Above the Wing

This week's episode looks into the second part of the Netflix documentary, Downfall. This portion focuses on the turbulent history of Boeing, and how decisions made on the corporate level ultimately led to the company's downfall. 

In this episode, we share our thoughts and opinions on the first half of Downfall: The Case Against Boeing, which can be streamed on Netflix. The first portion details the aftermath of the two 737 MAX crashes and introduces us to those affected by and close to the crashes.

In this episode, we discus how concepts from the aerospace and aviation industry are used for an unlikely application - the Winter Olympics! 

This week, we continue our Featured Flyer series with Bessie Coleman. We chose to feature Bessie in honor of Black History Month, which occurs each February. We discuss her impressive affinity for flight, and her journey to becoming the world's first Black woman to earn her pilot's license. 

This week, we kick off a potential new series, Featured Film, where we watch an aviation- / aerospace-related film and share our thoughts. We started this potential series with the first episode of Challenger: The Final Flight, a Netflix original documentary. Let us know what you think of this new series!

In this episode, we discuss the recent dispute over implementing 5G and its threat to airline safety. We give an overview of what 5G is, why it affects pilots, and how this issue quickly turned political. 

In this episode, we discuss the career of the inspirational Sirisha Bandla. Aside from being onboard Virgin Galactic's recent inaugural spaceflight, she has a glittering career in engineering and aerospace. Despite her incredible accomplishments, she has stayed true to her inner space kid, and we are so excited to introduce her story to you. 

In this episode, we discuss the background of aerial firefighting, including aircraft types and attack strategies. We also touch upon recent research and studies in the field, and some of the major players might surprise you! We definitely enjoyed learning more about this application of aviation that we usually don't think twice about. 

In this episode, we give an overview of Boeing's doomed 737 MAX aircraft and the generations that preceded it. We touch upon the culture at the aircraft company, the FAA's response, and how the fleet operates now. 

In the second and final part of our guest episode with Stefan, we discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic affected individuals within and the airline industry as a whole. Stefan gives insight on how fatigue affects pilots and the regulations that are put into place to ensure that airline safety is never compromised. 

This episode is sponsored by Anchor.