ASCI 202: Introduction to Aeronautical Science

     Human Factors: Aircraft Move      In todays Aviation industry, there are several policies and procedures in place to mitigate accidents or mishaps. Despite all of those things, human factors are a constant issue and cannot always be avoided. Human factors can be defined in many ways but mainly involves an individual in every aspect of an aircraft design process, flight, maintenance task, and even the mental/physical state on that individual such as stress, fatigue, and experience (Panger, 2015). There are a dozen of pinpointed elements of human factors: lack of communication, complacency, lack of knowledge, distractions, lack of teamwork, lack of resources; to name a few (Panger, 2015).      As time goes on, aviation becomes more and more complex. The need to work as a team is one of the most important elements of human factors. Weakness in this area can cause chaos within the maintenance realm. Lets say a team of aircraft mechanics are preparing for an aircraft move. There are ma

Increased Hacking Threats       In this blog, I would like to discuss an emerging threat to todays aviation security and that would be software hacking which would mostly fall under cyber security. Whether its light traffic management systems or cloud-based airline storage, it can all potentially be attacked. Even systems within the aircraft such as flight control, GPS navigation. and fuel consumption systems. All can be placed in a vulnerable position.       The Intelligence layer of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) security plays a huge role in the mitigation of cyber-attacks. The TSA have four cyber security priorities and six goals that will direct efforts to improve its protection of its internal information technology systems as well as the nation’s transportation (TSA, 2018). There are constant efforts to help mitigate occurrences such as collaborating with federal and non-federal entities. The development of tools and services will help improve cybersecurity. Re

  Hydraulic System      In this blog, I will be discussing the importance of the hydraulic system in aircraft. In my opinion, the hydraulic system is arguably the most important system on any aircraft. There are a variety of functions that are driven by hydraulics. Some of these functions include: braking, landing gear deployment/retraction, and flight controls such as operating flaps and spoilers (PHAK, 2016).     One of the most common failures in the hydraulic system is a leak. A leak in the hydraulic line could lead to low pressure in the system. If this event occurs, lets say in the braking system, it could be a lethal situation on the ground given the speed at which aircraft travel during a landing. Among other things, over servicing hydraulic systems or allowing contaminants to enter during service could also lead to failure. Failure of these particular components and unreliable operation of hydraulic systems is often caused by inadequate contamination control, which should also

  There are many factors and elements that can influence an aircrafts performance and flying safety. In this blog, I will be discussing one particular element; lightning.      As there are many stages of a thunderstorm's life cycle, lightning can be the most dangerous of them all. A lightning strike to an aircraft while inflight is rather frequent in the U.S. The effects of lightning strikes can be very minimal no damage at all, or can be very destructive. They can puncture the skin of an aircraft and damage communications and electronic navigational equipment (PHAK, 2016). Without some of these controls or navigational instruments, the occurrence could be detrimental to the safety of the flight crew. Pilots need these controls to stay informed on how the aircraft is performing and the adjustments that may be needed. Not only can lightning hinder the structure of the aircraft, but it can also cause the pilot to experience blindness rendering them unable to navigate either by instru