A Look at Experimental Aircraft

     An experimental aircraft is a category of aircraft in which the production and manufacturing has not been certified as a standard certified aircraft. In a nutshell, this is the world of homebuilt aircraft.

     Since the beginning of homebuilt aircraft some 80 years ago, the advancement of experimentals has grown significantly. From a predominantly wood and fabric type construction popular in the 1930, technology has now grown into all metal and even composite type structures we see today.

     So what are the advantages of experimental/homebuilt aircraft? Well, there are several. First being the cost advantage. Comparing 2 popular aircraft from both certified and experimental categories we have the Cessna 172 and a Van's RV-8. The Cessna, being one of the most popular training aircraft ever built has a price tag of over $300,000. The Van's, a popular 2 place sport plane can have a price ranging anywhere from $50,000 to a little over $100,000 depending on chosen engine and avionics. Now lets compare the speeds of these aircraft. A Cessna 172 with an IO-360 engine cruises around 120-130 knots on an average depending on winds. An RV-8 on the other hand, with the same exact engine can cruise at over 200 knots with favorable winds at a fuel burn similar to that of the Cessna. Another advantage of experimental/homebuilt aircraft is the option to build your own from scratch, plans, or kits. This gives the builder endless customization options that are not possible with Certified aircraft.

     Now lets talk about a disadvantage. Most people who tend to avoid experimental aircraft avoid them because they are, in fact, experimental. Although an experimental aircraft gets conditional inspections similar to annual inspections that certified aircraft receive, their manufacturing and building process is not proven to be held to the standards of certified aircraft. Although these aircraft may seem to be less safe because of their nature, a study by the FAA as said by the EAA, experimental aircraft have an accident rate of less than 1% higher than the general aviation fleet.

     I believe that experimental aircraft hold a vital role in todays aviation infrastructure. With over 30,000 registered experimental aircraft in the United States, it is easy to image the amount of money flow experimental aviation creates.

     I find experimental aviation to be a vital role in my career because I hope one day to have a job in some aspect of experimental aircraft. Wether that job may be a representative for a specific company or simply a transition training flight instructor, I hope to see myself surrounded by this wonderful aspect of aviation as my career.

General Aviation in China

     General Aviation in China has not yet caught up to par with countries such as the United States. However, it is growing at a rate that might surprise some. Prior to the mid 90's, Chinese GA was almost non existent. According to Export.gov, GA in China started to increase every year after 1996. But why is this? Why is GA in China finally starting to boom?

     One very notable aircraft manufacturer, Cessna, is having the new model Cessna 162 Skycatcher assembled by Shenyang Aircaft Corp. based in Northeast China. Interesting enough, when this information came public, several confirmed purchases demanded there deposits back. So why is Cessna, a company who profited over $30 million in 2011 deciding to build there new light sport aircraft over sees? One would presume that such a well established American company would keep their production in the United States. Many say that because of the decrease labor costs of oversees production that the lower cost of the aircraft will benefit flight schools and new aspiring pilots. Others however say that this is detrimental to the U.S. economy and all the possible jobs it would create if this aircraft were to be built in America. I for one, agree with the latter.

     Now, enough about the Skycatcher... back to the boom of GA in China. One reason I believe that this is happening is because of the population boom. Today, the population of China is almost 1.5 billion people. Compare this to 1970 when the population was 830 million. This is still a great number, but almost half of what it is today. With such an increase in population size, people and products have a higher need for transportation and delivery than as of 40 years ago. Another reason I believe the Chinese GA scene is growing is because of the government's realization of GA importance. In previous times, airspace and flight was so extremely restricted in China. Now it is more loose and accommodable, making flight training and recreational flights easier.

     So what does this huge growth in Chinese GA mean for Americans? Well, it could be looked at both ways. A pilot may see that career opportunities are now expanding giving more opportunities for oversees jobs. An engineer on the other hand, may see that the several U.S. aircraft manufacturers now producing aircraft oversees as a job threat. It really is all based upon your outlook. I do not believe that the growth of GA in China to be a threat to myself personally, however if I were an aspiring mechanic or engineer hoping to snag a job assembling aircraft, I would probably feel a little bit different.

Brief History of Comair

     Comair was a regional airline formerly operated by Delta which ceased operations on September 29th of this year. Headquartered in Cincinnati at KCVG, Comair's first aircraft were two Piper Navajos. In 1984, Comair became a Delta Connections Carrier. In 2001, just 2 years after Comair became fully owned by Delta at a price of over $2 Billion, the Comair pilots went on strike which grounded the entire fleet of aircraft for almost 3 full months. Because of opening a new base at JFK in 2006, Comair had the worst record of on time flight in the entire United States. In 2010 Comair stated it would start decreasing it's fleet by removing all of the Bombardier CRJ100/200 series aircraft. Finally on September 29th, Comair ceased operations for good.

     So why did Comair cease operations? Well, according to Delta, the company plans to reduce it's fleet of regional aircraft from 350 to 125 or fewer, and focus more attention towards mainline flights.

     You may be thinking, what is the overall status of the regional airlines industry? Well it is not very good. With some closing operations and others frequently furloughing pilots, it is quiet obvious that they are not very successful right now. According to USATODAY, the average salary of a regional airline co-pilot is roughly $21,000. In my opinion, this is absolutely pathetic considering the amount of training that a person has to go through to become a pilot.

     It seems as though since a lot of the major airlines are ceasing their regional operations, jobs for regional carriers will be very hard to come by, and even if you get one, chances are you won't keep it for very long!

     Now heres a good question, are any regional airlines hiring currently? According to AirlinePilotCentral, ExpressJet is currently hiring. With minimum requirements of 1200TT and 50ME, the guaranteed 75 hours a month at $23 an hour does not sound very enticing.