Health problems on board

• Learn some healthy tips specific to cabin crew while learning the terminology of illnesses cabin crew may face
• Have fun!

After health professionals, cabin crew must rate as one of the professions most exposed to communicable illnesses while on the job and, unlike doctors and nurses, there’s not much in the way of protection on hand, and no escape route!  Add to that the long, intensive hours worked and jet lag, how can flight attendants possibly boost their immunity and minimise sick days?

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Religions and Cultural Sensitivity

Religions and Cultural Sensitivity

A separate and explicit training of different religions and cultures is an essential part of the overall training for all airport officials and crew members and the reason for this is quite apparent. Airline staff and crew come across people from various nationalities and cultures and each of these have their own unique practices and requirements.  While the Jews may need kosher meals, some Hindus may want completely vegetarian fare. And food is not the only sensitivity that we are talking about.

Educating the airline crews about different religions and cultures is imperative for them to have a better understanding of how specific religions and cultures function. The need for the same is evident from an incident with a US Airways flight in Minneapolis where six Muslim Imams were ejected by authorities because passengers and crew found their prayer rituals unnerving.

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The Romance of Aviation

The romance of aviation

Aim

• Practice English skills in an aviation context
• Discuss the idea of the romance of aviation and practice listening skills
• Have fun!

Once, flying was about brave feats and privilege, and it carried an air of glamour and mystique. In the early days of both airplanes and cinema, wealthy aviators dated Hollywood starlets, and Hollywood continues to romanticise flying with films that glamorise the life of pilots, crew and even military aviators.  But is the aviator/flight attendant lifestyle as romantic as it looks?

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The story of the flight attendant

The story of a flight attendant

Aim

• Practice English skills in an aviation context
• Test your reading skills (level: easy)
• Have fun!

There’s a certain mystique about flight attendants, isn’t there? Watch heads turn as cabin crew walk by.  They’re elegantly uniformed, immaculately turned out, on their way to somewhere far away and seemingly having the time of their lives.  You can almost hear everyone wondering, ‘What’s it like for them?’

The average person is usually quite curious about what life is really like for flight attendants, what it feels like to wear that uniform, what really goes on among cabin crew, how many languages the flight attendant can converse in and how glamorous the lifestyle really is.

Click here to receive the REAL definition of a flight attendant!

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Ash Clouds

[audio:http://aviationenglishblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/14ashclouds.mp3|titles=Ash Clouds]TOPIC: Ash Clouds

Exercise #1: Read about the dangers of flying through ash clouds and how to handle such a situation.

This is an originally produced article and audio by Global Aviation English

In April 2010, Europe's skies remained largely closed for several days after a mass of volcanic ash which originated from Iceland blanketed the continent causing crippling flight delays. Due to the disruptions to air traffic, a major portion of 22,000 scheduled flights destined to take off from locations throughout Europe were cancelled. In fact, only 6,000 departed during the near weeklong event. The International Air Transport Association estimated the air traffic interruptions caused approximately $200 million in damage a day. Contrary to popular belief, flying through ash will not completely destroy an aircraft in seconds, but the abrasive particles will certainly cause great exterior and electrical damage to airplanes flying through the clouds over a very short period time.

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Parts inside the Aircraft

Parts inside the Aircraft

Flying can be an exciting as well as a jumpy and stressful experience for those flying for the first time. While you may be excited about travelling by air, there is also this lurking fear that you may not know what to do. Knowing what to expect as you enter the cabin can be reassuring.

When passengers enter the aircraft they are seated in what is called the cabin area. This area is divided into different sections for business and economy class passengers. The first row and the emergency exit rows are generally preferred by tall people who need more leg room. Front rows are also preferred by those who do not want a bumpy ride since the movement of the aircraft is exaggerated in the rear rows.

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History of Aviation

[audio:http://aviationenglishblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/09historyofaviation.mp3|titles=The History of Aviation]

TOPIC: History of Aviation

GOAL: To learn about the origins of manned flight and its fascinating history

Level: Easy

Exercise #1: Read about the history of aviation and then proceed to Exercise #2

While many aviation professionals and enthusiasts recognize the beginnings of manned flight with the Wright Brothers or Santos Dumont, its origins really stretch well before those dates in aeronautical history. In fact, famous inventors such as Leonardo da Vinci, John Stringfellow and Lawrence Hargrave had conjured up ideas of how to get some of the strangest machines to fly long before the Wright brothers' famous first flight at Kitty Hawk.

The kite was the first form of an aircraft believed to have been first designed in the 5th century BC. Roger Bacon, an English monk, performed studies later on in the 13th century which gave him the idea that air could support a craft just like water supports boats. In the 16th century, Leonardo da Vinci studied birds’ flight and later produced the airscrew and the parachute. The airscrew, leading to the propeller later on and the parachute were tremendously important contributions to aviation. He envisioned three different types of heavier-than-air craft; the helicopter, glider and ornithopter (a machine with mechanical wings which flaps to mimic a bird).

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The Good Old B52: America’s Veteran Bomber

The Good Old B52: America’s Veteran Bomber

Despite more sophisticated aircrafts, the B52 jet powered strategic bomber has been in active service since 1955. While much of it is attributed to the USAF teams that have maintained the aircraft, the main reason has been superior performance at sub supersonic speeds and relatively low operating costs. The B52 is slated to be in active service until 2040, 85 years since its commissioning.

Even before the production of B-36 started, the requirement for a bomber with a larger operational radius and greater speed was issued. The B52 was primarily meant for deterrent missions during the cold war era and designed as a high-level nuclear bomber that could take on the Soviet Union. That however became difficult with the arrival of SAM missiles. That was when B52 took on the role of a low-level bomber.

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Jet lag – Cause and Management

[audio:http://aviationenglishblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/05jetlag.mp3|titles=Jet lag – Causes and Management]Jet lag – Cause and Management

Also called desynchronosis, jet lag is a medical condition that occurs as a result of air travel across countries in different time zones in a short period of time. This is different from air sickness which is nausea experienced by some people every time they travel by air.

Some of the common symptoms of jet lag include headache, fatigue, insomnia, disrupted sleep pattern, irritability and digestive trouble.

The body can tell the time of the day with the help of specific signals that are received by the senses. For example, the optic nerve in the eyes receives information about the amount of light or darkness outside and transmits this to the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that controls various bodily functions like temperature, hunger, thirst and sleep as well.

Grammar point: present continuous tense

Grammar point: present continuous tense

Aim

• Practice English skills in an aviation context
• Practice present continuous in dialogue form