Hour Requirements

Of all the current events in aviation we have learned about recently, one we never touched on that will have a paramount impact on my career is the new hour requirements for regional airlines. For those who may be unfamiliar, in response to the Colgan Air crash back in 2009, the FAA has mandated that all pilots applying to regional airlines must have a minimum of 1,000 to 1,500 flight hours depending on their level of education and type of flight training they received. This, in my opinion, is a 'knee jerk' reaction that doesn't directly address the issues that caused the Colgan Air flight to go down.
The Colgan Air flight 3407 crashed because of pilot error in a stall situation with ice as a contributing factor. I don't feel that simply raising hour requirements for pilots will address that issue. A student pilot will generally fly from their training airport to their designated practice area to practice maneuvers, then fly back. They will do this countless times on their way through instrument and commercial training as well. I just don't see how adding 500 to 1,000 hours of flying to and from a practice area will make us better pilots at the airline level.
This requirement is going to dramatically change the supply and demand situation at the regional level and before. Most pilots trying to get into the airlines are going to be fighting for limited paid hours and regional airlines will be hiring every pilot that applies to them who meet the minimum hour requirements without the ability to reject pilots unless they are prepared to cancel flights or decommission aircraft.
From my perspective, this new regulation seems to hurt both the pilots and the regional airlines without ensuring any direct benefit to safety. Now that I am near to graduation, I know that because of this regulation it will be maybe two years before I can even start at a regional airline and, at thirty years old, that prospect does not make me optimistic about this particular career choice despite my passion for it.

The Perceived Effects of the Export Import Bank of the United States on the Domestic Aviation Industry

          The purpose of the Export Import Bank is to help domestic businesses provide their goods and services to international buyers. This is accomplished by providing low interest, subsidized loans to the foreign party which can make up for the inherent expenses and difficulties involved with the export/import process. This, in turn, increases revenue to domestic businesses by providing them with improved international trade capabilities.
          As with any financial program of this scale, it has its downsides. Delta Airlines CEO, Richard Anderson, is not a fan of this program because it is providing foreign airlines with Boeing aircraft for much lower rates than what Delta Airlines has to pay. This, in turn, allows Delta's foreign competitors to provide flights on the same quality aircraft for less cost to the customer.
          Aviation is a uniquely global industry. Air travel is becoming more essential worldwide and the United States still leads the world in quality aircraft design, innovation, and production. We definitely don't want to hurt our aircraft manufacturer's ability to sell their products worldwide, but we also don't want to put our domestic airlines at any sort of disadvantage in such a competitive world. Perhaps, in order to keep our worldwide businesses from falling behind we could offer them the same low interest loans for the percentage of their fleet which operates abroad. This could potentially minimize profit loss to domestic banks by keeping the airline's domestic operations at the same interest rates while also allowing the airlines to stay competitive internationally.

UAVs

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) are becoming more and more common in recent years as their unique uses become apparent and the technology becomes more affordable. The military was the first to utilize this technology (as early as World War I) as it has great wartime potential. Reconnaissance, surveillance, target acquisition, attack missions, and more are carried out by UAVs while keeping soldiers out of harms way. As a former soldier myself, I can appreciate and support any technology that keeps our soldiers safe. I view the implementation of UAVs in wartime scenarios to be very ethical as it can improve our soldiers combat awareness and save lives. The military, while perhaps not the most frugal of entities, has, in my opinion, not wasted a penny spent on UAV technology.
It was inevitable, though, that this technology would not remain exclusive to military use. As the technology becomes more affordable, more and more civilian uses are becoming practical. National Geographic did a good article entitled 5 Surprising Drone Uses (Besides Amazon Delivery) describing some non-military applications of UAVs already being implemented. These uses included hurricane hunting, 3-D mapping, protecting wildlife, search and rescue, and crop dusting. Due to the rapid increase of civilian UAV use, the FAA has had their hands full trying to keep up with the demand for regulations governing the use of UAVs. In response, they have drawn up plans to safely, and in a timely manner, integrate UAVs into the national airspace system (NAS). The FAA's integration plan has been named the UAS Roadmap.
Personally, I don't feel very threatened or scared of the UAV integration. I don't believe that the general public will be comfortable flying in an unmanned aircraft in my life time, so my prospective job is safe. My only concern might be visibility. While flying under visual flight rules (VFR) I often have a difficult time visually locating a small Cessna or Piper in the air, I can't imagine locating a UAV that is less than half the size of those planes would be very easy. To compensate for this potential hazard I would expect these aircraft to have sophisticated traffic monitoring and avoidance systems.
As with any new technology being implemented, jobs are being created. Operators, engineers, and repair technicians are just a few that come up on a quick internet search. Any business hoping to implement UAVs in their operations will require management with some aviation background. For a list of opportunities check out the links below:
http://www.indeed.com/q-Uav-jobs.html
http://www.planetechs.com/UAV-Jobs
http://www.careerbuilder.com/Jobs/Keyword/Uav/

Aviation Organizations

When I am a commercial airline pilot it will be important for me to be involved in certain aviation organizations in order to stay up to date on current news, stay involved in the aviation community, and take advantage of some of the many benefits that will be offered to me through these organizations. Aside from whatever pilots' union I will be a member of, two organizations that will benefit me greatly as a professional pilot are Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) and Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA).

I am already an AOPA member, which gives me access to many benefits from my Flight Training magazine subscription (which I can change to AOPA Pilot when I'm further along in my career) to advocacy and government lobbying for pilots' rights. AOPA's website states their mission which mentions the support of activities that ensure the long-term health of General Aviation. 

Simply put, AOPA is here to protect general aviation and the rights of all pilots. ALPA, on the other hand, focuses on commercial aviation pilots and safety. Their mission statement mentions representing the collective interests of all pilots in commercial aviation. ALPA has some really great benefits such as their own member insurance which can cover you financially if you lose your medical. ALPA even has an exclusive disaster relief fund for pilots and their families who have been the victims of widespread catastrophic events. I plan on joining ALPA when I"m further along in my career even if only just to take advantage of the insurance they offer. 

Flying Cheap and Professionalism

At the end of my career I would love to be a captain for Delta or United airlines. This means that my end of career aspirations involve me being the pilot in command of a large passenger jet for one of the two largest, oldest, and most respected airlines in the world. This career, of course, is not without risks, but the same could be said for any career. Unfortunately, the risks of this particular career have the potential to be more catastrophic than most any other job. Thankfully, I can rest assured that I will not be tackling the safety issues of my field alone. There will be many teams working to improve the safety of flight. From mechanics to air traffic controllers to safety managers, and of course, the other members of the flight crew, I will always have someone to turn to if I need a hand. However, if and when something goes wrong, I know that I am the last line of defense between safety and catastrophic failure. It is because of this knowledge that I plan to implement all of my training to ensure that my passengers and I land safely and return to our families. It is, after all, my family that keeps me most motivated to come home safely from every flight.
Two of my biggest concerns in flying professionally are fatigue and complacency. Two separate but very closely related issues, as each can very easily lead to the other. It is hard to say how I will combat these issues in the future other than staying aware of them and, on some level, afraid of them. Fatigue is a serious problem for pilots, the white noise in a cockpit is enough to make you drowsy even if you just woke up from a full nights rest, which will be rare to get in the field. I have experienced unexpected fatigue due to white noise on cross country IFR flights already. So far I have found that conversation with the other pilot (or in my case, my flight instructor) is more than enough to keep my head form wandering too much. This can create a distraction, though, if you're not careful, which leads me into complacency.
Complacency, in my humble opinion, is the number one killer of pilots. It leads to an over dependence on systems meant to assist you. Complacency leads to letting the autopilot fly your plane in icing conditions and other such hazardous acts that can have catastrophic results. The only cure for complacency I have been able to think of as of yet is fear. Perhaps fear is a bad word for it, maybe respect is more suitable. Respect for the situation you're in and the responsibilities you carry. Another word for this feeling is professionalism. A word used a lot in today's Air Force, professionalism is often viewed as a behavior acceptable or politically correct for a work environment. I have always viewed it as being competent in your field. In some circles today, the most professional person could often be defined as the person who drops the least "F bombs" in a day. I, however, never agreed with that prioritization. I know professionalism involves a level of appropriate behavior, but I've always been the type to judge professionals by their skill and judgement more than their behavior. The movie Flight with Denzel Washington comes to mind. Despite his behavior outside the cockpit, Denzel's character displays amazing professionalism while doing his job of captain (despite breaking the laws of physics). While I in no way condone anything his character portrays besides his skills and judgement in the cockpit, I found his character in that movie to be a good and bad example of the two sides of the word professionalism.
In the case of the Colgan Air accident, the pilots' professionalism can be called into question by simply looking at their complacency and fatigue which lead to the poor judgement of overly depending on the auto pilot in icing conditions which then exposed their lack of skill in recovering from a stall.
If and when I meet my career aspirations of becoming a professional pilot I plan to maintain my professionalism by simply being aware and interested in my surroundings. I believe that being a true professional requires only that we avoid things like complacency that would lead us to do our job in a way other than to the best of our ability. I plan to live through my career because of the skill and judgement I demonstrate on a daily basis, not because of luck or dependence on systems or the person sitting next to me.

NTSB Most Wanted

The NTSB has identified the role of hazardous weather in general aviation accidents and characteristics of helicopter operations as items worthy of their "most wanted" list of safety improvements this year. The role of hazardous weather has played a significant role in a large portion of general aviation accidents of late, especially in IMC. This can be the result of either an absence of the data required to make an informed decision concerning if and where to fly the aircraft or a misinterpretation of the data received.

These issues seem to be quite problematic in the aviation field. Considering that the NTSB is responsible for all forms of transportation, not just aviation, I feel that they have chosen good aviation issues to focus on this year. Arguments could be made that other issues might be more pressing in the aviation industry, but when you consider that in 2011 alone there were 1,466 weather related general aviation accidents one cannot deny that general aviation needs some specific attention. The effects of hazardous weather on general aviation can be, and are frequently, catastrophic, which makes weather a good focus for improving the safety of general aviation.

The most wanted list will undoubtedly create employment opportunities in the aviation field. From improving the weather services for general aviation to management teams spearheading plans to reduce distractions caused by personal electronic devices, a wide variety of job opportunities for aviation management professionals will be created.