Intro to Aeronautical Science ASCI 202

In the United States the air traffic control team is made up of several subcategories and entities that all work towards the same goal. However, they both do very different tasks in order to accomplish this goal. The goal I am talking about is obviously managing and maintaining aviation safety in and out of the airport runway. Among these entities that I will be discussing in this blog are ground controller and center controller.   A ground controller is responsible for all ground traffic (HowStuffWorks, 2021). This includes aircraft taxiing from the gates to the takeoff runways and from landing runways to the gates (HowStuffWorks, 2021). The ground controller is directly responsible for moving the aircraft from point A to point B safely and without any accidents (HowStuffWorks, 2021). When the ground controller deems it safe for transport, he or she directs the pilot around the airport. The ground controller and pilot communicate via radio and gives them instructions, such as...

      Today, there are several issues associated with the operation of airports and the surrounding environment. Some of these include, GHG emissions Noise pollution Land utilization Waste Congestion      All of these major environmental issues are caused by airports however, the one that is most concerning is the GHG emissions. Expansion and growth of airports are widely encouraged today due to the economic and social benefits they would bring to the economy (Sameh, 2016). However, with these expansions comes the possibility of affecting the environment negatively. The growth of airports should be achieved without the cost of negative impacts on the environment.         Currently there are approximately 5,000 commercial airplanes in the sky over the United States alone (Smithsonian, 2012). The air traffic takes up approximately 2-3 percent of the CO2 emissions while road traffic takes up approximately 10 percent. This seems li...

     In my opinion the 1926 Air Commerce Act was one of the most important regulations that helped shape the aviation industry to what it is today. This act gave the government the responsibility to control and maintain air commerce.  The 1926 Air Commerce Act was introduced to develop the Aeronautics Branch of the Commerce Department, better known today as the Federal Aviation Administration. This act implemented other air safety regulations to increase safety and to grow the aviation business (FAA, 2016). They implemented ,  Air  traffic rules Licensing pilots  Certifying aircraft Operating and maintain aids to air navigation      This piece of legislation required that all aircraft must be inspected for airworthiness, and were required to have visible markings placed outside of the aircraft for identification purposes (AvStop, n.d.). Pilots were required to pass a test on aeronautical knowledge and were required to have a physical com...

    Human factors in aviation to me can best be described as the safety and efficiency humans are capable of while using equipment, systems, aircraft, and other people. The FAA defines human factors as the limitations that humans can do while carrying out their work (FAA, n.d.) Human factors or human error are terms that have grown in popularity in the aviation industry due to the number of accidents that have occurred (Boeing, 1999). According to the FAA, human error has been documented as a primary contributor to more than 70 percent of aircraft accidents (FAA, 2016). This means that today, rather than mechanical failure, human error is the predominant cause the most accidents and incidents in the aviation industry.      One team-based activity is the air traffic controllers. Air traffic controllers experience human factors every day. Some of these include, Health conditions Psychological conditions Societal issues Work condi...

     After the destructive use of aircrafts on 9/11, TSA security has jumped to an all-time high. There are several emerging threats today and there will always be a threat due to the improvements to technology. On the other side there will always be mitigation strategies to these threats due to technological improvements that we see every day. The threat that I will be discussing within this blog is an internal threat known as aviation cybersecurity.          Aviation cybersecurity is one of the most important types of security in the aviation industry. The reason for this is due to the information that it holds and what information can be  pulled. Today, in the aviation industry cyber enabled technology is used to increase the safety of air transportation (ICAO, 2021). However, with all these systems and information being connected created the premises for new risks to emerge.  Some of these systems include departure and passport contr...

       Within an aircraft there are multiple systems that make a plane functional and operational. When these systems fail or have problems, it could lead to the aircraft malfunctioning and possibly crash. The system that I will be discussing in this post is the hydraulic system. There are multiple uses for the hydraulic system, some of which are to operate the wheel brakes, retractable landing gear, propellers, wing flaps, spoilers, and other control surfaces (FAA, 2016).     The hydraulic system is a very complex and thorough system in an aircraft. It is composed of a  reservoir which holds a volume of fluid to transfer heat from the system to allow solid containments to settle and release air and moisture from the fluid (Machinery Lubrication, 2019). A pump which transmits mechanical energy to hydraulic energy through the movement of fluids (Machinery Lubrication, 2019). Next, there is a filter to keep the fluids within clean (FAA, 2016). The select...

         Humidity and high temperatures are some of the many environmental factors that directly affect an aircraft's performance. As we learned in chapter 11 density altitude, when increased, affects the aircraft performance negatively by decreasing its performance. Contrarily, when the density altitude is decreased the performance of an aircraft is increased. "Water vapor is lighter than air so, moist air is lighter than dry air" (FAA, 2016). Due to this, as water content in the air increases (higher humidity) the air becomes less dense which increases the density altitude. Therefore, decreasing the aircrafts performance. Takeoff and landing distance, rate of climb, speed, maneuverability, and stability are all affected by when a higher humidity and temperature is in play.              I believe that one way we could mitigate this environmental factor is to incorporate longer runways to airports and takeoff...