Margaret Gee served in the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) as one of only two Chinese Americans to serve in World War II. Gee originally started out as a draftsman and a welder to save up money to learn how to fly. She looked up to Amelia Earhart and Charles Lindbergh and saw them as her inspiration to aviation. She received only 50 hours of flight experience before applying to WASP. There were more than 25,000 pilots applying to WASP at that time and she was fortunate enough to be one of the 1,074 pilots who were chosen. There she received the same training that was given to the men in the airforce and she used her experience to train men for combat. Gee mainly flew planes for gunnery training and was able to copilot a B17. She retired from service in 1944 and was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 2009.

Players: Southwest Airlines would be the players in this media post. This is because they have high interest in appealing to their customers and employees and they have the power to accommodate them with safety in mind.

Contect Setters: Employees of Southwest would be the context setters since they have more power by work with the passengers. They would have lower interest be because this is their job so they would have to be there if it’s cold or not.

Subjects: Passengers would have high interest if they need to get flight accommodations when their flight was affected. They have lower power because Southwest has the final say in who gets accommodated.

Crowd: Other airlines and people who don’t fly Southwest would not have a lot of power or interest because it is not directly affecting them.

I have had many exciting and fun vacations over the years and one of those was taking a cruise to Cuba. I traveled to Cuba last summer with my family and a few other close relatives. Even before we got there it was exciting as Cuba just recently open back up to American tourists in 2015. From the start it was unclear if our trip would end up getting canceled until a few weeks before which added anticipation. This was because President Trump was expected to make a decision on whether or not to keep Cuba open to the U.S. Luckily for us Cuba stayed open for the time being.

We took the cruise through the Norwegian cruise line and it turned out to be half of the fun. The day and a half trip there was full of onboard entertainment from seeing a comedian at a show to playing games like shuffleboard and swimming in one of the many pools. As we sailed towards Cuba in the early morning it was cool to see the Cuban coast line off in the distance as we approached Havana. I wasn’t really sure what to expect as we docked in Port Havana. Right away I noticed it was like a glimpse into the past as cars from the 1940s and 50s lined the streets. The city itself looked historic as the majority of the buildings appeared to be crumbling with age.

The day started out with a tour of Havana in the old historic cars. First our tour guide drove us through the city and told us more about Havana and what it was like living there. The first full stop was the Christopher Columbus cemetery as it was the largest in Cuba and an important part of their culture after one passes away. It sounds like a cemetery would be an unusual spot to visit but it was popular among tourists to learn more about Cuban culture and to see all of the architecture within the cemetery. The next stop was Revolutionary square where Fidel Castro gave his famous speeches to the public. All around Cuba you could see propaganda about the Cuban Revolution with posters at shops to large sculptures of political figures on the sides of buildings. Havana seemed like it was a safe city to be in but at the same time there was evidence that it was still a communist country. It was a very unique experience to hear what the local people thought about the Revolution and how it was different from my prospective coming from the U.S. Overall Cuba was one of my most exciting places that I have been fortunate enough to travel to and I have viewed it as a once in a lifetime experience. I recommend visiting Havana if you ever get presented with the opportunity.   

On January 23, Boeing tested its new air taxi prototype. For the planes first flight it only used its four electrically driven rotors to lift the plane vertically off of the ground. It is similar to how a drone or helicopter would take off as it is equipped with skids and no wheels. Once off the ground the vehicle would be propelled forward by a single propeller on the back. The total time for this test flight lasted under a minute but it was a success for the Boeing team as their prototype was able to lift off. During this short time the on board autonomous system was briefly tested. This vehicle was originally only a design but within a year it became reality with the working prototype. The plane is completely electrically driven and is expected to get a range of 50 miles with a top speed of 150 mph off of one battery charge. It is designed for short trips around a city like a taxi or an Uber without having to go through traffic. Boeing has partnered with Uber’s Elevate program who has plans to be operating air taxis in major cities like Dallas and Los Angeles within four years.

The FAA has had some concerns with communication as the plane is autonomous. Since there is no pilot flying this vehicle it can be considered a safety hazard as it will be flying overtop of highly populated areas. The article did not mention if it is capable of handling other air traffic and if it would be able to avoid other aircrafts. Boeing’s air taxi has raised additional questions of how ATC will handle an autonomous vehicle. As of right now this technology is years away from becoming reality and by then we might have answers to all of these questions.

https://www.wired.com/story/boeing-air-taxi-uber/

My name is Brendan Hammond and I am originally from Marysville OH. I chose Air Transportation as my major to learn and obtain my pilot certifications to become a commercial airline pilot. I currently have my private pilot certificate and this is my first semester flying at OSU. When I graduate I will be in the process of building hours to get hired by a regional airline. The ultimate goal is to fly for a major airline company in the years to come.