Engineering Commons^™

Current Trends In Suas; Implications For U.S. Special Operations Forces., Philip Craiger, Diane M. Zorri Ph.D.

J. Philip Craiger, Ph.D.

Editorial: Special Issue: Safety & Efficiency Of Civil Aviation: Selected Papers From The World Conferences Of The Air Transport Research Society And The World Conference On Transport Society - 2013, Paul Hooper, Ian Douglas, Chunyan Yu, Stefano Paleari

Chunyan Yu

The Air Transport Research Society (ATRS) is a Special Interest Group (SIG) of the World Conference on Transport Research Society (WCTRS). The ATRS annual World Conference was held at the University of Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy on 26-29 June 2013 and it attracted 266 papers from 37 countries. Also, the WCTRS triennial World Conference was held on 15- 18 July at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, during which the ATRS organised several sessions devoted to air transport topics. This special issue of the Journal of Air Transport Studies has drawn upon all of this material to present four papers that promote improvements …

A Technology Survey Of Emergency Recovery And Flight Termination Systems For Uas, Richard Stansbury, Wesley Tanis, Timothy Wilson

Richard Stansbury

For safe flight in the National Airspace System (NAS), either under the current interim rules or under anticipated longer-term regulatory guidelines facilitating unmanned aircraft system (UAS) access to the NAS, the UAS must incorporate technologies and flight procedures to ensure that neither people nor property in the air, on the ground, or on or in the water are endangered by the failure of an onboard component, by inappropriate unmanned aircraft (UA) response to pilot commands, or by inadvertent entry by the UA into prohibited airspace. The aircraft must be equipped with emergency recovery (ER) procedures and technologies that ensure that …

Evaluating Small Uas Operations And National Airspace System Interference Using Aeroscope, Ryan J. Wallace, Kristy M. Kiernan, Tom Haritos, John Robbins, Jon M. Loffi

Ryan Wallace

A recent rash of near mid-air collisions coupled with the widespread proliferation of small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) raise concerns that integration is posing additional risk to the National Airspace System. In 2016, sUAS sighting reports by manned aircraft pilots averaged 147 per month. In the first three quarters of 2017, sUAS sightings jumped to 188 per month. The purpose of this study was to evaluate sUAS operator behavior to determine potential interference with aviation operations. While previous research has indeed yielded findings about operator behavior, such studies were generally based on data derived from Aviation Safety Reporting System filings …

Final Report: A Comparison Of Three Evaluative Techniques For Validating Maintenance Documentation, Alex Chaparro, Bonnie Rogers, Chris Hambllin, Barbara Chaparro

Barbara S. Chaparro

Surveys and interviews reveal that general aviation manufacturers rely on user[s] to identify problems in maintenance documentation with corrections typically initiated in response to users-reported problems found in the manual;. This investigation compares techniques that manufacturers can use to improve the quality of the maintenance documentation developed by technical writing groups. The techniques, User Performance and Cognitive Walkthrough, were used to identify problems in aircraft maintenance documentation.

Final Report: A Comparison Of Three Evaluative Techniques For Validating Maintenance Documentation, Alex Chaparro, Bonnie Rogers, Chris Hambllin, Barbara Chaparro

Alex Chaparro

Surveys and interviews reveal that general aviation manufacturers rely on user[s] to identify problems in maintenance documentation with corrections typically initiated in response to users-reported problems found in the manual;. This investigation compares techniques that manufacturers can use to improve the quality of the maintenance documentation developed by technical writing groups. The techniques, User Performance and Cognitive Walkthrough, were used to identify problems in aircraft maintenance documentation.

Classification And Analysis Of Errors Reported In Aircraft Maintenance Manuals, Bonnie Lida Rogers, Christopher J. Hamblin, Alex Chaparro

Alex Chaparro

Previous research has identified maintenance information as one of the primary causal factors of maintenance error. Incorrect maintenance information has also been cited as a contributing factor in a number of recent aircraft mishaps. To date no one has studied the types of errors found in aircraft maintenance manuals published by manufacturers. The purpose of this research is to analyze Publication Change Requests (PCRs) to document the most frequently reported types of errors found in aircraft maintenance manual, to identify how errors vary across Air Transport Association (ATA) chapters, and identify the corrective actions required to address the cited problem. …

Small Unmanned Aircraft System Operator Compliance With Visual Line Of Sight Requirements, Ryan J. Wallace, Kristine M. Kiernan, John Robbins, Tom Haritos

Ryan Wallace

Operating small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) without appropriate waivers and risk mitigations presents a serious hazard to manned aircraft and other users of the National Airspace System. According to federal regulations codified in 14 CFR 107 and PL 112-95 Sec. 336, sUAS operators are required to fly their craft within visual line of sight. Currently, no data exists to determine if operators are compliant with these rules. The authors sought to conduct an exploratory research study to determine the distance operators fly their sUAS craft and evaluate the likelihood of remaining in visual contact …

Urban Flow And Small Unmanned Aerial System Operations In The Built Environment, Kevin A. Adkins

Kevin A. Adkins, PhD

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has put forth a set of regulations (Part 107) that govern small unmanned aerial system (sUAS) operations. These regulations restrict unmanned aircraft (UA) from flying over people and their operation to within visual line of sight (VLOS). However, as new applications for unmanned aerial systems (UAS) are discovered, their capabilities improve, and regulations evolve, there is an increasing desire to undertake urban operations, such as urban air mobility, package delivery, infrastructure inspection, and surveillance. This built environment poses new weather hazards that include enhanced wind shear and turbulence. The smaller physical dimensions, lower mass and …

Suas: Cybersecurity Threats, Vulnerabilities, And Exploits, Philip Craiger, Gary Kessler, William Rose

J. Philip Craiger, Ph.D.

The FAA predicts that purchases of hobbyist small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) will grow from 1.9 million in 2016 to 4.3 million by 2020, and commercial sUAS to increase from 600,000 in 2016 to 2.7 million by 2020. sUAS, often referred to as 'drones,' are comprised of aeronautical hardware, a CPU, RAM, onboard storage, radio frequency communications, sensors, a camera, and a controller used by the pilot-in-command (PIC). Some have argued that a sUAS is essentially a flying computer. As such, sUAS are sometimes susceptible to many of the types of attacks that are often used on PC-based computers attached …