Brandon Gaines, ASCI 202

The ignition system plays a vital role in the operations of an aircraft powered by a reciprocating engine. At the heart of the ignition system is the magneto.   The magneto has been used successfully since early machines, and the first patent for one was issued in 1914  (Wild & Kroes, 2013) .  Although modern engines on automobiles do not use a magneto due to being seen as outdated technology, they are still the preferred ignition system in aircraft due to the extreme reliability, general ruggedness, and proven technology  (Crane, 2018) . As the magneto is the ignition system’s heart, without a functioning magneto, an aircraft would fail.   Without the magneto producing a spark, fuel would not be able to ignite; without fuel igniting, no power would be created; without power, the aircraft is not going anywhere (except down if it’s in the air).  A failure of the magneto can be catastrophic for the airplane  (Crane, 2018) . Luckily straight...

    Wind shear: It can literally blow you out of the sky.   This deadly effect is a drastic change in wind speed and direction over a relatively short distance.   Of these, one of the most dangerous types of wind shear is the microburst.     A Microburst is a downward burst of wind.    Although microbursts are most frequent with severe thunderstorms, even light thunderstorms or even clouds with isolated showers can produce a microburst  (Stiver, 2017) .   The most common cause of microburst is downward pressure produced by cooling due to evaporation within a cloud  (National Civil Aviation Agency - Brazil, n.d.) . Microbursts are most dangerous on landing and taking off, as they can rapidly change your altitude.     Many aircraft have been claimed to microburst throughout the years.  Among the most notable of them and heavily researched is Delta Airlines flight 191 tha...

       In his writing Nicomachean Ethics, the philosopher Aristotle stated, “Each person judges nobly the things he knows, and of these he is a good judge”  (Aristotle, 340bc) . As such, I think any conversation about ethics should begin with a conversation about training. Without proper training and knowledge, any aviation professional lacks the basic requirements to be able to make ethical decisions.  Only when training has been obtained can proper ethics be applied.      The Merriam-Webster Dictionary contains two definitions for ethics.  This blog will focus on the first definition, which states, “A discipline dealing with good and evil and with moral duty”  (Merriam-Webster, Inc., 2019) .        When we examine the first part, “A discipline dealing with good and evil,” we see that ethics can be good or bad.  Good ethics would be an aviation professional deciding to perform the task correctly and fo...