Topic 2 an airline dispatcher is my future career

In an ever-growing and changing society we are all face with the difficult task of choosing sound career plans from among the thousands of alternatives. As the economy continues to expand, creating more and different kinds of jobs, this planning process becomes more difficult. There is almost endless list of careers directly associated with civil aviation. Civil aviation is my future. After graduating from the Academy I might work as an airline/flight dispatcher.

Dispatchers (sometimes called flight superintendents) are employed by the airlines to co-ordinate airline flight schedules and to make sure that all regulations of the government and the airline company are observed. A flight dispatcher is a person responsible for planning and monitoring the progress of an aircraft journey. In airline operations, depending on the type of certification the airline has, and depending on where the airline is based, both the pilot in command and the dispatcher are legally responsible for the safety of a flight. A dispatcher may have the authority to delay, divert or cancel a flight at any time, and a flight might not be able to be released without the signature of both the pilot in command and the dispatcher – again depending on the jurisdiction.

After checking on weather conditions, the dispatcher makes a preliminary decision as to whether a flight can leave safely and on time. If any change takes place from the scheduled departure time, the dispatcher must arrange for passengers and crew to be notified.

In preparing for the flight, the dispatcher confers with the captain about the quantity of fuel the aeroplane needs, the best route and altitude for its flight, and the alternate airports that may be used if bad weather prevents landing at the scheduled airport. The dispatcher and the captain must agree on all details of the flight before the aeroplane is allowed to leave the airport. In some instances, the dispatcher also keeps records of matters involving the company, such as the availability of the aircraft and equipment.

Topic 3 a famous aircraft designer

Aviation has literally pulled the world close together. The horizons which appeared so dark and fearsome to the seamen who sailed under Columbus are passed over in a matter of minutes in a modern aeroplane.

The aeroplane has become such a part of the world scene that it would be unthinkable to wake up and find it gone. Aeroplanes are designed and created by people. I'd like to speak about two famous aircraft designers: Igor Sikorsky (1889 – 1972) and Oleg Antonov (1906 – 1984).

Having taken a great interest of aircraft design since his days as a university student, Igor Sikorsky devoted his entire life to that business. Much credit goes to Sikorsky for his great contribution to the development of the Russian aircraft industry and the design of the world's first multi-engine behemoth aeroplanes and first transoceanic commercial airliners, and also for organizing full-scale serial production of helicopters. When a student at Kyiv's Polytechnic, Sikorsky designed and built a few helicopters and biplane air vehicle. Piloting an S-6 aircraft of his own design in 1911, Igor Sikorsky established a world speed record. In 1918, the aircraft designer emigrated to France, from where he moved to the US the next year. While in his new home country, Sikorsky designed a few helicopter families that won him international renown.

When Oleg Antonov was a child he made models of planes and gliders. After graduating from the Institute in 1930 Oleg Antonov was the Head of Experimental design bureau. Some thousands of flying vehicles were designed by him. During the Second World War he designed gliders for the Army. In 1946 he began working for Aeroflot. His biplane AN-2 is still on service.

A lot of flying vehicles were designed under Antonov's supervision for nearly 60 years of his professional activity: a passenger AN-24, a weight-lifting AN-26, an aerial photography AN-30. The biggest freight aircraft in the world AN-124 was given the name of RUSLAN. This plane-giant can lift about 150 tons of freight and this is – 60 cars with passengers and cargo. The fuselage length of RUSLAN is more than 70 metres. Maximum cruising speed is 850 km per hour, maximum range is 16,500 kilometres.