Published by Tom Thinnes on Tue, Jan 19, 2016
Chris Desmond
Aviation Flight Science
A Bachelors Degree in Aviation is a degree like no other, for many reasons beyond the obvious fact that we can attain the coolest jobs out there, by working in aviation. However like many things, being a pilot, aircraft mechanic, or airline dispatcher requires a lot of skill sets that many people don’t have a firm grasp on. Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and the ability to work under pressure are just a few of the many skill sets possessed by aviation professionals across the world. However, this article is only going to focus on the first one, organization, a skill that is paramount to high school seniors, and college freshman getting used to their first semester totally on their own.
At this point in the year, many high school seniors are going through the process of applying for colleges, visiting colleges, and staying up late on Friday nights studying, just to get up early Saturday morning to take an ACT or SAT. For most seniors, this is the best year of high school. However, they can almost always look back after graduation and notice a few things that they could have done better, and organizing their time better usually falls towards the top of that list. Organization comes in many forms, whether it be planning out your schedule to have time for studying or work, or making sure that all of your class work and notes are not scattered all over your room, being organized will help you immensely in the long run. Your teachers will drill that concept into your mind your entire year, and yes it will get repetitive, but yes it is also some of the best advice you will receive from your four years in high school. This is especially true once you hit your first year getting acclimated for college.
As a freshman you are essentially thrown into a whole new environment, where, if you are from home or out of state you may not know nobody and are expected to juggle everything at once while trying to stay calm. Which is essentially not possible, between long classes, labs, the homework associated with those classes, and the exams. Throw on top of that, any job you may have, flight training if you are a flight science major, which also involves studying for the written tests, and finally trying to some how manage to have a social life. The saying is true, “Your options are good grades, a social life, and sleep, choose two.” Which leads me to the next topic.
Why is it important to be organized in the cockpit? Well that actually has an easier answer than one may think, being the pilot carries a lot of responsibility to ensure the safety of the crew and passengers, as well as those on the ground. Organization in the cockpit depends on many things, including phase of flight, crew, and workload. When in the situation of a two-person crew, organization would include designating each person’s responsibilities prior to any workload being established, and once there is a workload making sure that you have a positive exchange of duties. Single pilot operations differ than a crew type scenario, the main reason, being that as the single pilot all the responsibilities of a crew. Staying organized is imperative to making a safe flight, especially when it comes to the critical phases of flight it is important to make sure that there isn’t any unnecessary distractions that could be prevented.
All in all, organization is key, no matter what you are doing, whether it be flying or enjoying the rest of your time, the more organized you are the less stressed you will be. Here at Western, especially in the flight department you are taught that safety is key, and organization is safety.