Dodd's Student Journal Daytona Beach, Florida Campus Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Name: Dodd Bailey Allen Jr.

Major: Aeronautical Science (Airline Pilot)
Minor: Aviation Weather

Age: 21

Hometown: Dallas, TX

Career Goals: To become a captain for a major airline.

Activities: Part time flight instructor at Embry-Riddle
Team Safety Leader

Why I chose Embry-Riddle: I wanted to go to a school that would train me to be the best and safest pilot I could be. The discipline and professionalism Embry-Riddle provides for their students has allowed me to achieve this goal.

May

May 1, 2009

Hello Everyone! Well, this is it. I am officially done with classes. WHEW! It feels so great!

The past two weeks were spent finishing up my classes and the CRJ simulator course. I only had one final and it was in my History class. It was over a lot of material, but it wasn't too hard after all. Other than that, the past two weeks were primarily spent in the CRJ simulator. What an experience! The course really does prepare you to fly a true jet aircraft in the real world environment. When I was done, my partner and I were able to fly the CRJ completely by ourselves from one airport to another! What a rewarding experience.

Well, this is it. I walk across the stage on May 5th and I will officially be in the real world. I will be returning home on the 7th of May to see the family for the summer. After that, we'll see where the world takes me. It was a pleasure sharing my experiences with all of you guys for the past year. Thanks for listening and good luck to you all!

April

April 19, 2009

Hello everyone! I'm on the final stretch of my college career. Two weeks and I will officially be a college graduate. Real world here I come!

The last two weeks have been extremely hectic. I had four tests last week; however, I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Today I had my first simulator for the CRJ course. It was so much fun! My simulator partner and I put together everything we learned in the CRJ ground school and used it to fly the simulator with perfection. It was amazing to see how all of the studying pays off. Flying this 50 passenger jet isn't much different than flying a smaller propeller driven aircraft. The only difference is that there are more switches and it goes A LOT faster! What I am trying to say is if you study and know the aircraft inside and out, you can fly anything. From a piper cub to a Boeing 777, they all fly on the same principle. Pull back on the yoke and the ground gets smaller, push forward on the yoke and the ground gets bigger.

Other than the simulator course, I'm pretty much just winding down for the semester. My classes are coming to a close and I'm beginning to pack for home. I have a job interview at a local flight school when I return to Dallas, Texas for the summer. I can't wait!

April 6, 2009

Hello everyone! Wow, what a crazy past few weeks. I have never been busier! The CRJ simulator course is so much fun but so much work! Last week we started going to class everyday at 7 a.m. We are now learning everything there is to know about actually flying a jet aircraft. It is so much fun putting everything you have learned into one class. The amazing thing is that I remember a lot from all of my previous aeronautics classes. My previous teachers really did a great job teaching the information. I have one and a half more weeks of the CRJ ground lab, and then I begin my simulator sessions. I will keep you updated.

The next few weeks are going to be extremely intense! I have two papers and three tests next week alone. I'm definitely going to be a busy bee, but it will all be worth it in the end. I can't wait to graduate in less than a month! I am so extremely excited. I am going home this summer to see the family and hopefully find a flight instructing job back in Texas. Then I am going to apply as a full-time instructor here at Embry-Riddle for the fall semester. I hope I get accepted! My goal is to teach here for the next 3 years and get my Master's in business. Even though I have always wanted to be a pilot, I want a good backup plan. Just in case I can't fly because of a medical issue; I want to be able to go somewhere else with my career.

Finally, remember the internship I interviewed for at Southwest? Well I got up early a few Wednesday's back and flew to Dallas, TX for an interview with their safety team. I entered their amazing building, got fingerprinted, and toured the facility. It was so neat to see just how friendly everyone was at Southwest. After the tour, I was called in for my interview. There were four people interviewing me and it was extremely relaxed. The interview lasted about 40 minutes long and they pretty much just asked me about my self. What were my favorite classes, interests, and job experience. Finally, they asked me a few basic technical questions about safety. It was an extremely worthwhile experience. Unfortunately, I didn't get the internship because I was pursuing an Aeronautical Science degree and they were looking for someone with a safety major. Despite that fact, I still walked away from the interview with experience and knowledge. It is always important to apply and interview for as many opportunities as possible. Even if you don't get the job, the experience is priceless.

Well, I hope everyone continues to have a wonderful semester. I'm off to bed. I have a long week ahead of me.

March

March 23, 2009

Hello everyone! I hope everyone had a wonderful spring break!

Whew! What a long two weeks. My simulator class, FA 420, started two weeks ago. It is amazing, but a lot of work. I am learning everything there is to know about the CRJ-200 aircraft; how it works, why it works, and how to fly it. I love learning the technical side of a jet aircraft; however, it definitely takes up a lot of your time. I had my first test last Monday and I got 91! It was the highest grade in the class; however I studied 12 hours for it. My second test was this morning and I got a 95 after studying for 15 hours. Let's just say, the last two weeks I have been nose deep in an aircraft manual. But, even though it sounds painful, it actually isn't. When you enjoy learning something, it goes by extremely fast. I would much rather study an aircraft systems book than a history book. I find it much more fascinating. Over the next few weeks, I will be getting into the good stuff, especially learning just how to fly this incredible aircraft. I'll keep you updated on my progress.

Now on the topic of spring break. That is where the location of Embry-Riddle is extremely awesome! Why leave when spring break comes to you? I just chilled at the beach most of the week and then got caught up on all of my homework. It was a well needed break.

Other than that, I have just been flying across Florida with my students, getting ready to graduate, and enjoying my last 5 weeks as a student. I hope everyone has a great week! I'm off to class.

March 8, 2009

Hello everyone! I can’t believe it is already March. In less than two months, I graduate from college. That is incredibly hard to believe. I am extremely excited to see what the future brings as I step foot into the real world.

The past few weeks have been extremely exciting and busy at the same time. The first topic of discussion is my weather class. Remember the long weather project I mentioned in my last journal entry? Well, my seven member group and I presented our findings last week to the class. It is amazing just how different weather can be in another country. We studied the Middle East and determined how weather affects aircraft operations. Our presentation was 2 hours long and consisted of 170 power point slides. Whew, that was a long one. But, the good news is that we learned a lot about international weather.

Another exciting thing I experienced over the past few weeks came about when I decided to apply for another internship. I did an internship last summer as many of you may already know. It was the best summer of my life! Because of that fact, I am trying to get one more internship this summer before I step foot into the real world. Last summer, I worked in the safety department at Continental Airlines. This was the first time I have ever worked with safety information. I loved it. Because of this fact, I decided to apply for a paid safety internship with Southwest Airlines this summer. Southwest is based in my home town of Dallas, Texas, therefore this would be a perfect opportunity. I would be able to live at home and still have the time of my life. I am flying to Dallas this Wednesday for an interview, wish me luck!

Finally, I had an extremely awesome week with my flight students. First off, my private pilot student flew by himself last Friday for the first time. This was a truly amazing experience for the both of us. We flew to New Smyrna Airport early Friday morning. When it was time for him to solo, I went up into the control tower and watched my student fly an airplane completely by himself. I was extremely proud of him! Taking a student from not knowing anything about flying, to flying an airplane completely by himself is the best feeling in the world. Secondly, yesterday, my instrument student passed his checkride on his first try! He was a Korean student I have been working with since the beginning of last semester. Now he is fully certified to fly in the clouds! I love my job!

Spring break is coming up!!! I’m going to stay in Daytona and catch up on some of my projects and chill at the beach. I hope everyone has a nice and relaxing break. Time to finish up my homework for the evening.

February

February 22, 2009

Hello everyone. I hope you all had a wonderful long Presidents' Day weekend. I sure did! I decided to take advantage of the long weekend and go up to New York City to visit my girlfriend for Valentine's Day. What a fun and exciting time! I have actually never been to New York before so I really enjoyed myself. We saw the Statue of Liberty, went to the top of the Empire State Building, walked through Central Park, and ate amazing food. It was a well-deserved vacation.

Now that I'm back to the grindstone, classes have been progressing rather smoothly. Last week was pretty calm; however, the upcoming week is gearing right back up again. I have my first US History test on Monday. I'm really curious about how that one will go. I also have a weather project that will be due in a few weeks. The teacher divided us up into groups of eight. Each group will explain the weather phenomenon that occurs in a certain region and how it affects travel. My group gets the opportunity to research and explain the weather in the Middle East. This project should be pretty interesting. I'll keep everyone updated as my research progresses.

This weekend is Parent's Weekend in the College of Aviation. During Parent's Weekend, the students get the opportunity to give their parents a first-hand look at what it's like to be a student here at Embry-Riddle. The parents get to experience personal tours, attend classes, and even observe flights. It is truly an exciting time, especially for the current freshmen. I even took my student's little brother and sister flying with us during our training flight yesterday. The look on the little girl's face as we took off was priceless. Times like these make me realize how lucky I am to have such a rewarding and exciting career.

I hope everyone has a wonderful February, well, what's left of it at least. I'm off to a flight instructor get together. Remember; don't hesitate to email me if you have any questions.

Dodd

February 9, 2009

Hello! I hope everyone had a wonderful January, I sure did! January was a good relaxing month for me. However, February is going to be extremely busy. It started off last week with two big tests, followed by a paper that is due today. Whew! I'm finally starting to feel the pressures of this semester.

My first test last week was in my humanities class. It went extremely well! When I first started studying I was not interested at all. I mean, how can a Humanities class be interesting? But, as I studied, I realized that the information was extremely interesting and useful. I learned how the advancement of technology affects different jobs, cultures, and even sports! The test consisted of multiple choice questions, as well as an essay at the end. I was glad it was over, however, I actually enjoyed studying and learning all about the advancement of technology. That is the beauty of Embry-Riddle. Even though I am taking a humanities class, it still relates to aviation.

My second test was in my weather for aircrews class. I love weather! For this test, the professor gave us a bunch of weather information and an international flight. She asked a bunch of application questions on how the weather affected the route of flight. She also had us predict the weather over Italy using only a weather depiction chart, a chart only giving you the basics of the atmospheric weather patterns. What a learning experience! I'll be able to take all of this information I learned for this test and enlighten my flight students on the wonderful world of weather. I can't wait!

Finally, I just finished my history paper that is due today. My assignment was to write a five page paper on a book we read during the month of January. The Jungle was a book about a family that moved to Chicago to experience the American dream. However, what they experienced was a life of death and defeat in the filthy meat packing town of Packingtown. It was an interesting book depicting just how life was for immigrants in the United States.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's Day this weekend! I'm off to class. Again, if you ever have any questions about Aeronautical Science or the flight program, feel free to email me at allen624@erau.edu.

January

January 25, 2009

Hello! Well I just got back from an amazing day of flying. I went flying today with one of my private pilot students. I took him north to a small airport to practice landings. We flew up there at 10:00 this morning and had a blast. After I perfected his technique, we flew to another local airport about 25 miles north of Daytona. Here they have a fantastic restaurant called High Jackers. We landed, parked the plane in front of the restaurant, and had lunch. Their food is excellent and it's only about a 10 minute flight away from Daytona. After a wonderful lunch, we flew back around 2:00 p.m. and called it a day. I love my job! Who can say their workday consisted of flying all around the Daytona area and eating lunch in another city?

Classes are going well, just busy. They aren't hard this semester, but there is a lot of busy work. I spend most of my evenings reading and doing small homework assignments for my weather, history, and humanities class. I haven't really had any tests or quizzes yet, but I'll keep everyone updated when they occur.

One neat thing that I forgot to tell everyone about in my last journal was the fact that I got a new camera for Christmas! I finally had the opportunity to use it and I have some fantastic pictures for you guys of the Embry-Riddle flight-line at night.

Finally, we had a very exciting day here at Daytona Beach International Airport last Friday, the 23rd of January. I was getting ready to climb into one of our airplanes and begin a flight lesson when I noticed an airplane approaching one of the inactive runways. It was then I realized that an emergency was in progress (this is not one of Embry-Riddle's planes). As the airplane approached the runway, I noticed that its nose gear was not extended. Therefore, the pilot had to land the aircraft with only two wheels, instead of three. The pilot made two practice approaches, and the third one was the charm. The aircraft touched down and was magnificently stopped on the runway without any problem. Both pilots walked away unscathed. Fortunately, I had my camera and got the whole incident on film. Here are some pictures I took of the wonderful landing. Enjoy!

January 11, 2008

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. I sure did! I had a wonderful time back at home in Dallas, Texas, however, it’s now time to start my last semester of college. I can’t believe it’s finally here. It seems like yesterday I was driving to Daytona Beach about to experience my first year at college, and now I’m almost done. I never believed my father when he said one day you’ll wake up and be 50 and your life will be half over. But now I know what he means. Every year I get older, they seem to go by faster and faster. So my advice to you all is to cherish every moment of your life. Have fun, work hard, and enjoy everything around you. You’re only in college once, make the most of it!

This semester is going to be an interesting one. It will be very different from my last few semesters. I’m still going to be teaching and performing my Team Safety Leader duties, however, all of my classes are not related to aviation. I’m going to be taking Weather for Aircrews, US History, and Technology and Modern Civilization. Doesn’t sound fun, however, it should be interesting. It will be good for me to have a couple of different types of classes. I am also going to be taking the CRJ course later this semester.

Weather for Aircrews is going to be a very interesting course. We are going to learn how to read weather charts from all over the world, how to analyze and forecast weather, and about the different weather trends that occur in each country. This will be a skill that will be extremely useful in helping me interpret weather information before every flight. I can also pass this useful information over to my students after I learn everything. This should be an extremely rewarding class.

US history will definitely be my most challenging class this semester. I haven’t taken a history class since high school, so I’m going to have to do a lot of outside work and studying to ensure I do well. But it will be good for me to get back into history.

Technology and Modern Civilization is actually going to be a pretty fun class. It is my last humanities class and deals with how the development of technology has changed the social aspect of living. It will be extremely educational and fun at the same time. I love to write .

Finally, the CRJ course is going to be the best of them all. It will be very similar to the training I received at Continental on how to fly the 737-700. You can read about that experience in the journals I wrote while I was at Continental last summer. The only difference is that I will be learning how to fly the CRJ-200. I can’t wait. I’ll give everyone more detail on this class once it begins in March.

I look forward to sharing my last semester at Riddle with you all. Have a great week!

December

December 1, 2008

Hello again, I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. I know I did. I just got back from a wonderful 6 days off! I went to my roommate’s grandparent’s house for Thanksgiving in Ocala, FL. What a wonderful trip. The food was so amazing and they are pretty much like a second family to me. It was definitely a well-needed break. The week before Thanksgiving was extremely busy for me. But, weekend before full of studying and hard work really paid off. I got A’s on all of my papers, presentations, and tests! Anything is possible if you put your mind to it. Just work hard, have fun, and anything is possible.

I now have 3 days left in the semester! Wow, all that is left between now and Christmas break is one test and one paper. Success!!! If I can recommend anything to you future college students, I would urge you to work extremely hard in the beginning of the semester. Therefore, the stress level is lower at the end. If you work hard at the beginning of the school year when you are extremely motivated, you can maintain a high grade point average before finals hit. As a result, you have a buffer for the extremely high workload at the end of the semester. This has worked extremely well for me. A lot of students get extremely stressed during finals. However, if you make a constant effort to succeed during the semester, you’ll be just fine. Don’t wait until the end to start cracking the books.

This will most likely be my last entry of the semester. After December 4th, I will be halfway through with my senior year. I’m so excited! I will then jump on a jet plane for Dallas, TX to see my family. I will be back at Embry-Riddle the 5th of January to finish up my last 4 classes. Wow, what an experience. I look forward to sharing my memories and experiences with you all next semester. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

November

November 17, 2008

Well, we officially have less than a month of school. Whew, it’s been fun. I’m going to miss my Aeronautical Science classes.

Today was awesome! Remember how I told you guys that I would be taking a final in AS 420 which consisted of a simulator session on the computer? Well today, we did a practice version of the test. It was so awesome to see a group of 5 people working together as a whole. I was the captain and my group played the role of first officer, dispatcher, air traffic control, and the flight attendant. We all walked up to the “airplane” and began our preparation. My first officer and I ran the checklists, programmed the flight management system, and received our clearances out of Daytona Beach for a routine flight to Miami. After departure, we experienced an interesting issue at 21,000 feet abeam Orlando. The flight attendant called the cockpit and said that a passenger found a note written in Arabic and the passengers were a little upset. While my first officer and I discussed our plan of action, the flight attendant called back. He said that a passenger translated the message and it said that there was a bomb on board. The message indicated that it would explode 30 min after takeoff! My first officer and I immediately decided to divert to Orlando International Airport. I then proceeded to transfer control of the aircraft to my first officer while I explained the situation to air traffic control, the flight attendants, and dispatch. Everything went extremely well. I was very impressed on how much our professor’s stories and exercises helped us succeed in the cockpit! The situation was handled, and our aircraft touched down exactly 25 min after takeoff in Orlando. What an experience! I can’t wait to do the real test. Hopefully we will do as well as we did today.

I can definitely tell the semester is coming to a close. Next week is going to be the busiest week of the semester. I have 2 tests on Monday, a presentation and group paper due Wednesday, another presentation and group paper due Thursday, and my simulator exam in AS 420 Thursday afternoon. I definitely will be in the library all weekend preparing for next week.

Finally, for the past few weeks I have been trying to decide what my plans are after graduation. Well, I made the bold move and decided to get my masters! I’m really excited about it. My plan is to upgrade as a full-time instructor, hopefully, and then take master’s classes at night. I am going to apply for the MBA (Masters of Business Administration) program. It will not only prepare me for the constantly changing airline environment, but it will also help me be successful in my own life experiences. Also, I wouldn’t mind working in upper management for an airline and flying on the side later in my career.

Well have a great week everyone. I’m going to start on the pile of work I have for next week. Wish me luck!

November 3rd, 2008

Hello again, it’s November! I can’t believe it, one more month and the fall semester is over. I’m a little sad that this is my last semester taking aviation related classes. I’m going to miss the enthusiasm from the teachers and their wonderful flying stories. This semester has truly been amazing.

Flight technique analysis has been a worthwhile class, and the best is yet to come! This week, we are starting the application part of the course. This is where crews of 5 people get together and simulate several situations using the Aerosim program. Aerosim is flight sim times a million. It is super accurate and realistic. The cockpit is an actual picture taken from a real 747-400 and every button and switch works just like the real one. The point of these sim sessions on the computer is to tie everything we have learned in my past 3 years at Riddle together. Every student has an opportunity to be in a pilot position, while the others play the role of air traffic control, dispatch, and the lead flight attendant. It should be a wonderful learning experience. The neat thing about the sim sessions is that it takes the place of a final exam. We are graded on how well we work as a crew, handle an emergency, and get 400 people on the ground safety in a timely manner. Where else can you say you played flight sim for a final? Truly awesome!

In flight management systems, we use the same Aerosim program used in flight technique, but we learn the specifics on how to use the automation. The first 3 tests were over how to properly fly the 747-400 using the autopilot. There was one written test, and two practical tests using the simulator. I love it! It is such a great learning environment to actually see how every thing works through Aerosim. Last week, we started to learn how to program the flight management system. This is the little computer that holds all of the information relating to the flight; truly the heart of any aircraft operation. I can’t wait to see just how much can be accomplished with this equipment!

Crew resource management is also way above my expectations for a college class. Last week, we had crew led discussions. This is where 3 students run the class and are in charge of starting a discussion on a specific topic. This was so much fun. Our topic was how time and task management is important in the cockpit. Because of the fact that I am a flight instructor, I talk in front of people everyday. Therefore, I love giving group presentations and leading the class. You learn so much from everyone when you lead a classroom discussion.

Last week I took my second test in flight safety. I have learned so much from this class. It is a perfect example of a class that is focused on the students learning as much as possible with out any tricks. The tests are straight forward and allow to you leave with knowledge that will stay with you forever.

Finally, I had my third test in airline dispatch last week. Whew, what an interesting one. It was over aircraft performance. I was given weather, an aircraft, weights of cargo and people, and a bunch of other information relating to the flight. From that, I had to determine how much fuel we needed on board, how much we could weigh at take-off and landing, climb data, etc. Tons of fun! It was an intense test, but I did really well. The reason I aced it was because of the performance class I took last year. This is a perfectly good example of how Riddle provides you with information that you will never forget. I didn’t do a performance problem for over a year, and I still remembered 75 percent of the information. I was truly shocked. I hardly had to study for this test because most of the knowledge was already in my head.

Finally, I just want to say just how much fun I’m having being a flight instructor. I flew every day last week at sunset! It was probably the most amazing week of flying in my life. The weather was clear skies and about 65 degrees. This proves that I truly love my life at Embry-Riddle and I would not change a thing!

Well I hope everyone has a great start to November. I am starting to get sad that my senior year is almost half way over! I still can’t believe it. Well, it’s time for me to start my day. I have two classes to go and I’m flight instructing for most of the night. Have a great day everyone!

October

October 20, 2008

coulds Hello everyone. Wow, I can't believe this semester is halfway over! Time flies when you're having fun. Wait, you can have fun going to school? Well you can if what you are studying is your passion. I enjoy attending all of my classes because it enhances my knowledge of flying and makes me a better and safer pilot. While we are on the subject of classes, I can't believe how great they have been this semester. This is definitely my favorite semester so far! Like I said earlier, I am taking my last 5 classes relating to aviation. They are tying together everything I have learned over the past 3 years, and wow, I can't believe I have learned so much! Embry-Riddle definitely prepares you for the real world. I would not change anything about my past 3 years here; it has by far exceeded my expectations of a top aviation university.

Remember my new safety job? Well I love it!!!!! It is so much fun and I have already learned so much. We had our first safety meeting last week and it was so neat to hear about all of the safety issues. After the meeting, it was my job to let all of the flight instructors on my Team know what has been going on with the safety department. Therefore, the next day I gave a 15 min presentation to my team. I gave them recommendations on what to do to ensure that they are operating in the safest way possible. Finally, I listened to their concerns and comments on how to make us even safer. I love being involved and contributing to Embry-Riddle everyday.

Flight instructing has been going fantastic as well. I have a new student and I'm ecstatic about that. I am now teaching one student in the instrument flight course and the other in the private pilot course. So much fun! For those of you that don't know, the instrument flight course consists of teaching students how to fly in the clouds. What an experience! It is so neat to be able to fly when you can't see anything. low visibility That is when you realize that you are truly a pilot. One of the best feelings in the world is taking off, going into the clouds at 400 ft, flying for 2 hrs without ever seeing the ground, and coming back to land. It is so neat breaking out of the clouds at 300 ft and seeing the airport right in front of you. Now the private flight course is a whole other ball game. I am now teaching someone who has no aviation experience how to be a pilot! This is truly a blast. It is so satisfying watching a student go from knowing nothing about flying to flying completely by him/herself. Life couldn't be better, I'm going to school, learning about my favorite subject, and sharing my joy of flight with my students. What more could I ask for?

Well, I hope everyone enjoys what's left of October. If you're planning to attend our Open House this Saturday - look for me, I'll be around showing prospective students the College of Aviation. The weather is starting to become extremely beautiful here. Today it was sunny and 70 degrees, what a life. I am truly living in paradise. Now its time for bed, I have an extremely busy week ahead.

October 6, 2008

Dodd Hello everyone, I hope your October has been going well. This semester definitely has been an exciting one for me. Now that you have an idea of what my classes are like, I would like to introduce you to the wonderful world of flight instructing. I have been a flight instructor for Embry-Riddle for a little over a year now. All I have to say is wow, I love my job! What more can I ask for? My office is either a classroom or a cockpit. I am an instrument flight instructor during the evenings, but I also teach other flight courses when I have free time. My primary work day begins around 5, and I am typically done around 8. No matter how much stress is in my life, when I teach, everything stays behind. As soon as I step foot in the airplane, it is just me, my student, an incredible machine, and the most beautiful scenery you have ever seen. There is nothing more rewarding than teaching the student the wonderful world of flight. The best part of it all is that I learn so much from flight instructing. When I am sitting in the cockpit watching the student, I can apply everything he/she does to my future students and my personal flying techniques. I definitely would recommend this job to anyone! I don’t work a day in my life.

Cloud This semester has also provided me with wonderful opportunities. Two weeks ago I applied for the Team Safety Leader position in the flight department. The flight department is divided into 7 teams. These teams consist of a supervisor and roughly 30 flight instructors. Each team has a TSL. A TSL represents these 30 flight instructors to the director of safety. If there is a safety related issue, flight instructors and students can go to a TSL for help. The responsibility of a TSL is to demonstrate the highest quality of safety in everyday operations. Well, last week, I was appointed the TSL position for Team 7!!! I am so excited for this wonderful opportunity. I have always been interested in flight safety. My first real-world application of safety was last summer during my internship with Continental Airlines. I worked all summer in the safety department as many of you already know. Now, I can continue this work at my favorite flight department! I can’t wait to contribute to Embry-Riddle’s incredible safety culture.

I hope everyone has a great week. I’m going to get ready for class. In my next entry, I’ll give you an update on my classes. I begin my first round of tests this week. Wish me luck!

September

September 22, 2008

Dodd Hello everyone, it feels so good to be back at school and getting into the swing of things. This year is going to be filled with fun and excitement, as well as knowledge that will help me succeed in many years to come. I am finishing up my last year in college and teaching young students the wonderful world of flight, what more can I ask for? I love my life!

As a senior here at Embry-Riddle, I have already taken all of my general education classes, as well as most of my Aeronautical Science/Flight courses. Because of the fact that I received my private pilot license before I came to Embry-Riddle, I was able to obtain all of my pilot’s licenses by my junior year. This has allowed me to focus on my class work and gain an abundance of knowledge from teaching others how to fly. What an experience! This past year has been very rewarding, and I look forward to what my senior year will unfold.

Dodd This semester, I am taking my last five Aeronautical Science classes. It’s going to be a blast! These are the capstone classes of the program and they will provide me with the knowledge I will need to succeed in the professional aviation environment. These classes include Airline Dispatch, Aviation Safety, Flight Management Systems, Crew Resource Management, and Flight Technique and Analysis.

Dodd Airline Dispatch is the capstone course for a program we have at Embry-Riddle known as the dispatcher program. A dispatcher is someone that works for an airline who prepares all of the paperwork for a flight. Some of the paperwork includes the route of flight, a review of the weather along the flight, and filling out a flight plan. This is something great for a pilot to have, because if he/she is working for an airline and is suddenly unable to fly, you can turn to your dispatcher certificate. This is a great back-up plan to have in your pocket in the aviation industry. I have really enjoyed this program and it is very enlightening. Most of the required courses are already built into the Aeronautical Science program. You only have to take a few required electives to qualify to take the dispatcher exam. If any you are interested, see your academic advisor for details.

Dodd My next class is Aviation Safety. All I can say is WOW! Our professor was a Marine and Naval aviator with thousands of hours of fighter experience. He also flew F-4 phantoms in Top Gun! The stories he shares with the class are truly amazing, especially how he can relate it back to the subject matter. This is definitely one of my favorite classes here at Riddle. In Aviation Safety, we investigate previous accidents and talk about how to prevent them in the future. I look forward to what I will learn this semester from others mistakes.

Flight Management Systems is also a very interesting class. Here we learn how to operate all of the computer systems and autopilot in a Boeing 747-400. It is truly amazing how accurate the Aerosim program is to programming a real 747-400’s computers. We practice loading routes of flight into the system and flying simulated flights using the autopilot. Since most of the airline and corporate world is operated using autopilot, this is a very valuable skill to have.

Dodd Another useful skill I will learn this semester is how to fly an aircraft in a two pilot cockpit. Crew Resource Management teaches us the special skill of how to work together and provide the passengers with a safe flying environment. General aviation pilots need this training because we are used to operating an aircraft that requires one pilot. This skill works great in small aircraft, but once you begin flying large transport category aircraft, the workload in the cockpit increases tremendously. Therefore, you need to know how to divide up the duties in the cockpit in a safe, yet efficient manner. This class is going to provide me with this skill.

Finally, the last course I am taking this semester is Flight Technique and Analysis. This course is the capstone course of the entire Aeronautical Science program. It takes everything I have learned over the past 3 years and ties it together into one. We use the Aerosim program just like FMS, except we perform actual flight scenarios in a crew environment. We learn how to deal with emergencies, weather, and passenger problems. The flights that we will fly are identical to scenarios an airline would present to their new hire pilots. I am very excited to see how this course will tie everything together, and provide me with a means to succeed in the real world.

As the semester continues I will give you an update on each class and talk more about the wonderful world of flight instructing. Until then, stay motivated, work hard, and fly safe!

September 12, 2008

Hello everyone, my name is Dodd Bailey Allen Jr. and I am from Dallas, TX. Many of you may remember me from the journals I wrote this past summer about my Continental Airlines internship. My dream of flying began when I was in second grade. I knew I wanted to be a professional pilot the moment I flew on my first airliner. From then on, I built models and studied pictures of every airplane I could get my hands on. When middle school came around, I continued my journey towards the wonderful world of flight when I began my hobby of remote controlled aircraft. I began with the simple stuff, and now I own 9 r/c aircraft and I have flown anything from a small electric airplane to an r/c jet that flies at over 280 mph! My favorite personal aircraft is a 1/3 scale sukhoi. This aircraft has a 10 hp engine on it and has a wingspan of 8 ft. I perform extensive aerobatic demos for students and enthusiasts around Dallas, TX. Finally, flying r/c aircraft was one of the many things that piqued my interest in teaching. I worked at my local hobby shop for 7 years and I was the chief flight instructor all throughout high school. I was teaching people 3 times my age how to fly r/c aircraft.

Dodd The real success story began in my senior year of high school. This is where I flew a real airplane for the first time. I began my private pilot training at a local airport by my high school. I received my private pilot license the summer after my senior year and I was hooked! I then began my fall semester at one of the best aviation schools in the world, Embry-Riddle. Here I finished all of my licenses in my first two years. I am now a fully certified commercial, multi-engine, single-engine, instrument rated pilot. I am also a certified flight instructor, certified flight instructor instrument, advanced ground instructor, and instrument ground instructor. I continued my dream of teaching junior year when I became a part-time flight instructor in the flight department at Embry-Riddle. I still can’t believe I am getting paid to fly! Finally, last summer, I received the privilege to work with Continental Airlines during a summer internship. Here I learned what it was like to fly $80 million jets and how an airline truly operated. I received 30 hrs of flight training in a Level D 737-800 simulator. Wow, what an experience! Now, I sit here today beginning my senior year of college! Wow, time flies when you are having fun. I look forward to telling you about all of my classes and what a normal day at Embry-Riddle is like. I will also enlighten you about the joys of being a flight instructor at one of the top flight schools in the world. Until then, I hope everyone is having a wonderful start to the fall semester. Time to start my homework for the night.