Aviation Commons^™

Social Science Considerations For Integrating Aviation Technology, Emergency Services, And Human Resilience, Chelsea A. Lenoble, Joel M. Billings, Janel M. Ingraham, Ray H. Chang, Allison A. Kwesell

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) have a range of innovative applications within the field of disaster management, underscoring the potential to enhance human security by integrating UAS across phases of disasters. This paper highlights important social science challenges that must be addressed to ensure the effective integration of UAS, the complex team of teams that respond to disasters, and the populations affected by disasters. Expanding upon points of intersection between UAS capabilities and disaster management identified in recent research, UAS uses in disaster management and corresponding psychosocial considerations are discussed. Broadly, these considerations focus on the training and development of the …

A Proposed Taxonomy For General Aviation Pilot Weather Education And Training, John M. Lanicci, Thomas A. Guinn, Jayde M. King, Beth Blickensderfer, Robert Thomas, Yolanda Ortiz

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

As General Aviation (GA) safety continues to remain a focus of the aviation community, GA pilot weather education and training continues to be an active area of interest within the research community. This study introduces a taxonomy for organizing GA pilot weather education and training materials that was originally conceived as part of the FAA’s Weather Technology In the Cockpit research program. The taxonomy is built upon three main knowledge categories, or tiers:1) Weather Phenomena (which includes hazards); 2) Weather Hazard Products; and 3) Weather Hazard Product Sources and their Application. The concept behind the categorization is to link knowledge …

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 …

Glue-Infused Rotating Nanofibers Net (Gronnet) For Capturing Space Debris- A Novel Debris Capturing System, Sneha M. Raibagi, Prithvi S.J. Monteiro, Rashmi K. Pallam, Amogh Anantha Murthy, Amit G. Gadag, Sharanabasaweshwara Asundi, Oleksandr Kravchenko

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

It is evident that space debris is a growing concern, particularly in the low altitude Earth orbits, and if not addressed in time, may have a drastic socio-economic impact on civilization. This paper describes the Glue-infused Rotating Nanofibers Net (GRoNNet), a novel debris capturing system for pico/nano/micro-satellites (PNMSats). GRoNNet is designed as a modular, cost-effective system with the capability to capture target debris in multiple attempts and expedite its re-entry by attaching a debris mitigation system. It may be best described by comparing it with a chameleon’s tongue but several hundreds/thousands of them infused with a thick honey-like viscous adhesive …

Degrader Analysis For Diagnostic And Predictive Capabilities: A Demonstration Of Progress In Dod Cbm+ Initiatives, William Baker, Steven Nixon, Jeffrey Banks, Karl Reichard, Kaitlynn Castelle

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper presents a modified reliability centered maintenance (RCM) methodology developed by The Applied Research Laboratory at The Pennsylvania State University (ARL Penn State) to meet challenges in decreasing life cycle sustainment costs for critical Naval assets. The focus of this paper is on the requirements for the development of the on-board Prognostics and Health Management (PHM) system with a discussion on the implementation progress for two systems: the high pressure air compressor (HPAC), and the advanced carbon dioxide removal unit (ACRU). Recent Department of Defense (DoD) guidance calls for implementing Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) as an alternative to traditional …

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 …

Rocket Motor Nozzle, Corey Hillegass

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

For this honors research and senior design project, the authors will research, analyze, and manufacture a rocket motor nozzle for the Akronauts rocket design team. This research and design project will improve how the rocket design team will decide and manufacture nozzles going forward. The impact of this improvement allows the rocket design team to take steps toward being self-sustaining by manufacturing student designed parts as opposed to commercially bought parts. This will not only be successful in increasing student impact on future designs, but also provides a technical challenge for the authors and will present as an impressive feat …

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.

Taking Off In Africa: Critical Elements Of Aircraft Engine Manufacturer Engagement That Can Affect Airline Safety Performance, Nathan Michael Woods

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) is a term used in many industries to describe a company that produces parts and equipment that may be marketed by another manufacturer. In the aviation industry, the aircraft engine OEM refers to the company the manufactures engines powering the aircraft. The OEM manufactures the engine, defines the required maintenance to operate the engines, and recommends product modifications. Product modifications are recommended to improve product safety, durability, reliability, and cost of ownership and are formally communicated through issuance of service bulletins. Properly performing the required maintenance and adopting service bulletins is an important element of maintaining …

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 …

Order Fulfillment Errors And Military Aircraft Readiness, Michael Weber, Daniel Steeneck, William Cunningham

Faculty Publications

This paper aims to measure the effect of supply discrepancy reports (SDRs) on military aircraft readiness metrics, including aircraft availability, not mission capable supply (NMCS) hours, cannibalizations and mission-impaired capability awaiting parts (MICAP) hours.

Monthly SDR, NMCS, aircraft cannibalizations and MICAP data from 2009 to 2018 are analyzed using linear regression and independent samples t-tests to examine whether discrepant shipments negatively impact aircraft readiness.

A Preliminary Investigation Of Maintenance Contributions To Commercial Air Transport Accidents, Fatima Najeeb Khan, Ayiei Ayiei, John Murray, Glenn Baxter, Graham Wild

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Aircraft maintenance includes all the tasks needed to ensure an aircraft’s continuing airworthiness. Accidents that result from these maintenance activities can be used to assess safety. This research seeks to undertake a preliminary investigation of accidents that have maintenance contributions. An exploratory design was utilized, which commenced with a content analysis of the accidents with maintenance contributions (n = 35) in the official ICAO accident data set (N = 1277), followed by a quantitative ex-post facto study. Results showed that maintenance contributions are involved in 2.8 ± 0.9% of ICAO official …