Al haber leído las recientes noticias de la compra de 40+ A320 y A320Neo por parte de Volaris, la compra de 15+5 Sukhoi Superjet y los demás A320s por parte de Interjet; las demás entregas de 737s para VivaAerobús que tendrá en un futuro y los 200-300 pilotos que Aeroméxico planea contratar del 2012 al 2013; sumándole las jubilaciones durante ese tiempo: ¿Habrá escasez de pilotos o se podrá cubrir la demanda con el número de pilotos comerciales que salen de las escuelas de vuelo?
¿Las escuelas de vuelo en México tendrán los suficientes recursos y nivel de capacitación para formar la cantidad de pilotos comerciales que se requerirán en los próximos años?
Puede que un buen porcentaje de esos pilotos se forme en Estados Unidos o se retire de la FAM, como sucede actualmente, pero parece que las escuelas de vuelo no tienen la suficiente infraestructura (flota, instructores, material de estudio y vuelo) para darles el nivel de capacitación que se requiere para volar en una aerolínea. ¿Podrán brindarles una buena capacitación sin abusar económicamente del alumno como se hace comúnmente? Pocos aviones disponibles para los alumnos y en malas condiciones, pocos instructores profesionales, recursos y material de estudio inexistente o difícil de obtener. Además, no hay organizaciones que apoyen pedagógica y económicamente al piloto estudiante.
La otra parte de la pregunta es la infraestructura aeroportuaria y servicios de navegación, además de su personal. ¿México está preparado para un crecimiento (boom) en el sector de transporte aeronáutico de esa magnitud?
Puede que se necesiten más aeropuertos en el país que satisfagan las necesidades de la aviación comercial, ejecutiva y privada. Hace falta una política aeronáutica que facilite el crecimiento del mercado y sector aeronáutico del país; que eleve los estándares y haga más eficiente la capacitación y servicios de información y control para la navegación.
Es posible que la aviación en México se estanque debido a la mala planeación y desarrollo en décadas anteriores en cuanto a infraestructura aeronáutica. Esperemos que la nueva política aeronáutica impulse el desarrollo y que la administración del sexenio entrante se preocupe por la industria aeronáutica, la cual es primordial para el turismo y desarrollo social y económico del país.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Friday, December 16, 2011
The Project
Since I returned from Germany, I've been thinking about a way to change the current situation of the aviation culture in Mexico.
It isn't going to be by joining an aviation organization or by asking the government to change or reform aviation rules and standards. That can always help, of course, but there has to be a better way to change everything. That is, as I've always thought and said, with education. You have to solve something from the bottom of the problem. The problem in mexican aviation is the poor training, poor knowledge and the lack of student pilot and training resources. When that changes, there will be changes. Sounds obvious, doesn't it? It's a slow process, but it has to start somewhere, sometime.
Let me tell you a story. When I started flight training in Guadalajara, the flight school told me I had to buy the supplies from them. They were: The Jeppesen Student Flight Bag, the Jeppesen Private Pilot Textbook, a navigation plotter, a 1970s World Aeronautical Chart and a E6-B Flight Computer. I told them I was going to buy everything directly from the Jeppesen pilot store. Besides, If I had bought those things in Mexico, it would have costed as twice as much. You can't buy mexican-made supplies. Simply because there aren't any.
So, that's one of the problems I want to address: The lack of student pilot resources. With these resources you gain more knowledge (of how training must be done, the mexican aviation structure, regulations, etc) and help with being more proficient in the practical part of flight training. That way you change things from the beginning. From education. If the aeronautical personnel is well trained and qualified at the educational institutions, you get the foundation of a great aviation culture.
What I've done so far is writing the chapters for a pilot's textbook. I won't get into details, but it's something that hasn't been done in 40 years. I just finished designing a pilot's logbook that is more complex, has more types of entries and content than the one used and sold in Mexico. I think if it's used nationwide, it might help reduce the false entries the majority of pilots are known to do. It's not a problem of the logbook design used today, of course, but the culture and education itself.
I'm now thinking if I should better start writing a basic student pilot's flight manual to be used during the practical part of the private pilot training, instead of a basic to advanced aeronautical knowledge textbook. The student pilot's manual should contain basic information like an introduction, a bit of aerodynamics and aircraft systems, how to get weather information for any flight, preflight actions, flight operations and maneuvers, aircraft performance, documentation and manuals, air transit and basic meteorology and navigation.
Anything that I decide to write and do will help the cause. Perhaps in the future I could plan a Startup company. Everything can be added to the project that will help improving mexican aviation in general.
It isn't going to be by joining an aviation organization or by asking the government to change or reform aviation rules and standards. That can always help, of course, but there has to be a better way to change everything. That is, as I've always thought and said, with education. You have to solve something from the bottom of the problem. The problem in mexican aviation is the poor training, poor knowledge and the lack of student pilot and training resources. When that changes, there will be changes. Sounds obvious, doesn't it? It's a slow process, but it has to start somewhere, sometime.
Let me tell you a story. When I started flight training in Guadalajara, the flight school told me I had to buy the supplies from them. They were: The Jeppesen Student Flight Bag, the Jeppesen Private Pilot Textbook, a navigation plotter, a 1970s World Aeronautical Chart and a E6-B Flight Computer. I told them I was going to buy everything directly from the Jeppesen pilot store. Besides, If I had bought those things in Mexico, it would have costed as twice as much. You can't buy mexican-made supplies. Simply because there aren't any.
So, that's one of the problems I want to address: The lack of student pilot resources. With these resources you gain more knowledge (of how training must be done, the mexican aviation structure, regulations, etc) and help with being more proficient in the practical part of flight training. That way you change things from the beginning. From education. If the aeronautical personnel is well trained and qualified at the educational institutions, you get the foundation of a great aviation culture.
What I've done so far is writing the chapters for a pilot's textbook. I won't get into details, but it's something that hasn't been done in 40 years. I just finished designing a pilot's logbook that is more complex, has more types of entries and content than the one used and sold in Mexico. I think if it's used nationwide, it might help reduce the false entries the majority of pilots are known to do. It's not a problem of the logbook design used today, of course, but the culture and education itself.
I'm now thinking if I should better start writing a basic student pilot's flight manual to be used during the practical part of the private pilot training, instead of a basic to advanced aeronautical knowledge textbook. The student pilot's manual should contain basic information like an introduction, a bit of aerodynamics and aircraft systems, how to get weather information for any flight, preflight actions, flight operations and maneuvers, aircraft performance, documentation and manuals, air transit and basic meteorology and navigation.
Anything that I decide to write and do will help the cause. Perhaps in the future I could plan a Startup company. Everything can be added to the project that will help improving mexican aviation in general.
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