Aeronautical Discussions

        The United States airspace is divided into 21 zones ( centers ), and each zone is divided into sectors. Also within each zone are portions of airspace, about 50 miles (80.5 km) in diameter, called  TRACON ( T erminal  R adar  A pproach  CON trol) airspaces. Within each TRACON airspace are a number of airports, each of which has its own airspace with a 5-mile (8-km) radius ( Freudenrich, 2021) . The air traffic control system, which is run by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), has been designed around these airspace divisions. The air traffic control system divisions are: Air Traffic Control System Command Center  (ATCSCC) - The  ATCSCC  oversees all air traffic control. It also manages air traffic control within centers where there are problems (bad weather, traffic overloads, inoperative runways). Air route traffic control centers  (ARTCC) - There is one  ARTCC  for each center. Each ARTCC mana...

          When researching about environmental issues that have presented the greatest concerns and impact on airports, I find it hard to describe only one. In my opinion, the primary environmental issues associated with the operation of airports are greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions, noise pollution, land utilization, waste, and congestion. For this discussion I will only talk about the environmental issues of aircraft noises, what are some of the solutions available in addressing those environmental issues, and how the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Nation Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) have dealt with these environmental issues.  The Main Concern:           The anticipated growth in air travel has heightened the significance and complexity of some environmental regulatory issues with noise being one of them. Noise, which can be defined as any unwanted sound,   can cause profound n...

 The Air Mail Act of 1925, s ometimes known as  the "Kelly Act"  played a key role in shaping today's thriving aviation industry. This was the first major piece of legislation law created by Congress that allowed post offices to send airmail letters freely by  paying private airlines to deliver the mail . Payments were based on the weight of the mail carried. The Post Office later added a subsidy to help offset airline operating losses, until more efficient aircraft could be developed.  Although airmail freedom does not look like much, it did enable profitable Commerical airlines such as Pan American Airlines and Western Airlines Express.  When the Act was passed in 1925, contractors were allowed to receive subsidies for airlift nationwide. Since the subsidy depends on the number of mail carried and the area passed, the contractor was encouraged to carry more items and fly more frequently. This helps to stimulate the fledgling...

In aviation, human factors can be defined as the study of influence behavior at work that could affect the health and safety of an individual, other personnel close by, the equipment being used, the components being worked on or the overall integrity of the aircraft. The Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, describes human factors as  a multidisciplinary effort to generate and compile information about human capabilities and limitations and apply that information to equipment, systems, facilities, procedures, jobs, environments, training, staffing, and personnel management for safe, comfortable, and effective human performance (FAA). The FAA also states it is estimated that approximately 80 percent of all aviation accidents are related to human factors (PHAK, 2020). There are different systematic approaches in the aviation sector that advocates pilots, technicians and air traffic controllers to have a safe decision-making outlook and awareness when operating in the workforce. T...

Prior to 9/11, aircraft hijackings became a primary threat in the aviation industry that left the world feeling vulnerable and  demonstrated that terrorists can weaponize an aircraft to cause destruction.  Two decades have passed since the tragic events of September 11, 2001, which changed the aviation industry to  continuously revolutionize their layers of security  and develop strategic measures that will mitigate along with proactively address potential risk.  In recent times, the evolving threats and  severity  in aviation security has now developed into a new era of cybersecurity from emerging technologies and cyber-physical interdependency within the transportation's infrastructure.  Needless to say, airlines have access to very sensitive information and operate a critical component of infrastructure ( CnSight, 2021) . A  cyberattack could quickly result in serious fatalities and utter catastrophe...