Aviation Commons^™

Airbus A320/321 Quick Change Market Analysis - A Case Study, Till Christian Mommsen

Master's Theses - Daytona Beach

The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate and compare the Boeing B737 QC to the Airbus A320/321 QC aircraft, and to determine their relative market within a sample airline. The technical design of the two Airbus aircraft in a mixed QC operation were considered with respect to the requirements of a particular airline. Direct operating costs and payload range data for all three aircraft were calculated.

To evaluate the competitiveness of the A320/321 QC under actual conditions, a linear programming fleet planning model was developed that considers more than the direct operating costs of a particular aircraft. The cost …

Life Cycle Costs Of Alternatives For F-16 Printed Circuit Board Diagnosis Equipment, Kent R. Montgomery, Clifford B. Thorstenson

Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzes two alternatives for printed circuit board (PCB) diagnosis for the F-16 depot PCB repair shop from a life cycle cost (LCC) perspective. Alternative 1 assumes the use of the current F-16 automatic test equipment (ATE) while Alternative 2 augments the current ATE with infrared imaging test equipment. Infrared imaging is a developed technology that is currently available to the Air Force in a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) form. Using the Cost Analysis and Strategy Assessment (CASA) Life Cycle Cost (LCC) Model and data from the DL41 database on F-16 PCBs this study determined that over the current expected life …

Organic Maintenance Performance Measurement: A New Approach, John S. Nehr, William G. Queener

Theses and Dissertations

The growing role of Air Force Air Logistics Centers ALC in complex, multiyear developmental programs increases the need for effective cost and schedule performance measurement. In order to effectively manage these activities, timely and accurate cost and schedule information must be collected and compared with an established baseline. The ALCs need a new management technique which facilitates this type of performance measurement. A proven approach to cost and schedule performance measurement in weapon system acquisitions is Earned Value EV. This approach, required of contractors who are subjected to the CostSchedule Control Systems Criteria CSCSC, allows the program manager to obtain …

A Maintenance Manpower Study Of The Composite Wing At Mountain Home Afb, Stella T. Smith, Cristina C. Vilella

Theses and Dissertations

In response to changes in threats, the Air Force has reorganized several flying units into composite wings. They are intended to provide a flexible, rapid deployment force. This study focused on the impact of the composite wing organizational structure on the determination of maintenance manpower authorizations at Mountain Home AFB, the Air Forces first air intervention wing. An opinion survey of maintenance and manpower experts was used to identify factors that are important in the determination of maintenance manpower authorization levels. Statistical analysis identified important-factors and indicated differences in opinion between maintenance and manpower specialists. Factors specific to the composite …

An Analysis Of The Effect Of Personnel Drawdown Initiatives On Aircrew Experience, Keith L. Hedgepeth, Lennie J. Simpson

Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzes the effects of personnel reduction initiatives on aircrew experience levels of Air Force pilots and navigators. Four key measures of experience were defined, including total flight hours, flying hours in Primary Assigned Aircraft PAA, total hours at time of upgrade to instructor, and total PAA hours at time of upgrade to instructor. Three objectives were established for this study. These objectives measured the degree of change in overall aircrew experience for pilots and navigators in six major weapon systems, to determine if changes in aircrew experience varied by weapon system, and if changes in aircrew experience varied …

Quality Improvement Analysis Of The Air Force Aircraft Maintenance And Munitions Officers Course, Jeffrey T. Acred, James R. Witter

Theses and Dissertations

Previous research concerning aircraft maintenance officer training focused on the content of the training curriculum of the Aircraft Maintenance and Munitions Officers Course AMMOC. Conversely, this study sought improvement in aircraft maintenance officer training by evaluating the guidance and support provided to AMMOC. Two methods were employed for identifying such opportunities. First, a descriptive model of the training system supporting AMMOC was developed and analyzed. Second, feedback was solicited from AMMOC instructors through the use of a two-round Delphi. The Delphi was employed to develop a consensus among the instructors regarding what improvement opportunities existed and potential means for taking …

Developing A Template For Logistics Test And Evaluation, Timothy J. Fennell, Jason S. Mogle

Theses and Dissertations

Logistics test and evaluation, performed during the developmental test and evaluation effort, is an integral part of the aircraft acquisition process. However, there has been no standard approach to conducting logistics test and evaluation. This study researched past and present approaches to aircraft logistics test and evaluation to determine the most effective method for future programs. We conducted this study using the Delphi method. We solicited the expert opinions of 32 individuals from the logistics test and evaluation field using two rounds of questions. We then statistically analyzed the data to ultimately develop a logistics test and evaluation template. We …

Logistics Control Facility: A Normative Model For Total Asset Visibility In The Air Force Logistics System, Eric C. Lorraine, Michael E. Michno

Theses and Dissertations

Computer simulation was used to evaluate the impact of a Logistics Control Facility LCF with a Total Asset Visibility TAV system on the AF logistics systems ability to support a weapon system. For this study, the B-1B was chosen as the weapon system of interest. Two performance measures, expected fully mission capable rates and expected pipeline quantities, were used to evaluate the simulation results. Two-sample tests were used to compare the current logistics configuration of the B-1B with the same configuration, but with an LCF controlling the movement of assets. The expected FMC rate performance measure showed significant results while …

Benchmarking Customer Service Practices Of Air Cargo Carriers: A Case Study Approach, Patrick D. Lozon, Michael B. Mcdaniel

Theses and Dissertations

This study used the benchmarking process incorporated in a case study approach to determine what the Air Force could learn from the commercial air cargo carriers in regard to customer service practices. The air cargo industry leaders were determined through a previous study to be United Parcel Service, Federal Express, Emery Air Freight, Airborne Freight, DHL Airways, and Burlington Air Express. In addition, the 437th Aerial Port Squadron APS at Charleston AFB South Carolina was the Air Force representative in the benchmarking study. Interviews with air cargo managers were conducted at each carrier’s main hub and at Charleston AFB. The …

A Feasibility Study Of A Private Entity Competing With Fbos For Airline Ground Handling Contracts, Carlos A. Vergas

Master's Theses - Daytona Beach

This thesis investigates whether a private entity can compete with fixed base operators (FBOs) for airline ground handling contracts. Separating the research method into five phases, the author first conducts a need analysis. Then, the author dissects the structure of existing ground handling contracts. Thirdly, the average service charges presently in place are tabulated. Fourthly, a financial analysis is performed including the calculation of the break-even point at a profit. Finally, a model of ground handling operation is simulated using an existing air carrier’s ground handling contract.

Demonstration Of Improved Software Support Labor Estimation For Air Force Operational Flight Programs Through Functional Orientation, Ronald R. Warner Jr., Darrel L. Wright

Theses and Dissertations

This study demonstrated two approaches to improve current software support effort estimation models for aircraft software. Both approaches involved a functional orientation not used by existing models. The first approach demonstrated how to orient a model to reflect the block change cycle modification process and how to represent support effort changes over time in order to improve effort estimation accuracy. Current software models do not reflect the support environment or the temporal characteristics of aircraft software support. The second approach demonstrated how to calibrate a model by properly selecting source data in order to increase accuracy. Support calibration is not …

Benchmarking Practices Of Air Cargo Carriers: A Case Study Approach, Mila D. Abalateo, Joni R. Lee

Theses and Dissertations

This research effort used the benchmarking process and a case study methodology to determine what the Air Force can learn from commercial air cargo carriers. A literature search showed that the U.S. air cargo industry leaders are United Parcel Service, Federal Express, Emery Air Freight, Airborne Freight, DHL Airways, and Burlington Air Express. In addition, the 436th Aerial Port Squadron at Dover AFB, Delaware was chosen as the Air Force representative in the benchmarking study. Observations of air cargo operations and interviews with operational managers or applicable experts familiar with air cargo operations were conducted at each carrier's hub and …

Scheduling Air Mobility Command's Channel Cargo Missions, Gregory S. Rau

Theses and Dissertations

Through the use of a linear programming model, this research revised the initial schedule for AMC's channel cargo missions to eliminate any excess delay enroute by minimizing the cumulative, weighted time-in-system for all cargo, according to a given cargo flow. In fact, the revised schedule minimizes any assigned nonnegative weighting of the time-in-system, due to the properties of equivalent measures of performance. When combined with Step One of a proposed two-step process for revising AMC's channel mission schedule, this research can be used to improve the current schedule based on Step One's cargo flow. By carefully defining the notation and …

Determining Cargo Flow For Air Mobility Command's Channel Cargo System, Michael Del Rosario

Theses and Dissertations

This research investigated using a multiperiod multicommodity minimal cost flow (M2MCF) formulation to model the channel cargo system of the United States Air Force's Air Mobility Command (AMC). The objective of this research was to determine how cargo should flow in the channel cargo system in order to minimize the cargo's delay enroute from its origin to its destination. This research showed the size of an M2MCF model of the channel cargo system exceeds AMC's computational capabilities. Additionally, this research describes three approaches to reduce the problem size. Because of the problem size and other modeling limitations discovered during this …

An Analysis Of Tactical Airlifter Characteristics And Their Impact On Theater Airlift System Performance, John J. Koger

Theses and Dissertations

This study used computer simulation and Response Surface Technology to determine what tactical airlifter characteristics most impact theater airlift system performance in a Southwest Asia (SWA) scenario. Some Aircraft characteristics were grouped into functional sets, while others were considered individually. After screening one characteristic, reliability, with a two-level factorial experiment, a Box-Behnken design was used to estimate second-order metamodels. A stepwise regression procedure indicated that, if attrition rates are ignored, airlift system performance is most impacted by the aircraft's size, survivability, cruise speed, and ability to operate on short fields. The SWA scenario used in this study covers a large …

An Investigation Of The Influence Of Advanced Aircraft Diagnostics On The Technological Sophistication Of Maintenance Personnel, Chris R. Collins, Clete W. Knaub

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to determine what effect automated diagnostic systems will have on the maintenance worker's technological capabilities. Four investigative questions guided the project: 1. What effect has automation of skilled jobs had on workers in the civilian community?; 2. What technological and psychological traits have led to success in past military conflicts?; 3. What types of technological and psychological traits will technicians have who are heavily dependent on diagnostic systems? (For example, to what degree will maintenance technicians be able to improvise when deployed to a combat area?); and, 4. What lessons can Air Force maintenance …

Desert Express: Framework For Institutionalization Of Express Airlift Procedures, Terry D. Basham, Jason G. Evgenides

Theses and Dissertations

This study was sponsored by the Military Airlift Command to examine the Desert Express airlift channel used during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. The goal was to determine what changes or improvements should be made prior to formalizing Desert Express procedures into Department of Defense doctrine. The research method used was a Literature Review supported by an application of the Delphi Technique. The Literature Review reviewed past military express operations and current regulatory procedures to raise key issues. These issues were then presented to 19 airlift experts in two-separate rounds of written questionnaires. The research revealed that Desert Express was the …

Analysis Of Standard Type Unit Development, Jeffrey M. Hess, Merry D. Wermund

Theses and Dissertations

This research study examined the standard type unit development process for the Air Force. Current standard type unit development procedures were determined by a literature review. The literature review, with the interviews, provided information regarding the history of, purpose for, and possible alternatives for developing standard type units. A Delphi questionnaire was developed to determine how well the current process works, how standard type units worked for Desert Shield/Storm, and possible ways to improve the development process. This questionnaire was distributed to F-15 units, F-16 units, and major command personnel in Tactical Air Command (now Air Combat Command). All three …

A Study Of Configuration Management At Headquarters Logistics Command (Royal Australian Air Force), John F. Turner

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to provide insight into configuration management at the Royal Australian Air Force's Headquarters Logistics Command (HQLC) by determining whether current configuration management practices have any impact on HQLC's ability to meet its mission of providing logistics support. The research begins with a review of RAAF configuration management policy and procedures as applicable to in-service systems or technical equipment. A case study is used to investigate problems associated with inadequate configuration management being experienced by one HQLC engineering section, and to identify subsequent effects on engineering logistics capability. The case study results are used to …

An Analysis Of The Information Requirements Of Conus Based Deputy Commanders For Maintenance, Daniel J. Green

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to identify the information requirements of Air Force Deputy Commanders for Maintenance. It had three basic objectives: (1) identify the critical success factors that they monitor on a continuous basis, (2) identify similarities in those requirements for all DGMs and across major commands, and (3) determine if the application of information technology would enhance their decision making. Surveys were sent to all CONUS based Deputy Commanders for Maintenance. The study found that there were nine critical success factors that were used by a majority of all respondents. In addition, nine command-specific critical success factors …

An Investigation Of Project Management Techniques For Scheduling Raaf Depot Level Maintenance, Kerry M. Bayley

Theses and Dissertations

This research investigates scheduling performances of commercial project management software. It is based on difficulties that the Royal Australian Air Force experienced in evaluating microcomputer-based packages in maintenance task scheduling of aircraft undergoing Depot Level Maintenance. A literature review found only one paper quantifying commercial software performances. No standard performance metrics or test data were found. Several packages were evaluated using a common set of 110 single-project resource- constrained networks. The performance measure used was closeness to optimally minimum Total Durations. No package performed best on all problems. On average, the best produced schedules 5.2% longer than optimal, with 95 …

An Analysis Of Fixed Wing Tactical Airlifter Characteristics Using An Intra-Theater Airlift Computer Model, Paul Pappas

Theses and Dissertations

This study used computer simulation to identify which tactical airlifter characteristics most significantly affected tactical airlift capability in a given scenario. The Generalized Air Mobility model was used to simulate a tactical airlift system. Aircraft characteristics within the model were grouped into six variables. A 2(6) two level full factorial experimental design was used to assess the effect of changes in aircraft characteristics on the effectiveness of the tactical airlift system. Yates algorithm was used to identify significant terms based upon the results of the factorial experiment. These significant terms were used to develop a parsimonious regression model that represented …

A Model For Estimating Aircraft Recoverable Spares Annual Costs, Phillip L. Redding

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis covers three objectives: (1) develop a background reference document concerning recoverable spares cost estimating; (2) evaluate a representative sample of existing spares cost models; and (3) use aircraft physical and performance characteristics to develop a model for estimating annual replenishment spares cost. A condemnations cost estimating relationship (CER) was developed first and then both a CER and spreadsheet generated factors which related condemnations to replenishment spares costs were developed. For the condemnations CER, only logarithmic transformations provided statistically acceptable results, and even these models exhibited wide prediction intervals due to large amount of variability in the CER databases …

An Evaluation Of Logistics Support For F-16 Aircraft Owned By Foreign Countries, Paul J. Lyons

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis was to examine the logistics support provided by the United States Air Force (USAF) for F-16 aircraft owned by foreign countries. The research drew from historical trends and personal experiences to examine the ability of the U.S. to provide logistics support for F-16 aircraft owned by U.S. allies. The study found that timely, efficient support of FMS customers possessing F-16 aircraft does not appear to be a principal concern of the USAF logistics system. Complexity of processes, untimely responses, and failure to consider customer needs are common failings on the part of the USAF.

Study On In-Theater Maintenance Support For Poaf F-16, Rui J. Gomes

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the capacity to generate a desired level of sorties of the F-16 weapon system. This capacity depends on the maintenance concept and structure, that defines a specific level of in-theater resources available. The theater is intended to reflect Portuguese Air Force logistic operations planned for the F-16, with one operational base and a possible Centralized Intermediate Repair Facility (CIRF), not co-located. The TSAR simulation program and one USAF database was used to perform the evaluation were defined and compared. The study focused on the unscheduled maintenance tasks and repairable items, in particular …

Inaccurate Data Entry Into The Air Force Maintenance Data Collection System, Jon R. Determan

Theses and Dissertations

This research investigated the data collection environment under the Core Automated Maintenance System (CAMS), a computerized information system used in the Air Force's aircraft maintenance complexes. The research measured maintenance personnel's perception of the nature, extent, and causes of data inaccuracies occurring in the CAMS data collection environment. The nature was differentiated as being either intentional or accidental. Maintenance personnel felt that difficulty in entering information into CAMS accounted for the largest percentage of intentional errors and that insufficient training on CAMS accounted for the largest percentage of accidental errors. A comparison of this research to the results of earlier …

Desert Express: An Analysis On Improved Customer Service, Thomas C. Thalheim

Theses and Dissertations

Operation Desert Shield/Storm provided an opportunity to test the planning for U.S. forces to operate in a low intensity conflict. Both operations provided the opportunity for the logistics community to observe how the support forces provided the required supplies to the forward combat forces. In response to customers' requests, the U.S. Transportation Command created Desert Express, a daily package express flight from Charleston, SC to Saudi Arabia. The research question addresses the how and why Desert Express came about. Additional investigative questions cover the following: mission objectives, planners' and customers' expectations, system performance, and implications on the Defense Transportation System. …

Analysis Of Department Of Defense Organic Depot Maintenance Capacity Management And Facility Utilization Factors, Marlies Dewoody

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the effects of mandated depot capacity utilization rates on throughput, inventory, and operating expense. The measures of merit analyzed were work in process inventories, leadtime, and throughput. Since the services do not use a common computer system to track/compute capacity data, a computer simulation provided the data used to meet the research objectives. The simulation modeled a serially interdependent system subject to statistical fluctuations. Variability in the system was reduced by reducing the spread around the processing time mean. Buffer inventories were placed in front of each process to protect the process from variability. Constrained systems were …

Determining Production Capability In Aircraft Maintenance: A Regression Analysis, Charles R. Jung

Theses and Dissertations

This research analyzed twenty-three maintenance constraint and three production output performance measures for nine SAC aircraft systems. SAS System for Elementary Statistical Analysis is used to analyze twenty-one months of ex post facto maintenance data. Correlation analysis is used to identify maintenance constraints that assist in explaining aircraft maintenance production capability. Forward stepwise regression is used to build predictive models of maintenance production capability for each of the nine aircraft systems. The twenty-three maintenance constraint measures are regressed against three productivity output measures: Mission Capable Rate, Total Not Mission Capable Supply Rate and Total Not Mission Capable Maintenance Rate. The …

A Guide For The Consideration Of Composite Material Impacts On Airframe Costs, Jeffrey L. Isom

Theses and Dissertations

This study provides a guide to cost analysts who must consider the impact of composite materials on airframe costs. A literature review was conducted to determine the availability of cost models which incorporate the effect of composites on cost. A number of models are available, but no individual model was found that is applicable for every situation. In order to provide a baseline upon which analysts can compare model results as well as provide guidance in selecting cost drivers, a Delphi survey was conducted. Questionnaire results indicate that composite weight (as a percentage of total weight), composite part complexity, percentage …