COMAC, or commercial aircraft corporation of China, is an aircraft manufacture that is trying to compete with Boeing and Airbus. On November 2, 2015, they produced their first large airliner called the C919 that holds approximately 168 passengers. It is very difficult to say that the C919 will never receive FAA certification; however, I don't think that it will happen anytime soon. First, the FAA is never quick about anything not involving emergencies. There is always extensive paperwork and research with all of their procedures and the fact that it is coming from a country that has no previous FAA aircraft makes it even more work. Secondly, China has a very poor reputation with the quality of their manufacturing products. Not only will the FAA keep that in mind, but I believe that there will be many different individuals that are watching over the FAA's shoulders and trying to influence them not to grant COMAC with certification. This being said, I believe that the public perception will have a large influence.
The public perception of Chinese manufacturing is not good. If the C919 were to get FAA certification, I don't believe that it would affect the U.S. carriers at all for the first 10 years or so. Yes, the COMAC aircraft will probably be cheaper than Boeing and Airbus; however, I think the carriers will wait about 10 years to see their safety and maintenance records before switching manufactures to cut costs. On the passengers side, I believe that the general public will be against the Chinese aircraft in the media and in their daily conversations. Most flying passengers don't actually know much about aircraft and are too focused with just getting on the plane and taking their seats, so when it comes time to actually flying I don't think they will really even notice what type of plane they are on.
Not only will COMAC have issues in the future trying to market to other countries, they are currently having their own personal issues. The C919 is behind production schedule and it is also heavier than expected. With the increased weight, the efficiency has gone down, which means that it will cost more to fly per hour than its competitors (Cendrowski, 2016). Luckily their delayed production is not affecting many companies because COMAC is owned by the Chinese government. Since China owns COMAC, the C919 will be flown by all Chinese carriers. The C919 is not the only COMAC plane that is delayed with production. COMAC is also working on producing a smaller jet, smilier to a CRJ, that is called the ARJ-21. The ARJ-21 is a 90 passenger jet that made its' first flight commercial flight on June 28, 2016 (Riva, 2016).
Even if the C919 were to receive FAA certification, I don't think that other companies would try to enter the market. Mainly due to the huge financial costs behind aircraft manufacturing. Both Boeing and Airbus are over budget on almost every airplane that they produce, so most companies will not be able to afford that. Another reason that other companies won't try to compete is the strict regulations and certifications that are necessary. The FAA is very strict and not only will complying with certifications cost new companies a lot financially, it will also cost them more time then they will be able to handle. In my opinion, I don't think that the C919 will end up receiving FAA certification and that will show other potential companies how difficult it is to join the market and will prevent them from trying to do so.
COMAC is not a threat to Boeing or Airbus. Neither of the companies have really responded to the new manufacturer because they have been the manufacturers for the last few decades. They already have enough clients and are FAA certified. They don't have time to worry about potential competitors because they are already behind their schedules. Both Boeing and Airbus are working on new airliners and when asked about COMAC, they basically turned the question into an opportunity to advertise their new products.
References:
Cendrowski, S. (2016, February 16). China's Answer to Boeing Loses Shine. Fortune. Retrieved
fromhttp://fortune.com/2016/02/16/china-comac-c919-delay-delivery/
Riva, A. (2016, June 28). China Just Flew its First Passenger Jet: and its a Clunker. Vine News.
Retrieved from https://news.vice.com/article/china-just-flew-its-first-passenger-jetand-its-a-
clunker
Thursday, October 27, 2016
Thursday, October 20, 2016
The Commercial Space Industry
The idea of space tourism basically began in 1998 with the founding of Space Adventures. It has developed from being just a concept about self-funded people being able to travel into space into an actual experience, assuming you can afford it. So far, self-funded individuals have traveled over 36 million miles and have spent approximately three cumulative months in space (Lawrence, 2016). One of the biggest hurdles of this industry is financially. Most people are not able to spend 20 million dollars to take a 10 day vacation into space. Another big hurdle has been the regulations of space travel. There are not many regulations about the individuals traveling themselves, but most of the concerns are about protecting the general public. Even through these struggles, the industry has successfully sent individuals to space and is currently working on developing a space frontier for more individuals to travel to.
The regulations for commercial space were created in the mid 1980s, by the Commercial Space Launch Act of 1984. These regulations were created to protect the general public, mainly during the launching and re-entry portions of travel. The majority of the regulations pertain to launching: what you can launch, how far people must be away from that site, launch registration, and etc (GPO, 2016). I believe that the regulations should be more strict; however, they are good for now to allow for the industry to continue growing without being constantly pressured. Once space travel becomes more affordable and popular then it should be more regulated.
With today's technology, I believe that self-funded individuals will be able to travel to the moon; however, I don't think that it will happen in the next decade. In the next 10 years, I think that more individuals will be able to travel into space for a much cheaper price than the 20 million dollars it costs now. Eventually, I believe that space travel will be accessible to the general public but it will probably take 10-15 years for the prices to come down to a reasonable amount. This means that it will be more of an expensive vacation rather than being a once in a lifetime, bucket list opportunity.
To work in the space industry as a pilot is very similar to the requirements for becoming a civilian or military pilot. You need to be able to pass a flight physical, which includes distant visual acuity of 20/100 or better uncorrected, or 20/20 corrected, blood pressure of maximum of 140/90 while sitting down, and between 62 and 75 inches tall (NASA, 2004). In addition to the physical test, it is also required that an applicant has at least 1,000 jet PIC time. It is also preferred that they have some flight test experience as well. Lastly, it is required that one needs a Bachelor's degree from an accredited university in one of the following areas: engineering, biological or physical science, or mathematics. Not only is the quality of the degree important, but it is also preferred that one has an advanced degree as well.
References:
GPO. (2016, October 18). Electronic Code of Federal Regulations: Title 14. U.S. Government
Publishing Office. Retrieved from http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?
gp=&SID=1f58495405665a030c05e44bca5a8591&mc=true&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title14/14chapter
III.tpl
Lawrence, J. (2016, January 7). A Beautiful Planet. Space Adventures, Ltd. Retrieved from
http://www.spaceadventures.com
NASA. (2004, January 29). Astronaut Requirements: Commander and Pilot Astronaut Duties.
NASA. Retrieved from http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/postsecondary/features
/F_Astronaut_Requirements.html
The regulations for commercial space were created in the mid 1980s, by the Commercial Space Launch Act of 1984. These regulations were created to protect the general public, mainly during the launching and re-entry portions of travel. The majority of the regulations pertain to launching: what you can launch, how far people must be away from that site, launch registration, and etc (GPO, 2016). I believe that the regulations should be more strict; however, they are good for now to allow for the industry to continue growing without being constantly pressured. Once space travel becomes more affordable and popular then it should be more regulated.
With today's technology, I believe that self-funded individuals will be able to travel to the moon; however, I don't think that it will happen in the next decade. In the next 10 years, I think that more individuals will be able to travel into space for a much cheaper price than the 20 million dollars it costs now. Eventually, I believe that space travel will be accessible to the general public but it will probably take 10-15 years for the prices to come down to a reasonable amount. This means that it will be more of an expensive vacation rather than being a once in a lifetime, bucket list opportunity.
To work in the space industry as a pilot is very similar to the requirements for becoming a civilian or military pilot. You need to be able to pass a flight physical, which includes distant visual acuity of 20/100 or better uncorrected, or 20/20 corrected, blood pressure of maximum of 140/90 while sitting down, and between 62 and 75 inches tall (NASA, 2004). In addition to the physical test, it is also required that an applicant has at least 1,000 jet PIC time. It is also preferred that they have some flight test experience as well. Lastly, it is required that one needs a Bachelor's degree from an accredited university in one of the following areas: engineering, biological or physical science, or mathematics. Not only is the quality of the degree important, but it is also preferred that one has an advanced degree as well.
References:
GPO. (2016, October 18). Electronic Code of Federal Regulations: Title 14. U.S. Government
Publishing Office. Retrieved from http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?
gp=&SID=1f58495405665a030c05e44bca5a8591&mc=true&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title14/14chapter
III.tpl
Lawrence, J. (2016, January 7). A Beautiful Planet. Space Adventures, Ltd. Retrieved from
http://www.spaceadventures.com
NASA. (2004, January 29). Astronaut Requirements: Commander and Pilot Astronaut Duties.
NASA. Retrieved from http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/postsecondary/features
/F_Astronaut_Requirements.html
Saturday, October 15, 2016
The Current Status of UAVs
Good morning everyone,
UAVs are mostly just used recreationally; however, their use commercially is increasing exponentially. Companies are currently switching technology to be able to survey land, take pictures, create maps, etc. from drones and UAVs rather than their old processes. So incorporating UAVs into their businesses is drastically saving cutting costs. Civilian UAV usage is mostly just regulated in commercial situations; however, all UAVs, beside model airplanes, over 8 ounces must be registered. The previously proposed ruling as turned into the final regulations. These regulations consist of maximum weight of 55 lbs, maximum airspeed of 100 mph, maximum altitude of 400 feet AGL, only daylight operations, and the UAV must stay in visible line of sight (FAA, 2016).
Yes, I believe that UAVs will be incorporated into the NAS within the next decade. The military is already able to fly in any airspace with their larger UAVs such as the Global Hawk. The NextGen technology will use satellite based technology to increase reliability and decrease operational costs. The increased reliability will allow for closer spacing regulations, and thus is the main reason I believe that UAVs will be in the NAS. Not only will controllers and the UAV pilots be able to see surrounding traffic with the ADS-B technology, but other pilots will most likely be able to see the UAV traffic too with ADS-B in technology. In addition, the UAVs generally have several cameras on board for a 360 degree view, so the pilots will also be able to see and avoid traffic visually.
The military has had the largest success in UAV usage. They have the largest UAVs in the world that are constantly flying worldwide for surveillance. The UAV integration is highly efficient. They are able to fly anywhere in the world whenever they want. They don't have to worry about the pilot being fatigued because there are multiple pilots in the room with the computer controls. They often have different pilots to do the takeoff and landings, and the enroute portion. Financially, UAV's are very efficient because in the past few years we have cut their flight costs per hour in half (Clark, 2016). It is nearly impossible to do that with normal military aircraft.
With the growing interest in UAV's, there are plenty of jobs in the industry. In fact, it is estimated that there will be 100,000 additional UAV jobs to hit the market over the next few years (Alan, 2016). These jobs range anywhere from aerial photography and cinematography for land surveying to action sports. There are many different websites that I found that shows potential jobs, but this website was the best because it had the most jobs posted: http://uavcoach.com/uav-jobs/.
References:
Clark, C. (2016, October 13). Global Hawk Tests U-2 High Rez Camera; Flight Costs Drop. Breaking
Defense. Retrieved from http://breakingdefense.com/2016/10/global-hawk-tests-u-2-high-rez-
camera-flight-costs-drop/
Dowd, A. (2016). UAV Jobs: Careers in the Drone Industry. UAV Coach. Retrieved from
http://uavcoach.com/uav-jobs/
FAA. (2016, June 21). Summary of Small Unmanned Aircraft Rule (Part 107). Federal Aviation
Administration. Retrieved from https://www.faa.gov/uas/media/Part_107_Summary.pdf
UAVs are mostly just used recreationally; however, their use commercially is increasing exponentially. Companies are currently switching technology to be able to survey land, take pictures, create maps, etc. from drones and UAVs rather than their old processes. So incorporating UAVs into their businesses is drastically saving cutting costs. Civilian UAV usage is mostly just regulated in commercial situations; however, all UAVs, beside model airplanes, over 8 ounces must be registered. The previously proposed ruling as turned into the final regulations. These regulations consist of maximum weight of 55 lbs, maximum airspeed of 100 mph, maximum altitude of 400 feet AGL, only daylight operations, and the UAV must stay in visible line of sight (FAA, 2016).
Yes, I believe that UAVs will be incorporated into the NAS within the next decade. The military is already able to fly in any airspace with their larger UAVs such as the Global Hawk. The NextGen technology will use satellite based technology to increase reliability and decrease operational costs. The increased reliability will allow for closer spacing regulations, and thus is the main reason I believe that UAVs will be in the NAS. Not only will controllers and the UAV pilots be able to see surrounding traffic with the ADS-B technology, but other pilots will most likely be able to see the UAV traffic too with ADS-B in technology. In addition, the UAVs generally have several cameras on board for a 360 degree view, so the pilots will also be able to see and avoid traffic visually.
The military has had the largest success in UAV usage. They have the largest UAVs in the world that are constantly flying worldwide for surveillance. The UAV integration is highly efficient. They are able to fly anywhere in the world whenever they want. They don't have to worry about the pilot being fatigued because there are multiple pilots in the room with the computer controls. They often have different pilots to do the takeoff and landings, and the enroute portion. Financially, UAV's are very efficient because in the past few years we have cut their flight costs per hour in half (Clark, 2016). It is nearly impossible to do that with normal military aircraft.
With the growing interest in UAV's, there are plenty of jobs in the industry. In fact, it is estimated that there will be 100,000 additional UAV jobs to hit the market over the next few years (Alan, 2016). These jobs range anywhere from aerial photography and cinematography for land surveying to action sports. There are many different websites that I found that shows potential jobs, but this website was the best because it had the most jobs posted: http://uavcoach.com/uav-jobs/.
References:
Clark, C. (2016, October 13). Global Hawk Tests U-2 High Rez Camera; Flight Costs Drop. Breaking
Defense. Retrieved from http://breakingdefense.com/2016/10/global-hawk-tests-u-2-high-rez-
camera-flight-costs-drop/
Dowd, A. (2016). UAV Jobs: Careers in the Drone Industry. UAV Coach. Retrieved from
http://uavcoach.com/uav-jobs/
FAA. (2016, June 21). Summary of Small Unmanned Aircraft Rule (Part 107). Federal Aviation
Administration. Retrieved from https://www.faa.gov/uas/media/Part_107_Summary.pdf
Sunday, October 9, 2016
Cargo Operations
To help mitigate the chances of another accident, the FAA created new flight and duty rest regulations. The regulations are in place to decrease the chances of fatigue affecting flight crews. Flight crew members must have a minimum of 10 hours of rest in-between shifts, 8 hours of interrupted sleep. Interrupted sleep in considered time in the hotel asleep, in the past the 8 hours could include traveling to and from the hotel, eating, and showering (Trejos, 2014). In addition to those rest requirements, pilots must also have 30 consecutive hours of rest per week. Not only were the rest requirements updated, but the duty requirements also were changed. Research found that we as humans are not able to ignore the time of day, meaning that our bodies do not operate to their full ability during the night hours. Even with the necessary sleep, our bodies still have an internal clock that we are not able to fully change. In response to this, pilots will be limited to flying for a maximum of 8 or 9 hours depending on what time they begin (FAA, 2009).
Cargo carriers are exempt from the new rest and duty regulations. Their current flight and duty limitations are way less strict than the new regulations for airlines. Cargo pilots are currently allowed to be on duty for up to 16 hours and fly up to 8 hours before having to rest. If there are 3 or more crew members, than pilots are allowed to fly up to 12 hours before resting (CAA, 2016). Although these are the current regulations for cargo operations, they are likely to soon change. Legislation is currently discussing what the new regulations should include for cargo pilots.
I believe that cargo carriers are exempt from the new rest regulations due to financial reasons. In order for the carriers to comply with the regulations, they would have to hire more pilots. The cargo companies would almost have to double their staff for pilots. With the number of pilots necessary for a cargo company to operate, they would most likely run out of business. They would have to pay several pilots just to be on call, which would be a huge waste of money. With the increase of pilots, the value of life for pilots would increase. Pilots would be able to have more time off rather than being on call most nights.
The new flight and duty regulations were created to prevent accidents due to fatigue symptoms. Airlines follow the new regulations because the flight crew has anywhere up to a few hundred lives on board at any given time. Cargo operators don't carry the number of people that airlines do, but they still should have the same requirements. Those pilots still have to fly very similar planes for long legs and need to be aware of their surroundings. Any aviation crash can be devastating, but the accidents with the large aircraft that cargo and airline companies use can be catastrophic. Yes, lives on board matter but the regulations should apply to cargo operations because that would decrease the chance for lives on the ground to be hurt in an accident.
I don't think that my career goals would be impacted if cargo operations were to be included in the new regulations. I have never ruled out flying for a cargo company, but my goal is to initially be hired on with a corporate company in order to build hours for a Fortune 100 company or the airlines. Even with the new regulations, I don't think that the lifestyle of those pilots will drastically change. It will still be an on-demand operation, they will just need to hire more pilots in order to follow the rest and duty regulations. The pilots won't be able to have a set schedule like they are able to have with the airlines and certain corporate companies. Quality of life is an important factor to me, and unless the cargo companies drastically change, I don't think that I would want to be a part of that schedule.
References:
Cargo Airline Association. (2016, April 13). Setting the Record Straight on Cargo Pilot Duty and
Rest Rules. Retrieved from http://www.cargoair.org/2016/04/setting-the-record-straight-on-all-
cargo-duty-and-rest-amendment/
Federal Aviation Administration. (2009). Flightcrew Member Duty and Rest Requirements. Retrieved
from https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/rulemaking/recently_published/media/2120-
AJ58-FinalRule.pdf
Trejos, N. (2014, January 3). New Pilot Fatigue Rules go Into Effect This Weekend. USA Today.
Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/todayinthesky/2014/01/03/pilot-fatigue-
mandatory-rest-new-faa-rules/4304417/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)