Aviation Safety and Security Commons^™

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.

Comparative Analysis Of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operations Manuals, Stephen M. Cigal

Student Works

With over 100,000 remote pilots in the United States, individuals and companies are rapidly incorporating unmanned aircraft system technologies into their everyday life and businesses models. The companies that use these technologies must comply with federal and state regulations in order to maintain a safe environment to operate. These operations must also be accepted by the general public. Since the FAA regulations for small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) went into effect in 2016, supplemented by additional state and/or local requirements, some companies have generated operations manuals (OM) to ensure consistent, safe flight that meets these requirements. By analyzing the OM’s …

Keeping Your Distance: The Science Of Turns-Around-A-Point And Ground Reference Maneuvers, Nihad E. Daidzic

Aviation Department Publications

Ground reference maneuvers are more important than you may think. Frequently regarded as unimportant or boring, ground reference maneuver training is often limited to a few minutes of flight instructor demonstration and brief student practice.

Modifying Casting Parameters To Improve The High Temperature Ductility Of Investment Cast Nickel-Based Superalloy Pwa 1455, Lars Alexander Hedin, Cole Magnum Introligator

Materials Engineering

PCC Structurals, an industry leader in superalloy investment castings, has observed inconsistencies in the stress rupture performance of polycrystalline nickel-based superalloy PWA 1455. PCC has changed their casting parameters to reduce the thermal gradient during cooling but have been unable to correlate these changes with an increase in stress rupture elongation. Metallographic examination of past samples indicated microstructures composed of non- equiaxed dendritic grains with mean diameter of .021 inches along the test axis. A similar study on polycrystalline superalloys has indicated that excessive superheat temperatures above the liquidus can result in large grains identical to those observed, limiting the …

The Changing Face Of Airmanship And Safety Culture Operating Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Tracy Lamb

Student Works

The notion of using drones for commercial purposes has evolved in the past 5 years from the initial “boom” of excitement around this, somewhat of a novelty and curiosity, to more calculated and sophisticated use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or drones. In the hands of true professionals, drones can offer highly efficient and profitable solutions for industrial, and commercial inspections and other data capturing tasks. The appetite for safe and efficient collection of data is a changing face of safety cultures and how teams and individuals apply airmanship principles, and how inspection crew and UAS crew interact. UAS are …

Control Failures And How To Deal With It, Nihad E. Daidzic

Aviation Department Publications

FAA Safety Seminar (GL1591497) held at Minnesota State University, Mankato Wiecking Center Auditorium at 18:00 CST on Thursday, April 18, 2019.

Multi-Path Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System For Performance Limited Aircraft With Flight Tests: Project Have Medusa, Kenneth C. Gahan

Theses and Dissertations

A multi-path automatic ground collision avoidance system (Auto-GCAS) for performance limited aircraft was further developed and improved to prevent controlled flight into terrain. This research includes flight test results from the United States Test Pilot School's Test Management Project (TMP) titled Have Multi-Path Escape Decisions Using Sophisticated Algorithms (MEDUSA). Currently, the bomber and mobility air- craft communities lack an Auto-GCAS. The F-16 Auto-GCAS was proven successful for fighter-type aircraft with seven aircraft and eight lives saved from 2014 to 2018. The newly developed and tested Rapidly Selectable Escape Trajectory (RSET) sys- tem included a 5-path implementation which continuously updated at …

Simulation And Piloted Simulator Study Of An Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System For Performance Limited Aircraft, James D. Carpenter

Theses and Dissertations

The F-16 Automatic-Ground Collision Avoidance System (Auto-GCAS) has been a resounding success since implementation in Nov 2014, saving 8 pilots and 7 aircraft from Controlled Flight into Terrain (CFIT). However, there is no implemented Auto- GCAS for "heavy" performance limited aircraft. This research endeavors to expand on the success of F-16 Auto-GCAS to other aircraft in the Air Force inventory such as the C-130, C-17, and B-1. MIL-STD-1797 classifies performance limited aircraft as large, heavy, and low to medium maneuverability. Using a stitched Learjet-25D model (LJ-25D), an Auto-GCAS algorithm was developed to predict multiple escape-maneuver trajectories, compare these paths to …

Incidence Of An Astronaut Not Sealing The Pressure Garment Visor On Reentry, Cameron M. Smith, Trent Tresch

Journal of Human Performance in Extreme Environments

Audiovisual records of a Project Mercury pilot’s activities during an orbital flight indicate that his visor was left open during reentry and descent to the sea surface, phases of flight during which cabin pressure loss was to be mitigated by suit pressurization; however, the suit could not have been pressurized with the visor open. Thus, for a presently unknown reason, a critical safety step—sealing the visor and making a pressure suit integrity test before reentry—was overlooked in this flight. Later, Space Shuttle flights were carried out with visors unsealed for much of the launch and landing phases, with the false …

W&B Problems For Far/Cs 25 Airplanes Tutorial, Nihad E. Daidzic

Aviation Department Publications

Weight and Balance (W&B) computations are essential step in ensuring that the aircraft (in this case FAR/CS 25 Transport-category airplanes) is properly loaded with its Center of Mass (CM) of Center of Weight/Gravity (CG) in the proper range.

Low Level Turbulence Detection For Airports, Anthony O' Connor, Derek Kearney

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Abstract—— Low level wind shear and turbulence present a serious safety risk to aircraft during the approach, landing and take-off phases. Despite many advances in on-board and ground based warning systems. Wind shear remains a formidable force that coupled with a microburst can overpower any aircraft. Aviation reports have concluded that pilots need to have improved information in relation to tailwinds, wind shear and wind variations on approach and during the landing phases. Low level wind shear continues to cause disruption, delays and contribute to aircraft crashes. As recently as 2016, two Boeing aircraft crashed while attempting a Go-around …

Beyond 2020 Nextgen Compliance: Human Factors And Cognitive Loading Issues For Commercial And General Aviation Pilots, Mark D. Miller, Sam Holley

Publications

As previously identified by the authors, digitized flight decks have realigned SHELL model components and introduced cognitive overload con­cerns. Considering changes from implementing Next Generation air traffic management requirements in 2020, the authors assess digitized interfaces associated with cockpit displays of information integral to performance based navigation and similar operations. Focus is placed on Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast, digitized communications, and expanded electronic flight bags. The ADSB (In) cockpit display will enable pilots to have flight visual awareness on aircraft, terrain, weather and hazards to flight through live satellite updates every second. Increased optical demands and cognitive loading are anticipated …

The Application Of Signal Detection Theory Principles To Aircraft Certification, John M. Maris Ph.D, Alexander V. Ilyin Ph.D

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

This paper presents the application of Signal Detection Theory (SDT) concepts to the certification of optional systems that provide operational or system safety benefits. The method and analysis yield quantitative requirements for the system performance that account for the risks and benefits of the potential system. This is in contrast to the standard certification approach which only focuses on Failure Conditions, and does not examine potential system benefits. A case study of an aircraft spotter on an electronic moving map illustrates that substantial safety improvements may be achieved even with the relatively low levels of software reliability associated with Commercial …

Global Aviation System: Towards Sustainable Development, Marina P. Bonser Dr.

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Aviation around the world has integrated into a global system. As the integration process continues, more aspects and levels of it need to be lead towards the sustainable development of the whole system via advancing strategic management, global communication proficiency, and technological expertise. It becomes essential to enrich global language (English) proficiency with cross-cultural communication competence not only for communication in the air but also for airport security, passenger and cargo services, aircraft and equipage engineering, building, and maintenance. Nowadays lower levels of management need more advanced strategic thinking and problem solving skills, and higher levels of management need global …

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

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

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 …

Landing-Gear Impact Response: A Non-Linear Finite Element Approach, Tuan H. Tran

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The primary objective of this research is to formulate a methodology of assessing the maximum impact loading condition that will incur onto an aircraft’s landing gear system via Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and appropriately determining its corresponding structural and impact responses to minimize potential design failures during hard landing (abnormal impact) and shock absorption testing. Both static and dynamic loading condition were closely analyzed, compared, and derived through the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) airworthiness regulations and empirical testing data.

In this research, a nonlinear transient dynamic analysis is developed and established via NASTRAN advanced nonlinear finite element model (FEM) to …

Air Temperatures Tutorial, Nihad E. Daidzic

Aviation Department Publications

No abstract provided.

High Dynamic Range Optical Devices And Applications., Elijah Robert Jensen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Much of what we know about fundamental physical law and the universe derives from observations and measurements using optical methods. The passive use of the electromagnetic spectrum can be the best way of studying physical phenomenon in general with minimal disturbance of the system in the process. While for many applications ambient visible light is sufficient, light outside of the visible range may convey more information. The signals of interest are also often a small fraction of the background, and their changes occur on time scales so quickly that they are visually imperceptible. This thesis reports techniques and technologies developed …

Determination Of Takeoff And Landing Distances Using An Ipad Performance Application For The Diamond Da40, Tyler A. Babb, Christina Hiers

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

All pilots are required to calculate aircraft performance parameters prior to flight. This includes takeoff and landing distances. Traditionally, pilots in training have planned for takeoff and landing performance using paper charts provided by the manufacturer. However, professional pilots use devices such as Flight Management Systems (FMS), Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) applications, or on-board performance computers (OPC) to make such calculations. During primary flight training, student pilots could make performance calculations with proper software, similar to the method they will typically use at the professional level. Recently an iPad application was released which can calculate numerous performance parameters for specific …

U.S. Government Aviation Safety Information Resources, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Presentation covering U.S. Government aviation safety information resources. Topics addressed include U.S. laws,legislation, regulations, court cases, information resources from agencies such as the Federal Aviation Administration, Transportation Security Administration, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, congressional aviation oversight committees and congressional support agencies including the Congressional Budget Office, Congressional Research Service, and Government Accountability Office.

Book Review: Fundamentals Of International Aviation, Alan Bender

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Not applicable.

Unmanned Aerial Systems: Research, Development, Education & Training At Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Michael P. Hickey

Publications

With technological breakthroughs in miniaturized aircraft-related components, including but not limited to communications, computer systems and sensors, state-of-the-art unmanned aerial systems (UAS) have become a reality. This fast-growing industry is anticipating and responding to a myriad of societal applications that will provide new and more cost-effective solutions that previous technologies could not, or will replace activities that involved humans in flight with associated risks.

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has a long history of aviation-related research and education, and is heavily engaged in UAS activities. This document provides a summary of these activities, and is divided into two parts. The first part …

A Novel Approach For Missing Combat Support Aircraft Search Acceleration Using Vtol Uas, Mohammed Ba Zuhair, Wisam Yousef, Issam Samara, Vladislav Varsegov

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

In this paper, an approach to accelerate search operations for a missing combat support aircraft using a portable waterproof autonomous vertical takeoff and landing unmanned aerial system called “flying locator beacon” is described. The latter is connected with both flight data and cockpit voice recorders with a parallel bus and may be deployed from the empennage during extreme emergency scenarios, which is detected when few flight parameters are overrun leading to an air crash stimulating behavior. Landing of the flying locator beacon strictly takes place on global latitude and longitude coordinates only of integer values enabling significant minimization of search …

Space Operations In The Suborbital Space Flight Simulator And Mission Control Center: Lessons Learned With Xcor Lynx, Pedro Llanos, Christopher Nguyen, David Williams, Kim O. Chambers, Erik Seedhouse, Robert Davidson

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

This study was conducted to better understand the performance of the XCOR Lynx vehicle. Because the Lynx development was halted, the best knowledge of vehicle dynamics can only be found through simulator flights. X-Plane 10 was chosen for its robust applications and accurate portrayal of dynamics on a vehicle in flight. The Suborbital Space Flight Simulator (SSFS) and Mission Control Center (MCC) were brought to the Applied Aviation Sciences department in fall 2015 at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach campus. This academic and research tool is a department asset capable of providing multiple fields of data about suborbital simulated flights. …

Spacecraft Fire Safety Research: Combustion Of Lithium-Ion Batteries To Predict Fire Scenarios, Elisabeth Meyer

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this project was to research characteristics of a Lithium-ion battery fire to determine if trends exist in measured fire characteristics that can help predict different fire scenarios. These experiments will ultimately aid in developing an alarm threshold for a spacecraft smoke detector, specifically for Orion, a new, multi-purpose crew vehicle under development by NASA. Orion is the next-generation of spacecraft designed to replace the space shuttle and will play an important role in NASA’s journey to Mars.

In the experiments performed, Lithium-ion batteries were placed in a test chamber and ignited while smoke concentration was measured, simulating …

Evaluating The Effect Of Turbulence On Aircraft During Landing And Take-Off Phases, Anthony O' Connor, Derek Kearney

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

—— Low level wind shear and turbulence present a serious safety risk to aircraft during the approach, landing and take-off phases. Low level wind shear has been identified as one of the primary factors for aircraft go-arounds and aborted landings. During any given year, wind shear occurs thousands of times at airports around the world, affecting the arrival and departure of aircraft. This paper has quantified the direct cost of flight Go-arounds. This paper will show the potential savings to the aviation industry. This paper will argue that a solution to the problem of forecasting low level wind shear and …

Real Time And High Fidelity Quadcopter Tracking System, Tyler Mckay Hall

Computer Engineering

This project was conceived as a desired to have an affordable, flexible and physically compact tracking system for high accuracy spatial and orientation tracking. Specifically, this implementation is focused on providing a low cost motion capture system for future research. It is a tool to enable the further creation of systems that would require the use of accurate placement of landing pads, payload acquires and delivery. This system will provide the quadcopter platform a coordinate system that can be used in addition to GPS.

Field research with quadcopter manufacturers, photographers, agriculture and research organizations were contact and interviewed for information …

Fdm Machine Learning: An Investigation Into The Utility Of Neural Networks As A Predictive Analytic Tool For Go Around Decision Making, John Bro

ASA Multidisciplinary Research Symposium

FDM MACHINE LEARNING: An investigation into the utility of neural networks as a predictive analytic tool for go around decision making.

How Iridium Satellite Tracker Model 9602-Lp Asset Affects Span Of Control In High Altitidue Balloning, Steven Hamby

2017 Academic High Altitude Conference

The Irdium Satelitte Network has greatly increased safety in the ballooning field by enabling a greater span of control in flight awarness and termination. This enhanced awareness stems from accurate high interval GPS coordinates that can be integrated into ground station tracking software. The Iridium Network creates the ability to send activation commands remotely with high reliabilty using emails. Additionally this feature has the ability to use local rf transmiters and recievers to increase the flexibilty of cutdown designs. The Iridium Modems provides significant coverage regardless of altitude and loss of ground communication. It is marketed at econmical price point …

High Altitude Balloon Flight Predictions, Sara Stafford

2017 Academic High Altitude Conference

The ability to make accurate predictions of a high altitude balloon’s flight trajectory is critical for safety, protection of sensitive payloads, and ease of payload recovery. Several free software programs and websites are available which make predictions straightforward and yield acceptable results. Additional resources are presented which help evaluate the stability of the projected flight track. The various methods of prediction will be described and results compared with actual flight data.