At a recent CAP Squadron meeting, a cadet officer commented about how unsavory the schedules could be for pilots. Having spent much of my life in a cockpit, I took his comment rather personally.

I thought more about his words over the next few days and came to realize that the aerospace industry really does need to get its act together to better balance an employee's personal life with their job if we want to attract more young people to the industry.

Rob's personal reflection on his lifelong fascination with space exploration and astronauts. It was recently highlighted by attendance at the Chicago premiere of Spacewoman, a documentary about Eileen Collins, a retired Air Force Colonel and the first woman to pilot and command a space shuttle.

The story explores a bit of Rob's identity as a “space geek,” shaped by growing up during the era of the American space race, including the Apollo 11 Moon Landing. The author recalls admiration for astronauts such as Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, Gene Cernan, and Charlie Precourt, emphasizing the excitement and wonder of human spaceflight.

The article concludes with the author admitting limited knowledge of international space programs, particularly Singapore’s efforts, before introducing aviation podcaster Grant McHerron, who attended the Singapore Air Show and offered to share his insights about the country’s developing space ambitions.

A routine instrument departure turns into a career-defining moment when poor cockpit communication and rushed decisions lead to a serious ATC deviation.

In this episode, Rob Mark shares how one flight exposed the dangers of weak Crew Resource Management (CRM) - and the hard lesson that remaining silent can be just as risky as making the wrong call.