Aviation and Space Education Commons^™

Book Review: Spies, Lies, And Algorithms: The History And Future Of American Intelligence, Claire Benedix

Space and Defense

The security environment is entering a new threat landscape; one that must be fought in both the physical and virtual world. The seemingly instantaneous progress of digitization and the cyberspace domain threatens to destabilize traditional warfare strategies and intelligence norms. Amy Zegart, an American academic and leading national security expert, outlines the history and future of American intelligence with a specific emphasis on emerging cyber threats in the digital age. In Spies, Lies, and Algorithms, Zegart explains the roles of technological breakthroughs in a world of big data by chronicling the history of intelligence education and organizational reform, the evolution …

Communicating Deterrence Thresholds In Cyberspace Through Global Normas, Leila Yanni

Space and Defense

Student Contribution.

Cyberspace refers to a purely virtual arena that has become increasingly relevant in the past few years, as countries develop more cyber weapons and carry out more cyber attacks. The cyber domain has a large scope because of its virtual nature, and it has a high potential threat level as the full impact of cyber capabilities are not even understood yet. As the possibilities for destructive cyber weapons are virtually endless, the threats are also virtually endless. Because of the growing relevance of cyberspace and the high danger level, deterrence thresholds are a pressing issue in this domain. …

Us Blindness To Russian, Chinese Cultural Motives Risks Nuclear Escalation And Ill-Fit Response, Ryan C. Bushman

Space and Defense

Student Contribution.

This paper was authored prior to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and the publication of the 2022 Nuclear Posture Review.

The United States has taken numerous miscalculated steps with respect to foreign and nuclear policy based on an incomplete understanding of the motives of both China and Russia. This is, in part, due to a failure to acknowledge these nations' strategic culture - an enduring system of values that influence a nation's use of military force. As the US is about to put forth its 2022 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), it is critical that future responses to …

Keynote Address: Dr. Kori Schake, Kori Schake

Space and Defense

2022 United Sates Strategic Command Academic Alliance Conference and Workshop, Mark 30-April 1, 2022, Conducted via Zoom

Addressing The American Approach To Emerging Technologies: Utilizing The Ai Arms Race To Highlight The Need To Develop Public-Private Partnerships In C4isr And 5g, Hugh Harsono, Nicholas Ondovcsik

Space and Defense

he world of emerging technologies has changed countries' access and placement to these digital enablement tools of the future, with blockchain, decentralization, and a myriad of other compounding technologies accelerating the pace of development and growth combining the physical and the digital world. Historically, America's Silicon Valley has led the world's development of new technologies, particularly during the latter part of the digital revolution. In contrast, China focused on enhancing its manufacturing capabilities, becoming a world leader by capitalizing on the ever-connected world and leveraging its economic prowess. These roles became reversed in the early-2000s,1 when China first surpassed the …

Technology: The Air And Space Force's Barrier To Innovation, William F. Cosgrove

Space and Defense

The Department of Defense is a rank-and-file institution that values orders adherence and a zero-error mentality, which has led commanders to be risk averse. This is exemplified in the cybersecurity realm, with controls attempting to protect all information, including uncontrolled unclassified information. Efforts that attempt to employ a new or different type of information technology are made very difficult by a number of existing policies. Additionally, customer surveys, service initiatives, and open user complaints have revealed dissatisfaction with Department of the Air Force (DAF) IT services. The millennial and post-millennial generations are the most technologically adept, yet the majority of …

A Great Nuclear Rejuvenation: What China Can Do With An Expanded Nuclear Arsenal, Grant Van Robays, Chloe Reynolds, Will Jackson, Tom Hammerle

Space and Defense

China's hypersonic glide vehicle test in October 2021 prompted widespread concern in the general public and within the defense intelligence community. General Mark A. Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the test was "very close" to a Sputnik moment.1 More than mere power projection by the People's Republic of China (PRC) and Chinese Communist Party ( CCP), the hypersonic test is an exemplification of rapid advancements in Chinese strategic nuclear forces writ large. Improved nuclear weapons capabilities will offer Beijing greater leverage in regional and international disputes with an increased capacity to coerce and compel adversaries into …

Editor's Note, Michelle Black

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents, Space And Defense

Space and Defense

Table of contents for Volume 14 issue 1 of Space and Defense

Front Matter, Space And Defense

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Stafford Collection Review, The Conservation Center, Southwestern Oklahoma State University

Library Grants

This report evaluating the Thomas P. Stafford Collection has been made possible in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

A Qualitative Ethnographic Case Study Exploring The Hispanic/Latinx Interpretations Of Collegiate Aviation Safety Culture, Jorge L. D. Albelo Ph.D., Leo G. Acosta, Flavio A. C. Mendonca Ph.D., Eugene Kim, Felipe Almodovar

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

Through a combination of ethnographic principles and a qualitative case study structure, this study strives to understand how Hispanic/ Latinx aviation students perceive the current aviation safety culture in their flight training program. Grounded in the reciprocal safety culture model, the researchers attempt to answer how does Hispanic/Latinx culture influence perceptions towards commitment to aviation safety? and what are Hispanic/Latinx students’ perceptions of their ability to influence aviation safety culture? Three major themes emerged from the data: behavioral signs of safety culture at the collegiate level, obstacles to a sound safety culture, and methods to improve the safety culture. Moreover, …

Systems Thinking Applied To Higher Education Curricula Development, Reza Rahdar, Mark London, Yuetong Lin, Hong Jiang

Publications

Systems Thinking (ST) is a general and yet nebulous term that describes an approach to understanding and working with complexity in the real world. ST seeks to evaluate different behaviors of individual system elements when they operate in isolation as opposed to when they are integrated as part of a larger system and placed within a particular operating environment. The education environment consists of multiple systems with different digital content, learning goals/outcomes that serve different stakeholders including teachers, learners, and administrators. The inherent complexity and interaction among these various educational system elements and functions make this environment a worthy candidate …

Pilots’ Desire To Become Future Space Tourism Pilots: Polynomial Regression Using Response Surface Analysis, Robert A. Goehlich, Ralf Bebenroth

Publications

In this study, we investigated the impact of pilots’ motivation on their desire to be space tourism pilots or to remain in their current occupation (adherence). We analyzed the feedback obtained from a survey questionnaire on a sample consisting of 106 pilots with flying experience. In particular, we compared the pilots’ intrinsic and extrinsic motivations to investigate two outcomes: the desire to become future space pilots or to remain as air pilots. Applying the self-determination theory, we found that intrinsic motivation mattered more than extrinsic motivation. Furthermore, by applying response surface analysis as our statistical tool, it was revealed that …

Recognizing The Potential To Reduce Ghg Emissions Through Air Transportation Electrification, Julio Roa, Joseph Oldham, Marina Lima

Mineta Transportation Institute

California is aggressively moving forward with efforts to deploy zero-emission transportation technology to fight climate change, especially the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions from the high-impact transportation sector. However, to date, the investments California has made with Cap-and-Trade funding have focused on ground transportation and some marine sources and not the aircraft at the over 140 airports in the state. Through a California-focused comprehensive GHG emissions analysis, this research project seeks to determine how RAM using electric/hybrid electric aircraft can provide new high-speed transportation for high-priority passenger and cargo movement within Fresno County and connections to coastal urban centers. Using VISION, …

Innovation For The Air: A Brief History Of Worldwide Aviation, Lauren Plumley

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

The purpose of this report is to present a brief but comprehensive overview of the variety of innovations related to aviation, and to discuss their impact on scientific progress over the course of human history. Relevant discoveries from the fields of physics and aerodynamics, and the numerous technologies built based upon these discoveries, are discussed over a period ranging from ancient times to the twenty-first century. The scope of this report is an overview of the development of powered and unpowered aircraft, including lighter-than-air, heavier-than-air, and aerospace technologies. Aviation developments were generally not limited to one specific country or person, …

Investigating The Costs And Economic Impact Of Flight Delays In The Aviation Industry And The Potential Strategies For Reduction, Ashmith Anupkumar

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study addressed a critical issue in our travel life: flight delays. This study covers all aspects of a flight delay, from its causes and consequences to reduction strategies. The focused research questions were: To determine the outcome of flight delays in the aviation industry, to determine costs associated with flight delays for airlines, airports, and passengers, and to determine strategies for reducing flight delays in the aviation industry for robust findings. The findings for each question were as follows: the primary causes were overscheduling, airport hubbing, late check-ins, technical failure, etc. And the consequences were significant financial loss, the …

The Influence Of In-School Time (Ist) And Out-Of-School Time (Ost) Learning Experiences On Aviation Career Entry, Andrew Koch

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Increased demand for aviation has created a skill and workforce gap. An understanding of how to increase this potential workforce is vital to ensure the ongoing success and sustainability of the commercial aviation industry. This research explores science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) programs as a potential avenue for increasing the available aviation workforce. Specifically, it explores how STEM programs and their associated learning experiences influence career entry.

Utilizing a mixed methodology approach, this research retrospectively explored the self-reported effect of out-of-school time (OST) and in-school time (IST) STEM experiences on aviation career development. Through interviews, a survey instrument was …

Writing Matters: Investigating The Quality Of Collegiate Aviation Incident Report Narratives, Kayla D. Taylor

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Strong communication skills are fundamental to workplace success in the field of aviation. Numerous studies have shown that a deficiency in communication skills contributes to aviation accidents, and, as a result, the development of communication competencies within the aviation industry has received considerable critical attention. Understanding the acquisition and subsequent progression of writing skills throughout a pilot’s education, specifically in preparatory aviation courses, is an emerging area of research in aviation communication.

This study examined how the level of supplemental discipline-specific guidance affects the writing quality of incident report narratives composed by collegiate pilot students at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU). …

Predicting Success Of Pilot Training Candidates Using Interpretable Machine Learning, Alexandra S. King

Theses and Dissertations

The United States Air Force (USAF) has struggled with a sustained pilot shortage over the past several years; senior military and government leaders have been working towards a solution to the problem, with no noticeable improvements. Both attrition of more experienced pilots as well as wash out rates within pilot training contribute to this issue. This research focuses on pilot training attrition. Improving the process for selecting pilot candidates can reduce the number of candidates who fail. This research uses historical specialized undergraduate pilot training (SUPT) data and leverages select machine learning techniques to determine which factors are associated with …

Development Of Upset Recovery And Basic Aerobatic Courses For Collegiate Flight Training Programs, Warren P. Pittorie, Michaela C. Satter, Meredith Carroll Phd

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Upset recovery and aerobatics are two topics in general aviation that are often overlooked by commercial pilots in training. This can be due to several different constraints, such as not having the time or resources to receive optional flight instruction, or the workload involved with locating a reputable school and qualified flight instructor. In addition, upset recovery and aerobatics training is not required to become a commercially rated pilot and start a career in the aviation industry. However, both topics, especially upset recovery, can increase a pilot’s awareness of the limitations of their own aircraft and increase their confidence when …

Improved Feedback Mechanisms Of The Hydraulics Sandbox Simulator, Karen J. Johnson, Martin Hebel

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

The proposed presentation will include the following project and results from implementation in an aircraft hydraulic systems course.

In 2020 we developed a digital hydraulics system schematic sandbox for use in an FAA Part 147 airframe maintenance technician training program (See Figure 1). The sandbox allows students to drag-drop-connect components used in systems such as those found in aircraft. It allows them to ‘test-connect’ the components to get feedback on correct and incorrect ‘construction’. As shown in Figure 1, light green ‘hoses’ are correct supply connections, dark green are correct return connections and red are incorrect connections per established rules …

Accuracy Assessment Of The Ebee Using Rtk And Ppk Corrections Methods As A Function Of Distance To A Gnss Base Station, Joseph Cerreta, David Thirtyacre, Peter Miller, Scott S. Burgess, William J. Austin

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

The use of unmanned aircraft systems to collect data for photogrammetry models has grown significantly in recent years. The accuracy of a photogrammetric model can depend on image georeferencing. The distance from a reference base station can affect the accuracy of the results. Positioning corrections data relies on precise timing measurements of satellite signals. The signals travel through the Earth's atmosphere, which introduces errors due to ionospheric and tropospheric delays. The aim of this research was to examine the eBee X and its global GNSS accuracy by comparing the RTK and PPK methods at different base station distances in photogrammetry …

Faa Designated Pilot Examiner System Insights, Wendy Beckman, Michael Gref, Timothy Rosser

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

As part of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act of 2018 the FAA was required by Congress to review Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) policies and procedures. This task was delegated to the Designated Pilot Examiner Reforms Working Group (DPERWG). This Group delivered its recommendations to the FAA in June 2021, and this research study was conducted in late January of 2022 to attempt to provide additional insights to the agency prior to its required response to the DPERWG in June of 2022.

This research project aimed to provide perceptions of the current DPE system from both DPEs and flight …

Testing Backward Chaining Ab-Initio Flight Instruction, Samuel M. Vance, Kat Gardner-Vandy Phd, Brendan A. Pearce

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

This conceptual/exploratory research updates that previously published in the Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education and Research (JAAER) Vol. 30, Issue 1 (Spring 2021) which asked if backward chaining, ab-initio pilot training decrease time to first solo? The specific focus of the research was the viability of landings instruction as the first ab-initio lesson. The research compared a total of eight respondents in a backward-chained flight instruction methodology against four respondents in a forward-chained flight instruction methodology. All 12 respondents were recruited without previous flight instruction or Pilot-in-Command logged flight time. Ground instruction preceded simulator instruction which was followed by instruction in …

Single Pilot Operations And Public Acceptance: A Mixed Methods Study Conducted In Greece, Panagiotis Kioulepoglou, Ilias Makris

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

The airline industry is moving towards Single Pilot Operations (SPO), as a result of the increased training and salary cost of pilots, and also as a remedy to the impending pilot shortage which is estimated to manifest itself in the years to follow. The main objective of this study was to explore whether the Greek public is willing to accept only one pilot onboard, what are the factors that affect this decision, and which is the preferred method of replacing the second pilot by choosing between an array of alternative options proposed by the industry.

Based on the qualitative findings …

Enhancing Trajectory-Based Operations For Uavs Through Hexagonal Grid Indexing: A Step Towards 4d Integration Of Utm And Atm, Deepudev Sahadevan Neelakandan, Hannah Al Ali

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Aviation is expected to face a surge in the number of manned aircraft and drones in the coming years, making it necessary to integrate Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management (UTM) into Air Traffic Management (ATM) to ensure safe and efficient operations. This research proposes a novel hexagonal grid-based 4D trajectory representation framework for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) traffic management that overcomes the limitations of existing square/cubic trajectory representation methods. The proposed model employs a hierarchical indexing structure using hexagonal cells, enabling efficient ground based strategic conflict detection and conflict free 4D trajectory planning. Additionally, the use of Hexagonal Discrete Global …

Safety In Flight Training - An Analysis Of The Ntsb Data 2014-2018, Michael F. Walach

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

There were 7,500 safety events in the NTSB data sets from 2013-2018. These events were analyzed using Chi-square, Cramer’s V, and the odds ratio. Major findings in the study determined that while pilots crash aircraft for the same reasons whether they are in a training environment or not, student pilots are typically less likely to be killed, or seriously injured. The aircraft that student pilots fly however, do not share the same relative safety in some event types. Students destroy and substantially damage more aircraft than their non-training counterparts in abnormal runway contact events. The top five causes of safety …

Collegiate Aviation Students’ Perceptions Towards The Integration Of Diversity And Inclusion Training: A Qualitative Case Study, Jorge L. D. Albelo, Nicola M. O'Toole, Eugene Kim

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

Multiple industries have become more supportive and engaging places to work by embedding diversity, equity, and inclusion within their institutional processes. Institutions of higher education have seen the educational benefits of integrating diversity and inclusion principles within their program outcomes. Notably, the aviation industry has seen an increase in diversity, equity, and inclusion practices to attract more customers and increase the number of potential applicants. Yet, there is scant literature on how aviation students at collegiate flight institutions perceive the integration of diversity and inclusion training within the airline industry as part of their career development. This study aimed to …

V3: Flight Simulator Technology, Isaac Chung, Genta Adjie

Student Works

Long were the days of relying solely on textbook readings and real-time flying where pilots and crew have the chance to learn to fly from the humble Cessna to the Queen of the Skies using flight simulator technology to recreate near-identical flying environments right from your screen or cockpit mockup!