Flying an airplane requires attention to detail, hand/eye coordination, multi-tasking and knowledge of the regulations. This begs the question, "Do pilots make better drivers?"
After all, driving an automobile requires attention to detail, hand/eye coordination, occasional multi-tasking and knowledge of the rules of the road. But that's where the similarities end.
Pilots, whether they be commercial or private, receive a more comprehensive training program to get their license. Why in some states, no training is required at all to get a driver's license. Simply pass a written and practical test and you're a bona-fide, qualified driver in the state's eyes. What's really sad is a professionally untrained driver passes their limited, or sometimes inaccurate knowledge and driving skills to the next generation who does the same.
Pilots are required to receive regular training and evaluation of their skills in order to retain the privilege to fly. Drivers receive their license for life unless they do something really horrible. True, some states do require a basic knowledge test when re-newing their driver's license, but the consequence of failing the test seldom if ever results in a revoked license.
Pilots are required to have a flight physical regularly to determine if their health will provide a safety component to themselves and others in the air. Driver's can have many ailments, including diminished vision, onset of dementia and slow-reaction times and still keep driving. They are usually only found out when there's an accident.
Finally, my experience is that pilots are friendly people and not just to other pilots. Why shouldn't they be happy. They get to leave the realms of the ground and soar with the eagles. Sorry, couldn't resist.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Monday, August 31, 2009
Are smarter airplanes making dumber pilots?
Modern general aviation airplanes are replete with technology to keep us safe in the sky. But are smarter planes making us dumber pilots?
For us old-timers that learned to fly with steam gauges, no auto-pilots or moving-map GPS, we had to understand and use basic flight principles on each and every flight. True airspeed was calculated with our trusty E6B, all flying was done by hand, and pilotage, dead reckoning and VOR tracking were all we needed to cross-country VFR flights.
Jump in a new Cessna 172 with a Garmin G1000 and it's a whole new ballgame. A flight computer not only displays true airspeed but also ground speed. Two and three axis auto-pilots let "George" do most of the routine flying. WAAS enabled GPS provide a simple "yellow brick road" to follow.
Now don't get me wrong. All of these advancements have made flying much safer and allows the pilot to focus more on scanning for traffic. But what happens when, not if, the technology fails? Sure, the airplane will stay in the sky (hopefully), but will the pilot's manual skills be sharp enough to take over? Hmm, what was the formula to calculate true airspeed again? How do I use this #%!@ E6B again? Where am I?
I'm not suggesting we throw out all the technology. I really like it. However, just like a pilot that never practices emergency procedures, we're fooling ourselves in believing we still got it and can make it work. We need to regularly check the accuracy of what we are being told using manual procedures. Not only will this habit confirm what we are being led to believe, but it will keep our skills sharp when there is a failure.
For us old-timers that learned to fly with steam gauges, no auto-pilots or moving-map GPS, we had to understand and use basic flight principles on each and every flight. True airspeed was calculated with our trusty E6B, all flying was done by hand, and pilotage, dead reckoning and VOR tracking were all we needed to cross-country VFR flights.
Jump in a new Cessna 172 with a Garmin G1000 and it's a whole new ballgame. A flight computer not only displays true airspeed but also ground speed. Two and three axis auto-pilots let "George" do most of the routine flying. WAAS enabled GPS provide a simple "yellow brick road" to follow.
Now don't get me wrong. All of these advancements have made flying much safer and allows the pilot to focus more on scanning for traffic. But what happens when, not if, the technology fails? Sure, the airplane will stay in the sky (hopefully), but will the pilot's manual skills be sharp enough to take over? Hmm, what was the formula to calculate true airspeed again? How do I use this #%!@ E6B again? Where am I?
I'm not suggesting we throw out all the technology. I really like it. However, just like a pilot that never practices emergency procedures, we're fooling ourselves in believing we still got it and can make it work. We need to regularly check the accuracy of what we are being told using manual procedures. Not only will this habit confirm what we are being led to believe, but it will keep our skills sharp when there is a failure.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Pilots need friends more than ever
When general aviation was young, the public was fascinated, even enamored with flying. People flocked to airfields to see those daring young men in their flying machines. Not anymore. Today, the romance is over and we have to accept some of the responsibility.
General aviators are no longer viewed as heroes. Instead, we are seen as a privileged, elite class of upper incomers that belong to an exclusive social club. Most of the pilots I know don't fit into that distinction (and neither do I). But that is the perception. Some of it may come from being envious of what we are able to do. But some may come from our own inconsiderate acts.
Buzzing people or animals, not using noise abatement procedures and leaving our friends and family out of our aviation lives can create an irrepairable chasm. Right now, general aviation pilots need all the friends we can get. Legislation, the threat of user fees and the costs of av gas and insurance are causing many pilots to call it quits. At the end of 2008, the FAA listed a little more than 600,000 certificated pilots, including 146,000 airline transport pilots. With the population of the United States beeing around 300 million, that means there is less than 2 tenths of 1 percent of the population advocating passionately for general aviation. You can see why some would view us as an elite class when it comes to government funding and legislation.
So what can we do? Start making friends. Invite your family, co-workers, business associates, why anyone you know to come flying with you. Take time to explain how the airplane works and what all those dials and gauges mean. If possible, let them particate in the flying experience. Perhaps explain how the aviation chart is layed out and have them follow the flight on the chart. Teach them how to scan the sky for other aircraft. Introduce them to the people at the FBO or your flying club. Who knows. Maybe the same flying bug that bit you will bite them. And right now we need all the bitten support we can take.
General aviators are no longer viewed as heroes. Instead, we are seen as a privileged, elite class of upper incomers that belong to an exclusive social club. Most of the pilots I know don't fit into that distinction (and neither do I). But that is the perception. Some of it may come from being envious of what we are able to do. But some may come from our own inconsiderate acts.
Buzzing people or animals, not using noise abatement procedures and leaving our friends and family out of our aviation lives can create an irrepairable chasm. Right now, general aviation pilots need all the friends we can get. Legislation, the threat of user fees and the costs of av gas and insurance are causing many pilots to call it quits. At the end of 2008, the FAA listed a little more than 600,000 certificated pilots, including 146,000 airline transport pilots. With the population of the United States beeing around 300 million, that means there is less than 2 tenths of 1 percent of the population advocating passionately for general aviation. You can see why some would view us as an elite class when it comes to government funding and legislation.
So what can we do? Start making friends. Invite your family, co-workers, business associates, why anyone you know to come flying with you. Take time to explain how the airplane works and what all those dials and gauges mean. If possible, let them particate in the flying experience. Perhaps explain how the aviation chart is layed out and have them follow the flight on the chart. Teach them how to scan the sky for other aircraft. Introduce them to the people at the FBO or your flying club. Who knows. Maybe the same flying bug that bit you will bite them. And right now we need all the bitten support we can take.
Friday, August 21, 2009
General Aviation provides independance to travel
When it comes to travel, we want it now and on our own terms. Carpooling? Cab sharing? The reality is no one wants to do it. Why? Because we want to be in control to come and go as we please with whom we please.
Strangely enough, we still have to travel with a bunch of strangers through hub cities we don't intend to visit at times we don't want. That's the airline industry. Wouldn't it be nice to travel by air the same way we do with our cars? We could just jump in our own plane when we want, fly right to or very close to the town we want, and only be with people we want? OK, the last one may be more difficult to achieve.
That is what general aviation is all about. The freedom to come and go as you please on your schedule. No more waking up at the crack of down to drive to the metro airport 2 hours before your flight actually leaves. No more waiting in a security line barefoot wondering if the floor is really clean. No more connecting through a hub city that has no interest to you just to have a 2 hour layover to catch your next flight.
But is it really possible to beat the airlines, who fly powerful jets, with a low performance general aviation airplane? Looking at a major airlines schedule from San Antonio, Texas to Abilene, Texas shows a flying time of 3 hours including a one hour layover. The same flight found on Flightaware.com shows a Piper PA-28 flying directly from San Antonio to Abilene with a flying time of 1 hour and 34 minutes. Not only did the general aviation flight beat the airlines, but it beat it by half the time!
Unfortunately, the future presented by the Jetson's still isn't here. However, great strides have been made to make flying easier due to technology and computers. So, one day, you may go to your garage and find your own flying machine ready to take you where you want and when you want. Don't expect general aviation to help you with who travels with you.
Strangely enough, we still have to travel with a bunch of strangers through hub cities we don't intend to visit at times we don't want. That's the airline industry. Wouldn't it be nice to travel by air the same way we do with our cars? We could just jump in our own plane when we want, fly right to or very close to the town we want, and only be with people we want? OK, the last one may be more difficult to achieve.
That is what general aviation is all about. The freedom to come and go as you please on your schedule. No more waking up at the crack of down to drive to the metro airport 2 hours before your flight actually leaves. No more waiting in a security line barefoot wondering if the floor is really clean. No more connecting through a hub city that has no interest to you just to have a 2 hour layover to catch your next flight.
But is it really possible to beat the airlines, who fly powerful jets, with a low performance general aviation airplane? Looking at a major airlines schedule from San Antonio, Texas to Abilene, Texas shows a flying time of 3 hours including a one hour layover. The same flight found on Flightaware.com shows a Piper PA-28 flying directly from San Antonio to Abilene with a flying time of 1 hour and 34 minutes. Not only did the general aviation flight beat the airlines, but it beat it by half the time!
Unfortunately, the future presented by the Jetson's still isn't here. However, great strides have been made to make flying easier due to technology and computers. So, one day, you may go to your garage and find your own flying machine ready to take you where you want and when you want. Don't expect general aviation to help you with who travels with you.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Delta - Northwest merger leaves fewer choices
A recent trip to England provided insight into what effect mergers have on the consumer. I am a Northwest frequent flyer since the late 1980s when I lived in the Detroit area. Having moved to the San Antonio area 15 years ago, I continued to exercise my options with Northwest through their SkyTeam partner, Continental Airlines, as Continental has many more flights through San Antonio than Northwest.
My wife and I booked a trip to London, England with Northwest. While they may not be the best airline for international travel, they have always sufficed. With their merger into Delta Airlines comes a change in everything for Northwest customers.
To my surprise, our flight to London was on a Delta aircraft with a Delta crew trained in Delta ways serving Delta food. That's not what I bargained for or wanted. If I wanted poor Delta service I would have booked with Delta.
After we took off, I thought maybe I'm being too judgemental. Maybe Delta has improved. My hopes were dashed when dinner was served. Chicken or pasta? You bet, but not very good. The service made it worse. Delta flight attendants must be trained not to smile or be friendly. This crew past the test.
What take the grand prize for poor service, though was running out of coffee during breakfast. How can an airline that knows it has 250 booked passengers fail to supply enough coffee so everyone at least has one cup in the morning on a Trans-Atlantic flight?
That's when it hit me. No more Northwest Airlines. One less option to choose. With the consolidation of several corporations across multiple business sectors, the consumer is now left with fewer choices. What makes it worse is the choices remaining are not very good. If something happens to Continental and US Airways (not that I know anything), we'd be stuck with Delta, United and American for international travel. It sends a shiver down my spine just thinking about it.
My wife and I booked a trip to London, England with Northwest. While they may not be the best airline for international travel, they have always sufficed. With their merger into Delta Airlines comes a change in everything for Northwest customers.
To my surprise, our flight to London was on a Delta aircraft with a Delta crew trained in Delta ways serving Delta food. That's not what I bargained for or wanted. If I wanted poor Delta service I would have booked with Delta.
After we took off, I thought maybe I'm being too judgemental. Maybe Delta has improved. My hopes were dashed when dinner was served. Chicken or pasta? You bet, but not very good. The service made it worse. Delta flight attendants must be trained not to smile or be friendly. This crew past the test.
What take the grand prize for poor service, though was running out of coffee during breakfast. How can an airline that knows it has 250 booked passengers fail to supply enough coffee so everyone at least has one cup in the morning on a Trans-Atlantic flight?
That's when it hit me. No more Northwest Airlines. One less option to choose. With the consolidation of several corporations across multiple business sectors, the consumer is now left with fewer choices. What makes it worse is the choices remaining are not very good. If something happens to Continental and US Airways (not that I know anything), we'd be stuck with Delta, United and American for international travel. It sends a shiver down my spine just thinking about it.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Changing times needed for the airlines
"The times they are a-changin'", lamented folk singer Bob Dylan. Aviation is no exception. Gone are the glamour days when flying on a commercial airliner was as much or even more of the travel experience than the destination.
I'm not that old, (mid-40s, and no that's not that old) but I remember the excitement of seeing an airplane, whether on the ground at an airport, or in the skies above me. Come to think of it, I still have that childish fascination today. In the good ole' days, people in general were amazed by any kind of airplane. It had some air of mystique and reverence. How can that thing possibly get off the ground? How does it work? What does it take to get a pilot's license?
Today, however, flying has become passe. Been there, done that. Flying is so 20th century. Not helping the situation is the entire experience of being a passenger on a commercial airliner. Arrive two hours early to stand in a line barefoot with hundreds of strangers while lugging your prized possessions through security because checked baggage will either get lost or damaged. Once on board, it doesn't get any better. Squeeze into a tiny seat next to someone you don't wish to be with (family and friends not included) and hope the cabin crew will smile and remember why they are employed. One airline is even thinking of removing the seats so more people can crowd together like a bad subway experience.
I'm not advocating we turn back the hands of time when only a few choice people could afford to fly. But the airlines need to recognize that they are not in the mass transportation business like public buses and subways. You won't find attendants there attending to your safety and welfare. Airlines seem to moving to a fully self-serve environment in order to cut costs. Personally, I don't mind paying a bit more for someone to do things for me. Especially on vacation.
Recent customer satisfaction scores indicate that the airlines are having a hard time pleasing their passengers. In this trend continues, soon no one will fly. The majority of frequent flyers are business people. However, due to Internet technologies, virtual meetings and presentations can be conducted in the comfort of their own offices (or own homes). Social networking sites make it possible to be connected to their peers in a way never imagined. I recently began to use LinkedIn.com regularly. In just a few weeks I have added over 150,000 contacts in my network. How many trips, how much time and what would be the cost to do the same if I had to get on an airplane to find all these people?
Will the airline industry go the way of the steam locomotive? I don't think so. But they do need to re-invent themselves in a way that people will want to fly them for more than getting from point A to point B. Any airline can do that. It's the service customers receive that keep them coming back. As the singer-philosopher sung, "If your time to you is worth savin' ,Then you better start swimmin', Or you'll sink like a stone, For the times they are a-changin'."
I'm not that old, (mid-40s, and no that's not that old) but I remember the excitement of seeing an airplane, whether on the ground at an airport, or in the skies above me. Come to think of it, I still have that childish fascination today. In the good ole' days, people in general were amazed by any kind of airplane. It had some air of mystique and reverence. How can that thing possibly get off the ground? How does it work? What does it take to get a pilot's license?
Today, however, flying has become passe. Been there, done that. Flying is so 20th century. Not helping the situation is the entire experience of being a passenger on a commercial airliner. Arrive two hours early to stand in a line barefoot with hundreds of strangers while lugging your prized possessions through security because checked baggage will either get lost or damaged. Once on board, it doesn't get any better. Squeeze into a tiny seat next to someone you don't wish to be with (family and friends not included) and hope the cabin crew will smile and remember why they are employed. One airline is even thinking of removing the seats so more people can crowd together like a bad subway experience.
I'm not advocating we turn back the hands of time when only a few choice people could afford to fly. But the airlines need to recognize that they are not in the mass transportation business like public buses and subways. You won't find attendants there attending to your safety and welfare. Airlines seem to moving to a fully self-serve environment in order to cut costs. Personally, I don't mind paying a bit more for someone to do things for me. Especially on vacation.
Recent customer satisfaction scores indicate that the airlines are having a hard time pleasing their passengers. In this trend continues, soon no one will fly. The majority of frequent flyers are business people. However, due to Internet technologies, virtual meetings and presentations can be conducted in the comfort of their own offices (or own homes). Social networking sites make it possible to be connected to their peers in a way never imagined. I recently began to use LinkedIn.com regularly. In just a few weeks I have added over 150,000 contacts in my network. How many trips, how much time and what would be the cost to do the same if I had to get on an airplane to find all these people?
Will the airline industry go the way of the steam locomotive? I don't think so. But they do need to re-invent themselves in a way that people will want to fly them for more than getting from point A to point B. Any airline can do that. It's the service customers receive that keep them coming back. As the singer-philosopher sung, "If your time to you is worth savin' ,Then you better start swimmin', Or you'll sink like a stone, For the times they are a-changin'."
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Ray of hope in gloomy general aviation market
Despite general aviation feeling it's share of the pain in the current economy, there still can be found rays of hope. Jet Linx, a Dallas based company, announced they will be starting private jet memberships using Love Field as their base of operations.
Jet Linx, like NetJets and Sentient Jet, offers pre-paid hours that allow members access to their fleet of aircraft. Even with the down-turn in business jet usage, company principle Brent Carreker says, "The timing couldn't be better for us."
The concept has been around for a while. A member purchases a block of flying hours in advance. Then, when they need to fly somewhere, they arrange in advance for an aircraft to meet them at their departure point, fly them to their destination and return them home safely. The beauty of this "air taxi" arrangement is flying on your schedule, using your choice of airports, and not having to deal with TSC and airport lines and inconveniences.
Is this where the future of air travel is going? Some say yes. Will everyone embrace this method of transportation? Of course not. But consider, in New York City, there is very good mass transportation, such as subway, bus & ferry. Yet, how many people make the choice to use a personal taxi instead? The reasons are obvious. So, too, it may for the same reasons that air taxi services will prevail where general common carriers do not. I'm still wondering, though, how to hail an air taxi on a runway.
Jet Linx, like NetJets and Sentient Jet, offers pre-paid hours that allow members access to their fleet of aircraft. Even with the down-turn in business jet usage, company principle Brent Carreker says, "The timing couldn't be better for us."
The concept has been around for a while. A member purchases a block of flying hours in advance. Then, when they need to fly somewhere, they arrange in advance for an aircraft to meet them at their departure point, fly them to their destination and return them home safely. The beauty of this "air taxi" arrangement is flying on your schedule, using your choice of airports, and not having to deal with TSC and airport lines and inconveniences.
Is this where the future of air travel is going? Some say yes. Will everyone embrace this method of transportation? Of course not. But consider, in New York City, there is very good mass transportation, such as subway, bus & ferry. Yet, how many people make the choice to use a personal taxi instead? The reasons are obvious. So, too, it may for the same reasons that air taxi services will prevail where general common carriers do not. I'm still wondering, though, how to hail an air taxi on a runway.
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