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

Low Cost vs. Conventional Airlines

[audio:http://aviationenglishblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/20lowcost.mp3|titles=Low cost v Conventional Airlines]

Low Cost vs. Conventional Airlines

Level: Easy

Read the text about conventional and low-cost carriers and match the words in the left column with the words in the right column:

1. 1. Low-cost carriers seem to be seriously involved in the new trend in the US airline industry’s domestic market. Both, smaller no-frills carriers (e.g. Allegiant, Frontier and Virgin America) and bigger budget airlines (e.g. JetBlue and Southwest), have grown rapidly over the last decade and are now known to be controlling 30% of the domestic travel market as compared to legacy carriers. As more Americans are changing their habits and choosing discount airlines for domestic flights, conventional airlines are cutting flights, shrinking hubs and even abandoning some destinations. The recent economic downturn has only contributed to this reshuffling, taking a toll on traditional airlines.
   2. While low fairs are obviously appealing, they are no longer a major selling point. What does seem to attract passengers is the major shift in how air travel is perceived. Value is given to non-complex operations and a more positive attitude.

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5 Steps to Becoming a Pilot

Think you don't have the money or the time to learn to fly? Training to be a pilot can mean expensive instruction fees, high gas prices and maintenance charges, and it can require many hours of flight time. But becoming a pilot doesn't have to be out of reach. By planning ahead and making strategic decisions, anyone can become a licensed pilot. Just follow these steps:

1. Research, research, research Many aspects of the student pilot process require you to do your homework, and with all of the information available on the internet there is no excuse for you to spend a penny more than you have to. By accessing free pilot resources online (at FAA.org, for example) you will save on the cost of expensive printed materials. And if you do enough studying on your own you may not need to pay for ground school to pass the pilot's test.

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Airline Cabin & Air Quality

TOPIC: Airline Cabin & Air Quality

GOAL: To learn about the quality of airline cabin air and water systems

Level: Medium

Exercise #1: Read about airline cabin air and water quality then proceed to Exercise #2

It wasn’t that long ago when passengers were permitted to smoke on board commercial flights. You might remember the imaginary ‘boundary’ that separated the smoking and non-smoking sections of the cabin. During the days of in-flight smoking, air recirculation filters removed almost all tobacco smoke particles from the cabin. Now that smoking is banned, do today’s cabins offer the freshest and healthiest environment possible? Not so, at least according to a number of recent newspaper articles, which have also raised public concerns regarding the cleanliness of onboard water systems.

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In-flight medical problems and emergencies

Green Airlines (Environmentally friendly Airlines)

I. Read the small paragraph about aviation industry giants operating in environmentally responsible ways and pick out words in bold that have the same meaning as the following:

1. a. forward-thinking
2. b. recycling policies
3. c. sustainable aircraft
4. d. environmentally conscious
5. e. emissions trading
6. f. a global economic downturn
7. g. zero-emission
8. h. recycling program

It seems as though the recent bad economics of the airline business and the 1.global economic recession have contributed to more 2.environmentally responsible behavior and have caused some industry associations, airports and major airlines to be more 3.progressive and concerned about going green both, in the air and on the ground.

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The Difference Between Its and It’s

TOPIC: The difference between Its and It’s

GOAL: To learn about the proper use of Its and It’s

Level: Difficult

Exercise #1: Read about the use of Its and It’s and then proceed to Exercise #2

There is often confusion between its and it's.  If you delve deeper into this issue, you will see that there is good reason for the confusion.  In spelling, the only difference between “its” and “it’s” is the apostrophe. In meaning the differences are much more significant. However, if you just want to know what is right, the basic rule is very simple:

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