David Cruz Blog

  Laser Pointers as a threat to aviation security Laser pointers have been an emerging threat to the aviation industry in the last couple of years. These pointers have gained popularity among people who want to play small jokes with family or friends, which is still fine. The problem starts when these people start using the lasers to bother pilots, especially in critical phases of flight such as takeoff and landing. What starts as a simple joke can lead to catastrophic events, such as an accident. The laser pointers will cause the pilot to go temporarily blind, creating a hazard for the airplane's occupants as well as people on the ground. Since the FAA started tracking laser pointers incidents in 2010, there have been 67,558 incidents reported, with a 250% increase in recent years. The FAA received 9,723 reports from laser pointers in 2021, the highest number ever. This is just showing us that society is not conscious enough of the risks that are involved in using these pointers. ...

  Hydraulic System The hydraulic system of an airplane is, perhaps, the most vital system when we talk about safety. In general aviation, the brake system is powered by hydraulic fluid as well as the landing gear operation for airplanes that have a retractable gear system. This system can be really reliable, but even a small leak can be a potential hazard to the safety of flight. In a Cessna 172, it is important to check any hydraulic leak near the wheels, as this can mean that brakes can fail during landing. When we preflight a Piper Cherokee PA-28-161 we can check the level of the hydraulic fluid to prevent a lack of fluid, that can cause a brake failure. When we talk about complex aircraft, hydraulic failures could involve landing gear not moving up and down when needed. It is vital to check on preflight for any leak on the fuselage or also dripping from the hydraulic actuator. The potential impacts can be catastrophic. It could go from skidding off the runway after no positive ...

  Icing in Aircraft Performance Icing is, perhaps, the most dangerous thing that can happen to an airplane environmentally wise. Icing will not only change the aerodynamic shape of the airfoils in the airplane but will also increase the aircraft's weight. Icing can adhere to the airplane's structure very easily when flying under icing conditions. These conditions include freezing temperatures (0 degrees Celsius) and flying in visible moisture. Ice will attach to each airfoil quickly and change its shape. When the shape changes the chord line will also change, making the angle of attack change. If a pilot doesn't realize that the angle of attack has changed he may suffer from an unexpected stall, or even a spin, with catastrophic consequences. With ice, the airplane's weight will also increase. If we refer to the 4 forces of flight when weight increases lift needs to also increase to maintain straight and level flight. The pilot will need to increase the angle of attack,...

1.4 What Does Ethics in the Aviation Profession Mean To You? Ethics is defined as a set of moral principles. This basically means doing what is right regardless of the circumstances involved. In my opinion, ethics in aviation include prioritizing safety at all times, honesty, and being a professional pilot at all times. Being safe is not only meeting the minimum legal requirements for a flight but to increase this standard so every single person in the airplane feels comfortable with the conditions. A pilot should always care about their passengers, students, or customers so the operation runs smoothly. The most important value for any person is honesty. In a pilot this is even more important, the best example is of a flight instructor. Almost every single flight instructor flies to build hours, to meet the minimum hour requirement to be eligible for an ATP license. Some instructors do what is called "cooking hours" which means extending the flight lessons unnecessarily to ge...