Do it yourself

 

Image via flightaware.com (some parts of the flight are missing)

Our son will soon start his training as a commercial pilot. We still owed him a gift for obtaining his pre-university education diploma and we turned it into a airy outing.

Teuge Airport is just around the corner (officially called International Airport Teuge, but that name might be a tad over the top). A company on the airfield offers trial flying lessons. And it may seem a bit odd to have someone who will start professional pilot training next month make an amateur flight, but we would all like to experience a little of what he will soon be up to. The only problem was that there are four of us at home and the Cessna 172 they are flying is a four-seater. And we definitely wanted to have someone on board who had already completed their pilot training. To ensure that no one was left out, we have arranged not one, but two planes. And in that second plane I sat in the front right seat yesterday.

That was a very interesting experience. I enjoyed it, and my son did too – he was already super motivated and that fire has only been fueled further. As always, I was in security mode during this outing. As you might expect, safety is a central theme in aviation, and general aviation is no different. However, it is interpreted differently there: it is mainly a matter of do-it-yourself. There is no traffic control. Each pilot talks into the radio about what they are going to do, so that other traffic is aware of it. And at the airport someone is also listening to the radio, but that isn’t an official air traffic controller.

On the way to runway 08, pilot Tommy parked his 1970s Cessna in a 45 degree angle on the taxiway, so he could get a good look in the direction incoming traffic might be coming from. A plane was indeed coming, and Tommy had to judge for himself whether he could take off before that plane. He also had to take into account that another plane was just taking off. It didn't fit, so we had to wait a while. Once in the air, the pilot had to be constantly alert for any other air traffic. Other than that, it's not all that complicated – a bit like driving a car, but in 3D, because you can also go up and down. Moreover, time passes faster: one moment we were flying above Het Loo Palace on the north side of Apeldoorn, a few minutes later we were already above our neighborhood on the other side of the city, where we flew an extra round in order to spot our house (which was quite difficult).

Because there are rules about the flight route to Teuge, landing is quite orderly. You arrive from the south, make a left turn, followed by a right turn twice and then you are neatly aligned with runway 08. The unofficial air traffic controller requested another plane to make a longer run because parachutists were about to jump, but we could still land straight away. Tommy was shocked for a moment when he slammed the brake pedals, because the wheels of the plane locked up. He had to apply the brakes a little softer, the runway was long enough anyway. And so everyone was safely back on the ground (well, the ladies in the back had gotten a little nauseous).

In information security, we do have a kind of traffic control to some extent. This consists of all kinds of systems that ensure that we do not end up in 'turbulence', for example on suspicious websites. Still other systems provide a secure 'flight path' by encrypting connections. And the virus scanner somewhat compares to the security checks at the airport (I wrote about that recently): like the virus scanner keeps bad software out, those checks keep bad passengers on the ground.

But indeed, that all only works to some extent. Up from there, we also start with a bit of DIY. Pay close attention to everything that flies by, don't be eager to land just anywhere and don't accept sweets from strangers. You are that pilot who has to pay close attention behind your keyboard or mobile screen. You can rely on various safety systems, but you must also realize that your behavior partly determines how the flight proceeds. And in case you feel insecure: there is always a co-pilot next to you with whom you can discuss. This could be a teammate, your manager, the service desk or a security officer. Together we ensure a safe flight through the digital airspace.

And as the Germans put it so nicely when they have just experienced something wonderful: nur fliegen ist schöner (only flying is more fun). My son is indeed going to learn a fantastic profession.

 

And in the big bad world...

This section contains a selection of news articles I came across in the past week. Because the original version of this blog post is aimed at readers in the Netherlands, it contains some links to articles in Dutch. Where no language is indicated, the article is in English.

• This story fits perfectly with the above.
• Basic security must be better organized. [DUTCH]
• Commercial aviation has to deal with cybercrime (of course).
• You can also make a lot of money at casinos.
• the Dutch Football Association had itself extorted. [DUTCH]
• the White House wants other governments to speak out against paying ransoms.
• even int the official app stores you have to carefully select the right apps.
• there are currently many vulnerabilities in all kinds of applications.
• This information sheet from the US government provides insight into the threat of deepfakes.
• Better security in a free product also comes at a price.