Avion Summer A Issue 2

Page 1

Weekly

Weather

Tuesday 77 10% 72

Wednesday 81 0% 72

Thursday 82 0% 75

Quality Is

Friday 84 40% 77

CoA Adding Airline Operations Center Michael Wildes Managing Editor

In The Details Zachary Wilkinson/The Avion Newspaper

Zack Wilkinson Editor-In-Chief When you purchase a product or service, you have a certain expectation of quality. You as the buyer know what to expect based on the reputation of the manufacturer, and the best

manufacturers are known for their quality products. The same is true in flight instruction. When you choose a flight instructor you are selecting a service, and you expect quality, just as you would any other product. Earlier this year the

Embry-Riddle flight-training department initiated a Quality Assurance Program (QAP) for training activities. Each team of instructors has a mentor, who observes one activity a day. The mentors are Senior Flight Instructors, and their task is to observe flight

training activities and provide feedback the instructor pilots based on the Fundamentals of Instruction. Bob Joyce, who comes from a 14-year career as a professional hockey player and as a flight instructor for the last 13 years... Continued on A2 >>

Gone Cubbing- “Why we fly” Zack Wilkinson Editor-In-Chief It was a typical summer Florida afternoon when my friend Mike Breshears sent me a text asking if I wanted to join him on another ride in the Piper J3, N88157, owned by Eagle Sport Aviation, a flying club in Deland. At that moment, what I had planned to do with my afternoon was pretty dry by comparison and this would be a much more exciting adventure. I accepted the offer and headed to Deland after my Aviation Safety class got out for the day. I of course brought my old clunky headset and a Canon 60D to capture a few photos. And guess what else, I could even wear shorts! We decided on a launch time of 1730 and planned

to fly from Deland to the Spruce Creek Fly-In. The Piper J3 doesn’t have a starter, and requires the pilot or his partner to hand prop it for start. I sat in the front seat with my feet on the brakes, just a little bit of throttle in, and the engine primed with fuel. With a call of “Contact!” I switch the mags to ‘both’ and Mike pulls down on the prop while swinging his weight away from the engine. With a cough, the 65 Hp engine fires to life and I pull the throttle back a little to settle the RPMS at around 700. With the engine started up Mike joins me in the cabin and we taxi for departure from Deland,As is common with a Cub, no flight really has to fly direct. The Cub is a fabric plane which was made to enjoy every nautical mile

in, and to feel the air. No one flying a Cub is ever in a hurry, as the craft can just barely make 80 kts. We moseyed along at a Cubcruise altitude, which rarely increases over 1000 ft AGL. The first thing I noticed was the comfortable feeling of being able to see what was going on below me in detail, I felt like more of a VFR pilot than ever. The Piper J3 Cub was designed in the 30’s when General Aviation was still very young. Thousands of them we’re used to train US pilots in the pre-WW2 Civil Pilot Training Program. By war’s end, an estimated 80 percent of US pilots received initial training in Cubs. The J3 Cub is a simple airplane, just a stick, throttle, trim knob, and rudder

pedals. The panel sports an altimeter, tachometer, Airspeed indicator(in mph), magnetic compass, oil pressure, and oil temperature. Fuel quantity is known in flight by the height of a wire float on the cowling in front of the pilot. The float will gradually get lower as the 12 gallon fuel tank empties. And the best thing: there’s no Garmin glass in sight! I had an opportunity to work on this particular cub while it was being restored last year. The Sport Aviation Club, a student club at ERAU, assisted Eagle Sport Aviation with recovering the wings and control surfaces. I learned just a little bit about how to do rib stitching and wet-sanding. It’s really neat to get to fly an airplane you had a small part in recovering. Continued on B3 >>

Zachary Wilkinson/The Avion Newspaper

Saturday 86 80% 77

It’s one thing to read about and affirm ideas or theories of good decision making skills as a process looks like in people; it’s another thing when you can develop those skills and affirm them in a tangible form in students. The Aeronautical Science capstone course, Operational Applications in Aeronautical Science, is primarily designed to do that for students enrolled in it. Essentially, capstone courses are designed to be the end of a cumulative learning experience for

students who have come to the end of their degree programs, and are about to venture out into the world with a head full of new material. They are like a grand summation of all the important facets from all the previous courses in a degree outline, and simply are to help students put all that they learned into context. The one quality that defines every pilot is good decision-making ability. The differences between the famous outcomes of US Airways Flight 1549 and Air Florida Flight 91 are the decisions the pilots made. Continued on A2 >>

The Avion meets Nicole Stott

Tatiana Ivanova Corrspondant

Each true space career dreamer knows by heart the online NASA requirements for astronauts and space scientists. That is not surprising - despite the growing commercial sector, NASA is still the most active astronaut employer in U.S. However, the information on NASA’s website is quite limited and doesn’t paint the full picture of how the selection process works. In March two STS mis-

sion participants: an Embry Riddle alumni and our NASA insider Nicole Stott, who personally took park in the final round of astronaut selection, agreed to share the details about this procedure. She also gave advice for completing the application form and described what kind of personality the NASA astronauts selection committee is looking for. Continued on A4 >>

Photo Courtesy: Wikipedia.org


Campus

Page

A2

The Avion

Operations Continued from A1 >>

Executive Board Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor News Editor Advertising Manager

Zachary Wilkinson Michael Wildes Jeff Icker Matt Rutowski

Page Editors Front Editor Campus Editor I&T Editor

Sports Editor Comics Editor Entertainment Editor

Zachary Wilkinson Zachary Wilkinson Matt Rutowski Michael Wildes Matt Rutowski Zack Wilkinson Dayton Drugovich Courtney Byrd Michael Wildes Jeff Icker Jeff Icker

Staff Contributors Reporters

Photographers

Dayton Drugovich Mark Fetters Tatiana Ivanova Zack Wilkinson

Correspondents Dayton Drugovich, Tatiana Ivanova, Courtney Byrd

Staff Advisor Wesley Lewis, Asst. Director, Media & Marketing

Contact Information Main Phone: (386) 226-6049 Ad Manager: (386) 226-7697 Fax Number: (386) 226-6727 Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor News Editor Business Manager Photography Editor Advertising Manager

editor@theavion.com managing@theavion.com news@theavion.com business@theavion.com photo@theavion.com advertising@theavion.com

Website: theavion.com

However, the concept of that is objectively hard to grasp, and there are certainly very little quantifiable means of judging good decisions making skill versus bad decisions making skills . As far as that is concerned however, a more favorable outcome is preferred and so, it is somewhat possible to enhance students to make decisions that mitigate risk. Well, the Aeronautical Science department is currently taking measures to help them serve students better. If you have been anywhere close to the College of Aviation these days, you’ll definitely notice the barrage of construction work taking place on the second floor. The balcony that was once there is now obsolete, and the place is overrun with scaffolding and caution signs everywhere. The reason for this is that an Airline Operations Center is being built to facilitate the new direction the capstone course will be going in. The Avion interviewed professor Greg Zahornacky to gain some more insight on the project. “The Airline Operations Center,” “is meant to emulate an what an airline operations center [is like].” Given that the majority of the students here at the University are pilots, there is a need for these graduating students to be exposed to other facets of aviation. Throughout the four years of the degree program, a lot of theory is taught that is usually complemented by very little hands on application of all the material. The reasons for that have been wide, and at no fault anyone. How-

Quality Continued from A1 >>

The Avion is produced weekly during the fall and spring term, and bi-weekly during summer terms. The Avion is produced by a volunteer student staff. Student editors make all content, business and editorial decisions. The editorial opinions expressed in The Avion are solely the opinion of the undersigned writer(s), and not those of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the Student Government Association, The Avion, or the student body. Letters appearing in The Avion are those of the writer, identified at the end of the letter. Opinions expressed in the “Student Government” and “Student Life” sections are those of the identified writer. Letters may be submitted to The Avion for publication, provided they are not lewd, obscene or libelous. Letter writers must confine themselves to less than 800 words. Letters may be edited for brevity and formatted to newspaper guidelines. All letters must be signed. Names may be withheld at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief. The Avion is an open forum for student expression. The Avion is a division of the Student Government Association. The Avion is a member of the Associated Collegiate Press. The costs of this publication are paid by the Student Government Association and through advertising fees. The Avion distributes one free copy per person. Additional copies are $0.75. Theft of newspapers is a crime, and is subject to prosecution and Embry-Riddle judicial action. This newspaper and its contents are protected by United States copyright law. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, in print or electronically, without the expressed written consent of The Avion. Correspondence may be addressed to: The Avion Newspaper, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, 600 S. Clyde Morris Blvd., Daytona Beach, Florida 32114. Physical office: John Paul Riddle Student Center, Room 110. Phone: (386) 226-6049. Fax: (386) 226-6727.

is the Manager of the Quality Assurance program. His background in sports has given him a lot of insight into team building. “[And] That’s what this program is about… team building”, said Joyce. Joyce looks at processes from the viewpoint of standardized training. It all contributes toenhacing the Flight training experience at Embry-Riddle. . He uses a process referred to as calibration to ensure uniformity in training. “The first 100 hours of dual given are traditionally the toughest for Flight Instructors”, said Kenneth

June

03 2014

rd

ever, pilots, tend to have a very myopic view of what goes on outside the cockpit to contribute to them having a safe flight, and they can sometimes take for granted the decision making process behind the scenes. Zahornacky reasons that the intention behind this development is to open the eyes of pilots of how airlines handle events such as distractions, bad weather, medical emergencies and so forth, and to help them understand how they can contribute. Similar to how a check ride for a flight is mostly scenario based, so will the setup of the class be. It is proven that this type of training has been more effective than the regular direct question-answer type process. So, the goal of this project is to enhance the learning experiences for all students enrolled in the course. The inspiration behind this idea came through a demonstration outside of the university. It was quickly decided that such a program would benefit students. The model of the new program will be a two-part lab for 10 persons working to solve an emergency scenario. The system is being designed to use real time weather over the national airspace system with live, but modified traffic. Students will then be faced with a problem and must work to solve it in the most expedient fashion. The professor explained that, for instance, if there were a medical emergency on board, the students acting as the aircrew would work among themselves to derive the best way to go about the situation. This would include going through the right channels, such as contacting Dispatch, who would con-

tact Med Link, who would direct the crew on board how to assess the passenger and the seriousness of the situation. Such a scenario forces students to pull together all the resources they have. The beauty of the setup is that all of this will be played out in the lab. It is expected then that students will become more proficient in their understanding of the Science as a whole. While the majority of students here are pilots, there are also dispatch students and students in other related majors whom this program will also serve. Furthermore, it provides pilots with more opportunities to explore other aspects of the field should they happen to lose their medical for any unfortunate reason. If they are able to learn in this type of environment, then they won’t be stranded if something happened to them in the future. While this will not be a new course, the structure will be very different, and at this point, much is still being worked out as to how the lab will operate. Professor Zahornacky and Les Westbrooks will be the first two professors to lead the course, and it surely will present an interest-

Byrnes, the Head of The Flight Training Department. “It’s from that early portion of a career where an IP finely tunes their instruction”. The aim of the Flight department is to lessen that amount of time through the QA program, and polish instructors’ skills quicker in order to ensure the best product for the student. At some point during a flight course you may have another IP observe one of your activities; don’t let this bother you, as it’s part of the QA process. Bob Joyce is developing the QA Observer, an electronic publication to keep students updated on what the QA program is doing for them. He is also working on an Observer incen-

tive program which will encourage students to take advantage of the resources available to them in the Flight Department; such as observing flights, studying in the tutor lab, etc. The Observation Plan Savings for Students (OPSS ) requires the participants to complete a schedule of flight activity, oral, and End of Course (EOC) observations along with permitting a fellow student to observe your EOC. The students will also be expected meet a minimum time requirement of structured self study in the Tutor Lab. The intent of OPSS is to promote the cost free training resources available to ERAU flight students with an ultimate

ing challenge for both of them. Combined, they have over 30 years in the airline industry, and are therefore well qualified to offer that type of instruction to students. They themselves will have to attend ground school for the CRJ course here on campus before the Fall semester, as that will be the type of airplane the students will have to handle in their fleet of six. While the kinks of the course and the operational aspects of the lab overall are being worked out, hopefully by the start of class, it should be up and running smoothly, and the lucky students who registered early will be those who get to christen it. The great educator Maria Montessori once said that “The greatest sign of success for a teacher ... is to be able to say, ‘the children are now working as if I did not exist.” With the vigor with which Professor Zahornacky speaks of the course and the new implications it will mean for senior students, it is evident that their goal in adding this layer to the capstone course is to affirm this theory and watch students really function in this capacity as young professionals.

Zachary Wilkinson/The Avion Newspaper

goal of success on their EOC check ride. Students who already do things like this as part of their flight course reduce the total flight time and calendar time to complete a certificate. In the end, it’s all about saving students money. The students that complete the program will also earn a $200.00 ETA credit. “I’ve been to other Flight Training centers, and this one is the best I’ve ever seen, there are so many resources and I want to make sure students use what is available to them” Joyce stated. The Flight Department strives to keep Instruction at Embry-Riddle the best it can be, and the QA Program is an effort to do just that.


Travel

June

03 2014

rd

Page

A3

The Avion

787 Flight Falls Short Of Expectations

Mark Fetters Staff Writer

Now that summer is underway I am already in full travel mode. I have been to Japan three times, Singapore and have planned a trip to Seoul next week, which I will be reporting on in the fall. I had the opportunity to fly on my first 787 from Tokyo-Nartia to Nagoya. The flight time was a total of 55 minutes, which was just enough time to explore the plane before landing. If you have never flown within another country before, everything is so much more efficient. For security no ID was needed, I could leave my shoes and belt on; and the bottle of water you forgot in your bag, no problem. Boarding took place

25 minutes prior to departure which included a bus ride to the plane; good luck with that in the US. JAL has coach seating of 2-3-2 where most other airlines have a 3-3-3 configuration, making the cabin feel much more cramped The windows do not have the regular shade you would pull down to block the sun but rather have a dimming feature where you can control the darkness of the window. Right on time we pushed back and taxied towards the runway. When it was our turn for takeoff I was interested to compare how quiet the cabin would be versus the A380. Overall it was very quiet and will be enjoyable for passengers with the reduction in engine noise. However, I found the

Mark Fetters/The Avion Newspaper

A380 to quieter overall. As I was on a short flight I was not really able to experience the lower cabin pressure and increased humidity; it should make a difference on long haul flights. As soon as we were at our cruising altitude the cabin crew began a quick drink service of juices and water. Walking around the rather empty cabin which was less the a third full, I began to notice that the overall length of the plane was relatively small for an ultra long-haul plane. The rest of the flight I enjoyed the best inflight entertainment on any flight: the view outside the window, and in this case the Japanese Alps. Before I knew it we were at the gate in Nagoya where I would spend the day before heading off to Hawaii. My overall impression was a little disappointing since it is really like any another other aircraft. While I did enjoy the flight I’m not really sure I would enjoy it on a long haul trip. The new 787-9 which is larger, could change my mind. However, if I had a choice I would pick the A380 as a passenger any day over the 787.

Mark Fetters/The Avion Newspaper

Mark Fetters/The Avion Newspaper


Nicole Stott

Page

A4

The Avion

ASTRONAUT REQUIRED

Continued from A1 >> Nicole received an engineering diploma and worked as an engineer for NASA before applying to astronaut corp. In 2000, she was selected as an astronaut candidate and took part in Astronaut candidate training around the world for two years. Never the less, the members of the Stott’s class and the class before hers, had to wait between eight to ten years to get their first flight assignment.

mission, which is made up of current astronauts as well as some upper level management around Houston’s Johnson Space Center, takes several months to evaluate the information about the candidates from the group of two hundred applicants. Then, the last round for the final 40 candidates will take place. “The first round is kind of initiation, We want to get to know the person a little bit, get into the details of resume and experience. In the second round, it tends to be more focused on really getting

Photo Courtesy: www.eraualumni.org

The selection of the new astronaut candidates used to be every two years when the U.S. Space Program was occupied with both shuttle missions and the construction of the space station. However, at the current moment, that doesn’t happen on a regular basis. Sometimes the break between class selections may reach four and even six years. “I think the next class will be selected sometime around 2018” NASA astronaut Nicole Stott said. This irregularity also influenced the procedure of the astronaut’s selections. “In the past, there was only a oneweek selection procedure, which included a interview in Houston and a medical test”, Nicole said. Today, because of irregular and rare selections, the number of applicants reaches several thousand; the selection process itself takes several months and is comprised of two rounds. “We had over 5000 applications for the last selection in 2013,” said Astronaut Stott. “NASA narrows down this amount to under two hundred, and brings those people in 20 at the time for three days. In these three days, you participate in one roundtable interview with the board and perform a number of medical tests during this time. Then, we narrow two hundred candidates down to an even smaller group. I think we had around 40 persons that we brought back and interviewed again.” The NASA board com-

to know the person; we want to see what personality the candidate has; if we want to spend time in a small capsule going somewhere with this person. There is a lot more about interpersonal skills. We also get a chance to check something that the commission found questionable in the first round.” Narrowing the thousands of applicants down to even a few hundred is a really difficult job, nonetheless fourty. Many of the paper applications look very similar to the others. Nicole Stott, who worked as a selection board member for the last group of astronaut candidates, knows which personal characteristics are wanted by NASA selectors. “On top of basic NASA criteria like minimum degree and type of education, the bigger thing is

interpersonal skills,” said Stott. “Can you get along with other people, and hold a conversation? Are you more than just your resume; are you more than just a person who graduated with an aeronautical engineering degree? Have you actually done something with that?” Do you enjoy the things hands on: want to build things, take them apart, and put them back together? Do you know how to use tools? Do you work on your car, remodel houses? The answers to these questions count not only as professional experience, but also describe things you do on a normal basis. “None of that is required or necessary, but it tells the selection committee a lot more about you”, Stott said. “It tells us how you could manage problems in a fairly small environment, where you not only have to be a scientist, but a janitor, communication assistant, troubleshooter, or someone who uses a variety of tools.” Another important factor that the NASA commission pays attention to is extra curricular activities. Are you runner? Do you like to water ski or climb mountains? Do you do expeditionary trips such as camping or going to the desert? “There is nothing in official NASA criteria that says the person has to be a scuba diver, but if you do these kinds of things and it is something you are generally interested in, the board will get a sense that the person has a skill associated with flying. For example, a candidate may have a lot more aviation knowledge because of a private pilot license or because he worked on engines, or just hang out

June

03 2014

rd

Photo Courtesy: www.wikipedia.org

with people who fly.” Stott added that your self-presentation, not only during the first interview round at Houston, but also during the astronaut application, should reflect the candidate as the “total package”. Nicole Stott frequently encourages people who fill out the resume and the application to come up with the ways to represent themselves and the things that they enjoy doing just because it is what defines them as a person. “That will very naturally map out what kind of person you are” Stott said. You can be a leader in academia as well as a leader in organizations outside of the university. “What they are looking for is how you progressed in your career: taking on more challenging responsibilities, managing people; all this shows your ability to lead... What we also recognize is that it’s equally important to understand how to be a follower; because in a crew of six, there is only one commander. It is important to be balanced as both a leader and a follower” Nicole added. NASA’s minimum

requirements for candidate education are a Bachelor’s degree with either three years of progressive work responsibility or further research into the field of study. Therefore, NASA requires anyone with a master’s degree to only have one year of work experience. “The tendency is not to select based solely on academics. We still want to see something outside of what you did at school. Here at ERAU, the greatest thing about professors and a majority of the faculty members is that they have real industry experience”. Nicole shared. Moreover, there is a great number of projects that the students can take part in, which can carry significant weight on their resumes adding evidence of their ability to get outside of the classroom environment and apply their knowledge in the real world. For instance, in March, a master’s student at Embry Riddle conducted an experiment replicated living situations on the International Space Station called the Artificial Orbital Habitat”. It is the significant benefit for each of its partici-

Photo Courtesy: www.wikipedia.org

pants” Nicole said. “There are very few Universities which welcome the participation of undergraduates in research activities… The more students can intertwine their academic studies with either the clubs or the established research projects, the better. Get physically right into the project is what NASA is looking for. ” Being on the board of trustees of ERAU, Nicole Stott comes at least twice a year on campus; she meets with the students and participates in the educational process. Stott also tries to organize internships opportunities for ERAU students. “I am trying very hard to get our university to tie into the underwater Aquarius habitat project, which I took part in. It was the best space flight preparation I got in my life. I would like to get students to go down there and participate in the research. It maps perfectly to what ERAU is doing”. Since the Columbia disaster had just occurred, there was a lot of downtime to fix any issues with the shuttle. For Nicole, this meant another three years of training followed. Her first flight was only in 2009. During this time, each member of Nicole’s class was required further the development of advanced skills and help with other departments. For example, Stott worked in the astronaut office with a research team facilitating payload and scientific resuply missions to the International Space Station. “This is the message to people who want to be an astronaut. You need to realize that 99.9 percent of your job is not flying in space but helping other people get to space. It is training, helping the crew currently in orbit, and outreach in the community, and speaking at school” Stott concluded.


Photographer: Zack Wilkinson/The Avion Newspaper


Aviation

Page

B2

The Avion

Aerodrome History:

June

03 2014

rd

The Calm Before The Storm:

NAS Sanford

2014 Hurricane Season Catches Worldwide Attention

Photo Courtesy: www.noaa.gov

Photo Courtesy: Wikipedia.org

Orlando-Sanford International Airport (SFB for you pilots) is often overlooked by many in the local community for its contribution to history. Newer student pilots may refer to it as that little airport just on the cusp of the dreaded class B space; students that are senior in training are apt to refer fondly of the airport nestled between Lake Jessup and Lake Monroe. Sanford International had humble beginnings. It started as a small municipal field, and during the Second World War it was given to the Navy. With a purchase of additional acreage construction began. NAS Sanford would be commissioned November 3, 1942 during the construction. The initial training mission was for land based patrol aircraft such as the PV-1 Venturas, PBO Hudsons, and SNB-2 Kansans. NAS Sanford would see a change in its mission during 1943. It would now train carrier based fighters such as the well known F4F, FM-1 and FM-2 Wildcat and F6F Hellcat. During its peak and throughout the overall lifespan of the air station, NAS Sanford would train approximately 50% of all

carrier-based bomber and fighter pilots. The end of the war would put NAS Sanford back into the hands of the local government, which renamed it Sanford Airport. During the time between the close of NAS Sanford in 1946 and its reopening as a NAS once again in 1950, Sanford Airport would act a retirement home, a hospital and a clothing company. Most notable would be that Sanford Airport would play host to the New York Giants baseball training camp.

Throughout the lifespan of...NAS Sanford, it trained approximately 50% of all carrier-based fighter pilots

Jeff Icker News Editor

The return of war in America would call Sanford Airport back into the Navy’s folds once again. With the advances in technology and the Korean War raging on NAS Sanford would be tasked to train carrier-based pilots once more. By the mid 50’s NAS Sanford would receive improvements to the field and would become a Master Jet base for the Douglas A-3 Skywarrior. The A-3 was a nuclear attack bomb-

er and with it brought more security and personnel to NAS Sanford. The end of the Korean conflict would not shut the doors at NAS Sanford. The air station would operate until 1968 when congress would deem its closure necessary. The change in the times would have the 60’s NAS Sanford training reconnaissance pilots. Eight of the nine air groups stationed at NAS Sanford were fleet deployable. This fact would find numerous aircrews downed by the enemy in Vietnam, and several as prisoners of war until 1973. After the closure in 1968, NAS Sanford would fall back to the care of the local Sanford government. It would eventually be known as we know it today: the Orlando-Sanford International Airport. Its current role is to augment Orlando International and Daytona Beach International in providing commercial access. On May 30, 2003 a NAS Sanford memorial park was dedicated just inside the entrance to the airport. A fully restored RA-5C Vigilante stands watch and as memorial for those that have given the ultimate price while stationed at NAS Sanford. Restoration of a PV-1 Ventura for display is currently taking place now.

It’s now been an entire decade since the historic 2004 hurricane season. Millions of dollars worth of destruction plauged the southeast region in just a matter of a few months. Numerous lives were lost, where others were completely destroyed. The southeastern region of the U.S. in particular stood witness to the power of mother nature. Will this year take us back in the past or will it be another quiet season? With the Atlantic hurricane season officially underway begining this past Sunday, scientists are predicting another quiet storm season. The prediction is primarily based on a weather phenomenon known as El Niño. The reason being, when El Niño occurs there is a shift in the trade winds allowing the ocean surface in the Pacific to warm. This not only changes the weather influences for the United States, but worldwide. When an El Niño occurs, the trade winds are slowed or even sometimes reversed in the Pacific. This increases the strength of westerly winds moving across the Atlantic and allows there to be greater wind shear over the Atlantic hurricane region, reducing the possibility of a hurricane forming or strengthening. Although El Niño reduces the chances of hurricanes

forming or strengthening, it does not mean that the United States is “out of the woods yet” or “in the clear”. Hurricanes can, and still make landfall during an El Niño: even a catagory five. While an El Niño occurred in the 1992 Atlantic hurricane season, a category five hurricane made landfall in South Florida. It was the first hurricane of the season, bearing a name that not many people would soon forget: Andrew. Just because an El Niño is undeerway does not mean a major hurricane won’t make landfall; it just means there’s a lesser possibility. However, as every Floridian knows, where theres a possibility, theres probability.

Scientists are predicting another quiet storm season... primarily based on a weather phenomenon known as El Niño

Courtney Byrd Correspondant

The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has released their 2014 Atlantic hurricane prediction outlook. The National Hurricane Center is predicting eight to thirteen named storms, three to six hurricanes between one and two major hurricanesjust slightly below the average outlook. “Don’t be fooled by predictions.

Even one really bad storm can occur in a slow year. Always be ready!” said Senior, Meteorology Major, John von Meyer. So, what do you do when you find out that a hurricane is being forecasted to make landfall in your area? Growing up in South Florida, I’ve been able to witness the incredible power hurricanes harness as well as the destruction they ensue. In the case that a hurricane is predicted to make landfall in your area, make sure you know what precautions to take. One of the first things to do while preparing for a hurricane is to purchase shutters for your home’s windows from your local department store. Take pictures and or video of your house and valuables for your insurance company. Go to your local grocery market and stock up on water and non-perishable food items. Make sure you have flashlights and batteries so that when you do lose power during the storm you still have a light source. Also, purchase a generator so that after the storm passes you can power your lights, refrigerator and electronics. For now, check with your local grocery stores for a hurricane guide and list of essential items you will need. For weather updates on the tropics, check with your local news stations or renowned weather websites. Visit www.ready.gov for more severe weather preparation tips.

Photo Courtesy: www.noaanews.noaa.gov


B3 Aviation Delta leaves Alaska out in the cold

June

Page

3 2014

rd

Dayton Drugovich Correspondent

Once upon a time, there was a world where every country that wanted to be seriously considered had to have its own national flag carrier. If the country was big and powerful it may have had more than one airline to serve its interest domestically and one for travels abroad. If your country was both powerful internationally and large domestically, it usually had more than one airline to handle each type of travel and they were all regulated by the government. But times change, as do as airline government regulations, and in the United States now the free market regulates the airlines domestically and internationally some regulation still does exist. Since the formation of the world’s first international alliance, the Star Alliance in 1993, domestic airlines have been faced with the situation of join an alliance and prosper or stay independent and suffer a slow decline and eventual death. Alaska Airlines, based in Seattle is one of the few remaining rogue airlines left that has refused to commit to one alliance and may now be starting to pay for that decision. Some may not be aware of the showdown that is currently going on in Seattle between Delta and Alaska; Delta has launched an all-out war with Alaska and on Alaska’s home turf no less. Delta wants to take over Seattle much

The Avion

like Vladimir Putin wanted to take over the Crimea. Delta’s eerily similar plan is to use its superior resources to take over a hub once dominated by Alaska Airlines and expect the citizens of Seattle to just

of their hubs in secondary cities like Minneapolis when Chicago, the third largest city in the US, is 300 miles right down the road. Atlanta is their largest hub and the biggest airport in the world, but

accept the new leadership. Delta has even gone so far as to brand one of its aircraft as the “Spirit of Seattle” hoping to maybe make the people of Seattle not notice that the smiling Eskimos have been replaced by Delta Widgets. To understand the roots of this battle, we must go back a few years just after the Delta Northwest merger. It was a good fit with very few routes overlapping. The problem that many saw with the merger was that Delta’s hub positions left them with many

it is the 40th largest city in the US. Salt Lake City is another example of a secondary city in the Rocky Mountain area while Denver is the main city in the region. Delta has tried to correct these issues with moves such as acquiring more slots at JFK/LGA for new routes. But even with this acquisition of slots, question arise since most of the cities served by LGA are smaller cities that Delta Connection flies to and are not served by JFK at all. This would require the residents of those smaller

cities to have to change airports in New York making it an even longer connection and more possibilities for missed connections. Closing of the Memphis hub and scaling back the Cincinnati hub drastically

Photo Courtesy: Brett Snyder / Crankyflier.com

are moves that many analysts found logic in and agree with. There is still one area of the country that they lack a large presence in and that is the west coast. There is a hub in Salt Lake City but it is tiny and will never be able to support large hub operations. LAX but Delta does not even classify it as a hub. Another problem that Delta experiences is Delta’s lack of direct flights to Asia as most of their destinations require a stop in Tokyo then a connection onto your destina-

Cubbing Continued from A1 >>

Zachary Wilkinson/The Avion Newspaper

On the way to the FlyIn we flew low to inspect some property Mike wanted to look at for playing air soft on. I snapped photos for him and spied on some cows in a pasture. We then moved on towards 7FL6, verifying our position with a sectional, something often neglected while in a Cessna 172. We called over the CTAF and announced our landing on runway 5. A short taxi found us tying up at the visitor ramp and making a brief walk to the Downwind café for dinner. Before we left for Deland we had some showers in Central Florida to keep in mind. We watched the radar, and looked west, as the lumbering Cumulus clouds

tion (Most of these routes are shifting to Seattle this summer and will no longer require a connection in Tokyo as they begin to scale down their Tokyo hub). The roots of this showdown lie both in the non-direct flights to Asian cities and their lack of a west coast presence. Delta tried to correct this situation by setting up a codeshare agreement with Alaska. Alaska would pull people into SEA and Delta would take them further on either to Asia or a few cities in Europe. This was to both Alaska and Delta’s advantage as each carrier benefitted. Delta got the big bucks from international flying that Alaska couldn’t do and Alaska got a bump in load factor from the codeshare. Delta began to add some domestic flights that they thought would support some extra capacity, which either Alaska didn’t have the airplanes to do or was utilizing them elsewhere, so there was still no big problem between the two, but this was not enough for them. They have begun adding routes rapidly, 23 at last count, that are in direct competition with Alaska, and I am sure that there will be more to follow. Delta has been simultaneously changing some of their agreements with Alaska’s frequent fliers for the worse that were put there originally to help the codeshare succeed. By doing this they are trying to lure many of the frequent fliers and leisure

travelers away from Alaska. But, the ultimate stab in the back came from Delta when they unveiled the “Spirit of Seattle.” Similar to the Russian land grab of Crimea, Delta was moving into Alaska’s home town and trying to get the locals to make the switch to their airline. Just like a shirtless Putin daring the world to stop him, Delta had stopped trying to battle with Alaska subtly behind the curtain and is trying to take what they want. w The reason I see Delta is putting all this pressure on Alaska is because of their lack of a west coast presence. They are implementing a tactic favored by many large airlines: move into a market, undercut your smaller competitors until they can’t survive anymore (since you are the larger airline you can survive longer because of your other more profitable hubs), and then just buy out the competition. This is what it looks like Delta is planning on doing in Seattle they are putting pressure on Alaska by adding a lot of domestic routes to try and lower the stock price (one of the highest in the airline industry at around $100 per share) for and eventually takeover bid. To Alaska’s credit, they are a very well-run airline with some of the highest profits per seat mile and the people of Seattle are very loyal to their airline. My hope is that Alaska will be able to fight off the Putin that is Delta.

rolled on and away from our destination in Deland. Once the way was clear, we started the engine and taxied back over to Runway 5 to depart Spruce Creek. On the way back to Deland I flew for a while and practiced some slow flight and coordinated turns. As mike flew, I would stop and take some photos of the amazing Summer sun setting before us. The sky is like a masterful canvas prepared for us each evening, and it’s best enjoyed from the seat of a plane. The rivers below us shined gold reflecting the sun like a mirror, and swirls of mist and cloud from the moist ground we’re wafting over the swampland. It doesn’t take long to realize just how much of central Florida is covered in water from up there. It’s views like

the one we both had that day that remind is why we fly in the first place. That freedom is found aloft and the beauty of the land is our prize. Before too much longer the light was starting to fade, so we set back down in Deland and taxied to the fuel farm to fill up. Our flight lasted 1.2 and we used around 6 gallons of fuel. Once back in the ESA hangar, we pushed the Cub back into position and wiped down the wings and control surfaces. You’d be surprised at how much dust and dirt a plane collects in just a short flight. The airfoil’s surface is protected by the boundary layer of the airflow, so event dustcan settle in flight and not be blown off. With the plane polished back to a Cub-Yellow shine, we bid farewell to our flying friend.


Photo Courtesy: http://images.sorttrip.com/


Page

C2

The Avion

Sports FIFA World Cup To Kick-Off In Two Weeks

June

03 2014

Michael Wildes Managing Editor The FIFA World Cup is set to kick off in two weeks in the Arena Corinthian stadium, in the city of Sau Paulo. It was almost 10 years ago that it was announced that the South American nation, which has immortalized itself as the football capital of the world by winning the competition five times already, would host the competition. The competition is set to be the more important sporting event this year, as this time around, it will be the 20th staging, and will be fifty years since Brazil was the host. Once again, 32 teams will go head to head, or toe to toe, for the most coveted trophy on the planet. Come Sunday, July 13th, as it is certain that there will not be empty seats in The Estádio do Maracanã, so also one nation will prevail with the ultimate bragging rights for the next four years. At this point, the odds are in the favor of the host nation, who gave world champions Spain, a whopping 3-0 defeat in the confederations cup last summer. Though Spain is still on top relative to Brazil’s number four standing, it will be hard for the now world champions to defend their trophy. That doesn’t include the fight which Germany, who looked primed to win it four years ago with the most entertaining games but only to have it evade them once again, will put up for the trophy this time around. One thing for sure is that it will be an exciting competition. There are many other interesting things about the competition, but one thing to look out for is the inclusion of goal line technology. The 2010 world was nearly overran with the controversy as a games came down to the fact that it was not clear if the ball had cross the line or not, and in each cases, the losing team was eventually eliminated from the competition. FIFA had no choice but to include this new aspect to the competition, and surely, it will change how the game is played from this point forward. The Avion will be bringing exclusive coverage and reviews over the course of the competition, so stay tuned for more in depth articles.

Photo Courtesy:http://img.fifa.com Collage of offical World Cup posters since 1970

Photo Courtesy: http://gazztoday.com/

Photo Courtesy: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk Photo depicting the official groups and match draws for the 2014 World Cup. Bottom Left: Official Match ball, the Brazuca next to the World Cup Trophy

Photo Courtesy: http://www.soccerbyives.net The current World Champions, the Spainish Football Team

rd



Page

D2

The Avion

Entertainment

June

03 2014

RD

X-Men Doesn’t Amaze But Stays Fun and Fantastic

Matthew Liddell Correspondent

It’s been nearly 15 years since the first X-Men film hit theaters and was credited for being one of the first superhero films to kick of the recent craze. Now in 2014 we have the series’ most ambitious title to date. X-Men: Days of Future Past is the retelling of a classic arch from the comic series in which past and present collide in a battle not just for mutant lives but for humanity as a whole. It’s hard to imagine what the film series can do at this point to keep things exciting and fresh, and that is certainly one of this film’s major problems, but overall it stays light on its feet and deftly takes what’s made the series special for fans and blends it together for a big, final bout before the series is “fixed.” Bryan Singer returns to direct the series after helming X-Men and X2: X-Men United. Since then, the

X-Men franchise has had some… hiccups. X-Men: The Last Stand from director Brett Ratner and X-Men Origins: Wolverine are universally considered to be disastrous, while X-Men: First Class and The Wolverine had good to mixed reactions. Singer works off a screenplay by Simon Kinberg and a story by Kinberg and duo Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn, who both worked on First Class. The result is a blend between the historic angle of First Class and the more brooding, leather-obsessed world of the original films. Considering my personal favorite X-Men so far was First Class, it was nice to see them bring things back to that setting once again. Years into the future, the U.S. government has launched a program known as the Sentinels: a race of giant robots with the ability to target mutants and mimic their powers. The world of the future is dark and stormy, with people walking through military

checkpoints and Sentinels watching at every turn. It’s something like a mix of Terminator and the Holocaust, which makes sense considering this franchise’s use of that event for its character Magneto. The remaining X-Men have decided that the only way to stop this devastation is to send one of their own back in time and undo everything that happened up to this point. So yeah, the filmmakers are just trying to get rid of The Last Stand, which sounds good to any fan. Wolverine (Hugh Jackman in probably his least volatile portrayal of the character) ends up being the one sent back, and he has to unite the younger, 1973 versions of Professor Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender) in order to prevent a fervor that leads to the Sentinels’ creation. The film is pretty breathless in pacing and is packed with a few well-shot and well-choreographed set pieces, most notably a prison break of the Pentagon by

Quicksilver (Evan Peters), a mutant with super speed abilities. There’s still quite an overload of CG action, and it causes the final third of the movie to feel a bit lacking, but the majority of the movie is tight and concise. The major issues with the movie comes down to its intentions, some obvious and others not so much. As fun as the scene with the hero Quicksilver is, he is in the film briefly and leaves for no apparent reason. It’s obvious that he was an afterthought and was put in just to get to the character first, since The Avengers series will be using him next year thanks to a rights loophole. And while the attempt to right the wrongs of the not-so-good X-Men movies is appreciated, it feels unnecessary given how convoluted and haphazard the continuity of the series already is. I personally don’t care too much about those continuity issues, considering that these movies don’t mean much to me in the

first place, but considering the lengths the writers and filmmakers go in this movie to tie things together

and make it all coherent, it makes the little things that don’t line up that much more confounding.

Scares are Unfortunately Absent in Oculus Matthew Liddell Correspondent So far, Oculus has received a fair amount of praise for being a horror movie that manages to add something fresh to a tired formula and keep up the terror in large amounts. While I will admit that there are many aspects to the film that are interesting and admirable considering the stagnant state of the horror genre, the film just doesn’t come together due to a lack of focus in story or scares, and ultimately ends up being a bit of a bore. Oculus comes from writer/director/editor Mike Flanagan, and this is his first film to reach a wider audience after the film gathered attention from last year’s Toronto International Film Festival. He keeps the premise simple enough, but with some interesting narrative twists: a haunted mirror has

been sucking the life out of people for nearly 400 years, and its latest owners are a wealthy family in the suburbs sometime in the early 2000s. A horrific accident occurred once the mirror took hold of the house’s inhabitants and drove them to insanity, leaving two orphaned children behind. But 11 years later, the brother and sister (played by Brenton Thwaites and Karen Gillan, respectively) have returned to destroy the mirror and prove its evil through an elaborate plot to catch it on video as it does its evil biddings throughout the home. The story is treated as two separate timelines, with the whole family’s story being intercut with the grown-up children’s schemes, finding ways to parallel the intensity and scares as things start to go awry. While I found this method of story-telling to end up sucking some of the tension

out of most aspects of the film, it is an interesting way to subvert certain tropes of a typical haunted house story. The family’s story would have played out as a prologue or a more minor aspect in any another film, but in Oculus, it plays out with the same importance and stakes as the present-day story. This really helps especially considering that the younger versions of the brother and sister (Garret Ryan and Annalise Basso) are quite good at playing into the helplessness of a child in this situation, but also making it mostly believable when they attempt to make a stand in the first storyline. The reason why most of this doesn’t quite fit together to make a truly scary movie is that it shows its hand a little too early, and by building up the horrific events of the past in a way that comes off as awkward.

Not a single conversation between the adult siblings seems to end without a variation of the phrase, “… well, not since… the incident.” Most of the dialogue feels too formulated to drive the story forward, and having the two stories intercut with each other often leaves the viewer with little sense of mystery of the unknown. But even then, there are so many questions left about how the mirror works its evil and why it does so in the way it does. Is the mirror solely interested in a food source? Does it want to toy with its victims first? These questions should have some weight behind them, making the audience feel the same dread that its victims do, but because of all the rules that are set up early on, it leaves the viewer asking questions when they should just be letting the horror take them over. The biggest issue is just that the film really has a

difficult time trying to muster up a tense environment. Director Flanagan tries to set up that just about anything can happen in a home that is under the sinister grasp of the antique mirror, but the moments where things start to unravel feel more cheap than mysterious. The mirror uses illusions and mind tricks to prey on the sibling team, leaving them to wonder if what they are seeing is real or fake, but most of the tricks lose tension after they’ve been proven to be fabricated. There’s no problem at all with mind games in a horror movie, but it’s unfortunate when most of the film is quite placid, with sudden bursts of interesting terror and violent images, only to find out seconds later that

it didn’t really happen. The intension that Flanagan seems to be going for is to show just how far these two’s minds can go before they completely shatter, but it never feels like they’re losing their minds as much as they are just having small moments of being scared. The movie keeps you on your toes not out of intensity but out if hope that something real and interesting will happen, which usually never ends up being the case. While Oculus has some good performances and a fairly unique take on the kind of story that it tackles, it ultimately becomes muddled to the point of losing all its terror. It’s not an outright terrible movie, but just a safe and boring one.


Comics and Games


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.