Flying for a regional airline has been bastardized by pilots, the media and passengers alike. Sure, there are a lot of outstanding issues that need to be resolved, but working for a commuter isn’t all that bad compared to other entry-level flying jobs. These are my top ten reasons to work for a regional airline.

1. Safety – Regional airlines are airlines and as such, they are watched very carefully by the FAA for compliance with established rules and regulations. They simply can’t get away with the sort of questionable procedures you might find at any number of night freight and charter companies. Pilots generally experience less pressure from the company to fly when it is unsafe and have plenty of resources to draw upon when that line is crossed.
   

   A portion of American Eagle's ERJ fleet.

2. Support and Teamwork – Airline pilots have a large support network comprised of flight attendants, captains, first officers, check airmen, dispatchers, maintenance controllers and members of management that they can draw upon when things get difficult.
3. Maintenance – All airplanes run into issues, and it’s good to know that a mechanic is only a radio call away. In many cases airline maintenance will be able to fix the problem on the spot. When it doesn’t work out, items can be deferred and operated under approved MEL procedures. Even when the list of deferrals grows long, it’s rare to find a more impeccably maintained commercial aircraft than an airliner.
4. Solid Training – Airlines operate their own in-house training programs designed to keep all pilots on the same page. Pilots are trained and re-trained both in class and in the simulator to cope with any number of emergencies and to ensure a safe and standardized flight deck environment.
5. Steady Pay – Flight instructors, charter, and corporate pilots often live from paycheck to paycheck. Though they may be compensated quite well per flight, there are periods of time where business is poor and budgets are tight. Although regional pay is far from what it should be, it is good to be able to count on a guaranteed paycheck from month to month.
   

   One of Pinnacle Airlines' CRJ-200s in flight.

6. Benefits – Airline work offers affordable medical and dental insurance in addition to company matching 401(k) retirement plans. Benefits like this are hard to find at Ma’ and Pa’ charters and flight schools and can save a fortune on overpriced hospital bills.
7. Free Travel – By flying for the airlines, you are privy to the greatest perk in any industry – free travel! Depending upon the airline, travel benefits could extend to your immediate family and even to your friends with discounted buddy-passes. Want to see Paris on your day off, just hop on the next flight, no problem!
8. Having a Set Schedule – After flying for an airline for a while and accruing a bit of seniority, pilots are no longer on call and are awarded set schedules known as lines. After working your life around student and client demands, it is simply fantastic to know your days off a full month in advance.
   

   The CRJ-1000, Bombardier's next generation regional airliner.

9. Commutability – When most people take on a big job, they have to relocate to a new city. Airline pilots can live anywhere so long as they can commute into their base. So long as you live within driving distance of a large airport, and don’t mind losing time riding around in jets, there is simply no need to move into domicile.
10. Protection – Flying the ‘line offers a level of personal protection for pilots. On the one hand, if the FAA comes after you while operating “by the book” under company guidance, the airline will absorb all or most of the blow. If, on the other hand, you mess up, you do have the benefit of a union representative who will fight to protect your interests. It’s rare that these issues come up, but it’s nice to know that somebody is watching your back.

Ignorance is bliss, at least that’s what Shakespeare said, but ignorance can get you busted in the aviation world. As of June 30th the FAA has implemented some minor changes to the taxi instructions we all receive at towered airports. Specifically, the FAA has removed the “taxi to” phraseology. Keep reading to find out what this means to you.

Let’s consider a few examples. Suppose you just landed at a towered airport. In the past, ATC would typically state something like “turn right next taxiway, taxi via bravo to the ramp.” Suppose there is a crossing runway 13 across taxiway bravo. Now, the taxi instruction must come in one of these two forms:

• “turn right next taxiway, taxi via bravo, hold short of runway one three.”
• “turn right next taxiway, taxi via bravo, cross runway one three to the ramp.”

As you can see, pilots still follow ATC’s instructions to a tee, but they need to be extra mindful of crossing runways and stop the plane prior to crossing any time a doubt exists.

For further details, AOPA has published a great video explanation of the rule change. And for those of you looking for the official line – check out FAA Notice N JO 7110.528.

California flight instructors and flight schools are on the verge of bankruptcy. The reason: California A.B. 48, a state law that, if passed, will levy heavy fees on Part 61 and Part 141 flight schools and flight instructors.

According to the new law, flight instructors will be charged a $5000 application fee followed by $3500 renewal fees every three years. Even better, CFI’s who teach at multiple locations will be required to fork over $1000 for a second location. Furthermore, flight instructors will have to pay an operation fee of 0.75% of the CFI’s income. All of this in addition to the enormous expenses incurred to become an FAA certificated flight instructor. Does the term “nickel and dimed” come to mind?

What I find most concerning is the fact that most CFI’s struggle to make a living as it is. They are among the hardest working and lowest paid pilots in aviation – even more so than regional airline pilots. And now they are going to lose five grand before they fly with a single student. If I were a Californian CFI, I’d be looking very closely at jobs in neighboring states.

What Can You Do?

But there is still time to make a change, and Max Trescott – 2008 CFI of the year, and a Californian flight instructor himself, is asking pilots to help. From MaxTrescott.com:

If you can attend the public hearing in Sacramento on June 7, please go and express your concerns. You’ll find details here: http://www.bppe.ca.gov/lawsregs/propregs_notice.pdf
Writing Your Letter
Individual letters are more effective than form letters. Please write as little as a few sentences but not more than 1 page of comments telling your personal story and how these regulations will affect you. Explain the impact that complying with the new rules will have on you.

If you know a Member or staff aide, say so at the start of your letter and state if you live in the member’s district. Be courteous, constructive, and not negative. If the regulations seem to be the wrong solution to a problem, propose constructive alternatives. Staffs are severely overloaded, so confine your comments to one typewritten page and address only one topic: implementation of A.B. 48.
Contact Information
Please contact the following:
1.Joanne Wenzel Staff Services Manager III
Bureau of Postsecondary Education
1625 N. Market Blvd., Suite S 202
Sacramento, California 95834
Phone: (916) 574-7784
Fax: (916) 574-8652
Email: Joanne_Wenzel@dca.ca.gov
2. Your California state assemblyman and state senator. To get contact information for your California state assembly and senate representatives, go to
http://www.assembly.ca.gov/defaulttext.asp and click on “Find My District” in the left column .
3. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-445-2841
Fax: 916-558-3160
Email: fill in form at http://gov.ca.gov/interact#email

Yesterday I crossed the proverbial railroad tracks to see how the other half lives. I stepped out of my fancy flight deck and took a tour of Memphis TRACON and tower during Delta Airline’s five o’clock arrivals. What I saw gave me a greater appreciation of the delicate dance of the national air traffic control system.

Memphis TRACON had the feeling of a sports bar on game day. In the corner were big-screen monitors that everybody could glance at to get the big picture: weather radar, a string of airplanes along each arrival corridor, and a nifty one dimensional view to convey aircraft spacing as clearly as possible.

Then there were the rows of controllers casually seated before their respective scopes. These guys made it look easy. In a single breath one controller held a conversation with me, gave a descent clearance to one airplane, and made an inside joke to another controller. Everything looked so effortless.

What an easy job! At least that was my thought until Sean began to give us the play-by-play. As it turns out, there’s an awful lot to keep track of when you are responsible for sequencing an endless line of airplanes converging into one runway. Even after flying in this environment for a few years, my mind was already approaching overload. Continue reading →

Just about every pilot’s operating handbook and airplane flying manual makes mention of the same property: “The fuselage is of a conventional semi monocoque construction…” And that’s the last mention of semi monocoque construction anywhere in the book. I’m willing to bet that your training manuals make little to no mention of it either.

Airplane Fuselages, the Old Fashioned Way

The Vickers Warwick's geodesic skeleton

Much like the foundation of a house, the fuselage is the foundation of an airplane. It is the central attachment point for the wings, tail and engines. As such, it needs to be strong enough to support the loads imposed by the weight of the airplane in maneuvering flight.

Locked into the paradigm of their time, aviation pioneers constructed their fuselage much the same as a building or bridge. They used sturdy materials to construct heavy internal skeletons that would bear the full load of flight. It was not until 1913 that a Swiss man challenged the traditional wisdom of fuselage design.

Monocoque Construction

Notice the lack of any internal bracing in the Deperdussin monocoque racer

Eugene Ruchonnet thought outside of the box. Rather than mounting panels onto a solid load-bearing skeleton, Ruchonnet’s idea was to let the airplane’s skin carry the load. He did this by forming the fuselage out of multiple layers of wood. The layers were glued together with their grains running in different directions to strengthen the skin so much that no internal skeleton was needed! He called the new technique monocoque construction, or single-shell construction.

Monocoque construction works fine with tiny airplanes, but there is a point at which the weight of the monocoque fuselage is greater than the weight of an internal skeleton. Furthermore, monocoque construction is unforgiving of even the slightest structural failure: think of how easily an aluminum can is crushed once a single dimple forms in it’s skin and you’ll see the inherent problem.

Semi Monocoque Construction

Bulkheads and supporting beams (stringers) reinforce stressed skin in semi monocoque airplanes

In order to build bigger and stronger airplanes, a hybrid of the two construction techniques was put forward and remains in use today. The idea behind semi monocoque construction is quite simple. Instead of building a full internal skeleton, aircraft designers chose to build a partial skeleton to reinforce the skin in critical areas. A semi monocoque airplane’s skin supports much of the load, with some internal bracing and bulkheads in place to maintain structural integrity. This design works surprisingly well, and remains in place on most modern aircraft from single engine pistons to the brand new Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Enjoy these photos of some of the most wonderful cloudscapes I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing this year. From downright terrifying thunderstorms to surreal pictures evoking a sense of being on the edge of space, this is a snippet of the day-to-day life of a pilot. Yes, there’s a lot more to it than looking out the window – some good, some bad. But if you don’t take a moment to take it all in, then you might be missing something on a much grander scale.

Red Flag is an air combat mock-war fought between the best pilots from countries all over the world. Now you can watch the IMAX documentary in it’s entirety on the web – very cool!

This is one question I hear echoed throughout flight schools, internet message boards, and anywhere else student pilots can be found, “how do I pass the private pilot written exam?” Here’s the deal: the written exam is a game. Plain and simple. Much like the ACT or SAT, it is a measurement of one thing: how well you can take the FAA Written Exam. On the one hand, the test is fairly easy. It’s a bunch of multiple choice questions, many of which can be solved by the process of elimination. Other questions are downright tricky and you really ought to be ready for those trick questions.

This is why I suggest you study for the test with Gleim’s study guide. It’s a cheap book that presents the material on the test and only the material on the test in a quick-to-study outline format. As you study, you are presented with every known question in the FAA test question databank, followed by a few random practice tests. Once you get through this book (which shouldn’t take much more than one month), you will be ready to pass – period. It just takes discipline.

Here’s the problem with Gleim’s. They prepare you for the written exam – no more, no less. You really need to use other sources to build the understanding necessary to become a good pilot, not to mention passing the oral exam. But as far as passing the FAA written, I have never seen a more efficient and effective study guide.

The new Cessna Skycatcher marks Cessna’s first foray in to the light sport aircraft (LSA) market, and it’s making a big buzz at small airports around the country. Will the Skycatcher replace aging Cessna 150′s and 152′s at flight schools across the country? Can Cessna compete with other LSA manufacturers and other two-place trainers? It may be too early to tell, but with over 1,000 orders placed, the 162 is bound to make a dent in the sport aircraft market. Enjoy these photos of the Skycatcher provided by Cessna and see more on Cessna’s multimedia showcase.

The following post is a guest post by Jason Schappert of MzeroA.com. Visit Jason’s blog for flight training videos and informative articles.

What causes airplanes to overshoot runways, clip wingtips, and miss airports entirely? Two words: Pilot Error. The media is very unforgiving when it comes to televising aircraft mishaps, and the effects of the big airliners trickle down into the general aviation community. How can we learn from these mistakes?

Flying Within Your Limits

Aviation experts deem the main reason American Airlines Flight 331 overshot the runway was because of pilot error. More specifically the pilot flying outside of his and the aircraft’s limits by landing with a 14 knot tailwind.

Anyone who has tried to land even a Cessna 150 in the slightest tailwind knows it’s a difficult process.

How can we correct this? Know your limits and the limits of your aircraft. Today read through your aircraft’s POH and locate things like it’s maximum crosswind component or max gross weight and compare these to your personal limits. Just because your aircraft is equipped to handle a 17 knot crosswind doesn’t mean you personally could go handle it.

Stop Going Through The Motions

Jason Schappert was named AOPA's Top Colligiate Flight Instructor in 2008 and is the editor of MzeroA.com

This is something as pilots it’s hard to avoid. For a while I was flying to Key West pretty regularly. I flew the same airplane on the same airways and talked with the same controllers. Seems pretty easy to get complacent. I find a lot of my veteran pilots get this way on their preflight. Being the practical joke instructor I am, I occasionally will put a piece of tape on the static port that says “I’m clogged!” 100% of all my students that have their private pilot certificate have missed it. 100% of my students who were training for their private pilot certificate found it! Now what does that say? Once we get our certificate we stop paying attention to details? There is a reason my slogan at MzeroA.com is “A Good Pilot is Always Learning”

These are two quick and easy ways to make each time you enter the airport a safer experience for you and everyone else in the air. Find your limits and stay within them. Avoid becoming complacent by constantly learning. Just because you have your certificate doesn’t mean it’s the end all. It’s a license to learn and any good instructor will tell you that.