Call for Inputs – Aviation Leaders Roundtable - News & Information

ASOG Members,

ASOG was invited to participate in this year’s AVBuyer Aviation Leaders Roundtable discussions on the 20th of November in the United Kingdom. The event aims to provide a platform for the exchange of views on the current Aviation Industry, which in-turn shared with government organizations. The meeting will see representatives from all aspects of Aviation: Fixed & Rotor wing Aviation, Multi Mission, Drones, Product & Services, and Associations.

In the past, General Aviation (GA) was the primary focus. However, the organizers for this year’s event want to expand discussions beyond GA and include the Aerial Work sector of Aviation (a.k.a. Special Missions, Multi-Mission, aerial remote sensing, etc.).

This event is a great opportunity for our profession to have a say at a higher level regarding the importance of Airborne Sensor Operators, how they make a difference in Aviation today and in the future, and what our profession needs concerning government regulations, standards, training, and certification.

As an Airborne Sensor Operator Group member, we would like to get your inputs on issues (both Manned and Unmanned) that you think are important to help you as an ASO to do your job safer and better, especially in the civil and public safety sector. Even though this event will have a European perspective, we believe our inputs apply to every corner of the globe (N. America, S. America, MENA, Africa, Asia, ANZ).

So, here’s your chance to make a difference. Send your thoughts and inputs to me (pryan@aso-group.org), and I’ll bundle them up and present them at the Roundtable. Also, please have your inputs to me no later than 18 November so I can get them organized, etc. Furthermore, I’ll provide a post report after the event so you can see what concerns aviation leaders have and feedback on your inputs.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Thank you, everyone,

Patrick

Consistent training standards across the ASOG enterprise. This should be a "no-brainer" for any aircrew member, however, we as a group still do not have a consistent recognized set of formal skills that can be pointed at to say "This member is a Level 1, 2, or X sensor operator aircrew member". Since I came out of the military side of our profession, there was a recognized progression with defined skills that needed to be demonstrated before the next level could be attained. Basic qual, mission qual, special mission quals, insructor, evaluator. Each of these stages had a lesson plan and a formal academic and flight phase to demonstrate proficiency. The rest of the aviation community has these standards recognized and formalized on the international level (CFI, CFII, A&P, etc), but we do not, with the exception of the FAA drone operator license process.

I would love to see and hear more discussion of what this would look like for all of the ASOG's professional shred outs. I can talk about the military side all day long, however I an less familiar with the civilian, non-defense applications of our skills. I can posit that there are numerous parallels between defense and civil (police being one, and survey being another), but I have not had a chance to talk with non-defense folks on how to enable them to be better at their jobs.

Maybe this could be a round table topic at the event? I think it would generate a lot of good discussion, especially about the applicability of our skill sets to other aviation missions.

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Comments

Patrick Ryan November 13, 2019 at 10:44am

Hi Wayne,

Excellent. I’ve received other inputs from members with the same main point, i.e., especially regarding the civil aerial work sector, i.e., a global set of standards, training and certification. Ref the concept of Level Skill sets, I still have your note regarding this topic/concept from earlier this year. I want to add this to the ASOG 2020 Focus Areas and get members to help shape it. I think it will help influence others, especially industry and Civil Aviation Authorities. I’ll initiate this concept with the group after the holidays…I hope others in ASOG will help out.

Again, thanks Wayne, more too follow

Patrick
Wayne Dahlke November 13, 2019 at 12:47am

Consistent training standards across the ASOG enterprise. This should be a "no-brainer" for any aircrew member, however, we as a group still do not have a consistent recognized set of formal skills that can be pointed at to say "This member is a Level 1, 2, or X sensor operator aircrew member". Since I came out of the military side of our profession, there was a recognized progression with defined skills that needed to be demonstrated before the next level could be attained. Basic qual, mission qual, special mission quals, insructor, evaluator. Each of these stages had a lesson plan and a formal academic and flight phase to demonstrate proficiency. The rest of the aviation community has these standards recognized and formalized on the international level (CFI, CFII, A&P, etc), but we do not, with the exception of the FAA drone operator license process.

I would love to see and hear more discussion of what this would look like for all of the ASOG's professional shred outs. I can talk about the military side all day long, however I an less familiar with the civilian, non-defense applications of our skills. I can posit that there are numerous parallels between defense and civil (police being one, and survey being another), but I have not had a chance to talk with non-defense folks on how to enable them to be better at their jobs.

Maybe this could be a round table topic at the event? I think it would generate a lot of good discussion, especially about the applicability of our skill sets to other aviation missions.

This reply was deleted.