UAS integration in the NAS

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), or more accurately called today Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) have been developed in the military and are used heavily in war zones by the Department of Defense, according to the FAA website.  Not until recently did they venture into the general aviation part of the national airspace system (NAS).  The FAA has had to play a little bit of catch-up in order to stay up with these new demands.  They have has a lot of help from the interest group "Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International" (AUVSI).  The FAA has already streamlined the process for public agencies to fly safely in the NAS by use of the 2012 FAA re-authorization bill.  The FAA re-authorization bill mandates that UAS's are to be safely integrated into the NAS by 2015.  There have been a lot of recent interests to use UAS in other facets such as for customs and border patrol, and weather services or disaster area coverage that are of public usage. 

The UAS will be taking numerous roles in aviation that will certainly alter the landscape of general aviation in the U.S.  Can you imagine a UAS going into large storms and keeping track of exactly whats going on, or to have UAS patrolling the border and have a constant look out to protect the borders?  The UAS involvement in the NAS will force some procedures to change and safety standards are certainly going to be very high with this new technology entering the general aviation public.  A large focus of the FAA with the newest technology in the NAS is safety.  This should come as no surprise since this the main focus of the FAA.  UAS's will be required to be at least as safe as the rest of the general public while maintaining operations.  UAS's have successfully been able to use ADS-B, which is a cornerstone to the next gen system that is to be fully implemented by the year 2020. 

I think that UAS's will certainly take off and do some things publicly, however I also foresee any large accident or incident that occurs with a commercial flight to cause a lot of public distraught.  This can force either the FAA or if serious enough Congressional attention that can lead to another 1,500 total time rule being put through.  UAS's could certainly do a lot of good things for the aviation sector.  On the negative side they can cause some pilot's to lose jobs to UAS pilots.  The next five years are going to be very interesting for UAS's.  It will largely depend on how the implementation of the rules go for the FAA and the safety standards set forth by those using UAS's within the National Airspace System in the United States.

How does it affect myself?  Well UAS's will be altering the fabric of general aviation in the United States.  It might eventually alter things with commercial aviation, but I'm sure that will not be for a long time.  No matter how I approach my career I will have to find a job in the general aviation sector in order to build up hours to go after a position I want.  Although there are not a lot of operations currently under way in the Michigan, Ohio, or Indiana area where I will be trying to get a job, they very well could begin to have a lot of operations.  It depends on if any company finds a good use for them in our area.  If I get a position in Arizona, Florida, or Texas there are a lot of operations that could affect my operations.  I think the FAA will integrate UAS's into the NAS over time in an appropriate fashion and continue to correct any errors that occur in the process of integration.

China's GA Sector

According to Alexis Haakensen from the U.S. International Trade Administration there have been numerous U.S. based companies who have had Chinese investment include Epic Air, Teledyne Continental, and Cirrus. Chinese firms have also looked at acquiring Grob out of Germany, Piper, and Emivest.  AVIC, which is one of China's main aerospace firms believes that including foreign firms, especially from the U.S., will help Chinese aircraft more easily gain certification in the west, where most general aviation aircraft are currently sold. In late March 2012, Cessna announced that they are in discussions to form joint ventures to produce business jets in China. 

Cessna has specifically been working with the China Aviation Industry General Aircraft Company Ltd., (CAIGA) and the Shijiazhuang Municipal Government. This agreement has been progressing from the framework that Cessna entered into with CAIGA parent company, Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), in March 2012.  The current plan with this eventual joint venture will be the final assembly, sales, and customer support for the Cessna Caravan in China for the Chinese market.  It is difficult to see if there will be any ramifications for the US General Aviation sector.  For the time being it seems that all of the companies going into joint ventures with Chinese firms are continuing operations and retaining all of their employees.  Currently the relationships between companies are growing and beginning to build.  It is very interesting to see where these joint ventures will lead since these are brand new relationships.  Cessna is very excited about the current expansion in General Aviation in China, as you can tell by Cessna president and CEO Scott Ernest.  He states that: “We continue to be extremely pleased with the cooperative relationship between AVIC and Cessna. China’s potential in general aviation is tremendous, and represents an exciting opportunity for Cessna. Since we do expect China to be one of the largest general aviation markets in ten year’s time, we are excited to see that it will be Cessna aircraft that will help meet this demand in the years to come.”
 

But what has led to this rapid expansion in Chinese General Aviation? There has been continual growth in China and that has led to in 2010 China was the world's largest exporter in the world.  Along with the continual growth of their economy and the continued decay of Europe's economy, China has been able to step up to the table and begin making joint ventures with numerous foreign countries.  At the Asian Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition held in Shanghai from March 27 to 29 Chinese officials spoke about the plans for business and civil aviation in China.  Xia Xinghua, who is the deputy director of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) spoke a lot of the changes that are being made for the infrastructure of China.  The Five-year plan includes to relax bans on low-altitude airspace, promote the development of the general aviation industry, reform the airspace management system and increase the efficiency of the allocation and utilization of airspace resources. 

As far as the impact that will be on the General Aviation sector in the U.S. it is currently unclear, however there is a lot of speculation that it will slowly decrease over time as numerous people will be heading to China.  This will be largely caused due to the need for a lot of general aviation jobs being created in China.  If the predictions of a great expansion in China's general aviation sector then there will be a tremendous need for professionals to assist in the growth, planning and execution of these new policies.  Although I feel there will be a slow decrease in U.S. general aviation, I feel that it will plateau eventually and although there will be a slightly less populous GA sector in the U.S. it will continue to make large contributions and flourish.

Comair's Closing

Comair started in 1977 in Cincinnati, Ohio by four friends with two Piper Navajo airplanes according to The New York Times.  Comair originally was operated for business travelers in Cincinnati to less populated areas around it in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky and Pennsylvania.  This is why when Delta looked to expand from Atlanta to the North Comair was a great choice.  In 1984, Comair partnered with Delta when Delta bought approximately 10% of their company and became wholly owned by Delta in 2000. Comair only operated approximately 1% of Delta's operations and Delta has assured that there would not be a decrease in their flight schedule to Cincinnati.

Comair seized their operations as a decision sent down by Delta.  Delta has been moving toward using 76-seat aircraft as opposed to the 50-seaters that Comair largely operated.  This is a decision based on cost and efficiency and not about Comair's operations or quality, said Don Bornhorst, senior vice president of Delta Connection and a former Comair president.  There have been a few reasons for their downfall, which include their bankruptcy in 2005, the aging fleet, fuel inefficiency, and Delta's shift to use 76-seat planes rather than the 50-seat planes in order to increase their efficiency and better economical benefits. 

Overall I would say that the status of the regional's in not looking very good.  There have been numerous closures, and a lot of merging in the regional world.  As well as with Major airlines limiting service to a lot of smaller locations and only flying to and from major locations, which the major will mainly provide flights for.  I do not see many opportunities for regional airlines unless they simply break off their relationship to the majors.  This would be nearly, if not completely impossible for any regional airline to actually do.  This puts all regional airlines in a very difficult place that I think will eventually put them out of business all together. 

A regional airline that I researched that is currently hiring, according to Airline Pilot Central, is ExpressJet.  The starting pay for the first officer is $23 an hour with a guarantee of 75 hours a month.  This accumulated to $1,725 a month and in total about $20,700 pay for a year.