Career retrospective of a Lost Generation pilot

My career is somewhat typical of the Lost Generation of pilots. After flying and flight instructing for fun for several years, I decided to change careers soon after getting married. I took a job at a large aviation training academy in Florida that had a reputation for providing pilots to the airlines. It was late June 2001.

Scarcely two months into my new job, I watched the recorded crashes of American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 into the two towers of the World Trade Center. The FAA ordered all civilian airplanes grounded for several days after the four hijackings on September 11. Since I didn’t get paid unless I flew, I felt the effects of the attacks almost immediately in my paycheck.

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The lost generation of pilots

A friend and former coworker recently remarked to me that, as professional pilots who were starting our careers in the late 1990s and early 2000s, we were part of a lost generation of pilots. We began our flight training with the plan to move quickly from the regional airlines to the cockpit of “heavy iron” at the majors. Everything changed after September 11, 2001.

Aviation’s lost decade started with the terrorist attacks of September 11. Almost immediately, airlines stopped hiring and started furloughing pilots. Less than a year after the attacks, the airline bankruptcies started with a filing by US Airways in August 2002. Many airlines were only beginning to recover when the second half of the one-two punch, the 2008 recession, landed. Before the wave of bankruptcies was over, almost every major airline would be affected.

 

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Advice to GOP candidates: ‘It’s the economy and Obamacare, stupid’

 

 

clipartist.com

As this year’s midterm primary and general elections approach, analysts in many quarters are preparing for a sweeping Republican victory that may fundamentally change the balance of power in Washington, D.C. The collapse of Obamacare at the starting line, a faltering economy and deteriorating conditions around the world from Syria to the Ukraine make a Democratic implosion seem all but assured. In fact, to paraphrase cartoonist Walt Kelly, the greatest threat to a Republican victory may be the Republican candidates themselves.

 

2012 was proof that, even if voters are dissatisfied with Democrats, they still need a reason to vote for Republicans. Merely being opposed to Obamacare and higher taxes will not be enough in many cases.  Voters are not flocking to the GOP even though approval of Obama and the Democrats is falling.  In 2012, several flawed Republican candidates who did not connect with voters – or worse, alienated them – preserved Democratic control of the Senate for at least two more long years.

 

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Unemployment extension may hurt long-term unemployed

Melanie Rezulli/Flickr

Democrats and Republicans are currently locked in a battle over how to pay for a reauthorization of the extension for long term unemployment benefits.  For the most part, the debate is only over how the extension of unemployment benefits should be paid.  As PBS reported, most Republicans don’t oppose the unemployment extension, but favor offsetting the increased spending with cuts in other budget areas.  Little, if any, attention has been given to whether the unemployment benefits should be extended at all however.  The Senate passed its version of the plan on January 7, but the bill faces an uncertain future in the House.  Politically the extension is popular, but many economists are not sold on the benefits of the extension.

 

According to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, unemployment insurance typically lasts for 26 weeks.  The Emergency Unemployment Compensation program extended benefits for an additional 14 to 47 weeks.  The number of additional weeks varied by state and was based on state unemployment rates.

 

In December 2013, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman attacked the idea that extending unemployment payments may be harmful to the unemployed.  Krugman claims that much of the research on the effects of unemployment insurance is decades old and that ending unemployment insurance would not create more jobs.  In Krugman’s view, the economy is limited by demand, not supply, “and slashing unemployment benefits — which would have the side effect of reducing incomes and hence consumer spending — would just make the situation worse.”

 

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New FAA rule requires more experience for airline copilots

The path to the cockpit for prospective airline pilots just got harder.

A new Federal Aviation Administration rule that requires copilots on U.S. airlines to have additional training and flight experience is now in effect. The final rule, required by the Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2010, was published in the Federal Register on July 15, 2013.

Previously, first officers on scheduled airline flights were only required to hold a commercial pilot license. The commercial license requires a total of 250 hours flight time. Under the new rule, airline first officers are required to hold an airline transport pilot license. The ATP requires 1,500 hours of flight time. Pilots must be at least 23 years old to earn an ATP.

 

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July jobs report is gloomy

The July Jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics unveiled a headline unemployment number that edged down slightly to 7.4 percent as the economy added 162,000 jobs.  In spite of the decrease in the overall unemployment estimate, the report does not paint a bright picture for the jobs market.  A forecast of economists by Bloomberg had predicted an increase of 185,000 new jobs.

 

Buried in the report, the Civilian Labor Force Participation Rate actually fell from 63.5 to 63.4 percent as job creation did not keep pace with population growth.  According to BLS historical statistics, the rate reached a recent high in January 2007 at 66.4 percent before the onset of the recession.  The rate has continued to decline during Barack Obama’s presidency from 65.7 percent in January 2009.

 

It might seem inconsistent that the labor participate rate declined at the same time that the unemployment rate fell.  The answer can be found in the report’s measure of discouraged workers, people who are “not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them.”  The number of discouraged workers rose sharply to a total of 416,000.  The 136,000 increase in discouraged workers who dropped out of the workforce is almost equal to the number of workers who found jobs.  The U-4 unemployment rate which adds discouraged workers to the headline unemployment rate is at 8.0 percent.

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Brief this approach!

Courtesy of Jeppesen

A common skill for pilots that is likely to be tested on an interview is how to brief aninstrument approach. Briefing an approach is the art of confirming the details of an approach with your fellow pilot without overwhelming him with irrelevant information. There is an abundance of information on an approach plate, some of which is vital to the safety of the flight and some of which does not apply at all.

A sample approach plate is the ILS 35R for Centennial Airport in Denver found nearby. Most companies and airlines use Jeppesenapproach plates similar to the one depicted here, however military pilots and some general aviation pilots might be more familiar with approach plates published by the FAA. These are also called “NOS charts” because they were once published by the National Ocean Service. NOS charts are public domain and can be found online at no charge on sites such as Globalair.com. A NOS chart has been included for reference, but most interview briefs will be conducted with Jeppesen plates.

 

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http://www.examiner.com/list/how-to-brief-an-approach

American Eagle offers signing bonus as pilot shortage looms

American Eagle E-145 (Abdallah/Wikimedia)

In an email to prospective job seekers on Friday, American Eagle Airlines announced that it is offering a $5,000 signing bonus for newly hired pilots. At present, Eagle plans to hire 600 new pilots in 2013. New FAA rulesrequire that new airline pilots meet Airline Transport Pilot license standards.

American Eagle notes that American Airlines, its parent company, is planning to hire 2,500 pilots over the next five years. Approximately half of the current list of Eagle pilots is expected to be hired by American or other major airlines.

 

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http://www.examiner.com/article/american-eagle-offers-signing-bonus-as-pilot-shortage-looms

Mitt Romney is the best candidate for pilots

Mitt Romney’s campaign plane in Las Vegas

As the presidential election approaches, most pilots will probably become voters as well. In addition to the other issues to consider this election, aviation oriented voters should consider the aviation issues at stake.

One obvious issue is high fuel prices. According to GlobalAir.com, the average fuel price for both 100LL and jet fuel is more than six dollars per gallon in most of the country. There are many factors in pricing fuel, but, as noted in an Examiner article from March, President Obama’s decisions regarding oil production have contributed to high fuel prices. The president rejected the Keystone XL pipeline that would have transported Canadian oil to U.S. refineries. Under his administration, the approval rate for drilling permits has fallen from 73 to 23 percent. The approval process also takes longer. This means that in the future the United States will have less oil available and prices will trend higher.

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http://www.examiner.com/article/aviation-and-the-election

 

FAA rules may lead to pilot shortage

(Marcela/Wikimedia)

On February 12, 2009, Colgan Airlines/Continental Connection Flight 3407 crashed near Buffalo, N.Y. killing 50 people, including one person on the ground. Part of the legacy of this crash was new regulations by the Federal Aviation Administration to increase the flight hour requirements for pilots at regional airlines.

In February 2012, the FAA issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that would increase the flight experience requirement for pilots at FAR 121 airlines to 1,500 hours by requiring first officers to hold the same airline transport pilot license that is currently required of airline captains. In the past, first officers were only required to hold a commercial pilot license. This license required only 250 hours of flight experience.

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http://www.examiner.com/article/new-faa-rules-may-lead-to-pilot-shortage?cid=db_articles