FAA GA Medical Reform

GA medical reform has been on the AOPA's agenda for a while.  The current agenda for GA medical reform is laid out in the Pilot's Bill of Right's 2.  The Pilot's Bill of Right's 2 allows private pilots, flying recreationally not be required to acquire a third class medical.  There are certain provisions that the pilot must follow, but he/she would be free to fly under VFR and IFR flight rules (Tennyson, 2015).  Not requiring all pilots to at least have a third class medical is very controversial.  ALPA argues that this could lead to unfit pilots being given access to national airspace (Pope, 2015).  These pilots would be sharing the airspace with not only other recreational flyers, but also commercial aviation.  This may not be very safe. Although, with this GA reform there is a potential for the government and pilots to save millions of dollars, while also strengthening GA (Tennyson, 2015).  Prospective recreational pilots would not be deterred by the cost or thought of not being able to pass the medical which may lead to a greater GA industry.  

I feel that some GA medical reform may be necessary. On one hand it may be nice to get more pilots flying and the ability to save all parties involved a bit of money.  On the other reform should have a layer in place to "weed out" the prospective pilots that should not be in the air.  It is a balance that could be quite tough to define.  Maybe it would be best to allow flight instructors to advise whether the pilot is fit to fly during the biannual flight review. This would be the most cost appropriate as well as safe way to "weed out" the bad participants without requiring all pilots to acquire a medical certificate.  

References:

Pope, S. (2015, July 28). ALPA moves to block medical reform. Flying.  Retrieved from http://www.flyingmag.com/news/alpa-moves-block-medical-reform-bill

Tennyson, E. A. (2015, February 26). Medical reform legislation introduced in house, senate. AOPA. Retrieved from http://www.aopa.org/News-and-Video/All-News/2015/February/26/Medical-reform-legislation-introduced-in-House-and-Senate

Tennyson, E. A. (2015, July 28). AOPA fights back on medical reform. AOPA. Retrieved from http://www.aopa.org/News-and-Video/All-News/2015/July/28/AOPA-fights-back-on-medical-reform

A Chinese Competitor to Airbus and Boeing?

At the current time I don't believe the C919 is going to receive FAA certification. Airbus and Boeing especially have interest groups lobbying against the certification I'm sure.  Also, the thought of a Chinese jet is just cringing for most people.  

If the FAA were to give the C919 certification I don't think it would be prevalent in the United States. The public has a very negative view of Chinese made products.  They are seen as cheap and unreliable.  This jet is going to be no different.  The C919 is supposed to be able to be made cheaper then a 737 or A320 eventually, due to the low wage for workers in China. (Perrett, 2013) Although, this may be cause for concern.  If the wages for the employees are so low then how could the manufacture make sure the work is quality.  If a plane breaks in the sky you can't just pull over.  Also, how will the public view the quality of life of the workers in the factory.  Maybe other items can use low wage work, but not building a plane.  

COMAC is also developing an ARJ21.  This will be competition for the CRJ or Embrear aircraft.  (Bloomberg, 2015) This aircraft is waiting on FAA certification too.  If these aircraft were to enter service then I'm sure some foreign carriers would use them.  If they were proven by foreign carriers then, just maybe, domestic carriers would think about them.  These aircraft will probably just be proven on foreign ground though.  

References:

Bloomberg News, (2015, November 2). China debuts first large jet in challenge to boeing, airbus. The Seattle Times. Retrieved from http://www.seattletimes.com/business/china-debuts-first-large-jet-in-challenge-to-boeing-airbus/

Perrett, B. (2013, December 16). C919 may be largely limited to chinese market. Aviation Week. Retrieved from http://aviationweek.com/awin/c919-may-be-largely-limited-chinese-market

Aviation Organizations

When entering in to my professional career, it will beneficial to be apart of some aviation organizations.  The two organizations that come to mind most are ALPA, the Airline Pilots Association, and CAPA, the Coalition of Airline Pilots Association.  

ALPA represents 52,000 pilots making it the worlds largest pilot union.  ALPA's mission is to promote aviation safety, to promote commercial aviation, to assist in collective bargaining, and much more for professional pilots. (ALPA, 1992) Another organization is CAPA.  CAPA is quite similar to ALPA.  CAPA's purpose is to address safety, security, legislative, and regulatory issues in regard to flight deck personnel. (CAPA, N.A.) There are four members of CAPA the Allied Pilot Association, Independent Pilots Association, Teamsters Local 1224, and Teamsters Local 357. It is important to belong to these organizations if your are an airline pilot in the industry.  These groups will promote your career and provide a "voice" for you as an employee.  A bit of protection is given to you from not only your employer, but also the FAA being apart of these organizations.

References:

ALPA. (1992, October). What we do? Airline Pilots Association, International. Retrieved from http://www.alpa.org/about-alpa/what-we-do

CAPA. (N.A.). About CAPA. The Coalition of Airline Pilots Association. Retrieved from http://www.capapilots.org/about-capa