Billy Guckian's Adventures

ATC Privatization           According to Craig Freudenrich from howstuffworks, "During peak air travel times in the United States, there are about 5,000 airplanes in the sky every hour. This translates to approximately 50,000 aircraft operating in our skies each day" (Freudenrich, 2001). The question is how does ATC deal with so much traffic each day without having any emergencies or collisions in the sky? The United States deals with airspace by dividing it into 21 zones and within each zone are TRACONs (Terminal Radar Approach CONtrol). These zones also have their own airspace with a 5 mile radius around it and this airspace is all ran by the FAA. There are Air Traffic Control System Command Centers, Air Route Traffic Control Centers, Terminal Radar Approach Control, Air Traffic Control Towers and Flight Service Stations. All of these stations and approach controls have to be able to work in unison for flights coming in or taking off safely. The way these air traffic c

Aviation Organizations In the aviation industry it is recommended to belong to a certain organizations or even multiple organizations whether you decide to either go fly for the airlines, work on the management side, being a mechanic or any other job that interests you. My ultimate goal is to be able to fly for the legacy carriers and go international to see what this world has to offer. I believe that the Airports Council International (ACI) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The Airports Council International (ACI) was created in 1991 having their headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland that comprised of 1,400 airports in 168 countries and territories. Their main purpose in this organization is to promote cooperation with members and other partners in the world to create a safe, efficient and secure environment for their passengers. They are a non-profit organization and hold meetings in the regions that they cover. The International Air Transport Associatio

Global Airlines: Is It a Fair Playing Field? The US-UAE Open Skies Agreement mainly focuses on the United States big 3 companies (Delta, United, American) and the United Arab Emirates companies (Etihad, Emirates, Qatar) to eliminate the involvement of government in aviation decision-making. Issues such as pricing, capacity and routes all go into this market and over the years have expanded international travel. The agreement has increased travel and trade, increased productivity, economic growth and everlasting job opportunities for both sides. The main goal is to provide an affordable, convenient and efficient air service for their customers. Mainly Etihad, Emirates and Qatar airways are the few who are receiving government subsidies. According to Diana Stancy Correll from the Washington Examiner, "since 2004, the UAE and Qatar have been given more than $50 billion in subsidies to their state run carriers" (Correll, 2017). This obviously is a violation to the agreement

Who should be the next FAA Administrator? The role of an FAA administrator is not an easy one but it is their responsibility to keep the civil side of aviation safe. Being an administrator requires you to regulate civil aviation to promote safety, encourage and develop new technologies in aviation, create a system where air traffic control is for civil and also military aircraft and many others. An administrators job is not only meant for the States but also around the world as well meeting with other foreign administrators to compare ideas. The burning topic of discussion is that John Dunkin is in the running to head up the FAA. To the other candidates, John does has a reputable resume managing airline and corporate flight departments and also certified the airlines under the FAA regulations. He also oversaw Trump's campaign fleet allowing him to reach all of his destinations in a timely manner. However, there are some other candidates that also want the job and their names a

Space Tourism With all of these rockets and shuttles being sent up to space, man has never been so intrigued by space tourism than ever before. From Elon Musk sending his Tesla Roadster to Sir Richard Branson wanting to sell his space vision, I believe that we are getting closer to making it to a reality. According to Sam Blum's The Space Tourism Timeline , Blum says that space tourism during the 1960s was "viewed as an industry that would one day balloon. Defunct U.S. airliner Pan-Am maintained a waiting list to the moon, while futurists forecasted lunar colonies would be established by the year 2000" (Blum, 2015). The U.S. had to get to work by not only being able to send a rocket to space, but also being able to safely send a person in space. In 1984 a man named Charles D. Walker became the first astronaut to travel to space that was not employed by the government. Charles was working for the company called McDonnell Douglass as a manufacturer and as a contractor

The current status of UAVs Unmanned aerial vehicles have been on the topic of discussion for the past few years because of what risk they can pose to the American people. What is a UAV you ask? Well, a UAV is mainly a model airplane or helicopter controlled by a person on the ground. Nick Wingfield of the New York Times goes on and says that drones can have "eight or more spinning rotors. They also are capable of autonomous flights with programmed coordinates" (Wingfield, 2016). On the civilian side of UAVs, people mainly use them for aerial photography from a high point in the sky but as time goes on, the use of these drones is becoming more frequent in our society. From emergency response to even getting packages from these flying machines the demand is only growing. The way that the government is regulating these drones is really simple in a way. Wingfield says that the drones must be "operated by a pilot who has passed a written test and is at least 16 years o