Disaster Action Team Provides Immediate Help to Disaster Victims

 John Wathen IV has a background in aerospace engineering from Pennsylvania State University. Passionate about aviation, John Moss Wathen IV graduated from the ATP Flight School Airline Career Pilot Program, which allowed him gain skills in various areas such as aerodynamics, aircraft navigation, radio operations, and handling emergencies, among others. Besides his aviation career, John Wathen IV is a Disaster Action Team Member with the American Red Cross.

The American Red Cross works to prevent human suffering caused by various emergencies through mobilizing teams of volunteers, and relies on donor support to carry out its mission. Disaster Action Team volunteers are always on standby to respond to natural or other emergencies 24-hours a day, 365 days a year. Trained to offer various types of assistance, Disaster Action Team members offer emotional and financial support, address urgent needs of affected people such as food and shelter, and create networks for affected people to enable them to access long-term recovery services.

After training, Disaster Action Team members are scheduled in shifts, and are expected to respond swiftly to emergencies within 2 hours at any time of the day or night. Volunteers are often either at the scene, or coordinate remotely with the relevant teams, to ensure care and compassion is available to those affected. With additional training, volunteers may take up more senior leadership and response coordination roles to achieve a wider impact.

Earning the Certified Flight Instructor Credential

 

An experienced aviation professional, John Moss Wathen IV has logged more than 700 hours of flight time in various aircraft. Since March 2022, John Wathen IV has served as a certified flight instructor with the FCA Flight Center in Fitchburg, Massachusetts.

To teach others to fly, a pilot must earn a certified flight instructor (CFI) designation through the Federal Aviation Administration. CFI candidates must be 18 or older and proficient in English. They must also have a commercial pilot or airline transport pilot certificate with the appropriate ratings and a fundamentals logbook endorsement from an authorized instructor.

Applicants must also complete three tests. Two of these tests are written exams: the FAA Certified Flight Instructor Knowledge Exam and the Fundamentals of Instruction (FOI) Exam. While the FAA exam has a more technical focus, the FOI exam centers around teaching strategies and best practices. The final step in the CFI acquisition process is a practical check-ride test that demonstrates candidates’ abilities as a pilot and instructors in the air.

MATLAB Overview

A Pennsylvania State University attendee, John Moss Wathen IV is working for an aerospace engineering degree. Collaborating on multiple flight testing projects of varying sizes, John Wathen IV utilizes software like MATLAB (matrix laboratory) to simulate flight conditions before performing physical prototyping.

    

MATLAB utilizes elements from similar software used during the LINPACK and EISPACK projects. It offers the most sought-after features in a computational and prototyping software in an interface usable by individuals lacking programming experience. Arrays serve as the data elements in MATLAB’s object-oriented programming language, granting access to matrix-based mathematical operations. MATLAB data analysis and visualization capabilities ease users’ decision making by presenting data in a more useful form.

MATLAB’s usefulness also derives from its wide variety of mathematical functions available and compatibility with third-party programs. Users can apply simple and complex formula types, organized into libraries, to inputted data sets without leaving the program. By linking MATLAB to third-party software, users can enhance MATLAB projects with functions created with other programming languages.

Commercial Pilot in the US

John Moss Wathen IV is a lettered athlete who played soccer and track during his high school days at Pleasant Valley High School in Brodheadsville, Pennsylvania. He then attended Pennsylvania State University, where he graduated with a bachelor of science in aerospace engineering. While John Wathen IV is interested in flight testing, his primary goal is to become an airline pilot after completing flight school.

To become a commercial pilot in the United States, candidates must complete tests and possess specific skills. A person must possess the private pilot certificate issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). With this certificate, basic training begins. Pilots in training start trying to get an instrument rating. The next step is to earn the commercial pilot and flight instructor certificates, allowing pilots to make a living as commercial pilots and gather the necessary experience.

The final steps include adding a multi-engine rating to their certificate, which grants pilots the privilege to fly large aircraft and passenger planes. Pilots then gather more experience and add 1,500 hours of total flight time to their record, which is the minimum to receive Airline Transport Pilot Certification. When pilots complete these steps, they can go for interviews with airlines to secure employment.