Aviation Commons^™

Scenario-Based Strategic Planning For Future Civil Vertical Take-Off And Landing (Vtol) Transport, Woojin Choi, Steven Hampton

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

Rapid evolvement of the vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) technology in conjunction with recent robust R&D has demonstrated the technical feasibility of the civil VTOL system as a short-haul mass transit mode. Its combined benefits of a helicopter and a turboprop into one aircraft is expected to become an effective remedy for congested air traffic and difficulties with airport expansions in the metropolitan areas along with the potential benefit to improve accessibility to population centers and remote areas where conventional aircraft cannot access.

In this study, based on a the Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, and Legal (PESTEL) factors and …

Airport Ceos And The Decentralized System Of Airports: A Case Study, Marjan Mazza

Publications

The job of the airport CEO is complex with responsibility for the security and safety of a large and dynamic facility and, yet the FAA does not have regulatory qualification and performance standards for the position. The purpose of this qualitative multi-case study was to explore the primary attributes that could be the leading indicators in the event national standards for the hiring of airport CEOs are pursued at major commercial airports. The guiding conceptual framework of the study was to combine competency with the concept of training and development. Airport CEOs from six airport facilities were interviewed, and an …

Factorial Validity Of The Flight Risk Assessment Tool In General Aviation Operations, Flavio A. C. Mendonca, Allen Xie, Chenyu Huang Ph.D.

Publications

The Flight Risk Assessment Tool (FRAT) was developed and is recommended by the Federal Aviation Administration to provide a solution of proactively identifying and mitigating risk before each flight. General aviation (GA) operators are encouraged to adapt the FRAT based upon specific operational characteristics. Currently, most safety management systems-compliant GA operators have implemented various versions of FRATs with different operational purposes. However, the FRAT could be inappropriately implemented because of the dynamic operational features of GA operations. The purpose of this study is to explore insights into potential approaches to validate the FRAT that is used for flight risk assessment …

Simulation And Analysis Of 4-D Airspace Closures Due To Commercial Space Operations: Impacts On Airlines And General Aviation, Janet K. Tinoco, Noah D. Eudy, Maxwell Cannon

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

When industries share key portions of their eco-systems, industry-industry competitive and structural pressures can inhibit the advancement of both. In the case of aviation and commercial space, an eco-system component critical to both industries is shared airspace. The integration of air and space activities in a safe, efficient, effective, and equitable manner is compulsory for both industries to grow and thrive. In order to develop solutions, one must first understand the effects of space operations on current national airspace system (NAS) users. By using actual flight data in a simulation environment of space operations out of Cape Canaveral, Florida, we …

Suborbital Payload Testing Aboard Level 3 Rocket Research Platform, Pedro Llanos, Sathya Gangadharan, Nikita Amberkar, Isachi Halphen, Melisa Mastroliberti, Michelle Munasinghe

Publications

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) has launched several suborbital scientific payloads aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard in 2017 and 2019. Students continue gaining hands-on experience in rocket design and construction, and payload integration and testing of future and more mature payloads to be launched into space. A Level 3 Rocket is being designed and developed at ERAU to serve as a scaled-down model research platform for launching and testing of payloads that will be later flown in commercial suborbital platforms such as Blue Origin’s New Shepard and PLD space Miura 1 rockets. Computer simulations were conducted to calculate the key parameters …

Automated Disruption Assistance In Brazil, Christian Gruber Delamare, Douglas Cabrera Lopes, Patrice Ramos, Raioni De Oliveira Santos, Leila Halawi

Publications

During the last decade, commercial aviation in Brazil has grown significantly, overcoming the number of 100 million passengers per year. The full operation represents a challenge for the air carriers, especially during flight disruptions. Besides the re-accommodation of the passengers into other flights, under certain circumstances, the ANAC 400 resolution requires the airlines to provide a series of material assistance. Meal, transport, and hotel make part of the exigences stated by the ANAC 400. Our study aims to analyze the current process that is mainly manual and propose to automatize several steps through a self-service solution. The researchers verified the …

Dynamic Delegated Corridors And 4d Required Navigation Performance For Urban Air Mobility (Uam) Airspace Integration, Trong Van Nguyen

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

Increased traffic congestion on urban road networks has impacted the travel time for commuters in highly populated urban centers. Urban Air Mobility (UAM) is recognized as a system that transports the passenger and air cargo from any location to any destination within a metropolitan area. UAM may offer a solution to the problematic issue of automobile urban surface transportation congestion. However, the predicted significant growth in the demand for integration of UAM operations into the existing airspace system in the next 20 years and beyond may exceed the capacity of current air traffic control (ATC) system resources, particularly the ATC …

Uas For Public Safety Operations: A Comparison Of Uas Point Clouds To Terrestrial Lidar Point Cloud Data Using A Faro Scanner, Joseph S. Cerreta, Scott S. Burgess, Jeremy Coleman

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) can be useful tools for public safety agencies during crime or vehicle accident scene investigations if it can provide value to the resource-constrained agency. The speed of data collection, while minimizing first responder risk, while sustaining an acceptable level of accuracy and precision compared to other tools is where the agency may find value. During a recent homicide investigation in Florida, a UAS provided saved 81% in law enforcement labor hours with an acceptable level of accuracy compared to traditional methods. The purpose of this research was to compare UAS to determine if there were differences …

Analysis Of Part 135 Aircraft Accidents To Facilitate Flight Data Monitoring, Chenyu Huang

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

The scheduled and on-demand air services with Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 135 certificate are operating with relatively less stringent safety program criteria compared to Part 121 operations. The Part 135 aircraft flight operation was identified as one of the most wanted transportation safety improvements by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Implementation of flight data monitoring (FDM) programs was recommended to mitigate the risk of Part 135 operations. The FDM program is the process of routinely collecting and analyzing aircraft operational data to provide insight into flight operations for safety improvement. The development of more practical …

Analysis Of The Icao Usoap Results In The Persian Gulf Region And Its Relation To The Economic Indicators, Mohsen Ghahremani

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

No abstract provided.

The Current State Of Counter Unmanned Aerial System Policy In The U.S., Travis L. Cline, Damon Lercel, Umit Karabiyik, J. Eric Dietz

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Threats from drones are becoming an increasing security concern throughout the U.S. and worldwide. No current standards exist for the manufacture and operation of counter unmanned aerial system technology, making it difficult to determine effective systems and components for specific uses. Current policy within the U.S. makes unmanned aerial system (UAS) interdiction illegal for all but a few Federal entities currently. This document is a summary of counter unmanned aerial systems policy within the U.S.

Real-Time Urban Weather Observations For Urban Air Mobility, Kevin A. Adkins, Mustafa Akbas, Marc Compere

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Cities of the future will have to overcome congestion, air pollution and increasing infrastructure cost while moving more people and goods smoothly, efficiently and in an eco-friendly manner. Urban air mobility (UAM) is expected to be an integral component of achieving this new type of city. This is a new environment for sustained aviation operations. The heterogeneity of the urban fabric and the roughness elements within it create a unique environment where flight conditions can change frequently across very short distances. UAM vehicles with their lower mass, more limited thrust and slower speeds are especially sensitive to these conditions. Since …

Evaluating The Merit Of Implementing A Safety Management System Into An Unmanned Aerial Systems Company, Nathan Phillips, Jennifer Herr

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Safety Management System (SMS) implementation into small Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) organizations is only now beginning to happen. Because of the lack of research into this area and its cutting edge application in unmanned aviation, a look into the potential benefits as well as the differences from manned avation seems appropriate.

Automatic Gaze Classification For Aviators: Using Multi-Task Convolutional Networks As A Proxy For Flight Instructor Observation, Justin Wilson, Sandro Scielzo, Sukumaran Nair, Eric C. Larson

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

In this work, we investigate how flight instructors observe aviator scan patterns and assign quality to an aviator's gaze. We first establish the reliability of instructors to assign similar quality to an aviator's scan patterns, and then investigate methods to automate this quality using machine learning. In particular, we focus on the classification of gaze for aviators in a mixed-reality flight simulation. We create and evaluate two machine learning models for classifying gaze quality of aviators: a task-agnostic model and a multi-task model. Both models use deep convolutional neural networks to classify the quality of pilot gaze patterns for 40 …

Wildlife Hazards At Airports: A Practical Review, Robert Sliwinski, Flavio A. C. Mendonca

Publications

Globally, aircraft accidents and incidents due to wildlife strikes are an increasingly serious safety concern;

Airport operators have a professional and legal responsibility to provide an environment conducive to safe aircraft operations;

Airport operators and managers have been sued for property damage and / or for human injuries and death in the aftermath of aircraft accidents due to wildlife strikes.

Airport Operations Delays And Possible Mitigation Through Electric Taxi Systems: A Qualitative Case Study, David Cross, Kristy Kiernan, Mark Scharf Phd

Publications

Airline daily departures, not including private aircraft, increased from 25,143 in 2000 to 36,722 in 2017. More passengers necessitate more aircraft and more flights. With more aircraft at terminals, ground delays, based on current airport design, will continue to increase. Systems that allow for reduced aircraft time on the ground will improve airline economics and airport operations, in addition, will reduce airline delays both for departure and arrival at the gate. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore the efficacy, from ramp controllers’ perspectives, of equipping airliners with an electric taxi system. Prototype electric taxi systems have …

Fatigue Issues And Mitigation Strategies In Collegiate Aviation, Flavio A. C. Mendonca Ph.D., Julius Keller, Erik Levin, Aaron Teo

Publications

The reduction of fatigue-related accidents has been in the NTSB most wanted list since 2016 (NSTB, 2019).

Most research studies have focused on fatigue identification and management within the commercial and/or military aviation environments (Caldwell et al., 2009; Gawron, 2016; Sieberichs & Kluge, 2016).

However, collegiate aviation may be the most challenging in terms of fatigue mitigation. Flight instructors and students often have schedules which may increase the risks for fatigue.

Computational Model For Pedestrian Movement And Infectious Diseases Spread During Air Travel: A Molecular Dynamics-Like Numerical Approach, Pierrot Derjany

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

There is direct evidence of the transmission of fatal infectious pathogens in large human gatherings. Air transportation is no exception. The mixing of susceptible and infectious individuals in this high-density man-made environment involves pedestrian movement which is generally not taken into account in modeling studies of disease dynamics. This thesis addresses this problem through a multiscale model that combines pedestrian dynamics with stochastic infection spread models. This generic model is applicable to several directly transmitted diseases. Through this multiscale framework, the effectiveness of certain layout and strategies in suppressing the disease spread in highly crowded locations such as airplanes, airports …

A Step Toward Ending Long Airport Security Lines: The Modified Boarding Pass, Joel Lee

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Anyone who has traveled by air has most likely experienced long airport security lines. Yet not much is known about its cause because few have considered if passengers have created this problem for themselves. The present study attempts to fill this research gap by suggesting that when passengers are not well-prepared for security screening, they delay the process by making mistakes and not complying with procedures. This lack of preparedness can be attributed to several shortcomings of security signposts. This study proposes the use of a modified boarding pass as an alternative form of signage to help passengers better prepare …

Effects Of Musical Ability On Flight Planning, Situational Awareness, And Flight Path Deviations, Andrew P. Henry

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Numerous studies have been conducted on music education and the benefits that learning an instrument has on the brain. However, there is little research that connects a pilot’s ability to play an instrument to a pilot’s ability to fly an airplane. When learning an instrument, students learn non-musical abilities, such as executive functions, which may correspond with the skills necessary to be a good pilot. The purpose of this study was to find a relationship between learning a musical instrument and pilot performance, specifically related to flight planning, situational awareness, and flight path deviations. This study was a quasi-experimental design …

Mitigating The Risk Of Bird Strikes: The Use Of Virtual Reality During Flight Training, Flavio A. C. Mendonca Ph.D., Julius Keller Ph.D., Chien-Tsung Lu, Chenyu Huang Ph.D.

Publications

There were 193,969 wildlife strikes in the US from 1990 through 2017. Wildlife strikes annually cost the US civil aviation industry, on average, $186 million in monetary losses and 111,284 hours of aircraft downtime (Dolbeer & Begier, 2019). According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Aeronautical Decision-Making (ADM) is a systematic approach that encourages pilots to identify hazards and manage risks (FAA, 2016). Additionally, it helps aviators to make timely and safe decisions. Even though it is practically impossible to eliminate the risk of bird strikes, crewmembers play a vital role in the accident prevention process (Mendonca, Carney, & Fanjoy, …

How Airport Construction Will Evolve With The Increased Effects Of Climate Change, Xavier M. Ashley

Beyond: Undergraduate Research Journal

This report addressed the effects rising global temperatures resulting from climate change have had on flight operations in their entirety. The research objective was to discover what methods could enhance climate adaptation in airport construction, as higher mean-surface temperatures have an increasingly negative effect on aircraft performance. The findings would primarily be of interest to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Primary Office presiding over the planning and development of airports. Overall, the report provided a comprehensive analysis of global warming’s effects on aviation, including the implications of degraded aircraft performance and sea-level rise for coastal airports. Additionally, it examined comparative …

Contingency Fuel Reduction, Diogo Youssef, Fabiano Gomes De Oliveira, Joao Centeno, Luciano Figueiredo Vale De Oliveira

Graduate Student Works

This project reviews the minimum fuel regulations for commercial passenger flights in different countries and intends to scientifically support a change in the existing contingency fuel requirement regulation in Brazil. This change represents fuel savings for Brazilian air operations, and it deploys into competitive advantage for Brazilian airlines compared to foreign air operators. The objective of this project is to provide the Brazilian civil aviation regulators with the necessary data to justify the reduction of the contingency fuel values from the current 10% to 5%. This project bases the analysis on the historical data of fuel planning and fuel consumption …

Correct Delay Code Assignment, Alessandro Conconi, Anderson Da Silva Serafim, Vitor Cordeiro Silva, Thais Vieira Haberli

Graduate Student Works

The air transport market requires high investments, has elevated risks, and low financial return. The competition requires airlines to differentiate themselves by offering better services. On-time Performance (OTP) is an essential service; lack of punctuality affects company costs and revenues. An on-time company generates more satisfaction for travelers, retaining them. Flight delays are identified and reported by airlines through delay codes that are standardized by IATA.

A detailed and specific analysis of an airline's processes was performed to verify the quality of delay code allocation information. It also features the complete mapping of this company's delay code allocation processes and …

Automated Disruption Assistance, Christian Gruber Delamare, Douglas Cabrera Lopes, Patrice Ramos, Raioni De Oliveira Santos

Graduate Student Works

During the last decade, commercial aviation in Brazil has grown significantly, overcoming the number of 100 million passengers per year. The intense operation represents a challenge for the air carriers, especially during flight disruptions. In Brazil, besides the re-accommodation of the passengers into other flights, under certain circumstances, the ANAC 400 resolution requires the airlines to provide a series of material assistance. Meal, transport, and hotel make part of the exigences stated by the ANAC 400.

Our study aims to analyze the current process that is mainly manual and propose to automatize several steps through a self-service solution. The researchers …

A Study On Spare Aircraft In Brazilian Airlines, Clarissa Pinheiro Pereira, Eduardo Sakashita, Eliudes Del Grande, Guilherme Bevilacqua

Graduate Student Works

All around the globe, the airlines struggle to sustain profitability. They are deeply affected by the region’s economy. It goes from the fuel price and exchange rate to the level of employment and average salary. That makes it imperative to control the cost, and also to balance very well the cost and level of service. Aircraft utilization is one KPI that measures productivity. Once the airline has a high aircraft utilization, it means that the resource has been productive, hence more cost-efficient.

On the other hand, flight cancelations and delays result in costs and passengers’ dissatisfaction. In Brazil, there is …

An Evaluation Of The Operational Restrictions Imposed To Congonhas Airport By Iac 121-1013, Glanski O.C. Pacheco Jr., Marcus Camargo

Graduate Student Works

The objective of this study is to propose a review of the operational restrictions imposed on Congonhas airport by IAC 121-1013, seeking a balance between flight safety and operational efficiency.

The researchers calculated the landing performance (using specific software), taking into account particular aircraft system failures that increase landing distance. The results indicated that the measures imposed by the IAC have little or no effect on the operational safety increase. Additionally, the restrictions created operational complexity for the airport and reduced its efficiency by impacting airline costs. At the end of the study, the researchers suggest a reissue of the …

Engine Light Repair Shop Evaluation For A Brazilian Airline, Gustavo Henrique Melhado Trevilatto, Marcelo Teodoro Miranda

Graduate Student Works

The maintenance cost of a commercial aircraft comprises airframe, components, and engines. The most expensive of them are engines, which may represent up to 60% of an aircraft cost, and therefore will have a significant impact on any airline finance. As a result, engine fleet maintenance management is crucial for any airline sustainability. Apart from heavy maintenance where life limited parts are replaced and its performance restored, aircraft engines are often required to come off wing for light repair due to operational issues like foreign object damage, high oil consumption, and vibration issues. In other cases, even though being operational, …

A Better Approach For Mishandled Bags Industry Measure, Ana Caroline Costa, Daniel B. Ravagnani, Domenico Giuseppe Valente, Vitor Coletti Fernandes

Graduate Student Works

Since 1987, the US Department of Transportation (DOT) has ordered US airlines to report baggage handling statistics. The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), requests each U.S. carrier to report monthly the total number of passengers enplaned, and the total number of mishandled baggage reports (MBR), including lost, pilfered, damaged and delayed baggage. The U.S. DOT also created a mishandled-baggage rate, which represents the total number of MBRs divided by 1,000 passengers enplaned. This KPI is monthly published at the Air Travel Consumer Report. And it is used worldwide to make comparisons between regions, airports, and airlines, characterizing efficiency and consistency …

Training Synergy, Andre Vieira Caputo, Everton Amieiro, Lucio De Araujo Alves, Renan Dapena Roveran

Graduate Student Works

Brazil is facing a growth in the airline industry where all the major airlines are currently hiring pilots, flight attendants, and mechanics. One of the challenges of those airlines is to provide training for all these professionals. Many times they do not have instructors or classrooms available. It is crucial for the airlines to promote faster and better training, to reduce cost, save time and resources to prepare a better professional. With this capstone, we want to show the possibility of increasing the cost performance of airline training by providing alternatives to airlines. The idea is to promote synergy between …