What will effect you? - Due Sunday, April 13th @ 11:59PM

We have discussed a variety of topics throughout this course including but not limited to the following:

The Export-Import Bank

UAVs

The roles of Aviation Organizations

Flying Cheap (Regional Airlines) and Professionalism

The NTSB Most Wanted List

The Problem of Landing of the Wrong Airport (including overuse of automation)

And who can forget...

Malaysia Air

Your assignment for this week is to select a current aviation topic of your choice (not listed above) that you feel will have the greatest impact (positive or negative) on your specific career choice. Please answer the following questions:

1) State the topic and give a brief history of the issue.

2) Briefly describe the current state of the issue.

3) Describe how this issue will effect your specific career choice

Please include a link.

Export-Import Bank - Due Sunday, March 30th @ 11:59PM

We see it in the news frequently - some international airline makes a purchase order for hundreds of 787s or 777s. The first thought on the mind of US aviation professionals is concern.  There is only so much market share and a very large order for transport aircraft from a foreign company is evidence of where that market share is going. In this week's post, answer the following questions:

1) What is the Export-Import Bank? How does it operate?

2) What are the specific issues that those employed by US aviation companies have with the Export-Import Bank?

3) What are your feelings about the Export-Import Bank and its impact on the US aviation industry? What are possible solutions?

Please remember to include a reputable link. Thank you!

UAVs - Due March 9th @ 11:59PM

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are frequently in the news, most often for their military applications or the random story of a college experiment gone wrong, inadvertently placing a UAV in controlled airspace. However, rumor has it that their practical application in the civilian world is becoming more of a possibility. Please answer the following questions for this week's topic:

1) What civilian purpose, if any, are UAVs currently being used for in United States? How are these civilian UAVs regulated (if they are regulated)?

2) Do you foresee UAVs integrating into the NAS? If so, how? Also, what problems do you foresee resulting from this? Be sure to include not only logistical problems, but also potential perception problems.

3) As for the military application of UAVs, how have they transformed military strategy? Has their integration been efficient (consider all aspects - from financial to ethical)?

4) Finally, do some research and find out if their are UAV jobs that are advertised for civilians (both flight and management students). If so, include this as your link. If you are unable to locate a job posting, reference your above answers to brainstorm the potential for types of UAV jobs in the future.

Aviation Organizations - Due February 17th at 11:59PM

As you prepare your portfolios and work on your resumes, you should consider joining some aviation organizations if you have not already. Belonging to professional organizations is one way to make your resume stand out from others.  For this week's assignment, please address the following questions:

1. What associations will it be important to belong to based on your career path?  Identify at least two organizations. 
2. Research the organizations that you identified. Discuss the mission and functions of each association.
3. Also describe the benefits of belonging to these organizations.

Have fun and don't forget to include a link.

Flying Cheap and Professionalism - Due February 3rd @ 11:59PM

If you haven't seen the documentary called "Flying Cheap", please watch - Flying Cheap. This documentary is about the regional airline industry, focusing on two aspects. First, there is a discussion of the Colgan accident and factors that may have contributed to the accident. Second, the documentary presents information about the career of a regional pilot.

Keeping this documentary in mind, please answer the following questions:

1) What is the specific job and company in the aviation industry that you would like to end up at? You must be specific on both to receive full-credit for this question. Remember - you have the freedom to change down the road...

2) Provide a basic description of the job and company that you listed in 1).

3) Are there any safety/liability concerns with the job you listed in 1)? If so, what are they and how do you plan on mitigating these concerns? (*Hint: there are always concerns in this industry.)

4) I proposed that one theme in the events that led up to the Colgan accident was the lack of professionalism.  Answer the following three questions related to professionalism:

    * 1) Define professionalism in your own words.

    * 2) List two ways in which lack of professionalism was demonstrated in this documentary. Remember: Both pilots and management can lack professionalism.

    * 3) List two specific ways you plan on maintain and expand your level of professionalism once you are employed in the job that you listed in 1). These ways must be independent of the requirements of the job.

Have fun!

NTSB Most Wanted - Due January 27th @ 11:59PM

Last week, the NTSB listed their "most wanted" list for 2013. Because the NTSB is responsible for all modes of transportation, not all the items on the list are related to the air transportation industry. However, a couple of them are. Your assignment for this week is as follows:

1) Identify the two aviation items that are on the list. Select one of them and write a short paragraph summarizing the problem.

2) Do you feel that of all the possible hot topic safety issues in the industry, these are the two that should make the list? If so, why? If not, what other issues do you feel have greater importance/urgency and why?

One of my biggest goals of this course is to get you to think outside of the box in terms of your career possibilities. I will try to add a career element to any topic that we discuss.

3) Whenever something in aviation is formally identified as a "safety issue", new jobs are created. What potential do you see in the two identified areas for new jobs?

Because I am late on posting the topic, I have extended the due date by a day (due Monday instead of Sunday).

As a reminder, don't forget to send the comments that you make on other blogs.
Thanks,
Prof. Wall

Landing at the wrong airport...no biggie? Due January 19th

Since November 2013, there have been two incidents of pilots landing their transport aircraft at the wrong airport. The following is a brief summary of both incidents:

November 2013:
A Boeing 747 DreamLifter was suppose to land at McConnel Air Force Base in Witcita, Kansas. Instead, it touched down at Col. James Jabara Airport - an airport located 9 miles north from their intended destination. The aircraft was not carrying any passengers. It was carrying parts for Boeing's 787 Dreamliner. There are three airports in this area with similar runway configurations.

January 2014:
A Southwest 737 was suppose to land at Branson Airport in Branson, Missouri. Instead it touched down at the Taney County Airport - an airport located about 7 miles north from their intended destination The aircraft was carrying 124 passengers.

At a minimum, please answer the following questions:

1) Identify and describe at least one other incident of a transport aircraft landing at the wrong airport that has occurred within the last 5 years.

2) What are the hazards and complications of making such a mistake?

3) Do you believe that there is an identifiable and correctable reason(s) for these mistakes? If so, identify the reason(s). Or do you believe that they are just isolated incidents that have been over-hyped by the media? Why?

4) Southwest management decided to suspend the pilots involved in the incident at least until the investigation has been completed. Do you agree with this decision? Why or why not? If you are a management major, answer from the perspective of management. If you are a flight major, answer from the perspective of a pilot. This should not influence whether are not you agree with the decision, but rather serve as a platform for your rational.

Don't forget to include a link. Review the first assignment post for criteria for writing your post.
Have fun!

First Assignment - Due January 12th

Your first assignment is to create a blog following these steps:

1) Go to www.blogspot.com.

2) Hit the "Get Started" button.

3) Fill out the required information. Your "display name" is the name that will come up as your signature when you comment on other blogs. You can use your actual name and pick something else. Remember to keep it professional and preferably aviation-related if you choose not to use your actual name. Also, you will be required to create a blog name (the title that will show at the top of the blog) and blog address. Remember, keep it professional and aviation related. It may take you a few tries to come up with something that isn't already taken.

4) Select a template. Don't worry if you don't like the choices.  You will be able to change this at some point if you'd like.

5) You are now ready to write your first post!  In the upper right corner, select "New Post". Title it and type away.  Your first assignment is to 1) Create the blog and send me the blog address via email and 2) Write an introduction blog post. The basics - how you got into aviation, where you are going in aviation (3-5 paragraphs), and current topics that interest you and why. No links required in this assignment. Please complete this assignment by January 18th.

On January 15th I will pass out a list of all the blogs as well as give the first "real" topic for the following week.

Introduction

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to AVT 422 Senior Seminar! My goal in this course is to give you some practical and useful tools that will give you an edge as you venture into your aviation career...or any career for that matter.  One way I have decided to do this is through the social media of a blog. I know a several people in the aviation world who have utilized blogs to advance their careers in various ways. Like other social media tools, (such as Facebook and Twitter) writing, reading and commenting on blogs allows you to create a social network of aviation professionals that you may not have otherwise created. Also, this is yet another thing you can put on your resume - "aviation blog writer". I'm not kidding. As long as you keep the topics professional, many employers would be quite impressed with this initiative. 

Each week I will assign an aviation topic - which I will post on this blog. In addition to career development, I also use senior seminar as a course to discuss current and global topics in aviation.  Each week you will be required to do the following:

1) Write a post about the topic, approximately 3-5 paragraphs. I will usually provide a list of 4-5 questions that you need to answer through research of the topic. In addition, opinions are encouraged. Proper grammar and spelling is expected - remember that all of your class peers (and, if you wish, other aviation professionals and employers) will have access to your blog. Posts must be up by the Sunday before class to allow time for peers to read and comment.

2) You must include at least one link about the topic in your blog.  The link must be to a reputable site. Be sure to provide an introduction to your link. 

3) Each week, in addition to your own post, you are required to read and comment on at least 3 of your classmates' blogs. Please email me these comments (indicating which blog they were posted to) by Wednesday before class to receive full credit. 

4) I will give feedback on your post each week as a comment. Likewise, feel free to leave my comments about the assignment.

5) Come to class each week prepared to have an in-depth discussion of the topic.

Have fun! Seriously, I think you will enjoy this.