UAVs

In the United States, civilian drones have become popular within recent years and are available at stores for purchase to the public. Mostly, civilian UAVs are being used for recreational purposes such as independent film making, skyline footage, and even environmental surveys. According to National Geographic, civilian use of drones include hurricane hunting, 3D mapping, wildlife protection, agriculture, and search and rescue (Carroll, 2013). Recently, there was a YouTube video of a drone flying over a volcano to give a never-before-seen view of an erupting volcano. For the most part, civilian use of drones- whether being used by companies or for private use- has been seen as a useful and unique way to gather images (Handwerk, 2013). However, there are places where civilian drones are illegal for use without some type of permit or certificate, and are illegal over certain areas and have limits on nighttime. France is currently battling a civilian drone issue during nighttime hours over historic landmarks in Paris, which is illegal (Whittaker, 2015). In the United States, the FAA issued requirements for civilian model aircraft as follows:

The aircraft is flown strictly for hobby or recreational use;   The aircraft is operated in accordance with a community-based set of safety guidelines and within the programming of a nationwide community-based organization;
The aircraft is limited to not more than 55 pounds unless otherwise certified through a design, construction, inspection, flight test, and operational safety program administered by a community-based organization;
The aircraft is operated in a manner that does not interfere with and gives way to any manned aircraft;
And when flown within 5 miles of an airport, the operator of the aircraft provides the airport operator and the airport air traffic control tower with prior notice of the operation (Model Aircraft , 2014).

Moreover, I personally do not see UAVs being integrated in the NAS in the near future, but that doesn’t mean they will never be. However, there is a project being designed by NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center to help integrate unmanned air vehicles into the NAS. With the use and diversity of unmanned aircraft growing rapidly, new uses for these vehicles are constantly being considered. Unmanned aircraft promise new ways of increasing efficiency, reducing costs, enhancing safety and saving lives. The UAS in the NAS project envisions performance-based routine access to all segments of the national airspace for all unmanned aircraft system classes, once all safety-related and technical barriers are overcome. Within the project, NASA is focusing on five sub-projects. “These five focus areas include assurance of safe separation of unmanned aircraft from manned aircraft when flying in the national airspace; safety-critical command and control systems and radio frequencies to enable safe operation of UAS; human factors issues for ground control stations; airworthiness certification standards for UAS avionics and integrated tests and evaluation designed to determine the viability of emerging UAS technology” (Dunbar, 2014). I see many problems resulting from this. The NAS is already intensely congested and to put small UAVs, some of which are as small as birds, could cause obvious problems. This isn’t to say that there wouldn’t be any benefit from integrating UAVs into the NAS, but I think it’s going to take a great amount of time to fully accomplish a high level of safety for all aircraft integrated within the system. There also needs to be collaboration with ATC, FAA, the public, the airlines, and military in order to make integration of UAVs in the NAS practical and safe.

In addition to UAVs, the military has been seen as the forefront for unmanned aircraft, particularly in the Middle East. Proponents say that drones have decimated terrorist networks abroad via precise strikes with minimal civilian casualties. They contend that drones are relatively inexpensive weapons, are used under proper government oversight, and that their use helps prevent "boots on the ground" combat and makes America safer (Drones, 2014). With that being said, drone strikes can be seen as unethical and a violation of International Law. “They contend that drone strikes kill large numbers of civilians, violate international law, lack sufficient congressional oversight, violate the sovereignty of other nations, and make the horrors of war appear as innocuous as a video game” (Drones, 2014). Personally, I believe drones in military use is a matter of personal opinion when it comes to being ethical or unethical. It is a political issue, and you will have that with war. However, when it comes to military strategy, drones are operating in a way more precisely than what a manned jet may be able to, and it prevents pilots from getting into a potentially, extremely hazardous area. Overall, despite ethical issues, I do believe that the integration of drones for military use has been efficient.

Finally, I have found a Project Manager position for Textron Systems: Unmanned Systems. “Textron Systems businesses are industry leading developers and integrators of unmanned systems, advanced marine craft, armored vehicles, intelligent battlefield and surveillance systems, geospatial management and analysis systems, intelligence software solutions, precision weapons, piston engines, test and training systems, and total lifecycle sustainment and operational services. Textron Systems’ businesses consist of Advanced Information Solutions, Electronic Systems, Geospatial Solutions, Lycoming Engines, Marine & Land Systems, Support Solutions, Unmanned Systems, Weapon & Sensor Systems and TRU Simulation + Training.

Responsible and accountable for the management, budget and schedule performance for part of a development, product or logistics program or a single, previously developed and mature program with a well-defined program plan and delivery methodologies. Typically serves a single internal customer with minor or no external customer contact” (Textron, 2015).

References

Carroll, J. (2013, June 7). Five ways UAVs are being used by civilians. Retrieved February 26, 2015, from http://www.vision-systems.com/articles/2013/06/five-ways-uavs-are-being-used-by-civilians.html

Drones. (2014, August 11). Retrieved February 26, 2015, from http://drones.procon.org/#background

Dunbar, B. (2014, February 28). Retrieved February 26, 2015, from http://www.nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/news/FactSheets/FS-075-DFRC.html#.VO9hUHzF_DZ

Handwerk, B. (2013, December 2). 5 Surprising Drone Uses (Besides Amazon Delivery). Retrieved February 26, 2015, from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/12/131202-drone-uav-uas-amazon-octocopter-bezos-science-aircraft-unmanned-robot/

Interpretation of the Special Rule for Model Aircraft. (2014, June 18). Retrieved February 26, 2015, from https://www.faa.gov/uas/media/model_aircraft_spec_rule.pdf

Textron (2015, February 4). Retrieved February 26, 2015, from https://textron.taleo.net/careersection/textron/jobdetail.ftl?job=232597&lang=en&src=JB-10146

Whittaker, F. (2015, February 25). Mysterious Drones Seen Hovering Above Paris Landmarks For Two Nights Running. Retrieved February 26, 2015, from http://www.buzzfeed.com/franciswhittaker/mysterious-drones-seen-hovering-above-paris-landmarks-for-2?bftw&utm_term=4ldqpgc#.ghQ09wewN

Corporate Aviation

Corporate aviation, or business aviation, is believed to save a company money based upon the argument of “time is money.” Assuming the corporate businesses that are using corporate aviation are financially well-off and has a series of constant cash flows to sustain their company, I do believe that corporate aviation departments save a company money. According to a Forbes article “Business aviation and the unfair advantage,” the writer makes valid points about how corporate aviation saves companies time and money. “Companies are taking to heart the old adage “time is money” as they seek increased productivity and profitability, while providing healthier, happier work environments for their employees. And they’ve found several instances where business aircraft accomplishes both — such as when a sales team has several places to go in a short amount of time, when more than one employee is traveling on the same itinerary, when their destination isn’t a major airline hub, or when airline schedules simply don’t fit the company work schedule” (Donnelly, 2012). The article goes on to say that corporate/business aviation is bypassing the airlines, and it actually saves the employees money as well. They are spending less money by being able to eat at home or taking their own meals with them, and it also saves on ground time; meaning that it’s less money the company would have to spend on car rentals and insurance as well as the amount of time that’s wasted traveling from the airport to the actual destination. To me, corporate aviation is practical depending on the type of company work that is being sought. Moreover, sports teams will often make the choice to go the “private jet” route as well. Not only may it save the team organization time and money, but it can be generally flexible. “What makes business aviation so useful for athletes and their colleagues is not just that it is the means to avoid crowded airlines and public terminals, but smaller airplanes enable them to use many more airports than are available to airlines. The scheduling flexibility is also key, allowing athletes to travel when they need to, on short notice if necessary and without having to arrive at the airport two to three hours early” (Thurber, 2007).

To transition, as a management student, I have not particularly paid great attention to corporate/business aviation. As I have researched upon the various different corporate careers on the management side of things, I stumbled upon Walmart and their own aviation department. Walmart’s aviation department consists of Flight Operations Planning and Flight Operation Coordinators that creates schedules to maximize the productivity of the aircraft and flight crews and meets time-sensitive needs of passengers, safely and efficiently (Walmart Careers, 2015). According to Walmart’s website, the job opening for an Aviation Manager of Safety specifications include: Act as a liaison for other country aviation department Safety Management Systems Programs; Demonstrate up-to-date expertise in aviation safety and applies this to the development, execution, and improvement of action plans; Establishes safety and security objectives, and; Manages the development and maintenance of safety awareness program, among similar objectives (Manager Safety Aviation, 2015).

Furthermore and finally, this brings me to Walmart’s fleet operations. Walmart’s fleet location is in Rogers, Arkansas near its Bentonville headquarters. Walmart actually created Beaver Lake Aviation in Rogers for their operations in 1986 (Levin, Litvan, & Dudley, 2014). About 23,000 of the company's 1.8 million employees board at least one of Wal-Mart's corporate aircraft in the course of a year. “It is a huge operation," says Duane Futch, director of global travel services. "There are 22 corporate jets based in the home offices, two jets based in the Canada home office, one jet based in our Mexico home office and a turboprop at our Wal-Mart Brazil unit. (Corp. Fleet, n.d.).

References

Careers. (2015, January 1). Retrieved February 15, 2015, from http://careers.walmart.com/career-areas/corporate/aviation/

Donnelly, B. (2012, August 6). Business Aviation: The Unfair Advantage. Retrieved February 15, 2015, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/businessaviation/2012/08/06/business-aviation-the-unfair-advantage/

Levin, A., Litvan, L., & Dudley, R. (2014, August 14). Wal-Mart Air Fleet Gets Taxpayer Support for Controllers. Retrieved February 15, 2015, from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-08-14/wal-mart-fleet-gets-taxpayer-support-to-pay-controllers

Manager Safety Aviation Jobs in Rogers at Walmart. (2015, January 1). Retrieved February 15, 2015, from http://jobs.walmart.com/rogers/aviation-﹠-travel/jobid5502986-manager-safety-aviation-jobs

Thurber, M. (2007, October 1). BJTonline: Business Jet Traveler. Retrieved February 15, 2015, from http://www.bjtonline.com/business-jet-news/how-private-aviation-helps-sports-teams-score

Wal-Mart Wields Corp. Fleet. (n.d.). Retrieved February 17, 2015, from http://www.businesstravelnews.com/More-News/Wal-Mart-Wields-Corp--Fleet/?a=btn

NTSB Most Wanted List 2015

If the NTSB puts out a “Most Wanted List” in reference to aviation problems, chances are they’re probably significant problems because these problems frequently aid in accidents. For general aviation, I feel that because there are more accidents in this area than in commercial, and a big issue seems to be not noticing the warning signs of a stall/spin, it would have to be a significant issue. In my opinion, the greatest factor negatively impacting safety for the general aviation would be situational awareness, in general, during heavy workload areas during flight. For instance, the Prevent Loss of Control in Flight in General Aviation article has three different instances where the planes would enter inadvertent aerodynamic stall and spin coincidentally. This is not to say that this is perhaps a major issue in itself, but rather some pilots being distracted with other maneuvers, or not recognizing the warning signs of a stall (2015). “The reason we still see these kinds of events is that we don’t really train to avoid stalls and spins. Most of the training is to show you how to get into a stall; and recover to satisfy your checkride – no spins. The spin becomes the boogie man because we don’t expose primary students to it. (We barely expose instructors to spins). This creates unnecessary anxiety that can turn up when you find yourself inadvertently in a spin – read panic. Also, we don’t teach you what it will look like when you get into an unintentional stall; safe to say that it won’t be straight and level flight or a mild 20 degree bank” (Owens, 2012).

As for commercial aviation, this article emphasizes ways to strengthen procedural compliance, and company compliance. In particular, the lack of callouts (or CRM in general) can cause or increase confusion on the procedures that have or have not already been accomplished (Strengthen Procedural Compliance, 2015). CRM alerted the aviation industry to the human interactions that are an integral part of any team performance. This training has the potential to save lives and money, as well as prevent accidents and lawsuits. While no one can assess how many lives have been saved or crashes averted as a result of CRM training, the impact has been significant. LOSA data demonstrate that 98 percent of all flights face one or more threats, with an average of four threats per flight. Errors have also been observed on 82 percent of all flights with an average of 2.8 per flight. Flawed group dynamics were evident when an Air Florida plane lifted off from Washington's National Airport on a winter day in 1982. Ice in a sensor caused the speed indicators to read too high, leading the captain to apply too little power as the plane ascended:

First Officer: Ah, that's not right.   Captain: Yes, it is, there's 80 [referring to speed].   First Officer: Nah, I don't think it's right. Ah, maybe it is.   Captain: Hundred and twenty.   First Officer: I don't know.
It wasn't right, and the first officer's muting his concerns led to the plane's stalling and crashing into a Potomac River bridge, killing all but five people on board (Making Air Travel Safer, 2015).

The NTSB list of recommendations for general aviation and commercial aviation for each of these topics do seem overall reasonable. For commercial aviation, the recommendations given to the FAA and the industry include 1) requiring pilots to conduct landing distance assessments, revising the procedures for handling thrust reverser lockout after landing, and discontinuing dive-and-drive approaches in non-precision approaches. They also emphasize requirement of pilot training programs for monitoring skills and workload management (Strengthen Procedural Compliance, 2015).

“In 2001, the FAA announced that the industry should discontinue the use of a ‘dive and drive’ process on non-precision approach procedures, since they contribute to controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) accidents, the leading cause of fatal commercial air accidents worldwide. Instead, the FAA advocates the use of procedures and training for a stabilized continuous descent on non-precision approaches. Some airlines have gone so far as to implement procedures that require pilots to immediately initiate a missed approach if they don’t see the airport when they reach the MDA; they are not permitted to continue ‘driving’ to the MAP” (Trescott, 2013).
As for general aviation, the recommendations given include pilots needing to avoid conditions that can lead to aerodynamic stalls and situations approaching wing critical AOA and decrease of airspeed (Prevent Loss of Control, 2015).

I feel as though the FAA and the airline companies, for the most part, already have their own implementations of these recommended procedures. For commercial aviation in terms of the thrust reverser lockout and landing distance assessment, put slightly more concentration on those subjects during simulator training. As for the CRM issue, it’s just a matter of awareness, and it is one of the largest areas covered in systems safety. Pilots know about the sterile cockpit, they know about callouts, and they know about situational awareness. The industry can continue to promote CRM positively, as they have been doing. I am not necessarily saying lack of CRM is not an issue, but it somehow always seems to pop back up in a major aviation NTSB report.

References

Making Air Travel Safer Through Crew Resource Management. (2014, February 1). Retrieved February 8, 2015, from http://www.apa.org/research/action/crew.aspx

Owens, B. (2012, September 21). Stall Spin Awareness: What Your Instructor Should Be Telling You. Retrieved February 8, 2015, from http://iflyblog.com/stall-spin-awareness-what-your-instructor-should-be-telling-you/

Prevent Loss of Control of Flight in General Aviation. (2015, January 1). Retrieved February 8, 2015, from http://www.ntsb.gov/safety/mwl/Documents/MWL_2015_Factsheet_07.pdf

Sterile Flight Deck (OGHFA BN). (2010, October 26). Retrieved February 8, 2015, from http://www.skybrary.aero/index.php/Sterile_Flight_Deck_(OGHFA_BN)

Trescott, M. (2013, August 20). No more ‘dive and drive’ instrument approaches. Retrieved February 8, 2015, from http://blog.aopa.org/opinionleaders/2013/08/20/no-more-dive-and-drive-instrument-approaches/

 Strengthen Procedural Compliance. (2015, January 1). Retrieved February 8, 2015, from http://www.ntsb.gov/safety/mwl/Pages/mwl10_2015.aspx