Flying Cheap

Since starting out at Eastern and working in the aviation industry all I hear about is pilot shortage this, pilot shortage that. There are view points for any situation and for the pilot shortage there is the following; 1) there is no pilot shortage, the real issue is that Regional carriers do not want to pay the salaries that pilots need. 2) The shortage is very real because the cost of flight training is so expensive that students are not able to get the necessary founds that is needed to get there hours and licenses right away so the longer the students take the longer the seat in the cockpit stays open. In my opinion the second argument is the most valid due to the personal experience with finances.

For the regional pilot shortage is not due to lack of funds for flight training or lack of hours, it is due to when students do pass their flight training and they have a substantial amount of debt built up and they are seeking employment that is paying more then what regional carriers are paying. The average pilots sinks well over a hundred thousand dollars into his or her flight training and education. Salaries at the regionals, meanwhile, begin as low as $20,000 dollars a year, and top out at under six figures. Schedules are demanding and benefits paltry; the relationship between management and the workers is often hostile. On top of all that, the regional industry is highly unstable. Carriers come and go in waves of mergers, acquisitions and bankruptcies.(askthepilot) 

For my main belief that there is a shortage is due to how expensive it is for flight instruction. The average cost to obtain your private is anywhere between $8,000 to $18,000 nut it all depends on the aircraft you are flying, anywhere from the C150 to a 172 or a Piper. Then you go into your instrument which is around $18,000, commercial is about another $18k or so, then you have your Multi which is about an additional $6,000 and finally but not last you have your CFI which is about $12,000. That adds up, after all the cost you end up graduating with over 300 hours, now where do you get the rest of the 1500? by flight instruction or working for a cargo company. Flight instructor pay is not even 25,000 a year. so I believe this is the main shortage for pilots.

Flying Cheap
1) Professionalism- to me this word means, being able to perform all task that is required with great knowledge and skill
2) First thing I found to be unprofessional with Colgan Air is that there was a lack of CHeck Airmen and that the second huge concern for me was that the FO was sick and tired from travelling across the Country for her duty shift. She was not able to pay for a hotel and she should of called fatigue or the captain should of called fatigue for her.
3) I believe that the compensation structure had a huge part in the unprofessional-ism shown in the documentary because if you are an employee and you are being over worked and under paid you are more likely to not be as motivated by other employees who get paid what the job is actually worth.
4) I plan to keep my professionalism like I always have, stay motivated and work as hard as I can, one thing I am appreciative about being in the Army, the discipline, the structure and the professionalism they taught me I will carry it over to my current and future employers. Also with school it has taught me to be responsible about completing assignments on time so that would help with completing task for a company.

References:
pilot-shortage/
http://mashable.com/2016/04/20/regional-pilot-shortage/#UzoY2m3TCgqE

The airspace that we love so much to fly along with ground, facilities and GPS in is controlled by the National Airspace system or NSA, and it is monitored by Air Traffic control, which was given by the government when the 1958 Federal Aviation Act created the Federal Aviation Administration(FAA) to take the responsibility of the NSA. ATC controls all ground and Air movement, and many different systems like VORs for example. To maintain these systems running it is pretty expensive, so they are wanting to start getting rid of facilities when they are in need of maintenance so that it will be a smooth process for when the NextGen system comes into operation. NextGen will be a more cost efficient way to monitor the sky's.

NextGen is a satellite based system that will help ATC monitor the skys and allow pilots to fly a more direct route to save time and money. NextGen is helping make General Aviation safer and more efficient, while finding ways to reduce GA's environmental impact.(FAA) New satellite-enabled approach procedures are providing general aviation pilots and other small-aircraft operators with greater access to more airports across the country, particularly during poor weather. Air traffic controllers have access to NextGen tools that help them make the critical decisions necessary to keep the world’s busiest airspace system working as safely and as efficiently as possible(DOT). Performance Based Navigation is delivering more direct routes, decongestant skies, and increased efficiency in major metropolitan areas through Metroplex and Equivalent Lateral Spacing Operations.  The FAA advertises a savings of 39.7 billion dollars to the airlines in reduced fuel, crews, and the increase in flights available.

GA has spoken out against privatization of ATC, with The proposal, part of the Aviation Innovation, Reform and Reauthorization Act (H.R. 4441) which was approved Feb. 11 by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on a vote of 32 to 26. Besides reauthorizing the FAA which not only provides funding for the agency, but also lays out Congressional mandates the proposed bill has a number of reforms, including some long-anticipated by GA, such as third-class medical reform and changes to the certification process.(Wood 2016) Private pilots believe that it will have access restrictions to the skies. Jack J. Pelton, CEO and chairman of the Experimental Aircraft Association(EAA) says, "ATC privatization is simply a bad idea on many levels — it will not solve the FAA’s funding dilemma and will create a substantial number of new problems and challenges that would cripple general aviation; Although the bill contains some items that would be beneficial to grassroots aviators, those benefits are overwhelmed by the ominous consequences of a corporatized ATC system without direct federal authority and oversight. Such an ATC privatization plan is simply not acceptable as a part of any FAA reauthorization, especially when there are simple, common-sense ways to solve FAA’s funding issue.” (Jack Pelton)
He is basically saying do not take away our skys and limit us because the FAA cannot figure out other ways to figure out their funding issues.  

According to the New York Times, 'Only two other major countries have privatized air traffic control, Canada and Britain, but their air systems are much smaller. Other countries like Germany and France run air traffic through government-owned companies.' Britain had to bail out its private air traffic control operator after the 2001 terrorist attacks when air travel declined around the world. Even if a private system did reduce costs, there is no guarantee that airlines would pass those savings to passengers. The majority of funding for the private ATC comes from airline ticket tax and user fees.

I do not believe that ATC should be privatized because from the information I found I think that it would cause to many conflicts and that it would really bring down our GA community.



Refrences: 
https://www.faa.gov/nextgen/
https://www.transportation.gov/mission/sustainability/next-generation-air-transportation-system-nextgen
http://generalaviationnews.com/2016/02/17/ga-raises-concerns-over-proposal-to-privatize-atc/
http://www.flyingmag.com/atc-privatization-bill-thrown-out
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/15/opinion/dont-privatize-air-traffic-control.html?_r=0

Who I am, my personal Introduction.

My name is Kenny Mosley, I am a senior here at Eastern Michigan University and I am an Aviation Management student who is also currently working on my private pilots license and also working on the dispatch certification through Eastern. My expected time to graduate should be this 2017 summer. I currently work at American Airlines as an operations agent. My Passion for Aviation began when I was little, my grandfather was a pilot and he took me up a few times in his C152. one of my earliest memories was that we flew close to the mountains and you see the sun start to set and you see the beauty and experience from able to fly, I knew that one day I would be there. Unfortunately that is not what I did right away, at first everyone told me that was  stupid career choice and I couldn't make it so I listened to the negativity and pursed the medical route. I went to a school in Arizona was getting my degree in Biology and I just wasn't happy so I left and joined the Army. I received a medical discharge in 2014 from the Army and I was kind of clueless about what I was going to do next. My grandma suggested that I follow my dreams from when I was little and go the aviation route. So I looked at schools and figured Eastern was my best choice because it was close enough commute from my sisters house.
 
My dream is to get my pilots license but I am not sure I want to be a career Pilot. It is a struggle back and forth dealing with if that is what I really want or not. The reason why I am doing Management and not flight is just in case I do be a pilot and I was to lose my medical I would have a degree that is worth something. Another reason why I am also doing my dispatch because that is also something that has really caught my attention. So my goal right now is to finish my dispatch and once I graduate I can start working as a dispatcher and still continue on working on my license and ratings. I really enjoy teaching so maybe be a flight instructor for some flight school that will be close to where I live, I am not sure if I am going to stay in Michigan so I wont say Eagle or Solo. If I was to be a career pilot then I want to fly cargo to build up my hours, I would try for Kalitta or FedEx and then move to the Majors and work for American Airlines because I currently work there and I would have a good chance of getting a flight slot since already have been an employee.

One thing I would like to learn about is possible more volunteer opportunities or potential job openings that you or anyone in the class will know of.