SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL AEROSPACE REPORTS
A Biweekly Publication of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
VOLUME 43, ISSUE 18 - SEPTEMBER 09, 2005
03 AIR TRANSPORTATION AND SAFETY
Includes passenger and cargo air transport operations; airport ground operations; flight safety and hazards; and aircraft accidents.
Systems and hardware specific to ground operations of aircraft and to airport construction are covered in 09 Research and Support Facilities (Air).
Air traffic control is covered in 04 Aircraft Communications and Navigation.
For related information see also 16 Space Transportation and Safety and 85 Technology Utilization and Surface Transportation.
20050204027 NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, USA
Linear Multivariable Regression Models for Prediction of Eddy Dissipation Rate from Available Meteorological Data
MCKissick, Burnell T., Technical Monitor; Plassman, Gerald E.; Mall, Gerald H.; Quagliano, John R.; July 2005; 121 pp.; In English Contract(s)/Grant(s): NASA Order L-70750-D; WU 23-137-10-10 Report No.(s): NASA/CR-2005-213504; No Copyright; Avail: CASI; A06, Hardcopy
Linear multivariable regression models for predicting day and night Eddy Dissipation Rate (EDR) from available meteorological data sources are defined and validated. Model definition is based on a combination of 1997-2000 Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) data sources, EDR from Aircraft Vortex Spacing System (AVOSS) deployment data, and regression variables primarily from corresponding Automated Surface Observation System (ASOS) data. Model validation is accomplished through EDR predictions on a similar combination of 1994-1995 Memphis (MEM) AVOSS and ASOS data. Model forms include an intercept plus a single term of fixed optimal power for each of these regression variables; 30-minute forward averaged mean and variance of near-surface wind speed and temperature, variance of wind direction, and a discrete cloud cover metric. Distinct day and night models, regressing on EDR and the natural log of EDR respectively, yield best performance and avoid model discontinuity over day/night data boundaries. Author
Vortices; Atmospheric Models; Linear Prediction; Vortex Advisory System; Regression Analysis; Aircraft Wakes; Mathematical Models
20050205970 Concurrent Technologies Corp., Johnstown, PA USA
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Task Order Number 5TS5703D035W: Demonstrate Alternative Aircraft Deicers - Phase III
Van Scoyoc, Susan; Jul. 2004; 41 pp.; In English Contract(s)/Grant(s): GS-23F-0061L; Proj-4349 Report No.(s): AD-A435956; AFRL-ML-WP-TR-2005-4101; No Copyright; Avail: Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC)
USA Air Force installations are seeking alternatives to deicing fluids used on aircraft. The current propylene glycol-based fluids used creates a significant environmental compliance and pollution prevention issue for the Air Force installations. The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has identified METSS ADF-2 as a potential aircraft deicing fluid to replace propylene glycol (PG) based fluids. This fluid has been tested and certified in accordance with aerospace material specification (AMS) 1424D, Deicing/Anti-icing Fluid, Aircraft SAE Type I. The objective of this demonstration is to test the performance of METSS ADF-2 in the field on Air Force aircraft, specifically a KC-135R at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station (NFARS). Concurrent Technologies Corporation (CTC) was tasked, as an independent evaluator, to demonstrate METSS ADF-2. The specific objectives of this demonstration were to: 1) illustrate the effectiveness of METSS ADF-2 as an operationally suitable deicing fluid; 2) compare the deicing properties of METSS ADF-2 directly against the currently used PG-based deicing fluids in an operational environment; and 3) determine the post-flight migration characteristics of METSS ADF-2 following successful operational use of the fluid. DTIC
Deicers; Deicing; Glycols; Propylene
20050206058 Air Force Inst. of Tech., Wright-Patterson AFB, OH USA
Accelerating Missile Threat Engagement Simulations Using Personal Computer Graphics Cards
Jeffers, Sean E.; Mar. 2005; 170 pp.; In English; Original contains color illustrations Report No.(s): AD-A436134; AFIT/GE/ENG/05-08; No Copyright; Avail: CASI; A08, Hardcopy
The 453rd Electronic Warfare Squadron supports on-going military operations by providing battlefield commanders with aircraft ingress and egress routes that minimize the risk of shoulder or ground-fired missile attacks on our aircraft. To determine these routes, the 453rd simulates engagements between ground-to-air missiles and allied aircraft to determine the probability of a successful attack. The simulations are computationally expensive, often requiring two-hours for a single 10-second missile engagement. Hundreds of simulations are needed to perform a complete risk assessment which includes evaluating the effectiveness of countermeasures such as flares, chaff, jammers, and missile warning systems. Thus, the need for faster simulations is acute. This research speeds up these mission critical simulations by using inexpensive commodity PC graphics cards to perform intensive image processing computations used to simulate a heat seeking missile’s tracking system. The innovative techniques developed in this research reduce execution time by 33% and incorporate a user-selectable fidelity feature to perform high-fidelity simulations when required. Furthermore, these image processing computations use only 5% of the available computational capacity of the graphics cards, providing a ready source of additional computational power for future simulation enhancements. Analysts can now meet shorter suspenses with more accurate products, ultimately enhancing the safety of Air Force pilots and their weapon systems.With ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a growing threat at home and abroad posed by the proliferation of man-portable missiles, the speed of these simulations play an important role in protecting forces and saving lives. DTIC
Computer Graphics; Missiles; Personal Computers; Simulation
20050206063 RAND Corp., Santa Monica, CA USA
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Assessment of Navy Heavy-Lift Aircraft Options
Gordon, John, IV; Wilson, Peter A.; Grossman, Jon; Deamon, Dan; Edwards, Mark; Lenhardt, Darryl; Norton, Dan; Sollfrey, William; Jan. 2005; 137 pp.; In English Contract(s)/Grant(s): DASW01-01-C-0004 Report No.(s): AD-A436145; RAND-DB-472; DB-472-NAVY; No Copyright; Avail: Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC)
Helicopters have gradually become able to carry more and heavier cargo, including vehicles. An aircraft that could carry even more than today’s helicopters might be especially valuable when access to on-shore facilities is limited and working from shipboard becomes critical. But questions still exist with regard to heavy-lift aircraft technology: Are these aircraft survivable, are they really needed, and are they affordable? Can today’s ships handle them? And can all the services interested in such an aircraft agree on its design and funding? The results of this research will help the Navy understand its options as it considers whether it should invest in a new heavy-lift (HL) aircraft design. The study had two major segments. The first was a technical assessment of the aircraft options. Seven different notional aircraft were examined, ranging from a CH-53 helicopter variant that could be available roughly at the end of this decade, to several large helicopter designs, and finally a four-engine version of a tilt-rotor aircraft. The technical assessment includes estimates of cost and dates when each aircraft could be available. The second portion of the study was a survivability assessment. It is possible that a new HL aircraft could be used in an air-assault mode to transport troops and equipment into hostile territory. The survivability assessment examined the use of this class of aircraft in various tactical situations to assess how it would fare against different levels of threat. In addition to RJARS simulation results, Rand looked for lessons from recent operations in Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq. The overall assessment indicates the following: (1) survivability of this class of large aircraft will be very challenging in all but low-threat air-defense environments; and (2) recent operations indicate a significant level of hesitancy on the part of senior commanders to employ rotary-wing aircraft, even in relatively low threat situations. DTIC
Attack Aircraft; Helicopters; Navy; Seas; Technology Assessment; Tilt Rotor Aircraft; Transport Aircraft
20050206120 California Inst. of Tech., Pasadena, CA USA
Compressible Flow Modeling with the Lagrangian Averaged Navier-Stokes Equations
Marsden, Jerrold E.; Mohseni, Kamran; Dimotakix, Paul E.; Jul. 2005; 16 pp.; In English Contract(s)/Grant(s): F49620-02-1-0176 Report No.(s): AD-A436257; AFRL-SR-AR-TR-05-0321; No Copyright; Avail: CASI; A03, Hardcopy
We have derived, in a mathematically precise way, Lagrangian-averaged models for incompressible and compressible flow. This work has now appeared in the SIAM Journal ‘Multiscale Modeling and Simulation;’ Bhat, Fetecan, Marsden Mohseni, and West. That work lays important foundations for our computational work on the averaged equations as a computational tool for shocks. DTIC
Compressible Flow; Fluid Mechanics; Lagrangian Function; Models; Navier-Stokes Equation
20050206398 NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, USA
Advanced Pathway Guidance Evaluations on a Synthetic Vision Head-Up Display
Kramer, Lynda J.; Prinzel, Lawrence J., III; Arthur, Jarvis J., III; Bailey, Randall E.; July 07, 2005; 49 pp.; In English Contract(s)/Grant(s): 23-079-060-10 Report No.(s): NASA/TP-2005-213782; L-19146; No Copyright; Avail: CASI; A03, Hardcopy
NASA’s Synthetic Vision Systems (SVS) project is developing technologies with practical applications to potentially eliminate low visibility conditions as a causal factor to civil aircraft accidents while replicating the operational benefits of clear day flight operations, regardless of the actual outside visibility condition. A major thrust of the SVS project involves the development/demonstration of affordable, certifiable display configurations that provide intuitive out-the-window terrain and obstacle information with advanced guidance for commercial and business aircraft. This experiment evaluated the influence of different pathway and guidance display concepts upon pilot situation awareness (SA), mental workload, and flight path tracking performance for Synthetic Vision display concepts using a Head-Up Display (HUD). Two pathway formats (dynamic and minimal tunnel presentations) were evaluated against a baseline condition (no tunnel) during simulated instrument meteorological conditions approaches to Reno-Tahoe International airport. Two guidance cues (tadpole, follow-me aircraft) were also evaluated to assess their influence. Results indicated that the presence of a tunnel on an SVS HUD had no effect on flight path performance but that it did have significant effects on pilot SA and mental workload. The dynamic tunnel concept with the follow-me aircraft guidance symbol produced the lowest workload and provided the highest SA among the tunnel concepts evaluated. Author
Enhanced Vision; Head-Up Displays; Wind Tunnels; Civil Aviation
20050207345
Capacity Takes Flight: A Vehicle-Centered Approach to Sustainable Airspace Productivity
[2005]; 12 min., 35 sec. playing time, in color, with sound; No Copyright; Avail: CASI
The National Airspace System (NAS) faces a significant challenge. With the nation’s economy growing stronger, and passengers returning to the skies, the demand for air transportation is steadily rising once again. The capacity of the current airspace system will struggle to keep pace in the near term, and with demand expected to double within a decade, air traffic delays are likely to escalate, soon becoming intolerable for aviation businesses. Recognition in the aviation community is forming that retaining a growing, thriving air transportation system for the benefit of the traveling public and the world economy will likely require implementing transformational ideas in air traffic management. This video illustrates an approach NASA is pursuing to this end: the notion that a major untapped resource available to air traffic management can be leveraged, the aircraft itself. The thesis presented is that implementation of vehicle-centric air traffic management capabilities into the NAS could have a profound, positive, and sustainable impact on system capacity, individual aircraft operators, and the economy through its dependency on air. Author
Air Traffýc Control; National Airspace System; Productivity; Airspace
20050207435 NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, USA
Small Aircraft Transportation System Concept and Technologies
Holmes, Bruce J.; Durham, Michael H.; Tarry, Scott E.; Journal of Aircraft; [2005]; Volume 41, No. 1; 20 pp.; In English Contract(s)/Grant(s): 23-786-80-10; No Copyright; Avail: CASI; A03, Hardcopy
This paper summarizes both the vision and the early public-private collaborative research for the Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS). The paper outlines an operational definition of SATS, describes how SATS conceptually differs from current air transportation capabilities, introduces four SATS operating capabilities, and explains the relation between the SATS operating capabilities and the potential for expanded air mobility. The SATS technology roadmap encompasses on-demand, widely distributed, point-to-point air mobility, through hired-pilot modes in the nearer-term, and through self-operated user modes in the farther-term. The nearer-term concept is based on aircraft and airspace technologies being developed to make the use of smaller, more widely distributed community reliever and general aviation airports and their runways more useful in more weather conditions, in commercial hired-pilot service modes. The farther-term vision is based on technical concepts that could be developed to simplify or automate many of the operational functions in the aircraft and the airspace for meeting future public transportation needs, in personally operated modes. NASA technology strategies form a roadmap between the nearer-term concept and the farther-term vision. This paper outlines a roadmap for scalable, on-demand, distributed air mobility technologies for vehicle and airspace systems. The audiences for the paper include General Aviation manufacturers, small aircraft transportation service providers, the flight training industry, airport and transportation authorities at the Federal, state and local levels, and organizations involved in planning for future National Airspace System advancements. Author
Air Transportation; National Airspace System; Research Aircraft; Mobility; Flight Training
20050207483 General Accounting Office, Washington, DC, USA
International Air Passengers: Staffing Model for Airport Inspections Personnel Can Be Improved
Jul. 2005; 48 pp.; In English Report No.(s): PB2005-109038; GAO-05-663; No Copyright; Avail: CASI; A03, Hardcopy
While the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Protection Act repealed a 45 minute standard for inspecting international passengers, minimizing wait times at airports remains an area of concern for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Shortly after its creation in March 2003, CBP assumed inspection functions from the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the U.S. Customs Service, and the Department of Agriculture. The new agency’s priority missions are to prevent terrorism and to facilitate travel and trade. To assess CBP’s efforts to minimize wait times for international air passengers while ensuring security, this report answers the following questions: (1) What are the wait times at the 20 U.S. international airports that receive most of the international traffic and what factors affect wait times. (2) What steps have airports and airlines taken to minimize passenger wait times. (3) How has CBP managed staffing to minimize wait times across airports. NTIS
Airports; Inspection; Passengers; Personnel
20050207491 General Accounting Office, Washington, DC, USA
Air Traffic Operations: The Federal Aviation Administration Needs to Address Major Air Traffic Operation Cost Control Challenges
Jun. 2005; 52 pp.; In English Report No.(s): PB2005-109412; GAO-05-724; No Copyright; Avail: CASI; A04, Hardcopy
Dating back to 1997, numerous reports have highlighted the need for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to better control the growth in its Air Traffic Services operating costs, which account for about $6.5 billion or over 80 percent of FAA’s total annual operating costs. In February 2004, FAA established the Air Traffic Organization (ATO) to take over its entire Air Traffic operations and established cost control as a major focus. GAO was asked to determine: (1) What is ATO’s financial outlook for its operations. (2) To what extent is ATO taking actions to control its operating costs. (3) What are some options ATO should consider in developing its cost control strategy. NTIS
Air Traffic; Air Traffic Control; Financial Management; Operating Costs
20050209970 Centre d’Essais en Vol, Bretigny-sur-Orge, France
Post Flight Operations, Chapter 28
Zundel, Y.; Introduction to Flight Test Engineering, Volume 14; July 2005, pp. 28-1 - 28-9; In English; See also 20050209967; Copyright; Avail: CASI; A02, Hardcopy; Available from CASI on CD-ROM only as part of the entire parent document
After each test flight there are a number of actions that must be taken to assure that the objectives of the flight were met, no unexpected results were encountered (or if they were encountered to ensure that they are accounted for prior to the next flight), and to determine when the next flight can be conducted. The immediate results of test flying are seldom simple to express because of the multitude of specific data collected during each flight, and the great number of specialists interested in those data. However, the cost of test flying requires that tests progress as fast as possible and this in turn dictates that test data be verified and issued in the most timely and efficient manner. The comments of the test crew are part of the test data base and are invaluable even if they relate only to the specific test condition of one flight. Their comments can often serve to identify conditions that are not obvious in the recorded data but deserve further evaluation. The final step, assuming that there are no serious reasons for not continuing, is to launch the preparations for the next test flight. Author
Flight Operations; Launching; Costs
20050209989 Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment, Boscombe Down, UK
Safety Aspects, Chapter 10
Appleford, J. K.; Introduction to Flight Test Engineering, Volume 14; July 2005, pp. 10-1 - 10-9; In English; See also 20050209967; Copyright; Avail: CASI; A02, Hardcopy; Available from CASI on CD-ROM only as part of the entire parent document
It is considered self-evident that flight testing should be conducted ‘safely’, i.e., without hazarding the aircraft, its crew, or persons or property on the ground. It is equally obvious that not all flight tests incur the same degree of risk: for example, the risks incurred in testing the departure (stalling and spinning) characteristics of a new aircraft type can be expected to be an order (or even orders) higher than those associated with range measurements on a new radio. However, it must be recognized that there is an (accepted) element of risk in any flight operation, and ‘safe’ is a relative term. In devising his test programme the Flight Test Engineer (FTE) can rarely quantify, let alone guarantee, the actual level of risk involved. But what he can and must do is to so plan and execute the test programme that, within the constraints imposed by the nature of the tests themselves and the resources available, the risks incurred are always kept within what are judged to be acceptable limits. This section confines itself to safety-related matters peculiar to flight testing, and it is assumed that readers will be aware of those applicable to all flight operations (e.g., the need to ensure that the aircraft is serviceable, and always operated within its permitted limits and in accordance with the approved procedures). It discusses responsibilities for flight test safety, the safety-related aspects of trials facilities, and crew constitution and training. It then outlines the principles of test planning and conduct, and concludes with a summary of the main points to be borne in mind. Derived from text
Flight Operations; Flight Tests; Aircraft Safety
Source: NASA.
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