Aviation, Article Critique Example

Article: Centennial of Naval Aviation Exhibit at Glenn Curtiss Museum (April 17, 2011) General Aviation News <http://www.generalaviationnews.com/2011/04/17/centennial-of-naval-aviation-exhibit-at-glenn-curtiss-museum/>

Length: 1.5 page(s)

Criteria: The author, Janice Wood, of “Centennial of Naval Aviation Exhibit at Glenn Curtiss Museum” (2011) announces the opening of an exhibit that honors the Centennial of Naval Aviation at the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport, N.Y.  The author continues the article with detailed concepts that the exhibit will feature.  For example, Woods explains that the exhibit will convey a duplicate of the 1911 Curtiss A-1 Triad, which was the United States Navy’s first aircraft.  The museum’s reproduction of the 1911 Curtiss A-1 Triad will contain realistic figures of the aviation pioneer.  Also, the duplicate will contain Glenn Hammond Curtiss and his student, Lt. Theodore Ellyson, “who was to become U.S Naval Aviator number 1 (Woods 2011).”

Furthermore, Woods believes that all visitors of the exhibit will be astonished of the progression of aviation within the past century.  The author also assumes that the visitors will “gain a strong sense of the great risks faced by early aviators (Woods 2011).”  Woods discusses that flying has progressed into a quick and simple form of transportation within the past 100 years.  Janice Woods feels that the main reason that flying has progressed tremendously is because Glenn Curtiss and his fellow aviators.  The consistent dedicated endeavor that Glenn Curtiss and his fellow aviators improved the advancement of aviation.

Personally, I believe that the visitors will be surprised of all the details and facts of the progression of aviation within the past century.  However, Janice Woods didn’t explain in detail the significant creations that Glenn Curtiss accomplished.  Therefore, if a reader didn’t know any background knowledge of Glenn Curtiss, he or she wouldn’t understand the article.  Glenn Curtiss designed and built successful aircraft, and also created the first long-distance flight within the United States.  Glenn Curtis created an aircraft company, the Curtiss-Wright Corporation, which built special aircraft for the U.S Navy and Army around the World I.  Curtiss experimented with seaplanes that lead to advancements in naval aviation, and became a significant factor in the inter-war and World War II eras.  However, the author doesn’t explain substantial information about Glenn Curtiss that unites him with the progression of aviation.

“Taking off and landing on water is something that we take for granted,” says Curtiss Museum Executive Director Trafford Doherty. “What brought us to this point was the work performed by Curtiss to make the seaplane a practical reality and this is considered to be his principal achievement (Woods 2011).”

Though the author acknowledges Glenn Curtiss’ dedication to his aircraft creation, he doesn’t explain significant information on Curtiss’ background.  Therefore, a reader will have to research background of Glenn Curtiss to understand the article in full.

In essence, if the author discussed more reliable information about Glenn Curtiss’ role within aircraft during World War II, readers would reveal significant interest within the exhibit.  Though, the author discusses how unique the exhibit is and reveals specific characteristics the reproduction will include, Woods still doesn’t explain why the reproduction of the 1911 Curtiss A-1 Triad is.  Personally, I feel the article could attract more readers to the exhibit if the author explained details of the World War II aircraft created by Glenn Curtiss.  Nevertheless, the exhibit conveys a unique and realistic duplicate to reveal to the visitors.

Article: About FAA (February 1, 2010) Federal Aviation Administrator  <http://www.faa.gov/about/history/brief_history/>

Length: no more than 1.5 pages

Criteria: This article “About FAA,” written by Federal Aviation Administrators explains background information about the provisions of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 and the creation of the Federal Aviation Agency.  Senator A.S. “Mike” Monroney introduced a bill to generate the Federal Aviation Agency in 1958.  The Federal Aviation Agency was created to provide secure and beneficial use of national airspace.  Later in 1958, the President signed and passed the Federal Aviation Act, which formed into the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) that is responsible for the safety of civil aviation.

“Under the provisions of the act, the FAA would begin operations 60 days after the appointment of the first FAA Administrator. On November 1, 1958, retired Air Force General Elwood “Pete” Quesada became the first FAA Administrator. Sixty days later, on December 31, FAA began operations (Federal Aviation Administrator 2010).

The Federal Aviation Administrator continues to discuss the main purpose of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958.  Also, the Federal Aviation Administrator explains that the FAA worked to expand their buildings and created a headquarters building, which consolidated the employees into one location.  “On November 22, 1963, FAA’s Washington headquarters staff began moving into the newly completed Federal Office Building 10A (Federal Aviation Administrator 2010).”  The new headquarters raised awareness and created excitement about the innovative buildings, however when the news that President Kennedy had been assassinated breakout, new provisions were created.  Therefore, President Johnson believed that a department needed to be created in order to “develop and carry out comprehensive transportation policies and programs across all transportation modes (Federal Aviation Administrator 2010). Further provisions were created in order to develop secure transportation policies and programs.

The Federal Aviation Administrator mainly wrote this article to inform the public about the safe and efficient transportation policies and programs that were developed throughout the years. The Federal Aviation Administrator discusses the provisions and informs the public of the safety policies and programs enacted throughout the government.

In essence, I believe that the Federal Aviation Administrator released enough information within the article for the reader to recognize the dedication and determination for secure transportation within the government. This article doesn’t demonstrate any particular assumptions and/or arguments by the writers, which is mainly because the article is an informative one. It was written to inform the public about adjustments made within the FAA to secure safety.  I believe that the FAA is developing sufficient procedures that secure the safety of citizens and leaders within the United States.  Therefore, this article demonstrates the significance to the public and conveys the importance of the changes, which I believe are great necessities within the FAA.