Engineering Commons^™

Fuel Consumption Modeling Of A Transport Category Aircraft Using Flight Operations Quality Assurance Data: A Literature Review, Alan J. Stolzer

Publications

"Fuel is a major cost expense for air carriers. A typical airline spends 10% of its operating budget on the purchase of jet fuel, which even exceeds its expenditures on aircraft acquisitions. Thus, it is imperative that fuel consumption be managed as wisely as possible. The implementation of Flight Operations Quality Assurance (FOQA) programs at airlines may be able to assist in this management effort. The purpose of the study is to examine the literature regarding fuel consumption by air carriers, the literature related to air carrier fuel conservation efforts, and the literature related to the appropriate statistical methodologies to …

Computer Forensics: The Issues And Current Books In The Field, Gary C. Kessler, Michael Schirling

Publications

Computer crime investigation is a multidisciplinary profession and almost no one today has been trained purely as a computer forensic analyst. Toward that end, investigators need professional reference guides and texts that cover the major points of computer forensics. In this article, we discuss some broad issues related to forensic computing and include a review of four texts on the subject:

• Computer Forensics: Incident Response Essentials, Warren G. Kruse II & Jay G. Heiser
• Computer Forensics & Privacy, Michael Caloyannides
• Cyber Forensics: A Field Manual for Collecting, Examining, and Preserving Evidence of Computer Crimes, edited by Albert J. …

Human Factors Survey Of Aviation Technical Manuals, Phase 1: Manual Development Procedures, Alex Chaparro, Loren S. Groff

Publications

This report contains the results from Phase 1 of a three-phase research effort. Phase 1 examines aviation industry procedures for developing maintenance technical data. Phase 2 will document user problems with maintenance technical data. Phase 3 will identify maintenance technical data development improvements by applying human factors principles. Five aircraft manufacturers were surveyed regarding company policy, communication, data tracking, user feedback, and error reduction efforts. The five industry participants represent both regional and large commercial transport manufacturers. Phase 1 survey results revealed three significant maintenance technical data issues: inconsistent development process guidelines, reactive rather than proactive response to user feedback, …

Simulation Of Engineering Systems Described By High-Index Dae And Discontinuous Ode Using Single Step Methods, Marc Compere

Publications

This dissertation presents numerical methods for solving two classes of or-dinary diferential equations (ODE) based on single-step integration meth-ods. The first class of equations addressed describes the mechanical dynamics of constrained multibody systems. These equations are ordinary differential equations (ODE) subject to algebraic constraints. Accordinly they are called differential-algebraic equations (DAE).

Specific contributions made in this area include an explicit transforma-tion between the Hessenberg index-3 form for constrained mechanical systems to a canonical state-space form used in the nonlinear control communities. A hybrid solution method was developed that incorporates both sliding-mode control (SMC) from the controls literature and post-stabilization from …

Bridge Programs: A Strategic Partnership, Tim Brady

Publications

The results of a study commissioned by the National Business Aviation Association discussing factors related to alleviating airline pilot shortages. By utilizing universities with existing pilot training programs, universities are able to train new pilots in company-specific procedures. This bridge program allows the company to interface with the university and influence curriculum design.

A Human Error Analysis Of Commercial Aviation Accidents Using The Human Factors Analysis And Classification System (Hfacs), Douglas A. Wiegmann, Scott A. Shappell

Publications

The Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) is a general human error framework originally developed and tested within the U.S. military as a tool for investigating and analyzing the human causes of aviation accidents. Based upon Reason’s (1990) model of latent and active failures, HFACS addresses human error at all levels of the system, including the condition of aircrew and organizational factors. The purpose of the present study was to assess the utility of the HFACS framework as an error analysis and classification tool outside the military. Specifically, HFACS was applied to commercial aviation accident records maintained by the …

Book Review: Space Shuttle: The History Of The National Space Transportation System: The First 100 Missions, T. D. Oswalt

Publications

This document is Dr. Oswalt’s review of Space Shuttle : the History of the National Space Transportation System: the First 100 Missions by Dennis R. Jenkins. Voyageur Press, 2001 513p, 0-9633974-5-1 $39.95.

Human Error And Accident Causation Theories, Frameworks And Analytical Techniques: An Annotated Bibliography, Douglas A. Wiegmann, Aaron M. Rich, Scott A. Shappell

Publications

Over the last several decades, humans have played a progressively more important causal role in aviation accidents as aircraft have become more [complex]. Consequently, a growing number of aviation organizations are tasking their safety personnel with developing safety programs to address the highly complex and often nebulous issue of human error. However, there is generally no “off-the-shelf” or standard approach for addressing human error in aviation. Indeed, recent years have seen a proliferation of human error frameworks and accident investigation schemes to the point where there now appears to be as many human error models as there are people interested …

Lidar Observations Of Elevated Temperatures In Bright Chemiluminescent Meteor Trails During The 1998 Leonid Shower, Xinzhao Chu, Alan Z. Liu, George Papen, Chester S. Gardner

Physical Sciences - Daytona Beach

Seven persistent trails associated with bright fireballs were probed with a steerable Na wind/temperature lidar at Starfire Optical Range, NM during the 17/18 Nov peak of the 1998 Leonid meteor shower. These chemiluminescence trails were especially rich in Na. The average Na abundance within the trails was 52% of the background Na layer abundance, which suggests that the corresponding masses of the meteors were from 1 g up to 1 kg. CCD images show that the chemiluminescent emissions (including Na and OH) are confined to the walls of a tube, which expands with time by molecular diffusion. Lidar profiles within …

The Human Factors Analysis And Classification System--Hfacs, Scott A. Shappell, Douglas A. Wiegmann

Publications

Human error has been implicated in 70 to 80% of all civil and military aviation accidents. Yet, most accident reporting systems are not designed around any theoretical framework of human error. As a result, most accident databases are not conducive to a traditional human error analysis, making the identification of intervention strategies onerous. What is required is a general human error framework around which new investigative methods can be designed and existing accident databases restructured. Indeed, a comprehensive human factors analysis and classification system (HFACS) has recently been developed to meet those needs. Specifically, the HFACS framework has been used …

Touch The Wind, Tim Brady

Publications

Historical background on the development of flight navigational instruments based on discoveries made by Lt. James H. Doolittle.

A Model For Calculating Acoustic Gravity Wave Energy And Momentum Flux In The Mesosphere From Oh Airglow, Gary R. Swenson, Alan Z. Liu

Physical Sciences - Daytona Beach

Acoustic gravity and tidal waves propagating in the mesosphere/lower thermosphere (80-110 km) perturb the airglow layer intensities. The OH airglow has recently been modeled to determine the relationship between the relative perturbed atmospheric density and temperature (ρ’/ ρ, T’/T) to the OH intensity ( I’_OH/I_OH ) at the OH emission altitudes [Swenson and Gardner, 1997]. A model is presented here which relates wave perturbed OH airglow to the wave energy and momentum flux as they propagate through the emission layer. The model is dependent on the wave horizontal and vertical wavelengths (or phase speed as related through …

Method For Producing Conductive Or Insulating Feedthroughs In A Substrate, Janet K. Lumpp, Susan D. Allen

Mechanical Engineering - Daytona Beach

A method for producing feedthroughs in a substrate having a front and back surface, wherein the substrate either has a hole or absorbs radiation at a given wavelength. The method includes selecting and intimately bonding a sheet to the back surface of the substrate with an adhesive which is absorptive at the given wavelength. If the substrate has a hole, an exposed area of the sheet is illuminated with laser radiation at the given wavelength and at a power level sufficient to ablate a portion of the sheet behind the exposed area, thereby creating the feedthrough in the substrate. If …

Trading With China - An Opportunity With Historic Precedent, Tim Brady

Publications

Dr. Brady writes about the future growth of Chinese industries with a focus on the impact of their growth on the aviation community in the United States. The opportunities for trade are enormous and should be handled with an in-depth knowledge of Chinese culture. Opportunities in higher education also abound.

Cost Competitiveness Of Airlines: An International Comparison, Tae Oum, Chunyan Yu

Publications

Significant structural, institutional and regulatory changes have occurred in the airline industry since the mid-1980s. These changes have intensified competition in both domestic and international air transport market. As the market becomes more competitive, the ultimate ability of a carrier to survive and prosper depends greatly on its cost competitiveness. This paper measures and compares the unit cost competitiveness of the world's major airlines, using the yearly panel data of 23 major airlines over the 1986-93 period. We focus our analysis on identifying the potential factors which influence the observed unit cost differentials among airlines, including input prices, productivity, network …

Apparatus And Method Of Fabricating Directional Fiber Optic Taps, Sensors And Other Devices With Variable Angle Output, Susan D. Allen, Changhun Lee

Mechanical Engineering - Daytona Beach

An apparatus and method for fabricating directional fiber optic taps having a variety of output angles. The taps can be used to monitor losses due to misalignment of the fiber or losses due to bending and straining of the fiber. The apparatus and method can also be used to fabricate taps which filter out higher order modes in a fiber. The apparatus and method can also be used to produce taps which can be used in a position or refractive index measuring system.

Running With The Pack: Jit & Automation For Small Manufacturers, Thomas E. Phillips, John R. Ledgerwood

Publications

While both just in time (JIT) concepts and automation programs have been widely implemented and highly successful in large manufacturing companies, many smaller manufacturing companies have wondered whether it would be economically feasible to utilize these same techniques and derive these same benefits. When JIT is adopted by small manufacturers, it provides them with advantages over traditional manufacturing systems, such as lower cost, quality improvements, higher productivity, and less working capital tied up in inventory. Small US manufacturers must understand the basic principles and philosophy of JIT and update their production equipment if they are to be competitive in today's …

Upon Closer Inspection...U.S. Naval Aviation Mishaps 1977-1992, Scott A. Shappell, Douglas A. Wiegmann

Publications

The U.S. Navy/Marine Corps Class A flight/flight-related mishap rate has declined markedly since 1953. However, analysis of all Class A, B, and C naval aviation mishaps between January 1977 and December 1992 reveals that mishaps attributable to human factors have declined at a slower rate than those attributable to mechanical/environmental factors. Upon closer inspection of the data, marked differences were evident between single-piloted and dual-piloted aircraft. Global trends were primarily a function of single-piloted aircraft, particularly when phase of flight and time of day that a mishap occurred are considered. Previously reported improvement in aviation safety may be biased by …

The Effects Of Luminance Boundaries On Color Perception, Richard E. Kronauer, Charles F. Stromeyer Iii, Alex Chaparro

Publications

The luminance and red-green chromatic detection mechanisms respond to, respectively, the sum and difference of the long-wave (L) and middle-wave (M) zone contrast signals. The most-detectable stimulus is not a small patch of luminance drifting grating, as suggested by others, but rather a small, foveal red-green chromatic flash. Even at the smallest test size examined, 2.3' diameter, the red-green mechanism i~s more sensitive than the luminance mechanism, which has profound implication for visual physiology. When a suprathreshold luminance flash (a pedestal) occurs coincidentally with a red-green chromatic flash, detection of color is facilitated ~2-fold, regardless of spot size, as shown …

Aerodynamic Forces On Flight Crew Helmets, Timothy A. Sestak, Richard M. Howard, Chester A. Heard

Publications

Wind tunnel tests were conducted to deter- mine the aerodynamic forces generated on aircrew flight helmets. Three helmets were tested: two used by aircrews flying ejection seat aircraft in the U.S. military, the Navy HGU-33/P and the Air Force HGU-53/P; and one prototype helmet of significantly different shape and volume. Axial and normal forces were measured through a range of pitch and yaw angles. It was found that large forces exist tending to promote helmet loss during ejection, and that simple modifications to the current helmet configurations can reduce those forces by as much as 40%. It is demonstrated that …

The Development Of Speech Research Tools On Mit's Lisp Machine-Based Workstations, D. Scott Cyphers, Robert H. Kassel, David H. Kaufman, Hong C. Leung, Mark A. Randolph, Stephanie Seneff, John E. Unverferth Iii, Timothy Wilson, Victor W. Zue

Publications

In recent years, a number of useful speech- and language-related research tools have been under development at MIT. These tools are aids for efficiently analyzing the acoustic characteristics of speech and the phonological properties of a language. They are playing a valuable role in our own research, as well as in research conducted elsewhere. This paper describes several of the systems being developed for use on our Lisp Machine workstations.

What Is An Airlifter?, Tim Brady

Publications

This article describes the components that make up the Tactical Air Command flight crew, from loadmaster, to flight engineer, to navigator, to copilot, and lastly, to pilot. All together, the crew work in coordination to deliver the goods or the troops. This article was Dr. Brady's last as editor of TAC Attack. Under his two-year leadership, the safety message continued to be heard.

Between Pyosis And Pyralidan, Tim Brady

Publications

Some history of the military air base, Pyote (Texas), and its mission after World War II to store and preserve surplus military aircraft. Two famous airplanes were stored there: the Enola Gay, the B-29 used to drop the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, and the Swoose, the sole surviving B-17D from the Pacific theater during World War II. Both aircraft are now housed at the Smithsonian.

The Spin--An Accident Analysis, Tim Brady

Publications

An analysis of an accident involving a C-130 Hercules is described. C-130s do spin and the outcome is normally fatal to aircrew members.

The Alligators Will Get You, If You Don't Watch Out!, Tim Brady

Publications

This article relates which tools can help pilots prepare to land at unknown airports.

Wheels Are Square, Tim Brady

Publications

This article discusses the possibilities to extend battlefield support using aircraft equipped with air cushion landing systems (ACLS). The ACLS are less costly than traditional landing systems but provide some new flying skills, like how to move the aircraft after the air cushion has been deflated.

Gear-Up Landings, Or...Let It All Hang Out, Tim Brady

Publications

Gear-up landings, or belly landings, continue to plague civilian, military and commercial aviation. A study has begun on a new effective device to warn pilots if the landing gear is not deployed correctly before landing.

The Four Horsemen, Tim Brady

Publications

From 1956 until 1960, the Air Force's Tactical Air Command (TAC) fielded a team of four C-130 Hercules pilots to perform as an aerial demonstration team. The shows thrilled audiences around the United States and the pilots, known as the Four Horsemen, showed the power and maneuverability of the huge airlifters also known as troop carriers. The aircraft used in the demonstrations were taken from the inventory of whatever air base was closest to the show.

On A Wing And A Strap, Tim Brady

Publications

In 1958, as part of Operation Jingle Bells, a Hercules C-130, ferrying cargo and personnel to the United States from the Far East, encountered weather and abbreviated their flight into Langley. Little Rock Air Force Base was chosen as the alternative landing site. Getting the C-130 down onto the ground proved to be challenging when the controls for the trim system did not operate correctly. Through sweat and ingenuity, the crew got the bird landed and the personnel in the back applauded their efforts. The personnel and cargo were used as ballast to change the center of gravity. After that …

The Airlift Instructor School, Tim Brady

Publications

The development of the Airlift Instructor School at Little Rock AFB, Arkansas, is discussed. This article details the school's philosophy, programs and courses. Standardization in training means a better safety posture.