Space Tourism

Space tourism is traveling into space for recreational reasons. The idea of space traveling really caught on when Dennis Tito was the world’s first private space tourist in 2001. Tito paid 20 million to travel to the space station. Since then, few others have also made the same journey. The idea of space tourism attracts many but only a few can afford it which makes it hard for the industry to grow. The cost will never be cheap enough for it to be a common thing among the population. I don't ever see it being a means of transportation but I guess people said that about airplanes 100 years ago. So who knows? I would like to see it go into that direction because that would be mean more jobs for pilots. 

In 1984 Ronald Reagan signs a commercial space launch act saying that private aircrafts can go into space. Once space tourism was starting to develop rules and laws were put in mostly are for safety concerns. The current regulations say the passenger must sign saying they are aware of the risks and thats all the regulations are when it comes to passengers(FAA,2007). Virgin Galactic has the passengers go thru a three day training before the flight (Virgin Galactic,2015).  The flight crew must go thru training but it is not as extensive as it should be which is why I think as the industry grows the regulations will also change. The pilots for Galactic are very well trained. Most have flown many different kinds of aircrafts and have over 5000 hours. Like I've said as the space industry expands, flying for space tourism might be more accessible for common aviation folks with the right training of course. 

References: 

Astronaut Training - Virgin Galactic. (n.d.). Retrieved September 27, 2015.

http://www.virgingalactic.com/human-spaceflight/training/

Office of Commercial Space Transportation. (n.d.). Retrieved September 27, 2015.

http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/

Mike Wall, SPACE.com Senior Writer. (n.d.). First Space Tourist: How a U.S. Millionaire Bought a Ticket to Orbit | Private Spaceflight & Space Tourism | NASA, Russia & International Space Station | Space.com. Retrieved September 28, 2015.

http://www.space.com/11492-space-tourism-pioneer-dennis-tito.html

Pilots and Depression - Trend or Isolated Incidents?

German-wings Flight 9525 was on its way to Germany from Spain on March 24th 2015. After approaching the assigned cruise altitude, the co pilot Andreas Lubitz intentionally started to descend. In ten minutes, the aircraft dropped 38,000 feet and crashed in the French Alps. Andreas Lubitz was told he was told by his doctor that he should be working, he failed to report this information to his employer. Lubitz had previously been treated for having suicide thoughts. In 2009, he took a leave  from flight training due to depression. German-wings was aware of the previous mental illness. Another incident that involved a mental illness was on a Jet blue flight 191 from New York to Las Vegas. The pilot had a mental breakdown during the flight and the co pilot had to do a emergency landing. Both these situations tell us that pilot may have been aware of the illness and are not reporting the issue. 

The FAA requires the pilot to pass the medical exam once a year if you are under the age of 40. The examiner needs to perform more of an extensive exam and maybe have multiple doctors opinions. Since mental illness is something that is not hard to test for.FAA and the airliners need find a way to make it easier for the pilot to admit to having a mental illness. No one wants to admit to being depressed or other mental illnesses, especially if your job is on the line. FAA and  the airliners need to show the pilot that there is a positive side to reporting a mental illness. Ultimately it is the pilots responsibly to report but the FAA and airliners need to find other solution as well since the current method is showing some room for unsafe situations. 

References: 

(n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2015, from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/mar/28/jetblue-passengers-pilot-breakdown-osbon

We Have No Way to Screen Every Pilot for Mental Illness. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2015, from http://www.wired.com/2015/03/no-way-screen-every-pilot-mental-illness/

About Ramya

Currently a senior planning on graduating within the next year.  I will have all my required Flight school courses completed by April 2015 but unfortunately my flight hours will not be completed. I attended Washtenaw Community College for two years to take my pre reqs so I'm behind on my flight hours. My interest in aviation honestly started when I was looking into different programs EMU offered. Flight school caught my eye, went on flight lesson to see if I enjoyed it and of course, loved it! 

I'm very new to the aviation industry but with what I know so far, I'm looking to flying for private companies. I know in order to get there I will need to be a flight instructor  but I know that is something I will not be good at. I'm currently looking into how to earn more hours without being a instructor. I'm hoping some the guest speakers can talk about their experience with being a flight instructor or some advise on finding other ways to build my flight hours. Since I started this program recently, any information to help me become a pilot is greatly appreciated.