AdamF, imo anyone who operates dangerous machinery (e.g. an airplane) and has even the slightest chance of nodding off owes it to themselves, their loved ones, and the unwashed bunch in the back to have the stuff available.
I didn't go off and read the AvWeek article so don't know what it doesn't cover, but if it didn't refer to the stuff as "viagra for the brain" I can toss that in - it works when you want it to and makes it easy to remain attentive, but you also can take it and hop in the sack and sleep well if that opportunity presents itself. That makes it a lot more 'user friendly' than the amphetamines.
In most places it's not dispensed without your doctor's script, and if I were flying commercially I'd make sure to get that from my flight physician. In the U.S. and a few other places it's a controlled substance, albeit in the second-lowest category. In places where it still enjoys patent protection (e.g. the U.S.) your doctor probably has been given free samples to share with likely candidates. (And in such places you'll be disappointed when the pharmacist hands you the bill - probably over US15 per each. Our northern neighbor is friendlier.)
No doubt the stuff can be abused by trying to go days without sleep. I mention it here because the problem being discussed is caused externally - I have great faith that no-one, having discovered that they can be attentive when they need to, will put in a few extra hours at his second job and try running on no sleep. It doesn't make superheros and imo starts becoming less effective (in normal doses, at least) after 24 hours or so. Also a friendly reminder that sharing prescription medicine with someone else is a crime in some places, and particularly if the med is a 'controlled' substance might be a felony. i.e. know the rules and play by them. Apologies if anyone takes offense at that.
Safe flight to all.
pj