Academic Sources

PILOT OUTLOOK 2010-2029: A SHORTAGE LOOMS

Lee, Marc C. "Pilot Outlook 2010-2029: A Shortage Looms. "Plane and Pilot 47.4 (2011): 32-35.            Web.

JOB HUNT / Airline Pilot: [ALL EDITIONS]

Bruno, Lisa Doll. "Job Hunt/Airline Pilot: [All Editions]." Newsday (1998): F10. Web.

FLY HIGH

Larson, Heather. "Fly High." Career World 37.2 (2008): 12-15. Web. 

Research Paper Topic

For my research paper I have decided to do it about my life's goal: becoming a commercial pilot. I think that I know most of what the life of a commercial pilot entails, but I want to learn about every little detail I possibly can and share it with everybody. With that in mind here are some questions that I came up with to further help me in the development and research of this paper.

• How did most pilots become interested in aviation?
• How long does it take to get a job after graduation?
• Why do pilots today choose to get into that line of work?
• How long does it take rise up the ranks to become a captain?
• What is the best airline out there to work for?
• What sort of obstacles could arise to potentially make me deviate from my goal?
•  If needed, what sort of back-up plans should I be looking for?
• And of course, what is the salary like? 

Summary: "I Spend a Fair Amount of Time Thinking About What Might go Wrong" from The Harvard Gazette

     In Alvin Powell's interview, his goal was to try and find out more about the life of Walter Willet and how he became interested in being a food and nutrition specialist. He was able to do this by interviewing him about his life in chronological order.

     Starting out with his childhood, Willet describes growing up around animals. His grandfather was a dairy farmer and his father "was a Ph.D. reproduction physiologist and worked at the American Foundation for the Study of Genetics" (Powell). He grew up in Madison, Wisconsin on a research farm. He then goes on to explain how he went to Michigan State to pursue a study in physics. He then goes to Michigan to get his M.D. 

     Later on, his interest in food and nutrition started to take effect. He and his friends began to be involved in nutritional experiments at a local hospital. During his college days, he decided to spend some time studying abroad in Tanzania where he was also able to teach about nutrition while at the same time learning about diseases such as diabetes and cancer and their connections to ones diet. 

     After conducting several health studies he was able to publish his work in the New England Journal of Medicine explaining an analysis that "[showed] that with just moderate diet and lifestyle we could prevent about 80 percent of heart disease, and in another paper, 90 percent of type 2 diabetes" (Powell). 

     In the end of the interview, Willet explains that his life would have never been that same if he never got the chance to participate in the health and nutrition study program as a student. 

Summary: "The Summoned Self"

     "The Summoned Self" by David Brooks tells the story about two different ways to approach life. The first, which he calls the Well-Planned Life, is all about planning your life out like a well constructed project with a beginning, middle, and an end. Its "overall purpose...[is] about allocating your time, energy, and talent" (Brooks). Make sure not to stretch yourself out too much on anything. In the end, your life should appear to be constructed in a way that was carefully organized and "brought toward a well-rounded fruition" (Brooks).
     In contrast to the Well-Planned Life, there is the Summoned Life. This is the second way of thinking about ones life. In this method life isn't a project like the in the Well-Planned Life, but instead "an unknown landscape to be explored" (Brooks). It states that we cannot yet know the meaning of life because we have not lived through it yet. In the Summoned Life, current circumstances are used in order to try and figure out what that individual is being "summoned" to do and what would be most beneficial for them.
     Although both of these plans for life have its benefits and drawbacks, they both are "useful for a person trying to live a well-considered life" (Brooks).  

Practice for MLA Formatting

The Boeing Company 

"Boeing’s "bet the company strategy" appears to have successively increased earnings power (measured by Net Income) with each generation of new commercial jet aircraft" (Haloulakos). 

The World's Fastest Plane: Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird

"Yeah, it just took your breath away because it was so different looking. The shapes are very different depending on what perspective you have walking around the aircraft. But nowhere did it look like anything flying to this day" (Hall).

Works Cited 

Hall, Spencer. "Flying the World's Fastest Plane: Behind the Stick of the SR-71." Vox Media. SB            Nation, 18 December 2013. Web. 20 October 2014.

Haloulakos, George A. "The Boeing Company: A Case Study on Betting it all". Demand Media,              Inc. The Wings of the Web, 14 August 2013. Web. 20 October 2014.

Aviation: The Invisible Highway

     At first, the very idea of flight was just a fantasy, a fascination by man, but now it's something that is often overlooked and taken for granted. Nowadays, aviation really is the invisible highway. I find it very intriguing how far the world of aviation has come. When man took their first flight, they sought ways of making faster, bigger, and more efficient ways of air travel. The world of aviation has increased dramatically to a point that it has almost gone unnoticed by the general public. No body gets fascinated by the idea of flight, it just soars over their head. Hop in the plane, hope it doesn't crash, and hop back out. But the most interesting facet of flight is the fact that it is never ending. It will continue to grow, and continue to find newer and better ways for man to make like the birds and fly.