only allowed to carry lithium batteries on you if they are attached to the electrical equipment. They are limiting that only two batteries per person are authorized for carry-on; which that pretty much covers people who have cellphones and computer devices, like laptops, and PDA. If you want to check the regulation for yourself here is a link to the published report. http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/batteries.shtm
Sunday, January 20, 2008
A little studying help
Ok say your going for your A&P certifications or something along those lines. I know that the material they use for the testing is from the ASA booklets. Also if you have those test guide booklets I would also recommend that you get the actual course booklet to go with the test guide. That way if your not 100% then you can at least look it up in the book and study about that topic.
Another tip that I learned from my professor when I was taking an AMT course was to purchase a lot of white out and see how long it takes you to undo the entire thing. No I'm just kidding, well almost, use the white out in the test guide on all the questions. What you want to do is white out all the wrong answers and even the letters like A,B,C and so on. That way your brain is trained on just the answer and you don't even care about the wrong answer. This way when you actually test you won't recognize the other choices and go immediately to the correct one.
Surprisingly for the amount of white out that I've gone through this method of studying really helped. I've used it pretty much through all of my classes that have required multiple choice tests.
Another tip that I learned from my professor when I was taking an AMT course was to purchase a lot of white out and see how long it takes you to undo the entire thing. No I'm just kidding, well almost, use the white out in the test guide on all the questions. What you want to do is white out all the wrong answers and even the letters like A,B,C and so on. That way your brain is trained on just the answer and you don't even care about the wrong answer. This way when you actually test you won't recognize the other choices and go immediately to the correct one.
Surprisingly for the amount of white out that I've gone through this method of studying really helped. I've used it pretty much through all of my classes that have required multiple choice tests.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Plane Crash in Ohio 2
I guess there was a second plane crash in Ohio. It was a plane that crashed shortly after takeoff from an airport in Cleveland. I don't know much else about the incident except that the plane went down in Lake Erie and that the Coast Guard was searching for the pilot. It wasn't until yesterday, January 18th, when I was talking with a family member did I find out that they had found the body of the pilot. Once I find out more about the Incident I will post that information.
Oh also to add something about the other plane crash that I forgot to consider; which is to why the FAA and the NTSB are looking into the weather. It had also been reported that as the airplane was on its final approach that it looked like it was stopped in mid-air. This could mean a possible wind shear which could have caused the airplane airspeed indicator to increase. If the pilot believed that was happening without notice of wind shear the pilot would have decreased throttle and increased the planes drop rate. It was also mentioned that the plane looked low as it was flying over and preparing for its final. If that were true and the wind shear was present then the pilot didn't realize before it was too late, and that could be reason as to why there was no radio transmission before the crash.
Again, I want to say I am no expert and what I post is mostly my opinion with a slight educated guess.
Oh also to add something about the other plane crash that I forgot to consider; which is to why the FAA and the NTSB are looking into the weather. It had also been reported that as the airplane was on its final approach that it looked like it was stopped in mid-air. This could mean a possible wind shear which could have caused the airplane airspeed indicator to increase. If the pilot believed that was happening without notice of wind shear the pilot would have decreased throttle and increased the planes drop rate. It was also mentioned that the plane looked low as it was flying over and preparing for its final. If that were true and the wind shear was present then the pilot didn't realize before it was too late, and that could be reason as to why there was no radio transmission before the crash.
Again, I want to say I am no expert and what I post is mostly my opinion with a slight educated guess.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Plane crash in my hometown
Last weekend there happend to be a private plane flying into the regional airport. The weather was ok for flying from what was reported in a local newspaper. The airplane was a 1972 Cessna 340 N2637Y that was on approach to Erie-Ottawa Regional Airport, Port Clinton, Ohio. The pilot had radioed in that he was arriving and going to make an approach. He then flew over the airfield and circled around for his final approach. Though nothing else was heard over the radio, and nothing appeared to be wrong. Though moments later the airplane crashed in about 200 feet from a local resident.
From some of the witness reports they had said that it seemed as though the plane was slightly low and possibly flying too slow on approach. There had also been a report from a witness saying that it seemed the engines stopped working. The pilot of the plane had orginially owned a single engine and recently purchased this dual engine airplane in December. He had logged only seven hours in the 340 before the accident. The pilot had purchased the airplane from Sport Truck LLC located in Coldwater, Michigan. Sadly all passengers were reported dead on impact.
The FAA and NTSB are currently under investigation of the accident. They have reported to the local newspaper that they plan on review the aircraft, pilot's background, and the weather that occured at the time of the incident. They also advised that they will post a preliminary report, but that the official final report won't be completed any time soon.
Now not being an expert in any way to airplane accidents, but a couple things seem to stick out to me while I read the articles as they were being published. The fact that the aircraft was flying at a low altitude could have possibly meant that there might have been a slightly low ceiling that day. Also the person who stated that they heard the engine stop; could that have meant engine failure. I also started thinking about the previous owner of the airplane and their maintenance practices. If the maintenance was not done correctly this could be an important factor in what caused this accident. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if mis-managed maintenance was involved. Then again it could have been just an amazing thing that happend that no one could have predicted, but the way it came about sounds like someone missed something. Again I am not an expert, but that is just what I see from reading those articles.
From some of the witness reports they had said that it seemed as though the plane was slightly low and possibly flying too slow on approach. There had also been a report from a witness saying that it seemed the engines stopped working. The pilot of the plane had orginially owned a single engine and recently purchased this dual engine airplane in December. He had logged only seven hours in the 340 before the accident. The pilot had purchased the airplane from Sport Truck LLC located in Coldwater, Michigan. Sadly all passengers were reported dead on impact.
The FAA and NTSB are currently under investigation of the accident. They have reported to the local newspaper that they plan on review the aircraft, pilot's background, and the weather that occured at the time of the incident. They also advised that they will post a preliminary report, but that the official final report won't be completed any time soon.
Now not being an expert in any way to airplane accidents, but a couple things seem to stick out to me while I read the articles as they were being published. The fact that the aircraft was flying at a low altitude could have possibly meant that there might have been a slightly low ceiling that day. Also the person who stated that they heard the engine stop; could that have meant engine failure. I also started thinking about the previous owner of the airplane and their maintenance practices. If the maintenance was not done correctly this could be an important factor in what caused this accident. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if mis-managed maintenance was involved. Then again it could have been just an amazing thing that happend that no one could have predicted, but the way it came about sounds like someone missed something. Again I am not an expert, but that is just what I see from reading those articles.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Getting your A&P
Ever wonder how to get your A&P certifications? Well I'm here to help you out and if I don't have all the answers I know where you can go to find them. I'm currently in active duty military; which attempting to get my A&P hasn't been easy. I'm still on that road trying to finish.
I will first explain how it is possible for military members specifically in the Air Force on how to go about getting an A&P. In the Air Force you have a great advantage of having 100% Tuition Assistance and I recommend you use it before they change it, and there has been talk to change it. With your TA you have a unique certification allotment that is set assigned for getting certifications or licenses. The downside to that is it is only good enough for one certificate. Though do not fear I know of a loop hole. If you have been in for about 4 years and have a 5 skill level you should have no problems with doing this and you can get your degree. Here is the loop hole at least going through Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. You can sign up for a degree program such as Professional Aeronautics; which requires an area of aviation concentration. For those credits you take a prep course for your A&P tests. You take 6 classes 2 for Airframe, Powerplant, and General. Then you get a competence letter from you section commander. After that you go to the FAA for a letter to test. As long as you are Active Duty and enrolled in Embry-Riddle the testing for A&P is completely free as long as once you start testing you complete it with in two years (48months). That means you will have a four year degree, your A&P certificates and still have that certificate money for doing something else. Also you will also have your MGIB for using later on down the road. In doing this you knock out two birds with one stone, and the cool thing is that the military education office doesn't seem to care that you pursue your education that way.
As for the civilian side I do know that in some areas out there there are high school programs that allow high school students to enter into an A&P course so when they graduate they have their A&P. I also know that there are programs established that allow high school students to bring a program like that to their school. I know of some community colleges and technical schools that have a full A&P program that allow for great hands-on experience. I know there are also many college programs for aviation out there that are looking for future A&P mechanics. Yeah, I must say that at the current economy and the wage that is being given to the mechanics now is definitely not enough for the job they accomplish, but I do say that when you love aviation and build, repair, and maintain airplanes you'll find a way to work around that issue. I know in the military my love for working on aircraft definitely keeps me going, because I know for the work I accomplish my paycheck doesn't cover it.
I will first explain how it is possible for military members specifically in the Air Force on how to go about getting an A&P. In the Air Force you have a great advantage of having 100% Tuition Assistance and I recommend you use it before they change it, and there has been talk to change it. With your TA you have a unique certification allotment that is set assigned for getting certifications or licenses. The downside to that is it is only good enough for one certificate. Though do not fear I know of a loop hole. If you have been in for about 4 years and have a 5 skill level you should have no problems with doing this and you can get your degree. Here is the loop hole at least going through Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. You can sign up for a degree program such as Professional Aeronautics; which requires an area of aviation concentration. For those credits you take a prep course for your A&P tests. You take 6 classes 2 for Airframe, Powerplant, and General. Then you get a competence letter from you section commander. After that you go to the FAA for a letter to test. As long as you are Active Duty and enrolled in Embry-Riddle the testing for A&P is completely free as long as once you start testing you complete it with in two years (48months). That means you will have a four year degree, your A&P certificates and still have that certificate money for doing something else. Also you will also have your MGIB for using later on down the road. In doing this you knock out two birds with one stone, and the cool thing is that the military education office doesn't seem to care that you pursue your education that way.
As for the civilian side I do know that in some areas out there there are high school programs that allow high school students to enter into an A&P course so when they graduate they have their A&P. I also know that there are programs established that allow high school students to bring a program like that to their school. I know of some community colleges and technical schools that have a full A&P program that allow for great hands-on experience. I know there are also many college programs for aviation out there that are looking for future A&P mechanics. Yeah, I must say that at the current economy and the wage that is being given to the mechanics now is definitely not enough for the job they accomplish, but I do say that when you love aviation and build, repair, and maintain airplanes you'll find a way to work around that issue. I know in the military my love for working on aircraft definitely keeps me going, because I know for the work I accomplish my paycheck doesn't cover it.
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