Aviation is a rapidly developing high-tech field. Technologies used in modern aviation are mind-blowing. And, they require technical documents. To be more precise - every little detail requires a document when it comes to planes and other aircraft. Let's take a look at what it means to be a technical writer in aviation.
Specifics of Technical Writing for Aviation
The first thing we should mention is safety. This is a major priority.
Everyone knows that planes are the safest means of transportation. This didn't just happen. This is the result of hard work of professionals - technical writers among them. This leads to many things as far as help authoring is concerned, keep reading to learn more.
With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility
Every plane undergoes regular checkups. And, user manuals are the reference materials for them. Creating such technical documentation is a huge responsibility. Every detail needs to be described as minutely as possible. People's safety and lives are at stake.
So, tech writers in aviation should possess certain qualities. It isn't enough just to be a good writer - diligence, accountability, and ownership are required.
Standards...Standards Everywhere...
Another peculiar thing about creating docs for aviation is the astonishing number of standards. A lot of international technical communication is going on and having these standards intact is of key importance. So, to be an aviation tech writer, you need to be prepared to study these standards thoroughly.
Let's Make Everything Simpler
Complexity of technical texts is one more characteristic of technical writing in this sphere. This is considered a big issue and no wonder that the notion of simplified technical English arose from aviation specifically.
We created a post about simplified technical English a while ago, just to give you a quick recap: the techcomm communication was stalled by how complicated the texts had become, and it was decided to create guidelines that would help simplify technical docs.
Never Stop Learning
One more important thing to mention - being a tech writer in aviation means constant education. You need to keep track of newly appeared standards, procedures, and product information.
Some technical writers can decide to specialize in one standard (for example, S1000D), or prefer to work with migrating legacy docs. But being aware of what's new in the industry is equally important for anyone who does tech writing for aviation.
Conclusion
Aviation has a manual for everything. Every action inside and near an aircraft should be documented. Even things like cleaning the planes and serving food and drinks to passengers have their own tech documentation.
The primary reason for such extraordinary measures is safety, of course.
So, as you might guess, working as a tech writer in aviation can be a radically different experience depending on the document types you create.
You can be creating guidelines and regulations on maintaining and operating a plane or even become a technical illustrator.
Alternatively, you can technically still be part of aviation and create docs for software! As of now, numerous mobile apps connected to aviation are appearing worldwide and technical communication is needed.
Overall, this is a great field for starting a techcomm career with great potential.
Good luck with your technical writing!
ClickHelp Team
Author, host and deliver documentation across platforms and devices