14 CFR 121.519 - Flight time limitations: Deadhead transportation: airplanes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Flight time limitations: Deadhead transportation: airplanes. 121.519 Section 121.519 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... Limitations: Supplemental Operations § 121.519 Flight time limitations: Deadhead transportation: airplanes...

14 CFR 121.517 - Flight time limitations: Other commercial flying: airplanes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Flight time limitations: Other commercial flying: airplanes. 121.517 Section 121.517 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... Limitations: Supplemental Operations § 121.517 Flight time limitations: Other commercial flying: airplanes. No...

14 CFR 121.517 - Flight time limitations: Other commercial flying: airplanes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Flight time limitations: Other commercial flying: airplanes. 121.517 Section 121.517 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... Limitations: Supplemental Operations § 121.517 Flight time limitations: Other commercial flying: airplanes. No...

14 CFR 121.517 - Flight time limitations: Other commercial flying: airplanes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Flight time limitations: Other commercial flying: airplanes. 121.517 Section 121.517 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... Limitations: Supplemental Operations § 121.517 Flight time limitations: Other commercial flying: airplanes. No...

14 CFR 121.517 - Flight time limitations: Other commercial flying: airplanes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Flight time limitations: Other commercial flying: airplanes. 121.517 Section 121.517 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... Limitations: Supplemental Operations § 121.517 Flight time limitations: Other commercial flying: airplanes. No...

14 CFR 121.517 - Flight time limitations: Other commercial flying: airplanes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Flight time limitations: Other commercial flying: airplanes. 121.517 Section 121.517 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... Limitations: Supplemental Operations § 121.517 Flight time limitations: Other commercial flying: airplanes. No...

14 CFR 91.1059 - Flight time limitations and rest requirements: One or two pilot crews.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Rest 10 Hours 12 Hours. (6) Minimum After Duty Rest Period for Multi-Time Zone Flights 14 Hours 18... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Flight time limitations and rest... OPERATING AND FLIGHT RULES Fractional Ownership Operations Program Management § 91.1059 Flight time...

14 CFR 121.503 - Flight time limitations: Pilots: airplanes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Flight time limitations: Pilots: airplanes... Operations § 121.503 Flight time limitations: Pilots: airplanes. (a) A certificate holder conducting supplemental operations may schedule a pilot to fly in an airplane for eight hours or less during any 24...

14 CFR 121.503 - Flight time limitations: Pilots: airplanes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Flight time limitations: Pilots: airplanes... Operations § 121.503 Flight time limitations: Pilots: airplanes. (a) A certificate holder conducting supplemental operations may schedule a pilot to fly in an airplane for eight hours or less during any 24...

14 CFR 121.503 - Flight time limitations: Pilots: airplanes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Flight time limitations: Pilots: airplanes... Operations § 121.503 Flight time limitations: Pilots: airplanes. (a) A certificate holder conducting supplemental operations may schedule a pilot to fly in an airplane for eight hours or less during any 24...

14 CFR 121.503 - Flight time limitations: Pilots: airplanes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Flight time limitations: Pilots: airplanes... Operations § 121.503 Flight time limitations: Pilots: airplanes. (a) A certificate holder conducting supplemental operations may schedule a pilot to fly in an airplane for eight hours or less during any 24...

14 CFR 121.503 - Flight time limitations: Pilots: airplanes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Flight time limitations: Pilots: airplanes... Operations § 121.503 Flight time limitations: Pilots: airplanes. (a) A certificate holder conducting supplemental operations may schedule a pilot to fly in an airplane for eight hours or less during any 24...

14 CFR 121.513 - Flight time limitations: Overseas and international operations: airplanes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Flight time limitations: Overseas and international operations: airplanes. 121.513 Section 121.513 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION...: airplanes. In place of the flight time limitations in §§ 121.503 through 121.511, a certificate holder...

14 CFR 121.513 - Flight time limitations: Overseas and international operations: airplanes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Flight time limitations: Overseas and international operations: airplanes. 121.513 Section 121.513 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION...: airplanes. In place of the flight time limitations in §§ 121.503 through 121.511, a certificate holder...

14 CFR 121.513 - Flight time limitations: Overseas and international operations: airplanes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Flight time limitations: Overseas and international operations: airplanes. 121.513 Section 121.513 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION...: airplanes. In place of the flight time limitations in §§ 121.503 through 121.511, a certificate holder...

14 CFR 121.513 - Flight time limitations: Overseas and international operations: airplanes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Flight time limitations: Overseas and international operations: airplanes. 121.513 Section 121.513 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION...: airplanes. In place of the flight time limitations in §§ 121.503 through 121.511, a certificate holder...

14 CFR 121.513 - Flight time limitations: Overseas and international operations: airplanes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Flight time limitations: Overseas and international operations: airplanes. 121.513 Section 121.513 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION...: airplanes. In place of the flight time limitations in §§ 121.503 through 121.511, a certificate holder...

77 FR 66936 - Special Conditions: Turbomeca Ardiden 3K Turboshaft Engine

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-11-08

... Limitations Section limits in accordance with those assumptions, such that engine deterioration is not... rating can be used during any one flight, and there is no cumulative time limitation. Special conditions... in one flight is not limited, and there is no cumulative time limitation. Applicability As discussed...

14 CFR 121.509 - Flight time limitations: Four pilot crews: airplanes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

...: airplanes. 121.509 Section 121.509 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF... Operations § 121.509 Flight time limitations: Four pilot crews: airplanes. (a) No certificate holder conducting supplemental operations may schedule a pilot— (1) For flight deck duty in an airplane that has a...

14 CFR 121.507 - Flight time limitations: Three pilot crews: airplanes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

...: airplanes. 121.507 Section 121.507 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF... Operations § 121.507 Flight time limitations: Three pilot crews: airplanes. (a) No certificate holder conducting supplemental operations may schedule a pilot— (1) For flight deck duty in an airplane that has a...

14 CFR 121.507 - Flight time limitations: Three pilot crews: airplanes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

...: airplanes. 121.507 Section 121.507 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF... Operations § 121.507 Flight time limitations: Three pilot crews: airplanes. (a) No certificate holder conducting supplemental operations may schedule a pilot— (1) For flight deck duty in an airplane that has a...

14 CFR 121.507 - Flight time limitations: Three pilot crews: airplanes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

...: airplanes. 121.507 Section 121.507 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF... Operations § 121.507 Flight time limitations: Three pilot crews: airplanes. (a) No certificate holder conducting supplemental operations may schedule a pilot— (1) For flight deck duty in an airplane that has a...

14 CFR 121.509 - Flight time limitations: Four pilot crews: airplanes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

...: airplanes. 121.509 Section 121.509 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF... Operations § 121.509 Flight time limitations: Four pilot crews: airplanes. (a) No certificate holder conducting supplemental operations may schedule a pilot— (1) For flight deck duty in an airplane that has a...

14 CFR 121.509 - Flight time limitations: Four pilot crews: airplanes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

...: airplanes. 121.509 Section 121.509 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF... Operations § 121.509 Flight time limitations: Four pilot crews: airplanes. (a) No certificate holder conducting supplemental operations may schedule a pilot— (1) For flight deck duty in an airplane that has a...

14 CFR 121.509 - Flight time limitations: Four pilot crews: airplanes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

...: airplanes. 121.509 Section 121.509 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF... Operations § 121.509 Flight time limitations: Four pilot crews: airplanes. (a) No certificate holder conducting supplemental operations may schedule a pilot— (1) For flight deck duty in an airplane that has a...

14 CFR 121.507 - Flight time limitations: Three pilot crews: airplanes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

...: airplanes. 121.507 Section 121.507 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF... Operations § 121.507 Flight time limitations: Three pilot crews: airplanes. (a) No certificate holder conducting supplemental operations may schedule a pilot— (1) For flight deck duty in an airplane that has a...

14 CFR 121.509 - Flight time limitations: Four pilot crews: airplanes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

...: airplanes. 121.509 Section 121.509 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF... Operations § 121.509 Flight time limitations: Four pilot crews: airplanes. (a) No certificate holder conducting supplemental operations may schedule a pilot— (1) For flight deck duty in an airplane that has a...

14 CFR 121.507 - Flight time limitations: Three pilot crews: airplanes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

...: airplanes. 121.507 Section 121.507 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF... Operations § 121.507 Flight time limitations: Three pilot crews: airplanes. (a) No certificate holder conducting supplemental operations may schedule a pilot— (1) For flight deck duty in an airplane that has a...

14 CFR 121.633 - Considering time-limited systems in planning ETOPS alternates.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... Flight Release Rules § 121.633 Considering time-limited systems in planning ETOPS alternates. (a) For... planning ETOPS alternates. 121.633 Section 121.633 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... dispatch or flight release if the time needed to fly to that airport (at the approved one-engine...

14 CFR 121.633 - Considering time-limited systems in planning ETOPS alternates.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... Flight Release Rules § 121.633 Considering time-limited systems in planning ETOPS alternates. (a) For... planning ETOPS alternates. 121.633 Section 121.633 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... dispatch or flight release if the time needed to fly to that airport (at the approved one-engine...

14 CFR 121.633 - Considering time-limited systems in planning ETOPS alternates.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... Flight Release Rules § 121.633 Considering time-limited systems in planning ETOPS alternates. (a) For... planning ETOPS alternates. 121.633 Section 121.633 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... dispatch or flight release if the time needed to fly to that airport (at the approved one-engine...

14 CFR 121.633 - Considering time-limited systems in planning ETOPS alternates.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Flight Release Rules § 121.633 Considering time-limited systems in planning ETOPS alternates. (a) For... planning ETOPS alternates. 121.633 Section 121.633 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... dispatch or flight release if the time needed to fly to that airport (at the approved one-engine...

14 CFR 121.633 - Considering time-limited systems in planning ETOPS alternates.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... Flight Release Rules § 121.633 Considering time-limited systems in planning ETOPS alternates. (a) For... planning ETOPS alternates. 121.633 Section 121.633 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... dispatch or flight release if the time needed to fly to that airport (at the approved one-engine...

Crew Factors in Flight Operations. 8; A Survey of Fatigue Factors in Corporate/Executive A Viation Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosekind, Mark R.; Co, Elizabeth L.; Gregory, Kevin B.; Miller, Donna L.

2000-01-01

Corporate flight crews face unique challenges including unscheduled flights, quickly changing schedules, extended duty days, long waits, time zone changes, and peripheral tasks. Most corporate operations are regulated by Part 91 FARs which set no flight or duty time limits. The objective of this study was to identify operationally significant factors that may influence fatigue, alertness, and performance in corporate operations. In collaboration with the National Business Aircraft Association and the Flight Safety Foundation, NASA developed and distributed a retrospective survey comprising 107 questions addressing demographics, home sleep habits, flight experience, duty schedules, fatigue during operations, and work environment. Corporate crewmembers returned 1,488 surveys. Respondents averaged 45.2 years of age, had 14.9 years of corporate flying experience, and 9,750 total flight hours. The majority (89%) rated themselves as 'good' or 'very good' sleepers at home. Most (82%) indicated they are subject to call for duty and described an average duty day of 9.9 h. About two-thirds reported having a daily duty time limit and over half (57%) reported a daily flight time limit. Nearly three-quarters (71%) acknowledged having 'nodded off' during a flight. Only 21% reported that their flight departments offer training on fatigue issues. Almost three-quarters (74%) described fatigue as a 'moderate' or 'serious' concern, and a majority (61%) characterized it as a common occurrence. Most (85%) identified fatigue as a 'moderate' or 'serious' safety issue.

14 CFR 91.1049 - Personnel.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

...) Program manager flight, duty, and rest time considerations, and in all cases within the limits set forth in §§ 91.1057 through 91.1061. (3) Vacations. (4) Operational efficiencies. (5) Training. (6) Single... flight, duty, and rest time limits in §§ 91.1057 through 91.1061 in program operations. (d) Unless...

Methodologies for Adaptive Flight Envelope Estimation and Protection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tang, Liang; Roemer, Michael; Ge, Jianhua; Crassidis, Agamemnon; Prasad, J. V. R.; Belcastro, Christine

2009-01-01

This paper reports the latest development of several techniques for adaptive flight envelope estimation and protection system for aircraft under damage upset conditions. Through the integration of advanced fault detection algorithms, real-time system identification of the damage/faulted aircraft and flight envelop estimation, real-time decision support can be executed autonomously for improving damage tolerance and flight recoverability. Particularly, a bank of adaptive nonlinear fault detection and isolation estimators were developed for flight control actuator faults; a real-time system identification method was developed for assessing the dynamics and performance limitation of impaired aircraft; online learning neural networks were used to approximate selected aircraft dynamics which were then inverted to estimate command margins. As off-line training of network weights is not required, the method has the advantage of adapting to varying flight conditions and different vehicle configurations. The key benefit of the envelope estimation and protection system is that it allows the aircraft to fly close to its limit boundary by constantly updating the controller command limits during flight. The developed techniques were demonstrated on NASA s Generic Transport Model (GTM) simulation environments with simulated actuator faults. Simulation results and remarks on future work are presented.

14 CFR 135.269 - Flight time limitations and rest requirements: Unscheduled three- and four-pilot crews.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... requirements: Unscheduled three- and four-pilot crews. 135.269 Section 135.269 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL... four-pilot crews. (a) No certificate holder may assign any flight crewmember, and no flight crewmember may accept an assignment, for flight time as a member of a three- or four-pilot crew if that...

14 CFR 121.505 - Flight time limitations: Two pilot crews: airplanes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

...: airplanes. 121.505 Section 121.505 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF... Operations § 121.505 Flight time limitations: Two pilot crews: airplanes. (a) If a certificate holder... relieve that pilot of all duty with it during that rest period. (b) No pilot of an airplane that has a...

14 CFR 121.505 - Flight time limitations: Two pilot crews: airplanes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

...: airplanes. 121.505 Section 121.505 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF... Operations § 121.505 Flight time limitations: Two pilot crews: airplanes. (a) If a certificate holder... relieve that pilot of all duty with it during that rest period. (b) No pilot of an airplane that has a...

14 CFR 121.505 - Flight time limitations: Two pilot crews: airplanes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

...: airplanes. 121.505 Section 121.505 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF... Operations § 121.505 Flight time limitations: Two pilot crews: airplanes. (a) If a certificate holder... relieve that pilot of all duty with it during that rest period. (b) No pilot of an airplane that has a...

14 CFR 121.505 - Flight time limitations: Two pilot crews: airplanes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

...: airplanes. 121.505 Section 121.505 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF... Operations § 121.505 Flight time limitations: Two pilot crews: airplanes. (a) If a certificate holder... relieve that pilot of all duty with it during that rest period. (b) No pilot of an airplane that has a...

14 CFR 121.505 - Flight time limitations: Two pilot crews: airplanes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

...: airplanes. 121.505 Section 121.505 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF... Operations § 121.505 Flight time limitations: Two pilot crews: airplanes. (a) If a certificate holder... relieve that pilot of all duty with it during that rest period. (b) No pilot of an airplane that has a...

Time-of-flight mass spectrometry: Introduction to the basics.

PubMed

Boesl, Ulrich

2017-01-01

The intention of this tutorial is to introduce into the basic concepts of time-of-flight mass spectrometry, beginning with the most simple single-stage ion source with linear field-free drift region and continuing with two-stage ion sources combined with field-free drift regions and ion reflectors-the so-called reflectrons. Basic formulas are presented and discussed with the focus on understanding the physical relations of geometric and electric parameters, initial distribution of ionic parameters, ion flight times, and ion flight time incertitude. This tutorial is aimed to help the applicant to identify sources of flight time broadening which limit good mass resolution and sources of ion losses which limit sensitivity; it is aimed to stimulate creativity for new experimental approaches by discussing a choice of instrumental options and to encourage those who toy with the idea to build an own time-of-flight mass spectrometer. Large parts of mathematics are shifted into a separate chapter in order not to overburden the text with too many mathematical deviations. Rather, thumb-rule formulas are supplied for first estimations of geometry and potentials when designing a home-built instrument, planning experiments, or searching for sources of flight time broadening. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Mass Spec Rev 36:86-109, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Backscatter particle image velocimetry via optical time-of-flight sectioning

DOE PAGES

Paciaroni, Megan E.; Chen, Yi; Lynch, Kyle Patrick; ...

2018-01-11

Conventional particle image velocimetry (PIV) configurations require a minimum of two optical access ports, inherently restricting the technique to a limited class of flows. Here, the development and application of a novel method of backscattered time-gated PIV requiring a single-optical-access port is described along with preliminary results. The light backscattered from a seeded flow is imaged over a narrow optical depth selected by an optical Kerr effect (OKE) time gate. The picosecond duration of the OKE time gate essentially replicates the width of the laser sheet of conventional PIV by limiting detected photons to a narrow time-of-flight within the flow.more » Thus, scattering noise from outside the measurement volume is eliminated. In conclusion, this PIV via the optical time-of-flight sectioning technique can be useful in systems with limited optical access and in flows near walls or other scattering surfaces.« less

Backscatter particle image velocimetry via optical time-of-flight sectioning

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Paciaroni, Megan E.; Chen, Yi; Lynch, Kyle Patrick

Conventional particle image velocimetry (PIV) configurations require a minimum of two optical access ports, inherently restricting the technique to a limited class of flows. Here, the development and application of a novel method of backscattered time-gated PIV requiring a single-optical-access port is described along with preliminary results. The light backscattered from a seeded flow is imaged over a narrow optical depth selected by an optical Kerr effect (OKE) time gate. The picosecond duration of the OKE time gate essentially replicates the width of the laser sheet of conventional PIV by limiting detected photons to a narrow time-of-flight within the flow.more » Thus, scattering noise from outside the measurement volume is eliminated. In conclusion, this PIV via the optical time-of-flight sectioning technique can be useful in systems with limited optical access and in flows near walls or other scattering surfaces.« less

Passengers waste production during flights.

PubMed

Tofalli, Niki; Loizia, Pantelitsa; Zorpas, Antonis A

2017-12-20

We assume that during flights the amount of waste that is produced is limited. However, daily, approximately 8000 commercial airplanes fly above Europe's airspace while at the same time, more than 17,000 commercial flights exist in the entire world. Using primary data from airlines, which use the Larnaca's International Airport (LIA) in Cyprus, we have tried to understand why wastes are produced during a typical flight such as food waste, paper, and plastics, as well as how passengers affect the production of those wastes. The compositional analysis took place on 27 flights of 4 different airlines which used LIA as final destination. The evaluation indicated that the passenger's habits and ethics, and the policy of each airline produced different kinds of waste during the flights and especially food waste (FW). Furthermore, it was observed that the only waste management strategy that exists in place in the airport is the collection and the transportation of all those wastes from aircrafts and from the airport in the central unit for further treatment. Hence, this research indicated extremely difficulties to implement any specific waste minimization, or prevention practice or other sorting methods during the flights due to the limited time of the most flights (less than 3 h), the limited available space within the aircrafts, and the strictly safety roles that exist during the flights.

Fundamental uncertainty limit of optical flow velocimetry according to Heisenberg's uncertainty principle.

PubMed

Fischer, Andreas

2016-11-01

Optical flow velocity measurements are important for understanding the complex behavior of flows. Although a huge variety of methods exist, they are either based on a Doppler or a time-of-flight measurement principle. Doppler velocimetry evaluates the velocity-dependent frequency shift of light scattered at a moving particle, whereas time-of-flight velocimetry evaluates the traveled distance of a scattering particle per time interval. Regarding the aim of achieving a minimal measurement uncertainty, it is unclear if one principle allows to achieve lower uncertainties or if both principles can achieve equal uncertainties. For this reason, the natural, fundamental uncertainty limit according to Heisenberg's uncertainty principle is derived for Doppler and time-of-flight measurement principles, respectively. The obtained limits of the velocity uncertainty are qualitatively identical showing, e.g., a direct proportionality for the absolute value of the velocity to the power of 32 and an indirect proportionality to the square root of the scattered light power. Hence, both measurement principles have identical potentials regarding the fundamental uncertainty limit due to the quantum mechanical behavior of photons. This fundamental limit can be attained (at least asymptotically) in reality either with Doppler or time-of-flight methods, because the respective Cramér-Rao bounds for dominating photon shot noise, which is modeled as white Poissonian noise, are identical with the conclusions from Heisenberg's uncertainty principle.

Real time digital propulsion system simulation for manned flight simulators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mihaloew, J. R.; Hart, C. E.

1978-01-01

A real time digital simulation of a STOL propulsion system was developed which generates significant dynamics and internal variables needed to evaluate system performance and aircraft interactions using manned flight simulators. The simulation ran at a real-to-execution time ratio of 8.8. The model was used in a piloted NASA flight simulator program to evaluate the simulation technique and the propulsion system digital control. The simulation is described and results shown. Limited results of the flight simulation program are also presented.

Summary of the effects of engine throttle response on airplane formation-flying qualities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walsh, Kevin R.

1992-01-01

A flight evaluation as conducted to determine the effect of engine throttle response characteristics on precision formation-flying qualities. A variable electronic throttle control system was developed and flight-tested on a TF-104G airplane with a J79-11B engine at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Facility. Ten research flights were flown to evaluate the effects of throttle gain, time delay, and fuel control rate limiting on engine handling qualities during a demanding precision wing formation task. Handling quality effects of lag filters and lead compensation time delays were also evaluated. Data from pilot ratings and comments indicate that throttle control system time delays and rate limits cause significant degradations in handling qualities. Threshold values for satisfactory (level 1) and adequate (level 2) handling qualities of these key variables are presented.

Flight Evaluation of an Aircraft with Side and Center Stick Controllers and Rate-Limited Ailerons

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Deppe, P. R.; Chalk, C. R.; Shafer, M. F.

1996-01-01

As part of an ongoing government and industry effort to study the flying qualities of aircraft with rate-limited control surface actuators, two studies were previously flown to examine an algorithm developed to reduce the tendency for pilot-induced oscillation when rate limiting occurs. This algorithm, when working properly, greatly improved the performance of the aircraft in the first study. In the second study, however, the algorithm did not initially offer as much improvement. The differences between the two studies caused concern. The study detailed in this paper was performed to determine whether the performance of the algorithm was affected by the characteristics of the cockpit controllers. Time delay and flight control system noise were also briefly evaluated. An in-flight simulator, the Calspan Learjet 25, was programmed with a low roll actuator rate limit, and the algorithm was programmed into the flight control system. Side- and center-stick controllers, force and position command signals, a rate-limited feel system, a low-frequency feel system, and a feel system damper were evaluated. The flight program consisted of four flights and 38 evaluations of test configurations. Performance of the algorithm was determined to be unaffected by using side- or center-stick controllers or force or position command signals. The rate-limited feel system performed as well as the rate-limiting algorithm but was disliked by the pilots. The low-frequency feel system and the feel system damper were ineffective. Time delay and noise were determined to degrade the performance of the algorithm.

Upper limits to the quiet-time solar neutron flux from 10 to 100 MeV

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moon, S.; Simnett, G. M.; White, R. S.

1975-01-01

The UCR large area solid-angle double scatter neutron telescope was flown to search for solar neutrons on 3 balloon flights on September 26, 1971, May 14, 1972 and September 19, 1972. The first two flights were launched from Palestine, Texas and the third from Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The float altitude on each flight was at about 5 g/sq cm residual atmosphere. Neutrons from 10 to 100 MeV were measured. No solar flares occurred during the flights. Upper limits to the quiet time solar neutron fluxes at the 95% confidence level are .00028, .00046, .00096 and .00090 neutrons/sq cm-sec in the energy intervals of 10-30, 30-50, 50-100 and 10-100 MeV, respectively.

Space Radiation Induced Cytogenetic Damage in the Blood Lymphocytes of Astronauts: Persistence of Damage After Flight and the Effects of Repeat Long Duration Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

George, Kerry; Rhone, Jordan; Chappell, L. J.; Cucinotta, F. A.

2010-01-01

Cytogenetic damage was assessed in blood lymphocytes from astronauts before and after they participated in long-duration space missions of three months or more. The frequency of chromosome damage was measured by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) chromosome painting before flight and at various intervals from a few days to many months after return from the mission. For all individuals, the frequency of chromosome exchanges measured within a month of return from space was higher than their prefight yield. However, some individuals showed a temporal decline in chromosome damage with time after flight. Statistical analysis using combined data for all astronauts indicated a significant overall decreasing trend in total chromosome exchanges with time after flight, although this trend was not seen for all astronauts and the yield of chromosome damage in some individuals actually increased with time after flight. The decreasing trend in total exchanges was slightly more significant when statistical analysis was restricted to data collected more than 220 days after return from flight. In addition, limited data on multiple flights show a lack of correlation between time in space and translocation yields. Data from three crewmembers who has participated in two separate long-duration space missions provide limited information on the effect of repeat flights and show a possible adaptive response to space radiation exposure.

Thermal Performance of LANDSAT-7 ETM+ Instruments During First Year in Flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Choi, Michael K.

2000-01-01

Landsat-7 was successfully launched into orbit on April 15, 1999. After devoting three months to the t bakeout and cool-down of the radiative cooler, and on- t orbit checkout, the Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) began the normal imaging phase of the mission in mid-July 1999. This paper presents the thermal performance of the ETM+ from mid-July 1999 to mid-May 2000. The flight temperatures are compared to the yellow temperature limits, and worst cold case and worst hot case flight temperature predictions in the 15-orbit mission design profile. The flight temperature predictions were generated by a thermal model, which was correlated to the observatory thermal balance test data. The yellow temperature limits were derived from the flight temperature predictions, plus some margins. The yellow limits work well in flight, so that only several minor changes to them were needed. Overall, the flight temperatures and flight temperature predictions have good agreement. Based on the ETM+ thermal vacuum qualification test, new limits on the imaging time are proposed to increase the average duty cycle, and to resolve the problems experienced by the Mission Operation Team.

14 CFR 121.485 - Flight time limitations: Three or more pilots and an additional flight crewmember.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... flight crewmember. It shall also provide adequate sleeping quarters on the airplane whenever a pilot is... days; or (2) 1,000 hours during any 12-calendar-month period. [Doc. No. 6258, 29 FR 19217, Dec. 31...

14 CFR 121.485 - Flight time limitations: Three or more pilots and an additional flight crewmember.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... flight crewmember. It shall also provide adequate sleeping quarters on the airplane whenever a pilot is... days; or (2) 1,000 hours during any 12-calendar-month period. [Doc. No. 6258, 29 FR 19217, Dec. 31...

14 CFR 121.485 - Flight time limitations: Three or more pilots and an additional flight crewmember.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... flight crewmember. It shall also provide adequate sleeping quarters on the airplane whenever a pilot is... days; or (2) 1,000 hours during any 12-calendar-month period. [Doc. No. 6258, 29 FR 19217, Dec. 31...

14 CFR 121.485 - Flight time limitations: Three or more pilots and an additional flight crewmember.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... flight crewmember. It shall also provide adequate sleeping quarters on the airplane whenever a pilot is... days; or (2) 1,000 hours during any 12-calendar-month period. [Doc. No. 6258, 29 FR 19217, Dec. 31...

14 CFR 121.485 - Flight time limitations: Three or more pilots and an additional flight crewmember.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... flight crewmember. It shall also provide adequate sleeping quarters on the airplane whenever a pilot is... days; or (2) 1,000 hours during any 12-calendar-month period. [Doc. No. 6258, 29 FR 19217, Dec. 31...

Piloted simulator study of allowable time delay in pitch flight control system of a transport airplane with negative static stability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grantham, William D.; Smith, Paul M.; Person, Lee H., Jr.; Meyer, Robert T.; Tingas, Stephen A.

1987-01-01

A piloted simulation study was conducted to determine the permissible time delay in the flight control system of a 10-percent statically unstable transport airplane during cruise flight conditions. The math model used for the simulation was a derivative Lockheed L-1011 wide-body jet transport. Data were collected and analyzed from a total of 137 cruising flights in both calm- and turbulent-air conditions. Results of this piloted simulation study verify previous findings that show present military specifications for allowable control-system time delay may be too stringent when applied to transport-size airplanes. Also, the degree of handling-qualities degradation due to time delay is shown to be strongly dependent on the source of the time delay in an advanced flight control system. Maximum allowable time delay for each source of time delay in the control system, in addition to a less stringent overall maximum level of time delay, should be considered for large aircraft. Preliminary results also suggest that adverse effects of control-system time delay may be at least partially offset by variations in control gearing. It is recommended that the data base include different airplane baselines, control systems, and piloting tasks with many pilots participating, so that a reasonable set of limits for control-system time delay can be established to replace the military specification limits currently being used.

Upper limits to the quiet-time solar neutron flux from 10 to 100 MeV

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moon, S.; Simnett, G. M.; White, R. S.

1976-01-01

A large-area solid-angle double-scatter neutron telescope was flown to search for solar neutrons on three balloon flights in 1971 and 1972. The first two flights were launched from Palestine, Texas, and the third from Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The float altitude on each flight was at about 5 g/sq cm residual atmosphere. Neutrons from 10 to 100 MeV were measured. No solar flares occurred during the flights. Upper limits to the quiet-time solar neutron fluxes at the 95-per cent confidence level are 2.8, 4.6, 9.6, and 9.0 x 10 to the -4th power neutron/sq cm/sec in the energy intervals of 10-30, 30-50, 50-100, and 10-100 MeV, respectively.

A Control Allocation System for Automatic Detection and Compensation of Phase Shift Due to Actuator Rate Limiting

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yildiz, Yidiray; Kolmanovsky, Ilya V.; Acosta, Diana

2011-01-01

This paper proposes a control allocation system that can detect and compensate the phase shift between the desired and the actual total control effort due to rate limiting of the actuators. Phase shifting is an important problem in control system applications since it effectively introduces a time delay which may destabilize the closed loop dynamics. A relevant example comes from flight control where aggressive pilot commands, high gain of the flight control system or some anomaly in the system may cause actuator rate limiting and effective time delay introduction. This time delay can instigate Pilot Induced Oscillations (PIO), which is an abnormal coupling between the pilot and the aircraft resulting in unintentional and undesired oscillations. The proposed control allocation system reduces the effective time delay by first detecting the phase shift and then minimizing it using constrained optimization techniques. Flight control simulation results for an unstable aircraft with inertial cross coupling are reported, which demonstrate phase shift minimization and recovery from a PIO event.

History of POIC Capabilities and Limitations to Conduct International Space Station Payload Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grimaldi, Rebecca; Horvath, Tim; Morris, Denise; Willis, Emily; Stacy, Lamar; Shell, Mike; Faust, Mark; Norwood, Jason

2011-01-01

Payload science operations on the International Space Station (ISS) have been conducted continuously twenty-four hours per day, 365 days a year beginning February, 2001 and continuing through present day. The Payload Operations Integration Center (POIC), located at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, has been a leader in integrating and managing NASA distributed payload operations. The ability to conduct science operations is a delicate balance of crew time, onboard vehicle resources, hardware up-mass to the vehicle, and ground based flight control team manpower. Over the span of the last ten years, the POIC flight control team size, function, and structure has been modified several times commensurate with the capabilities and limitations of the ISS program. As the ISS vehicle has been expanded and its systems changed throughout the assembly process, the resources available to conduct science and research have also changed. Likewise, as ISS program financial resources have demanded more efficiency from organizations across the program, utilization organizations have also had to adjust their functionality and structure to adapt accordingly. The POIC has responded to these often difficult challenges by adapting our team concept to maximize science research return within the utilization allocations and vehicle limitations that existed at the time. In some cases, the ISS and systems limitations became the limiting factor in conducting science. In other cases, the POIC structure and flight control team size were the limiting factors, so other constraints had to be put into place to assure successful science operations within the capabilities of the POIC. This paper will present the POIC flight control team organizational changes responding to significant events of the ISS and Shuttle programs.

14 CFR 61.1 - Applicability and definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

..., or flight training device for meeting the appropriate training and flight time requirements for an... this chapter and is in compliance with § 61.217, when conducting ground training in accordance with the... conducting ground training or flight training in accordance with the privileges and limitations of his or her...

14 CFR 61.301 - What is the purpose of this subpart and to whom does it apply?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

...) Aeronautical knowledge. (3) Flight proficiency. (4) Aeronautical experience. (5) Endorsements. (6) Privileges and limits. (b) Other provisions of this part apply to the logging of flight time and testing. (c..., DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIRMEN CERTIFICATION: PILOTS, FLIGHT INSTRUCTORS, AND GROUND...

14 CFR 61.301 - What is the purpose of this subpart and to whom does it apply?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

...) Aeronautical knowledge. (3) Flight proficiency. (4) Aeronautical experience. (5) Endorsements. (6) Privileges and limits. (b) Other provisions of this part apply to the logging of flight time and testing. (c..., DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIRMEN CERTIFICATION: PILOTS, FLIGHT INSTRUCTORS, AND GROUND...

Flight Controllability Limits and Related Human Transfer Functions as Determined from Simulator and Flight Tests

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Taylor, Lawrence W., Jr.; Day, Richard E.

1961-01-01

A simulator study and flight tests were performed to determine the levels of static stability and damping necessary to enable a pilot to control the longitudinal and lateral-directional dynamics of a vehicle for short periods of time. Although a basic set of aerodynamic characteristics was used, the study was conducted so that the results would be applicable to a wide range of flight conditions and configurations. Novel piloting techniques were found which enabled the pilot to control the vehicle at conditions that were otherwise uncontrollable. The influence of several critical factors in altering the controllability limits was also investigated. Several human transfer functions were used which gave fairly good representations of the controllability limits determined experimentally for the short-period longitudinal, directional, and lateral modes. A transfer function with approximately the same gain and phase angle as the pilot at the controlling frequencies along the controllability limits was also derived.

Analysis of In-Flight Vibration Measurements from Helicopter Transmissions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mosher, Marianne; Huff, Ed; Barszcz

2004-01-01

In-flight vibration measurements from the transmission of an OH-58C KIOWA are analyzed. In order to understand the effect of normal flight variation on signal shape, the first gear mesh components of the planetary gear system and bevel gear are studied in detail. Systematic patterns occur in the amplitude and phase of these signal components with implications for making time synchronous averages and interpreting gear metrics in flight. The phase of the signal component increases as the torque increases; limits on the torque range included in a time synchronous average may now be selected to correspond to phase change limits on the underlying signal. For some sensors and components, an increase in phase variation and/or abrupt change in the slope of the phase dependence on torque are observed in regions of very low amplitude of the signal component. A physical mechanism for this deviation is postulated. Time synchronous averages should not be constructed in torque regions with wide phase variation.

Continuous time of flight measurements in a Lissajous configuration.

PubMed

Dobos, G; Hárs, G

2017-01-01

Short pulses used by traditional time-of-flight mass spectrometers limit their duty cycle, pose space-charge issues, and require high speed detectors and electronics. The motivation behind the invention of continuous time of flight mass spectrometers was to mitigate these problems, by increasing the number of ions reaching the detector and eliminating the need for fast data acquisition systems. The most crucial components of these spectrometers are their modulators: they determine both the maximal modulation frequency and the modulation depth. Through these parameters they limit the achievable mass resolution and signal-to-noise ratio. In this paper, a new kind of setup is presented which modulates the beam by deflecting it in two perpendicular directions and collects ions on a position sensitive detector. Such an Lissajous time of flight spectrometer achieves modulation without the use of slits or apertures, making it possible for all ions to reach the detector, thereby increasing the transmission and signal-to-noise ratio. In this paper, we provide the mathematical description of the system, discuss its properties, and present a practical demonstration of the principle.

Simultaneous determination of niacin and pyridoxine at trace levels by using diode array high-performance liquid chromatography and liquid chromatography with quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Sel, Sabriye; Öztürk Er, Elif; Bakırdere, Sezgin

2017-12-01

A highly sensitive and simple diode-array high-performance liquid chromatography and liquid chromatography with quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry method was developed for the simultaneous determination of niacin and pyridoxine in pharmaceutical drugs, tap water, and wastewater samples. To determine the in vivo behavior of niacin and pyridoxine, analytes were subjected to simulated gastric conditions. The calibration plots of the diode-array high-performance liquid chromatography and liquid chromatography with quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry method showed good linearity over a wide concentration range with close to 1.0 correlation coefficients for both analytes. The limit of detection/limit of quantitation values for liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry analysis were 1.98/6.59 and 1.3/4.4 μg/L for niacin and pyridoxine, respectively, while limit of detection/limit of quantitation values for niacin and pyridoxine in high-performance liquid chromatography analysis were 3.7/12.3 and 5.7/18.9 μg/L, respectively. Recovery studies were also performed to show the applicability of the developed methods, and percentage recovery values were found to be 90-105% in tap water and 94-97% in wastewater for both analytes. The method was also successfully applied for the qualitative and quantitative determination of niacin and pyridoxine in drug samples. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

77 FR 30885 - Clarification of Prior Interpretations of the Seat Belt and Seating Requirements for General...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-05-24

... Aviation Flights AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT. ACTION: Clarification of prior... seat usage conforms to the limitations contained in the approved portion of the Airplane Flight Manual... following. At the time of the impact, the Pilatus PC-12/45 airplane was operating as a personal flight under...

Flying qualities design criteria applicable to supersonic cruise aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chalk, C. R.

1980-01-01

A comprehensive set of flying qualities design criteria was prepared for use in the supersonic cruise research program. The framework for stating the design criteria is established and design criteria are included which address specific failures, approach to dangerous flight conditions, flight at high angle of attack, longitudinal and lateral directional stability and control, the primary flight control system, and secondary flight controls. Examples are given of lateral directional design criteria limiting lateral accelerations at the cockpit, time to roll through 30 deg of bank, and time delay in the pilot's command path. Flight test data from the Concorde certification program are used to substantiate a number of the proposed design criteria.

Does hyperthermia constrain flight duration in a short-distance migrant?

PubMed Central

Guillemette, Magella; Larochelle, Jacques; Polymeropoulos, Elias T.; Granbois, Jean-Marc; Butler, Patrick J.; Pelletier, David; Frappell, Peter B.; Portugal, Steven J.

2016-01-01

While some migratory birds perform non-stop flights of over 11 000 km, many species only spend around 15% of the day in flight during migration, posing a question as to why flight times for many species are so short. Here, we test the idea that hyperthermia might constrain flight duration (FD) in a short-distance migrant using remote biologging technology to measure heart rate, hydrostatic pressure and body temperature in 19 migrating eider ducks (Somateria mollissima), a short-distance migrant. Our results reveal a stop-and-go migration strategy where migratory flights were frequent (14 flights day−1) and short (15.7 min), together with the fact that body temperature increases by 1°C, on average, during such flights, which equates to a rate of heat storage index (HSI) of 4°C h−1. Furthermore, we could not find any evidence that short flights were limited by heart rate, together with the fact that the numerous stops could not be explained by the need to feed, as the frequency of dives and the time spent feeding were comparatively small during the migratory period. We thus conclude that hyperthermia appears to be the predominant determinant of the observed migration strategy, and suggest that such a physiological limitation to FD may also occur in other species. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Moving in a moving medium: new perspectives on flight’. PMID:27528776

78 FR 57677 - Notice of Submission Deadline for Schedule Information for O'Hare International Airport, San...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-09-19

... significant at the typical demand levels, especially when available runways or adverse weather conditions... retime flights to less congested periods. Slots for new flights will be limited to off-peak times to... extent possible. Currently, the peak demand period at SFO is approximately 0900 to 1400 Pacific Time. In...

Does hyperthermia constrain flight duration in a short-distance migrant?

PubMed

Guillemette, Magella; Woakes, Anthony J; Larochelle, Jacques; Polymeropoulos, Elias T; Granbois, Jean-Marc; Butler, Patrick J; Pelletier, David; Frappell, Peter B; Portugal, Steven J

2016-09-26

While some migratory birds perform non-stop flights of over 11 000 km, many species only spend around 15% of the day in flight during migration, posing a question as to why flight times for many species are so short. Here, we test the idea that hyperthermia might constrain flight duration (FD) in a short-distance migrant using remote biologging technology to measure heart rate, hydrostatic pressure and body temperature in 19 migrating eider ducks (Somateria mollissima), a short-distance migrant. Our results reveal a stop-and-go migration strategy where migratory flights were frequent (14 flights day(-1)) and short (15.7 min), together with the fact that body temperature increases by 1°C, on average, during such flights, which equates to a rate of heat storage index (HSI) of 4°C h(-1) Furthermore, we could not find any evidence that short flights were limited by heart rate, together with the fact that the numerous stops could not be explained by the need to feed, as the frequency of dives and the time spent feeding were comparatively small during the migratory period. We thus conclude that hyperthermia appears to be the predominant determinant of the observed migration strategy, and suggest that such a physiological limitation to FD may also occur in other species.This article is part of the themed issue 'Moving in a moving medium: new perspectives on flight'. © 2016 The Author(s).

Flight investigation of a four-dimensional terminal area guidance system for STOL aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Neuman, F.; Hardy, G. H.

1981-01-01

A series of flight tests and fast-time simulations were conducted, using the augmentor wing jet STOL research aircraft and the STOLAND 4D-RNAV system to add to the growing data base of 4D-RNAV system performance capabilities. To obtain statistically meaningful data a limited amount of flight data were supplemented by a statistically significant amount of data obtained from fast-time simulation. The results of these tests are reported. Included are comparisons of the 4D-RNAV estimated winds with actual winds encountered in flight, as well as data on along-track navigation and guidance errors, and time-of-arrival errors at the final approach waypoint. In addition, a slight improvement of the STOLAND 4D-RNAV system is proposed and demonstrated, using the fast-time simulation.

Dynamical continuous time random Lévy flights

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Jian; Chen, Xiaosong

2016-03-01

The Lévy flights' diffusive behavior is studied within the framework of the dynamical continuous time random walk (DCTRW) method, while the nonlinear friction is introduced in each step. Through the DCTRW method, Lévy random walker in each step flies by obeying the Newton's Second Law while the nonlinear friction f(v) = - γ0v - γ2v3 being considered instead of Stokes friction. It is shown that after introducing the nonlinear friction, the superdiffusive Lévy flights converges, behaves localization phenomenon with long time limit, but for the Lévy index μ = 2 case, it is still Brownian motion.

Climate effects on late-season flight times of Massachusetts butterflies.

PubMed

Zipf, L; Williams, E H; Primack, R B; Stichter, S

2017-09-01

Although the responses of living organisms to climate change are being widely investigated, little attention has been given to such effects late in the growing season. We studied the late-season flight times of 20 species of butterflies in a geographically limited region, the state of Massachusetts in the USA, by examining change in dates of flight over a 22-year period and in response to average monthly temperature and precipitation. By analyzing the last 10% of each year's observations reported by observers of the Massachusetts Butterfly Club, we found that seven species remain in flight significantly later into the fall than they did two decades earlier, while two species show reduced late-season flight. Life history characteristics of the species, particularly voltinism and average fall flight dates, influenced whether warmer fall months led to increases or decreases in fall flight. Warmer Novembers often led to later fall flight, and wetter Augusts usually extended fall flight. These results document the effects of climate on late-season flight times of butterflies, add to an understanding of how warmer autumn conditions alter the phenology of different butterfly species, and show the usefulness of citizen science data.

Summary of the effects of engine throttle response on airplane formation-flying qualities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walsh, Kevin R.

1993-01-01

A flight evaluation was conducted to determine the effect of engine throttle response characteristics on precision formation-flying qualities. A variable electronic throttle control system was developed and flight-tested on a TF-104G airplane with a J79-11B engine at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Facility. This airplane was chosen because of its known, very favorable thrust response characteristics. Ten research flights were flown to evaluate the effects of throttle gain, time delay, and fuel control rate limiting on engine handling qualities during a demanding precision wing formation task. Handling quality effects of lag filters and lead compensation time delays were also evaluated. The Cooper and Harper Pilot Rating Scale was used to assign levels of handling quality. Data from pilot ratings and comments indicate that throttle control system time delays and rate limits cause significant degradations in handling qualities. Threshold values for satisfactory (level 1) and adequate (level 2) handling qualities of these key variables are presented. These results may provide engine manufacturers with guidelines to assure satisfactory handling qualities in future engine designs.

European birds adjust their flight initiation distance to road speed limits.

PubMed

Legagneux, Pierre; Ducatez, Simon

2013-10-23

Behavioural responses can help species persist in habitats modified by humans. Roads and traffic greatly affect animals' mortality not only through habitat structure modifications but also through direct mortality owing to collisions. Although species are known to differ in their sensitivity to the risk of collision, whether individuals can change their behaviour in response to this is still unknown. Here, we tested whether common European birds changed their flight initiation distances (FIDs) in response to vehicles according to road speed limit (a known factor affecting killing rates on roads) and vehicle speed. We found that FID increased with speed limit, although vehicle speed had no effect. This suggests that birds adjust their flight distance to speed limit, which may reduce collision risks and decrease mortality maximizing the time allocated to foraging behaviours. Mobility and territory size are likely to affect an individuals' ability to respond adaptively to local speed limits.

Benefits Analysis of Multi-Center Dynamic Weather Routes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sheth, Kapil; McNally, David; Morando, Alexander; Clymer, Alexis; Lock, Jennifer; Petersen, Julien

2014-01-01

Dynamic weather routes are flight plan corrections that can provide airborne flights more than user-specified minutes of flying-time savings, compared to their current flight plan. These routes are computed from the aircraft's current location to a flight plan fix downstream (within a predefined limit region), while avoiding forecasted convective weather regions. The Dynamic Weather Routes automation has been continuously running with live air traffic data for a field evaluation at the American Airlines Integrated Operations Center in Fort Worth, TX since July 31, 2012, where flights within the Fort Worth Air Route Traffic Control Center are evaluated for time savings. This paper extends the methodology to all Centers in United States and presents benefits analysis of Dynamic Weather Routes automation, if it was implemented in multiple airspace Centers individually and concurrently. The current computation of dynamic weather routes requires a limit rectangle so that a downstream capture fix can be selected, preventing very large route changes spanning several Centers. In this paper, first, a method of computing a limit polygon (as opposed to a rectangle used for Fort Worth Center) is described for each of the 20 Centers in the National Airspace System. The Future ATM Concepts Evaluation Tool, a nationwide simulation and analysis tool, is used for this purpose. After a comparison of results with the Center-based Dynamic Weather Routes automation in Fort Worth Center, results are presented for 11 Centers in the contiguous United States. These Centers are generally most impacted by convective weather. A breakdown of individual Center and airline savings is presented and the results indicate an overall average savings of about 10 minutes of flying time are obtained per flight.

Occupational Ocular UV Exposure in Civilian Aircrew.

PubMed

Chorley, Adrian C; Baczynska, Katarzyna A; Benwell, Martin J; Evans, Bruce J W; Higlett, Michael P; Khazova, Marina; O'Hagan, John B

2016-01-01

Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) increases with altitude; however, there are a number of other factors which may influence ocular exposure during flight. The aim of this study was to assess ocular UVR exposure of pilots in airline and off-shore helicopter operations on different aircraft types and to compare with exposure in a typical office environment. In-flight data were captured on equipment including a CCD array spectroradiometer on five return sector European airline flights and one transatlantic flight from London Gatwick in addition to four helicopter flights from Aberdeen Dyce airport. Further data were collected in an office environment from three workstations during summer and winter months. A wide variation in ocular UVA dose was found during flights. The main factor influencing exposure was the UVR transmission of the windshield, which fell into two distinct profile types. In an aircraft with good UVA blocking properties, ocular exposure was found to be equivalent to office exposure and did not exceed international guideline limits regardless of external conditions or flight time. Most aircraft assessed had poor UVA blocking windshields which resulted in an ocular exposure to the unprotected eye in excess of international guideline limits (up to between 4.5 to 6.5 times greater during one flight). No significant UVB dose was found. Pilots should be warned of the potential high UVA exposure during flight and advised on the use of sunglasses. A windshield labeling system would allow the pilot to tailor their eye protection practices to that particular aircraft.

Flight Tests of a Remaining Flying Time Prediction System for Small Electric Aircraft in the Presence of Faults

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hogge, Edward F.; Kulkarni, Chetan S.; Vazquez, Sixto L.; Smalling, Kyle M.; Strom, Thomas H.; Hill, Boyd L.; Quach, Cuong C.

2017-01-01

This paper addresses the problem of building trust in the online prediction of a battery powered aircraft's remaining flying time. A series of flight tests is described that make use of a small electric powered unmanned aerial vehicle (eUAV) to verify the performance of the remaining flying time prediction algorithm. The estimate of remaining flying time is used to activate an alarm when the predicted remaining time is two minutes. This notifies the pilot to transition to the landing phase of the flight. A second alarm is activated when the battery charge falls below a specified limit threshold. This threshold is the point at which the battery energy reserve would no longer safely support two repeated aborted landing attempts. During the test series, the motor system is operated with the same predefined timed airspeed profile for each test. To test the robustness of the prediction, half of the tests were performed with, and half were performed without, a simulated powertrain fault. The pilot remotely engages a resistor bank at a specified time during the test flight to simulate a partial powertrain fault. The flying time prediction system is agnostic of the pilot's activation of the fault and must adapt to the vehicle's state. The time at which the limit threshold on battery charge is reached is then used to measure the accuracy of the remaining flying time predictions. Accuracy requirements for the alarms are considered and the results discussed.

14 CFR 121.523 - Flight time limitations: Crew of three or more pilots and additional airmen as required.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

.... It shall also provide adequate sleeping quarters on the airplane whenever an airman is scheduled to... may be aloft as a flight crewmember for more than 350 hours in any 90 consecutive days. [Doc. No. 6258...

14 CFR 121.523 - Flight time limitations: Crew of three or more pilots and additional airmen as required.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

.... It shall also provide adequate sleeping quarters on the airplane whenever an airman is scheduled to... may be aloft as a flight crewmember for more than 350 hours in any 90 consecutive days. [Doc. No. 6258...

14 CFR 121.523 - Flight time limitations: Crew of three or more pilots and additional airmen as required.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

.... It shall also provide adequate sleeping quarters on the airplane whenever an airman is scheduled to... may be aloft as a flight crewmember for more than 350 hours in any 90 consecutive days. [Doc. No. 6258...

14 CFR 121.523 - Flight time limitations: Crew of three or more pilots and additional airmen as required.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

.... It shall also provide adequate sleeping quarters on the airplane whenever an airman is scheduled to... may be aloft as a flight crewmember for more than 350 hours in any 90 consecutive days. [Doc. No. 6258...

14 CFR 121.523 - Flight time limitations: Crew of three or more pilots and additional airmen as required.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

.... It shall also provide adequate sleeping quarters on the airplane whenever an airman is scheduled to... may be aloft as a flight crewmember for more than 350 hours in any 90 consecutive days. [Doc. No. 6258...

Aircrew fatigue in long-haul operations.

PubMed

Samel, A; Wegmann, H M; Vejvoda, M

1997-07-01

The studies were conducted on the transmeridian routes Düsseldorf (DUS)-Atlanta (ATL) and Hamburg (HAM)-Los Angeles (LAX), and on the north-south route Frankfurt (FRA)-Mahe (SEZ). Scheduled flight duration was between 8:50 hours (ATL-DUS) and 11:50 hours (HAM-LAX). In total, 25 rotations (50 flights) have been investigated by pre-, in- and post-flight data collection of sleep, taskload, fatigue and stress by electroencephalogram and electrocardiogram measurements and subjective ratings. Inflight ratings of taskload showed low perceived exertion during the Atlantic flights, and were moderate during the north-south transitions. Fatigue ratings increased with progressing flight duration. Towards the end of long U.S.-westcoast flights performed at day-time, and in all night flights, fatigue was elevated compared to the 'baseline' ratings collected during the day-time DUS-ATL flights. Fatigue was rated as being 'critical' by several pilots, particularly during the return flight SEZ-FRA when fatigue was severely pronounced. From the findings it is concluded that duty schedules, as performed on the route HAM-LAX (because of long duty hours), and particularly on the route FRA-SEZ (because of consecutive night work), may place excessive demands on mental and physiological capacity. With respect to legal aspects, the results are significant and should promote further deliberations for advanced schemes of flight duty time limitations and rest requirements.

A weighted optimization approach to time-of-flight sensor fusion.

PubMed

Schwarz, Sebastian; Sjostrom, Marten; Olsson, Roger

2014-01-01

Acquiring scenery depth is a fundamental task in computer vision, with many applications in manufacturing, surveillance, or robotics relying on accurate scenery information. Time-of-flight cameras can provide depth information in real-time and overcome short-comings of traditional stereo analysis. However, they provide limited spatial resolution and sophisticated upscaling algorithms are sought after. In this paper, we present a sensor fusion approach to time-of-flight super resolution, based on the combination of depth and texture sources. Unlike other texture guided approaches, we interpret the depth upscaling process as a weighted energy optimization problem. Three different weights are introduced, employing different available sensor data. The individual weights address object boundaries in depth, depth sensor noise, and temporal consistency. Applied in consecutive order, they form three weighting strategies for time-of-flight super resolution. Objective evaluations show advantages in depth accuracy and for depth image based rendering compared with state-of-the-art depth upscaling. Subjective view synthesis evaluation shows a significant increase in viewer preference by a factor of four in stereoscopic viewing conditions. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first extensive subjective test performed on time-of-flight depth upscaling. Objective and subjective results proof the suitability of our approach to time-of-flight super resolution approach for depth scenery capture.

Analytical and flight investigation of the influence of rotor and other high-order dynamics on helicopter flight-control system bandwidth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, R. T. N.; Hindson, W. S.

1985-01-01

The increasing use of highly augmented digital flight-control systems in modern military helicopters prompted an examination of the influence of rotor dynamics and other high-order dynamics on control-system performance. A study was conducted at NASA Ames Research Center to correlate theoretical predictions of feedback gain limits in the roll axis with experimental test data obtained from a variable-stability research helicopter. Feedback gains, the break frequency of the presampling sensor filter, and the computational frame time of the flight computer were systematically varied. The results, which showed excellent theoretical and experimental correlation, indicate that the rotor-dynamics, sensor-filter, and digital-data processing delays can severely limit the usable values of the roll-rate and roll-attitude feedback gains.

Flight performance in night-flying sweat bees suffers at low light levels.

PubMed

Theobald, Jamie Carroll; Coates, Melissa M; Wcislo, William T; Warrant, Eric J

2007-11-01

The sweat bee Megalopta (Hymenoptera: Halictidae), unlike most bees, flies in extremely dim light. And although nocturnal insects are often equipped with superposition eyes, which greatly enhance light capture, Megalopta performs visually guided flight with apposition eyes. We examined how light limits Megalopta's flight behavior by measuring flight times and corresponding light levels and comparing them with flight trajectories upon return to the nest. We found the average time to land increased in dim light, an effect due not to slow approaches, but to circuitous approaches. Some landings, however, were quite fast even in the dark. To explain this, we examined the flight trajectories and found that in dim light, landings became increasingly error prone and erratic, consistent with repeated landing attempts. These data agree well with the premise that Megalopta uses visual summation, sacrificing acuity in order to see and fly at the very dimmest light intensities that its visual system allows.

Robotic Lunar Landers for Science and Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chavers, D. G.; Cohen, B. A.; Bassler, J. A.; Hammond, M. S.; Harris, D. W.; Hill, L. A.; Eng, D.; Ballard, B. W.; Kubota, S. D.; Morse, B. J.;

In-flight thoracic ultrasound detection of pneumothorax in combat.

PubMed

Madill, Justin J

2010-08-01

Ultrasonography is the only portable imaging modality available in the helicopter medical evacuation environment where physical examination is limited, auscultation is impossible, long transport times may occur, and altitude variations are frequent. Although the use of ultrasonography by aviation medical personnel has been documented, minimal literature exists on the contribution of in-flight ultrasonography to patient management. This case demonstrates an indication for the use of in-flight ultrasonography. It shows how it can affect in-flight management and direct lifesaving intervention. A patient with blast injury developed hemodynamic instability of unclear etiology during transport in the combat aviation environment. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case where in-flight thoracic ultrasonography augmented physical examination and diagnosed an untreated pneumothorax when auscultation was impossible. It directed the decision to perform in-flight procedural intervention with tube thoracostomy. This rapidly improved the patient's hemodynamic stability in a remote and hostile setting. In-flight thoracic ultrasonography is a portable imaging tool that can be used by aviation medical personnel to detect pneumothorax in environments where physical examination is limited and auscultation is impossible. Published by Elsevier Inc.

The 2nd order focusing sector field type TOF mass analyzer with an orthogonal ion acceleration for LC-IMS-MS.

PubMed

Poteshin, S S; Zarakovsky, A I

2017-03-15

Original orthogonal acceleration (OA) electrostatic sector time of flight (TOF) mass analyzer is proposed those allows the second order focusing of time of flight by initial ions position. Resolving power aberration limit exceeding 80,000 FW (full width mass peak) was shown to be obtainable for mass analyzer with the total length of flight L=133.2cm, the average ion energy 3700V and the ion energy spread of 2.5% on the entrance of sector field. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

In-flight sleep, pilot fatigue and Psychomotor Vigilance Task performance on ultra-long range versus long range flights.

PubMed

Gander, Philippa H; Signal, T Leigh; van den Berg, Margo J; Mulrine, Hannah M; Jay, Sarah M; Jim Mangie, Captain

2013-12-01

This study evaluated whether pilot fatigue was greater on ultra-long range (ULR) trips (flights >16 h on 10% of trips in a 90-day period) than on long range (LR) trips. The within-subjects design controlled for crew complement, pattern of in-flight breaks, flight direction and departure time. Thirty male Captains (mean age = 54.5 years) and 40 male First officers (mean age = 48.0 years) were monitored on commercial passenger flights (Boeing 777 aircraft). Sleep was monitored (actigraphy, duty/sleep diaries) from 3 days before the first study trip to 3 days after the second study trip. Karolinska Sleepiness Scale, Samn-Perelli fatigue ratings and a 5-min Psychomotor Vigilance Task were completed before, during and after every flight. Total sleep in the 24 h before outbound flights and before inbound flights after 2-day layovers was comparable for ULR and LR flights. All pilots slept on all flights. For each additional hour of flight time, they obtained an estimated additional 12.3 min of sleep. Estimated mean total sleep was longer on ULR flights (3 h 53 min) than LR flights (3 h 15 min; P(F) = 0.0004). Sleepiness ratings were lower and mean reaction speed was faster at the end of ULR flights. Findings suggest that additional in-flight sleep mitigated fatigue effectively on longer flights. Further research is needed to clarify the contributions to fatigue of in-flight sleep versus time awake at top of descent. The study design was limited to eastward outbound flights with two Captains and two First Officers. Caution must be exercised when extrapolating to different operations. © 2013 European Sleep Research Society.

Orbiter Auxiliary Power Unit Flight Support Plan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Guirl, Robert; Munroe, James; Scott, Walter

1990-01-01

This paper discussed the development of an integrated Orbiter Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) and Improved APU (IAPU) Flight Suuport Plan. The plan identifies hardware requirements for continued support of flight activities for the Space Shuttle Orbiter fleet. Each Orbiter vehicle has three APUs that provide power to the hydraulic system for flight control surface actuation, engine gimbaling, landing gear deployment, braking, and steering. The APUs contain hardware that has been found over the course of development and flight history to have operating time and on-vehicle exposure time limits. These APUs will be replaced by IAPUs with enhanced operating lives on a vehicle-by-vehicle basis during scheduled Orbiter modification periods. This Flight Support Plan is used by program management, engineering, logistics, contracts, and procurement groups to establish optimum use of available hardware and replacement quantities and delivery requirements for APUs until vehicle modifications and incorporation of IAPUs. Changes to the flight manifest and program delays are evaluated relative to their impact on hardware availability.

USAF bioenvironmental noise data handbook. Volume 148. T-37B in-flight crew noise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hille, H. K.

1981-11-01

The T-37B is a USAF two-seat primary trainer aircraft. This report provides measured data defining the bioacoustic environments at flight crew/passenger locations inside this aircraft during normal flight operations. Data are reported at one location for 19 different flight conditions and psychoacoustic measures: overall and band sound pressure levels, C-weighted and A-weighted sound levels, preferred speech interference level, perceived noise level, and limiting times for total daily exposure of personnel with and without standard Air Force ear protectors.

Design of an expert-system flight status monitor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Regenie, V. A.; Duke, E. L.

1985-01-01

The modern advanced avionics in new high-performance aircraft strains the capability of current technology to safely monitor these systems for flight test prior to their generalized use. New techniques are needed to improve the ability of systems engineers to understand and analyze complex systems in the limited time available during crucial periods of the flight test. The Dryden Flight Research Facility of NASA's Ames Research Center is involved in the design and implementation of an expert system to provide expertise and knowledge to aid the flight systems engineer. The need for new techniques in monitoring flight systems and the conceptual design of an expert-system flight status monitor is discussed. The status of the current project and its goals are described.

Nonlinear time-periodic models of the longitudinal flight dynamics of desert locusts Schistocerca gregaria

PubMed Central

Taylor, Graham K; Żbikowski, Rafał

2005-01-01

Previous studies of insect flight control have been statistical in approach, simply correlating wing kinematics with body kinematics or force production. Kinematics and forces are linked by Newtonian mechanics, so adopting a dynamics-based approach is necessary if we are to place the study of insect flight on its proper physical footing. Here we develop semi-empirical models of the longitudinal flight dynamics of desert locusts Schistocerca gregaria. We use instantaneous force–moment measurements from individual locusts to parametrize the nonlinear rigid body equations of motion. Since the instantaneous forces are approximately periodic, we represent them using Fourier series, which are embedded in the equations of motion to give a nonlinear time-periodic (NLTP) model. This is a proper mathematical generalization of an earlier linear-time invariant (LTI) model of locust flight dynamics, developed using previously published time-averaged versions of the instantaneous force recordings. We perform various numerical simulations, within the fitted range of the model, and across the range of body angles used by free-flying locusts, to explore the likely behaviour of the locusts upon release from the tether. Solutions of the NLTP models are compared with solutions of the nonlinear time-invariant (NLTI) models to which they reduce when the periodic terms are dropped. Both sets of models are unstable and therefore fail to explain locust flight stability fully. Nevertheless, whereas the measured forces include statistically significant harmonic content up to about the eighth harmonic, the simulated flight trajectories display no harmonic content above the fundamental forcing frequency. Hence, manoeuvre control in locusts will not directly reflect subtle changes in the higher harmonics of the wing beat, but must operate on a coarser time-scale. A state-space analysis of the NLTP models reveals orbital trajectories that are impossible to capture in the LTI and NLTI models, and inspires the hypothesis that asymptotic orbital stability is the proper definition of stability in flapping flight. Manoeuvre control on the scale of more than one wing beat would then consist in exciting transients from one asymptotically stable orbit to another. We summarize these hypotheses by proposing a limit-cycle analogy for flapping flight control and suggest experiments for verification of the limit-cycle control analogy hypothesis. PMID:16849180

Modified ECC ozone sonde for long-duration flights aboard isopicnic drifting balloons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gheusi, Francois; Durand, Pierre; Verdier, Nicolas; Dulac, François; Attié, Jean-Luc; Commun, Philippe; Barret, Brice; Basdevant, Claude; Clénet, Antoine; Fontaine, Alain; Jambert, Corinne; Meyerfeld, Yves; Roblou, Laurent; Tocquer, Flore

2015-04-01

Since few years, the French space agency CNES has developed boundary-layer pressurized balloons (BLPB) with the capability to transport scientific payloads at isopicnic level over very long distances and durations (up to several weeks in absence of navigation limits). However, the autonomy of conventional electrochemical concentration cell (ECC) ozone sondes, that are widely used for tropospheric and stratospheric soundings, is limited to few hours due to power consumption and electrolyte evaporation (owing to air bubbling in the cathode solution). In collaboration with the French research community, CNES has developed a new ozone payload suited for long duration flights aboard BLPB. The mechanical elements (Teflon pump and motor) and the electrochemical cell of conventional ECC sondes have been kept but the electronic implementation is entirely new. The main feature is the possibility of programming periodic measurement sequences -- with possible remote control during the flight. To increase the ozone sonde autonomy, a strategy has been adopted of short measurement sequences (typically 2-3 min) regularly spaced in time (e.g. every 15 min, which is usually sufficient for air quality studies). The rest of the time, the sonde is at rest (pump motor off). The response time of an ECC sonde to an ozone concentration step is below one minute. Consequently, the measurement sequence is typically composed of a one-minute spin-up period after the pump has been turned on, followed by a one- to two-minute acquisition period. All time intervals can be adjusted before and during the flight. Results of a preliminary ground-based test in spring 2012 are first presented. The sonde provided correct ozone concentrations against a reference UV analyzer every 15 minutes during 4 days. Then we illustrate results from 16 BLBP flights launched in the low troposphere over the Mediterranean during summer field campaings in 2012 and 2013 (TRAQA and ChArMEx programmes). BLPB drifting altitudes were in the range 0.25-3.2 km. The longest flight lasted more than 32 hours and covered more than 1000 km between Minorca and the limit of the authorized flight area south of Malta. During some flights, satisfying comparisons were obtained relatively to independent measurements close in time and space. The obtained quasi-Lagrangian measurements allow an evaluation of the ozone production/destruction rate as a function of the solar radiation (also measured onboard, as well as standard weather variables) that will be helpful to test chemistry-transport models.

Sleep and intercontinental flights.

PubMed

Nicholson, Anthony N

2006-12-01

At present there are no 'high-tech' solutions to the problems that may beset intercontinental travellers. Indications for the use of drugs are limited, and their use must accord with Good Clinical Practice. Essentially, travellers must look after their sleep, as far as possible, during and after the flight. The most useful time for sleep during the flight must be anticipated, caution exercised in the use of hypnotics in-flight as reduced mobility is a potential risk factor for venous thrombosis, and a strategy adopted, whether flying east or west, to adapt as quickly as possible to the working hours of the new locality. After an eastward flight a hypnotic may be useful, but this strategy is seldom necessary after a westward flight unless the journey has involved crossing more than 5 or 6 time zones. The claim that melatonin accelerates the shift of the sleep-wakefulness cycle to a new time zone is controversial, and its recommended use may prejudice alertness during working hours. Exposure to artificial light and avoidance of ambient light at certain times of the day could prove to be of help-possibly in conjunction with drugs. However, effective and practical alterations in the light environment must be devised before such strategies can be considered with confidence.

Envelope Protection for In-Flight Ice Contamination

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gingras, David R.; Barnhart, Billy P.; Ranaudo, Richard J.; Ratvasky, Thomas P.; Morelli, Eugene A.

2010-01-01

Fatal loss-of-control (LOC) accidents have been directly related to in-flight airframe icing. The prototype system presented in this paper directly addresses the need for real-time onboard envelope protection in icing conditions. The combinations of a-priori information and realtime aerodynamic estimations are shown to provide sufficient input for determining safe limits of the flight envelope during in-flight icing encounters. The Icing Contamination Envelope Protection (ICEPro) system has been designed and implemented to identify degradations in airplane performance and flying qualities resulting from ice contamination and provide safe flight-envelope cues to the pilot. Components of ICEPro are described and results from preliminary tests are presented.

Society of Flight Test Engineers, Annual Symposium, 21st, Garden Grove, CA, Aug. 6-10, 1990, Proceedings

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1990-01-01

The present conference on flight testing encompasses avionics, flight-testing programs, technologies for flight-test predictions and measurements, testing tools, analysis methods, targeting techniques, and flightline testing. Specific issues addressed include flight testing of a digital terrain-following system, a digital Doppler rate-of-descent indicator, a high-technology testbed, a low-altitude air-refueling flight-test program, techniques for in-flight frequency-response testing for helicopters, limit-cycle oscillation and flight-flutter testing, and the research flight test of a scaled unmanned air vehicle. Also addressed are AV-8B V/STOL performance analysis, incorporating pilot-response time in failure-case testing, the development of pitot static flightline testing, targeting techniques for ground-based hover testing, a low-profilemore » microsensor for aerodynamic pressure measurement, and the use of a variable-capacitance accelerometer for flight-test measurements.« less

Fast round-trip Mars trajectories

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson, Sam

1990-01-01

This paper is concerned with the effect of limiting the overall duration or else the one-way flight time of a round trip to Mars, as reflected in the sum of impulsive velocity increments required of the spacecraft propulsion system. Ignition-to-burnout mass ratios for a hypothetical single stage spacecraft, obtained from the rocket equation by combining these delta-V sums with appropriate values of specific impulse, are used to evaluate the relative effectiveness of four high-thrust propulsion alternatives. If the flight crew goes to the surface of Mars and stays there for the duration of their stopover, it is much cheaper (in terms of delta-V) to minimize their zero-g exposure by limiting the interplanetary transit time of a conjunction-class mission (round trip time = 800-1000 days, Mars stopover = 450-700 days) than to impose the same limit on an opposition-class mission (round trip time less than 600 days, stopover = 40 days). Using solid-core nuclear thermal propulsion to fly a conjunction-class mission, for a moderate mass penalty the interplanetary transit time (each way) probably could be limited to something in the range of 4 to 6 months, depending on the launch year.

14 CFR Appendix K to Part 25 - Extended Operations (ETOPS)

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... that is time-limited. K25.1.4Propulsion systems. (a) Fuel system design. Fuel necessary to complete an... does not apply to airplanes with a required flight engineer. (b) APU design. If an APU is needed to..., whichever is lower, and run for the remainder of any flight . (c) Engine oil tank design. The engine oil...

14 CFR Appendix K to Part 25 - Extended Operations (ETOPS)

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... that is time-limited. K25.1.4Propulsion systems. (a) Fuel system design. Fuel necessary to complete an... does not apply to airplanes with a required flight engineer. (b) APU design. If an APU is needed to..., whichever is lower, and run for the remainder of any flight . (c) Engine oil tank design. The engine oil...

14 CFR Appendix K to Part 25 - Extended Operations (ETOPS)

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... that is time-limited. K25.1.4Propulsion systems. (a) Fuel system design. Fuel necessary to complete an... does not apply to airplanes with a required flight engineer. (b) APU design. If an APU is needed to..., whichever is lower, and run for the remainder of any flight . (c) Engine oil tank design. The engine oil...

14 CFR Appendix K to Part 25 - Extended Operations (ETOPS)

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... that is time-limited. K25.1.4Propulsion systems. (a) Fuel system design. Fuel necessary to complete an... does not apply to airplanes with a required flight engineer. (b) APU design. If an APU is needed to..., whichever is lower, and run for the remainder of any flight . (c) Engine oil tank design. The engine oil...

Flight test summary of modified fuel systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barrett, B. G.

1976-01-01

Two different aircraft designs, each with two modified fuel control systems, were evaluated. Each aircraft was evaluated in a given series of defined ground and flight conditions while quantitative and qualitative observations were made. During this program, some ten flights were completed, and a total of about 13 hours of engine run time was accumulated by the two airplanes. The results of these evaluations with emphasis on the operational and safety aspects were analyzed. Ground tests of the engine alone were not able to predict acceptable limiting lean mixture settings for the flight envelopes of the Cessna Models 150 and T337.

14 CFR 417.207 - Trajectory analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... after lift-off, the limits of a launch vehicle's normal flight, as defined by the nominal trajectory and... straight-up trajectory for any time after lift-off until the straight-up time that would result if the...

14 CFR 417.207 - Trajectory analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... after lift-off, the limits of a launch vehicle's normal flight, as defined by the nominal trajectory and... straight-up trajectory for any time after lift-off until the straight-up time that would result if the...

38 CFR 21.134 - Limitation on flight training.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 38 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief 2 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Limitation on flight.... Chapter 31 Educational and Vocational Training Services § 21.134 Limitation on flight training. Flight... that include required flight training. This type of training is otherwise subject to the same...

38 CFR 21.134 - Limitation on flight training.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 38 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief 2 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Limitation on flight.... Chapter 31 Educational and Vocational Training Services § 21.134 Limitation on flight training. Flight... that include required flight training. This type of training is otherwise subject to the same...

38 CFR 21.134 - Limitation on flight training.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 38 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief 2 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Limitation on flight.... Chapter 31 Educational and Vocational Training Services § 21.134 Limitation on flight training. Flight... that include required flight training. This type of training is otherwise subject to the same...

38 CFR 21.134 - Limitation on flight training.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 38 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Limitation on flight.... Chapter 31 Educational and Vocational Training Services § 21.134 Limitation on flight training. Flight... that include required flight training. This type of training is otherwise subject to the same...

38 CFR 21.134 - Limitation on flight training.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 38 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Limitation on flight.... Chapter 31 Educational and Vocational Training Services § 21.134 Limitation on flight training. Flight... that include required flight training. This type of training is otherwise subject to the same...

Flammability on textile of flight crew professional clothing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silva-Santos, M. C.; Oliveira, M. S.; Giacomin, A. M.; Laktim, M. C.; Baruque-Ramos, J.

2017-10-01

The issue about flammability of textile materials employed in passenger cabins of commercial aircrafts is an important part of safety routines planning. Once an in-flight emergency initiated with fire or smoke aboard, time becomes critical and the entire crew must be involved in the solution. It is part of the crew functions, notably the attendants, the in-flight firefighting. This study compares the values of textile material of flight attendant working cloths and galley curtain fabric with regard to flammability and Limiting Oxygen Index (LOI). Values to the professional clothing material indicate that they are flammable and the curtains, self-extinguishing. Thus, despite of the occurrences of fire outbreaks in aircrafts are unexceptional, the use of other materials and technologies for uniforms, such as alternative textile fibers and flame retardant finishes should be considered as well as the establishment of performance limits regarding flame and fire exposing.

Workstation-Based Avionics Simulator to Support Mars Science Laboratory Flight Software Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Henriquez, David; Canham, Timothy; Chang, Johnny T.; McMahon, Elihu

2008-01-01

The Mars Science Laboratory developed the WorkStation TestSet (WSTS) to support flight software development. The WSTS is the non-real-time flight avionics simulator that is designed to be completely software-based and run on a workstation class Linux PC. This provides flight software developers with their own virtual avionics testbed and allows device-level and functional software testing when hardware testbeds are either not yet available or have limited availability. The WSTS has successfully off-loaded many flight software development activities from the project testbeds. At the writing of this paper, the WSTS has averaged an order of magnitude more usage than the project's hardware testbeds.

Development and Implementation of a Model-Driven Envelope Protection System for In-Flight Ice Contamination

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gingras, David R.; Barnhart, Billy P.; Martos, Borja; Ratvasky, Thomas P.; Morelli, Eugene

2011-01-01

Fatal loss-of-control (LOC) accidents have been directly related to in-flight airframe icing. The prototype system presented in this paper directly addresses the need for real-time onboard envelope protection in icing conditions. The combinations of a-priori information and realtime aerodynamic estimations are shown to provide sufficient input for determining safe limits of the flight envelope during in-flight icing encounters. The Icing Contamination Envelope Protection (ICEPro) system has been designed and implemented to identify degradations in airplane performance and flying qualities resulting from ice contamination and provide safe flight-envelope cues to the pilot. Components of ICEPro are described and results from preliminary tests are presented.

[Stress and fatigue in long distance 2-man cockpit crew].

PubMed

Samel, A; Wegmann, H H; Vejvoda, M; Wittiber, K

1996-01-01

Common rules on flight-duty times and rest requirements within the European Union are under intense discussion. In the deliberations, results from scientific investigations should be considered. As part of a research programme concerning legal aspects of two-pilot operations on long-haul routes, the purpose of the studies was to investigate two-crew extended range operations during transmeridian and transequatorial flight schedules. The studies were conducted with two German charter airlines on the transmeridian routes Düsseldorf (DUS)-Atlanta (ATL) and Hamburg (HAM)-Los Angeles (LAX), and on the north-south route Frankfurt (FRA)-Mahe (SEZ) including two consecutive night flights with a short layover. In total, 25 rotations (50 flights) have been investigated by pre-, in-, and post-flight data collection from the two pilots being the minimum required crew. Recordings included sleep, taskload, fatigue and stress by measurements of EEG, ECG, motor activity and subjective ratings. During the transmeridian schedules, pilots lost one night of sleep because of the return flights which were conducted at night. The resulting sleep deficit was 8.2 h. During the layover of the SEZ-rotation with a duration of 14 h on average, sleep was shortened by 2 h compared with baseline sleep. The two consecutive night flights resulted in a sleep loss of 9.3 h upon return to home base. Inflight ratings of taskload showed low levels during the atlantic flights, and moderate grades during the north-south transitions. Fatigue ratings exhibited an increasing level with progressing flight duration. Towards the end of long US-westcoast flights performed at day-time, and in all night flights, fatigue was enhanced compared to the "baseline" ratings collected during the DUS-ATL flights. Fatigue was scored at a critical level by several pilots, particularly during the return flight SEZ-FRA when fatigue was severely pronounced. The subjective fatigue ratings were confirmed by the objective measurements of motor activity, brain-wave activity (occurrences of micro-sleep) and heart rate which indicated drowsiness and a low state of vigilance and alertness during all night flights under study. From the findings it is concluded that duty schedules, as conducted on the route HAM-LAX (because of long duty hours), and particularly on the route FRA-SEZ, (because of consecutive night duties) are coming close to the limits of mental and physiological capacity. With respect to legal aspects, the results have significance and should promote further deliberations for advanced schemes of flight duty time limitations and rest requirements.

In-flight sleep of flight crew during a 7-hour rest break: implications for research and flight safety.

PubMed

Signal, T Leigh; Gander, Philippa H; van den Berg, Margo J; Graeber, R Curtis

2013-01-01

To assess the amount and quality of sleep that flight crew are able to obtain during flight, and identify factors that influence the sleep obtained. Flight crew operating flights between Everett, WA, USA and Asia had their sleep recorded polysomnographically for 1 night in a layover hotel and during a 7-h in-flight rest opportunity on flights averaging 15.7 h. Layover hotel and in-flight crew rest facilities onboard the Boeing 777-200ER aircraft. Twenty-one male flight crew (11 Captains, mean age 48 yr and 10 First Officers, mean age 35 yr). N/A. Sleep was recorded using actigraphy during the entire tour of duty, and polysomnographically in a layover hotel and during the flight. Mixed model analysis of covariance was used to determine the factors affecting in-flight sleep. In-flight sleep was less efficient (70% vs. 88%), with more nonrapid eye movement Stage 1/Stage 2 and more frequent awakenings per h (7.7/h vs. 4.6/h) than sleep in the layover hotel. In-flight sleep included very little slow wave sleep (median 0.5%). Less time was spent trying to sleep and less sleep was obtained when sleep opportunities occurred during the first half of the flight. Multivariate analyses suggest age is the most consistent factor affecting in-flight sleep duration and quality. This study confirms that even during long sleep opportunities, in-flight sleep is of poorer quality than sleep on the ground. With longer flight times, the quality and recuperative value of in-flight sleep is increasingly important for flight safety. Because the age limit for flight crew is being challenged, the consequences of age adversely affecting sleep quantity and quality need to be evaluated.

Computational analysis of forebody tangential slot blowing on the high alpha research vehicle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gee, Ken

1994-01-01

Current and future fighter aircraft can maneuver in the high-angle-of-attack flight regime while flying at low subsonic and transonic freestream Mach numbers. However, at any flight speed, the ability of the vertical tails to generate yawing moment is limited in high-angle-of-attack flight. Thus, any system designed to provide the pilot with additional side force and yawing moment must work in both low subsonic and transonic flight. However, previous investigations of the effectiveness of forebody tangential slot blowing in generating the desired control forces and moments have been limited to the low subsonic freestream flow regime. In order to investigate the effectiveness of tangential slot blowing in transonic flight, a computational fluid dynamics analysis was carried out during the grant period. Computational solutions were obtained at three different freestream Mach numbers and at various jet mass flow ratios. All results were obtained using the isolated F/A-18 forebody grid geometry at 30.3 degrees angle of attack. One goal of the research was to determine the effect of freestream Mach number on the effectiveness of forebody tangential slot blowing in generating yawing moment. The second part of the research studied the force onset time lag associated with blowing. The time required for the yawing moment to reach a steady-state value from the onset of blowing may have an impact on the implementation of a pneumatic system on a flight vehicle.

14 CFR 61.195 - Flight instructor limitations and qualifications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... that flight instructor has determined the student's flight preparation, planning, equipment, and... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Flight instructor limitations and... TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIRMEN CERTIFICATION: PILOTS, FLIGHT INSTRUCTORS, AND GROUND INSTRUCTORS Flight...

14 CFR 61.195 - Flight instructor limitations and qualifications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... that flight instructor has determined the student's flight preparation, planning, equipment, and... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Flight instructor limitations and... TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIRMEN CERTIFICATION: PILOTS, FLIGHT INSTRUCTORS, AND GROUND INSTRUCTORS Flight...

14 CFR 61.195 - Flight instructor limitations and qualifications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... that flight instructor has determined the student's flight preparation, planning, equipment, and... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Flight instructor limitations and... TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIRMEN CERTIFICATION: PILOTS, FLIGHT INSTRUCTORS, AND GROUND INSTRUCTORS Flight...

14 CFR 61.195 - Flight instructor limitations and qualifications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... that flight instructor has determined the student's flight preparation, planning, equipment, and... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Flight instructor limitations and... TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIRMEN CERTIFICATION: PILOTS, FLIGHT INSTRUCTORS, AND GROUND INSTRUCTORS Flight...

14 CFR 61.195 - Flight instructor limitations and qualifications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... that flight instructor has determined the student's flight preparation, planning, equipment, and... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Flight instructor limitations and... TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIRMEN CERTIFICATION: PILOTS, FLIGHT INSTRUCTORS, AND GROUND INSTRUCTORS Flight...

A Flight Deck Decision Support Tool for Autonomous Airborne Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ballin, Mark G.; Sharma, Vivek; Vivona, Robert A.; Johnson, Edward J.; Ramiscal, Ermin

2002-01-01

NASA is developing a flight deck decision support tool to support research into autonomous operations in a future distributed air/ground traffic management environment. This interactive real-time decision aid, referred to as the Autonomous Operations Planner (AOP), will enable the flight crew to plan autonomously in the presence of dense traffic and complex flight management constraints. In assisting the flight crew, the AOP accounts for traffic flow management and airspace constraints, schedule requirements, weather hazards, aircraft operational limits, and crew or airline flight-planning goals. This paper describes the AOP and presents an overview of functional and implementation design considerations required for its development. Required AOP functionality is described, its application in autonomous operations research is discussed, and a prototype software architecture for the AOP is presented.

A Core Plug and Play Architecture for Reusable Flight Software Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilmot, Jonathan

2006-01-01

The Flight Software Branch, at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), has been working on a run-time approach to facilitate a formal software reuse process. The reuse process is designed to enable rapid development and integration of high-quality software systems and to more accurately predict development costs and schedule. Previous reuse practices have been somewhat successful when the same teams are moved from project to project. But this typically requires taking the software system in an all-or-nothing approach where useful components cannot be easily extracted from the whole. As a result, the system is less flexible and scalable with limited applicability to new projects. This paper will focus on the rationale behind, and implementation of the run-time executive. This executive is the core for the component-based flight software commonality and reuse process adopted at Goddard.

Variations of High-Latitude Geomagnetic Pulsation Frequencies: A Comparison of Time-of-Flight Estimates and IMAGE Magnetometer Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sandhu, J. K.; Yeoman, T. K.; James, M. K.; Rae, I. J.; Fear, R. C.

2018-01-01

The fundamental eigenfrequencies of standing Alfvén waves on closed geomagnetic field lines are estimated for the region spanning 5.9≤L < 9.5 over all MLT (Magnetic Local Time). The T96 magnetic field model and a realistic empirical plasma mass density model are employed using the time-of-flight approximation, refining previous calculations that assumed a relatively simplistic mass density model. An assessment of the implications of using different mass density models in the time-of-flight calculations is presented. The calculated frequencies exhibit dependences on field line footprint magnetic latitude and MLT, which are attributed to both magnetic field configuration and spatial variations in mass density. In order to assess the validity of the time-of-flight calculated frequencies, the estimates are compared to observations of FLR (Field Line Resonance) frequencies. Using IMAGE (International Monitor for Auroral Geomagnetic Effects) ground magnetometer observations obtained between 2001 and 2012, an automated FLR identification method is developed, based on the cross-phase technique. The average FLR frequency is determined, including variations with footprint latitude and MLT, and compared to the time-of-flight analysis. The results show agreement in the latitudinal and local time dependences. Furthermore, with the use of the realistic mass density model in the time-of-flight calculations, closer agreement with the observed FLR frequencies is obtained. The study is limited by the latitudinal coverage of the IMAGE magnetometer array, and future work will aim to extend the ground magnetometer data used to include additional magnetometer arrays.

User's manual for flight Simulator Display System (FSDS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Egerdahl, C. C.

1979-01-01

The capabilities of the flight simulator display system (FSDS) are described. FSDS is a color raster scan display generator designed to meet the special needs of Flight Simulation Laboratories. The FSDS can update (revise) the images it generates every 16.6 mS, with limited support from a host processor. This corresponds to the standard TV vertical rate of 60 Hertz, and allows the system to carry out display functions in a time critical environment. Rotation of a complex image in the television raster with minimal hardware is possible with the system.

Data on noise environments at different times of day around airports

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fields, J. M.

1985-01-01

Sources of information about noise environments at different times of the day at civilian and military airports are identified. Information about movements of scheduled flights are available in machine readable form from the Official Airline Guide. Information about permanent noise monitoring sites is readily obtained from individual airports. Limited data on the timing of flights are available at centralized locations for military airports. An examination of scheduled flights at commercial airports leads to the conclusion that differences between daytime and nighttime noise levels (measured in Equivalent Continuous Noise Level, LEQ) vary from 7 to 15 decibels. Data from 128 permanent noise monitoring sites at 11 airports are also examined. Differences between daytime and nighttime noise levels at these 128 noise monitoring sites vary from 3 to 17 decibels (LEQ). Preliminary analyses suggest that accurate estimates of time-of-day weights could not be obtained from conventional social surveys at existing airports.

Real-time monitoring of Lévy flights in a single quantum system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Issler, M.; Höller, J.; Imamoǧlu, A.

2016-02-01

Lévy flights are random walks where the dynamics is dominated by rare events. Even though they have been studied in vastly different physical systems, their observation in a single quantum system has remained elusive. Here we analyze a periodically driven open central spin system and demonstrate theoretically that the dynamics of the spin environment exhibits Lévy flights. For the particular realization in a single-electron charged quantum dot driven by periodic resonant laser pulses, we use Monte Carlo simulations to confirm that the long waiting times between successive nuclear spin-flip events are governed by a power-law distribution; the corresponding exponent η =-3 /2 can be directly measured in real time by observing the waiting time distribution of successive photon emission events. Remarkably, the dominant intrinsic limitation of the scheme arising from nuclear quadrupole coupling can be minimized by adjusting the magnetic field or by implementing spin echo.

Investigation of Optimal Control Allocation for Gust Load Alleviation in Flight Control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frost, Susan A.; Taylor, Brian R.; Bodson, Marc

2012-01-01

Advances in sensors and avionics computation power suggest real-time structural load measurements could be used in flight control systems for improved safety and performance. A conventional transport flight control system determines the moments necessary to meet the pilot's command, while rejecting disturbances and maintaining stability of the aircraft. Control allocation is the problem of converting these desired moments into control effector commands. In this paper, a framework is proposed to incorporate real-time structural load feedback and structural load constraints in the control allocator. Constrained optimal control allocation can be used to achieve desired moments without exceeding specified limits on monitored load points. Minimization of structural loads by the control allocator is used to alleviate gust loads. The framework to incorporate structural loads in the flight control system and an optimal control allocation algorithm will be described and then demonstrated on a nonlinear simulation of a generic transport aircraft with flight dynamics and static structural loads.

Slow Lévy flights

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boyer, Denis; Pineda, Inti

2016-02-01

Among Markovian processes, the hallmark of Lévy flights is superdiffusion, or faster-than-Brownian dynamics. Here we show that Lévy laws, as well as Gaussian distributions, can also be the limit distributions of processes with long-range memory that exhibit very slow diffusion, logarithmic in time. These processes are path dependent and anomalous motion emerges from frequent relocations to already visited sites. We show how the central limit theorem is modified in this context, keeping the usual distinction between analytic and nonanalytic characteristic functions. A fluctuation-dissipation relation is also derived. Our results may have important applications in the study of animal and human displacements.

History of suborbital spaceflight: medical and performance issues.

PubMed

Campbell, Mark R; Garbino, Alejandro

2011-04-01

The development of manned sub-orbital commercial space vehicles is rapidly occurring and flight testing followed by operational flights will soon begin. The experience of manned suborbital spaceflight at the designated altitude (100 km/62.14 mi) is very limited--two Mercury-Redstone flights, two X-15 flights, one inadvertent Soyuz launch abort, and three recent SpaceShipOne flights, with only 15 min of critical flight time each. All indications were that the sequence of acceleration-weightlessness-deceleration was well tolerated with minimal neurovestibular dysfunction. However, there are some indications that distraction and spatial disorientation did occur. Vertigo on transition from the boost phase to weightlessness was reported on most high-altitude X-15 flights. +Gz tolerance to re-entry deceleration forces (as high as 6 + Gz) after 4 min of weightlessness is still unknown. Only further suborbital spaceflight experience will clarify if pilot performance will be affected.

The nonlinear instability in flap-lag of rotor blades in forward flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tong, P.

1971-01-01

The nonlinear flap-lag coupled oscillation of torsionally rigid rotor blades in forward flight is examined using a set of consistently derived equations by the asymptotic expansion procedure of multiple time scales. The regions of stability and limit cycle oscillation are presented. The roles of parametric excitation, nonlinear oscillation, and forced excitation played in the response of the blade are determined.

Tight coordination of aerial flight maneuvers and sonar call production in insectivorous bats

PubMed Central

Falk, Benjamin; Kasnadi, Joseph; Moss, Cynthia F.

2015-01-01

ABSTRACT Echolocating bats face the challenge of coordinating flight kinematics with the production of echolocation signals used to guide navigation. Previous studies of bat flight have focused on kinematics of fruit and nectar-feeding bats, often in wind tunnels with limited maneuvering, and without analysis of echolocation behavior. In this study, we engaged insectivorous big brown bats in a task requiring simultaneous turning and climbing flight, and used synchronized high-speed motion-tracking cameras and audio recordings to quantify the animals' coordination of wing kinematics and echolocation. Bats varied flight speed, turn rate, climb rate and wingbeat rate as they navigated around obstacles, and they adapted their sonar signals in patterning, duration and frequency in relation to the timing of flight maneuvers. We found that bats timed the emission of sonar calls with the upstroke phase of the wingbeat cycle in straight flight, and that this relationship changed when bats turned to navigate obstacles. We also characterized the unsteadiness of climbing and turning flight, as well as the relationship between speed and kinematic parameters. Adaptations in the bats' echolocation call frequency suggest changes in beam width and sonar field of view in relation to obstacles and flight behavior. By characterizing flight and sonar behaviors in an insectivorous bat species, we find evidence of exquisitely tight coordination of sensory and motor systems for obstacle navigation and insect capture. PMID:26582935

Current status of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation-time of flight mass spectrometry in the clinical microbiology laboratory.

PubMed

Kok, Jen; Chen, Sharon C A; Dwyer, Dominic E; Iredell, Jonathan R

2013-01-01

The integration of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) into many clinical microbiology laboratories has revolutionised routine pathogen identification. MALDI-TOF MS complements and has good potential to replace existing phenotypic identification methods. Results are available in a more clinically relevant timeframe, particularly in bacteraemic septic shock. Novel applications include strain typing and the detection of antimicrobial resistance, but these are not widely used. This review discusses the technical aspects, current applications, and limitations of MALDI-TOF MS.

Gas chromatography--inductively coupled plasma--time-of-flight mass spectrometry for the speciation analysis of organolead compounds in environmental water samples.

PubMed

Heisterkamp, M; Adams, F C

2001-07-01

The application of inductively coupled plasma--time-of-flight mass spectrometry for the speciation analysis of organolead compounds in environmental waters is described. Construction of the transfer line was achieved by means of a relatively simple and rapid coupling procedure. Derivatization of the ionic lead species was achieved by in-situ propylation with sodium tetrapropylborate; simultaneous extraction of the derivatized compounds in hexane was followed by separation and detection by capillary gas chromatography hyphenated to inductively coupled plasma-time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Detection limits for the different organolead species ranged from 10 to 15 fg (as Pb), corresponding to procedural detection limits between 50 and 75 ng L(-1), on the basis of a 50 mL snow sample, extraction with 200 microL hexane, and subsequent injection of 1 microL of the organic extract on to the column. The accuracy of the system was confirmed by additional analysis of the water samples by capillary gas chromatography coupled with microwave-induced plasma-atomic-emission spectrometry and the analysis of a standard reference material CRM 605 (road dust) with a certified content of trimethyllead.

Free-decay time-domain modal identification for large space structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kim, Hyoung M.; Vanhorn, David A.; Doiron, Harold H.

1992-01-01

Concept definition studies for the Modal Identification Experiment (MIE), a proposed space flight experiment for the Space Station Freedom (SSF), have demonstrated advantages and compatibility of free-decay time-domain modal identification techniques with the on-orbit operational constraints of large space structures. Since practical experience with modal identification using actual free-decay responses of large space structures is very limited, several numerical and test data reduction studies were conducted. Major issues and solutions were addressed, including closely-spaced modes, wide frequency range of interest, data acquisition errors, sampling delay, excitation limitations, nonlinearities, and unknown disturbances during free-decay data acquisition. The data processing strategies developed in these studies were applied to numerical simulations of the MIE, test data from a deployable truss, and launch vehicle flight data. Results of these studies indicate free-decay time-domain modal identification methods can provide accurate modal parameters necessary to characterize the structural dynamics of large space structures.

Utilization of the graded universal testing system to increase the efficiency for assessing aerobic and anaerobic capacity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rodgers, Sandra L.

1992-01-01

The in-flight exercise test performed by cosmonauts as part of the Russian Exercise Countermeasure Program is limited to 5 minutes due to communication restrictions. During a recent graded exercise test on a U.S. Shuttle flight, the test was terminated early due to an upcoming loss of signal (LOS) with the ground. This exercise test was a traditional test where the subject's exercise capacity dictates the length of the test. For example, one crew member may take 15 minutes to complete the test, while another may take 18 minutes. The traditional exercise test limits the flight schedulers to large blocks of space flight time in order to provide medical and research personnel information on the fitness capacity (maximal oxygen uptake: VO2max) of crew members during flight. A graded exercise test that would take a finite amount of time and a set preparation and recovery time would ease this problem by allowing flight schedulers to plan exercise tests in advance of LOS. The Graded Universal Testing System (GUTS) was designed to meet this goal. Fitness testing of astronauts before and after flight provides pertinent data on many variables. The Detailed Supplemental Objective (DSO608) protocol (6) is one of the graded exercise tests (GXT) currently used in astronaut testing before and after flight. Test times for this protocol have lasted from 11 to 18 minutes. Anaerobic capacity is an important variable that is currently not being evaluated before and after flight. Recent reports (1,2,5) from the literature have suggested that the oxygen deficit at supramaximal exercise is a measure of anaerobic capacity. We postulated that the oxygen deficit at maximal exercise would be an indication of anaerobic capacity. If this postulate can be accepted, then the efficiency of acquiring data from a graded exercise test would increase at least twofold. To examine this hypothesis anaerobic capacity was measured using a modified treadmill test (3,4) designed to exhaust the anaerobic systems in approximately 45 to 75 seconds. Lactate concentration in the blood was analyzed after all tests, since lactate is the end-product of anaerobic energy production. Therefore, the peak lactate response is an additional indication of anaerobic capacity. A preliminary comparison of the GUTS and the DSO608 suggests that the GUTS protocol would increase the efficiency of VO2max testing of astronauts before and after flight. Results for anaerobic capacity have not been tabulated.

Atmospheric Ionizing Radiation and the High Speed Civil Transport. Chapter 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maiden, D. L.; Wilson, J. W.; Jones, I. W.; Goldhagen, P.

2003-01-01

Atmospheric ionizing radiation is produced by extraterrestrial radiations incident on the Earth's atmosphere. These extraterrestrial radiations are of two sources: ever present galactic cosmic rays with origin outside the solar system and transient solar particle events that are at times very intense events associated with solar activity lasting several hours to a few days. Although the galactic radiation penetrating through the atmosphere to the ground is low in intensity, the intensity is more than two orders of magnitude greater at commercial aircraft altitudes. The radiation levels at the higher altitudes of the High Speed Civil Transport (HSCT) are an additional factor of two higher. Ionizing radiation produces chemically active radicals in biological tissues that alter the cell function or result in cell death. Protection standards against low levels of ionizing radiation are based on limitation of excess cancer mortality or limitation of developmental injury resulting in permanent damage to the offspring during pregnancy. The crews of commercial air transport operations are considered as radiation workers by the EPA, the FAA, and the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). The annual exposures of aircrews depend on the latitudes and altitudes of operation and flight time. Flight hours have significantly increased since deregulation of the airline industry in the 1980's. The FAA estimates annual subsonic aircrew exposures to range from 0.2 to 9.1 mSv compared to 0.5 mSv exposure of the average nuclear power plant worker in the nuclear industry. The commercial aircrews of the HSCT may receive exposures above recently recommended allowable limits for even radiation workers if flying their allowable number of flight hours. An adequate protection philosophy for background exposures in HSCT commercial airtraffic cannot be developed at this time due to current uncertainty in environmental levels. In addition, if a large solar particle event occurs during flight at HSCT altitudes then passengers and crew may greatly exceed allowable limits unless means are available to reduce exposures.

Thermal design of the XTE deployables

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neuberger, David

1997-01-01

This paper describes the thermal design and flight results of the X-Ray Timing Explorer (XTE) deployable mechanisms. The two subsystems discussed are the SADA and the APS gimbal. The SADA (Solar Array Drive Assembly) is the mechanism that maneuvers the solar arrays during flight operation and the APS gimbal (Antenna Pointing System gimbal) is the mechanism that maneuvers the high gain antenna during flight operation. Testing and analysis will be covered where appropriate and flight results will be given and compared to requirements. The XTE spacecraft was launched in December 30, 1995at8:40 EST. The solar arrays and both high gain antennas deployed nominally and are operating within their temperature limits.

USAF Bioenvironmental Noise Data Handbook. Volume 155. CH-3 in-flight crew noise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hille, H. K.

1982-09-01

The CH-3 is a USAF tactical combat transport helicopter. This report provides measured data defining the bioacoustic environments at flight crew/passenger locations inside this helicopter during normal flight operations. Data are reported for nine locations in a wide variety of physical and psychoacoustic measures: overall and band sound pressure levels, C weighted and A weighted sound levels, preferred speech interference level, perceived noise levels and limiting times for total daily exposure of personnel with and without standard Air Force ear protectors. Refer to Volume 1 of this handbook, USAF Bioenvironmental Noise Data handbook, Vol. 1: Organization, Content and Application, AMRL-TR-75-50(1) 1975, for discussion of the objective and design of the handbook, the types of data presented, measurement procedures, instrumentation, data processing, definitions of quantities, symbols, equations, applications, limitations, etc.

USAF Environmental Noise Data Handbook. Volume 150: C-140 in-flight crew noise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hille, H. K.

1982-09-01

The C-140 is a USAF transport aircraft used for operational support. This report provides measured data defining the bioacoustic environments at flight crew/passenger locations inside this aircraft during normal flight operations. Date are reported for seven locations in a wide variety of physical and psychoacoustic measures: overall and band sound pressure levels, C-weighted and A-weighted sound levels, preferred speech interference level, perceived noise level, and limiting times for total daily exposure of personnel with and without standard Air Force ear protectors. Refer to Volume 1 of this handbook, USAF Bioenvironmental Noise Data Handbook, Vol. 1: Organization, Content and Application, AMRL-TR-75-50(1) 1975, for discussion of the objective and design of the handbook, the types of data presented, measurement procedures, instrumentation, data processing, definitions of quantities, symbols, equations, applications, limitations, etc.

Flight Demonstration Of Low Overpressure N-Wave Sonic Booms And Evanescent Waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haering, Edward A.; Smolka, James W.; Murray, James E.; Plotkin, Kenneth J.

2006-05-01

The recent flight demonstration of shaped sonic booms shows the potential for quiet overland supersonic flight, which could revolutionize air transport. To successfully design quiet supersonic aircraft, the upper limit of an acceptable noise level must be determined through quantitative recording and subjective human response measurements. Past efforts have concentrated on the use of sonic boom simulators to assess human response, but simulators often cannot reproduce a realistic sonic boom sound. Until now, molecular relaxation effects on low overpressure rise time had never been compared with flight data. Supersonic flight slower than the cutoff Mach number, which generates evanescent waves, also prevents loud sonic booms from impacting the ground. The loudness of these evanescent waves can be computed, but flight measurement validation is needed. A novel flight demonstration technique that generates low overpressure N-waves using conventional military aircraft is outlined, in addition to initial quantitative flight data. As part of this demonstration, evanescent waves also will be recorded.

Flight Demonstration Of Low Overpressure N-Wave Sonic Booms And Evanescent Waves

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Haering, Edward A., Jr.; Smolka, James W.; Murray, James E.; Plotkin, Kenneth J.

2005-01-01

The recent flight demonstration of shaped sonic booms shows the potential for quiet overland supersonic flight, which could revolutionize air transport. To successfully design quiet supersonic aircraft, the upper limit of an acceptable noise level must be determined through quantitative recording and subjective human response measurements. Past efforts have concentrated on the use of sonic boom simulators to assess human response, but simulators often cannot reproduce a realistic sonic boom sound. Until now, molecular relaxation effects on low overpressure rise time had never been compared with flight data. Supersonic flight slower than the cutoff Mach number, which generates evanescent waves, also prevents loud sonic booms from impacting the ground. The loudness of these evanescent waves can be computed, but flight measurement validation is needed. A novel flight demonstration technique that generates low overpressure N-waves using conventional military aircraft is outlined, in addition to initial quantitative flight data. As part of this demonstration, evanescent waves also will be recorded.

An Exploratory Study of Runway Arrival Procedures: Time Based Arrival and Self-Spacing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Houston, Vincent E.; Barmore, Bryan

2009-01-01

The ability of a flight crew to deliver their aircraft to its arrival runway on time is important to the overall efficiency of the National Airspace System (NAS). Over the past several years, the NAS has been stressed almost to its limits resulting in problems such as airport congestion, flight delay, and flight cancellation to reach levels that have never been seen before in the NAS. It is predicted that this situation will worsen by the year 2025, due to an anticipated increase in air traffic operations to one-and-a-half to three times its current level. Improved arrival efficiency, in terms of both capacity and environmental impact, is an important part of improving NAS operations. One way to improve the arrival performance of an aircraft is to enable the flight crew to precisely deliver their aircraft to a specified point at either a specified time or specified interval relative to another aircraft. This gives the flight crew more control to make the necessary adjustments to their aircraft s performance with less tactical control from the controller; it may also decrease the controller s workload. Two approaches to precise time navigation have been proposed: Time-Based Arrivals (e.g., required times of arrival) and Self-Spacing. Time-Based Arrivals make use of an aircraft s Flight Management System (FMS) to deliver the aircraft to the runway threshold at a given time. Self-Spacing enables the flight crew to achieve an ATC assigned spacing goals at the runway threshold relative to another aircraft. The Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO), a multi-agency initiative established to plan and coordinate the development of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen), has asked for data for both of these concepts to facilitate future research and development. This paper provides a first look at the delivery performance of these two concepts under various initial and environmental conditions in an air traffic simulation environment.

Development, Implementation, and Pilot Evaluation of a Model-Driven Envelope Protection System to Mitigate the Hazard of In-Flight Ice Contamination on a Twin-Engine Commuter Aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Martos, Borja; Ranaudo, Richard; Norton, Billy; Gingras, David; Barnhart, Billy

2014-01-01

Fatal loss-of-control accidents have been directly related to in-flight airframe icing. The prototype system presented in this report directly addresses the need for real-time onboard envelope protection in icing conditions. The combination of prior information and real-time aerodynamic parameter estimations are shown to provide sufficient information for determining safe limits of the flight envelope during inflight icing encounters. The Icing Contamination Envelope Protection (ICEPro) system was designed and implemented to identify degradations in airplane performance and flying qualities resulting from ice contamination and provide safe flight-envelope cues to the pilot. The utility of the ICEPro system for mitigating a potentially hazardous icing condition was evaluated by 29 pilots using the NASA Ice Contamination Effects Flight Training Device. Results showed that real time assessment cues were effective in reducing the number of potentially hazardous upset events and in lessening exposure to loss of control following an incipient upset condition. Pilot workload with the added ICEPro displays was not measurably affected, but pilot opinion surveys showed that real time cueing greatly improved their awareness of a hazardous aircraft state. The performance of ICEPro system was further evaluated by various levels of sensor noise and atmospheric turbulence.

Contacting passengers after exposure to measles on an international flight: Implications for responding to new disease threats and bioterrorism.

PubMed

Lasher, Lara E; Ayers, Tracy L; Amornkul, Pauli N; Nakatab, Michele N; Effler, Paul V

2004-01-01

On May 21, 2000, a passenger with measles traveled from Japan to Hawai'i on a seven-hour flight. When the flight landed, the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Quarantine Station in Honolulu alerted passengers that a suspected case of measles had been identified, but they were not detained. The next day, to offer appropriate post-exposure prophylaxis, the Hawai'i Department of Health (HDOH) attempted to contact all passengers from the flight using information from the airline, U.S. Customs declaration forms, and tour agencies. Of 335 total passengers, 270 (81%) were successfully reached and provided complete information. The mean time from exposure to contact for all respondents was 61 hours (95% confidence interval 57, 66). A total of 202 (75%) of the responding passengers were contacted within 72 hours after exposure, the time period during which administration of measles vaccine would have provided protection for susceptible individuals. The time-to-contact was significantly longer for passengers who did not stay in hotels than for hotel guests. Customs forms proved to be of limited utility in contacting international travelers. This experience highlights the need for more complete and timely methods of contacting passengers potentially exposed to infectious agents aboard flights.

Contacting passengers after exposure to measles on an international flight: Implications for responding to new disease threats and bioterrorism.

PubMed Central

Lasher, Lara E.; Ayers, Tracy L.; Amornkul, Pauli N.; Nakatab, Michele N.; Effler, Paul V.

2004-01-01

On May 21, 2000, a passenger with measles traveled from Japan to Hawai'i on a seven-hour flight. When the flight landed, the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Quarantine Station in Honolulu alerted passengers that a suspected case of measles had been identified, but they were not detained. The next day, to offer appropriate post-exposure prophylaxis, the Hawai'i Department of Health (HDOH) attempted to contact all passengers from the flight using information from the airline, U.S. Customs declaration forms, and tour agencies. Of 335 total passengers, 270 (81%) were successfully reached and provided complete information. The mean time from exposure to contact for all respondents was 61 hours (95% confidence interval 57, 66). A total of 202 (75%) of the responding passengers were contacted within 72 hours after exposure, the time period during which administration of measles vaccine would have provided protection for susceptible individuals. The time-to-contact was significantly longer for passengers who did not stay in hotels than for hotel guests. Customs forms proved to be of limited utility in contacting international travelers. This experience highlights the need for more complete and timely methods of contacting passengers potentially exposed to infectious agents aboard flights. PMID:15313108

Validity of a Jump Mat for assessing Countermovement Jump Performance in Elite Rugby Players.

PubMed

Dobbin, Nick; Hunwicks, Richard; Highton, Jamie; Twist, Craig

2017-02-01

This study determined the validity of the Just Jump System ® (JJS) for measuring flight time, jump height and peak power output (PPO) in elite rugby league players. 37 elite rugby league players performed 6 countermovement jumps (CMJ; 3 with and 3 without arms) on a jump mat and force platform. A sub-sample (n=28) was used to cross-validate the equations for flight time, jump height and PPO. The JJS systematically overestimated flight time and jump height compared to the force platform (P<0.05), but demonstrated strong associations for flight time ( with R 2 =0.938; without R 2 =0.972) and jump height ( with R 2 =0.945; without R 2 =0.987). Our equations revealed no systematic difference between corrected and force platform scores and an improved the agreement for flight time (Ratio limits of agreement: with 1.00 vs. 1.36; without 1.00 vs. 1.16) and jump height ( with 1.01 vs. 1.34; without 1.01 vs. 1.15), meaning that our equations can be used to correct JJS scores for elite rugby players. While our equation improved the estimation of PPO ( with 1.02; without 1.01) compared to existing equations (Harman: 1.20; Sayers: 1.04), this only accounted for 64 and 69% of PPO. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

14 CFR 23.841 - Pressurized cabins.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... descent is made by an approved emergency procedure. A 17-second flight crew recognition and reaction time... altitude-time history shown in Figure 1 of this section. (ii) Maximum cabin altitude is limited to 30,000 feet. If cabin altitude exceeds 25,000 feet, the maximum time the cabin altitude may exceed 25,000 feet...

Influence of atmospheric properties on detection of wood-warbler nocturnal flight calls

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Horton, Kyle G.; Stepanian, Phillip M.; Wainwright, Charlotte E.; Tegeler, Amy K.

2015-10-01

Avian migration monitoring can take on many forms; however, monitoring active nocturnal migration of land birds is limited to a few techniques. Avian nocturnal flight calls are currently the only method for describing migrant composition at the species level. However, as this method develops, more information is needed to understand the sources of variation in call detection. Additionally, few studies examine how detection probabilities differ under varying atmospheric conditions. We use nocturnal flight call recordings from captive individuals to explore the dependence of flight call detection on atmospheric temperature and humidity. Height or distance from origin had the largest influence on call detection, while temperature and humidity also influenced detectability at higher altitudes. Because flight call detection varies with both atmospheric conditions and flight height, improved monitoring across time and space will require correction for these factors to generate standardized metrics of songbird migration.

Recognizing and optimizing flight opportunities with hardware and life sciences limitations.

PubMed

Luttges, M W

1992-01-01

The availability of orbital space flight opportunities to conduct life sciences research has been limited. It is possible to use parabolic flight and sounding rocket programs to conduct some kinds of experiments during short episodes (seconds to minutes) of reduced gravity, but there are constraints and limitations to these programs. Orbital flight opportunities are major undertakings, and the potential science achievable is often a function of the flight hardware available. A variety of generic types of flight hardware have been developed and tested, and show great promise for use during NSTS flights. One such payload configuration is described which has already flown.

USAF Bioenvironmental Noise Data Handbook. Volume 149: C-9A in-flight crew/passenger noise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rau, T. H.

1982-05-01

The C-9A is a McDonnell Douglas DC-9 series 30 commercial transport modified to perform aeromedical evacuation missions. This report provides measured data defining the bioacoustic environments at flight crew/passenger locations inside this aircraft during normal flight operations. Data are reported for 56 locations in a wide variety of physical and psychoacoustic measures: overall and band sound pressure levels, C-weighted and A-weighted sound levels, preferred speech interference level, perceived noise level, and limiting times for total daily exposure of personnel with and without standard Air Force ear protectors.

Radiation equivalent dose simulations for long-term interplanetary flights

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dobynde, M. I.; Drozdov, A.; Shprits, Y. Y.

2016-12-01

Cosmic particle radiation is a limiting factor for the human interplanetary flights. The unmanned flights inside heliosphere and human flights inside of magnetosphere tend to become a routine procedure, whereas there have been only few shot term human flights out of it (Apollo missions 1969-1972) with maximum duration less than a month. Long-term human flights set much higher requirements to the radiation shielding, primarily because of long exposition to cosmic radiation. Inside the helosphere there are two main sources of cosmic radiation: galactic cosmic rays (GCR) and soalr particle events (SPE). GCR come from the outside of heliosphere forming a background of overall radiation that affects the spacecraft. The intensity of GCR is varied according to solar activity, increasing with solar activity decrease and backward, with the modulation time (time between nearest maxima) of 11 yeas. SPE are shot term events, comparing to GCR modulation time, but particle fluxes are much more higher. The probability of SPE increases with the increase of solar activity. Time dependences of the intensity of these two components encourage looking for a time window of flight, when intensity and effect of GCR and SPE would be minimized. Combining GEANT4 Monte Carlo simulations with time dependent model of GCR spectra and data on SPE spectra we show the time dependence of the radiation dose in an anthropomorphic human phantom inside the shielding capsule. Different types of particles affect differently on the human providing more or less harm to the tissues. We use quality factors to recalculate absorbed dose into biological equivalent dose, which give more information about risks for astronaut's health. Incident particles provide a large amount of secondary particles while propagating through the shielding capsule. We try to find an optimal combination of shielding material and thickness, that will effectively decrease the incident particle energy, at the same time minimizing flow of secondary induced particles and minimizing most harmful particle types flows.

A search for solar neutrons from 10-100 MeV

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Monn, S.; Simnett, G. M.; White, R. S.

1974-01-01

A search for solar neutrons is reported from a balloon flight launched from Palestine, Texas on Sept. 26, 1971. The sun was observed from 8:30 to 19:30 CST. The neutrons were detected with a telescope consisting of two 0.5 sq m scintillation detectors spaced 1 meter apart using a double-scattering/time-of-flight technique. Upper limits for solar neutrons in the energy intervals 10 to 30, 30 to 50, and 50 to 100 MeV are .00011, .00026 and .00059 neutron/sq cm-sec, respectively. These are combined into an overall upper limit of .00051 neutron/sq cm-sec.

14 CFR 23.441 - Maneuvering loads.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... unaccelerated flight at zero yaw, it is assumed that the rudder control is suddenly displaced to the maximum deflection, as limited by the control stops or by limit pilot forces. (2) With the rudder deflected as... sideslip angle. In lieu of a rational analysis, an overswing angle equal to 1.5 times the static sideslip...

Evaluation of the Hinge Moment and Normal Force Aerodynamic Loads from a Seamless Adaptive Compliant Trailing Edge Flap in Flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, Eric J.; Cruz, Josue; Lung, Shun-Fat; Kota, Sridhar; Ervin, Gregory; Lu, Kerr-Jia; Flick, Pete

2016-01-01

A seamless adaptive compliant trailing edge (ACTE) flap was demonstrated in flight on a Gulfstream III aircraft at the NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center. The trailing edge flap was deflected between minus 2 deg up and plus 30 deg down in flight. The safety-of-flight parameters for the ACTE flap experiment require that flap-to-wing interface loads be sensed and monitored in real time to ensure that the structural load limits of the wing are not exceeded. The attachment fittings connecting the flap to the aircraft wing rear spar were instrumented with strain gages and calibrated using known loads for measuring hinge moment and normal force loads in flight. The safety-of-flight parameters for the ACTE flap experiment require that flap-to-wing interface loads be sensed and monitored in real time to ensure that the structural load limits of the wing are not exceeded. The attachment fittings connecting the flap to the aircraft wing rear spar were instrumented with strain gages and calibrated using known loads for measuring hinge moment and normal force loads in flight. The interface hardware instrumentation layout and load calibration are discussed. Twenty-one applied calibration test load cases were developed for each individual fitting. The 2-sigma residual errors for the hinge moment was calculated to be 2.4 percent, and for normal force was calculated to be 7.3 percent. The hinge moment and normal force generated by the ACTE flap with a hinge point located at 26-percent wing chord were measured during steady state and symmetric pitch maneuvers. The loads predicted from analysis were compared to the loads observed in flight. The hinge moment loads showed good agreement with the flight loads while the normal force loads calculated from analysis were over-predicted by approximately 20 percent. Normal force and hinge moment loads calculated from the pressure sensors located on the ACTE showed good agreement with the loads calculated from the installed strain gages.

A Flexible Evolvable Architecture for Constellation Mission Systems User Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Trimble, Jay P.; Crocker, Alan R.

2008-01-01

While simulating a complex set of repair tasks to be performed by EVA crewmembers on an upcoming mission, flight controllers and astronauts determine that the repair will take much longer than originally anticipated. All equipment in the vicinity of the worksite must be powered off to maintain a safe environment for the astronauts. Because heater power will be unavailable, several critical components will now be at risk of freezing and permanent damage. If an impending thermal violation is detected, Mission Control will have very limited time to react. Therefore, flight controllers must not only modify their procedures to account for these risks, they must also incorporate into their displays outputs from thermal models, alternate temperature measurements, new alarm limits, and emergency power-on commands to enable the detection and response to freezing conditions. Current software for mission control systems makes scenarios like this difficult to address. Given the time frame for modifying software, operations teams are left with labor-intensive operational workarounds as their only options. NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) and NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) are collaborating on the development of a flexible software system for mission operations that will enable greater user flexibility than has been available to date. Using composable software, end users in the scenario described above could recompose procedures and command and control displays to allow flight controllers to monitor temperature measurements, identify time-critical conditions, and execute the procedures required to respond to these conditions before flight hardware is permanently damaged.

Tight coordination of aerial flight maneuvers and sonar call production in insectivorous bats.

PubMed

Falk, Benjamin; Kasnadi, Joseph; Moss, Cynthia F

2015-11-01

Echolocating bats face the challenge of coordinating flight kinematics with the production of echolocation signals used to guide navigation. Previous studies of bat flight have focused on kinematics of fruit and nectar-feeding bats, often in wind tunnels with limited maneuvering, and without analysis of echolocation behavior. In this study, we engaged insectivorous big brown bats in a task requiring simultaneous turning and climbing flight, and used synchronized high-speed motion-tracking cameras and audio recordings to quantify the animals' coordination of wing kinematics and echolocation. Bats varied flight speed, turn rate, climb rate and wingbeat rate as they navigated around obstacles, and they adapted their sonar signals in patterning, duration and frequency in relation to the timing of flight maneuvers. We found that bats timed the emission of sonar calls with the upstroke phase of the wingbeat cycle in straight flight, and that this relationship changed when bats turned to navigate obstacles. We also characterized the unsteadiness of climbing and turning flight, as well as the relationship between speed and kinematic parameters. Adaptations in the bats' echolocation call frequency suggest changes in beam width and sonar field of view in relation to obstacles and flight behavior. By characterizing flight and sonar behaviors in an insectivorous bat species, we find evidence of exquisitely tight coordination of sensory and motor systems for obstacle navigation and insect capture. © 2015. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

14 CFR 61.415 - What are the limits of a flight instructor certificate with a sport pilot rating?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... flight, unless you have determined the student's flight preparation, planning, equipment, and proposed... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false What are the limits of a flight instructor... ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIRMEN CERTIFICATION: PILOTS, FLIGHT INSTRUCTORS, AND...

14 CFR 61.415 - What are the limits of a flight instructor certificate with a sport pilot rating?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... flight, unless you have determined the student's flight preparation, planning, equipment, and proposed... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false What are the limits of a flight instructor... ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIRMEN CERTIFICATION: PILOTS, FLIGHT INSTRUCTORS, AND...

14 CFR 61.415 - What are the limits of a flight instructor certificate with a sport pilot rating?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... flight, unless you have determined the student's flight preparation, planning, equipment, and proposed... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false What are the limits of a flight instructor... ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIRMEN CERTIFICATION: PILOTS, FLIGHT INSTRUCTORS, AND...

14 CFR 61.415 - What are the limits of a flight instructor certificate with a sport pilot rating?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... flight, unless you have determined the student's flight preparation, planning, equipment, and proposed... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false What are the limits of a flight instructor... ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIRMEN CERTIFICATION: PILOTS, FLIGHT INSTRUCTORS, AND...

High Altitude Balloon Flight Path Prediction and Site Selection Based On Computer Simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Linford, Joel

2010-10-01

Interested in the upper atmosphere, Weber State University Physics department has developed a High Altitude Reconnaissance Balloon for Outreach and Research team, also known as HARBOR. HARBOR enables Weber State University to take a variety of measurements from ground level to altitudes as high as 100,000 feet. The flight paths of these balloons can extend as long as 100 miles from the launch zone, making the choice of where and when to fly critical. To ensure the ability to recover the packages in a reasonable amount of time, days and times are carefully selected using computer simulations limiting flight tracks to approximately 40 miles from the launch zone. The computer simulations take atmospheric data collected by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to plot what flights might have looked like in the past, and to predict future flights. Using these simulations a launch zone has been selected in Duchesne Utah, which has hosted eight successful flights over the course of the last three years, all of which have been recovered. Several secondary launch zones in western Wyoming, Southern Idaho, and Northern Utah are also being considered.

A normal incidence X-ray telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Golub, Leon

1987-01-01

The postflight performance evaluation of the X-ray telescope was summarized. All payload systems and subsystems performed well within acceptable limits, with the sole exception of the light-blocking prefilters. Launch, flight and recovery were performed in a fully satisfactory manner. The payload was recovered in a timely manner and in excellent condition. The prefilter performance analysis showed that no X-ray images were detected on the processed flight film. Recommendations for improved performance are listed.

Robotic Lunar Lander Development Status

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ballard, Benjamin; Cohen, Barbara A.; McGee, Timothy; Reed, Cheryl

2012-01-01

NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory have developed several mission concepts to place scientific and exploration payloads ranging from 10 kg to more than 200 kg on the surface of the moon. The mission concepts all use a small versatile lander that is capable of precision landing. The results to date of the lunar lander development risk reduction activities including high pressure propulsion system testing, structure and mechanism development and testing, and long cycle time battery testing will be addressed. The most visible elements of the risk reduction program are two fully autonomous lander flight test vehicles. The first utilized a high pressure cold gas system (Cold Gas Test Article) with limited flight durations while the subsequent test vehicle, known as the Warm Gas Test Article, utilizes hydrogen peroxide propellant resulting in significantly longer flight times and the ability to more fully exercise flight sensors and algorithms. The development of the Warm Gas Test Article is a system demonstration and was designed with similarity to an actual lunar lander including energy absorbing landing legs, pulsing thrusters, and flight-like software implementation. A set of outdoor flight tests to demonstrate the initial objectives of the WGTA program was completed in Nov. 2011, and will be discussed.

NASA's Robotic Lunar Lander Development Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ballard, Benjamin W.; Reed, Cheryl L. B.; Artis, David; Cole, Tim; Eng, Doug S.; Kubota, Sanae; Lafferty, Paul; McGee, Timothy; Morese, Brian J.; Chavers, Gregory;

Air travel and the risk of thromboembolism.

PubMed

Gavish, Israel; Brenner, Benjamin

2011-04-01

Almost two billion people use commercial aircraft annually. Long-haul flights are taken by over 300 million people. A serious complication of long-distance travel (or prolonged time of flight) is thromboembolism. The real incidence of the problem is difficult to evaluate since there is no consensus about the diagnostic tests or limitation of time after landing connected to the VTE complication. A direct relation between VTE incidence and long-distance flights has been documented. The risk for DVT is 3-12% in a long-haul flight. The pathophysiologic changes that increase VTE risk at flight are stasis (sitting in crowded condition), hypoxia in the airplane cabin, and dehydration. Individual risk factors for air travel-related VTE include age over 40 years, gender (female), women who use oral contraceptives, varicose veins in lower limbs, obesity and genetic thrombophilia. Prevention measures include environmental protection such as keeping the pressure inside the airplane cabinet in hypobaric condition, avoiding dehydration and prolonged sitting. For individuals at increased risk, venous blood stasis can be reduced by wearing elastic stockings and prophylactic use of low-molecular-weight heparin.

Experimental Validation of L1 Adaptive Control: Rohrs' Counterexample in Flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Xargay, Enric; Hovakimyan, Naira; Dobrokhodov, Vladimir; Kaminer, Issac; Kitsios, Ioannis; Cao, Chengyu; Gregory, Irene M.; Valavani, Lena

2010-01-01

The paper presents new results on the verification and in-flight validation of an L1 adaptive flight control system, and proposes a general methodology for verification and validation of adaptive flight control algorithms. The proposed framework is based on Rohrs counterexample, a benchmark problem presented in the early 80s to show the limitations of adaptive controllers developed at that time. In this paper, the framework is used to evaluate the performance and robustness characteristics of an L1 adaptive control augmentation loop implemented onboard a small unmanned aerial vehicle. Hardware-in-the-loop simulations and flight test results confirm the ability of the L1 adaptive controller to maintain stability and predictable performance of the closed loop adaptive system in the presence of general (artificially injected) unmodeled dynamics. The results demonstrate the advantages of L1 adaptive control as a verifiable robust adaptive control architecture with the potential of reducing flight control design costs and facilitating the transition of adaptive control into advanced flight control systems.

USAF bioenvironmental noise data handbook. Volume 157: KC-10A in-flight crew noise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hille, H. K.

1982-09-01

The KC-10A is a standard USAF tanker-transport aircraft with high-speed, high altitude refueling and long range transport capability. This report provides measured data defining the bioacoustic environments at flight crew/passenger locations inside this helicopter during normal flight operations. Data are reported for 24 locations in a wide variety of physical and psychoacoustic measures: overall and band sound pressure levels, C-weighted and A-weighted sound levels, preferred speech interference level, perceived noise level, and limiting times for total daily exposure of personnel with and without standard Air Force ear protectors. Refer to Volume 1 of this handbook, USAF Bioenvironmental Noise Data Handbook, Vol. 1: Organization, Content and Application, AMRL-TR-75-50(1) 1975, for discussion of the objective and design of the handbook, the types of data presented, measurement procedures, instrumentation, data processing, definitions of quantities, symbols, equations, applications, limitations, etc.

USAF Bioenvironmental Noise Data Handbook. Volume 152: C-12A in-flight crew noise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hille, H. K.

1982-09-01

The C-12A is a military version of the Beechcraft Super King Air 200. This report provides measured data defining the bioacoustic environments at flight crew/passenger locations inside this aircraft during normal flight operations. Data are reported for five locations in a wide variety of physical and psychoacoustic measures: overall and band sound pressure levels, C-weighted and A-weighted sound levels, preferred speech interference level, perceived noise level, and limiting times for total daily exposure of personnel with and without standard Air Force ear protectors. Refer to Volume 1 of this handbook, USAF Bioenvironmental Noise Data Handbook, Vol 1: Organization, Content and Application, AMRL-TR-75-50(1) 1975, for discussion of the objective and design of the handbook, the types of data presented, measurement procedures, instrumentation, data processing, definitions of quantities, symbols, equations, applications, limitations, etc.

USAF Bioenvironmental Noise Data Handbook. Volume 156. HH-1N In-flight Crew Noise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hille, H. K.

1982-11-01

The HH-IN is a USAF multi-purpose utility helicopter providing support for various USAF missions. This report provides measured data defining the bioacoustic environments at flight crew locations inside this helicopter during normal flight operations. Data are reported for two locations in a wide variety of physical and psychoacoustic measures: overall and band sound pressure levels, C-weighted and A-weighted sound levels, preferred speech interference level, perceived noise level, and limiting times for total daily exposure of personnel with and without standard Air Force ear protectors. Refer to Volume 1 of this handbook, USAF Bioenvironmental Noise Data Handbook, Vol. 1: Organization, Content and Application, AMRL-TR-75-50(1) 1975, for discussion of the objective and design of the handbook, the types of data presented, measurement procedures, instrumentation, data processing, definitions of quantities, symbols, equations, applications, limitations, etc.

Countermeasures to Neurobehavioral Deficits from Cumulative Partial Sleep Deprivation During Space Flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dinges, David F.

1999-01-01

This project is concerned with identifying ways to prevent neurobehavioral and physical deterioration due to inadequate sleep in astronauts during long-duration manned space flight. The performance capability of astronauts during extended-duration space flight depends heavily on achieving recovery through adequate sleep. Even with appropriate circadian alignment, sleep loss can erode fundamental elements of human performance capability including vigilance, cognitive speed and accuracy, working memory, reaction time, and physiological alertness. Adequate sleep is essential during manned space flight not only to ensure high levels of safe and effective human performance, but also as a basic regulatory biology critical to healthy human functioning. There is now extensive objective evidence that astronaut sleep is frequently restricted in space flight to averages between 4 hr and 6.5 hr/day. Chronic sleep restriction during manned space flight can occur in response to endogenous disturbances of sleep (motion sickness, stress, circadian rhythms), environmental disruptions of sleep (noise, temperature, light), and curtailment of sleep due to the work demands and other activities that accompany extended space flight operations. The mechanism through which this risk emerges is the development of cumulative homeostatic pressure for sleep across consecutive days of inadequate sleep. Research has shown that the physiological sleepiness and performance deficits engendered by sleep debt can progressively worsen (i.e., accumulate) over consecutive days of sleep restriction, and that sleep limited to levels commonly experienced by astronauts (i.e., 4 - 6 hr per night) for as little as 1 week, can result in increased lapses of attention, degradation of response times, deficits in complex problem solving, reduced learning, mood disturbance, disruption of essential neuroendocrine, metabolic, and neuroimmune responses, and in some vulnerable persons, the emergence of uncontrolled sleep attacks. The prevention of cumulative performance deficits and neuroendocrine disruption from sleep restriction during extended duration space flight involves finding the most effective ways to obtain sleep in order to maintain the high-level cognitive and physical performance functions required for manned space flight. There is currently a critical deficiency in knowledge of the effects of how variations in sleep duration and timing relate to the most efficient return of performance per unit time invested in sleep during long-duration missions, and how the nature of sleep physiology (i.e., sleep stages, sleep electroencephalographic [EEG] power spectral analyses) change as a function of sleep restriction and performance degradation. The primary aim of this project is to meet these critical deficiencies through utilization of a response surface experimental paradigm, testing in a dose-response manner, varying combinations of sleep duration and timing, for the purpose of establishing how to most effectively limit the cumulative adverse effects on human performance and physiology of chronic sleep restriction in space operations.

In-Flight Sleep of Flight Crew During a 7-hour Rest Break: Implications for Research and Flight Safety

PubMed Central

Signal, T. Leigh; Gander, Philippa H.; van den Berg, Margo J.; Graeber, R. Curtis

2013-01-01

Study Objectives: To assess the amount and quality of sleep that flight crew are able to obtain during flight, and identify factors that influence the sleep obtained. Design: Flight crew operating flights between Everett, WA, USA and Asia had their sleep recorded polysomnographically for 1 night in a layover hotel and during a 7-h in-flight rest opportunity on flights averaging 15.7 h. Setting: Layover hotel and in-flight crew rest facilities onboard the Boeing 777-200ER aircraft. Participants: Twenty-one male flight crew (11 Captains, mean age 48 yr and 10 First Officers, mean age 35 yr). Interventions: N/A. Measurements and Results: Sleep was recorded using actigraphy during the entire tour of duty, and polysomnographically in a layover hotel and during the flight. Mixed model analysis of covariance was used to determine the factors affecting in-flight sleep. In-flight sleep was less efficient (70% vs. 88%), with more nonrapid eye movement Stage 1/Stage 2 and more frequent awakenings per h (7.7/h vs. 4.6/h) than sleep in the layover hotel. In-flight sleep included very little slow wave sleep (median 0.5%). Less time was spent trying to sleep and less sleep was obtained when sleep opportunities occurred during the first half of the flight. Multivariate analyses suggest age is the most consistent factor affecting in-flight sleep duration and quality. Conclusions: This study confirms that even during long sleep opportunities, in-flight sleep is of poorer quality than sleep on the ground. With longer flight times, the quality and recuperative value of in-flight sleep is increasingly important for flight safety. Because the age limit for flight crew is being challenged, the consequences of age adversely affecting sleep quantity and quality need to be evaluated. Citation: Signal TL; Gander PH; van den Berg MJ; Graeber RC. In-flight sleep of flight crew during a 7-hour rest break: implications for research and flight safety. SLEEP 2013;36(1):109–115. PMID:23288977

Experiment M115: Special hematologic effects: Dynamic changes in red cell shape in response to the space-flight environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kimzey, S. L.; Burns, L. C.; Fischer, C. L.

1974-01-01

The significance of the transformations in red cell shape observed during the Skylab study must be considered relative to the limitation of man's participation in extended space flight missions. The results of this one study are not conclusive with respect to this question. Based on these examinations of red cells in normal, healthy men and based on other Skylab experiment data relative to the functional capacity of the red cells in vitro and the performance capacity of man as an integrated system, the changes observed would not appear to be the limiting factor in determining man's stay in space. However, the results of this experiment and the documented red cell mass loss during space flight raise serious questions at this time relative to the selection criteria utilized for passengers and crews of future space flights. Until the specific cause and impact of the red cell shape change on cell survival in vivo can be resolved, individuals with diagnosed hematologic abnormalities should not be considered as prime candidates for missions, especially those of longer duration.

Wetlab-2 - Quantitative PCR Tools for Spaceflight Studies of Gene Expression Aboard the International Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schonfeld, Julie E.

2015-01-01

Wetlab-2 is a research platform for conducting real-time quantitative gene expression analysis aboard the International Space Station. The system enables spaceflight genomic studies involving a wide variety of biospecimen types in the unique microgravity environment of space. Currently, gene expression analyses of space flown biospecimens must be conducted post flight after living cultures or frozen or chemically fixed samples are returned to Earth from the space station. Post-flight analysis is limited for several reasons. First, changes in gene expression can be transient, changing over a timescale of minutes. The delay between sampling on Earth can range from days to months, and RNA may degrade during this period of time, even in fixed or frozen samples. Second, living organisms that return to Earth may quickly re-adapt to terrestrial conditions. Third, forces exerted on samples during reentry and return to Earth may affect results. Lastly, follow up experiments designed in response to post-flight results must wait for a new flight opportunity to be tested.

Fatigue in airline pilots after an additional day's layover period.

PubMed

Powell, David M C; Spencer, Mick B; Petrie, Keith J

2010-11-01

We investigated the effect of an additional day's layover on reducing fatigue in two different duties: a two-pilot crew flying between Auckland and Brisbane, and a three-pilot crew flying between Auckland and Los Angeles. Pilots completed a reaction time task, the Samn-Perelli fatigue scale, and the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale on both outward and return flights. The flights were conducted with and without a 1-d layover (Brisbane) and with a 1- or 2-d layover (Los Angeles). On the Brisbane route, the addition of a layover resulted in a significant reduction of fatigue, sleepiness, and reaction time. At top of descent, Samn-Perelli fatigue was reduced from over 5.0 to under 4.5. In contrast, the addition of an extra day layover in Los Angeles had no significant effect on the same measures during the return flight; on both flights Samn-Perelli fatigue was over 5.0 at top of descent. The results suggest that the addition of an extra night's layover has different effects depending on the type of operation. Layover periods need to ensure adequate opportunity to recover from any sleep deficit arising from the outbound journey, but the benefit of increased layover time may be limited if time-zone shifts cause a mismatch between local time and the circadian rhythm of sleep.

14 CFR 31.23 - Flight load factor.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Flight load factor. 31.23 Section 31.23... STANDARDS: MANNED FREE BALLOONS Strength Requirements § 31.23 Flight load factor. In determining limit load, the limit flight load factor must be at least 1.4. ...

14 CFR 31.23 - Flight load factor.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Flight load factor. 31.23 Section 31.23... STANDARDS: MANNED FREE BALLOONS Strength Requirements § 31.23 Flight load factor. In determining limit load, the limit flight load factor must be at least 1.4. ...

14 CFR 31.23 - Flight load factor.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Flight load factor. 31.23 Section 31.23... STANDARDS: MANNED FREE BALLOONS Strength Requirements § 31.23 Flight load factor. In determining limit load, the limit flight load factor must be at least 1.4. ...

Assessment and Mission Planning Capability For Quantitative Aerothermodynamic Flight Measurements Using Remote Imaging

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Horvath, Thomas; Splinter, Scott; Daryabeigi, Kamran; Wood, William; Schwartz, Richard; Ross, Martin

2008-01-01

High resolution calibrated infrared imagery of vehicles during hypervelocity atmospheric entry or sustained hypersonic cruise has the potential to provide flight data on the distribution of surface temperature and the state of the airflow over the vehicle. In the early 1980 s NASA sought to obtain high spatial resolution infrared imagery of the Shuttle during entry. Despite mission execution with a technically rigorous pre-planning capability, the single airborne optical system for this attempt was considered developmental and the scientific return was marginal. In 2005 the Space Shuttle Program again sponsored an effort to obtain imagery of the Orbiter. Imaging requirements were targeted towards Shuttle ascent; companion requirements for entry did not exist. The engineering community was allowed to define observation goals and incrementally demonstrate key elements of a quantitative spatially resolved measurement capability over a series of flights. These imaging opportunities were extremely beneficial and clearly demonstrated capability to capture infrared imagery with mature and operational assets of the US Navy and the Missile Defense Agency. While successful, the usefulness of the imagery was, from an engineering perspective, limited. These limitations were mainly associated with uncertainties regarding operational aspects of data acquisition. These uncertainties, in turn, came about because of limited pre-flight mission planning capability, a poor understanding of several factors including the infrared signature of the Shuttle, optical hardware limitations, atmospheric effects and detector response characteristics. Operational details of sensor configuration such as detector integration time and tracking system algorithms were carried out ad hoc (best practices) which led to low probability of target acquisition and detector saturation. Leveraging from the qualified success during Return-to-Flight, the NASA Engineering and Safety Center sponsored an assessment study focused on increasing the probability of returning spatially resolved scientific/engineering thermal imagery. This paper provides an overview of the assessment task and the systematic approach designed to establish confidence in the ability of existing assets to reliably acquire, track and return global quantitative surface temperatures of the Shuttle during entry. A discussion of capability demonstration in support of a potential Shuttle boundary layer transition flight test is presented. Successful demonstration of a quantitative, spatially resolved, global temperature measurement on the proposed Shuttle boundary layer transition flight test could lead to potential future applications with hypersonic flight test programs within the USAF and DARPA along with flight test opportunities supporting NASA s project Constellation.

14 CFR 25.1531 - Maneuvering flight load factors.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Maneuvering flight load factors. 25.1531... Operating Limitations § 25.1531 Maneuvering flight load factors. Load factor limitations, not exceeding the positive limit load factors determined from the maneuvering diagram in § 25.333(b), must be established. ...

Biomedical systems analysis program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1979-01-01

Biomedical monitoring programs which were developed to provide a system analysis context for a unified hypothesis for adaptation to space flight are presented and discussed. A real-time system of data analysis and decision making to assure the greatest possible crew safety and mission success is described. Information about man's abilities, limitations, and characteristic reactions to weightless space flight was analyzed and simulation models were developed. The predictive capabilities of simulation models for fluid-electrolyte regulation, erythropoiesis regulation, and calcium regulation are discussed.

Long-distance transport of ventilated patients: advantages and limitations of air medical repatriation on commercial airlines.

PubMed

Veldman, Alex; Diefenbach, Michael; Fischer, Doris; Benton, Alida; Bloch, Richard

2004-01-01

To illustrate the advantages and limitations of transporting ventilated intensive care unit patients over intercontinental distances on commercial airlines, this case series reports 8 ventilated patients repatriated by an air medical transport company. Eight ventilated patients, 3 suffering from internal and 5 from neurologic diseases. Distances ranged from 1700 to 10280 nautical miles with transport times from 04:10 hours to 21:55 hours. For 3 patients, a dedicated patient transport compartment (PTC) in the aircraft cabin was used. All patients were ventilator-dependent for a minimum of 11 days before transport (48 days median, 113 days maximum). One patient went into cardiac arrest during the flight and died. None of the other patients experienced any emergency or invasive procedures, other than peripheral venous access necessary during the flight. In all patients, ventilation was adjusted with respect to the blood gas analysis at least once during the transport. No technical failures or drop-outs occurred during the flights. None of the flights had to be diverted for technical or medical reasons. Long distance international transport of ventilated intensive care unit patients is an extremely cost intensive and logistically challenging task. In a certain subgroup of relatively stable ventilated patients, transport on commercial airlines offers advantages in terms of cost effectiveness and reduced transport time and acceleration/deceleration trauma as a result of multiple fuel stops.

Flight Testing of Hybrid Powered Vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Story, George; Arves, Joe

2006-01-01

Hybrid Rocket powered vehicles have had a limited number of flights. Most recently in 2004, Scaled Composites had a successful orbital trajectory that put a private vehicle twice to over 62 miles high, the edge of space to win the X-Prize. This endeavor man rates a hybrid system. Hybrids have also been used in a number of one time launch attempts - SET-1, HYSR, HPDP. Hybrids have also been developed for use and flown in target drones. This chapter discusses various flight-test programs that have been conducted, hybrid vehicles that are in development, other hybrid vehicles that have been proposed and some strap-on applications have also been examined.

Rhythmic variation in heart rate and respiration rate during space flight - Apollo 15

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rummel, J. A.

1974-01-01

As part of the operational biomedical monitoring for Apollo manned missions, ECG and respiration rate are telemetered at selected intervals to mission control. The data were collected as part of this monitoring program. These data were evaluated for circadian and ultradian rhythmicity because of their uniqueness. The ability to detect and quantitate biorhythms in living systems during space flight is an important aspect of evaluating hypotheses concerning the underlying mechanisms of these phenomena. Circadian variation in heart rate during space flight is demonstrated here. In analyzing generated time series data it has been found that period discrimination is much better than the theoretical limit.

Pilot-Induced Oscillation Research: Status at the End of the Century. Volume 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shafer, Mary F. (Compiler); Steinmetz, Paul (Compiler)

2001-01-01

The workshop "Pilot-Induced Oscillation Research: The Status at the End of the Century," was held at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center on 6-8 April 1999. The presentations at this conference addressed the most current information available, addressing regulatory issues, flight test, safety, modeling, prediction, simulation, mitigation or prevention, and areas that require further research. All presentations were approved for publication as unclassified documents with no limits on their distribution. This proceedings includes the viewgraphs (some with author's notes) used for thirty presentations that were actually given and two presentations that were not given because of time limitations. Four technical papers on this subject are also included.

Pilot-Induced Oscillation Research: Status at the End of the Century. Volume 3

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shafer, Mary F. (Compiler); Steinmetz, Paul (Compiler)

2001-01-01

The workshop "Pilot-Induced Oscillation Research: The Status at the End of the Century," was held at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center on 6-8 April 1999. The presentations at this conference addressed the most current information available, addressing regulatory issues, flight test, safety, modeling, prediction, simulation, mitigation or prevention, and areas that require further research. All presentations were approved for publication as unclassified documents with no limits on their distribution. This proceedings includes the viewgraphs (some with author's notes) used for thirty presentations that were actually given and two presentations that were not given because of time limitations. Four technical papers on this subject are also included.

Pilot-Induced Oscillation Research: The Status at the End of the Century. Volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shafer, Mary F. (Compiler); Steinmetz, Paul (Compiler)

2001-01-01

The workshop "Pilot-Induced Oscillation Research: The Status at the End of the Century," was held at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center on 6-8 April 1999. The presentations at this conference addressed the most current information available, addressing regulatory issues, flight test, safety, modeling, prediction, simulation, mitigation or prevention, and areas that require further research. All presentations were approved for publication as unclassified documents with no limits on their distribution. This proceedings includes the viewgraphs (some with author's notes) used for thirty presentations that were actually given and two presentations that were not given because of time limitations. Four technical papers on this subject are also included.

Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) structural verification test report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, T. C.; Lucy, M. H.; Shearer, R. L.

1983-01-01

Structural load tests on the Long Duration Exposure Facility's (LDEF) primary structure were conducted. These tests had three purposes: (1) demonstrate structural adequacy of the assembled LDEF primary structure when subjected to anticipated flight loads; (2) verify analytical models and methods used in loads and stress analysis; and (3) perform tests to comply with the Space Transportation System (STS) requirements. Test loads were based on predicted limit loads which consider all flight events. Good agreement is shown between predicted and observed load, strain, and deflection data. Test data show that the LDEF structure was subjected to 1.2 times limit load to meet the STS requirements. The structural adequacy of the LDEF is demonstrated.

VERSE - Virtual Equivalent Real-time Simulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zheng, Yang; Martin, Bryan J.; Villaume, Nathaniel

2005-01-01

Distributed real-time simulations provide important timing validation and hardware in the- loop results for the spacecraft flight software development cycle. Occasionally, the need for higher fidelity modeling and more comprehensive debugging capabilities - combined with a limited amount of computational resources - calls for a non real-time simulation environment that mimics the real-time environment. By creating a non real-time environment that accommodates simulations and flight software designed for a multi-CPU real-time system, we can save development time, cut mission costs, and reduce the likelihood of errors. This paper presents such a solution: Virtual Equivalent Real-time Simulation Environment (VERSE). VERSE turns the real-time operating system RTAI (Real-time Application Interface) into an event driven simulator that runs in virtual real time. Designed to keep the original RTAI architecture as intact as possible, and therefore inheriting RTAI's many capabilities, VERSE was implemented with remarkably little change to the RTAI source code. This small footprint together with use of the same API allows users to easily run the same application in both real-time and virtual time environments. VERSE has been used to build a workstation testbed for NASA's Space Interferometry Mission (SIM PlanetQuest) instrument flight software. With its flexible simulation controls and inexpensive setup and replication costs, VERSE will become an invaluable tool in future mission development.

Space Radiation Induced Cytogenetic Damage in the Blood Lymphocytes of Astronauts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

George, K.; Cucinotta, F. A.

2008-01-01

Cytogenetic analysis of astronauts blood lymphocytes provides a direct in vivo measurement of space radiation damage, which takes into account individual radiosensitivity and considers the influence of microgravity and other stress conditions. We present our latest analyses of chromosome damage in astronauts blood lymphocytes assessed by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) chromosome painting and collected at various times beginning directly after return from space to several years after flight. Dose was derived from frequencies of chromosome exchanges using preflight calibration curves, and the Relative Biological Effect (RBE) was estimated by comparison with individually measured physically absorbed doses. Values for average RBE were compared to the average quality factor (Q), from direct measurements of the lineal energy spectra using a tissue-equivalent proportional counter (TEPC) and radiation transport codes. Results prove that cytogenetic biodosimetry analyses on blood collected within a week or two of return from space provides a reliable estimate of equivalent radiation dose and risk after protracted exposure to space radiation of a few months or more. However, data collected several months or years after flight suggests that the yield of chromosome translocations may decline with time after the mission, indicating that retrospective doses may be more difficult to estimate. In addition, limited data on multiple flights show a lack of correlation between time in space and translocation yields. Data from one crewmember, who has participated in two separate long-duration space missions and has been followed up for over 10 years, provide limited information on the effect of repeat flights and show a possible adaptive response to space radiation exposure.

Solar Hot Air Balloons: A Low Cost, Multi-hour Flight System for Lightweight Scientific Instrumentation Packages

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bowman, D. C.; Albert, S.; Dexheimer, D.; Murphy, S.; Mullen, M.

2017-12-01

Existing scientific ballooning solutions for multi hour flights in the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere are expensive and/or technically challenging. In contrast, solar hot air balloons are inexpensive and simple to construct. These balloons, which rely solely on sunlight striking a darkened envelope, can deliver payloads to 22 km altitude and maintain level flight until sunset. We describe an experimental campaign in which five solar hot air balloons launched in 45 minutes created a free flying infrasound (low frequency sound) microphone network that remained in the air for over 12 hours. We discuss the balloons' trajectory, maximum altitude, and stability as well as present results from the infrasound observations. We assess the performance and limitations of this design for lightweight atmospheric instrumentation deployments that require multi-hour flight times. Finally, we address the possibilities of multi day flights during the polar summer and on other planets.

Solid motor diagnostic instrumentation. [design of self-contained instrumentation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nakamura, Y.; Arens, W. E.; Wuest, W. S.

1973-01-01

A review of typical surveillance and monitoring practices followed during the flight phases of representative solid-propellant upper stages and apogee motors was conducted to evaluate the need for improved flight diagnostic instrumentation on future spacecraft. The capabilities of the flight instrumentation package were limited to the detection of whether or not the solid motor was the cause of failure and to the identification of probable primary failure modes. Conceptual designs of self-contained flight instrumentation packages capable of meeting these reqirements were generated and their performance, typical cost, and unit characteristics determined. Comparisons of a continuous real time and a thresholded hybrid design were made on the basis of performance, mass, power, cost, and expected life. The results of this analysis substantiated the feasibility of a self-contained independent flight instrumentation module as well as the existence of performance margins by which to exploit growth option applications.

Usage of pre-flight data in short rendezvous mission of Soyuz-TMA spacecrafts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murtazin, Rafail; Petrov, Nikolay

2014-01-01

The paper describes the reduction of the vehicle autonomous flight duration before docking to the ISS. The Russian Soyuz-TMA spacecraft dock to the ISS two days after launch. Due to the limited volume inside Soyuz-TMA the reduction of time until docking to the ISS is very important, since the long stay of the cosmonauts in the limited volume adds to the strain of the space flight. In the previous papers of the authors it was shown that the existing capabilities of Soyuz-TMA, the ISS and the ground control loop make it possible to transfer to the five-orbit rendezvous profile. However, the analysis of the cosmonauts' schedule on the launch day shows that its duration is at the allowable limit and that is why it is necessary to find a way to further reduce the flight duration of Soyuz-TMA before docking to less than five orbits. In a traditional rendezvous profile, the calculation of rendezvous burns begins only after determination of the actual vehicle insertion orbit. The paper describes an approach in which the first two rendezvous burns are performed as soon as the spacecraft reaches the reference orbit and the values of the burns are calculated prior to the launch based on the pre-flight data for the nominal insertion. This approach decreases the duration of the rendezvous by one orbit. The demonstration flight of a Progress vehicle using the proposed profile was implemented on August 1, 2012 and completely confirmed the correctness of the imbedded principles. The paper considers the possible improvements of the proposed approach and recovery from the contingencies.

Rapid Microcystin Determination Using a Paper Spray Ionization Method with a Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry System.

PubMed

Zhu, Xiaoqiang; Huang, Zhengxu; Gao, Wei; Li, Xue; Li, Lei; Zhu, Hui; Mo, Ting; Huang, Bao; Zhou, Zhen

2016-07-13

The eutrophication of surface water sources and climate changes have resulted in an annual explosion of cyanobacterial blooms in many irrigating and drinking water resources. To decrease health risks to the public, a rapid real time method for the synchronous determination of two usually harmful microcystins (MC-RR and MC-LR) in environmental water samples was built by employing a paper spray ionization method coupled with a time-of-flight mass spectrometer system. With this approach, direct analysis of microcystin mixtures without sample preparation has been achieved. Rapid detection was performed, simulating the release process of microcystins in reservoir water samples, and the routine detection frequency was every three minutes. The identification time of microcystins was reduced from several hours to a few minutes. The limit of detection is 1 μg/L, and the limit of quantitation is 3 μg/L. This method displays the ability for carrying out rapid, direct, and high-throughput experiments for determination of microcystins, and it would be of significant interest for environmental and food safety applications.

The self-reported health of U.S. flight attendants compared to the general population

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Few studies have examined the broad health effects of occupational exposures in flight attendants apart from disease-specific morbidity and mortality studies. We describe the health status of flight attendants and compare it to the U.S. population. In addition, we explore whether the prevalence of major health conditions in flight attendants is associated with length of exposure to the aircraft environment using job tenure as a proxy. Methods We surveyed flight attendants from two domestic U.S. airlines in 2007 and compared the prevalence of their health conditions to contemporaneous cohorts in the National Health and Nutrition Survey (NHANES), 2005-2006 and 2007-2008. We weighted the prevalence of flight attendant conditions to match the age distribution in the NHANES and compared the two populations stratified by gender using the Standardized Prevalence Ratio (SPR). For leading health conditions in flight attendants, we analyzed the association between job tenure and health outcomes in logistic regression models. Results Compared to the NHANES population (n =5,713), flight attendants (n = 4,011) had about a 3-fold increase in the age-adjusted prevalence of chronic bronchitis despite considerably lower levels of smoking. In addition, the prevalence of cardiac disease in female flight attendants was 3.5 times greater than the general population while their prevalence of hypertension and being overweight was significantly lower. Flight attendants reported 2 to 5.7 times more sleep disorders, depression, and fatigue, than the general population. Female flight attendants reported 34% more reproductive cancers. Health conditions that increased with longer job tenure as a flight attendant were chronic bronchitis, heart disease in females, skin cancer, hearing loss, depression and anxiety, even after adjusting for age, gender, body mass index (BMI), education, and smoking. Conclusions This study found higher rates of specific diseases in flight attendants than the general population. Longer tenure appears to explain some of the higher disease prevalence. Conclusions are limited by the cross-sectional design and recall bias. Further study is needed to determine the source of risk and to elucidate specific exposure-disease relationships over time. PMID:24612632

Autonomous Flight Safety System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ferrell, Bob; Santuro, Steve; Simpson, James; Zoerner, Roger; Bull, Barton; Lanzi, Jim

2004-01-01

Autonomous Flight Safety System (AFSS) is an independent flight safety system designed for small to medium sized expendable launch vehicles launching from or needing range safety protection while overlying relatively remote locations. AFSS replaces the need for a man-in-the-loop to make decisions for flight termination. AFSS could also serve as the prototype for an autonomous manned flight crew escape advisory system. AFSS utilizes onboard sensors and processors to emulate the human decision-making process using rule-based software logic and can dramatically reduce safety response time during critical launch phases. The Range Safety flight path nominal trajectory, its deviation allowances, limit zones and other flight safety rules are stored in the onboard computers. Position, velocity and attitude data obtained from onboard global positioning system (GPS) and inertial navigation system (INS) sensors are compared with these rules to determine the appropriate action to ensure that people and property are not jeopardized. The final system will be fully redundant and independent with multiple processors, sensors, and dead man switches to prevent inadvertent flight termination. AFSS is currently in Phase III which includes updated algorithms, integrated GPS/INS sensors, large scale simulation testing and initial aircraft flight testing.

14 CFR 61.415 - What are the limits of a flight instructor certificate with a sport pilot rating?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... determined the student's flight preparation, planning, equipment, and proposed procedures are adequate for... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false What are the limits of a flight instructor... ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIRMEN CERTIFICATION: PILOTS, FLIGHT INSTRUCTORS, AND...

Mechanization of and experience with a triplex fly-by-wire backup control system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lock, W. P.; Petersen, W. R.; Whitman, G. B.

1975-01-01

A redundant three-axis analog control system was designed and developed to back up a digital fly-by-wire control system for an F-8C airplane. Forty-two flights, involving 58 hours of flight time, were flown by six pilots. The mechanization and operational experience with the backup control system, the problems involved in synchronizing it with the primary system, and the reliability of the system are discussed. The backup control system was dissimilar to the primary system, and it provided satisfactory handling through the flight envelope evaluated. Limited flight tests of a variety of control tasks showed that control was also satisfactory when the backup control system was controlled by a minimum-displacement (force) side stick. The operational reliability of the F-8 digital fly-by-wire control system was satisfactory, with no unintentional downmodes to the backup control system in flight. The ground and flight reliability of the system's components is discussed.

Use of Flexible Body Coupled Loads in Assessment of Day of Launch Flight Loads

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Starr, Brett R.; Yunis, Isam; Olds, Aaron D.

2011-01-01

A Day of Launch flight loads assessment technique that determines running loads calculated from flexible body coupled loads was developed for the Ares I-X Flight Test Vehicle. The technique was developed to quantify DOL flight loads in terms of structural load components rather than the typically used q-alpha metric to provide more insight into the DOL loads. In this technique, running loads in the primary structure are determined from the combination of quasi-static aerodynamic loads and dynamic loads. The aerodynamic loads are calculated as a function of time using trajectory parameters passed from the DOL trajectory simulation and are combined with precalculated dynamic loads using a load combination equation. The potential change in aerodynamic load due to wind variability during the countdown is included in the load combination. In the event of a load limit exceedance, the technique allows the identification of what load component is exceeded, a quantification of how much the load limit is exceeded, and where on the vehicle the exceedance occurs. This technique was used to clear the Ares I-X FTV for launch on October 28, 2009. This paper describes the use of coupled loads in the Ares I-X flight loads assessment and summarizes the Ares I-X load assessment results.

Lévy flight with absorption: A model for diffusing diffusivity with long tails

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jain, Rohit; Sebastian, K. L.

2017-03-01

We consider diffusion of a particle in rearranging environment, so that the diffusivity of the particle is a stochastic function of time. In our previous model of "diffusing diffusivity" [Jain and Sebastian, J. Phys. Chem. B 120, 3988 (2016), 10.1021/acs.jpcb.6b01527], it was shown that the mean square displacement of particle remains Fickian, i.e., ∝T at all times, but the probability distribution of particle displacement is not Gaussian at all times. It is exponential at short times and crosses over to become Gaussian only in a large time limit in the case where the distribution of D in that model has a steady state limit which is exponential, i.e., πe(D ) ˜e-D /D0 . In the present study, we model the diffusivity of a particle as a Lévy flight process so that D has a power-law tailed distribution, viz., πe(D ) ˜D-1 -α with 0 <α <1 . We find that in the short time limit, the width of displacement distribution is proportional to √{T }, implying that the diffusion is Fickian. But for long times, the width is proportional to T1 /2 α which is a characteristic of anomalous diffusion. The distribution function for the displacement of the particle is found to be a symmetric stable distribution with a stability index 2 α which preserves its shape at all times.

Operational Models Supporting Manned Space Flight

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, A. S.; Weyland, M. D.; Lin, T. C.; Zapp, E. N.

2006-12-01

The Space Radiation Analysis Group (SRAG) at Johnson Space Center (JSC) has the primary responsibility to provide real-time radiation health operational support for manned space flight. Forecasts from NOAA SEC, real-time space environment data and radiation models are used to infer changes in the radiation environment due to space weather. Unlike current operations in low earth orbit which are afforded substantial protection from the geomagnetic field, exploration missions will have little protection and require improved operational tools for mission support. The current state of operational models and their limitations will be presented as well as an examination of needed tools to support exploration missions.

+Gz Exposure and Spinal Injury-Induced Flight Duty Limitations.

PubMed

Honkanen, Tuomas; Sovelius, Roope; Mäntysaari, Matti; Kyröläinen, Heikki; Avela, Janne; Leino, Tuomo K

2018-06-01

The present study aimed to find out if possible differences in early military flight career +Gz exposure level could predict permanent flight duty limitations (FDL) due to spinal disorders during a pilot's career. The study population consisted of 23 pilots flying with Gz limitation (max limitation ranging from +2 Gz to +5 Gz) due to spinal disorders and 50 experienced (+1000 flight hours) symptomless controls flying actively in operative missions in the Finnish Air Force. Data obtained for all subjects included the level of cumulative Gz exposure measured sortie by sortie with fatigue index (FI) recordings and flight hours during the first 5 yr of the pilot's career. The mean (± SD) accumulation of FI in the first 5 yr of flying high-performance aircraft was 8.0 ± 1.8 among the pilots in the FDL group and 7.7 ± 1.7 in the non-FDL group. There was no association between flight duty limitations and early career cumulative +Gz exposure level measured with FI or flight hours. According to the present findings, it seems that the amount of cumulative +Gz exposure during the first 5 yr of a military pilot's career is not an individual risk factor for spinal disorders leading to flight duty limitation. Future studies conducted with FI recordings should be addressed to reveal the relationship between the actual level of +Gz exposure and spinal disorders, with a longer follow-up period and larger sample sizes.Honkanen T, Sovelius R, Mäntysaari M, Kyröläinen H, Avela J, Leino TK. +Gz exposure and spinal injury-induced flight duty limitations. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2018; 89(6):552-556.

Physiological and psychological stress limits for astronautics Observations during the Skylab I-III missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burchard, E. C.

1975-01-01

The physiological and psychological factors of manned space flight had a particular significance in the Skylab missions during which astronauts were subjected to a life in a space environment for longer periods of time than on previous space missions. The Skylab missions demonstrated again the great adaptability of human physiology to the environment of man. The results of Skylab have indicated also approaches for enhancing the capability of man to tolerate the physiological and psychological stresses of space flight.

Ride quality flight testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Swaim, R. L.

1978-01-01

The ride quality experienced by passengers is a function of airframe rigid-body, elastic dynamic responses, autopilot, and stability augmentation system control inputs. A frequency response method has been developed to select sinusoidal elevator input time histories yielding vertical load factor distributions, within a given limit, as a function of fuselage station. The numerical technique is illustrated by applying two-degree-of-freedom short-period and first symmetric mode equations of motion to a B-1 aircraft at Mach 0.85 during sea level flight conditions.

Dynamic Structural Fault Detection and Identification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Timothy; Reichenbach, Eric; Urnes, James M.

2009-01-01

Aircraft structures are designed to guarantee safety of flight in some required operational envelope. When the aircraft becomes structurally impaired, safety of flight may not be guaranteed within that previously safe operational envelope. In this case the safe operational envelope must be redefined in-flight and a means to prevent excursion from this new envelope must be implemented. A specific structural failure mode that may result in a reduced safe operating envelope, the exceedance of which could lead to catastrophic structural failure of the aircraft, will be addressed. The goal of the DFEAP program is the detection of this failure mode coupled with flight controls adaptation to limit critical loads in the damaged aircraft structure. The DFEAP program is working with an F/A-18 aircraft model. The composite wing skins are bonded to metallic spars in the wing substructure. Over time, it is possible that this bonding can deteriorate due to fatigue. In this case, the ability of the wing spar to transfer loading between the wing skins is reduced. This failure mode can translate to a reduced allowable compressive strain on the wing skin and could lead to catastrophic wing buckling if load limiting of the wing structure is not applied. The DFEAP program will make use of a simplified wing strain model for the healthy aircraft. The outputs of this model will be compared in real-time to onboard strain measurements at several locations on the aircraft wing. A damage condition is declared at a given location when the strain measurements differ sufficiently from the strain model. Parameter identification of the damaged structure wing strain parameters will be employed to provide load limiting control adaptation for the aircraft. This paper will discuss the simplified strain models used in the implementation and their interaction with the strain sensor measurements. Also discussed will be the damage detection and identification schemes employed and the means by which the damaged aircraft parameters will be used to provide load limiting that keeps the aircraft within the safe operational envelope.

41 CFR 102-33.170 - What standards must we establish or require (contractually, where applicable) for maintenance of...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... appliance repairs, modifications, or equipment installations. (e) A quality control system for acquiring... tracking maintenance actions; inspections; and the flight hours, cycles, and calendar times of life-limited...

HFL-10 lifting body flight control system characteristics and operational experience

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Painter, W. D.; Sitterle, G. J.

1974-01-01

A flight evaluation was made of the mechanical hydraulic flight control system and the electrohydraulic stability augmentation system installed in the HL-10 lifting body research vehicle. Flight tests performed in the speed range from landing to a Mach number of 1.86 and the altitude range from 697 meters (2300 feet) to 27,550 meters (90,300 feet) were supplemented by ground tests to identify and correct structural resonance and limit-cycle problems. Severe limit-cycle and control sensitivity problems were encountered during the first flight. Stability augmentation system structural resonance electronic filters were modified to correct the limit-cycle problem. Several changes were made to control stick gearing to solve the control sensitivity problem. Satisfactory controllability was achieved by using a nonlinear system. A limit-cycle problem due to hydraulic fluid contamination was encountered during the first powered flight, but the problem did not recur after preflight operations were improved.

A Simple Flight Mill for the Study of Tethered Flight in Insects.

PubMed

Attisano, Alfredo; Murphy, James T; Vickers, Andrew; Moore, Patricia J

2015-12-10

Flight in insects can be long-range migratory flights, intermediate-range dispersal flights, or short-range host-seeking flights. Previous studies have shown that flight mills are valuable tools for the experimental study of insect flight behavior, allowing researchers to examine how factors such as age, host plants, or population source can influence an insects' propensity to disperse. Flight mills allow researchers to measure components of flight such as speed and distance flown. Lack of detailed information about how to build such a device can make their construction appear to be prohibitively complex. We present a simple and relatively inexpensive flight mill for the study of tethered flight in insects. Experimental insects can be tethered with non-toxic adhesives and revolve around an axis by means of a very low friction magnetic bearing. The mill is designed for the study of flight in controlled conditions as it can be used inside an incubator or environmental chamber. The strongest points are the very simple electronic circuitry, the design that allows sixteen insects to fly simultaneously allowing the collection and analysis of a large number of samples in a short time and the potential to use the device in a very limited workspace. This design is extremely flexible, and we have adjusted the mill to accommodate different species of insects of various sizes.

Effects of Inboard Horizontal Field of View Display Limitations on Pilot Path Control During Total In-Flight Simulator (TIFS) Flight Test

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kramer, Lynda J.; Parrish, Russell V.; Williams, Steven P.; Lavell, Jeffrey S.

1999-01-01

A flight test was conducted aboard Calspan's Total In-Flight Simulator (TIFS) aircraft by researchers within the External Visibility System (XVS) element of the High-Speed Research program. The purpose was to investigate the effects of inboard horizontal field of view (FOV) display limitations on pilot path control and to learn about the TIFS capabilities and limitations for possible use in future XVS flight tests. The TIFS cockpit windows were masked to represent the front XVS display area and the High-Speed Civil Transport side windows, as viewed by the pilot. Masking limited the forward FOV to 40 deg. horizontal and 50 deg. vertical for the basic flight condition, With an increase of 10 deg. horizontal in the inboard direction for the increased FOV flight condition. Two right-hand approach tasks (base-downwind-final) with a left crosswind on final were performed by three pilots using visual flight rules at Niagara Falls Airport. Each of the two tasks had three replicates for both horizontal FOV conditions, resulting in twelve approaches per test subject. Limited objective data showed that an increase of inboard FOV had no effect (deficiences in objective data measurement capabilities were noted). However, subjective results showed that a 50 deg. FOV was preferred over the 40 deg. FOV.

Comparison of Commercial Aircraft Fuel Requirements in Regards to FAR, Flight Profile Simulation, and Flight Operational Techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heitzman, Nicholas

There are significant fuel consumption consequences for non-optimal flight operations. This study is intended to analyze and highlight areas of interest that affect fuel consumption in typical flight operations. By gathering information from actual flight operators (pilots, dispatch, performance engineers, and air traffic controllers), real performance issues can be addressed and analyzed. A series of interviews were performed with various individuals in the industry and organizations. The wide range of insight directed this study to focus on FAA regulations, airline policy, the ATC system, weather, and flight planning. The goal is to highlight where operational performance differs from design intent in order to better connect optimization with actual flight operations. After further investigation and consensus from the experienced participants, the FAA regulations do not need any serious attention until newer technologies and capabilities are implemented. The ATC system is severely out of date and is one of the largest limiting factors in current flight operations. Although participants are pessimistic about its timely implementation, the FAA's NextGen program for a future National Airspace System should help improve the efficiency of flight operations. This includes situational awareness, weather monitoring, communication, information management, optimized routing, and cleaner flight profiles like Required Navigation Performance (RNP) and Continuous Descent Approach (CDA). Working off the interview results, trade-studies were performed using an in-house flight profile simulation of a Boeing 737-300, integrating NASA legacy codes EDET and NPSS with a custom written mission performance and point-performance "Skymap" calculator. From these trade-studies, it was found that certain flight conditions affect flight operations more than others. With weather, traffic, and unforeseeable risks, flight planning is still limited by its high level of precaution. From this study, it is recommended that air carriers increase focus on defining policies like load scheduling, CG management, reduction in zero fuel weight, inclusion of performance measurement systems, and adapting to the regulations to best optimize the spirit of the requirement.. As well, air carriers should create a larger drive to implement the FAA's NextGen system and move the industry into the future.

Compact time- and space-integrating SAR processor: design and development status

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haney, Michael W.; Levy, James J.; Christensen, Marc P.; Michael, Robert R., Jr.; Mock, Michael M.

1994-06-01

Progress toward a flight demonstration of the acousto-optic time- and space- integrating real-time SAR image formation processor program is reported. The concept overcomes the size and power consumption limitations of electronic approaches by using compact, rugged, and low-power analog optical signal processing techniques for the most computationally taxing portions of the SAR imaging problem. Flexibility and performance are maintained by the use of digital electronics for the critical low-complexity filter generation and output image processing functions. The results reported include tests of a laboratory version of the concept, a description of the compact optical design that will be implemented, and an overview of the electronic interface and controller modules of the flight-test system.

Applying Squeaky-Wheel Optimization Schedule Airborne Astronomy Observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frank, Jeremy; Kuerklue, Elif

2004-01-01

We apply the Squeaky Wheel Optimization (SWO) algorithm to the problem of scheduling astronomy observations for the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, an airborne observatory. The problem contains complex constraints relating the feasibility of an astronomical observation to the position and time at which the observation begins, telescope elevation limits, special use airspace, and available fuel. Solving the problem requires making discrete choices (e.g. selection and sequencing of observations) and continuous ones (e.g. takeoff time and setting up observations by repositioning the aircraft). The problem also includes optimization criteria such as maximizing observing time while simultaneously minimizing total flight time. Previous approaches to the problem fail to scale when accounting for all constraints. We describe how to customize SWO to solve this problem, and show that it finds better flight plans, often with less computation time, than previous approaches.

Evaluation of a direct high-capacity target screening approach for urine drug testing using liquid chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Saleh, Aljona; Stephanson, Niclas Nikolai; Granelli, Ingrid; Villén, Tomas; Beck, Olof

2012-11-15

In this study a rapid liquid chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry method was developed, validated and applied in order to evaluate the potential of this technique for routine urine drug testing. Approximately 800 authentic patient samples were analyzed for amphetamines (amphetamine and methamphetamine), opiates (morphine, morphine-3-glucuronide, morphine-6-glucuronide, codeine and codeine-6-glucuronide) and buprenorphines (buprenorphine and buprenorphine-glucuronide) using immunochemical screening assays and mass spectrometry confirmation methods for comparison. The chromatographic application utilized a rapid gradient with high flow and a reversed phase column with 1.8 μm particles. Total analysis time was 4 min. The mass spectrometer operated with an electrospray interface in positive mode with a resolution power of >10,000 at m/z 956. The applied reporting limits were 100 ng/mL for amphetamines and opiates, and 5 ng/mL for buprenorphines, with lower limits of quantification were 2.8-41 ng/mL. Calibration curves showed a linear response with coefficients of correlation of 0.97-0.99. The intra- and interday imprecision in quantification at the reporting limits were <10% for all analytes but for buprenorphines <20%. Method validation data met performance criteria for a qualitative and quantitative method. The liquid chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry method was found to be more selective than the immunochemical method by producing lower rates of false positives (0% for amphetamines and opiates; 3.2% for buprenorphines) and negatives (1.8% for amphetamines; 0.6% for opiates; 0% for buprenorphines). The overall agreement between the two screening methods was between 94.2 and 97.4%. Comparison of data with the confirmation (LC-MS) results for all individual 9 analytes showed that most deviating results were produced in samples with low levels of analytes. False negatives were mainly related to failure of detected peak to meet mass accuracy criteria (±20 mDa). False positives was related to presence of interfering peaks meeting mass accuracy and retention time criteria and occurred mainly at low levels. It is concluded that liquid chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry has potential both as a complement and as replacement of immunochemical screening assays. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

On the modelling of gyroplane flight dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Houston, Stewart; Thomson, Douglas

2017-01-01

The study of the gyroplane, with a few exceptions, is largely neglected in the literature which is indicative of a niche configuration limited to the sport and recreational market where resources are limited. However the contemporary needs of an informed population of owners and constructors, as well as the possibility of a wider application of such low-cost rotorcraft in other roles, suggests that an examination of the mathematical modelling requirements for the study of gyroplane flight mechanics is timely. Rotorcraft mathematical modelling has become stratified in three levels, each one defining the inclusion of various layers of complexity added to embrace specific modelling features as well as an attempt to improve fidelity. This paper examines the modelling of gyroplane flight mechanics in the context of this complexity, and shows that relatively simple formulations are adequate for capturing most aspects of gyroplane trim, stability and control characteristics. In particular the conventional 6 degree-of-freedom model structure is suitable for the synthesis of models from flight test data as well as being the framework for reducing the order of the higher levels of modelling. However, a high level of modelling can be required to mimic some aspects of behaviour observed in data gathered from flight experiments and even then can fail to capture other details. These limitations are addressed in the paper. It is concluded that the mathematical modelling of gyroplanes for the simulation and analysis of trim, stability and control presents no special difficulty and the conventional techniques, methods and formulations familiar to the rotary-wing community are directly applicable.

Derivatization of Dextran for Multiply Charged Ion Formation and Electrospray Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometric Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tapia, Jesus B.; Hibbard, Hailey A. J.; Reynolds, Melissa M.

2017-10-01

We present the use of a simple, one-pot derivatization to allow the polysaccharide dextran to carry multiple positive charges, shifting its molecular weight distribution to a lower m/ z range. We performed this derivatization because molecular weight measurements of polysaccharides by mass spectrometry are challenging because of their lack of readily ionizable groups. The absence of ionizable groups limits proton abstraction and suppresses proton adduction during the ionization process, producing mass spectra with predominantly singly charged metal adduct ions, thereby limiting the detection of large polysaccharides. To address this challenge, we derivatized dextran T1 (approximately 1 kDa) by attaching ethylenediamine, giving dextran readily ionizable, terminal amine functional groups. The attached ethylenediamine groups facilitated proton adduction during the ionization process in positive ion mode. Using the low molecular weight dextran T1, we tracked the number of ethylenediamine attachments by measuring the mass shift from underivatized to derivatized dextran T1. Using electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry, we observed derivatized dextran chains ranging from two to nine glucose residues with between one and four attachments/charges. Our success in shifting derivatized dextran T1 toward the low m/ z range suggests potential for this derivatization as a viable route for analysis of high molecular weight polysaccharides using electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Determination of phenylalanine isotope ratio enrichment by liquid chromatography/time- of-flight mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Wu, Zhanpin; Zhang, Xiao-Jun; Cody, Robert B; Wolfe, Robert R

2004-01-01

The application of time-of-flight mass spectrometry to isotope ratio measurements has been limited by the relatively low dynamic range of the time-to-digital converter detectors available on commercial LC/ToF-MS systems. Here we report the measurement of phenylalanine isotope ratio enrichment by using a new LC/ToF-MS system with wide dynamic range. Underivatized phenylalanine was injected onto a C18 column directly with 0.1% formic acid/acetonitrile as the mobile phase. The optimal instrument parameters for the time-of-flight mass spectrometer were determined by tuning the instrument with a phenylalanine standard. The accuracy of the isotope enrichment measurement was determined by the injection of standard solutions with known isotope ratios ranging from 0.02% to 9.2%. A plot of the results against the theoretical values gave a linear curve with R2 of 0.9999. The coefficient of variation for the isotope ratio measurement was below 2%. The method is simple, rapid, and accurate and presents an attractive alternative to traditional GC/MS applications.

High resolution hard X-ray spectra of solar and cosmic sources. Ph.D. Thesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schwartz, R. A.

1984-01-01

High resolution hard X-ray observations of a large solar flare and the Crab Nebula were obtained during balloon flights using an array of cooled germanium planar detectors. In addition, high time resolution high sensitivity measurements were obtained with a 300 square cm NaI/CsI phoswich scintillator. The Crab spectrum from both flights was searched without finding evidence of line emission below 200 keV. In particular, for the 73 keV line previously reported a 3 sigma upper limit for a narrow (1 keV FWHM) line .0019 and .0014 ph square cm/sec for the 1979 and 1980 flights, respectively was obtained.

Methods of sound simulation and applications in flight simulators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gaertner, K. P.

1980-01-01

An overview of methods for electronically synthesizing sounds is presented. A given amount of hardware and computer capacity places an upper limit on the degree and fidelity of realism of sound simulation which is attainable. Good sound realism for aircraft simulators can be especially expensive because of the complexity of flight sounds and their changing patterns through time. Nevertheless, the flight simulator developed at the Research Institute for Human Engineering, West Germany, shows that it is possible to design an inexpensive sound simulator with the required acoustic properties using analog computer elements. The characteristics of the sub-sound elements produced by this sound simulator for take-off, cruise and approach are discussed.

Viking Afterbody Heating Computations and Comparisons to Flight Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Edquist, Karl T.; Wright, Michael J.; Allen, Gary A., Jr.

2006-01-01

Computational fluid dynamics predictions of Viking Lander 1 entry vehicle afterbody heating are compared to flight data. The analysis includes a derivation of heat flux from temperature data at two base cover locations, as well as a discussion of available reconstructed entry trajectories. Based on the raw temperature-time history data, convective heat flux is derived to be 0.63-1.10 W/cm2 for the aluminum base cover at the time of thermocouple failure. Peak heat flux at the fiberglass base cover thermocouple is estimated to be 0.54-0.76 W/cm2, occurring 16 seconds after peak stagnation point heat flux. Navier-Stokes computational solutions are obtained with two separate codes using an 8- species Mars gas model in chemical and thermal non-equilibrium. Flowfield solutions using local time-stepping did not result in converged heating at either thermocouple location. A global time-stepping approach improved the computational stability, but steady state heat flux was not reached for either base cover location. Both thermocouple locations lie within a separated flow region of the base cover that is likely unsteady. Heat flux computations averaged over the solution history are generally below the flight data and do not vary smoothly over time for both base cover locations. Possible reasons for the mismatch between flight data and flowfield solutions include underestimated conduction effects and limitations of the computational methods.

Viking Afterbody Heating Computations and Comparisons to Flight Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Edquist, Karl T.; Wright, Michael J.; Allen, Gary A., Jr.

2006-01-01

Computational fluid dynamics predictions of Viking Lander 1 entry vehicle afterbody heating are compared to flight data. The analysis includes a derivation of heat flux from temperature data at two base cover locations, as well as a discussion of available reconstructed entry trajectories. Based on the raw temperature-time history data, convective heat flux is derived to be 0.63-1.10 W/sq cm for the aluminum base cover at the time of thermocouple failure. Peak heat flux at the fiberglass base cover thermocouple is estimated to be 0.54-0.76 W/sq cm, occurring 16 seconds after peak stagnation point heat flux. Navier-Stokes computational solutions are obtained with two separate codes using an 8-species Mars gas model in chemical and thermal non-equilibrium. Flowfield solutions using local time-stepping did not result in converged heating at either thermocouple location. A global time-stepping approach improved the computational stability, but steady state heat flux was not reached for either base cover location. Both thermocouple locations lie within a separated flow region of the base cover that is likely unsteady. Heat flux computations averaged over the solution history are generally below the flight data and do not vary smoothly over time for both base cover locations. Possible reasons for the mismatch between flight data and flowfield solutions include underestimated conduction effects and limitations of the computational methods.

Spacecraft Design Thermal Control Subsystem

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miyake, Robert N.

2008-01-01

The Thermal Control Subsystem engineers task is to maintain the temperature of all spacecraft components, subsystems, and the total flight system within specified limits for all flight modes from launch to end-of-mission. In some cases, specific stability and gradient temperature limits will be imposed on flight system elements. The Thermal Control Subsystem of "normal" flight systems, the mass, power, control, and sensing systems mass and power requirements are below 10% of the total flight system resources. In general the thermal control subsystem engineer is involved in all other flight subsystem designs.

Effects of Space Flight, Clinorotation, and Centrifugation on the Growth and Metabolism of Escherichia coli.

DTIC Science & Technology

1999-07-28

lag phase for Proteus vulgaris (Manko et al., 1987), E. coli, and B. subtilis (Kaceua and Todd, 1997) on orbit. However, due to a limited number of... limitations often precluded the collection of multiple bacterial counts at different times during the relatively short exponential growth phase. This...g, respectively. Because the 50 centriiiige held only 6 FPAs, the number of samples for each experiment was limited . To increase the «-value

STS-1 operational flight profile. Volume 3: Ascent, cycle 3

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1980-01-01

The ascent opeational flight profile for the space transportation system 1 flight is designed (1) to limit the maximum undispersed dynamic pressure to 580 lb/sq ft, (2) to follow the design load indicator profiles where q alpha is a specified profile and q beta is desired to be as close to zero as passible, and (3) to maximize nominal and abort performance. Significant trajectory parameters achieved are presented. A maximum dynamic pressure of 575 lb/sq ft was achieved, a minimum q alpha of -2187 lb-deg/sq ft was achieved, and q beta was limited to approximately + or - 100 lb-deg/sq ft in the high q region of the trajectory. The trajectory performance allows a press to main engine cutoff capability with one space shuttle main engine out at 262 seconds ground elapsed time. The orbital maneuvering system burns achieve a final orbit of 150.9 x 149.9 x 149.8 n. mi. and the desired inclination of 40.3 degrees.

Traffic Aware Strategic Aircrew Requests (TASAR) Concept of Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Henderson, Jeffrey

2013-01-01

Aircrews submit trajectory change requests to air traffic control (ATC) to better achieve the operator's preferred business trajectory. Requests are currently made with limited information and are often denied because the change is not compatible with traffic. Also, request opportunities can be overlooked due to lack of automation that advises aircrews of trajectory changes that improve flight time, fuel burn, and other objectives. The Traffic Aware Strategic Aircrew Requests (TASAR) concept leverages Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) surveillance information to advise the aircrew of beneficial trajectory changes that are probed for traffic compatibility prior to issuing the request to ATC. This document describes the features, benefits, and limitations of TASAR automation hosted on an Electronic Flight Bag. TASAR has two modes: (1) auto mode that continuously assesses opportunities for improving the performance of the flight and (2) manual mode that probes trajectory changes entered by aircrews for conflicts and performance objectives. The roles and procedures of the aircrew and ATC remain unchanged under TASAR.

Weight and the Future of Space Flight Hardware Cost Modeling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Prince, Frank A.

2003-01-01

Weight has been used as the primary input variable for cost estimating almost as long as there have been parametric cost models. While there are good reasons for using weight, serious limitations exist. These limitations have been addressed by multi-variable equations and trend analysis in models such as NAFCOM, PRICE, and SEER; however, these models have not be able to address the significant time lags that can occur between the development of similar space flight hardware systems. These time lags make the cost analyst's job difficult because insufficient data exists to perform trend analysis, and the current set of parametric models are not well suited to accommodating process improvements in space flight hardware design, development, build and test. As a result, people of good faith can have serious disagreement over the cost for new systems. To address these shortcomings, new cost modeling approaches are needed. The most promising approach is process based (sometimes called activity) costing. Developing process based models will require a detailed understanding of the functions required to produce space flight hardware combined with innovative approaches to estimating the necessary resources. Particularly challenging will be the lack of data at the process level. One method for developing a model is to combine notional algorithms with a discrete event simulation and model changes to the total cost as perturbations to the program are introduced. Despite these challenges, the potential benefits are such that efforts should be focused on developing process based cost models.

Relationship between Brazilian airline pilot errors and time of day.

PubMed

de Mello, M T; Esteves, A M; Pires, M L N; Santos, D C; Bittencourt, L R A; Silva, R S; Tufik, S

2008-12-01

Flight safety is one of the most important and frequently discussed issues in aviation. Recent accident inquiries have raised questions as to how the work of flight crews is organized and the extent to which these conditions may have been contributing factors to accidents. Fatigue is based on physiologic limitations, which are reflected in performance deficits. The purpose of the present study was to provide an analysis of the periods of the day in which pilots working for a commercial airline presented major errors. Errors made by 515 captains and 472 co-pilots were analyzed using data from flight operation quality assurance systems. To analyze the times of day (shifts) during which incidents occurred, we divided the light-dark cycle (24:00) in four periods: morning, afternoon, night, and early morning. The differences of risk during the day were reported as the ratio of morning to afternoon, morning to night and morning to early morning error rates. For the purposes of this research, level 3 events alone were taken into account, since these were the most serious in which company operational limits were exceeded or when established procedures were not followed. According to airline flight schedules, 35% of flights take place in the morning period, 32% in the afternoon, 26% at night, and 7% in the early morning. Data showed that the risk of errors increased by almost 50% in the early morning relative to the morning period (ratio of 1:1.46). For the period of the afternoon, the ratio was 1:1.04 and for the night a ratio of 1:1.05 was found. These results showed that the period of the early morning represented a greater risk of attention problems and fatigue.

Charged particle dynamics in multiple colliding electromagnetic waves. Survey of random walk, Lévy flights, limit circles, attractors and structurally determinate patterns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bulanov, S. V.; Esirkepov, T. Zh.; Koga, J. K.; Bulanov, S. S.; Gong, Z.; Yan, X. Q.; Kando, M.

2017-04-01

The multiple colliding laser pulse concept formulated by Bulanov et al. (Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 104, 2010b, 220404) is beneficial for achieving an extremely high amplitude of coherent electromagnetic field. Since the topology of electric and magnetic fields of multiple colliding laser pulses oscillating in time is far from trivial and the radiation friction effects are significant in the high field limit, the dynamics of charged particles interacting with the multiple colliding laser pulses demonstrates remarkable features corresponding to random walk trajectories, limit circles, attractors, regular patterns and Lévy flights. Under extremely high intensity conditions the nonlinear dissipation mechanism stabilizes the particle motion resulting in the charged particle trajectory being located within narrow regions and in the occurrence of a new class of regular patterns made by the particle ensembles.

Charged particle dynamics in multiple colliding electromagnetic waves. Survey of random walk, Lévy flights, limit circles, attractors and structurally determinate patterns

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bulanov, S. V.; Esirkepov, T. Zh.; Koga, J. K.

The multiple colliding laser pulse concept formulated by Bulanovet al.(Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 104, 2010b, 220404) is beneficial for achieving an extremely high amplitude of coherent electromagnetic field. Since the topology of electric and magnetic fields of multiple colliding laser pulses oscillating in time is far from trivial and the radiation friction effects are significant in the high field limit, the dynamics of charged particles interacting with the multiple colliding laser pulses demonstrates remarkable features corresponding to random walk trajectories, limit circles, attractors, regular patterns and Lévy flights. Lastly, under extremely high intensity conditions the nonlinear dissipation mechanism stabilizes the particle motionmore » resulting in the charged particle trajectory being located within narrow regions and in the occurrence of a new class of regular patterns made by the particle ensembles.« less

Charged particle dynamics in multiple colliding electromagnetic waves. Survey of random walk, Lévy flights, limit circles, attractors and structurally determinate patterns

DOE PAGES

Bulanov, S. V.; Esirkepov, T. Zh.; Koga, J. K.; ...

2017-03-09

The multiple colliding laser pulse concept formulated by Bulanovet al.(Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 104, 2010b, 220404) is beneficial for achieving an extremely high amplitude of coherent electromagnetic field. Since the topology of electric and magnetic fields of multiple colliding laser pulses oscillating in time is far from trivial and the radiation friction effects are significant in the high field limit, the dynamics of charged particles interacting with the multiple colliding laser pulses demonstrates remarkable features corresponding to random walk trajectories, limit circles, attractors, regular patterns and Lévy flights. Lastly, under extremely high intensity conditions the nonlinear dissipation mechanism stabilizes the particle motionmore » resulting in the charged particle trajectory being located within narrow regions and in the occurrence of a new class of regular patterns made by the particle ensembles.« less

BION-M 1: First continuous blood pressure monitoring in mice during a 30-day spaceflight

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andreev-Andrievskiy, Alexander; Popova, Anfisa; Lloret, Jean-Christophe; Aubry, Patrick; Borovik, Anatoliy; Tsvirkun, Daria; Vinogradova, Olga; Ilyin, Eugeniy; Gauquelin-Koch, Guillemette; Gharib, Claude; Custaud, Marc-Antoine

2017-05-01

Animals are an essential component of space exploration and have been used to demonstrate that weightlessness does not disrupt essential physiological functions. They can also contribute to space research as models of weightlessness-induced changes in humans. Animal research was an integral component of the 30-day automated Russian biosatellite Bion-M 1 space mission. The aim of the hemodynamic experiment was to estimate cardiovascular function in mice, a species roughly 3000 times smaller than humans, during prolonged spaceflight and post-flight recovery, particularly, to investigate if mice display signs of cardiovascular deconditioning. For the first time, heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) were continuously monitored using implantable telemetry during spaceflight and recovery. Decreased HR and unchanged BP were observed during launch, whereas both HR and BP dropped dramatically during descent. During spaceflight, BP did not change from pre-flight values. However, HR increased, particularly during periods of activity. HR remained elevated after spaceflight and was accompanied by increased levels of exercise-induced tachycardia. Loss of three of the five mice during the flight as a result of the hardware malfunction (unrelated to the telemetry system) and thus the limited sample number constitute the major limitation of the study. For the first time BP and HR were continuously monitored in mice during the 30-day spaceflight and 7-days of post-flight recovery. Cardiovascular deconditioning in these tiny quadruped mammals was reminiscent of that in humans. Therefore, the loss of hydrostatic pressure in space, which is thought to be the initiating event for human cardiovascular adaptation in microgravity, might be of less importance than other physiological mechanisms. Further experiments with larger number of mice are needed to confirm these findings.

X-Ray Transmission Microscope Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaukler, William F.

1997-01-01

We have succeeded in meeting the goals set out in the proposal. A cadre of detector technologies is available to suit the requirements of the experiment. Resolutions of both real-time and absolute limits to resolution exceed the initial aspirations. Obtaining sufficient contrast is still a significant limitation but can be overcome by Judicious selection of the specimen composition. This can only take time and trial and error for a successful result. The 4th generation furnace provides the capability of real-time in-situ observations of composite alloy development. A low detection sensitivity however, has still made it difficult to observe dendritic growth, although it has been 'seen' in raw video; it was not a recordable signal. We have examined flight ampoules with XTM to observe particle and thermocouple placement, crucible flaws and cracks in collaboration with the Particle Pushing and Engulfment flight experiment (Dr. Stefanescu, UA, P.I.). The value of an in flight XTM to guard against experiment failure and safety assurance is obvious. Although not attributable to equipment limitations, a quest to observe particle pushing was not successful. We tried at length to prepare specimens that would demonstrate particle pushing. Instead, we were successful in imaging the interface deformation due to the thermal field distortion of a ceramic particle or void and to compare to calculated shapes. In theory, we should have been able to make major inroads to this field if the particles could be pushed and the velocities adjusted to make critical measurements. On the other hand, critical issues of sample preparation for the PEP flight experiment were established, particularly the clustering of particles and trapped voids. In this regard, the XTM did prove very useful so that flight specimens would work as expected and to perform post flight analysis. Although not a clear result, particle pushing of precipitates was observed in an Al-Si-Mn alloy. It may be that to be pushed, the particles need to be small and have clean surfaces like one might obtain from in-situ precipitation. The ability to image features in real time skill enable more fundamental and detailed understanding of solidification dynamics in microgravity than had previously been possible, thus, allowing the full benefits of microgravity experiments be applied towards rigorous testing of critical solidification models. The XTM is also a valuable tool for post solidification metallography. The 3-dimensional distribution of solute and solidification features within the specimen volume can be viewed without sectioning or other treatment when the solute has sufficiently higher atomic mass than the solvent. Thus the XTM could provide the first practical method for on orbit microstructural (metallographic) analysis by the astronauts or by telescience.

14 CFR 417.213 - Flight safety limits analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Flight safety limits analysis. 417.213 Section 417.213 Aeronautics and Space COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... launch vehicle's flight to prevent the hazardous effects of the resulting debris impacts from reaching...

14 CFR 417.213 - Flight safety limits analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Flight safety limits analysis. 417.213 Section 417.213 Aeronautics and Space COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... launch vehicle's flight to prevent the hazardous effects of the resulting debris impacts from reaching...

14 CFR 417.213 - Flight safety limits analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Flight safety limits analysis. 417.213 Section 417.213 Aeronautics and Space COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... launch vehicle's flight to prevent the hazardous effects of the resulting debris impacts from reaching...

14 CFR 25.1531 - Maneuvering flight load factors.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Maneuvering flight load factors. 25.1531 Section 25.1531 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION... Operating Limitations § 25.1531 Maneuvering flight load factors. Load factor limitations, not exceeding the...

14 CFR 25.1531 - Maneuvering flight load factors.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Maneuvering flight load factors. 25.1531 Section 25.1531 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION... Operating Limitations § 25.1531 Maneuvering flight load factors. Load factor limitations, not exceeding the...

14 CFR 417.213 - Flight safety limits analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Flight safety limits analysis. 417.213 Section 417.213 Aeronautics and Space COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... launch vehicle's flight to prevent the hazardous effects of the resulting debris impacts from reaching...

14 CFR 417.213 - Flight safety limits analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Flight safety limits analysis. 417.213 Section 417.213 Aeronautics and Space COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... launch vehicle's flight to prevent the hazardous effects of the resulting debris impacts from reaching...

Time-of-flight PET time calibration using data consistency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Defrise, Michel; Rezaei, Ahmadreza; Nuyts, Johan

2018-05-01

This paper presents new data driven methods for the time of flight (TOF) calibration of positron emission tomography (PET) scanners. These methods are derived from the consistency condition for TOF PET, they can be applied to data measured with an arbitrary tracer distribution and are numerically efficient because they do not require a preliminary image reconstruction from the non-TOF data. Two-dimensional simulations are presented for one of the methods, which only involves the two first moments of the data with respect to the TOF variable. The numerical results show that this method estimates the detector timing offsets with errors that are larger than those obtained via an initial non-TOF reconstruction, but remain smaller than of the TOF resolution and thereby have a limited impact on the quantitative accuracy of the activity image estimated with standard maximum likelihood reconstruction algorithms.

Search for X rays from the planet Jupiter.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hurley, K. C.

1972-01-01

Actively collimated balloon-borne scintillation counters employing a special phoswich anticoincidence technique were flown a total of 5 times from Palestine, Texas. Jupiter was observed for a total of 133 min, and an upper limit to the flux of X rays present at the observation time is .016 X rays/sq cm sec in the energy range 30-100 keV. Three separate calculations are made to estimate the flux of Jovian X rays at the earth. These estimates range from .000000001 to .1 X rays/sq cm sec in the energy range 30-100 keV. It is concluded that, since there was no decametric emission at the time of the flight and there had been no significant solar activity for several days prior to the flight, no X rays were being generated at the time of the observation.

Controlled breaks as a fatigue countermeasure on the flight deck

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Neri, David F.; Oyung, Raymond L.; Colletti, Laura M.; Mallis, Melissa M.; Tam, Patricia Y.; Dinges, David F.

2002-01-01

BACKGROUND: A major challenge for flight crews is the need to maintain vigilance during long, highly automated nighttime flights. No system currently exists to assist in managing alertness, and countermeasure options are limited. Surveys reveal many pilots use breaks as an in-flight countermeasure, but there have been no controlled studies of their effectiveness. HYPOTHESIS: We hypothesized that brief, regular breaks could improve alertness and performance during an overnight flight. METHOD: A 6-h, uneventful, nighttime flight in a Boeing 747-400 flight simulator was flown by fourteen two-man crews. The 14 subjects in the treatment group received 5 short breaks spaced hourly during cruise; the 14 subjects in the control group received 1 break in the middle of cruise. Continuous EEG/EOG, subjective sleepiness, and psychomotor vigilance performance data were collected. RESULTS: During the latter part of the night, the treatment group showed significant reductions for 15 min post-break in slow eye movements, theta-band activity, and unintended sleep episodes compared with the control group. The treatment group reported significantly greater subjective alertness for up to 25 min post-break, with strongest effects near the time of the circadian trough. There was no evidence of objective vigilance performance improvement at 15-25 min post-break, with expected performance deterioration occurring due to elevated sleep drive and circadian time. CONCLUSIONS: The physiological and subjective data indicate the breaks reduced nighttime sleepiness for at least 15 min post-break and may have masked sleepiness for up to 25 min, suggesting the potential usefulness of short-duration breaks as an in-flight fatigue countermeasure.

Controlled breaks as a fatigue countermeasure on the flight deck.

PubMed

Neri, David F; Oyung, Raymond L; Colletti, Laura M; Mallis, Melissa M; Tam, Patricia Y; Dinges, David F

2002-07-01

A major challenge for flight crews is the need to maintain vigilance during long, highly automated nighttime flights. No system currently exists to assist in managing alertness, and countermeasure options are limited. Surveys reveal many pilots use breaks as an in-flight countermeasure, but there have been no controlled studies of their effectiveness. We hypothesized that brief, regular breaks could improve alertness and performance during an overnight flight. A 6-h, uneventful, nighttime flight in a Boeing 747-400 flight simulator was flown by fourteen two-man crews. The 14 subjects in the treatment group received 5 short breaks spaced hourly during cruise; the 14 subjects in the control group received 1 break in the middle of cruise. Continuous EEG/EOG, subjective sleepiness, and psychomotor vigilance performance data were collected. During the latter part of the night, the treatment group showed significant reductions for 15 min post-break in slow eye movements, theta-band activity, and unintended sleep episodes compared with the control group. The treatment group reported significantly greater subjective alertness for up to 25 min post-break, with strongest effects near the time of the circadian trough. There was no evidence of objective vigilance performance improvement at 15-25 min post-break, with expected performance deterioration occurring due to elevated sleep drive and circadian time. The physiological and subjective data indicate the breaks reduced nighttime sleepiness for at least 15 min post-break and may have masked sleepiness for up to 25 min, suggesting the potential usefulness of short-duration breaks as an in-flight fatigue countermeasure.

Design, analysis, and control of a large transport aircraft utilizing selective engine thrust as a backup system for the primary flight control. Ph.D. Thesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gerren, Donna S.

1995-01-01

A study has been conducted to determine the capability to control a very large transport airplane with engine thrust. This study consisted of the design of an 800-passenger airplane with a range of 5000 nautical miles design and evaluation of a flight control system, and design and piloted simulation evaluation of a thrust-only backup flight control system. Location of the four wing-mounted engines was varied to optimize the propulsive control capability, and the time constant of the engine response was studied. The goal was to provide level 1 flying qualities. The engine location and engine time constant did not have a large effect on the control capability. The airplane design did meet level 1 flying qualities based on frequencies, damping ratios, and time constants in the longitudinal and lateral-directional modes. Project pilots consistently rated the flying qualities as either level 1 or level 2 based on Cooper-Harper ratings. However, because of the limited control forces and moments, the airplane design fell short of meeting the time required to achieve a 30 deg bank and the time required to respond a control input.

Beam-Riding Analysis of a Parabolic Laser-thermal Thruster

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Scharring, Stefan; Eckel, Hans-Albert; Roeser, Hans-Peter

2011-11-10

Flight experiments with laser-propelled vehicles (lightcrafts) are often performed by wire-guidance or with spin-stabilization. Nevertheless, the specific geometry of the lightcraft's optics and nozzle may provide for inherent beam-riding properties. These features are experimentally investigated in a hovering experiment at a small free flight test range with an electron-beam sustained pulsed CO{sub 2} high energy laser. Laser bursts are adapted with a real-time control to lightcraft mass and impulse coupling for ascent and hovering in a quasi equilibrium of forces. The flight dynamics is analyzed with respect to the impulse coupling field vs. attitude, given by the lightcraft's offset andmore » its inclination angle against the beam propagation axis, which are derived from the 3D-reconstruction of the flight trajectory from highspeed recordings. The limitations of the experimental parameters' reproducibility and its impact on flight stability are explored in terms of Julia sets. Solution statements for dynamic stabilization loops are presented and discussed.« less

A survey of selected aviators' perceptions regarding Army crew endurance guidelines.

PubMed

Caldwell, J A; Caldwell, J L; Hartnett, T C

1995-01-01

A 59-item questionnaire was administered to Army helicopter pilots from a variety of Army units to assess crew endurance issues. Analysis of 653 completed questionnaires indicated that respondents felt that the maintenance of aviator proficiency was more important than the fulfillment of only currency requirements in improving flight endurance. Approximately three-quarters of the respondents said that physical training was important to them personally, and 63% said that improved physical fitness reduces flight-related fatigue. With regard to the current crew endurance guide, only 1% of the respondents thought that the guide was exceptional and 65% said that they thought it should be rewritten. Adjustments were suggested for some of the recommended flight time limitations, to include liberalizing the factor associated with night-vision device flight. A majority of respondents indicated that data from either in-flight endurance evaluations or questionnaires administered to personnel in the field should be used to develop a new guide. Most respondents did not feel comfortable delegating responsibility for total crew endurance planning to unit commanders.

Automatic treatment of flight test images using modern tools: SAAB and Aeritalia joint approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaelldahl, A.; Duranti, P.

The use of onboard cine cameras, as well as that of on ground cinetheodolites, is very popular in flight tests. The high resolution of film and the high frame rate of cinecameras are still not exceeded by video technology. Video technology can successfully enter the flight test scenario once the availability of solid-state optical sensors dramatically reduces the dimensions, and weight of TV cameras, thus allowing to locate them in positions compatible with space or operational limitations (e.g., HUD cameras). A proper combination of cine and video cameras is the typical solution for a complex flight test program. The output of such devices is very helpful in many flight areas. Several sucessful applications of this technology are summarized. Analysis of the large amount of data produced (frames of images) requires a very long time. The analysis is normally carried out manually. In order to improve the situation, in the last few years, several flight test centers have devoted their attention to possible techniques which allow for quicker and more effective image treatment.

Validation of Force Limited Vibration Testing at NASA Langley Research Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rice, Chad; Buehrle, Ralph D.

2003-01-01

Vibration tests were performed to develop and validate the forced limited vibration testing capability at the NASA Langley Research Center. The force limited vibration test technique has been utilized at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and other NASA centers to provide more realistic vibration test environments for aerospace flight hardware. In standard random vibration tests, the payload is mounted to a rigid fixture and the interface acceleration is controlled to a specified level based on a conservative estimate of the expected flight environment. In force limited vibration tests, both the acceleration and force are controlled at the mounting interface to compensate for differences between the flexible flight mounting and rigid test fixture. This minimizes the over test at the payload natural frequencies and results in more realistic forces being transmitted at the mounting interface. Force and acceleration response data was provided by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center for a test article that was flown in 1998 on a Black Brant sounding rocket. The measured flight interface acceleration data was used as the reference acceleration spectrum. Using this acceleration spectrum, three analytical methods were used to estimate the force limits. Standard random and force limited vibration tests were performed and the results are compared with the flight data.

Force Limited Vibration Testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scharton, Terry; Chang, Kurng Y.

2005-01-01

This slide presentation reviews the concept and applications of Force Limited Vibration Testing. The goal of vibration testing of aerospace hardware is to identify problems that would result in flight failures. The commonly used aerospace vibration tests uses artificially high shaker forces and responses at the resonance frequencies of the test item. It has become common to limit the acceleration responses in the test to those predicted for the flight. This requires an analysis of the acceleration response, and requires placing accelerometers on the test item. With the advent of piezoelectric gages it has become possible to improve vibration testing. The basic equations have are reviewed. Force limits are analogous and complementary to the acceleration specifications used in conventional vibration testing. Just as the acceleration specification is the frequency spectrum envelope of the in-flight acceleration at the interface between the test item and flight mounting structure, the force limit is the envelope of the in-flight force at the interface . In force limited vibration tests, both the acceleration and force specifications are needed, and the force specification is generally based on and proportional to the acceleration specification. Therefore, force limiting does not compensate for errors in the development of the acceleration specification, e.g., too much conservatism or the lack thereof. These errors will carry over into the force specification. Since in-flight vibratory force data are scarce, force limits are often derived from coupled system analyses and impedance information obtained from measurements or finite element models (FEM). Fortunately, data on the interface forces between systems and components are now available from system acoustic and vibration tests of development test models and from a few flight experiments. Semi-empirical methods of predicting force limits are currently being developed on the basis of the limited flight and system test data. A simple two degree of freedom system is shown and the governing equations for basic force limiting results for this system are reviewed. The design and results of the shuttle vibration forces (SVF) experiments are reviewed. The Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) also was used to validate force limiting. Test instrumentation and supporting equipment are reviewed including piezo-electric force transducers, signal processing and conditioning systems, test fixtures, and vibration controller systems. Several examples of force limited vibration testing are presented with some results.

Towards neutron scattering experiments with sub-millisecond time resolution

DOE PAGES

Adlmann, F. A.; Gutfreund, Phillip; Ankner, John Francis; ...

2015-02-01

Neutron scattering techniques offer several unique opportunities in materials research. However, most neutron scattering experiments suffer from the limited flux available at current facilities. This limitation becomes even more severe if time-resolved or kinetic experiments are performed. A new method has been developed which overcomes these limitations when a reversible process is studied, without any compromise on resolution or beam intensity. We demonstrate that, by recording in absolute time the neutron detector events linked to an excitation, information can be resolved on sub-millisecond timescales. Specifically, the concept of the method is demonstrated by neutron reflectivity measurements in time-of-flight mode atmore » the Liquids Reflectometer located at the Spallation Neutron Source, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee, USA, combined with in situ rheometry. Finally, the opportunities and limitations of this new technique are evaluated by investigations of a micellar polymer solution offering excellent scattering contrast combined with high sensitivity to shear.« less

Force limits measured on a space shuttle flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scharton, T.

2000-01-01

The random vibration forces between a payload and the sidewall of the space shuttle have been measured in flight and compared with the force specifications used in ground vibration tests. The flight data are in agreement with a semi-empirical method, which is widely used to predict vibration test force limits.

14 CFR 91.317 - Provisionally certificated civil aircraft: Operating limitations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... limitations of § 21.191 of this chapter and when flight testing, shall operate under the requirements of § 91..., DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIR TRAFFIC AND GENERAL OPERATING RULES GENERAL OPERATING AND FLIGHT RULES Special Flight Operations § 91.317 Provisionally certificated civil aircraft: Operating...

14 CFR 91.317 - Provisionally certificated civil aircraft: Operating limitations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... limitations of § 21.191 of this chapter and when flight testing, shall operate under the requirements of § 91..., DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIR TRAFFIC AND GENERAL OPERATING RULES GENERAL OPERATING AND FLIGHT RULES Special Flight Operations § 91.317 Provisionally certificated civil aircraft: Operating...

14 CFR 91.317 - Provisionally certificated civil aircraft: Operating limitations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... limitations of § 21.191 of this chapter and when flight testing, shall operate under the requirements of § 91..., DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIR TRAFFIC AND GENERAL OPERATING RULES GENERAL OPERATING AND FLIGHT RULES Special Flight Operations § 91.317 Provisionally certificated civil aircraft: Operating...

14 CFR 91.317 - Provisionally certificated civil aircraft: Operating limitations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... limitations of § 21.191 of this chapter and when flight testing, shall operate under the requirements of § 91..., DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIR TRAFFIC AND GENERAL OPERATING RULES GENERAL OPERATING AND FLIGHT RULES Special Flight Operations § 91.317 Provisionally certificated civil aircraft: Operating...

14 CFR 91.317 - Provisionally certificated civil aircraft: Operating limitations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... limitations of § 21.191 of this chapter and when flight testing, shall operate under the requirements of § 91..., DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIR TRAFFIC AND GENERAL OPERATING RULES GENERAL OPERATING AND FLIGHT RULES Special Flight Operations § 91.317 Provisionally certificated civil aircraft: Operating...

Reagan National Airport: Capacity to Handle Additional Flights and Impact on Other Area Airports

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-09-17

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (Reagan National) is subject to both the federal high-density rule, which controls the number of takeoffs and landings that may occur each day within hourly time periods, and the perimeter rule, which limits ...

Description of various test scenarios for temporary blinding of pilots by means of bright optical radiation during darkness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reidenbach, Hans-Dieter

2011-06-01

Up to now the knowledge is limited as far as adverse effects are concerned which are the result of temporary blinding from high brightness optical products, like laser pointers, but it is mandatory to be aware of the degree and influence on various visual functions of persons performing challenging activities, especially under mesopic or even scotopic conditions. Therefore various test scenarios have been designed in the laboratory and bright optical radiation from highbrightness LEDs and laser products applied as light sources in order to simulate the temporary blinding of pilots during a night-flight, especially during landing. As an important realistic test object the primary flight display (PFD) of a commercial aircraft has been integrated in the respective test set-up and various alignments on the PFD could be adjusted in order to measure the time duration which is needed to regain the ability to read the respective data on the PFD after an exposure. The pilot's flight deck lighting situation from a full flight simulator A 320 has been incorporated in the test scenarios. The level of exposure of the subjects has been limited well below the maximum permissible exposure (MPE) and the exposure duration was chosen up to a maximum of 10 s. A total of 28 subjects have been included in various tests. As a critical value especially the visual search time (VST) was determined. A significant increase of VST between 2.5 s and 8 s after foveal irradiation has been determined in a specially designed test with a primary flight display (PFD) whereas an increase of 9.1 s for peripheral and 9.9 s for frontal irradiation resulted in an exercise (flight maneuver) with a Microsoft flight-simulator. Various pupil diameters and aversion responses of the subjects during the irradiation might be responsible for the relatively large spread of data, but on the other hand a simple mean value would not comply with the spectrum of functional relationships and possible individual inherent physiological and voluntary active reactions of the irradiated persons, respectively.

Cassini Attitude Control Operations Flight Rules and How They are Enforced

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burk, Thomas; Bates, David

2008-01-01

The Cassini spacecraft was launched on October 15, 1997 and arrived at Saturn on June 30, 2004. It has performed detailed observations and remote sensing of Saturn, its rings, and its satellites since that time. Cassini deployed the European-built Huygens probe which descended through the Titan atmosphere and landed on its surface on January 14, 2005. Operating the Cassini spacecraft is a complex scientific, engineering, and management job. In order to safely operate the spacecraft, a large number of flight rules were developed. These flight rules must be enforced throughout the lifetime of the Cassini spacecraft. Flight rules are defined as any operational limitation imposed by the spacecraft system design, hardware, and software, violation of which would result in spacecraft damage, loss of consumables, loss of mission objectives, loss and/or degradation of science, and less than optimal performance. Flight rules require clear description and rationale. Detailed automated methods have been developed to insure the spacecraft is continuously operated within these flight rules. An overview of all the flight rules allocated to the Cassini Attitude Control and Articulation Subsystem and how they are enforced is presented in this paper.

A methodology for the assessment of manned flight simulator fidelity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hess, Ronald A.; Malsbury, Terry N.

1989-01-01

A relatively simple analytical methodology for assessing the fidelity of manned flight simulators for specific vehicles and tasks is offered. The methodology is based upon an application of a structural model of the human pilot, including motion cue effects. In particular, predicted pilot/vehicle dynamic characteristics are obtained with and without simulator limitations. A procedure for selecting model parameters can be implemented, given a probable pilot control strategy. In analyzing a pair of piloting tasks for which flight and simulation data are available, the methodology correctly predicted the existence of simulator fidelity problems. The methodology permitted the analytical evaluation of a change in simulator characteristics and indicated that a major source of the fidelity problems was a visual time delay in the simulation.

An Alternative Method Of Specifying Shock Test Criteria

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ferebee, R. C.; Clayton, J.; Alldredge, D.; Irvine, T.

2008-01-01

Shock testing of aerospace vehicle hardware has presented many challenges over the years due to the high magnitude and short duration of the specifications. Recently, component structural failures have occurred during testing that have not manifested themselves on over 200 Space Shuttle solid rocket booster (SRB) flights (two boosters per flight). It is suspected that the method of specifying shock test criteria may be leaving important information out of the test process. The traditional test criteria specification, the shock response spectrum, can be duplicated by any number of waveforms that may not resemble the actual flight test recorded time history. One method of overcoming this limitation is described herein, which may prove useful for qualifying hardware for the upcoming Constellation Program.

Strain Gage Load Calibration of the Wing Interface Fittings for the Adaptive Compliant Trailing Edge Flap Flight Test

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, Eric J.; Holguin, Andrew C.; Cruz, Josue; Lokos, William A.

2014-01-01

This is the presentation to follow conference paper of the same name. The adaptive compliant trailing edge (ACTE) flap experiment safety of flight requires that the flap to wing interface loads be sensed and monitored in real time to ensure that the wing structural load limits are not exceeded. This paper discusses the strain gage load calibration testing and load equation derivation methodology for the ACTE interface fittings. Both the left and right wing flap interfaces will be monitored and each contains four uniquely designed and instrumented flap interface fittings. The interface hardware design and instrumentation layout are discussed. Twenty one applied test load cases were developed using the predicted in-flight loads for the ACTE experiment.

Crew roles and interactions in scientific space exploration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Love, Stanley G.; Bleacher, Jacob E.

2013-10-01

Future piloted space exploration missions will focus more on science than engineering, a change which will challenge existing concepts for flight crew tasking and demand that participants with contrasting skills, values, and backgrounds learn to cooperate as equals. In terrestrial space flight analogs such as Desert Research And Technology Studies, engineers, pilots, and scientists can practice working together, taking advantage of the full breadth of all team members' training to produce harmonious, effective missions that maximize the time and attention the crew can devote to science. This paper presents, in a format usable as a reference by participants in the field, a successfully tested crew interaction model for such missions. The model builds upon the basic framework of a scientific field expedition by adding proven concepts from aviation and human space flight, including expeditionary behavior and cockpit resource management, cooperative crew tasking and adaptive leadership and followership, formal techniques for radio communication, and increased attention to operational considerations. The crews of future space flight analogs can use this model to demonstrate effective techniques, learn from each other, develop positive working relationships, and make their expeditions more successful, even if they have limited time to train together beforehand. This model can also inform the preparation and execution of actual future space flights.

Advanced aeroservoelastic stabilization techniques for hypersonic flight vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chan, Samuel Y.; Cheng, Peter Y.; Myers, Thomas T.; Klyde, David H.; Magdaleno, Raymond E.; Mcruer, Duane T.

1992-01-01

Advanced high performance vehicles, including Single-Stage-To-Orbit (SSTO) hypersonic flight vehicles, that are statically unstable, require higher bandwidth flight control systems to compensate for the instability resulting in interactions between the flight control system, the engine/propulsion dynamics, and the low frequency structural modes. Military specifications, such as MIL-F-9490D and MIL-F-87242, tend to limit treatment of structural modes to conventional gain stabilization techniques. The conventional gain stabilization techniques, however, introduce low frequency effective time delays which can be troublesome from a flying qualities standpoint. These time delays can be alleviated by appropriate blending of gain and phase stabilization techniques (referred to as Hybrid Phase Stabilization or HPS) for the low frequency structural modes. The potential of using HPS for compensating structural mode interaction was previously explored. It was shown that effective time delay was significantly reduced with the use of HPS; however, the HPS design was seen to have greater residual response than a conventional gain stablized design. Additional work performed to advance and refine the HPS design procedure, to further develop residual response metrics as a basis for alternative structural stability specifications, and to develop strategies for validating HPS design and specification concepts in manned simulation is presented. Stabilization design sensitivity to structural uncertainties and aircraft-centered requirements are also assessed.

Nonlinear flight dynamics and stability of hovering model insects

PubMed Central

Liang, Bin; Sun, Mao

2013-01-01

Current analyses on insect dynamic flight stability are based on linear theory and limited to small disturbance motions. However, insects' aerial environment is filled with swirling eddies and wind gusts, and large disturbances are common. Here, we numerically solve the equations of motion coupled with the Navier–Stokes equations to simulate the large disturbance motions and analyse the nonlinear flight dynamics of hovering model insects. We consider two representative model insects, a model hawkmoth (large size, low wingbeat frequency) and a model dronefly (small size, high wingbeat frequency). For small and large initial disturbances, the disturbance motion grows with time, and the insects tumble and never return to the equilibrium state; the hovering flight is inherently (passively) unstable. The instability is caused by a pitch moment produced by forward/backward motion and/or a roll moment produced by side motion of the insect. PMID:23697714

14 CFR 117.17 - Flight duty period: Augmented flightcrew.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... the flight controls. ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Flight duty period: Augmented flightcrew... FLIGHT AND DUTY LIMITATIONS AND REST REQUIREMENTS: FLIGHTCREW MEMBERS § 117.17 Flight duty period...

Trapping Mode Dipolar DC Collisional Activation in the RF-Only Ion Guide of a Linear Ion Trap/Time-of-Flight Instrument for Gaseous Bio-Ion Declustering

PubMed Central

Webb, Ian K.; Gao, Yang; Londry, Frank A.; McLuckey, Scott A.

2013-01-01

The application of dipolar DC (DDC) to the RF-only ion guide (Q0) of a hybrid quadrupole/time-of-flight (QqTOF) mass spectrometer for collision-induced declustering of large bio-ions is described. As a broadband technique, ion trap DDC collision activation (CA) is employed to decluster ions simultaneously over a relatively broad mass-to-charge range. Declustering DDC CA can yield significantly narrower peaks relative to those observed in the absence of declustering methods, depending upon the extent of non-covalent adduction associated with the ions, and can also be used in conjunction with other methods, such as nozzle-skimmer collisional activation. The key experimental variables in the DDC experiment are the dipolar DC voltage (VDDC), VRF, and the time over which VDDC is applied. The VDDC/VRF ratio is key to the extent to which ion temperatures are elevated and also influences the upper mass-to-charge limit for ion storage. The VDDC/VRF ratio affects ion temperatures and upper m/z limit in opposing directions. That is, as the ratio increases, ion temperature increases whereas the upper m/z storage limit decreases. However, for a given VDDC/VRF ratio, the upper m/z storage limit can be increased by increasing VRF, at the expense of the lower m/z limit for ion storage. The key value of the approach is that it affords a relatively precise degree of control over ion temperatures as well as the time over which they are elevated to the higher temperature. The utility of the method is illustrated by the application of ion trap DDC CA in Q0 to oligonucleotide, protein, and multimeric protein complex analyte ions. PMID:24078247

Nouvelle methode d'optimisation du cout d'un vol par l'utilisation d'un systeme de gestion de vol et sa validation sur un avion Lockheed L-1011 TriStar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gagne, Jocelyn

Usually, flights optimization and planning will take place before flight, on ground. However, it is not always feasible to do such optimization, or sometime unpredictable events may force pilots to change the flight path. In those circumstances, the pilots can only rely on charts or their Flight Management System (FMS) in order to maintain an economic flight. However, those FMS often rely on those same charts, which will not take into consideration different parameters, such as the cost index, the length on the flight or the weather. Even if some FMS take into consideration the weather, they may only rely on manually entered or limited data that could be outdated, insufficient or incomplete. The alleviate these problems, the function program's that was developed is mainly to determine the optimum flight profile for an aircraft, or more precisely, at the lowest overall cost, considering a take-off weight and weather conditions. The total cost is based on the value of time as well as the cost of fuel, resulting in the use of a ratio called the cost index. This index allows both to prioritize either the time or fuel consumption according to the costs related to a specific flight and/or airline. Thus, from a weight, the weather (wind, temperature, pressure), and the cost index, the program will calculate from the "Performance DataBase" (PDB) of a specific airplane an optimal flight profile over a given distance. The algorithm is based on linear interpolations in the performances tables using the Lagrange method. Moreover, in order to fully optimize the flight, the current program can, according to departure date and coordinates, download the latest available forecast from environment Canada website and calculate the optimum flight accordingly. The forecast data use by the program take the form of a 0.6 × 0.6 degrees grid in which the effects of wind, pressure and temperature are interpolated according to the aircraft geographical position and time. Using these tables, performances and forecasts, the program is therefore able to calculate the optimum profile from ground, but also in flight, if any change would occur on the path. Because all data is tabulated and not calculated, the required calculation power remains low, resulting in a short calculation time. Keywords: optimization, algorithm, simulation, cost.

Assessment of Muscular Fitness as a Predictor of Flight Duty Limitation.

PubMed

Honkanen, Tuomas; Mäntysaari, Matti; Avela, Janne; Kyröläinen, Heikki; Leino, Tuomo

2018-05-08

The high acceleration (Gz) exposure among military pilots flying fighter aircraft has been associated with an increased risk for cervical and lumbar disorders. It has been suggested that an adequate level of physical performance could reduce the risk of experiencing these disorders. The Finnish Air Force has for several years used aerobic (bicycle ergometer) and muscular fitness tests (battery of five tests) in the selection process of military pilot candidates in order to evaluate their physical fitness level. The aim of the study was to determine if these selection phase tests and anthropometry measures can predispose those individuals who might be at risk of developing severe spinal disorders leading to permanent flight duty limitations later during their military pilots' career. The study population consisted of 23 pilots flying with Gz limitation (+2 Gz, +4 Gz or +5 Gz) due to spinal disorders and 50 experienced (+1,000 flight hours) symptomless controls flying actively in operative missions. Data obtained retrospectively for all subjects included anthropometry, physical (aerobic and muscular fitness) test results and self-reported physical activity levels at a pilot selection phase. Aerobic fitness was measured with a maximal ergometer test and muscular endurance was evaluated with a test battery (standing long jump, pull-ups, sit-ups, back extensions, and push-up tests). Fighter pilots flying without Gz limitation had significantly better mean (±SE) results in pull-up (14.4 ± 4.2 vs. 11.5 ± 2.0, p < 0.05) and back extension (71.1 ± 14.1 vs. 60.0 ± 12.2, p < 0.05) tests during the pilot selection when compared with the limited pilots. Similarly, the non-limited pilots had a better total muscular fitness test score (13.7 ± 1.7 vs. 12.4 ± 1.6, p < 0.05) during the pilot selection. They had also participated in significantly more competitive sports (54% vs. 22%, p < 0.05) at the time of selection when compared with pilots flying with Gz limitation due to spinal disorders. The aerobic fitness test results and anthropometric measures were not statistically different among the groups. Higher levels of muscular fitness, particularly axial strength in military pilot selection may have a protective role for reducing spinal disorders which if developed, can often lead to limiting the availability of pilots for flight duty. The present findings also do not support the assumption that aerobic fitness above the required minimum level would protect pilots from developing spinal disorders and, therefore, from limiting flight duty.

Constant- q data representation in Neutron Compton scattering on the VESUVIO spectrometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Senesi, R.; Pietropaolo, A.; Andreani, C.

2008-09-01

Standard data analysis on the VESUVIO spectrometer at ISIS is carried out within the Impulse Approximation framework, making use of the West scaling variable y. The experiments are performed using the time-of-flight technique with the detectors positioned at constant scattering angles. Line shape analysis is routinely performed in the y-scaling framework, using two different (and equivalent) approaches: (1) fitting the parameters of the recoil peaks directly to fixed-angle time-of-flight spectra; (2) transforming the time-of-flight spectra into fixed-angle y spectra, referred to as the Neutron Compton Profiles, and then fitting the line shape parameters. The present work shows that scattering signals from different fixed-angle detectors can be collected and rebinned to obtain Neutron Compton Profiles at constant wave vector transfer, q, allowing for a suitable interpretation of data in terms of the dynamical structure factor, S(q,ω). The current limits of applicability of such a procedure are discussed in terms of the available q-range and relative uncertainties for the VESUVIO experimental set up and of the main approximations involved.

Technologies For Maintaining Animals In Space: Lighting, Air Quality, Noise, Food And Water

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Winget, C. M.; Skidmore, M. G.; Holley, D. C.; Dalton, Bonnie P. (Technical Monitor)

1995-01-01

In the terrestrial environment multiple time cues exist. Zeitgebers have been identified and studied for their ability to convey temporal information to various physiological systems. In the microgravity experiment it is necessary to define time cues within the flight hardware prior to flight. During flight if changes in the Circadian System (e.g., mean, phase angle, period) occur this would indicate that the gravity vector is important relative to biological timing. This presentation is concerned with the environmental parameter: to support rodent experiments in microgravity. The Animal Enclosure Module (AEM) provides solid food bars and water via lixits and ad libitum. Flight animals (Sprague-Dawley rats, 60 - 300g) when compared to ground controls show similar growth (mean growth per day g, plus or minus SD; flight 5.4 plus or minus 2.0, ground 5.9 plus or minus 2.1). Current AEMs use incandescent lighting (approx. 5 Lux). Light emitting diode (LED) arrays are being developed that provide a similar light environment as cool-white fluorescent sources (40 Lux). In ground based tests (12L:12D), these arrays show normal circadian entrainment (Tau = 24.0) with respect to the behavioral responses, measured (drinking, eating, gross locomotor activity). A newly developed ultra high efficiency filter system can entrap all feces, urine and odors from 6 rats for 24 days. Maximum sound level exposure limits (per octave band 22 Hz - 179 kHz) have been established. The AEM will effectively support animal experiments in microgravity.

Technologies for Maintaining Animals in Space: Lighting, Air Quality, Noise, Food and Water

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Winget, C. M.; Skidmore, M. G.; Holley, D. C.; Dalton, Bonnie P. (Technical Monitor)

1995-01-01

In the terrestrial environment multiple time cues exist. Zeitgebers have been identified and studied for their ability to convey temporal information to various physiological systems, In the microgravity experiment it is necessary to define time cues within the flight hardware prior to flight. During flight if changes in the Circadian System (e.g., mean, phase angle, period) occur this would indicate that the gravity vector is important relative to biological timing. This presentation is concerned with the environmental parameters to support rodent experiments in microgravity. The Animal Enclosure Module (AEM) provides solid food bars and water via lixits ad libitum. Flight animals (Sprague-Dawley rats, 60 - 300g) when compared to ground controls show similar growth (mean growth per day, g +/- SD; flight 5.4 +/- 2.0, ground 5.9 +/- 2.1). Current AEMs use incandescent lighting (approx. 5 Lux). Light emitting diode (LED) arrays are being developed that provide a similar light environment as cool-white fluorescent sources (40 Lux). In ground based tests (12L:12D), these arrays show normal circadian entrainment (Tau = 24.0) with respect to the behavioral responses. measured (drinking, eating, gross locomotor activity). A newly developed ultra high efficiency filter system can entrap all feces, urine and odors from 6 rats for 24 days. Maximum sound level exposure limits (per octave band 22 Hz - 179 kHz) have been established. The AEM will effectively support animal experiments in microgravity.

Disrupting Aviation: An Exploratory Study of the Opportunities and Risks of Tablet Computers in Commercial Flight Operations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boyne, Matthew

2013-01-01

Commercial flight operational safety has dramatically improved in the last 30 years because of enhanced crew coordination, communication, leadership and team development. Technology insertion into cockpit operations, however, has been shown to create crew distractions, resulting in flight safety risks, limited use given policy limitations and…

Persistence of Space Radiation Induced Cytogenetic Damage in the Blood Lymphocytes of Astronauts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

George, Kerry; Cucinotta, Francis A.

2008-01-01

Cytogenetic damage in astronaut's peripheral blood lymphocytes is a useful in vivo marker of space radiation induced damage. Moreover, if radiation induced chromosome translocations persist in peripheral blood lymphocytes for many years, as has been assumed, they could potentially be used to measure retrospective doses or prolonged low dose rate exposures. However, as more data becomes available, evidence suggests that the yield of translocations may decline with time after exposure, at least in the case of space radiation exposures. We present our latest follow-up measurements of chromosome aberrations in astronauts blood lymphocytes assessed by FISH painting and collected a various times beginning directly after return from space to several years after flight. For most individuals the analysis of individual time-courses for translocations revealed a temporal decline of yields with different half-lives. Since the level of stable aberrations depends on the interplay between natural loss of circulating T-lymphocytes and replenishment from the stem or progenitor cells, the differences in the rates of decay could be explained by inter-individual variation in lymphocyte turn over. Biodosimetry estimates derived from cytogenetic analysis of samples collected a few days after return to earth lie within the range expected from physical dosimetry. However, a temporal decline in yields may indicate complications with the use of stable aberrations for retrospective dose reconstruction, and the differences in the decay time may reflect individual variability in risk from space radiation exposure. In addition, limited data on multiple flights show a lack of correlation between time in space and translocation yields. Data from one crewmember who has participated in two separate long-duration space missions and has been followed up for over 10 years provides limited information on the effect of repeat flights and show a possible adaptive response to space radiation exposure.

Effects of Spaceflight on Astronaut Brain Structure as Indicated on MRI.

PubMed

Roberts, Donna R; Albrecht, Moritz H; Collins, Heather R; Asemani, Davud; Chatterjee, A Rano; Spampinato, M Vittoria; Zhu, Xun; Chimowitz, Marc I; Antonucci, Michael U

2017-11-02

There is limited information regarding the effects of spaceflight on the anatomical configuration of the brain and on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) spaces. We used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to compare images of 18 astronauts' brains before and after missions of long duration, involving stays on the International Space Station, and of 16 astronauts' brains before and after missions of short duration, involving participation in the Space Shuttle Program. Images were interpreted by readers who were unaware of the flight duration. We also generated paired preflight and postflight MRI cine clips derived from high-resolution, three-dimensional imaging of 12 astronauts after long-duration flights and from 6 astronauts after short-duration flights in order to assess the extent of narrowing of CSF spaces and the displacement of brain structures. We also compared preflight ventricular volumes with postflight ventricular volumes by means of an automated analysis of T 1 -weighted MRIs. The main prespecified analyses focused on the change in the volume of the central sulcus, the change in the volume of CSF spaces at the vertex, and vertical displacement of the brain. Narrowing of the central sulcus occurred in 17 of 18 astronauts after long-duration flights (mean flight time, 164.8 days) and in 3 of 16 astronauts after short-duration flights (mean flight time, 13.6 days) (P<0.001). Cine clips from a subgroup of astronauts showed an upward shift of the brain after all long-duration flights (12 astronauts) but not after short-duration flights (6 astronauts) and narrowing of CSF spaces at the vertex after all long-duration flights (12 astronauts) and in 1 of 6 astronauts after short-duration flights. Three astronauts in the long-duration group had optic-disk edema, and all 3 had narrowing of the central sulcus. A cine clip was available for 1 of these 3 astronauts, and the cine clip showed upward shift of the brain. Narrowing of the central sulcus, upward shift of the brain, and narrowing of CSF spaces at the vertex occurred frequently and predominantly in astronauts after long-duration flights. Further investigation, including repeated postflight imaging conducted after some time on Earth, is required to determine the duration and clinical significance of these changes. (Funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.).

Space Shuttle payload accommodation and trends in customer demands

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hedin, Daniel L.; Wilson, James R.

1992-01-01

This paper will review payload demands for Shuttle resources and services in the pre-Space Station Freedom time frame. Requests for flight in both the Orbiter cargo bay and middeck will be considered. Factors limiting more efficient use of the Shuttle will also be discussed.

14 CFR 91.1049 - Personnel.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Management § 91.1049 Personnel. (a) Each program manager and each fractional owner must use in program... regulations. The program manager must provide oversight of those crews. (b) Each program manager must employ...) Program manager flight, duty, and rest time considerations, and in all cases within the limits set forth...

A study of helicopter stability and control including blade dynamics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zhao, Xin; Curtiss, H. C., Jr.

1988-01-01

A linearized model of rotorcraft dynamics has been developed through the use of symbolic automatic equation generating techniques. The dynamic model has been formulated in a unique way such that it can be used to analyze a variety of rotor/body coupling problems including a rotor mounted on a flexible shaft with a number of modes as well as free-flight stability and control characteristics. Direct comparison of the time response to longitudinal, lateral and directional control inputs at various trim conditions shows that the linear model yields good to very good correlation with flight test. In particular it is shown that a dynamic inflow model is essential to obtain good time response correlation, especially for the hover trim condition. It also is shown that the main rotor wake interaction with the tail rotor and fixed tail surfaces is a significant contributor to the response at translational flight trim conditions. A relatively simple model for the downwash and sidewash at the tail surfaces based on flat vortex wake theory is shown to produce good agreement. Then, the influence of rotor flap and lag dynamics on automatic control systems feedback gain limitations is investigated with the model. It is shown that the blade dynamics, especially lagging dynamics, can severly limit the useable values of the feedback gain for simple feedback control and that multivariable optimal control theory is a powerful tool to design high gain augmentation control system. The frequency-shaped optimal control design can offer much better flight dynamic characteristics and a stable margin for the feedback system without need to model the lagging dynamics.

High precision laser ranging by time-of-flight measurement of femtosecond pulses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Joohyung; Lee, Keunwoo; Lee, Sanghyun; Kim, Seung-Woo; Kim, Young-Jin

2012-06-01

Time-of-flight (TOF) measurement of femtosecond light pulses was investigated for laser ranging of long distances with sub-micrometer precision in the air. The bandwidth limitation of the photo-detection electronics used in timing femtosecond pulses was overcome by adopting a type-II nonlinear second-harmonic crystal that permits the production of a balanced optical cross-correlation signal between two overlapping light pulses. This method offered a sub-femtosecond timing resolution in determining the temporal offset between two pulses through lock-in control of the pulse repetition rate with reference to the atomic clock. The exceptional ranging capability was verified by measuring various distances of 1.5, 60 and 700 m. This method is found well suited for future space missions based on formation-flying satellites as well as large-scale industrial applications for land surveying, aircraft manufacturing and shipbuilding.

Developing the Stabilized Mapping System for the Gyrocopter - Report from the First Tests

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kolecki, J.; Prochaska, M.; Kurczyński, Z.; Piątek, P.; Baranowski, J.

2016-06-01

The LiDAR mapping carried out using gyrocopters provides a relatively cheap alternative for traditional mapping involving airplanes. The costs of the fuel and the overall maintenance are much lower when compared to planes. At the same time the flight kinematics of the gyrocopter makes it an ideal vehicle for corridor mapping. However a limited payload and a strongly limited space prevent using stabilized platforms dedicated for aerial photogrammetry. As the proper stabilization of the laser scanner during the flight is crucial in order to keep the desirable quality of the LiDAR data, it was decided to develop the prototype of the stabilized, ultra-light mapping platform that can meet the restricted requirements of the gyrocopter. The paper starts with the brief discussion of the legal and practical aspects of the LiDAR data quality, dealing mostly with the influence of the flight imperfections on the point pattern and point density. Afterwards the mapping system prototype is characterized, taking into account three main components: stabilized platform, sensors and control. Subsequently first in-flight tests are described. Though the data are still not perfect mostly due to vibrations, the stabilization provides a substantial improvement of their geometry, reducing both roll and pitch deflections.

Flight Period of Mountain Pine Beetle (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in its Recently Expanded Range.

PubMed

Bleiker, K P; Van Hezewijk, B H

2016-12-01

The ability to predict key phenological events, such as the timing of flight periods, is useful for the monitoring and management of insect pests. We used empirical data to describe the flight period of mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, in its recently expanded range east of the Rocky Mountains in Canada and developed a degree-day model based on the number of trapped beetles. Data were collected over four degrees of latitude and six years. The main flight period, when the middle 70% of the total number of beetles were caught, started during the second or third week of July, lasted 26 d, and peaked within 2 wk of starting. The best model accounted for 89% of the variation in the data. Mountain pine beetle's flight tended to start later and be more contracted at higher latitudes. The synchrony of mountain pine beetle's flight period in the expanded range appears to be comparable to the limited reports from the historic range, although it may start earlier. This suggests that conditions in the new range are suitable for a coordinated dispersal flight, which is critical for the beetle's strategy of overwhelming tree defenses by attacking en masse. Forest managers can use the model to support operational decisions, e.g., when to impose hauling restrictions to reduce the risk of spread through the transport of infested material, or the time frame for control programs. Understanding the flight period may also improve our ability to assess the response of mountain pine beetle to novel and changing climates in the future. © The Authors 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Evaluation of balloon trajectory forecast routines for GAINS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Collander, R.; Girz, C.

The Global Air-ocean IN-situ System (GAINS) is a global observing system designed to augment current environmental observing and monitoring networks. GAINS is a network of long-duration, stratospheric platforms that carry onboard sensors and hundreds of dropsondes to acquire meteorological, air chemistry, and climate data over oceans and in remote land regions of the globe. Although GAINS platforms will include balloons and Remotely Operated Aircraft (ROA), the scope of this paper is limited to balloon-based platforms. A primary goal of GAINS balloon test flights is post-flight recovery of the balloon shell and payload, which requires information on the expected flight path and landing site prior to launch. Software has been developed for the prediction of the balloon trajectory and landing site, with separate versions written to generate predictions based upon rawinsonde data and model output. Balloon positions are calculated in 1-min increments based on wind data from the closest rawinsonde site or model grid point, given a known launch point, ascent and descent rate and flight duration. For short flights (< 6h), rawinsonde winds interpolated to 10-mb levels are used for trajectory calculations. Predictions for flight durations of 6 to 48h are based upon the initialization and 3 h forecast wind fields from NOAA's global aviation- (AVN) and Rapid Update Cycle (RUC) models. Given a limited number of actual balloon launches, trajectories computed from a chronological series of hourly RUC initializations are used as the baseline for comparison purposes. These baseline trajectories are compared to trajectory predictions from the rawinsonde and model-based versions on a monthly and seasonal basis over a 1-year period (January 1 - December 31, 2001) for flight durations of 3h, 6h and 48h. Predicted trajectories diverge from the baseline path, with the divergence increasing with increasing time. We examine the zonal, meridional and net magnitudes of these deviations, and attempt to determine directional biases in the predictions. This paper gives an overview of the software, including methods employed, physical considerations and limitations, and discusses results of this evaluation.

Experiment aboard Russian satellite "Foton M2" in 2005: new approaches for study on stimulating effect of space flight on cell proliferation and regeneration in Urodela

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grigoryan, E.; Almeida, E.; Domaratskaya, E.; Tairbekov, M.; Aleinikova, K.; Mitashov, V.

A study on space flight effect upon processes of regeneration is due to the necessity to know their characteristics in animals and human exposed to space and earth conditions shortly after flight Several experiments on the newts performed earlier aboard Russian biosatellites showed that the rate of organ and tissue regeneration in space was greater than that on the ground Space flight effect stimulating regeneration was enduring and apparent not only just after flight but long time later as well This observation found support in studies simulated physiological weightlessness by means of fast-rotating clinostat It was shown also that the higher rate of regeneration was associated with enhanced cell proliferation For instance we found that the number of cells in S-phase in regenerating tissues was significantly greater in space-flown animals than in the ground controls However it was unclear whether cell proliferation stimulation was induced by micro- g per se or by conditions of hyper- g during launching and re-adaptation on the earth Molecular mechanisms underlying the change also remained obscure These issues were addressed by the joint Russian-USA experiment Regeneration performed on Foton-M2 in 2005 In 16- day flight we used two well-known models of regeneration lens regeneration after lensectomy and tail regeneration after amputation in adult newts Pleurodeles walt Urodela In order to evaluate cell proliferative activity in time limits of microgravity influence the original method for in-flight delivering DNA precursor BrdU

Flight-Tested Prototype of BEAM Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mackey, Ryan; Tikidjian, Raffi; James, Mark; Wang, David

2006-01-01

Researchers at JPL have completed a software prototype of BEAM (Beacon-based Exception Analysis for Multi-missions) and successfully tested its operation in flight onboard a NASA research aircraft. BEAM (see NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 26, No. 9; and Vol. 27, No. 3) is an ISHM (Integrated Systems Health Management) technology that automatically analyzes sensor data and classifies system behavior as either nominal or anomalous, and further characterizes anomalies according to strength, duration, and affected signals. BEAM (see figure) can be used to monitor a wide variety of physical systems and sensor types in real time. In this series of tests, BEAM monitored the engines of a Dryden Flight Research Center F-18 aircraft, and performed onboard, unattended analysis of 26 engine sensors from engine startup to shutdown. The BEAM algorithm can detect anomalies based solely on the sensor data, which includes but is not limited to sensor failure, performance degradation, incorrect operation such as unplanned engine shutdown or flameout in this example, and major system faults. BEAM was tested on an F-18 simulator, static engine tests, and 25 individual flights totaling approximately 60 hours of flight time. During these tests, BEAM successfully identified planned anomalies (in-flight shutdowns of one engine) as well as minor unplanned anomalies (e.g., transient oil- and fuel-pressure drops), with no false alarms or suspected false-negative results for the period tested. BEAM also detected previously unknown behavior in the F- 18 compressor section during several flights. This result, confirmed by direct analysis of the raw data, serves as a significant test of BEAM's capability.

In-flight medical incapacitation and impairment of airline pilots.

PubMed

DeJohn, Charles A; Wolbrink, Alex M; Larcher, Julie G

2006-10-01

Medical incapacitation in the cockpit is rare, although it is a concern that has been the subject of several investigations over the years. With recent heightened interest in this problem, it seemed worthwhile to review all relevant scientific literature on the topic. Medline, PsychLit, the Aerospace Database, and other online databases were searched for studies of pilot in-flight medical incapacitation and impairment. The search revealed 13 articles during the years from 1968 to 2000. The studies represented several different approaches and were divided into five categories as follows: in-flight medical events, career termination, simulator data, questionnaires, and epidemiological analysis. The articles based on in-flight medical events showed that the leading causes of those episodes were myocardial infarctions, cardiac arrhythmias, and epileptic seizures. Few of the other types of studies used data from actual in-flight medical occurrences, instead relying on indirect measures such as career termination due to permanent medical grounding, loss of licensure insurance, or general epidemiological data to estimate the frequency of in-flight medical events. The reviewed studies provided only limited information on the frequency and categories of in-flight medical events and did not include incapacitation rates, making meaningful comparison between studies difficult. Future research needs to be based on actual in-flight medical events, and should be normalized to a useful denominator, such as flight time, to allow for meaningful comparison between studies.

STS-1 operational flight profile. Volume 5: Descent cycle 3. Appendix D: GRTLS six degree of freedom Monte Carlo dispersion analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Montez, M. N.

1980-01-01

The results of a six degree of freedom (6-DOF) nonlinear Monte Carlo dispersion analysis for the latest glide return to landing site (GRTLS) abort trajectory for the Space Transportation System 1 Flight are presented. For this GRTLS, the number two main engine fails at 262.5 seconds ground elapsed time. Fifty randomly selected simulations, initialized at external tank separation, are analyzed. The initial covariance matrix is a 20 x 20 matrix and includes navigation errors and dispersions in position and velocity, time, accelerometer bias, and inertial platform misalinements. In all 50 samples, speedbrake, rudder, elevon, and body flap hinge moments are acceptable. Transitions to autoland begin before 9,000 feet and there are no tailscrapes. Navigation derived dynamic pressure accuracies exceed the flight control system constraints above Mach 2.5. Three out of 50 landings exceeded tire specification limit speed of 222 knots. Pilot manual landings are expected to reduce landing speed by landing farther downrange.

The application of decision analysis to life support research and technology development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ballin, Mark G.

1994-01-01

Applied research and technology development is often characterized by uncertainty, risk, and significant delays before tangible returns are obtained. Decision making regarding which technologies to advance and what resources to devote to them is a challenging but essential task. In the application of life support technology to future manned space flight, new technology concepts typically are characterized by nonexistent data and rough approximations of technology performance, uncertain future flight program needs, and a complex, time-intensive process to develop technology to a flight-ready status. Decision analysis is a quantitative, logic-based discipline that imposes formalism and structure to complex problems. It also accounts for the limits of knowledge that may be available at the time a decision is needed. The utility of decision analysis to life support technology R & D was evaluated by applying it to two case studies. The methodology was found to provide insight that is not possible from more traditional analysis approaches.

Application of an integrated flight/propulsion control design methodology to a STOVL aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Garg, Sanjay; Mattern, Duane L.

1991-01-01

Results are presented from the application of an emerging Integrated Flight/Propulsion Control (IFPC) design methodology to a Short Take Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) aircraft in transition flight. The steps in the methodology consist of designing command shaping prefilters to provide the overall desired response to pilot command inputs. A previously designed centralized controller is first validated for the integrated airframe/engine plant used. This integrated plant is derived from a different model of the engine subsystem than the one used for the centralized controller design. The centralized controller is then partitioned in a decentralized, hierarchical structure comprising of airframe lateral and longitudinal subcontrollers and an engine subcontroller. Command shaping prefilters from the pilot control effector inputs are then designed and time histories of the closed loop IFPC system response to simulated pilot commands are compared to desired responses based on handling qualities requirements. Finally, the propulsion system safety and nonlinear limited protection logic is wrapped around the engine subcontroller and the response of the closed loop integrated system is evaluated for transients that encounter the propulsion surge margin limit.

The Primordial Inflation Polarization ExploreR (PIPER)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gandilo, Natalie; Ade, Peter; Benford, Dominic; Bennett, Charles; Chuss, David; Datta, Rahul; Dotson, Jessie; Essinger-Hileman, Thomas; Fixsen, Dale; Halpern, Mark; Hilton, Gene; Hinshaw, Gary; Irwin, Kent; Jhabvala, Christine; Kimball, Mark; Kogut, Al; Lowe, Luke; McMahon, Jeff; Miller, Timothy; Mirel, Paul; Moseley, Samuel Harvey; Pawlyk, Samuel; Rodriguez, Samelys; Sharp, Elmer; Shirron, Peter; Staguhn, Johannes G.; Sullivan, Dan; Switzer, Eric; Taraschi, Peter; Tucker, Carole; Walts, Alexander; Wollack, Edward

2018-01-01

The Primordial Inflation Polarization ExploreR (PIPER) is a balloon-borne telescope designed to map the large scale polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background as well as the polarized emission from galactic dust at 200, 270, 350, and 600 GHz, with 21, 15, 14, and 14 arcminutes of angular resolution respectively. PIPER uses twin telescopes with Variable-delay Polarization Modulators to simultaneously map Stokes I, Q, U and V. Cold optics and the lack of a warm window allow the instrument to achieve background limited sensitivity, with mapping speed approximately 10 times faster than a similar instrument with a single ambient-temperature mirror. Over the course of 8 conventional balloon flights from the Northern and Southern hemisphere, PIPER will map 85% of the sky, measuring the B-mode polarization spectrum from the reionization bump to l~300, and placing an upper limit on the tensor-to-scalar ratio of r<0.007. An engineering flight is planned for October 2017 from Fort Sumner, New Mexico, and the first science flight is planned for June 2018 from Palestine, Texas.

14 CFR 61.167 - Airline transport pilot privileges and limitations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

...) In flight simulators, and flight training devices representing the aircraft referenced in paragraph... instruct in aircraft, flight simulators, and flight training devices under this section— (i) For more than... TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIRMEN CERTIFICATION: PILOTS, FLIGHT INSTRUCTORS, AND GROUND INSTRUCTORS Airline...

Defining and Applying Limits for Test and Flight Through the Project Lifecycle GSFC Standard. [Scope: Non-Cryogenic Systems Tested in Vacuum

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mosier, Carol

2015-01-01

The presentation will be given at the Annual Thermal Fluids Analysis Workshop (TFAWS 2015, NCTS 21070-15) hosted by the Goddard SpaceFlight Center (GSFC) Thermal Engineering Branch (Code 545). The powerpoint presentation details the process of defining limits throughout the lifecycle of a flight project.

STS-46 Space Shuttle mission report

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fricke, Robert W.

1992-10-01

The STS-46 Space Shuttle Program Mission Report contains a summary of the Orbiter, External Tank (ET), Solid Rocket Booster/Redesigned Solid Rocket Motor (SRB/RSRM), and the Space Shuttle main engine (SSME) subsystem performance during the forty-ninth flight of the Space Shuttle Program, and the twelfth flight of the Orbiter vehicle Atlantis (OV-104). In addition to the Atlantis vehicle, the flight vehicle consisted of the following: an ET, designated ET-48 (LWT-41); three SSME's, which were serial numbers 2032, 2033, and 2027 in positions 1, 2, and 3, respectively; and two SRB's which were designated BI-052. The lightweight/redesigned SRM's that were installed in each SRB were designated 360W025A for the left RSRM and 360L025B for the right RSRM. The primary objective of this flight was to successfully deploy the European Retrievable Carrier (EURECA) payload and perform the operations of the Tethered Satellite System-1 (TSS-1) and the Evaluation of Oxygen Interaction with Material 3/Thermal Energy Management Processes 2A-3 (EOIM-3/TEMP 2A-3). The secondary objectives of this flight were to perform the operations of the IMAX Cargo Bay Camera (ICBC), Consortium for Material Development in Space Complex Autonomous Payload-2 and 3 (CONCAP-2 and CONCAP-3), Limited Duration Space Environment Candidate Materials Exposure (LDCE), Pituitary Growth Hormone Cell Function (PHCF), and Ultraviolet Plume Instrumentation (UVPI). In addition to summarizing subsystem performance, this report also discusses each Orbiter, ET, SSME, SRB, and RSRM in-flight anomaly in the applicable section of the report. Also included in the discussion is a reference to the assigned tracking number as published on the Problem Tracking List. All times are given in Greenwich mean time (G.m.t.) as well as mission elapsed time (MET).

STS-46 Space Shuttle mission report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fricke, Robert W.

1992-01-01

The STS-46 Space Shuttle Program Mission Report contains a summary of the Orbiter, External Tank (ET), Solid Rocket Booster/Redesigned Solid Rocket Motor (SRB/RSRM), and the Space Shuttle main engine (SSME) subsystem performance during the forty-ninth flight of the Space Shuttle Program, and the twelfth flight of the Orbiter vehicle Atlantis (OV-104). In addition to the Atlantis vehicle, the flight vehicle consisted of the following: an ET, designated ET-48 (LWT-41); three SSME's, which were serial numbers 2032, 2033, and 2027 in positions 1, 2, and 3, respectively; and two SRB's which were designated BI-052. The lightweight/redesigned SRM's that were installed in each SRB were designated 360W025A for the left RSRM and 360L025B for the right RSRM. The primary objective of this flight was to successfully deploy the European Retrievable Carrier (EURECA) payload and perform the operations of the Tethered Satellite System-1 (TSS-1) and the Evaluation of Oxygen Interaction with Material 3/Thermal Energy Management Processes 2A-3 (EOIM-3/TEMP 2A-3). The secondary objectives of this flight were to perform the operations of the IMAX Cargo Bay Camera (ICBC), Consortium for Material Development in Space Complex Autonomous Payload-2 and 3 (CONCAP-2 and CONCAP-3), Limited Duration Space Environment Candidate Materials Exposure (LDCE), Pituitary Growth Hormone Cell Function (PHCF), and Ultraviolet Plume Instrumentation (UVPI). In addition to summarizing subsystem performance, this report also discusses each Orbiter, ET, SSME, SRB, and RSRM in-flight anomaly in the applicable section of the report. Also included in the discussion is a reference to the assigned tracking number as published on the Problem Tracking List. All times are given in Greenwich mean time (G.m.t.) as well as mission elapsed time (MET).

Evaluation of new cosmic radiation monitors designed for aircrew exposure assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Getley, I. L.; Bennett, L. G. I.; Lewis, B. J.; Bennett, B.; Dyer, C. S.; Hands, A. D. P.; Duldig, M. L.

2010-01-01

With the development of next generation aircraft designs capable of ultralong-range flight and extended flight endurance, new experimental dosimetry equipment has been specifically designed to enable aircrew to monitor and respond to airborne alerts of potential doses that exceed recommended limits. The new QinetiQ QDOS/Rayhound monitor and designer-specific Liulin 4SA both provide real-time monitoring and readout with both audible and visual alert functions. The potential advantage to pilots and airlines is a more rational response to an alert by minimizing the altitude descent and time at lower levels in response to a significant event. This not only protects passengers and crew from solar particle events but provides a "greener" option to fuel burn at lower altitudes when events have abated. Thus, it will allow the crew to determine safer optimum flight levels during and after the event. These monitors were flown on numerous high- and low-latitude flights in combination with a "Hawk" tissue equivalent proportional counter acting as the reference instrument as it measured the total ambient dose equivalent H*(10). An FH 41B Eberline monitor and bubble detectors were also used in the comparison.

From Runway to Orbit: Reflections of a NASA Engineer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Iliff, Kenneth W.; Peebles, Curtis L.

2004-01-01

In his remarkable memoir Runway to Orbit, Dr. Kenneth W. Iliff - the recently retired Chief Scientist of the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center- tells a highly personal, yet a highly persuasive account of the last forty years of American aeronautical research. His interpretation of events commands respect, because over these years he has played pivotal roles in many of the most important American aeronautics and spaceflight endeavors. Moreover, his narrative covers much of the second half of the first 100 years of flight, a centennial anniversary being celebrated this year. aerospace knowledge. He arrived at the then NASA Flight Research Center in 1962 as a young aeronautical engineer and quickly became involved in two of the seminal projects of modern flight, the X-15 and the lifting bodies. In the process, he pioneered (with Lawrence Taylor) the application of digital computing to the reduction of flight data, arriving at a method known as parameter estimation, now applied the world over. Parameter estimation not only enabled researchers to acquire stability and control derivatives from limited flight data, but in time allowed them to obtain a wide range of aerodynamic effects. Although subsequently involved in dozens of important projects, Dr. Iliff devoted much of his time and energy to hypersonic flight, embodied in the Shuttle orbiter (or as he refers to it, the world s fastest airplane). To him, each Shuttle flight, instrumented to obtain a variety of data, represents a research treasure trove, one that he has mined for years. This book, then, represents the story of Dr. Ken Iliff s passion for flight, his work, and his long and astoundingly productive career. It can be read with profit not just by scientists and engineers, but equally by policy makers, historians, and journalists wishing to better comprehend advancements in flight during the second half of the twentieth century. Dr. Iliff's story is one of immense contributions to the nation s repository of

Coupled continuous time-random walks in quenched random environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Magdziarz, M.; Szczotka, W.

2018-02-01

We introduce a coupled continuous-time random walk with coupling which is characteristic for Lévy walks. Additionally we assume that the walker moves in a quenched random environment, i.e. the site disorder at each lattice point is fixed in time. We analyze the scaling limit of such a random walk. We show that for large times the behaviour of the analyzed process is exactly the same as in the case of uncoupled quenched trap model for Lévy flights.

Adaptive envelope protection methods for aircraft

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Unnikrishnan, Suraj

Carefree handling refers to the ability of a pilot to operate an aircraft without the need to continuously monitor aircraft operating limits. At the heart of all carefree handling or maneuvering systems, also referred to as envelope protection systems, are algorithms and methods for predicting future limit violations. Recently, envelope protection methods that have gained more acceptance, translate limit proximity information to its equivalent in the control channel. Envelope protection algorithms either use very small prediction horizon or are static methods with no capability to adapt to changes in system configurations. Adaptive approaches maximizing prediction horizon such as dynamic trim, are only applicable to steady-state-response critical limit parameters. In this thesis, a new adaptive envelope protection method is developed that is applicable to steady-state and transient response critical limit parameters. The approach is based upon devising the most aggressive optimal control profile to the limit boundary and using it to compute control limits. Pilot-in-the-loop evaluations of the proposed approach are conducted at the Georgia Tech Carefree Maneuver lab for transient longitudinal hub moment limit protection. Carefree maneuvering is the dual of carefree handling in the realm of autonomous Uninhabited Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Designing a flight control system to fully and effectively utilize the operational flight envelope is very difficult. With the increasing role and demands for extreme maneuverability there is a need for developing envelope protection methods for autonomous UAVs. In this thesis, a full-authority automatic envelope protection method is proposed for limit protection in UAVs. The approach uses adaptive estimate of limit parameter dynamics and finite-time horizon predictions to detect impending limit boundary violations. Limit violations are prevented by treating the limit boundary as an obstacle and by correcting nominal control/command inputs to track a limit parameter safe-response profile near the limit boundary. The method is evaluated using software-in-the-loop and flight evaluations on the Georgia Tech unmanned rotorcraft platform---GTMax. The thesis also develops and evaluates an extension for calculating control margins based on restricting limit parameter response aggressiveness near the limit boundary.

New Approaches in Force-Limited Vibration Testing of Flight Hardware

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kolaini, Ali R.; Kern, Dennis L.

2012-01-01

To qualify flight hardware for random vibration environments the following methods are used to limit the loads in the aerospace industry: (1) Response limiting and notching (2) Simple TDOF model (3) Semi-empirical force limits (4) Apparent mass, etc. and (5) Impedance method. In all these methods attempts are made to remove conservatism due to the mismatch in impedances between the test and the flight configurations of the hardware that are being qualified. Assumption is the hardware interfaces have correlated responses. A new method that takes into account the un-correlated hardware interface responses are described in this presentation.

A GPS-Based Pitot-Static Calibration Method Using Global Output-Error Optimization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Foster, John V.; Cunningham, Kevin

2010-01-01

Pressure-based airspeed and altitude measurements for aircraft typically require calibration of the installed system to account for pressure sensing errors such as those due to local flow field effects. In some cases, calibration is used to meet requirements such as those specified in Federal Aviation Regulation Part 25. Several methods are used for in-flight pitot-static calibration including tower fly-by, pacer aircraft, and trailing cone methods. In the 1990 s, the introduction of satellite-based positioning systems to the civilian market enabled new inflight calibration methods based on accurate ground speed measurements provided by Global Positioning Systems (GPS). Use of GPS for airspeed calibration has many advantages such as accuracy, ease of portability (e.g. hand-held) and the flexibility of operating in airspace without the limitations of test range boundaries or ground telemetry support. The current research was motivated by the need for a rapid and statistically accurate method for in-flight calibration of pitot-static systems for remotely piloted, dynamically-scaled research aircraft. Current calibration methods were deemed not practical for this application because of confined test range size and limited flight time available for each sortie. A method was developed that uses high data rate measurements of static and total pressure, and GPSbased ground speed measurements to compute the pressure errors over a range of airspeed. The novel application of this approach is the use of system identification methods that rapidly compute optimal pressure error models with defined confidence intervals in nearreal time. This method has been demonstrated in flight tests and has shown 2- bounds of approximately 0.2 kts with an order of magnitude reduction in test time over other methods. As part of this experiment, a unique database of wind measurements was acquired concurrently with the flight experiments, for the purpose of experimental validation of the optimization method. This paper describes the GPS-based pitot-static calibration method developed for the AirSTAR research test-bed operated as part of the Integrated Resilient Aircraft Controls (IRAC) project in the NASA Aviation Safety Program (AvSP). A description of the method will be provided and results from recent flight tests will be shown to illustrate the performance and advantages of this approach. Discussion of maneuver requirements and data reduction will be included as well as potential applications.

An Evaluation Technique for an F/A-18 Aircraft Loads Model Using F/A-18 Systems Research Aircraft Flight Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Olney, Candida D.; Hillebrandt, Heather; Reichenbach, Eric Y.

2000-01-01

A limited evaluation of the F/A-18 baseline loads model was performed on the Systems Research Aircraft at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center (Edwards, California). Boeing developed the F/A-18 loads model using a linear aeroelastic analysis in conjunction with a flight simulator to determine loads at discrete locations on the aircraft. This experiment was designed so that analysis of doublets could be used to establish aircraft aerodynamic and loads response at 20 flight conditions. Instrumentation on the right outboard leading edge flap, left aileron, and left stabilator measured the hinge moment so that comparisons could be made between in-flight-measured hinge moments and loads model-predicted values at these locations. Comparisons showed that the difference between the loads model-predicted and in-flight-measured hinge moments was up to 130 percent of the flight limit load. A stepwise regression technique was used to determine new loads derivatives. These derivatives were placed in the loads model, which reduced the error to within 10 percent of the flight limit load. This paper discusses the flight test methodology, a process for determining loads coefficients, and the direct comparisons of predicted and measured hinge moments and loads coefficients.

Architecting Systems for Human Space Flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wocken, Gerald

2002-01-01

Human-system interactions have been largely overlooked in the traditional systems engineering process. Awareness of human factors (HF) has increased in the past few years, but the involvement of HF specialists is still often too little and too late. In systems involving long-duration human space flight, it is essential that the human component be properly considered in the initial architectural definition phase, as well as throughout the system design process. HF analysis must include not only the strengths and limitations of humans in general, but the variability between individuals and within an individual over time, and the dynamics of group interactions.

A study of flight control requirements for advanced, winged, earth-to-orbit vehicles with far-aft center-of-gravity locations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hepler, A. K.; Zeck, H.; Walker, W. H.; Polack, A.

1982-01-01

Control requirements of Controlled Configured Design Approach vehicles with far-aft center of gravity locations are studied. The baseline system investigated is a fully reusable vertical takeoff/horizontal landing single stage-to-orbit vehicle with mission requirements similar to that of the space shuttle vehicle. Evaluations were made to determine dynamic stability boundaries, time responses, trim control, operational center-of-gravity limits, and flight control subsystem design requirements. Study tasks included a baseline vehicle analysis, an aft center of gravity study, a payload size study, and a technology assessment.

Simulation of a synergistic six-post motion system on the flight simulator for advanced aircraft at NASA-Ames

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bose, S. C.; Parris, B. L.

1977-01-01

Motion system drive philosophy and corresponding real-time software have been developed for the purpose of simulating the characteristics of a typical synergistic Six-Post Motion System (SPMS) on the Flight Simulator for Advanced Aircraft (FSAA) at NASA-Ames which is a non-synergistic motion system. This paper gives a brief description of these two types of motion systems and the general methods of producing motion cues of the FSAA. An actuator extension transformation which allows the simulation of a typical SPMS by appropriate drive washout and variable position limiting is described.

Testing flight software on the ground: Introducing the hardware-in-the-loop simulation method to the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Wenhao; Cai, Xudong; Meng, Qiao

2016-04-01

Complex automatic protection functions are being added to the onboard software of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer. A hardware-in-the-loop simulation method has been introduced to overcome the difficulties of ground testing that are brought by hardware and environmental limitations. We invented a time-saving approach by reusing the flight data as the data source of the simulation system instead of mathematical models. This is easy to implement and it works efficiently. This paper presents the system framework, implementation details and some application examples.

The effects of a transcontinental flight on markers of coagulation and fibrinolysis in healthy men after vigorous physical activity.

PubMed

Kupchak, Brian R; Kraemer, William J; Hooper, David R; Saenz, Cathy; Dulkis, Lexie L; Secola, Paul J; Brown, Lee E; Galpin, Andrew J; Coburn, Jared W; DuPont, William H; Caldwell, Lydia K; Volek, Jeff S; Maresh, Carl M

2017-01-01

Athletes and military service members are known to undergo strenuous exercise and sometimes have to take long haul flights soon afterwards; however, its combined effect on many physiological functions is relatively unknown. Therefore, we examined the combined effects of a full-body muscle-damaging workout and transcontinental flight on coagulation and fibrinolysis in healthy, resistance trained men. We also determined the efficacy of a full-body compression garment in limiting their coagulation responses. Nineteen healthy, resistance trained men flew from Connecticut (CT) to California (CA), performed a full-body muscle-damaging workout and then flew back to CT. Ten participants wore full-body compression garments (FCG) for the duration of both flights and during all other portions of the study except during workouts and blood draws, when they wore loose clothing. Nine controls wore loose clothing (CON) throughout the study. Blood samples were collected at 16 h and 3 h before the initial flight from CT, immediately after landing in CA, immediately before and immediately after the full-body workout in CA, immediately after landing in CT, and at 29 h after landing in CT. Plasma markers of coagulation included activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), prothrombin fragment 1+2 (PTF 1+2) and thrombin ant-thrombin (TAT). Markers of the fibrinolytic system included the tissue plasmigen activator (tPA), plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) and D-Dimer. Both FCG and CON groups exhibited a faster aPTT after the full-body workout compared to all other time points.  Thrombin generation markers, TAT and PTF 1+2, increased significantly after the full-body workout and immediately after landing in CT. Additionally, tPA increased after the full-body workout, while PAI-1 increased before the flight to CA, after the full-body workout, and just after landing in CT. The D-Dimer significantly increased after the full-body workout and at 29 h post-flight in both groups. Between groups, aPTT was significantly faster and TAT elevated with the CON group at 29 h post-flight. Also, PAI-1 demonstrated higher concentrations immediately after landing in CT for the CON group. A full-body muscle-damaging workout in conjunction with a trans-continental flight activated the coagulation and fibrinolytic systems. Additionally, wearing a full-body compression garment may limit coagulation following a workout through the recovery period.

14 CFR 117.17 - Flight duty period: Augmented flightcrew.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

...)(3)(i) of this chapter must be at the flight controls. ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Flight duty period: Augmented flightcrew... FLIGHT AND DUTY LIMITATIONS AND REST REQUIREMENTS: FLIGHTCREW MEMBERS (EFF. 1-4-14) § 117.17 Flight duty...

Development and Testing of Control Laws for the Active Aeroelastic Wing Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dibley, Ryan P.; Allen, Michael J.; Clarke, Robert; Gera, Joseph; Hodgkinson, John

2005-01-01

The Active Aeroelastic Wing research program was a joint program between the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory and NASA established to investigate the characteristics of an aeroelastic wing and the technique of using wing twist for roll control. The flight test program employed the use of an F/A-18 aircraft modified by reducing the wing torsional stiffness and adding a custom research flight control system. The research flight control system was optimized to maximize roll rate using only wing surfaces to twist the wing while simultaneously maintaining design load limits, stability margins, and handling qualities. NASA Dryden Flight Research Center developed control laws using the software design tool called CONDUIT, which employs a multi-objective function optimization to tune selected control system design parameters. Modifications were made to the Active Aeroelastic Wing implementation in this new software design tool to incorporate the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center nonlinear F/A-18 simulation for time history analysis. This paper describes the design process, including how the control law requirements were incorporated into constraints for the optimization of this specific software design tool. Predicted performance is also compared to results from flight.

Present and future of vision systems technologies in commercial flight operations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ward, Jim

2016-05-01

The development of systems to enable pilots of all types of aircraft to see through fog, clouds, and sandstorms and land in low visibility has been widely discussed and researched across aviation. For military applications, the goal has been to operate in a Degraded Visual Environment (DVE), using sensors to enable flight crews to see and operate without concern to weather that limits human visibility. These military DVE goals are mainly oriented to the off-field landing environment. For commercial aviation, the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) implemented operational regulations in 2004 that allow the flight crew to see the runway environment using an Enhanced Flight Vision Systems (EFVS) and continue the approach below the normal landing decision height. The FAA is expanding the current use and economic benefit of EFVS technology and will soon permit landing without any natural vision using real-time weather-penetrating sensors. The operational goals of both of these efforts, DVE and EFVS, have been the stimulus for development of new sensors and vision displays to create the modern flight deck.

Achieving bioinspired flapping wing hovering flight solutions on Mars via wing scaling.

PubMed

Bluman, James E; Pohly, Jeremy; Sridhar, Madhu; Kang, Chang-Kwon; Landrum, David Brian; Fahimi, Farbod; Aono, Hikaru

2018-05-29

Achieving atmospheric flight on Mars is challenging due to the low density of the Martian atmosphere. Aerodynamic forces are proportional to the atmospheric density, which limits the use of conventional aircraft designs on Mars. Here, we show using numerical simulations that a flapping wing robot can fly on Mars via bioinspired dynamic scaling. Trimmed, hovering flight is possible in a simulated Martian environment when dynamic similarity with insects on earth is achieved by preserving the relevant dimensionless parameters while scaling up the wings three to four times its normal size. The analysis is performed using a well-validated two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equation solver, coupled to a three-dimensional flight dynamics model to simulate free flight. The majority of power required is due to the inertia of the wing because of the ultra-low density. The inertial flap power can be substantially reduced through the use of a torsional spring. The minimum total power consumption is 188 W/kg when the torsional spring is driven at its natural frequency. © 2018 IOP Publishing Ltd.

Status of the AIAA Modeling and Simulation Format Standard

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jackson, E. Bruce; Hildreth, Bruce L.

2008-01-01

The current draft AIAA Standard for flight simulation models represents an on-going effort to improve the productivity of practitioners of the art of digital flight simulation (one of the original digital computer applications). This initial release provides the capability for the efficient representation and exchange of an aerodynamic model in full fidelity; the DAVE-ML format can be easily imported (with development of site-specific import tools) in an unambiguous way with automatic verification. An attractive feature of the standard is the ability to coexist with existing legacy software or tools. The draft Standard is currently limited in scope to static elements of dynamic flight simulations; however, these static elements represent the bulk of typical flight simulation mathematical models. It is already seeing application within U.S. and Australian government agencies in an effort to improve productivity and reduce model rehosting overhead. An existing tool allows import of DAVE-ML models into a popular simulation modeling and analysis tool, and other community-contributed tools and libraries can simplify the use of DAVE-ML compliant models at compile- or run-time of high-fidelity flight simulation.

Flight mechanics and control of escape manoeuvres in hummingbirds. II. Aerodynamic force production, flight control and performance limitations.

PubMed

Cheng, Bo; Tobalske, Bret W; Powers, Donald R; Hedrick, Tyson L; Wang, Yi; Wethington, Susan M; Chiu, George T-C; Deng, Xinyan

2016-11-15

The superior manoeuvrability of hummingbirds emerges from complex interactions of specialized neural and physiological processes with the unique flight dynamics of flapping wings. Escape manoeuvring is an ecologically relevant, natural behaviour of hummingbirds, from which we can gain understanding into the functional limits of vertebrate locomotor capacity. Here, we extend our kinematic analysis of escape manoeuvres from a companion paper to assess two potential limiting factors of the manoeuvring performance of hummingbirds: (1) muscle mechanical power output and (2) delays in the neural sensing and control system. We focused on the magnificent hummingbird (Eugenes fulgens, 7.8 g) and the black-chinned hummingbird (Archilochus alexandri, 3.1 g), which represent large and small species, respectively. We first estimated the aerodynamic forces, moments and the mechanical power of escape manoeuvres using measured wing kinematics. Comparing active-manoeuvring and passive-damping aerodynamic moments, we found that pitch dynamics were lightly damped and dominated by the effect of inertia, while roll dynamics were highly damped. To achieve observed closed-loop performance, pitch manoeuvres required faster sensorimotor transduction, as hummingbirds can only tolerate half the delay allowed in roll manoeuvres. Accordingly, our results suggested that pitch control may require a more sophisticated control strategy, such as those based on prediction. For the magnificent hummingbird, we estimated that escape manoeuvres required muscle mass-specific power 4.5 times that during hovering. Therefore, in addition to the limitation imposed by sensorimotor delays, muscle power could also limit the performance of escape manoeuvres. © 2016. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

The Effects of Limited Intent Information Availability on Self-Separation in Mixed Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lewis, Timothy A.; Phojanamongkolkij, Nipa; Wing, David J.

2012-01-01

This paper presents the results of a computer simulation of the NASA Autonomous Flight Rules (AFR) concept for airborne self-separation in airspace shared with conventional Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) traffic. This study was designed to determine the impact of varying levels of intent information from IFR aircraft on the performance of AFR conflict detection and resolution. The study used Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) to supply IFR intent, but other methods such as an uplink from a ground-based System Wide Information Management (SWIM) network could alternatively supply this information. The independent variables of the study consist of the number of ADS-B trajectory change reports broadcast by IFR aircraft and the time interval between those reports. The conflict detection and resolution metrics include: the number of conflicts and losses of separation, the average conflict warning time, and the amount of time spent in strategic vs. tactical flight modes (i.e., whether the autoflight system was decoupled from the planned route in the Flight Management System in order to respond to a short-notice traffic conflict). The results show a measurable benefit of broadcasting IFR intent vs. relying on state-only broadcasts. The results of this study will inform ongoing separation assurance research and FAA NextGen design decisions for the sharing of trajectory intent information in the National Airspace System.

14 CFR 61.411 - What aeronautical experience must I have to apply for a flight instructor certificate with a...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

...-engine class privileges, (1) 150 hours of flight time as a pilot, (i) 100 hours of flight time as pilot in command in powered aircraft,(ii) 50 hours of flight time in a single-engine airplane, (iii) 25 hours of cross-country flight time, (iv) 10 hours of cross-country flight time in a single-engine...

14 CFR 61.411 - What aeronautical experience must I have to apply for a flight instructor certificate with a...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

...-engine class privileges, (1) 150 hours of flight time as a pilot, (i) 100 hours of flight time as pilot in command in powered aircraft,(ii) 50 hours of flight time in a single-engine airplane, (iii) 25 hours of cross-country flight time, (iv) 10 hours of cross-country flight time in a single-engine...

14 CFR 61.411 - What aeronautical experience must I have to apply for a flight instructor certificate with a...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

...-engine class privileges, (1) 150 hours of flight time as a pilot, (i) 100 hours of flight time as pilot in command in powered aircraft,(ii) 50 hours of flight time in a single-engine airplane, (iii) 25 hours of cross-country flight time, (iv) 10 hours of cross-country flight time in a single-engine...

14 CFR 142.65 - Limitations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... used during line operational simulation for evaluation and line-oriented flight training only to...) When flight testing, flight checking, or line operational simulation is being conducted, the...

14 CFR 142.65 - Limitations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... used during line operational simulation for evaluation and line-oriented flight training only to...) When flight testing, flight checking, or line operational simulation is being conducted, the...

14 CFR 142.65 - Limitations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... used during line operational simulation for evaluation and line-oriented flight training only to...) When flight testing, flight checking, or line operational simulation is being conducted, the...

14 CFR 142.65 - Limitations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... used during line operational simulation for evaluation and line-oriented flight training only to...) When flight testing, flight checking, or line operational simulation is being conducted, the...

14 CFR 142.65 - Limitations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... used during line operational simulation for evaluation and line-oriented flight training only to...) When flight testing, flight checking, or line operational simulation is being conducted, the...

Estimating the Effects of Astronaut Career Ionizing Radiation Dose Limits on Manned Interplanetary Flight Programs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koontz, Steven L.; Rojdev, Kristina; Valle, Gerard D.; Zipay, John J.; Atwell, William S.

2013-01-01

Space radiation effects mitigation has been identified as one of the highest priority technology development areas for human space flight in the NASA Strategic Space Technology Investment Plan (Dec. 2012). In this paper we review the special features of space radiation that lead to severe constraints on long-term (more than 180 days) human flight operations outside Earth's magnetosphere. We then quantify the impacts of human space radiation dose limits on spacecraft engineering design and development, flight program architecture, as well as flight program schedule and cost. A new Deep Space Habitat (DSH) concept, the hybrid inflatable habitat, is presented and shown to enable a flexible, affordable approach to long term manned interplanetary flight today.

Display dimensionality and conflict geometry effects on maneuver preferences for resolving in-flight conflicts.

PubMed

Thomas, Lisa C; Wickens, Christopher D

2008-08-01

Two experiments explored the effects of display dimensionality, conflict geometry, and time pressure on pilot maneuvering preferences for resolving en route conflicts. With the presence of a cockpit display of traffic information (CDTI) that provides graphical airspace information, pilots can use a variety of conflict resolution maneuvers in response to how they perceive the conflict. Inconsistent preference findings from previous research on conflict resolution using CDTIs may be attributable to inherent ambiguities in 3-D perspective displays and/or a limited range of conflict geometries. Pilots resolved predicted conflicts using CDTIs with three levels of display dimensionality; the first had two 2-D orthogonal views, the second depicted the airspace in two alternating 3-D perspective views, and the third had a pilot-controlled swiveling viewpoint. Pilots demonstrated the same preferences that have been observed in previous research for vertical over lateral maneuvers in low workload and climbs over descents for level-flight conflicts. With increasing workload the two 3-D perspective displays, but not the 2-D displays, resulted in an increased preference for lateral over vertical maneuvers. Increased time pressure resulted in increased vertical maneuvers, an effect again limited to the two 3-D perspective displays. Resolution preferences were more affected by workload and time pressure when the 3-D perspective displays were used, as compared with the 2-D displays, although overall preferences were milder than in previous studies. Investigating maneuver preferences using the strategic flight planning paradigm employed in this study may be the key to better ensure pilot acceptance of computer-generated resolution maneuvers.

Construction, Deployment and Data Analysis of the E and B EXperiment: A Cosmic Microwave Background Polarimeter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Didier, Joy

The E and B EXperiment (EBEX) is a pointed balloon-borne telescope designed to measure the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) as well as that from Galactic dust. The instrument is equipped with a 1.5 meter aperture Gregorian-Dragone telescope, providing an 8' beam at three frequency bands centered on 150, 250 and 410 GHz. The telescope is designed to measure or place an upper limit on inflationary B-mode signals and to probe B-modes originating from gravitationnal lensing of the CMB. The higher EBEX frequencies are designed to enable the measurement and removal of polarized Galactic dust foregrounds which currently limit the measurement of inflationary B-modes. Polarimetry is achieved by rotating an achromatic half-wave plate (HWP) on a superconducting magnetic bearing. In January 2013, EBEX completed 11 days of observations in a flight over Antarctica covering 6,000 square degrees of the southern sky. This marks the first time that kilo-pixel TES bolometer arrays have made science observations on a balloon-borne platform. In this thesis we report on the construction, deployment and data analysis of EBEX. We review the development of the pointing sensors and software used for real-time attitude determination and control, including pre-flight testing and calibration. We then report on the 2013 long duration flight (LD2013) and review all the major stages of the analysis pipeline used to transform the ˜1 TB of raw data into polarized sky maps. We review "LEAP", the software framework developed to support the analysis pipeline. We discuss in detail the novel program developed to reconstruct the attitude post-flight and estimate the effect of attitude errors on measured B-mode signals. We describe the bolometer time-stream cleaning procedure including removing the HWP-synchronous signal, and we detail the map making procedure. Finally we present a novel method to measure and subtract instrumental polarization, after which we show Galaxy and CMB maps.

BION-M 1: First continuous blood pressure monitoring in mice during a 30-day spaceflight.

PubMed

Andreev-Andrievskiy, Alexander; Popova, Anfisa; Lloret, Jean-Christophe; Aubry, Patrick; Borovik, Anatoliy; Tsvirkun, Daria; Vinogradova, Olga; Ilyin, Eugeniy; Gauquelin-Koch, Guillemette; Gharib, Claude; Custaud, Marc-Antoine

2017-05-01

Animals are an essential component of space exploration and have been used to demonstrate that weightlessness does not disrupt essential physiological functions. They can also contribute to space research as models of weightlessness-induced changes in humans. Animal research was an integral component of the 30-day automated Russian biosatellite Bion-M 1 space mission. The aim of the hemodynamic experiment was to estimate cardiovascular function in mice, a species roughly 3000 times smaller than humans, during prolonged spaceflight and post-flight recovery, particularly, to investigate if mice display signs of cardiovascular deconditioning. For the first time, heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) were continuously monitored using implantable telemetry during spaceflight and recovery. Decreased HR and unchanged BP were observed during launch, whereas both HR and BP dropped dramatically during descent. During spaceflight, BP did not change from pre-flight values. However, HR increased, particularly during periods of activity. HR remained elevated after spaceflight and was accompanied by increased levels of exercise-induced tachycardia. Loss of three of the five mice during the flight as a result of the hardware malfunction (unrelated to the telemetry system) and thus the limited sample number constitute the major limitation of the study. For the first time BP and HR were continuously monitored in mice during the 30-day spaceflight and 7-days of post-flight recovery. Cardiovascular deconditioning in these tiny quadruped mammals was reminiscent of that in humans. Therefore, the loss of hydrostatic pressure in space, which is thought to be the initiating event for human cardiovascular adaptation in microgravity, might be of less importance than other physiological mechanisms. Further experiments with larger number of mice are needed to confirm these findings. Copyright © 2017 The Committee on Space Research (COSPAR). Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of a Novel Space Flight Plan to Monitor Female Mice Fertility Using Reduced Crew Time

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Christenson, Lane; Hong, Xiaoman; Alwood, Joshua S.; Ronca, April E.; Tash, Joseph S.; Talyansky, Yuli

2017-01-01

Ovarian estrogen impacts the normal homeostatic and metabolic processes of all tissues and organ systems within the body: particularly, but not limited to canonical space-flight impacted systems: bone, muscle, immune, wound repair, and cardiovascular. Effects of space flight on the ovarian estrogen production are therefore critical to our understanding of all space flight experiments using female mice, the current paradigm being used on the International Space Station (ISS). Recently, we demonstrated that vaginal wall histology could be used to determine the stage of the estrous cycle in female mice at the time of sacrifice in space. Moreover, this robust technique was completed following two post-flight freezethaw procedures of the carcasses (RR1 experiment). Thus, this technique represents a viable mechanism to determine the estrous cycle status of the female at the time of sacrifice and can be completed in a manner that does not impact primary experimental objectives. We propose that vaginal wall histology become a standard procedure completed on all mice sacrificed in space and that the individual estrous status of each animal be shared with all investigators. While evidence of estrous cyclicity was present in long-term (33 day) RR1 mice, fertility of female mice exposed to weightlessness remains unknown. In preparation for an upcoming funded NASA flight investigating the effects of long duration spaceflight on female fertility, we have refined our experimental design to minimize crew flight time and to accommodate the duration of Dragon capsule berth. These refinements maintain all our proposed primary and secondary experimental objectives. Briefly, in order to evaluate fertility, we will super ovulate mice using standard procedures (PMSG hCG), followed by collection of reproductive tract after follicular stimulation alone (PMSG) or following ovulation (hCG). Ovarian folliculogenesis and ovulation rate will be determined in fixed tissues following return in order to determine fertility. Ovarian and uterine tissues will also be evaluated by hormonal and gene expression profiling using quantitative approaches (radioimmunoassays, western blots, digital droplet PCR). Comparisons will be made to contemporary vivarium and Rodent Research Hardware Transporter and Habitat housed animals maintained on earth. Supported by NNX15AB48G to JST.

Flight response of slope-soaring birds to seasonal variation in thermal generation

Treesearch

Adam E. Duerr; Tricia A. Miller; Michael Lanzone; David Brandes; Jeff Cooper; Kieran O' Malley; Charles Maisonneuve; Junior A. Tremblay; Todd Katzner

2014-01-01

Animals respond to a variety of environmental cues, including weather conditions, when migrating. Understanding the relationship between weather and migration behaviour is vital to assessing time- and energy limitations of soaring birds. Different soaring modes have different efficiencies, are dependent upon different types of subsidized lift and are weather dependent...

NDE: A key to engine rotor life prediction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Doherty, J. E.

1977-01-01

A key ingredient in the establishment of safe life times for critical components is the means of reliably detecting flaws which may potentially exist. Currently used nondestructive evaluation procedures are successful in detecting life limiting defects; however, the development of automated and computer aided NDE technology permits even greater assurance of flight safety.

Delayed bunching for multi-reflection time-of-flight mass separation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rosenbusch, M.; Marx, G.; Schweikhard, L.

2015-06-29

Many experiments are handicapped when the ion sources do not only deliver the ions of interest but also contaminations, i.e., unwanted ions of similar mass. In the recent years, multi-reflection time-of-flight mass separation has become a promising method to isolate the ions of interest from the contaminants, in particular for measurements with low-energy short-lived nuclides. To further improve the performance of multi-reflection mass separators with respect to the limitations by space-charge effects, the simultaneously trapped ions are spatially widely distributed in the apparatus. Thus, the ions can propagate with reduced Coulomb interactions until, finally, they are bunched by a changemore » in the trapping conditions for high-resolution mass separation. Proof-of-principle measurements are presented.« less

Direct identification of bacteria in blood culture by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry: a new methodological approach.

PubMed

Kroumova, Vesselina; Gobbato, Elisa; Basso, Elisa; Mucedola, Luca; Giani, Tommaso; Fortina, Giacomo

2011-08-15

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has recently been demonstrated to be a powerful tool for the rapid identification of bacteria from growing colonies. In order to speed up the identification of bacteria, several authors have evaluated the usefulness of this MALDI-TOF MS technology for the direct and quick identification bacteria from positive blood cultures. The results obtained so far have been encouraging but have also shown some limitations, mainly related to the bacterial growth and to the presence of interference substances belonging to the blood cultures. In this paper, we present a new methodological approach that we have developed to overcome these limitations, based mainly on an enrichment of the sample into a growing medium before the extraction process, prior to mass spectrometric analysis. The proposed method shows important advantages for the identification of bacterial strains, yielding an increased identification score, which gives higher confidence in the results. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Determination of flubendiamide in honey at trace levels by using solid phase extraction and liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Ares, Ana M; Valverde, Silvia; Bernal, José L; Toribio, Laura; Nozal, María J; Bernal, José

2017-10-01

In this study, a new method has been developed to determine flubendiamide in honey using liquid chromatography coupled to a selective mass spectrometry detector (quadrupole-time-of-flight). An efficient sample treatment involving a solid phase extraction with a C 18 sorbent was proposed (average analyte recoveries were between 94 and 104%). Chromatographic analysis (9min) was performed on a C 18 column (Gemini C 18 , 50×2.0mm, 3µm, 110Å). The mobile phase consisted of water and acetonitrile, with a flow rate of 0.5mL/min in gradient elution mode. The method was fully validated in terms of selectivity, limits of detection and quantification, matrix effect, linearity, trueness and precision. Low limits of detection and quantification were obtained, ranging from 0.1 to 0.2µg/kg and 0.4 to 0.6µg/kg, respectively. The method was applied to analyze flubendiamide in honey from different botanic origins (multifloral, rosemary and heather). Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Laser Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry for Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brinckerhoff, W. B.; Managadze, G. G.; McEntire, R. W.; Cheng, A. F.; Green, W. J.

2000-01-01

A miniature reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometer for in situ planetary surface analysis is described. The laser ablation mass spectrometer (LAMS) measures the regolith's elemental and isotopic composition without high-voltage source extraction or sample preparation. The compact size (< 2 x 10(exp 3) cubic cm) and low mass (approximately 2 kg) of LAMS, due to its fully coaxial design and two-stage reflectron, fall within the strict resource limitations of landed science missions to solar system bodies. A short-pulse laser focused to a spot with a diameter approximately 30-50 micrometers is used to obtain microscopic surface samples. Assisted by a microimager, LAMS can interactively select and analyze a range of compositional regions (with lateral motion) and with repeated pulses can access unweathered, subsurface materials. The mass resolution is calibrated to distinguish isotopic peaks at unit masses, and detection limits are on resolved to a few ppm. The design and calibration method of a prototype LAMS device is described, which include the development of preliminary relative sensitivity coefficients for major element bulk abundance measurements.

Time-of-Flight Microwave Camera.

PubMed

Charvat, Gregory; Temme, Andrew; Feigin, Micha; Raskar, Ramesh

2015-10-05

Microwaves can penetrate many obstructions that are opaque at visible wavelengths, however microwave imaging is challenging due to resolution limits associated with relatively small apertures and unrecoverable "stealth" regions due to the specularity of most objects at microwave frequencies. We demonstrate a multispectral time-of-flight microwave imaging system which overcomes these challenges with a large passive aperture to improve lateral resolution, multiple illumination points with a data fusion method to reduce stealth regions, and a frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) receiver to achieve depth resolution. The camera captures images with a resolution of 1.5 degrees, multispectral images across the X frequency band (8 GHz-12 GHz), and a time resolution of 200 ps (6 cm optical path in free space). Images are taken of objects in free space as well as behind drywall and plywood. This architecture allows "camera-like" behavior from a microwave imaging system and is practical for imaging everyday objects in the microwave spectrum.

Rapidly Re-Configurable Flight Simulator Tools for Crew Vehicle Integration Research and Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schutte, Paul C.; Trujillo, Anna; Pritchett, Amy R.

2000-01-01

While simulation is a valuable research and design tool, the time and difficulty required to create new simulations (or re-use existing simulations) often limits their application. This report describes the design of the software architecture for the Reconfigurable Flight Simulator (RFS), which provides a robust simulation framework that allows the simulator to fulfill multiple research and development goals. The core of the architecture provides the interface standards for simulation components, registers and initializes components, and handles the communication between simulation components. The simulation components are each a pre-compiled library 'plug-in' module. This modularity allows independent development and sharing of individual simulation components. Additional interfaces can be provided through the use of Object Data/Method Extensions (OD/ME). RFS provides a programmable run-time environment for real-time access and manipulation, and has networking capabilities using the High Level Architecture (HLA).

Rapidly Re-Configurable Flight Simulator Tools for Crew Vehicle Integration Research and Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pritchett, Amy R.

2002-01-01

While simulation is a valuable research and design tool, the time and difficulty required to create new simulations (or re-use existing simulations) often limits their application. This report describes the design of the software architecture for the Reconfigurable Flight Simulator (RFS), which provides a robust simulation framework that allows the simulator to fulfill multiple research and development goals. The core of the architecture provides the interface standards for simulation components, registers and initializes components, and handles the communication between simulation components. The simulation components are each a pre-compiled library 'plugin' module. This modularity allows independent development and sharing of individual simulation components. Additional interfaces can be provided through the use of Object Data/Method Extensions (OD/ME). RFS provides a programmable run-time environment for real-time access and manipulation, and has networking capabilities using the High Level Architecture (HLA).

Economy of flight at supersonic speeds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, R. T.

1976-01-01

Prandtl's theory is used to determine the airflow over bodies and wings adapted to supersonic flight. By making use of these results, and by incorporating in them an allowance for the probable skin friction, some estimates of expected lift-drag ratios are made for various flight speeds with the best configuration. At each speed a slender body and wings having the best angle of sweepback are considered. For the range of supersonic speeds shown an airplane of normal density and loading would be required to operate at an altitude of the order of 60,000 feet. The limiting value of 1-1/2 times the speed of sound corresponds to a flight speed of 1000 miles per hour. At this speed about 1.5 miles per gallon of fuel are expected. It is interesting to note that this value corresponds to a value of more than 15 miles per gallon when the weight is reduced to correspond to that of an ordinary automobile.

Apollo 16 mission report. Supplement 2: Service Propulsion system final flight evaluation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, R. J.; Wood, S. C.

1974-01-01

The Apollo 16 Mission was the sixteenth in a series of flights using Apollo flight hardware and included the fifth lunar landing of the Apollo Program. The Apollo 16 Mission utilized CSM 113 which was equipped with SPS Engine S/N 66 (Injector S/N 137). The engine configuration and expected performance characteristics are presented. Since previous flight results of the SPS have consistently shown the existence of a negative mixture ratio shift, SPS Engine S/N 66 was reorificed to increase the mixture ratio for this mission. The propellant unbalance for the two major engine firings is compared with the predicted unbalance. Although the unbalance at the end of the TEI burn is significantly different than the predicted unbalance, the propellant mixture ratio was well within limits. The SPS performed six burns during the mission, with a total burn duration of 575.3 seconds. The ignition time, burn duration and velocity gain for each of the six SPS burns are reported.

Bandwidth Enabled Flight Operations: Examining the Possibilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pisanich, Greg; Renema, Fritz; Clancy, Dan (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

The Bandwidth Enabled Flight Operations project is a research effort at the NASA Ames Research Center to investigate the use of satellite communications to improve aviation safety and capacity. This project is a follow on to the AeroSAPIENT Project, which demonstrated methods for transmitting high bandwidth data in various configurations. For this research, we set a goal to nominally use only 10 percent of the available bandwidth demonstrated by AeroSAPIENT or projected by near-term technology advances. This paper describes the results of our research, including available satellite bandwidth, commercial and research efforts to provide these services, and some of the limiting factors inherent with this communications medium. It also describes our investigation into the needs of the stakeholders (Airlines, Pilots, Cabin Crews, ATC, Maintenance, etc). The paper also describes our development of low-cost networked flight deck and airline operations center simulations that were used to demonstrate two application areas: Providing real time weather information to the commercial flight deck, and enhanced crew monitoring and control for airline operations centers.

Fuel cell powered small unmanned aerial systems (UASs) for extended endurance flights

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chu, Deryn; Jiang, R.; Dunbar, Z.; Grew, Kyle; McClure, J.

2015-05-01

Small unmanned aerial systems (UASs) have been used for military applications and have additional potential for commercial applications [1-4]. For the military, these systems provide valuable intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and target acquisition (ISRTA) capabilities for units at the infantry, battalion, and company levels. The small UASs are light-weight, manportable, can be hand-launched, and are capable of carrying payloads. Currently, most small UASs are powered by lithium-ion or lithium polymer batteries; however, the flight endurance is usually limited less than two hours and requires frequent battery replacement. Long endurance small UAS flights have been demonstrated through the implementation of a fuel cell system. For instance, a propane fueled solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stack has been used to power a small UAS and shown to extend mission flight time. The research and development efforts presented here not only apply to small UASs, but also provide merit to the viability of extending mission operations for other unmanned systems applications.

Effects of helicopter noise and vibration on pilot performance (as measured in a fixed-base flight simulator)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stave, A. M.

1973-01-01

The effects of noise and vibration on pilot performance are described. Pilot subjects were required to fly VTOL commercial IFR schedules using the computer simulation facilities. The routes flown simulated closely metropolitan routes flown currently by a helicopter airline. The duration of simulator flights ranged from 3 to 8 hours. Subjects were exposed to noise sound pressure levels ranging from 74dB (ambient) to 100dB and 17 Hz vibration stimuli ranging from .1 g to .3 g measured at the floor directly beneath the pilot's seat. Despite subject reports of extreme fatigue in these long flights, performance did not degrade. A curve of performance shows a slow improvement for the first three hours of exposure and a slight loss in performance during the remainder of the flight. As environmental stress conditions (noise, vibration, and time in the simulator) increased, subject performance improved. Within the limits of this study, the higher the stress the better the performance.

Mission-based guidance system design for autonomous UAVs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moon, Jongki

The advantages of UAVs in the aviation arena have led to extensive research activities on autonomous technology of UAVs to achieve specific mission objectives. This thesis mainly focuses on the development of a mission-based guidance system. Among various missions expected for future needs, autonomous formation flight (AFF) and obstacle avoidance within safe operation limits are investigated. In the design of an adaptive guidance system for AFF, the leader information except position is assumed to be unknown to a follower. Thus, the only measured information related to the leader is the line-of-sight (LOS) range and angle. Adding an adaptive element with neural networks into the guidance system provides a capability to effectively handle leader's velocity changes. Therefore, this method can be applied to the AFF control systems that use a passive sensing method. In this thesis, an adaptive velocity command guidance system and an adaptive acceleration command guidance system are developed and presented. Since relative degrees of the LOS range and angle are different depending on the outputs from the guidance system, the architecture of the guidance system changes accordingly. Simulations and flight tests are performed using the Georgia Tech UAV helicopter, the GTMax, to evaluate the proposed guidance systems. The simulation results show that the neural network (NN) based adaptive element can improve the tracking performance by effectively compensating for the effect of unknown dynamics. It has also been shown that the combination of an adaptive velocity command guidance system and the existing GTMax autopilot controller performs better than the combination of an adaptive acceleration command guidance system and the GTMax autopilot controller. The successful flight evaluation using an adaptive velocity command guidance system clearly shows that the adaptive guidance control system is a promising solution for autonomous formation flight of UAVs. In addition, an integrated approach is proposed to resolve the conflict between aggressive maneuvering needed for obstacle avoidance and the constrained maneuvering needed for envelope protection. A time-optimal problem with obstacle and envelope constraints is used for an integrated approach for obstacle avoidance and envelope protection. The Nonlinear trajectory generator (NTG) is used as a real-time optimization solver. The computational complexity arising from the obstacle constraints is reduced by converting the obstacle constraints into a safe waypoint constraint along with an implicit requirement that the horizontal velocity during the avoidance maneuver must be nonnegative. The issue of when to initiate a time-optimal avoidance maneuver is addressed by including a requirement that the vehicle must maintain its original flight path to the maximum extent possible. The simulation evaluations are preformed for the nominal case, the unsafe avoidance solution case, the multiple safe waypoint case, and the unidentified obstacle size case. Artificial values for the load factor limit and the longitudinal flap angle limit are imposed as safe operational boundaries. Also, simulation results for different limit values and different initial flight speed are compared. Simulation results using a nonlinear model of a rotary wing UAV demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed approach for obstacle avoidance with envelope protection.

Rotating Arc Jet Test Model: Time-Accurate Trajectory Heat Flux Replication in a Ground Test Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Laub, Bernard; Grinstead, Jay; Dyakonov, Artem; Venkatapathy, Ethiraj

2011-01-01

Though arc jet testing has been the proven method employed for development testing and certification of TPS and TPS instrumentation, the operational aspects of arc jets limit testing to selected, but constant, conditions. Flight, on the other hand, produces timevarying entry conditions in which the heat flux increases, peaks, and recedes as a vehicle descends through an atmosphere. As a result, we are unable to "test as we fly." Attempts to replicate the time-dependent aerothermal environment of atmospheric entry by varying the arc jet facility operating conditions during a test have proven to be difficult, expensive, and only partially successful. A promising alternative is to rotate the test model exposed to a constant-condition arc jet flow to yield a time-varying test condition at a point on a test article (Fig. 1). The model shape and rotation rate can be engineered so that the heat flux at a point on the model replicates the predicted profile for a particular point on a flight vehicle. This simple concept will enable, for example, calibration of the TPS sensors on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) aeroshell for anticipated flight environments.

78 FR 19981 - Special Conditions: Embraer S.A., Model EMB-550 Airplanes; Flight Envelope Protection: High Speed...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-03

...; Flight Envelope Protection: High Speed Limiting AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT... protection: high speed limiting. As published, the document contained an error in that the Special Conditions...

48 CFR 237.102-71 - Limitation on service contracts for military flight simulators.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... contracts for military flight simulators. 237.102-71 Section 237.102-71 Federal Acquisition Regulations... flight simulators. (a) Definitions. As used in this subsection— (1) Military flight simulator means any... Law 110-181, DoD is prohibited from entering into a service contract to acquire a military flight...

48 CFR 237.102-71 - Limitation on service contracts for military flight simulators.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... contracts for military flight simulators. 237.102-71 Section 237.102-71 Federal Acquisition Regulations... flight simulators. (a) Definitions. As used in this subsection— (1) Military flight simulator means any... 110-181, DoD is prohibited from entering into a service contract to acquire a military flight...

48 CFR 237.102-71 - Limitation on service contracts for military flight simulators.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... contracts for military flight simulators. 237.102-71 Section 237.102-71 Federal Acquisition Regulations... flight simulators. (a) Definitions. As used in this subsection— (1) Military flight simulator means any... 110-181, DoD is prohibited from entering into a service contract to acquire a military flight...

48 CFR 237.102-71 - Limitation on service contracts for military flight simulators.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... contracts for military flight simulators. 237.102-71 Section 237.102-71 Federal Acquisition Regulations... flight simulators. (a) Definitions. As used in this subsection— (1) Military flight simulator means any... 110-181, DoD is prohibited from entering into a service contract to acquire a military flight...

48 CFR 237.102-71 - Limitation on service contracts for military flight simulators.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... contracts for military flight simulators. 237.102-71 Section 237.102-71 Federal Acquisition Regulations... flight simulators. (a) Definitions. As used in this subsection— (1) Military flight simulator means any... 110-181, DoD is prohibited from entering into a service contract to acquire a military flight...

TITAN's multiple-reflection time-of-flight isobar separator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reiter, Moritz Pascal; Titan Collaboration

2016-09-01

At the ISAC facility located at TRIUMF exotic nuclei are produced by the ISOL method. Exotic nuclei are separated by a magnetic separator and transported to TRIUMF's Ion Trap for Atomic and Nuclear science (TITAN). TITAN is a system of multiple ion traps for high precision mass measurements and in-trap decay spectroscopy. Although ISAC can deliver some of the highest yields for even many of the most exotic species many measurements suffer from a strong isobaric background. This background often prevents the high precision measurement of the species of interest. To overcome this limitation an additional isobar separator based on the Multiple-Reflection Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (MR-TOF-MS) technique has been developed for TITAN. Mass selection is achieved using dynamic re-trapping of the species of interest after a time-of-flight analysis in an electrostatic isochronous reflector system. Additionally the MR-TOF-MS will, on its own, enable mass measurements of very short-lived nuclides that are weakly produced. Being able to measure all isobars of a given mass number at the same time the MR-TOF-MS can be used for beam diagnostics or determination of beam compositions. Results from the offline commissioning showing mass resolving power and separation power will be presented.

Analysis of UAS DAA Surveillance in Fast-Time Simulations without DAA Mitigation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thipphavong, David P.; Santiago, Confesor; Isaacson, David R.; Lee, Seung Man; Refai, Mohamad Said; Snow, James William

2015-01-01

Realization of the expected proliferation of Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) operations in the National Airspace System (NAS) depends on the development and validation of performance standards for UAS Detect and Avoid (DAA) Systems. The RTCA Special Committee 228 is charged with leading the development of draft Minimum Operational Performance Standards (MOPS) for UAS DAA Systems. NASA, as a participating member of RTCA SC-228 is committed to supporting the development and validation of draft requirements for DAA surveillance system performance. A recent study conducted using NASA's ACES (Airspace Concept Evaluation System) simulation capability begins to address questions surrounding the development of draft MOPS for DAA surveillance systems. ACES simulations were conducted to study the performance of sensor systems proposed by the SC-228 DAA Surveillance sub-group. Analysis included but was not limited to: 1) number of intruders (both IFR and VFR) detected by all sensors as a function of UAS flight time, 2) number of intruders (both IFR and VFR) detected by radar alone as a function of UAS flight time, and 3) number of VFR intruders detected by all sensors as a function of UAS flight time. The results will be used by SC-228 to inform decisions about the surveillance standards of UAS DAA systems and future requirements development and validation efforts.

HiMAT highly maneuverable aircraft technology, flight report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1982-01-01

Flight verification of a primary flight control system, designed to control the unstable HiMAT aircraft is presented. The initial flight demonstration of a maneuver autopilot in the level cruise mode and the gathering of a limited amount of airspeed calibration data.

14 CFR 61.89 - General limitations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

...-sport aircraft without having received the applicable ground training, flight training, and instructor... a business; (5) On an international flight, except that a student pilot may make solo training... flight is conducted, except when receiving flight training from an authorized instructor on board an...

Brine shrimp development in space: ground-based data to shuttle flight results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spooner, B. S.; DeBell, L.; Hawkins, L.; Metcalf, J.; Guikema, J. A.; Rosowski, J.

1992-01-01

The brine shrimp, Artemia salina, has been used as a model system to assess microgravity effects on developing organisms. Following fertilization and early development, the egg can arrest in early gastrula as a dehydrated cyst stage that is stable to harsh environments over long time periods. When salt water is added, the cysts can reactivate, with embryonic development and egg hatching occurring in about 24 h. A series of larval molts or instars, over about a 2 week period, results in the adult crustacean. We have assessed these developmental events in a closed syringe system, a bioprocessing module, in ground-based studies, and have conducted preliminary in-orbit experiments aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis during the flights of STS-37 and STS-43. Although the in-flight data are limited, spectacular degrees of development have been achieved.

CFD applications in hypersonic flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Edwards, T. A.

1992-01-01

Design studies are underway for a variety of hypersonic flight vehicles. The National Aero-Space Plane will provide a reusable, single-stage-to-orbit capability for routine access to low earth orbit. Flight-capable satellites will dip into the atmosphere to maneuver to new orbits, while planetary probes will decelerate at their destination by atmospheric aerobraking. To supplement limited experimental capabilities in the hypersonic regime, CFD is being used to analyze the flow about these configurations. The governing equations include fluid dynamic as well as chemical species equations, which are solved with robust upwind differencing schemes. Examples of CFD applications to hypersonic vehicles suggest an important role this technology will play in the development of future aerospace systems. The computational resources needed to obtain solutions are large, but various strategies are being exploited to reduce the time required for complete vehicle simulations.

Falcon versus grouse: flight adaptations of a predator and its prey

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pennycuick, C.J.; Fuller, M.R.; Oar, J.J.; Kirkpatrick, S.J.

1994-01-01

Several falcons were trained to fly along a 500 m course to a lure. The air speeds of the more consistent performers averaged about 1.5 times their calculated minimum power speeds, and occasionally reached 2.1 times the minimum power speed. Wing beat frequencies of all the falcons were above those estimated from earlier field observations, and the same was true of wild Sage Grouse Centrocercus urophasianus, a regular falconer's quarry in the study area. Measurements of grouse killed by falcons showed that their wings were short, with broad slotted tips, whereas the falcons' wings were longer in relation to their body mass, and tapered. The short wings of grouse result in fast flight, high power requirements, and reduced capacity for aerobic flight. Calculations indicated that the grouse should fly faster than the falcons, and had the large amount of flight muscle needed to do so, but that the falcons would be capable of prolonged aerobic flight, whereas the grouse probably would not. We surmise that Sage Grouse cannot fly continuously without incurring an oxygen debt, and are therefore not long-distance migrants, although this limitation is partly due to their large size, and would not apply to smaller galliform birds such as ptarmigan Lagopus spp. The wing action seen in video recordings of the falcons was not consistent with the maintenance of constant circulation. We call it 'chase mode' because it appears to be associated with a high level of muscular exertion, without special regard to fuel economy. It shows features in common with the 'bounding' flight of passerines.

Report of the Aircraft Systems/Flight Test Workshop Held at East Point, Georgia on 8-17 November 1977.

DTIC Science & Technology

1977-11-01

prior knowledge to decrease the amount of manpower and time required to evaluate the second package, but in principle, each STC package must be...techniques. Our knowledge of the problems, hazards, and pitfalls in the use of these techniques is very limited. Background: We do not have sufficient...prediction techniques, and what recommendations we would like to make, based on the limited knowledge we currently have. I would really like to spend another

Ultralean combustion in general aviation piston engines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chirivella, J. E.

1979-01-01

The role of ultralean combustion in achieving fuel economy in general aviation piston engines was investigated. The aircraft internal combustion engine was reviewed with regard to general aviation requirements, engine thermodynamics and systems. Factors affecting fuel economy such as those connected with an ideal leanout to near the gasoline lean flammability limit (ultralean operation) were analyzed. A Lycoming T10-541E engine was tested in that program (both in the test cell and in flight). Test results indicate that hydrogen addition is not necessary to operate the engine ultralean. A 17 percent improvement in fuel economy was demonstrated in flight with the Beechcraft Duke B60 by simply leaning the engine at constant cruiser power and adjusting the ignition for best timing. No detonation was encountered, and a 25,000 ft ceiling was available. Engine roughness was shown to be the limiting factor in the leanout.

Progress in Search for Antihelium with BESS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sasaki, M.; Matsumoto, H.; Nozaki, M.; Saeki, T.; Abe, K.; Anraku, K.; Asoka, Y.; Fujikawa, M.; Fuke, H.; Imori, M.

2002-01-01

We have searched for antihelium nuclei in cosmic rays using the data obtained from balloon flights of the BESS magnetic spectrometer. The search was mainly based on track-quality selection, followed by rigidity analysis, and on the time-of-flight and dE/dx measurements by the scintillation counter hodoscope. We analysed all the data collected during 1993-2000 with a common analysis procedure. No antihelium nuclei events were found in the energy range from 1 to 14 GV. In order to determine a new upper limit, we have simulated the loss in the air and in the instrument of He (He-bar) using the GEANT/GHEISHA code. Combined with the data collected in 1993 through 2000, a new 95 % confidence upper limit for the ratio of He-bar/He at the top of the atmosphere of 6.8 x 10(exp -7) has been obtained to be after correcting for the interactions in the air and in the instruments.

USAF Bioenvironmental Noise Data Handbook, volume 154

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rau, T. H.

1982-05-01

The E-4B is a Boeing 747 aircraft modified to serve as the national emergency/HQ Strategic Air Command Airborne Command Post. This report provides measured data defining the bioacoustic environments at flight crew/passenger locations inside this aircraft during normal flight operations. Data are reported for 24 locations in a wide variety of physical and psychoacoustic measures: overall and band sound pressure levels, C-weighted and A-weighted sound levels, preferred speech interference level, perceived noise level, and limiting times for total daily exposure of personnel with and without standard Air Force ear protectors. Refer to Volume 1 of this handbook, "USAF Bioenvironmental Noise Data Handbook, Vol. 1: Organization, Content and Application", AMRL-TR-75-50(1) 1975, for discussion of the objective and design of the handbook, the types of data presented, measurement procedures, instrumentation, data processing, definitions of quantities, symbols, equations, applications, limitations, etc.

Efficient Numerical Simulation of Aerothermoelastic Hypersonic Vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klock, Ryan J.

Hypersonic vehicles operate in a high-energy flight environment characterized by high dynamic pressures, high thermal loads, and non-equilibrium flow dynamics. This environment induces strong fluid, thermal, and structural dynamics interactions that are unique to this flight regime. If these vehicles are to be effectively designed and controlled, then a robust and intuitive understanding of each of these disciplines must be developed not only in isolation, but also when coupled. Limitations on scaling and the availability of adequate test facilities mean that physical investigation is infeasible. Ever growing computational power offers the ability to perform elaborate numerical simulations, but also has its own limitations. The state of the art in numerical simulation is either to create ever more high-fidelity physics models that do not couple well and require too much processing power to consider more than a few seconds of flight, or to use low-fidelity analytical models that can be tightly coupled and processed quickly, but do not represent realistic systems due to their simplifying assumptions. Reduced-order models offer a middle ground by distilling the dominant trends of high-fidelity training solutions into a form that can be quickly processed and more tightly coupled. This thesis presents a variably coupled, variable-fidelity, aerothermoelastic framework for the simulation and analysis of high-speed vehicle systems using analytical, reduced-order, and surrogate modeling techniques. Full launch-to-landing flights of complete vehicles are considered and used to define flight envelopes with aeroelastic, aerothermal, and thermoelastic limits, tune in-the-loop flight controllers, and inform future design considerations. A partitioned approach to vehicle simulation is considered in which regions dominated by particular combinations of processes are made separate from the overall solution and simulated by a specialized set of models to improve overall processing speed and overall solution fidelity. A number of enhancements to this framework are made through 1. the implementation of a publish-subscribe code architecture for rapid prototyping of physics and process models. 2. the implementation of a selection of linearization and model identification methods including high-order pseudo-time forward difference, complex-step, and direct identification from ordinary differential equation inspection. 3. improvements to the aeroheating and thermal models with non-equilibrium gas dynamics and generalized temperature dependent material thermal properties. A variety of model reduction and surrogate model techniques are applied to a representative hypersonic vehicle on a terminal trajectory to enable complete aerothermoelastic flight simulations. Multiple terminal trajectories of various starting altitudes and Mach numbers are optimized to maximize final kinetic energy of the vehicle upon reaching the surface. Surrogate models are compared to represent the variation of material thermal properties with temperature. A new method is developed and shown to be both accurate and computationally efficient. While the numerically efficient simulation of high-speed vehicles is developed within the presented framework, the goal of real time simulation is hampered by the necessity of multiple nested convergence loops. An alternative all-in-one surrogate model method is developed based on singular-value decomposition and regression that is near real time. Finally, the aeroelastic stability of pressurized cylindrical shells is investigated in the context of a maneuvering axisymmetric high-speed vehicle. Moderate internal pressurization is numerically shown to decrease stability, as showed experimentally in the literature, yet not well reproduced analytically. Insights are drawn from time simulation results and used to inform approaches for future vehicle model development.

NPS-SCAT CONOPS and Radiation Environment

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-06-01

flexibility, as well as allows players in the space market who would otherwise not be able to enter due to budgetary limitations. Important to NPS is...commercial market . Although the time frame for completing NPS-SCAT has not been as short as possible due to the nature of the learning environment on its...Program ( STP ) seeks flight opportunities for approved experiments. The current NPS- SCAT launch date offers ample time to finish and test the

Generic sample preparation combined with high-resolution liquid chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry for unification of urine screening in doping-control laboratories.

PubMed

Peters, R J B; Oosterink, J E; Stolker, A A M; Georgakopoulos, C; Nielen, M W F

2010-04-01

A unification of doping-control screening procedures of prohibited small molecule substances--including stimulants, narcotics, steroids, beta2-agonists and diuretics--is highly urgent in order to free resources for new classes such as banned proteins. Conceptually this may be achieved by the use of a combination of one gas chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry method and one liquid chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry method. In this work a quantitative screening method using high-resolution liquid chromatography in combination with accurate-mass time-of-flight mass spectrometry was developed and validated for determination of glucocorticosteroids, beta2-agonists, thiazide diuretics, and narcotics and stimulants in urine. To enable the simultaneous isolation of all the compounds of interest and the necessary purification of the resulting extracts, a generic extraction and hydrolysis procedure was combined with a solid-phase extraction modified for these groups of compounds. All 56 compounds are determined using positive electrospray ionisation with the exception of the thiazide diuretics for which the best sensitivity was obtained by using negative electrospray ionisation. The results show that, with the exception of clenhexyl, procaterol, and reproterol, all compounds can be detected below the respective minimum required performance level and the results for linearity, repeatability, within-lab reproducibility, and accuracy show that the method can be used for quantitative screening. If qualitative screening is sufficient the instrumental analysis may be limited to positive ionisation, because all analytes including the thiazides can be detected at the respective minimum required levels in the positive mode. The results show that the application of accurate-mass time-of-flight mass spectrometry in combination with generic extraction and purification procedures is suitable for unification and expansion of the window of screening methods of doping laboratories. Moreover, the full-scan accurate-mass data sets obtained still allow retrospective examination for emerging doping agents, without re-analyzing the samples.

Diffusion limit of Lévy-Lorentz gas is Brownian motion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Magdziarz, Marcin; Szczotka, Wladyslaw

2018-07-01

In this paper we analyze asymptotic behaviour of a stochastic process called Lévy-Lorentz gas. This process is aspecial kind of continuous-time random walk in which walker moves in the fixed environment composed of scattering points. Upon each collision the walker performs a flight to the nearest scattering point. This type of dynamics is observed in Lévy glasses or long quenched polymers. We show that the diffusion limit of Lévy-Lorentz gas with finite mean distance between scattering centers is the standard Brownian motion. Thus, for long times the behaviour of the Lévy-Lorentz gas is close to the diffusive regime.

Extraction of stability and control derivatives from orbiter flight data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Iliff, Kenneth W.; Shafer, Mary F.

1993-01-01

The Space Shuttle Orbiter has provided unique and important information on aircraft flight dynamics. This information has provided the opportunity to assess the flight-derived stability and control derivatives for maneuvering flight in the hypersonic regime. In the case of the Space Shuttle Orbiter, these derivatives are required to determine if certain configuration placards (limitations on the flight envelope) can be modified. These placards were determined on the basis of preflight predictions and the associated uncertainties. As flight-determined derivatives are obtained, the placards are reassessed, and some of them are removed or modified. Extraction of the stability and control derivatives was justified by operational considerations and not by research considerations. Using flight results to update the predicted database of the orbiter is one of the most completely documented processes for a flight vehicle. This process followed from the requirement for analysis of flight data for control system updates and for expansion of the operational flight envelope. These results show significant changes in many important stability and control derivatives from the preflight database. This paper presents some of the stability and control derivative results obtained from Space Shuttle flights. Some of the limitations of this information are also examined.

Thruster Limitation Consideration for Formation Flight Control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Xu, Yunjun; Fitz-Coy, Norman; Mason, Paul

2003-01-01

Physical constraints of any real system can have a drastic effect on its performance. Some of the more recognized constraints are actuator and sensor saturation and bandwidth, power consumption, sampling rate (sensor and control-loop) and computation limits. These constraints can degrade system s performance, such as settling time, overshoot, rising time, and stability margins. In order to address these issues, researchers have investigated the use of robust and nonlinear controllers that can incorporate uncertainty and constraints into a controller design. For instance, uncertainties can be addressed in the synthesis model used in such algorithms as H(sub infinity), or mu. There is a significant amount of literature addressing this type of problem. However, there is one constraint that has not often been considered; that is, actuator authority resolution. In this work, thruster resolution and controller schemes to compensate for this effect are investigated for position and attitude control of a Low Earth Orbit formation flight system In many academic problems, actuators are assumed to have infinite resolution. In real system applications, such as formation flight systems, the system actuators will not have infinite resolution. High-precision formation flying requires the relative position and the relative attitude to be controlled on the order of millimeters and arc-seconds, respectively. Therefore, the minimum force resolution is a significant concern in this application. Without the sufficient actuator resolution, the system may be unable to attain the required pointing and position precision control. Furthermore, fuel may be wasted due to high-frequency chattering phenomena when attempting to provide a fine control with inadequate actuators. To address this issue, a Sliding Mode Controller is developed along with the boundary Layer Control to provide the best control resolution constraints. A Genetic algorithm is used to optimize the controller parameters according to the states error and fuel consumption criterion. The tradeoffs and effects of the minimum force limitation on performance are studied and compared to the case without the limitation. Furthermore, two methods are proposed to reduce chattering and improve precision.

Flight speed and performance of the wandering albatross with respect to wind.

PubMed

Richardson, Philip L; Wakefield, Ewan D; Phillips, Richard A

2018-01-01

Albatrosses and other large seabirds use dynamic soaring to gain sufficient energy from the wind to travel large distances rapidly and with little apparent effort. The recent development of miniature bird-borne tracking devices now makes it possible to explore the physical and biological implications of this means of locomotion in detail. Here we use GPS tracking and concurrent reanalyzed wind speed data to model the flight performance of wandering albatrosses Diomedea exulans soaring over the Southern Ocean. We investigate the extent to which flight speed and performance of albatrosses is facilitated or constrained by wind conditions encountered during foraging trips. We derived simple equations to model observed albatross ground speed as a function of wind speed and relative wind direction. Ground speeds of the tracked birds in the along-wind direction varied primarily by wind-induced leeway, which averaged 0.51 (± 0.02) times the wind speed at a reference height of 5 m. By subtracting leeway velocity from ground velocity, we were able to estimate airspeed (the magnitude of the bird's velocity through the air). As wind speeds increased from 3 to 18 m/s, the airspeed of wandering albatrosses flying in an across-wind direction increased by 0.42 (± 0.04) times the wind speed (i.e. ~ 6 m/s). At low wind speeds, tracked birds increased their airspeed in upwind flight relative to that in downwind flight. At higher wind speeds they apparently limited their airspeeds to a maximum of around 20 m/s, probably to keep the forces on their wings in dynamic soaring well within tolerable limits. Upwind airspeeds were nearly constant and downwind leeway increased with wind speed. Birds therefore achieved their fastest upwind ground speeds (~ 9 m/s) at low wind speeds (~ 3 m/s). This study provides insights into which flight strategies are optimal for dynamic soaring. Our results are consistent with the prediction that the optimal range speed of albatrosses is higher in headwind than tailwind flight but only in wind speeds of up to ~ 7 m/s. Our models predict that wandering albatrosses have oval-shaped airspeed polars, with the fastest airspeeds ~ 20 m/s centered in the across-wind direction. This suggests that in upwind flight in high winds, albatrosses can increase their ground speed by tacking like sailboats.

Does the circadian clock drift when pilots fly multiple transpacific flights with 1- to 2-day layovers?

PubMed

Gander, Philippa; Mulrine, Hannah M; van den Berg, Margo J; Wu, Lora; Smith, Alexander; Signal, Leigh; Mangie, Jim

2016-01-01

On trips with multiple transmeridian flights, pilots experience successive non-24 h day/night cycles with circadian and sleep disruption. One study across a 9-day sequence of transpacific flights (no in-flight sleep, 1-day layovers between flights) reported an average period in the core body temperature rhythm of 24.6 h (circadian drift). Consequently, pilots were sometimes flying through the circadian performance nadir and had to readapt to home base time at the end of the trip. The present study examined circadian drift in trip patterns with longer flights and in-flight sleep. Thirty-nine B747-400 pilots (19 captains, 20 first officers, mean age = 55.5 years) were monitored on 9- to 13-day trips with multiple return flights between East Coast USA and Japan (in 4-pilot crews) and between Japan and Hawaii (in 3-pilot crews), with 1-day layovers between each flight. Measures included total in-flight sleep (actigraphy, log books) and top of descent (TOD) measures of sleepiness (Karolinska Sleepiness Scale), fatigue (Samn-Perelli Crew Status Check) and psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) performance. Circadian rhythms of individual pilots were not monitored. To detect circadian drift, mixed-model analysis of variance examined whether for a given flight, total in-flight sleep and TOD measures varied according to when the flight occurred in the trip sequence. In addition, sleep propensity curves for pre-trip and post-trip days were examined (Chi-square periodogram analyses). Limited data suggest that total in-flight sleep of relief crew at landing may have decreased across successive East Coast USA-Japan (flights 1, 3, 5 or 7; median arrival 03:45 Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)). However, PVT response speed at TOD was faster on East Coast USA-Japan flights later in the trip. On these flights, circadian drift would result in flights later in the trip landing closer to the evening wake maintenance zone, when sleep is difficult and PVT response speeds are fastest. On Japan-East Coast USA flights (flights 2, 4, 6 or 8; median arrival time 14:52 EDT), PVT response speeds were slower on flight 8 than on flight 2. Circadian drift would move these arrivals progressively earlier in the SCN pacemaker cycle, where PVT response speeds are slower. Across the five post-trip days, 12 pilots (Group A) immediately resumed their pre-trip sleep pattern of a single nocturnal sleep episode; 9 pilots (Group B) had a daytime nap on most days that moved progressively earlier until it merged with nocturnal sleep and 17 pilots (Group C) had nocturnal sleep and intermittent naps. Chi-square periodogram analyses of the sleep propensity curves for each group across baseline and post-trip days suggest full adaptation to EDT from post-trip day 1 (dominant period = 24 h). However, in Groups B and C, the patterns of split sleep post-trip compared to pre-trip suggest that this may be misleading. We conclude that the trends in total in-flight sleep and significant changes in PVT performance speed at TOD provide preliminary evidence for circadian drift, as do persistent patterns of split sleep post-trip. However, new measures to track circadian rhythms in individual pilots are needed to confirm these findings.

Lab-on-a-bird: biophysical monitoring of flying birds.

PubMed

Gumus, Abdurrahman; Lee, Seoho; Ahsan, Syed S; Karlsson, Kolbeinn; Gabrielson, Richard; Guglielmo, Christopher G; Winkler, David W; Erickson, David

2015-01-01

The metabolism of birds is finely tuned to their activities and environments, and thus research on avian systems can play an important role in understanding organismal responses to environmental changes. At present, however, the physiological monitoring of bird metabolism is limited by the inability to take real-time measurements of key metabolites during flight. In this study, we present an implantable biosensor system that can be used for continuous monitoring of uric acid levels of birds during various activities including flight. The system consists of a needle-type enzymatic biosensor for the amperometric detection of uric acid in interstitial fluids. A lightweight two-electrode potentiostat system drives the biosensor, reads the corresponding output current and wirelessly transfers the data or records to flash memory. We show how the device can be used to monitor, in real time, the effects of short-term flight and rest cycles on the uric acid levels of pigeons. In addition, we demonstrate that our device has the ability to measure uric acid level increase in homing pigeons while they fly freely. Successful application of the sensor in migratory birds could open up a new way of studying birds in flight which would lead to a better understanding of the ecology and biology of avian movements.

A Limited Study of a Hypothetical Winged Anti-ICBM Point-Defense Missile

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, Clarence A., Jr.; Edwards, Frederick G.

1959-01-01

A preliminary investigation was conducted to determine whether a warhead stage of an antimissile missile could be placed within an arbitrary 2-nautical-mile-radius maneuver cylinder around an intercontinental-ballistic-missile (ICBM) flight path above an altitude of 140,000 feet, a horizontal range of 40 nautical miles, at a flight-path angle of approximately 20 deg, and within 50 seconds after take-off using only aerodynamic forces to turn the antimissile missile. The preliminary investigation indicated that an antimissile missile using aerodynamic forces for turning was capable of intercepting the ICBM for the stated conditions of this study although the turning must be completed below an altitude of approximately 70,000 feet to insure that the antimissile missile will be at the desired flight-path angle. Trim lift coefficients on the order of 2 to 3 and a maximum normal-acceleration force of from 25g to 35g were necessary to place the warhead stage in intercept position. The preliminary investigation indicated that for the two boosters investigated the booster having a burning time of 10 seconds gave greater range up the ICBM flight path than did the booster having a burning time of 15 seconds for the same trim lift coefficient and required the least trim lift coefficient for the same range.

Optimal technique for maximal forward rotating vaults in men's gymnastics.

PubMed

Hiley, Michael J; Jackson, Monique I; Yeadon, Maurice R

2015-08-01

In vaulting a gymnast must generate sufficient linear and angular momentum during the approach and table contact to complete the rotational requirements in the post-flight phase. This study investigated the optimization of table touchdown conditions and table contact technique for the maximization of rotation potential for forwards rotating vaults. A planar seven-segment torque-driven computer simulation model of the contact phase in vaulting was evaluated by varying joint torque activation time histories to match three performances of a handspring double somersault vault by an elite gymnast. The closest matching simulation was used as a starting point to maximize post-flight rotation potential (the product of angular momentum and flight time) for a forwards rotating vault. It was found that the maximized rotation potential was sufficient to produce a handspring double piked somersault vault. The corresponding optimal touchdown configuration exhibited hip flexion in contrast to the hyperextended configuration required for maximal height. Increasing touchdown velocity and angular momentum lead to additional post-flight rotation potential. By increasing the horizontal velocity at table touchdown, within limits obtained from recorded performances, the handspring double somersault tucked with one and a half twists, and the handspring triple somersault tucked became theoretically possible. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A comparison of time-optimal interception trajectories for the F-8 and F-15

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Calise, Anthony J.; Pettengill, James B.

1990-01-01

The simulation results of a real time control algorithm for onboard computation of time-optimal intercept trajectories for the F-8 and F-15 aircraft are given. Due to the inherent aerodynamic and propulsion differences in the aircraft, there are major differences in their optimal trajectories. The significant difference in the two aircrafts are their flight envelopes. The F-8's optimal cruise velocity is thrust limited, while the F-15's optimal cruise velocity is at the intersection of the Mach and dynamic pressure constraint boundaries. This inherent difference necessitated the development of a proportional thrust controller for use as the F-15 approaches it's optimal cruise energy. Documented here is the application of singular perturbation theory to the trajectory optimization problem, along with a summary of the control algorithms. Numerical results for the two aircraft are compared to illustrate the performance of the minimum time algorithm, and to compute the resulting flight paths.

Conversion from Engineering Units to Telemetry Counts on Dryden Flight Simulators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fantini, Jay A.

1998-01-01

Dryden real-time flight simulators encompass the simulation of pulse code modulation (PCM) telemetry signals. This paper presents a new method whereby the calibration polynomial (from first to sixth order), representing the conversion from counts to engineering units (EU), is numerically inverted in real time. The result is less than one-count error for valid EU inputs. The Newton-Raphson method is used to numerically invert the polynomial. A reverse linear interpolation between the EU limits is used to obtain an initial value for the desired telemetry count. The method presented here is not new. What is new is how classical numerical techniques are optimized to take advantage of modem computer power to perform the desired calculations in real time. This technique makes the method simple to understand and implement. There are no interpolation tables to store in memory as in traditional methods. The NASA F-15 simulation converts and transmits over 1000 parameters at 80 times/sec. This paper presents algorithm development, FORTRAN code, and performance results.

Assessment of Human Factors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mount, Frances; Foley, Tico

1999-01-01

Human Factors Engineering, often referred to as Ergonomics, is a science that applies a detailed understanding of human characteristics, capabilities, and limitations to the design, evaluation, and operation of environments, tools, and systems for work and daily living. Human Factors is the investigation, design, and evaluation of equipment, techniques, procedures, facilities, and human interfaces, and encompasses all aspects of human activity from manual labor to mental processing and leisure time enjoyments. In spaceflight applications, human factors engineering seeks to: (1) ensure that a task can be accomplished, (2) maintain productivity during spaceflight, and (3) ensure the habitability of the pressurized living areas. DSO 904 served as a vehicle for the verification and elucidation of human factors principles and tools in the microgravity environment. Over six flights, twelve topics were investigated. This study documented the strengths and limitations of human operators in a complex, multifaceted, and unique environment. By focusing on the man-machine interface in space flight activities, it was determined which designs allow astronauts to be optimally productive during valuable and costly space flights. Among the most promising areas of inquiry were procedures, tools, habitat, environmental conditions, tasking, work load, flexibility, and individual control over work.

Development of a Fatigue Crack Growth Coupon for Highly Plastic Stress Conditions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allen, Phillip A.; Aggarwal, Pravin K.; Swanson, Gregory R.

2003-01-01

This paper presents an analytical approach used to develop a novel fatigue crack growth coupon for a highly plastic 3-D stress field condition. The flight hardware investigated in this paper is a large separation bolt that fractures using pyrotechnics at the appointed time during the flight sequence. The separation bolt has a deep notch that produces a severe stress concentration and a large plastic zone when highly loaded. For this geometry, linear-elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) techniques are not valid due to the large nonlinear stress field. Unfortunately, industry codes that are generally available for fracture mechanics analysis and fatigue crack growth (e.g. NASGRO (11) are limited to LEFM and are available for only a limited number of geometries. The results of LEFM based codes are questionable when used on geometries with significant plasticity. Therefore elastic-plastic fracture mechanics (EPFM) techniques using the finite element method (FEM) were used to analyze the bolt and test coupons. scale flight hardware is very costly in t e r n of assets, laboratory resources, and schedule. Therefore to alleviate some of these problems, a series of novel test coupons were developed to simulate the elastic-plastic stress field present in the bolt.

Meteorological Necessities for the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Houtas, Franzeska

2011-01-01

The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) is joint program with NASA and DLR (German Aerospace Center) of a highly modified Boeing 747-SP. The purpose of this modification is to include a 2.5 m infrared telescope in a rear bulkhead of the airplane, with a retractable door open to the atmosphere. The NASA Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC) is responsible for verifying that the aerodynamics, acoustics, and flying qualities of the modified aircraft stay within safe limits. Flight testing includes determining meteorological limitations of the aircraft, which is done by setting strict temporary operating limits and verifying through data analysis, what conditions are acceptable. Line operations are calibration tests of various telescope instruments that are done on the ground prior to flights. The method in determining limitations for this type of operation is similar to that of flight testing, but the meteorological limitations are different. Of great concern are the particulates near the surface that could cause damage to the telescope, as well as condensation forming on the mirror. Another meteorological involvement for this program is the process of obtaining Reduced Vertical Separation Minimums (RVSM) Certification from the FAA. This heavily involves obtaining atmospheric data pertinent to the flight, analyzing data to actual conditions for validity, and computing necessary results for comparison to aircraft instrumentation.

Propulsion system performance resulting from an integrated flight/propulsion control design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mattern, Duane; Garg, Sanjay

1992-01-01

Propulsion-system-specific results are presented from the application of the integrated methodology for propulsion and airframe control (IMPAC) design approach to integrated flight/propulsion control design for a 'short takeoff and vertical landing' (STOVL) aircraft in transition flight. The IMPAC method is briefly discussed and the propulsion system specifications for the integrated control design are examined. The structure of a linear engine controller that results from partitioning a linear centralized controller is discussed. The details of a nonlinear propulsion control system are presented, including a scheme to protect the engine operational limits: the fan surge margin and the acceleration/deceleration schedule that limits the fuel flow. Also, a simple but effective multivariable integrator windup protection scheme is examined. Nonlinear closed-loop simulation results are presented for two typical pilot commands for transition flight: acceleration while maintaining flightpath angle and a change in flightpath angle while maintaining airspeed. The simulation nonlinearities include the airframe/engine coupling, the actuator and sensor dynamics and limits, the protection scheme for the engine operational limits, and the integrator windup protection. Satisfactory performance of the total airframe plus engine system for transition flight, as defined by the specifications, was maintained during the limit operation of the closed-loop engine subsystem.

System identification of a small low-cost unmanned aerial vehicle using flight data from low-cost sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoffer, Nathan Von

Remote sensing has traditionally been done with satellites and manned aircraft. While. these methods can yield useful scientificc data, satellites and manned aircraft have limitations in data frequency, process time, and real time re-tasking. Small low-cost unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) provide greater possibilities for personal scientic research than traditional remote sensing platforms. Precision aerial data requires an accurate vehicle dynamics model for controller development, robust flight characteristics, and fault tolerance. One method of developing a model is system identification (system ID). In this thesis system ID of a small low-cost fixed-wing T-tail UAV is conducted. The linerized longitudinal equations of motion are derived from first principles. Foundations of Recursive Least Squares (RLS) are presented along with RLS with an Error Filtering Online Learning scheme (EFOL). Sensors, data collection, data consistency checking, and data processing are described. Batch least squares (BLS) and BLS with EFOL are used to identify aerodynamic coecoefficients of the UAV. Results of these two methods with flight data are discussed.

Dynamic Nonlinear Elastic Stability of Helicopter Rotor Blades in Hover and in Forward Flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Friedmann, P.; Tong, P.

1972-01-01

Equations for large coupled flap-lag motion of hingeless elastic helicopter blades are consistently derived. Only torsionally-rigid blades excited by quasi-steady aerodynamic loads are considered. The nonlinear equations of motion in the time and space variables are reduced to a system of coupled nonlinear ordinary differential equations with periodic coefficients, using Galerkin's method for the space variables. The nonlinearities present in the equations are those arising from the inclusion of moderately large deflections in the inertia and aerodynamic loading terms. The resulting system of nonlinear equations has been solved, using an asymptotic expansion procedure in multiple time scales. The stability boundaries, amplitudes of nonlinear response, and conditions for existence of limit cycles are obtained analytically. Thus, the different roles played by the forcing function, parametric excitation, and nonlinear coupling in affecting the solution can be easily identified, and the basic physical mechanism of coupled flap-lag response becomes clear. The effect of forward flight is obtained with the requirement of trimmed flight at fixed values of the thrust coefficient.

Extensions to the Dynamic Aerospace Vehicle Exchange Markup Language

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brian, Geoffrey J.; Jackson, E. Bruce

2011-01-01

The Dynamic Aerospace Vehicle Exchange Markup Language (DAVE-ML) is a syntactical language for exchanging flight vehicle dynamic model data. It provides a framework for encoding entire flight vehicle dynamic model data packages for exchange and/or long-term archiving. Version 2.0.1 of DAVE-ML provides much of the functionality envisioned for exchanging aerospace vehicle data; however, it is limited in only supporting scalar time-independent data. Additional functionality is required to support vector and matrix data, abstracting sub-system models, detailing dynamics system models (both discrete and continuous), and defining a dynamic data format (such as time sequenced data) for validation of dynamics system models and vehicle simulation packages. Extensions to DAVE-ML have been proposed to manage data as vectors and n-dimensional matrices, and record dynamic data in a compatible form. These capabilities will improve the clarity of data being exchanged, simplify the naming of parameters, and permit static and dynamic data to be stored using a common syntax within a single file; thereby enhancing the framework provided by DAVE-ML for exchanging entire flight vehicle dynamic simulation models.

Visual search in complex displays: factors affecting conflict detection by air traffic controllers.

PubMed

Remington, R W; Johnston, J C; Ruthruff, E; Gold, M; Romera, M

2000-01-01

Recent free flight proposals to relax airspace constraints and give greater autonomy to aircraft have raised concerns about their impact on controller performance. Relaxing route and altitude restrictions would reduce the regularity of traffic through individual sectors, possibly impairing controller situation awareness. We examined the impact of this reduced regularity in four visual search experiments that tested controllers' detection of traffic conflicts in the four conditions created by factorial manipulation of fixed routes (present vs. absent) and altitude restrictions (present vs. absent). These four conditions were tested under varying levels of traffic load and conflict geometry (conflict time and conflict angle). Traffic load and conflict geometry showed strong and consistent effects in all experiments. Color coding altitude also substantially improved detection times. In contrast, removing altitude restrictions had only a small negative impact, and removing route restrictions had virtually no negative impact. In some cases conflict detection was actually better without fixed routes. The implications and limitations of these results for the feasibility of free flight are discussed. Actual or potential applications include providing guidance in the selection of free flight operational concepts.

14 CFR 25.1523 - Minimum flight crew.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Minimum flight crew. 25.1523 Section 25.1523 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AIRCRAFT... Limitations § 25.1523 Minimum flight crew. The minimum flight crew must be established so that it is...

14 CFR 29.1523 - Minimum flight crew.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Minimum flight crew. 29.1523 Section 29.1523 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AIRCRAFT... Limitations § 29.1523 Minimum flight crew. The minimum flight crew must be established so that it is...

14 CFR 91.1057 - Flight, duty and rest time requirements: All crewmembers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... cabin-safety-related responsibilities. Multi-time zone flight means an easterly or westerly flight or multiple flights in one direction in the same duty period that results in a time zone difference of 5 or... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Flight, duty and rest time requirements...

Switching Transient Generation in Surface Interrogation Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy and Time-of-Flight Techniques.

PubMed

Ahn, Hyun S; Bard, Allen J

2015-12-15

In surface interrogation scanning electrochemical microscopy (SI-SECM), fine and accurate control of the delay time between substrate generation and tip interrogation (tdelay) is crucial because tdelay defines the decay time of the reactive intermediate. In previous applications of the SI-SECM, the resolution in the control of tdelay has been limited to several hundreds of milliseconds due to the slow switching of the bipotentiostat. In this work, we have improved the time resolution of tdelay control up to ca. 1 μs, enhancing the SI-SECM to be competitive in the time domain with the decay of many reactive intermediates. The rapid switching SI-SECM has been implemented in a substrate generation-tip collection time-of-flight (SG-TC TOF) experiment of a solution redox mediator, and the results obtained from the experiment exhibited good agreement with that obtained from digital simulation. The reaction rate constant of surface Co(IV) on oxygen-evolving catalyst film, which was inaccessible thus far due to the lack of tdelay control, has been measured by the rapid switching SI-SECM.

Hybrid Ion-Detector/Data-Acquisition System for a TOF-MS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burton, William D., Jr.; Schultz, J. Albert; Vaughn, Valentine; McCully, Michael; Ulrich, Steven; Egan, Thomas F.

2006-01-01

A modified ion-detector/data-acquisition system has been devised to increase the dynamic range of a time-of-flight mass spectrometer (TOF-MS) that, previously, included a microchannel-plate detector and a data-acquisition system based on counting pulses and time-tagging them by use of a time-to-digital converter (TDC). The dynamic range of the TOF-MS was limited by saturation of the microchannel plate detector, which can handle no more than a few million counts per second. The modified system includes (1) a combined microchannel plate/discrete ion multiplier and (2) a hybrid data-acquisition system that simultaneously performs analog current or voltage measurements and multianode single-ion-pulse-counting time-of-flight measurements to extend the dynamic range of a TDC into the regime in which a mass peak comprises multiple ions arriving simultaneously at the detector. The multianode data are used to determine, in real time, whether the detector is saturated. When saturation is detected, the data-acquisition system selectively enables circuitry that simultaneously determines the ion-peak intensity by measuring the time profile of the analog current or voltage detector-output signal.

Upper bound on neutrino mass based on T2K neutrino timing measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abe, K.; Adam, J.; Aihara, H.; Akiri, T.; Andreopoulos, C.; Aoki, S.; Ariga, A.; Assylbekov, S.; Autiero, D.; Barbi, M.; Barker, G. J.; Barr, G.; Bartet-Friburg, P.; Bass, M.; Batkiewicz, M.; Bay, F.; Berardi, V.; Berger, B. E.; Berkman, S.; Bhadra, S.; Blaszczyk, F. d. M.; Blondel, A.; Bojechko, C.; Bolognesi, S.; Bordoni, S.; Boyd, S. B.; Brailsford, D.; Bravar, A.; Bronner, C.; Buchanan, N.; Calland, R. G.; Caravaca Rodríguez, J.; Cartwright, S. L.; Castillo, R.; Catanesi, M. G.; Cervera, A.; Cherdack, D.; Chikuma, N.; Christodoulou, G.; Clifton, A.; Coleman, J.; Coleman, S. J.; Collazuol, G.; Connolly, K.; Cremonesi, L.; Dabrowska, A.; Danko, I.; Das, R.; Davis, S.; de Perio, P.; De Rosa, G.; Dealtry, T.; Dennis, S. R.; Densham, C.; Dewhurst, D.; Di Lodovico, F.; Di Luise, S.; Dolan, S.; Drapier, O.; Duboyski, T.; Duffy, K.; Dumarchez, J.; Dytman, S.; Dziewiecki, M.; Emery-Schrenk, S.; Ereditato, A.; Escudero, L.; Feusels, T.; Finch, A. J.; Fiorentini, G. A.; Friend, M.; Fujii, Y.; Fukuda, Y.; Furmanski, A. P.; Galymov, V.; Garcia, A.; Giffin, S.; Giganti, C.; Gilje, K.; Goeldi, D.; Golan, T.; Gonin, M.; Grant, N.; Gudin, D.; Hadley, D. R.; Haegel, L.; Haesler, A.; Haigh, M. D.; Hamilton, P.; Hansen, D.; Hara, T.; Hartz, M.; Hasegawa, T.; Hastings, N. C.; Hayashino, T.; Hayato, Y.; Hearty, C.; Helmer, R. L.; Hierholzer, M.; Hignight, J.; Hillairet, A.; Himmel, A.; Hiraki, T.; Hirota, S.; Holeczek, J.; Horikawa, S.; Hosomi, F.; Huang, K.; Ichikawa, A. K.; Ieki, K.; Ieva, M.; Ikeda, M.; Imber, J.; Insler, J.; Irvine, T. J.; Ishida, T.; Ishii, T.; Iwai, E.; Iwamoto, K.; Iyogi, K.; Izmaylov, A.; Jacob, A.; Jamieson, B.; Jiang, M.; Johnson, R. A.; Johnson, S.; Jo, J. H.; Jonsson, P.; Jung, C. K.; Kabirnezhad, M.; Kaboth, A. C.; Kajita, T.; Kakuno, H.; Kameda, J.; Kanazawa, Y.; Karlen, D.; Karpikov, I.; Katori, T.; Kearns, E.; Khabibullin, M.; Khotjantsev, A.; Kielczewska, D.; Kikawa, T.; Kilinski, A.; Kim, J.; King, S.; Kisiel, J.; Kitching, P.; Kobayashi, T.; Koch, L.; Koga, T.; Kolaceke, A.; Konaka, A.; Kopylov, A.; Kormos, L. L.; Korzenev, A.; Koshio, Y.; Kropp, W.; Kubo, H.; Kudenko, Y.; Kurjata, R.; Kutter, T.; Lagoda, J.; Lamont, I.; Larkin, E.; Laveder, M.; Lawe, M.; Lazos, M.; Lindner, T.; Lister, C.; Litchfield, R. P.; Longhin, A.; Lopez, J. P.; Ludovici, L.; Magaletti, L.; Mahn, K.; Malek, M.; Manly, S.; Marino, A. D.; Marteau, J.; Martin, J. F.; Martins, P.; Martynenko, S.; Maruyama, T.; Matveev, V.; Mavrokoridis, K.; Mazzucato, E.; McCarthy, M.; McCauley, N.; McFarland, K. S.; McGrew, C.; Mefodiev, A.; Metelko, C.; Mezzetto, M.; Mijakowski, P.; Miller, C. A.; Minamino, A.; Mineev, O.; Missert, A.; Miura, M.; Moriyama, S.; Mueller, Th. A.; Murakami, A.; Murdoch, M.; Murphy, S.; Myslik, J.; Nakadaira, T.; Nakahata, M.; Nakamura, K. G.; Nakamura, K.; Nakayama, S.; Nakaya, T.; Nakayoshi, K.; Nantais, C.; Nielsen, C.; Nirkko, M.; Nishikawa, K.; Nishimura, Y.; Nowak, J.; O'Keeffe, H. M.; Ohta, R.; Okumura, K.; Okusawa, T.; Oryszczak, W.; Oser, S. M.; Ovsyannikova, T.; Owen, R. A.; Oyama, Y.; Palladino, V.; Palomino, J. L.; Paolone, V.; Payne, D.; Perevozchikov, O.; Perkin, J. D.; Petrov, Y.; Pickard, L.; Pinzon Guerra, E. S.; Pistillo, C.; Plonski, P.; Poplawska, E.; Popov, B.; Posiadala-Zezula, M.; Poutissou, J.-M.; Poutissou, R.; Przewlocki, P.; Quilain, B.; Radicioni, E.; Ratoff, P. N.; Ravonel, M.; Rayner, M. A. M.; Redij, A.; Reeves, M.; Reinherz-Aronis, E.; Riccio, C.; Rodrigues, P. A.; Rojas, P.; Rondio, E.; Roth, S.; Rubbia, A.; Ruterbories, D.; Rychter, A.; Sacco, R.; Sakashita, K.; Sánchez, F.; Sato, F.; Scantamburlo, E.; Scholberg, K.; Schoppmann, S.; Schwehr, J.; Scott, M.; Seiya, Y.; Sekiguchi, T.; Sekiya, H.; Sgalaberna, D.; Shah, R.; Shaker, F.; Shaw, D.; Shiozawa, M.; Short, S.; Shustrov, Y.; Sinclair, P.; Smith, B.; Smy, M.; Sobczyk, J. T.; Sobel, H.; Sorel, M.; Southwell, L.; Stamoulis, P.; Steinmann, J.; Still, B.; Suda, Y.; Suzuki, A.; Suzuki, K.; Suzuki, S. Y.; Suzuki, Y.; Tacik, R.; Tada, M.; Takahashi, S.; Takeda, A.; Takeuchi, Y.; Tanaka, H. K.; Tanaka, H. A.; Tanaka, M. M.; Terhorst, D.; Terri, R.; Thompson, L. F.; Thorley, A.; Tobayama, S.; Toki, W.; Tomura, T.; Totsuka, Y.; Touramanis, C.; Tsukamoto, T.; Tzanov, M.; Uchida, Y.; Vacheret, A.; Vagins, M.; Vasseur, G.; Wachala, T.; Wakamatsu, K.; Walter, C. W.; Wark, D.; Warzycha, W.; Wascko, M. O.; Weber, A.; Wendell, R.; Wilkes, R. J.; Wilking, M. J.; Wilkinson, C.; Williamson, Z.; Wilson, J. R.; Wilson, R. J.; Wongjirad, T.; Yamada, Y.; Yamamoto, K.; Yanagisawa, C.; Yano, T.; Yen, S.; Yershov, N.; Yokoyama, M.; Yoo, J.; Yoshida, K.; Yuan, T.; Yu, M.; Zalewska, A.; Zalipska, J.; Zambelli, L.; Zaremba, K.; Ziembicki, M.; Zimmerman, E. D.; Zito, M.; Żmuda, J.; T2K Collaboration

2016-01-01

The Tokai to Kamioka (T2K) long-baseline neutrino experiment consists of a muon neutrino beam, produced at the J-PARC accelerator, a near detector complex and a large 295-km-distant far detector. The present work utilizes the T2K event timing measurements at the near and far detectors to study neutrino time of flight as a function of derived neutrino energy. Under the assumption of a relativistic relation between energy and time of flight, constraints on the neutrino rest mass can be derived. The sub-GeV neutrino beam in conjunction with timing precision of order tens of ns provide sensitivity to neutrino mass in the few MeV /c2 range. We study the distribution of relative arrival times of muon and electron neutrino candidate events at the T2K far detector as a function of neutrino energy. The 90% C.L. upper limit on the mixture of neutrino mass eigenstates represented in the data sample is found to be mν2<5.6 MeV2/c4 .

Turning behaviour depends on frictional damping in the fruit fly Drosophila.

PubMed

Hesselberg, Thomas; Lehmann, Fritz-Olaf

2007-12-01

Turning behaviour in the fruit fly Drosophila depends on several factors including not only feedback from sensory organs and muscular control of wing motion, but also the mass moments of inertia and the frictional damping coefficient of the rotating body. In the present study we evaluate the significance of body friction for yaw turning and thus the limits of visually mediated flight control in Drosophila, by scoring tethered flies flying in a flight simulator on their ability to visually compensate a bias on a moving object and a visual background panorama at different simulated frictional dampings. We estimated the fly's natural damping coefficient from a numerical aerodynamic model based on both friction on the body and the flapping wings during saccadic turning. The model predicts a coefficient of 54 x 10(-12) Nm s, which is more than 100-times larger than the value estimated from a previous study on the body alone. Our estimate suggests that friction plays a larger role for yaw turning in Drosophila than moments of inertia. The simulator experiments showed that visual performance of the fruit fly collapses near the physical conditions estimated for freely flying animals, which is consistent with the suggested role of the halteres for flight stabilization. However, kinematic analyses indicate that the measured loss of flight control might be due predominantly to the limited fine control in the fly's steering muscles below a threshold of 1-2 degrees stroke amplitude, rather than resulting from the limits of visual motion detection by the fly's compound eyes. We discuss the impact of these results and suggest that the elevated frictional coefficient permits freely flying fruit flies to passively terminate rotational body movements without producing counter-torque during the second half of the saccadic turning manoeuvre.

Remote sensing of soils, land forms, and land use in the northern great plains in preparation for ERTS applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frazee, C. J.; Westin, F. C.; Gropper, J.; Myers, V. I.

1972-01-01

Research to determine the optimum time or season for obtaining imagery to identify and map soil limitations was conducted in the proposed Oahe irrigation project area in South Dakota. The optimum time for securing photographs or imagery is when the soil surface patterns are most apparent. For cultivated areas similar to the study area, May is the optimum time. The fields are cultivated or the planted crop has not yet masked soil surface features. Soil limitations in 59 percent of the field of the flight line could be mapped using the above criteria. The remaining fields cannot be mapped because the vegetation or growing crops do not express features related to soil differences. This suggests that imagery from more than one year is necessary to map completely the soil limitations of Oahe area by remote sensing techniques. Imagery from the other times studied is not suitable for identifying and mapping soil limitations of Oahe area by remote sensing techniques. Imagery from the other times studied is not suitable for identifying and mapping soil limitations because the vegetative cover masked the soil surface and does not reflect soil differences.

Effects of flight activity and age on oxidative damage in the honey bee, Apis mellifera.

PubMed

Margotta, Joseph W; Roberts, Stephen P; Elekonich, Michelle M

2018-05-03

Frequent and highly aerobic behaviors likely contribute to naturally occurring stress, accelerate senescence, and limit lifespan. To understand how the physiological and cellular mechanisms that determine the onset and duration of senescence are shaped by behavioral development and behavioral duration, we exploited the tractability of the honey bee ( Apis mellifera ) model system. First, we determined if a cause-effect relationship exists between honey bee flight and oxidative stress by comparing oxidative damage accrued from intense flight bouts to damage accrued from D-galactose ingestion, which induces oxidative stress and limit lifespan in other insects. Second, we experimentally manipulated the duration of honey bee flight across a range of ages to determine their effects on reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and associated enzymatic antioxidant protective mechanisms. In bees fed D-galactose, lipid peroxidation (MDA) was higher than in bees fed sucrose and age-matched bees with high and low flight experience collected from a colony. Bees with high amounts of flight experience exhibited elevated 8-OHdG, a marker of oxidative DNA damage, relative to bees with less flight experience. Bees with high amounts of flight experience also showed increased levels of pro-oxidants (superoxide and H 2 O 2 ) and decreased or unchanged levels of antioxidants (SOD and catalase). These data implicate an imbalance of pro- to antioxidants in flight-associated oxidative stress and reveal how behavior can damage a cell and consequently limit lifespan. © 2018. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Rapid Quadrupole-Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry Method Quantifies Oxygen-Rich Lignin Compound in Complex Mixtures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boes, Kelsey S.; Roberts, Michael S.; Vinueza, Nelson R.

2018-03-01

Complex mixture analysis is a costly and time-consuming task facing researchers with foci as varied as food science and fuel analysis. When faced with the task of quantifying oxygen-rich bio-oil molecules in a complex diesel mixture, we asked whether complex mixtures could be qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed on a single mass spectrometer with mid-range resolving power without the use of lengthy separations. To answer this question, we developed and evaluated a quantitation method that eliminated chromatography steps and expanded the use of quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry from primarily qualitative to quantitative as well. To account for mixture complexity, the method employed an ionization dopant, targeted tandem mass spectrometry, and an internal standard. This combination of three techniques achieved reliable quantitation of oxygen-rich eugenol in diesel from 300 to 2500 ng/mL with sufficient linearity (R2 = 0.97 ± 0.01) and excellent accuracy (percent error = 0% ± 5). To understand the limitations of the method, it was compared to quantitation attained on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer, the gold standard for quantitation. The triple quadrupole quantified eugenol from 50 to 2500 ng/mL with stronger linearity (R2 = 0.996 ± 0.003) than the quadrupole-time-of-flight and comparable accuracy (percent error = 4% ± 5). This demonstrates that a quadrupole-time-of-flight can be used for not only qualitative analysis but also targeted quantitation of oxygen-rich lignin molecules in complex mixtures without extensive sample preparation. The rapid and cost-effective method presented here offers new possibilities for bio-oil research, including: (1) allowing for bio-oil studies that demand repetitive analysis as process parameters are changed and (2) making this research accessible to more laboratories. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Rapid Quadrupole-Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry Method Quantifies Oxygen-Rich Lignin Compound in Complex Mixtures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boes, Kelsey S.; Roberts, Michael S.; Vinueza, Nelson R.

2017-12-01

Complex mixture analysis is a costly and time-consuming task facing researchers with foci as varied as food science and fuel analysis. When faced with the task of quantifying oxygen-rich bio-oil molecules in a complex diesel mixture, we asked whether complex mixtures could be qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed on a single mass spectrometer with mid-range resolving power without the use of lengthy separations. To answer this question, we developed and evaluated a quantitation method that eliminated chromatography steps and expanded the use of quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry from primarily qualitative to quantitative as well. To account for mixture complexity, the method employed an ionization dopant, targeted tandem mass spectrometry, and an internal standard. This combination of three techniques achieved reliable quantitation of oxygen-rich eugenol in diesel from 300 to 2500 ng/mL with sufficient linearity (R2 = 0.97 ± 0.01) and excellent accuracy (percent error = 0% ± 5). To understand the limitations of the method, it was compared to quantitation attained on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer, the gold standard for quantitation. The triple quadrupole quantified eugenol from 50 to 2500 ng/mL with stronger linearity (R2 = 0.996 ± 0.003) than the quadrupole-time-of-flight and comparable accuracy (percent error = 4% ± 5). This demonstrates that a quadrupole-time-of-flight can be used for not only qualitative analysis but also targeted quantitation of oxygen-rich lignin molecules in complex mixtures without extensive sample preparation. The rapid and cost-effective method presented here offers new possibilities for bio-oil research, including: (1) allowing for bio-oil studies that demand repetitive analysis as process parameters are changed and (2) making this research accessible to more laboratories. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Rapid Quadrupole-Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry Method Quantifies Oxygen-Rich Lignin Compound in Complex Mixtures.

PubMed

Boes, Kelsey S; Roberts, Michael S; Vinueza, Nelson R

2018-03-01

Complex mixture analysis is a costly and time-consuming task facing researchers with foci as varied as food science and fuel analysis. When faced with the task of quantifying oxygen-rich bio-oil molecules in a complex diesel mixture, we asked whether complex mixtures could be qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed on a single mass spectrometer with mid-range resolving power without the use of lengthy separations. To answer this question, we developed and evaluated a quantitation method that eliminated chromatography steps and expanded the use of quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry from primarily qualitative to quantitative as well. To account for mixture complexity, the method employed an ionization dopant, targeted tandem mass spectrometry, and an internal standard. This combination of three techniques achieved reliable quantitation of oxygen-rich eugenol in diesel from 300 to 2500 ng/mL with sufficient linearity (R 2 = 0.97 ± 0.01) and excellent accuracy (percent error = 0% ± 5). To understand the limitations of the method, it was compared to quantitation attained on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer, the gold standard for quantitation. The triple quadrupole quantified eugenol from 50 to 2500 ng/mL with stronger linearity (R 2 = 0.996 ± 0.003) than the quadrupole-time-of-flight and comparable accuracy (percent error = 4% ± 5). This demonstrates that a quadrupole-time-of-flight can be used for not only qualitative analysis but also targeted quantitation of oxygen-rich lignin molecules in complex mixtures without extensive sample preparation. The rapid and cost-effective method presented here offers new possibilities for bio-oil research, including: (1) allowing for bio-oil studies that demand repetitive analysis as process parameters are changed and (2) making this research accessible to more laboratories. Graphical Abstract ᅟ.

NASA Advanced Concepts Office, Earth-To-Orbit Team Design Process and Tools

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Waters, Eric D.; Garcia, Jessica; Beers, Benjamin; Philips, Alan; Holt, James B.; Threet, Grady E., Jr.

2013-01-01

The Earth to Orbit (ETO) Team of the Advanced Concepts Office (ACO) at NASA Marshal Space Flight Center (MSFC) is considered the preeminent group to go to for prephase A and phase A concept definition. The ACO team has been at the forefront of a multitude of launch vehicle studies determining the future direction of the Agency as a whole due, in part, to their rapid turnaround time in analyzing concepts and their ability to cover broad trade spaces of vehicles in that limited timeframe. Each completed vehicle concept includes a full mass breakdown of each vehicle to tertiary subsystem components, along with a vehicle trajectory analysis to determine optimized payload delivery to specified orbital parameters, flight environments, and delta v capability. Additionally, a structural analysis of the vehicle based on material properties and geometries is performed as well as an analysis to determine the flight loads based on the trajectory outputs. As mentioned, the ACO Earth to Orbit Team prides themselves on their rapid turnaround time and often need to fulfill customer requests within limited schedule or little advanced notice. Due to working in this fast paced environment, the ETO team has developed some finely honed skills and methods to maximize the delivery capability to meet their customer needs. This paper will describe the interfaces between the 3 primary disciplines used in the design process; weights and sizing, trajectory, and structural analysis, as well as the approach each discipline employs to streamline their particular piece of the design process.

Nocturnal insects use optic flow for flight control

PubMed Central

Baird, Emily; Kreiss, Eva; Wcislo, William; Warrant, Eric; Dacke, Marie

2011-01-01

To avoid collisions when navigating through cluttered environments, flying insects must control their flight so that their sensory systems have time to detect obstacles and avoid them. To do this, day-active insects rely primarily on the pattern of apparent motion generated on the retina during flight (optic flow). However, many flying insects are active at night, when obtaining reliable visual information for flight control presents much more of a challenge. To assess whether nocturnal flying insects also rely on optic flow cues to control flight in dim light, we recorded flights of the nocturnal neotropical sweat bee, Megalopta genalis, flying along an experimental tunnel when: (i) the visual texture on each wall generated strong horizontal (front-to-back) optic flow cues, (ii) the texture on only one wall generated these cues, and (iii) horizontal optic flow cues were removed from both walls. We find that Megalopta increase their groundspeed when horizontal motion cues in the tunnel are reduced (conditions (ii) and (iii)). However, differences in the amount of horizontal optic flow on each wall of the tunnel (condition (ii)) do not affect the centred position of the bee within the flight tunnel. To better understand the behavioural response of Megalopta, we repeated the experiments on day-active bumble-bees (Bombus terrestris). Overall, our findings demonstrate that despite the limitations imposed by dim light, Megalopta—like their day-active relatives—rely heavily on vision to control flight, but that they use visual cues in a different manner from diurnal insects. PMID:21307047

14 CFR 417.221 - Time delay analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... OF TRANSPORTATION LICENSING LAUNCH SAFETY Flight Safety Analysis § 417.221 Time delay analysis. (a) General. A flight safety analysis must include a time delay analysis that establishes the mean elapsed time between the violation of a flight termination rule and the time when the flight safety system is...

14 CFR 417.221 - Time delay analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... OF TRANSPORTATION LICENSING LAUNCH SAFETY Flight Safety Analysis § 417.221 Time delay analysis. (a) General. A flight safety analysis must include a time delay analysis that establishes the mean elapsed time between the violation of a flight termination rule and the time when the flight safety system is...

14 CFR 117.19 - Flight duty period extensions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Flight duty period extensions. 117.19... (CONTINUED) AIR CARRIERS AND OPERATORS FOR COMPENSATION OR HIRE: CERTIFICATION AND OPERATIONS FLIGHT AND DUTY LIMITATIONS AND REST REQUIREMENTS: FLIGHTCREW MEMBERS (EFF. 1-4-14) § 117.19 Flight duty period extensions. (a...

Perching and takeoff of a robotic insect on overhangs using switchable electrostatic adhesion.

PubMed

Graule, M A; Chirarattananon, P; Fuller, S B; Jafferis, N T; Ma, K Y; Spenko, M; Kornbluh, R; Wood, R J

2016-05-20

For aerial robots, maintaining a high vantage point for an extended time is crucial in many applications. However, available on-board power and mechanical fatigue constrain their flight time, especially for smaller, battery-powered aircraft. Perching on elevated structures is a biologically inspired approach to overcome these limitations. Previous perching robots have required specific material properties for the landing sites, such as surface asperities for spines, or ferromagnetism. We describe a switchable electroadhesive that enables controlled perching and detachment on nearly any material while requiring approximately three orders of magnitude less power than required to sustain flight. These electroadhesives are designed, characterized, and used to demonstrate a flying robotic insect able to robustly perch on a wide range of materials, including glass, wood, and a natural leaf. Copyright © 2016, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Rapid determination of trace nitrophenolic organics in water by combining solid-phase extraction with surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Chen, Y C; Shiea, J; Sunner, J

2000-01-01

A rapid technique for the screening of trace compounds in water by combining solid-phase extraction (SPE) with activated carbon surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization (SALDI) time-of-flight mass spectrometry is demonstrated. Activated carbon is used both as the sorbent in SPE and as the solid in the SALDI matrix system. This eliminates the need for an SPE elution process. After the analytes have been adsorbed on the surfaces of the activated carbon during SPE extraction, the activated carbon is directly mixed with the SALDI liquid and mass spectrometric analysis is performed. Trace phenolic compounds in water were used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method. The detection limit for these compounds is in the ppb to ppt range. Copyright 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

14 CFR 382.17 - May carriers limit the number of passengers with a disability on a flight?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false May carriers limit the number of passengers with a disability on a flight? 382.17 Section 382.17 Aeronautics and Space OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY... DISABILITY IN AIR TRAVEL Nondiscrimination and Access to Services and Information § 382.17 May carriers limit...

14 CFR 382.17 - May carriers limit the number of passengers with a disability on a flight?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false May carriers limit the number of passengers with a disability on a flight? 382.17 Section 382.17 Aeronautics and Space OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY... DISABILITY IN AIR TRAVEL Nondiscrimination and Access to Services and Information § 382.17 May carriers limit...

14 CFR 382.17 - May carriers limit the number of passengers with a disability on a flight?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false May carriers limit the number of passengers with a disability on a flight? 382.17 Section 382.17 Aeronautics and Space OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY... DISABILITY IN AIR TRAVEL Nondiscrimination and Access to Services and Information § 382.17 May carriers limit...

14 CFR 382.17 - May carriers limit the number of passengers with a disability on a flight?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false May carriers limit the number of passengers with a disability on a flight? 382.17 Section 382.17 Aeronautics and Space OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY... DISABILITY IN AIR TRAVEL Nondiscrimination and Access to Services and Information § 382.17 May carriers limit...

14 CFR 382.17 - May carriers limit the number of passengers with a disability on a flight?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false May carriers limit the number of passengers with a disability on a flight? 382.17 Section 382.17 Aeronautics and Space OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY... DISABILITY IN AIR TRAVEL Nondiscrimination and Access to Services and Information § 382.17 May carriers limit...

A Flight Evaluation of an Airborne Physiological Instrumentation System, Including Preliminary Results Under Conditions of Varying Accelerations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smedal, Harald A.; Holden, George R.; Smith, Joseph R., Jr.

1960-01-01

A physiological instrumentation system capable of recording the electrocardiogram, pulse rate, respiration rate, and systolic and diastolic blood pressures during flight has been developed. This instrumentation system was designed for use during control studies at varied levels of acceleration in order to monitor the well-being of the pilot and at the same time to obtain data for study of the relationships between his various physiological functions and his performance capability. Flights, made in a T-33 aircraft, demonstrated the ability of the system to obtain the desired physiological data in flight. The data obtained in these flights, although limited in nature, indicate a slowing of the pulse rate under the subgravity conditions of brief duration. There appeared to be a proportional nearly in-phase relationship between pulse rate and acceleration. A decrease in diastolic blood pressure together with an increase in pulse pressure was noted during subgravity conditions and an elevation of the diastolic pressure together with a decrease in pulse pressure du-ring increased accelerations. No change worthy of note was seen in the records of the systolic blood pressure, the respiration rate, or the electrocardiogram over the range of acceleration studied (0 to 3 g).

An Earth-based Model of Microgravity Pulmonary Physiology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hirschl, Ronald B.; Bull, Joseph L.; Grotberg, James B.

2004-01-01

There are currently only two practical methods of achieving microgravity for experimentation: parabolic flight in an aircraft or space flight, both of which have limitations. As a result, there are many important aspects of pulmonary physiology that have not been investigated in microgravity. We propose to develop an earth-based animal model of microgravity by using liquid ventilation, which will allow us to fill the lungs with perfluorocarbon, and submersing the animal in water such that the density of the lungs is the same as the surrounding environment. By so doing, we will eliminate the effects of gravity on respiration. We will first validate the model by comparing measures of pulmonary mechanics, to previous space flight and parabolic flight measurements. After validating the model, we will investigate the impact of microgravity on aspects of lung physiology that have not been previously measured. These will include pulmonary blood flow distribution, ventillation distribution, pulmonary capillary wedge pressure, ventilation-perfusion matching and pleural pressures and flows. We expect that this earth-based model of microgravity will enhance our knowledge and understanding of lung physiology in space which will increase in importance as space flights increase in time and distance.

High-Alpha Handling Qualities Flight Research on the NASA F/A-18 High Alpha Research Vehicle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wichman, Keith D.; Pahle, Joseph W.; Bahm, Catherine; Davidson, John B.; Bacon, Barton J.; Murphy, Patrick C.; Ostroff, Aaron J.; Hoffler, Keith D.

1996-01-01

A flight research study of high-angle-of-attack handling qualities has been conducted at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center using the F/A-18 High Alpha Research Vehicle (HARV). The objectives were to create a high-angle-of-attack handling qualities flight database, develop appropriate research evaluation maneuvers, and evaluate high-angle-of-attack handling qualities guidelines and criteria. Using linear and nonlinear simulations and flight research data, the predictions from each criterion were compared with the pilot ratings and comments. Proposed high-angle-of-attack nonlinear design guidelines and proposed handling qualities criteria and guidelines developed using piloted simulation were considered. Recently formulated time-domain Neal-Smith guidelines were also considered for application to high-angle-of-attack maneuvering. Conventional envelope criteria were evaluated for possible extension to the high-angle-of-attack regime. Additionally, the maneuvers were studied as potential evaluation techniques, including a limited validation of the proposed standard evaluation maneuver set. This paper gives an overview of these research objectives through examples and summarizes result highlights. The maneuver development is described briefly, the criteria evaluation is emphasized with example results given, and a brief discussion of the database form and content is presented.

Nocturnal hypothermia impairs flight ability in birds: a cost of being cool

PubMed Central

Carr, Jennie M.; Lima, Steven L.

2013-01-01

Many birds use regulated drops in night-time body temperature (Tb) to conserve energy critical to winter survival. However, a significant degree of hypothermia may limit a bird's ability to respond to predatory attack. Despite this likely energy–predation trade-off, the behavioural costs of avian hypothermia have yet to be examined. We thus monitored the nocturnal hypothermia of mourning doves (Zenaida macroura) in a laboratory setting in response to food deprivation. Nocturnal flight tests were used to quantify the flight ability of hypothermic doves. Many hypothermic doves (39% of tests) could not fly while carrying a small weight, but could do so after quickly warming up to typical daytime Tb. Doves that were unable to fly during their first test were more hypothermic than those that could fly, with average Tb reductions of 5.3°C and 3.3°C, respectively, but there was no overall indication of a threshold Tb reduction beyond which doves were consistently incapable of flight. These results suggest that energy-saving hypothermia interferes with avian antipredator behaviour via a reduction in flight ability, likely leading to a trade-off between energy-saving hypothermia and the risk of predation. PMID:24107528

Direct adaptive performance optimization of subsonic transports: A periodic perturbation technique

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Espana, Martin D.; Gilyard, Glenn

1995-01-01

Aircraft performance can be optimized at the flight condition by using available redundancy among actuators. Effective use of this potential allows improved performance beyond limits imposed by design compromises. Optimization based on nominal models does not result in the best performance of the actual aircraft at the actual flight condition. An adaptive algorithm for optimizing performance parameters, such as speed or fuel flow, in flight based exclusively on flight data is proposed. The algorithm is inherently insensitive to model inaccuracies and measurement noise and biases and can optimize several decision variables at the same time. An adaptive constraint controller integrated into the algorithm regulates the optimization constraints, such as altitude or speed, without requiring and prior knowledge of the autopilot design. The algorithm has a modular structure which allows easy incorporation (or removal) of optimization constraints or decision variables to the optimization problem. An important part of the contribution is the development of analytical tools enabling convergence analysis of the algorithm and the establishment of simple design rules. The fuel-flow minimization and velocity maximization modes of the algorithm are demonstrated on the NASA Dryden B-720 nonlinear flight simulator for the single- and multi-effector optimization cases.

Comparative analysis of operational forecasts versus actual weather conditions in airline flight planning, volume 3

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Keitz, J. F.

1982-01-01

The impact of more timely and accurate weather data on airline flight planning with the emphasis on fuel savings is studied. This volume of the report discusses the results of Task 3 of the four major tasks included in the study. Task 3 compares flight plans developed on the Suitland forecast with actual data observed by the aircraft (and averaged over 10 degree segments). The results show that the average difference between the forecast and observed wind speed is 9 kts. without considering direction, and the average difference in the component of the forecast wind parallel to the direction of the observed wind is 13 kts. - both indicating that the Suitland forecast underestimates the wind speeds. The Root Mean Square (RMS) vector error is 30.1 kts. The average absolute difference in direction between the forecast and observed wind is 26 degrees and the temperature difference is 3 degree Centigrade. These results indicate that the forecast model as well as the verifying analysis used to develop comparison flight plans in Tasks 1 and 2 is a limiting factor and that the average potential fuel savings or penalty are up to 3.6 percent depending on the direction of flight.

A role of abdomen in butterfly's flapping flight

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jayakumar, Jeeva; Senda, Kei; Yokoyama, Naoto

2017-11-01

Butterfly's forward flight with periodic flapping motion is longitudinally unstable, and control of the thoracic pitching angle is essential to stabilize the flight. This study aims to comprehend roles which the abdominal motion play in the pitching stability of butterfly's flapping flight by using a two-dimensional model. The control of the thoracic pitching angle by the abdominal motion is an underactuated problem because of the limit on the abdominal angle. The control input of the thorax-abdomen joint torque is obtained by the hierarchical sliding mode control in this study. Numerical simulations reveal that the control by the abdominal motion provides short-term pitching stabilization in the butterfly's flight. Moreover, the control input due to a large thorax-abdomen joint torque can counteract a quite large perturbation, and can return the pitching attitude to the periodic trajectory with a short recovery time. These observations are consistent with biologists' view that living butterflies use their abdomens as rudders. On the other hand, the abdominal control mostly fails in long-term pitching stabilization, because it cannot directly alter the aerodynamic forces. The control for the long-term pitching stabilization will also be discussed.

The NASA Sounding Rocket Program and space sciences.

PubMed

Gurkin, L W

1992-10-01

High altitude suborbital rockets (sounding rockets) have been extensively used for space science research in the post-World War II period; the NASA Sounding Rocket Program has been on-going since the inception of the Agency and supports all space science disciplines. In recent years, sounding rockets have been utilized to provide a low gravity environment for materials processing research, particularly in the commercial sector. Sounding rockets offer unique features as a low gravity flight platform. Quick response and low cost combine to provide more frequent spaceflight opportunities. Suborbital spacecraft design practice has achieved a high level of sophistication which optimizes the limited available flight times. High data-rate telemetry, real-time ground up-link command and down-link video data are routinely used in sounding rocket payloads. Standard, off-the-shelf, active control systems are available which limit payload body rates such that the gravitational environment remains less than 10(-4) g during the control period. Operational launch vehicles are available which can provide up to 7 minutes of experiment time for experiment weights up to 270 kg. Standard payload recovery systems allow soft impact retrieval of payloads. When launched from White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, payloads can be retrieved and returned to the launch site within hours.

The NASA Sounding Rocket Program and space sciences

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gurkin, L. W.

1992-01-01

High altitude suborbital rockets (sounding rockets) have been extensively used for space science research in the post-World War II period; the NASA Sounding Rocket Program has been on-going since the inception of the Agency and supports all space science disciplines. In recent years, sounding rockets have been utilized to provide a low gravity environment for materials processing research, particularly in the commercial sector. Sounding rockets offer unique features as a low gravity flight platform. Quick response and low cost combine to provide more frequent spaceflight opportunities. Suborbital spacecraft design practice has achieved a high level of sophistication which optimizes the limited available flight times. High data-rate telemetry, real-time ground up-link command and down-link video data are routinely used in sounding rocket payloads. Standard, off-the-shelf, active control systems are available which limit payload body rates such that the gravitational environment remains less than 10(-4) g during the control period. Operational launch vehicles are available which can provide up to 7 minutes of experiment time for experiment weights up to 270 kg. Standard payload recovery systems allow soft impact retrieval of payloads. When launched from White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, payloads can be retrieved and returned to the launch site within hours.

B-52B-008/DTV (Drop Test Vehicle) configuration 1 (with and without fins) flight test results - captive flight and drop test missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Quade, D. A.

1978-01-01

The B-52B-008 drop test consisted of one takeoff roll to 60 KCAS, two captive flights to accomplish limited safety of flight flutter and structural demonstration testing, and seven drop test flights. Of the seven drop test missions, one flight was aborted due to the failure of the hook mechanism to release the drop test vehicle (DTV); but the other six flights successfully dropped the DTV.

Visual control of flight speed in Drosophila melanogaster.

PubMed

Fry, Steven N; Rohrseitz, Nicola; Straw, Andrew D; Dickinson, Michael H

2009-04-01

Flight control in insects depends on self-induced image motion (optic flow), which the visual system must process to generate appropriate corrective steering maneuvers. Classic experiments in tethered insects applied rigorous system identification techniques for the analysis of turning reactions in the presence of rotating pattern stimuli delivered in open-loop. However, the functional relevance of these measurements for visual free-flight control remains equivocal due to the largely unknown effects of the highly constrained experimental conditions. To perform a systems analysis of the visual flight speed response under free-flight conditions, we implemented a 'one-parameter open-loop' paradigm using 'TrackFly' in a wind tunnel equipped with real-time tracking and virtual reality display technology. Upwind flying flies were stimulated with sine gratings of varying temporal and spatial frequencies, and the resulting speed responses were measured from the resulting flight speed reactions. To control flight speed, the visual system of the fruit fly extracts linear pattern velocity robustly over a broad range of spatio-temporal frequencies. The speed signal is used for a proportional control of flight speed within locomotor limits. The extraction of pattern velocity over a broad spatio-temporal frequency range may require more sophisticated motion processing mechanisms than those identified in flies so far. In Drosophila, the neuromotor pathways underlying flight speed control may be suitably explored by applying advanced genetic techniques, for which our data can serve as a baseline. Finally, the high-level control principles identified in the fly can be meaningfully transferred into a robotic context, such as for the robust and efficient control of autonomous flying micro air vehicles.

Near Real Time Review of Instrument Performance using the Airborne Data Processing and Analysis Software Package

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delene, D. J.

2014-12-01

Research aircraft that conduct atmospheric measurements carry an increasing array of instrumentation. While on-board personnel constantly review instrument parameters and time series plots, there are an overwhelming number of items. Furthermore, directing the aircraft flight takes up much of the flight scientist time. Typically, a flight engineer is given the responsibility of reviewing the status of on-board instruments. While major issues like not receiving data are quickly identified during a flight, subtle issues like low but believable concentration measurements may go unnoticed. Therefore, it is critical to review data after a flight in near real time. The Airborne Data Processing and Analysis (ADPAA) software package used by the University of North Dakota automates the post-processing of aircraft flight data. Utilizing scripts to process the measurements recorded by data acquisition systems enables the generation of data files within an hour of flight completion. The ADPAA Cplot visualization program enables plots to be quickly generated that enable timely review of all recorded and processed parameters. Near real time review of aircraft flight data enables instrument problems to be identified, investigated and fixed before conducting another flight. On one flight, near real time data review resulted in the identification of unusually low measurements of cloud condensation nuclei, and rapid data visualization enabled the timely investigation of the cause. As a result, a leak was found and fixed before the next flight. Hence, with the high cost of aircraft flights, it is critical to find and fix instrument problems in a timely matter. The use of a automated processing scripts and quick visualization software enables scientists to review aircraft flight data in near real time to identify potential problems.

Real Time Correction of Aircraft Flight Fonfiguration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schipper, John F. (Inventor)

2009-01-01

Method and system for monitoring and analyzing, in real time, variation with time of an aircraft flight parameter. A time-dependent recovery band, defined by first and second recovery band boundaries that are spaced apart at at least one time point, is constructed for a selected flight parameter and for a selected time recovery time interval length .DELTA.t(FP;rec). A flight parameter, having a value FP(t=t.sub.p) at a time t=t.sub.p, is likely to be able to recover to a reference flight parameter value FP(t';ref), lying in a band of reference flight parameter values FP(t';ref;CB), within a time interval given by t.sub.p.ltoreq.t'.ltoreq.t.sub.p.DELTA.t(FP;rec), if (or only if) the flight parameter value lies between the first and second recovery band boundary traces.

Limit theorems for Lévy walks in d dimensions: rare and bulk fluctuations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fouxon, Itzhak; Denisov, Sergey; Zaburdaev, Vasily; Barkai, Eli

2017-04-01

We consider super-diffusive Lévy walks in d≥slant 2 dimensions when the duration of a single step, i.e. a ballistic motion performed by a walker, is governed by a power-law tailed distribution of infinite variance and finite mean. We demonstrate that the probability density function (PDF) of the coordinate of the random walker has two different scaling limits at large times. One limit describes the bulk of the PDF. It is the d-dimensional generalization of the one-dimensional Lévy distribution and is the counterpart of the central limit theorem (CLT) for random walks with finite dispersion. In contrast with the one-dimensional Lévy distribution and the CLT this distribution does not have a universal shape. The PDF reflects anisotropy of the single-step statistics however large the time is. The other scaling limit, the so-called ‘infinite density’, describes the tail of the PDF which determines second (dispersion) and higher moments of the PDF. This limit repeats the angular structure of the PDF of velocity in one step. A typical realization of the walk consists of anomalous diffusive motion (described by anisotropic d-dimensional Lévy distribution) interspersed with long ballistic flights (described by infinite density). The long flights are rare but due to them the coordinate increases so much that their contribution determines the dispersion. We illustrate the concept by considering two types of Lévy walks, with isotropic and anisotropic distributions of velocities. Furthermore, we show that for isotropic but otherwise arbitrary velocity distributions the d-dimensional process can be reduced to a one-dimensional Lévy walk. We briefly discuss the consequences of non-universality for the d  >  1 dimensional fractional diffusion equation, in particular the non-uniqueness of the fractional Laplacian.

Resolution of holograms produced by the fluid experiment system and the holography ground system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brooks, Howard L.

1987-01-01

The Fluid Experiment System (FES) was developed to study low temperature crystal growth of triglycine sulfate from solution in a low gravity environment onboard Spacelab. The first flight of FES was in 1985. FES uses an optical system to take holograms of the growing crystal to be analyzed after the mission in the Holography Ground System (HGS) located in the Test Laboratory at Marshall Space Flight Center. Microscopic observation of the images formed by the reconstructed holograms is critical to determining crystal growth rate and particle velocity. FES and HGS were designed for a resolution of better than 20 micrometers, but initial observation of the flight holograms show a limit of 80 micrometers. The resolution of the FES holograms is investigated, as well as the role of beam intensity ratio and exposure time on the resolution of HGS produced holograms.

Gravity Probe B data system description

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bennett, Norman R.

2015-11-01

The Gravity Probe B data system, developed, integrated, and tested by Lockheed Missiles & Space Company, and later Lockheed Martin Corporation, included flight and ground command, control, and communications software. The development was greatly facilitated, conceptually and by the transfer of key personnel, through Lockheed’s earlier flight and ground test software development for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Key design challenges included the tight mission timeline (17 months, 9 days of on-orbit operation), the need to tune the system once on-orbit, and limited 2 Kbps real-time data rates and ground asset availability. The result was a completely integrated space vehicle and Stanford mission operations center, which successfully collected and archived 97% of the ‘guide star valid’ data to support the science analysis. Lessons learned and incorporated from the HST flight software development and on-orbit support experience, and Lockheed’s independent research and development effort, will be discussed.

14 CFR 61.163 - Aeronautical experience: Powered-lift category rating.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... time in a flight simulator or flight training device. (ii) A maximum of 50 hours of training in a flight simulator or flight training device may be credited toward the instrument flight time requirements... training center certificated under part 142 of this chapter. (iii) Training in a flight simulator or flight...

14 CFR 61.163 - Aeronautical experience: Powered-lift category rating.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... time in a flight simulator or flight training device. (ii) A maximum of 50 hours of training in a flight simulator or flight training device may be credited toward the instrument flight time requirements... training center certificated under part 142 of this chapter. (iii) Training in a flight simulator or flight...

14 CFR 61.163 - Aeronautical experience: Powered-lift category rating.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... time in a flight simulator or flight training device. (ii) A maximum of 50 hours of training in a flight simulator or flight training device may be credited toward the instrument flight time requirements... training center certificated under part 142 of this chapter. (iii) Training in a flight simulator or flight...

Nutrititional Status Assessment of International Space Station Crew Members

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, S. M.; Zwart, S. R.; Block, G.; Rice, B. I.; Davis-Street, J. F.

2005-01-01

Defining optimal nutrient requirements is imperative to ensure crew health on long-duration space exploration missions. To date, nutrient requirement data have been extremely limited because of small sample sizes and difficulties associated with collecting biological samples. In this study, we examined changes in body composition, bone metabolism, hematology, general blood chemistry, and blood levels of selected vitamins and minerals after long-duration (128-195 d) space flight aboard the International Space Station. Crew members consumed an average of 80% of the recommended energy intakes, and on landing day their body weight had decreased (P=0.051). After flight, hematocrit was less, and serum femtin was greater than before flight (P<0.01). Serum iron, ferritin saturation, and transferrin had decreased after flight. The finding that other acute-phase proteins, including ceruloplasmin, retinol binding protein, transthyretin, and albumin were not changed after flight suggests that the changes in iron metabolism may not be strictly due to an inflammatory response. Urinary 8- hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine concentration was greater and superoxide dismutase was less after flight, indicating that oxidative damage had increased (P<0.05). Despite the reported use of vitamin D supplements during flight, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D was significantly decreased after flight (P<0.01). Bone resorption was increased after flight, as indicated by several urinary markers of bone resorption. Bone formation, assessed by serum concentration of bone-specific alkaline phosphatase, was elevated only in crew members who landed in Russia, probably because of the longer time lapse between landing and sample collection. These data provide evidence that bone loss, compromised vitamin D status, and oxidative damage remain critical concerns for long-duration space flight.

Failed landings after laying hen flight in a commercial aviary over two flock cycles.

PubMed

Campbell, D L M; Goodwin, S L; Makagon, M M; Swanson, J C; Siegford, J M

2016-01-01

Many egg producers are adopting alternative housing systems such as aviaries that provide hens a tiered cage and a litter-covered open floor area. This larger, more complex environment permits expression of behaviors not seen in space-limited cages, such as flight. Flight is an exercise important for strengthening bones; but domestic hens might display imperfect flight landings due to poor flight control. To assess the potential implications of open space, we evaluated the landing success of Lohmann white laying hens in a commercial aviary. Video recordings of hens were taken from 4 aviary sections at peak lay, mid lay and end lay across two flock cycles. Observations were made in each focal section of all flights throughout the day noting flight origin and landing location (outer perch or litter) and landing success or failure. In Flock 1, 9.1% of all flights failed and 21% failed in Flock 2. The number of flights decreased across the laying cycle for both flocks. Proportionally more failed landings were observed in the double row sections in Flock 2. Collisions with other hens were more common than slipping on the ground or colliding with aviary structures across sections and flocks. More hens slipped on the ground and collided with physical structures at peak lay for Flock 2 than at other time points. More collisions with other hens were seen at mid and end lay than at peak lay for Flock 2. Landings ending on perches failed more often than landings on litter. These results indicate potential for flight-related hen injuries in aviary systems resulting from failed landings, which may have implications for hen welfare and optimal system design and management.

Lessons Learned and Flight Results from the F15 Intelligent Flight Control System Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bosworth, John

2006-01-01

A viewgraph presentation on the lessons learned and flight results from the F15 Intelligent Flight Control System (IFCS) project is shown. The topics include: 1) F-15 IFCS Project Goals; 2) Motivation; 3) IFCS Approach; 4) NASA F-15 #837 Aircraft Description; 5) Flight Envelope; 6) Limited Authority System; 7) NN Floating Limiter; 8) Flight Experiment; 9) Adaptation Goals; 10) Handling Qualities Performance Metric; 11) Project Phases; 12) Indirect Adaptive Control Architecture; 13) Indirect Adaptive Experience and Lessons Learned; 14) Gen II Direct Adaptive Control Architecture; 15) Current Status; 16) Effect of Canard Multiplier; 17) Simulated Canard Failure Stab Open Loop; 18) Canard Multiplier Effect Closed Loop Freq. Resp.; 19) Simulated Canard Failure Stab Open Loop with Adaptation; 20) Canard Multiplier Effect Closed Loop with Adaptation; 21) Gen 2 NN Wts from Simulation; 22) Direct Adaptive Experience and Lessons Learned; and 23) Conclusions

Analysis of Limitations Imposed on One-spool Turboprop-engine Designs by Compressors and Turbines at Flight Mach Numbers of 0, 0.6, and 0.8

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cavicchi, Richard H

1956-01-01

Turbine centrifugal stress is a limiting factor for all flight conditions studied. This stress is more severe for sea-level operations than for subsonic flight at the tropopause. Turbines designed for a stress of 30,000 psi are capable of driving a light, compact, high-spedd compressor but only at high values of specific fuel consumption. An increase in turbine-inlet temperature is accompanied by an increase in turbine centrifugal stress. If stresses in excess of 50,000 psi can be tolerated, compressor aerodynamics may become a primary limitation.

Microbial Monitoring of Common Opportunistic Pathogens by Comparing Multiple Real-Time PCR Platforms for Potential Space Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oubre, Cherie M.; Birmele, Michele N.; Castro, Victoria A.; Venkateswaran, Kasthuri J.; Vaishampayan, Parag A.; Jones, Kathy U.; Singhal, Adesh; Johnston, Angela S.; Roman, Monserrate C.; Ozbolt, Tamra A.;

14 CFR 23.1583 - Operating limitations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... restrictions on smoking in the airplane. (p) Types of surface. A statement of the types of surface on which... type flight tests, together with recommended entry speeds and any other associated limitations. No... demonstrated in the type flight tests, together with recommended entry speeds and any other associated...

14 CFR 23.1583 - Operating limitations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... restrictions on smoking in the airplane. (p) Types of surface. A statement of the types of surface on which... type flight tests, together with recommended entry speeds and any other associated limitations. No... demonstrated in the type flight tests, together with recommended entry speeds and any other associated...

Time-Based Readout of a Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) for Time of Flight Positron Emission Tomography (TOF-PET)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Powolny, F.; Auffray, E.; Brunner, S. E.; Garutti, E.; Goettlich, M.; Hillemanns, H.; Jarron, P.; Lecoq, P.; Meyer, T.; Schultz-Coulon, H. C.; Shen, W.; Williams, M. C. S.

2011-06-01

Time of flight (TOF) measurements in positron emission tomography (PET) are very challenging in terms of timing performance, and should ideally achieve less than 100 ps FWHM precision. We present a time-based differential technique to read out silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) which has less than 20 ps FWHM electronic jitter. The novel readout is a fast front end circuit (NINO) based on a first stage differential current mode amplifier with 20 Ω input resistance. Therefore the amplifier inputs are connected differentially to the SiPM's anode and cathode ports. The leading edge of the output signal provides the time information, while the trailing edge provides the energy information. Based on a Monte Carlo photon-generation model, HSPICE simulations were run with a 3 × 3 mm2 SiPM-model, read out with a differential current amplifier. The results of these simulations are presented here and compared with experimental data obtained with a 3 × 3 × 15 mm3 LSO crystal coupled to a SiPM. The measured time coincidence precision and the limitations in the overall timing accuracy are interpreted using Monte Carlo/SPICE simulation, Poisson statistics, and geometric effects of the crystal.

14 CFR 398.7 - Timing of flights.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Timing of flights. 398.7 Section 398.7... STATEMENTS GUIDELINES FOR INDIVIDUAL DETERMINATIONS OF BASIC ESSENTIAL AIR SERVICE § 398.7 Timing of flights. To qualify as essential air service, flights must depart at reasonable times, considering the needs...

14 CFR 398.7 - Timing of flights.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Timing of flights. 398.7 Section 398.7... STATEMENTS GUIDELINES FOR INDIVIDUAL DETERMINATIONS OF BASIC ESSENTIAL AIR SERVICE § 398.7 Timing of flights. To qualify as essential air service, flights must depart at reasonable times, considering the needs...

Performance Characterization of a Lithium-ion Gel Polymer Battery Power Supply System for an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reid, Concha M.; Manzo, Michelle A.; Logan, Michael J.

2004-01-01

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are currently under development for NASA missions, earth sciences, aeronautics, the military, and commercial applications. The design of an all electric power and propulsion system for small UAVs was the focus of a detailed study. Currently, many of these small vehicles are powered by primary (nonrechargeable) lithium-based batteries. While this type of battery is capable of satisfying some of the mission needs, a secondary (rechargeable) battery power supply system that can provide the same functionality as the current system at the same or lower system mass and volume is desired. A study of commercially available secondary battery cell technologies that could provide the desired performance characteristics was performed. Due to the strict mass limitations and wide operating temperature requirements of small UAVs, the only viable cell chemistries were determined to be lithium-ion liquid electrolyte systems and lithium-ion gel polymer electrolyte systems. Two lithium-ion gel polymer cell designs were selected as candidates and were tested using potential load profiles for UAV applications. Because lithium primary batteries have a higher specific energy and energy density, for the same mass and volume allocation, the secondary batteries resulted in shorter flight times than the primary batteries typically provide. When the batteries were operated at lower ambient temperatures (0 to -20 C), flight times were even further reduced. Despite the reduced flight times demonstrated, for certain UAV applications, the secondary batteries operated within the acceptable range of flight times at room temperature and above. The results of this testing indicate that a secondary battery power supply system can provide some benefits over the primary battery power supply system. A UAV can be operated for hundreds of flights using a secondary battery power supply system that provides the combined benefits of rechargeability and an inherently safer chemistry.

On-Line Safe Flight Envelope Determination for Impaired Aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lombaerts, Thomas; Schuet, Stefan; Acosta, Diana; Kaneshige, John

2015-01-01

The design and simulation of an on-line algorithm which estimates the safe maneuvering envelope of aircraft is discussed in this paper. The trim envelope is estimated using probabilistic methods and efficient high-fidelity model based computations of attainable equilibrium sets. From this trim envelope, a robust reachability analysis provides the maneuverability limitations of the aircraft through an optimal control formulation. Both envelope limits are presented to the flight crew on the primary flight display. In the results section, scenarios are considered where this adaptive algorithm is capable of computing online changes to the maneuvering envelope due to impairment. Furthermore, corresponding updates to display features on the primary flight display are provided to potentially inform the flight crew of safety critical envelope alterations caused by the impairment.

Cabin air quality: indoor pollutants and climate during intercontinental flights with and without tobacco smoking.

PubMed

Lindgren, T; Norbäck, D

2002-12-01

The aim was to determine cabin air quality and in-flight exposure for cabin attendants of specific pollutants during intercontinental flights. Measurements of air humidity, temperature, carbon dioxide (CO2), respirable particles, ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and formaldehyde were performed during 26 intercontinental flights with Boeing 767-300 with and without tobacco smoking onboard. The mean temperature in cabin was 22.2 degrees C (range 17.4-26.8 degrees C), and mean relative air humidity was 6% (range 1-27%). The CO2 concentration during cruises was below the recommended limit of 1000 ppm during 96% of measured time. Mean indoor concentration of NO2 and O3, were 14.1 and 19.2 micrograms/m3, with maximum values of 37 and 66 micrograms/m3, respectively. The concentration of formaldehyde was below the detection limit (< 5 micrograms/m3), in most samples (77%), and the maximum value was 15 micrograms/m3. The mean concentration of respirable particles in the rear part of the aircraft (AFT galley area) was much higher (49 micrograms/m3) during smoking as compared with non-smoking conditions (3 micrograms/m3) (P < 0.001), with maximum values of 253 and 7 micrograms/m3. In conclusion, air humidity is very low on intercontinental flights, and the large variation of temperature shows a need for better temperature control. Tobacco smoking onboard leads to a significant pollution of respirable particles, particularly in the rear part of the cabin. The result supports the view that despite the high air exchange rate and efficient air filtration, smoking in commercial aircraft leads to a significant pollution and should be prohibited.

Real-Time Performance Feedback for the Manual Control of Spacecraft

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karasinski, John Austin

Real-time performance metrics were developed to quantify workload, situational awareness, and manual task performance for use as visual feedback to pilots of aerospace vehicles. Results from prior lunar lander experiments with variable levels of automation were replicated and extended to provide insights for the development of real-time metrics. Increased levels of automation resulted in increased flight performance, lower workload, and increased situational awareness. Automated Speech Recognition (ASR) was employed to detect verbal callouts as a limited measure of subjects' situational awareness. A one-dimensional manual tracking task and simple instructor-model visual feedback scheme was developed. This feedback was indicated to the operator by changing the color of a guidance element on the primary flight display, similar to how a flight instructor points out elements of a display to a student pilot. Experiments showed that for this low-complexity task, visual feedback did not change subject performance, but did increase the subjects' measured workload. Insights gained from these experiments were applied to a Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue (SAFER) inspection task. The effects of variations of an instructor-model performance-feedback strategy on human performance in a novel SAFER inspection task were investigated. Real-time feedback was found to have a statistically significant effect of improving subject performance and decreasing workload in this complicated four degree of freedom manual control task with two secondary tasks.

Human Space Flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woolford, Barbara

2006-01-01

The performance of complex tasks on the International Space Station (ISS) requires significant preflight crew training commitments and frequent skill and knowledge refreshment. This report documents a recently developed just-in-time training methodology, which integrates preflight hardware familiarization and procedure training with an on-orbit CD-ROM-based skill enhancement. This just-in-time concept was used to support real-time remote expert guidance to complete medical examinations using the ISS Human Research Facility (HRF). An American md Russian ISS crewmember received 2-hours of hands on ultrasound training 8 months prior to the on-orbit ultrasound exam. A CD-ROM-based Onboard Proficiency Enhancement (OPE) interactive multimedia program consisting of memory enhancing tutorials, and skill testing exercises, was completed by the crewmember six days prior to the on-orbit ultrasound exam. The crewmember was then remotely guided through a thoracic, vascular, and echocardiographic examination by ultrasound imaging experts. Results of the CD ROM based OPE session were used to modify the instructions during a complete 35 minute real-time thoracic, cardiac, and carotid/jugular ultrasound study. Following commands from the ground-based expert, the crewmember acquired all target views and images without difficulty. The anatomical content and fidelity of ultrasound video were excellent and adequate for clinical decision-making. Complex ultrasound experiments with expert guidance were performed with high accuracy following limited pre-flight training and CD-ROM-based in-flight review, despite a 2-second communication latency.

Solar Torque Management for the Near Earth Asteroid Scout CubeSat Using Center of Mass Position Control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Orphee, Juan; Heaton, Andrew; Diedrich, Ben; Stiltner, Brandon C.

2018-01-01

A novel mechanism, the Active Mass Translator (AMT), has been developed for the NASA Near Earth Asteroid (NEA) Scout mission to autonomously manage the spacecraft momentum. The NEA Scout CubeSat will launch as a secondary payload onboard Exploration Mission 1 of the Space Launch System. To accomplish its mission, the CubeSat will be propelled by an 86 square-meter solar sail during its two-year journey to reach asteroid 1991VG. NEA Scout's primary attitude control system uses reaction wheels for holding attitude and performing slew maneuvers, while a cold gas reaction control system performs the initial detumble and early trajectory correction maneuvers. The AMT control system requirements, feedback architecture, and control performance will be presented. The AMT reduces the amount of reaction control propellant needed for momentum management and allows for smaller capacity reaction wheels suitable for the limited 6U spacecraft volume. The reduced spacecraft mass allows higher in-space solar sail acceleration, thus reducing time-of-flight. The reduced time-of-flight opens the range of possible missions, which is limited by the lifetime of typical non-radiation tolerant CubeSat avionics exposed to the deep-space environment.

Searches for long-lived charged particles in pp collisions at $$ \\sqrt{s} $$ =7 and 8 TeV

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chatrchyan, S.; Khachatryan, V.; Sirunyan, A. M.

2013-07-01

Results of searches for heavy stable charged particles produced in pp collisions at = 7 and 8 TeV are presented corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb(-1) and 18.8 fb(-1), respectively. Data collected with the CMS detector are used to study the momentum, energy deposition, and time-of-flight of signal candidates. Leptons with an electric charge between e/3 and 8e, as well as bound states that can undergo charge exchange with the detector material, are studied. Analysis results are presented for various combinations of signatures in the inner tracker only, inner tracker and muon detector, and muon detector only. Detectormore » signatures utilized are long time-of-flight to the outer muon system and anomalously high (or low) energy deposition in the inner tracker. The data are consistent with the expected background, and upper limits are set on the production cross section of long-lived gluinos, scalar top quarks, and scalar τ leptons, as well as pair produced long-lived leptons. Corresponding lower mass limits, ranging up to 1322 GeV/c (2) for gluinos, are the most stringent to date.« less

Searches for long-lived charged particles in pp collisions at $$\\sqrt{s}$$ = 7 and 8 TeV

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chatrchyan, S.; Khachatryan, V.; Sirunyan, A. M.

2013-07-19

Results of searches for heavy stable charged particles produced in pp collisions atmore » $$\\sqrt{s}$$ =7 and 8 TeV are presented corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb -1 and 18.8 fb -1, respectively. Data collected with the CMS detector are used to study the momentum, energy deposition, and time-of-flight of signal candidates. Leptons with an electric charge between e/3 and 8e, as well as bound states that can undergo charge exchange with the detector material, are studied. Analysis results are presented for various combinations of signatures in the inner tracker only, inner tracker and muon detector, and muon detector only. Detector signatures utilized are long time-of-flight to the outer muon system and anomalously high (or low) energy deposition in the inner tracker. The data are consistent with the expected background, and upper limits are set on the production cross section of long-lived gluinos, scalar top quarks, and scalar τ leptons, as well as pair produced long-lived leptons. Corresponding lower mass limits, ranging up to 1322 GeV/c (2) for gluinos, are the most stringent to date.« less

14 CFR 121.467 - Flight attendant duty period limitations and rest requirements: Domestic, flag, and supplemental...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Flight attendant duty period limitations and rest requirements: Domestic, flag, and supplemental operations. 121.467 Section 121.467 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIR CARRIERS...

14 CFR 121.467 - Flight attendant duty period limitations and rest requirements: Domestic, flag, and supplemental...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Flight attendant duty period limitations and rest requirements: Domestic, flag, and supplemental operations. 121.467 Section 121.467 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIR CARRIERS...

14 CFR 121.467 - Flight attendant duty period limitations and rest requirements: Domestic, flag, and supplemental...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Flight attendant duty period limitations and rest requirements: Domestic, flag, and supplemental operations. 121.467 Section 121.467 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIR CARRIERS...

14 CFR 121.467 - Flight attendant duty period limitations and rest requirements: Domestic, flag, and supplemental...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Flight attendant duty period limitations and rest requirements: Domestic, flag, and supplemental operations. 121.467 Section 121.467 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIR CARRIERS...

14 CFR 121.467 - Flight attendant duty period limitations and rest requirements: Domestic, flag, and supplemental...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... and rest requirements: Domestic, flag, and supplemental operations. 121.467 Section 121.467..., Flag, and Supplemental Operations § 121.467 Flight attendant duty period limitations and rest... attendant's home station, is not considered part of a rest period. (13) Each certificate holder conducting...

Quality Control Algorithms and Proposed Integration Process for Wind Profilers Used by Launch Vehicle Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Decker, Ryan; Barbre, Robert E., Jr.

2011-01-01

Impact of winds to space launch vehicle include Design, Certification Day-of-launch (DOL) steering commands (1)Develop "knockdowns" of load indicators (2) Temporal uncertainty of flight winds. Currently use databases from weather balloons. Includes discrete profiles and profile pair datasets. Issues are : (1)Larger vehicles operate near design limits during ascent 150 discrete profiles per month 110-217 seasonal 2.0 and 3.5-hour pairs Balloon rise time (one hour) and drift (up to 100 n mi) Advantages of the Alternative approach using Doppler Radar Wind Profiler (DRWP) are: (1) Obtain larger sample size (2) Provide flexibility for assessing trajectory changes due to winds (3) Better representation of flight winds.

Prioritizing Medical Resources for Exploration Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shah, R. V.; Kerstman, E. L.

2015-01-01

Long duration missions beyond low Earth orbit introduce new constraints to the medical system. Factors such as the inability to evacuate to Earth in a timely manner, communication delay, limitations in available medical equipment, and the clinical background of the crew will all have an impact on the assessment and treatment of medical conditions. The Exploration Medical Capability (ExMC) Element of NASAs Human Research Program seeks to improve the way the element derives its mitigation strategies for the risk of "Unacceptable Health and Mission Outcomes Due to Limitation of In-flight Medical Capabilities."

High-speed rangefinder for industrial application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cavedo, Federico; Pesatori, Alessandro; Norgia, Michele

2016-06-01

The proposed work aims to improve one of the most used telemetry techniques to make absolute measurements of distance: the time of flight telemetry. The main limitation of the low-cost implementation of this technique is the low accuracy (some mm) and measurement rate (few measurements per second). In order to overcome these limits we modified the typical setup of this rangefinder exploiting low-cost telecommunication transceivers and radiofrequency synthesizers. The obtained performances are very encouraging, reaching a standard deviation of a few micrometers over the range of some meters.

14 CFR 398.7 - Timing of flights.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... reasonableness of the time in view of the purpose for which the local passengers are traveling. If travel is primarily to connect with other flights at the hub, local flight times should be designed to link with those.... To qualify as essential air service, flights must depart at reasonable times, considering the needs...

14 CFR 398.7 - Timing of flights.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... reasonableness of the time in view of the purpose for which the local passengers are traveling. If travel is primarily to connect with other flights at the hub, local flight times should be designed to link with those.... To qualify as essential air service, flights must depart at reasonable times, considering the needs...

14 CFR 398.7 - Timing of flights.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... reasonableness of the time in view of the purpose for which the local passengers are traveling. If travel is primarily to connect with other flights at the hub, local flight times should be designed to link with those.... To qualify as essential air service, flights must depart at reasonable times, considering the needs...

Time-of-Flight Microwave Camera

PubMed Central

Charvat, Gregory; Temme, Andrew; Feigin, Micha; Raskar, Ramesh

2015-01-01

Microwaves can penetrate many obstructions that are opaque at visible wavelengths, however microwave imaging is challenging due to resolution limits associated with relatively small apertures and unrecoverable “stealth” regions due to the specularity of most objects at microwave frequencies. We demonstrate a multispectral time-of-flight microwave imaging system which overcomes these challenges with a large passive aperture to improve lateral resolution, multiple illumination points with a data fusion method to reduce stealth regions, and a frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) receiver to achieve depth resolution. The camera captures images with a resolution of 1.5 degrees, multispectral images across the X frequency band (8 GHz–12 GHz), and a time resolution of 200 ps (6 cm optical path in free space). Images are taken of objects in free space as well as behind drywall and plywood. This architecture allows “camera-like” behavior from a microwave imaging system and is practical for imaging everyday objects in the microwave spectrum. PMID:26434598

Computationally effective solution of the inverse problem in time-of-flight spectroscopy.

PubMed

Kamran, Faisal; Abildgaard, Otto H A; Subash, Arman A; Andersen, Peter E; Andersson-Engels, Stefan; Khoptyar, Dmitry

2015-03-09

Photon time-of-flight (PTOF) spectroscopy enables the estimation of absorption and reduced scattering coefficients of turbid media by measuring the propagation time of short light pulses through turbid medium. The present investigation provides a comparison of the assessed absorption and reduced scattering coefficients from PTOF measurements of intralipid 20% and India ink-based optical phantoms covering a wide range of optical properties relevant for biological tissues and dairy products. Three different models are used to obtain the optical properties by fitting to measured temporal profiles: the Liemert-Kienle model (LKM), the diffusion model (DM) and a white Monte-Carlo (WMC) simulation-based algorithm. For the infinite space geometry, a very good agreement is found between the LKM and WMC, while the results obtained by the DM differ, indicating that the LKM can provide accurate estimation of the optical parameters beyond the limits of the diffusion approximation in a computational effective and accurate manner. This result increases the potential range of applications for PTOF spectroscopy within industrial and biomedical applications.

Magnetic fingerprints of rolling cells for quantitative flow cytometry in whole blood

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reisbeck, Mathias; Helou, Michael Johannes; Richter, Lukas; Kappes, Barbara; Friedrich, Oliver; Hayden, Oliver

2016-09-01

Over the past 50 years, flow cytometry has had a profound impact on preclinical and clinical applications requiring single cell function information for counting, sub-typing and quantification of epitope expression. At the same time, the workflow complexity and high costs of such optical systems still limit flow cytometry applications to specialized laboratories. Here, we present a quantitative magnetic flow cytometer that incorporates in situ magnetophoretic cell focusing for highly accurate and reproducible rolling of the cellular targets over giant magnetoresistance sensing elements. Time-of-flight analysis is used to unveil quantitative single cell information contained in its magnetic fingerprint. Furthermore, we used erythrocytes as a biological model to validate our methodology with respect to precise analysis of the hydrodynamic cell diameter, quantification of binding capacity of immunomagnetic labels, and discrimination of cell morphology. The extracted time-of-flight information should enable point-of-care quantitative flow cytometry in whole blood for clinical applications, such as immunology and primary hemostasis.

Compact time- and space-integrating SAR processor: performance analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haney, Michael W.; Levy, James J.; Michael, Robert R., Jr.; Christensen, Marc P.

1995-06-01

Progress made during the previous 12 months toward the fabrication and test of a flight demonstration prototype of the acousto-optic time- and space-integrating real-time SAR image formation processor is reported. Compact, rugged, and low-power analog optical signal processing techniques are used for the most computationally taxing portions of the SAR imaging problem to overcome the size and power consumption limitations of electronic approaches. Flexibility and performance are maintained by the use of digital electronics for the critical low-complexity filter generation and output image processing functions. The results reported for this year include tests of a laboratory version of the RAPID SAR concept on phase history data generated from real SAR high-resolution imagery; a description of the new compact 2D acousto-optic scanner that has a 2D space bandwidth product approaching 106 sports, specified and procured for NEOS Technologies during the last year; and a design and layout of the optical module portion of the flight-worthy prototype.

Time-of-Flight Microwave Camera

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Charvat, Gregory; Temme, Andrew; Feigin, Micha; Raskar, Ramesh

2015-10-01

Microwaves can penetrate many obstructions that are opaque at visible wavelengths, however microwave imaging is challenging due to resolution limits associated with relatively small apertures and unrecoverable “stealth” regions due to the specularity of most objects at microwave frequencies. We demonstrate a multispectral time-of-flight microwave imaging system which overcomes these challenges with a large passive aperture to improve lateral resolution, multiple illumination points with a data fusion method to reduce stealth regions, and a frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) receiver to achieve depth resolution. The camera captures images with a resolution of 1.5 degrees, multispectral images across the X frequency band (8 GHz-12 GHz), and a time resolution of 200 ps (6 cm optical path in free space). Images are taken of objects in free space as well as behind drywall and plywood. This architecture allows “camera-like” behavior from a microwave imaging system and is practical for imaging everyday objects in the microwave spectrum.

Systematic Destruction of Electronic Parts for Aid in Electronic Failure Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Decker, S. E.; Rolin, T. D.; McManus, P. D.

2012-01-01

NASA analyzes electrical, electronic, and electromechanical (EEE) parts used in space vehicles to understand failure modes of these components. Operational amplifiers and transistors are two examples of EEE parts critical to NASA missions that can fail due to electrical overstress (EOS). EOS is the result of voltage or current over time conditions that exceeds a component s specification limit. The objective of this study was to provide known voltage pulses over well-defined time intervals to determine the type and extent of damage imparted to the device. The amount of current was not controlled but measured so that pulse energy was determined. The damage was ascertained electrically using curve trace plots and optically using various metallographic techniques. The resulting data can be used to build a database of physical evidence to compare to damaged components removed from flight avionics. The comparison will provide the avionics failure analyst necessary information about voltage and times that caused flight or test failures when no other electrical data is available.

Chern Numbers Hiding in Time of Flight Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Satija, Indubala; Zhao, Erhai; Ghosh, Parag; Bray-Ali, Noah

2011-03-01

Since the experimental realization of synthetic magnetic fields in neural ultracold atoms, transport measurement such as quantized Hall conductivity remains an open challenge. Here we propose a novel and feasible scheme to measure the topological invariants, namely the chern numbers, in the time of flight images. We study both the commensurate and the incommensurate flux, with the later being the main focus here. The central concept underlying our proposal is the mapping between the chern numbers and the size of the dimerized states that emerge when the two-dimensional hopping is tuned to the highly anisotropic limit. In a uncoupled double quantum Hall system exhibiting time reversal invariance, only odd-sized dimer correlation functions are non-zero and hence encode quantized spin current. Finally, we illustrate that inspite of highly fragmented spectrum, a finite set of chern numbers are meaningful. Our results are supported by direct numerical computation of transverse conductivity. NBA acknowledges support from a National Research Council postdoctoral research associateship.

An improved APU for the Space Shuttle Orbiter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mckenna, R.; Hagemann, D.; Loken, G.; Jonakin, J.; Baughman, J.

1985-01-01

The Space Shuttle Orbiter Auxiliary Power Unit has operated successfully on all four orbiter vehicles and all missions. The current Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) operational life is limited to 12 missions, and the APU turnaround time between flights is longer than originally anticipated. The objective of the Improved APU program is to increase life to 50 missions, reduce installed vehicle weight by 134 lb., and reduce turnaround time. This paper describes the design changes incorporated into the improved APU and the associated development testing.

Development of a Low-Emission Spray Combustor for Emulsified Crude Oil

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-03-03

has been studied for diesel [11,12] and gas turbine [13,14] engines for some time, but none of these fuels contain the wide range of hydrocarbons...measurements. We conducted the tests on the flight deck and discovered that the constantly shifting wind moved the exhaust plume away from the plume...when the wind speed was very low. This small period of about one hour, and the required set up time, severely 10 limited our ability to conduct

Limitations to the study of man in the United States space program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bishop, Phillip A.; Greenisen, Mike

1992-01-01

Research on humans conducted during space flight is fraught both with great opportunities and great obstacles. The purpose of this paper is to review some of the limitations to United States research in space in the hope that an informed scientific community may lead to more rapid and efficient solution of these problems. Limitations arise because opportunities to study the same astronauts in well-controlled situations on repeated space flights are practically non-existent. Human research opportunities are further limited by the necessity of avoiding simultaneous mutually-interfereing experiments. Environmental factors including diet and other physiological perturbations concomitant with space flight also complicates research design and interpretation. Technical limitations to research methods and opportunities further restrict the development of the knowledge base. Finally, earth analogues of space travel all suffer from inadequacies. Though all of these obstacles will eventually be overcome; creativity, diligence, and persistence are required to further our knowledge of humans in space.

Student Pilot Aptitude as an Indicator of Success in a Part 141 Collegiate Flight Training Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McFarland, Maureen R.

2017-01-01

Predicting flight training success has been well researched in military aviation yet there is limited information pertaining to general aviation. The purpose of this study was to determine if attributes of pilot performance could be used to differentiate students in a collegiate flight training program. Several pre-entry and flight training…

14 CFR Special Federal Aviation... - Mitsubishi MU-2B Series Special Training, Experience, and Operating Requirements

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... maintenance test flight with a second pilot or certificated mechanic, and no passengers or cargo are carried... are distributed by Turbine Aircraft Services, Inc. You may obtain a copy from Turbine Aircraft.... Supplementary NTS E. In Flight Post Maintenance Checks 1. NTS In-Flight 2. Flight Idle Fuel Flow F. Limitations...

14 CFR Special Federal Aviation... - Mitsubishi MU-2B Series Special Training, Experience, and Operating Requirements

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... maintenance test flight with a second pilot or certificated mechanic, and no passengers or cargo are carried... are distributed by Turbine Aircraft Services, Inc. You may obtain a copy from Turbine Aircraft.... Supplementary NTS E. In Flight Post Maintenance Checks 1. NTS In-Flight 2. Flight Idle Fuel Flow F. Limitations...

14 CFR Special Federal Aviation... - Mitsubishi MU-2B Series Special Training, Experience, and Operating Requirements

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... maintenance test flight with a second pilot or certificated mechanic, and no passengers or cargo are carried... are distributed by Turbine Aircraft Services, Inc. You may obtain a copy from Turbine Aircraft.... Supplementary NTS E. In Flight Post Maintenance Checks 1. NTS In-Flight 2. Flight Idle Fuel Flow F. Limitations...

A high-efficiency real-time digital signal averager for time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Wang, Yinan; Xu, Hui; Li, Qingjiang; Li, Nan; Huang, Zhengxu; Zhou, Zhen; Liu, Husheng; Sun, Zhaolin; Xu, Xin; Yu, Hongqi; Liu, Haijun; Li, David D-U; Wang, Xi; Dong, Xiuzhen; Gao, Wei

2013-05-30

Analog-to-digital converter (ADC)-based acquisition systems are widely applied in time-of-flight mass spectrometers (TOFMS) due to their ability to record the signal intensity of all ions within the same pulse. However, the acquisition system raises the requirement for data throughput, along with increasing the conversion rate and resolution of the ADC. It is therefore of considerable interest to develop a high-performance real-time acquisition system, which can relieve the limitation of data throughput. We present in this work a high-efficiency real-time digital signal averager, consisting of a signal conditioner, a data conversion module and a signal processing module. Two optimization strategies are implemented using field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) to enhance the efficiency of the real-time processing. A pipeline procedure is used to reduce the time consumption of the accumulation strategy. To realize continuous data transfer, a high-efficiency transmission strategy is developed, based on a ping-pong procedure. The digital signal averager features good responsiveness, analog bandwidth and dynamic performance. The optimal effective number of bits reaches 6.7 bits. For a 32 µs record length, the averager can realize 100% efficiency with an extraction frequency below 31.23 kHz by modifying the number of accumulation steps. In unit time, the averager yields superior signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) compared with data accumulation in a computer. The digital signal averager is combined with a vacuum ultraviolet single-photon ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometer (VUV-SPI-TOFMS). The efficiency of the real-time processing is tested by analyzing the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from ordinary printed materials. In these experiments, 22 kinds of compounds are detected, and the dynamic range exceeds 3 orders of magnitude. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Comparison between triple quadrupole, time of flight and hybrid quadrupole time of flight analysers coupled to liquid chromatography for the detection of anabolic steroids in doping control analysis.

PubMed

Pozo, Oscar J; Van Eenoo, Peter; Deventer, Koen; Elbardissy, Hisham; Grimalt, Susana; Sancho, Juan V; Hernandez, Felix; Ventura, Rosa; Delbeke, Frans T

2011-01-17

Triple quadrupole (QqQ), time of flight (TOF) and quadrupole-time of flight (QTOF) analysers have been compared for the detection of anabolic steroids in human urine. Ten anabolic steroids were selected as model compounds based on their ionization and the presence of endogenous interferences. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses were evaluated. QqQ allowed for the detection of all analytes at the minimum required performance limit (MRPL) established by the World Anti-Doping Agency (between 2 and 10 ng mL(-1) in urine). TOF and QTOF approaches were not sensitive enough to detect some of the analytes (3'-hydroxy-stanozolol or the metabolites of boldenone and formebolone) at the established MRPL. Although a suitable accuracy was obtained, the precision was unsatisfactory (RSD typically higher than 20%) for quantitative purposes irrespective of the analyser used. The methods were applied to 30 real samples declared positives either for the misuse of boldenone, stanozolol and/or methandienone. Most of the compounds were detected by every technique, however QqQ was necessary for the detection of some metabolites in a few samples. Finally, the possibility to detect non-target steroids has been explored by the use of TOF and QTOF. The use of this approach revealed that the presence of boldenone and its metabolite in one sample was due to the intake of androsta-1,4,6-triene-3,17-dione. Additionally, the intake of methandienone was confirmed by the post-target detection of a long-term metabolite. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Hovering hummingbird wing aerodynamics during the annual cycle. II. Implications of wing feather moult

PubMed Central

Sapir, Nir; Elimelech, Yossef

2018-01-01

Birds usually moult their feathers in a particular sequence which may incur aerodynamic, physiological and behavioural implications. Among birds, hummingbirds are unique species in their sustained hovering flight. Because hummingbirds frequently hover-feed, they must maintain sufficiently high flight capacities even when moulting their flight feathers. A hummingbird wing consists of 10 primary flight feathers whose absence during moult may strongly affect wing performance. Using dynamic similarity rules, we compared time-accurate aerodynamic loads and flow field measurements over several wing geometries that follow the natural feather moult sequence of Calypte anna, a common hummingbird species in western North America. Our results suggest a drop of more than 20% in lift production during the early stages of the moult sequence in which mid-wing flight feathers are moulted. We also found that the wing's ability to generate lift strongly depended on the morphological integrity of the outer primaries and leading-edge. These findings may explain the evolution of wing morphology and moult attributes. Specifically, the high overlap between adjacent wing feathers, especially at the wing tip, and the slow sequential replacement of the wing feathers result in a relatively small reduction in wing surface area during moult with limited aerodynamic implications. We present power and efficiency analyses for hover flight during moult under several plausible scenarios, suggesting that body mass reduction could be a compensatory mechanism that preserves the energetic costs of hover flight. PMID:29515884

Hovering hummingbird wing aerodynamics during the annual cycle. II. Implications of wing feather moult.

PubMed

Achache, Yonathan; Sapir, Nir; Elimelech, Yossef

2018-02-01

Birds usually moult their feathers in a particular sequence which may incur aerodynamic, physiological and behavioural implications. Among birds, hummingbirds are unique species in their sustained hovering flight. Because hummingbirds frequently hover-feed, they must maintain sufficiently high flight capacities even when moulting their flight feathers. A hummingbird wing consists of 10 primary flight feathers whose absence during moult may strongly affect wing performance. Using dynamic similarity rules, we compared time-accurate aerodynamic loads and flow field measurements over several wing geometries that follow the natural feather moult sequence of Calypte anna , a common hummingbird species in western North America. Our results suggest a drop of more than 20% in lift production during the early stages of the moult sequence in which mid-wing flight feathers are moulted. We also found that the wing's ability to generate lift strongly depended on the morphological integrity of the outer primaries and leading-edge. These findings may explain the evolution of wing morphology and moult attributes. Specifically, the high overlap between adjacent wing feathers, especially at the wing tip, and the slow sequential replacement of the wing feathers result in a relatively small reduction in wing surface area during moult with limited aerodynamic implications. We present power and efficiency analyses for hover flight during moult under several plausible scenarios, suggesting that body mass reduction could be a compensatory mechanism that preserves the energetic costs of hover flight.

Flight Test Comparison Between Enhanced Vision (FLIR) and Synthetic Vision Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arthur, Jarvis J., III; Kramer, Lynda J.; Bailey, Randall E.

2005-01-01

Limited visibility and reduced situational awareness have been cited as predominant causal factors for both Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) and runway incursion accidents. NASA s Synthetic Vision Systems (SVS) project is developing practical application technologies with the goal of eliminating low visibility conditions as a causal factor to civil aircraft accidents while replicating the operational benefits of clear day flight operations, regardless of the actual outside visibility condition. A major thrust of the SVS project involves the development/demonstration of affordable, certifiable display configurations that provide intuitive out-the-window terrain and obstacle information with advanced pathway guidance. A flight test evaluation was conducted in the summer of 2004 by NASA Langley Research Center under NASA s Aviation Safety and Security, Synthetic Vision System - Commercial and Business program. A Gulfstream G-V aircraft, modified and operated under NASA contract by the Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, was flown over a 3-week period at the Reno/Tahoe International Airport and an additional 3-week period at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility to evaluate integrated Synthetic Vision System concepts. Flight testing was conducted to evaluate the performance, usability, and acceptance of an integrated synthetic vision concept which included advanced Synthetic Vision display concepts for a transport aircraft flight deck, a Runway Incursion Prevention System, an Enhanced Vision Systems (EVS), and real-time Database Integrity Monitoring Equipment. This paper focuses on comparing qualitative and subjective results between EVS and SVS display concepts.

Wind and Wake Sensing with UAV Formation Flight: System Development and Flight Testing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Larrabee, Trenton Jameson

Wind turbulence including atmospheric turbulence and wake turbulence have been widely investigated; however, only recently it become possible to use Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) as a validation tool for research in this area. Wind can be a major contributing factor of adverse weather for aircraft. More importantly, it is an even greater risk towards UAVs because of their small size and weight. Being able to estimate wind fields and gusts can potentially provide substantial benefits for both unmanned and manned aviation. Possible applications include gust suppression for improving handling qualities, a better warning system for high wind encounters, and enhanced control for small UAVs during flight. On the other hand, the existence of wind can be advantageous since it can lead to fuel savings and longer duration flights through dynamic soaring or thermal soaring. Wakes are an effect of the lift distribution across an aircraft's wing or tail. Wakes can cause substantial disturbances when multiple aircraft are moving through the same airspace. In fact, the perils from an aircraft flying through the wake of another aircraft is a leading cause of the delay between takeoff times at airports. Similar to wind, though, wakes can be useful for energy harvesting and increasing an aircraft's endurance when flying in formation which can be a great advantage to UAVs because they are often limited in flight time due to small payload capacity. Formation flight can most often be seen in manned aircraft but can be adopted for use with unmanned systems. Autonomous flight is needed for flying in the "sweet spot" of the generated wakes for energy harvesting as well as for thermal soaring during long duration flights. For the research presented here formation flight was implemented for the study of wake sensing and gust alleviation. The major contributions of this research are in the areas of a novel technique to estimate wind using an Unscented Kalman filter and experimental wake sensing data using UAVs in formation flight. This has been achieved and well documented before in manned aircraft but very little work has been done on UAV wake sensing especially during flight testing. This document describes the development and flight testing of small unmanned aerial system (UAS) for wind and wake sensing purpose including a Ground Control Station (GCS) and UAVs. This research can be stated in four major components. Firstly, formation flight was obtained by integrating a formation flight controller on the WVU Phastball Research UAV aircraft platform from the Flight Control Systems Laboratory (FCSL) at West Virginia University (WVU). Second, a new approach to wind estimation using an Unscented Kalman filter (UKF) is discussed along with results from flight data. Third, wake modeling within a simulator and wake sensing during formation flight is shown. Finally, experimental results are used to discuss the "sweet spot" for energy harvesting in formation flight, a novel approach to cooperative wind estimation, and gust suppression control for a follower aircraft in formation flight.

Fatigue-test acceleration with flight-by-flight loading and heating to simulate supersonic-transport operation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Imig, L. A.; Garrett, L. E.

1973-01-01

Possibilities for reducing fatigue-test time for supersonic-transport materials and structures were studied in tests with simulated flight-by-flight loading. In order to determine whether short-time tests were feasible, the results of accelerated tests (2 sec per flight) were compared with the results of real-time tests (96 min per flight). The effects of design mean stress, the stress range for ground-air-ground cycles, simulated thermal stress, the number of stress cycles in each flight, and salt corrosion were studied. The flight-by-flight stress sequences were applied to notched sheet specimens of Ti-8Al-1Mo-1V and Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloys. A linear cumulative-damage analysis accounted for large changes in stress range of the simulated flights but did not account for the differences between real-time and accelerated tests. The fatigue lives from accelerated tests were generally within a factor of two of the lives from real-time tests; thus, within the scope of the investigation, accelerated testing seems feasible.

A unified flight control methodology for a compound rotorcraft in fundamental and aerobatic maneuvering flight

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thorsen, Adam

This study investigates a novel approach to flight control for a compound rotorcraft in a variety of maneuvers ranging from fundamental to aerobatic in nature. Fundamental maneuvers are a class of maneuvers with design significance that are useful for testing and tuning flight control systems along with uncovering control law deficiencies. Aerobatic maneuvers are a class of aggressive and complex maneuvers with more operational significance. The process culminating in a unified approach to flight control includes various control allocation studies for redundant controls in trim and maneuvering flight, an efficient methodology to simulate non-piloted maneuvers with varying degrees of complexity, and the setup of an unconventional control inceptor configuration along with the use of a flight simulator to gather pilot feedback in order to improve the unified control architecture. A flight path generation algorithm was developed to calculate control inceptor commands required for a rotorcraft in aerobatic maneuvers. This generalized algorithm was tailored to generate flight paths through optimization methods in order to satisfy target terminal position coordinates or to minimize the total time of a particular maneuver. Six aerobatic maneuvers were developed drawing inspiration from air combat maneuvers of fighter jet aircraft: Pitch-Back Turn (PBT), Combat Ascent Turn (CAT), Combat Descent Turn (CDT), Weaving Pull-up (WPU), Combat Break Turn (CBT), and Zoom and Boom (ZAB). These aerobatic maneuvers were simulated at moderate to high advance ratios while fundamental maneuvers of the compound including level accelerations/decelerations, climbs, descents, and turns were investigated across the entire flight envelope to evaluate controller performance. The unified control system was developed to allow controls to seamlessly transition between manual and automatic allocations while ensuring that the axis of control for a particular inceptor remained constant with flight regime. An energy management system was developed in order to manage performance limits (namely power required) to promote carefree maneuvering and alleviate pilot workload. This system features limits on pilot commands and has additional logic for preserving control margins and limiting maximum speed in a dive. Nonlinear dynamic inversion (NLDI) is the framework of the unified controller, which incorporates primary and redundant controls. The inner loop of the NLDI controller regulates bank angle, pitch attitude, and yaw rate, while the outer loop command structure is varied (three modes). One version uses an outer loop that commands velocities in the longitudinal and vertical axes (velocity mode), another commands longitudinal acceleration and vertical speed (acceleration mode), and the third commands longitudinal acceleration and transitions from velocity to acceleration command in the vertical axis (aerobatic mode). The flight envelope is discretized into low, cruise, and high speed flight regimes. The unified outer loop primary control effectors for the longitudinal and vertical axes (collective pitch, pitch attitude, and propeller pitch) vary depending on flight regime. A weighted pseudoinverse is used to phase either the collective or propeller pitch in/out of a redundant control role. The controllers were evaluated in Penn State's Rotorcraft Flight Simulator retaining the cyclic stick for vertical and lateral axis control along with pedal inceptors for yaw axis control. A throttle inceptor was used in place of the pilot's traditional left hand inceptor for longitudinal axis control. Ultimately, a simple rigid body model of the aircraft was sufficient enough to design a controller with favorable performance and stability characteristics. This unified flight control system promoted a low enough pilot workload so that an untrained pilot (the author) was able to pilot maneuvers of varying complexity with ease. The framework of this unified system is generalized enough to be able to be applied to any rotorcraft with redundant controls. Minimum power propeller thrust shares ranged from 50% - 90% in high speed flight, while lift shares at high speeds tended towards 60% wing and 40% main rotor.

Epstein-Barr virus shedding by astronauts during space flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pierson, D. L.; Stowe, R. P.; Phillips, T. M.; Lugg, D. J.; Mehta, S. K.

2005-01-01

Patterns of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) reactivation in 32 astronauts and 18 healthy age-matched control subjects were characterized by quantifying EBV shedding. Saliva samples were collected from astronauts before, during, and after 10 space shuttle missions of 5-14 days duration. At one time point or another, EBV was detected in saliva from each of the astronauts. Of 1398 saliva specimens from 32 astronauts, polymerase chain reaction analysis showed that 314 (23%) were positive for EBV DNA. Examination by flight phase showed that 29% of the saliva specimens collected from 28 astronauts before flight were positive for EBV DNA, as were 16% of those collected from 25 astronauts during flight and 16% of those collected after flight from 23 astronauts. The mean number of EBV copies from samples taken during the flights was 417 per mL, significantly greater (p<.05) than the number of viral copies from the preflight (40) and postflight (44) phases. In contrast, the control subjects shed EBV DNA with a frequency of 3.7% and mean number of EBV copies of 40 per mL of saliva. Ten days before flight and on landing day, titers of antibody to EBV viral capsid antigen were significantly (p<.05) greater than baseline levels. On landing day, urinary levels of cortisol and catecholamines were greater than their preflight values. In a limited study (n=5), plasma levels of substance P and other neuropeptides were also greater on landing day. Increases in the number of viral copies and in the amount of EBV-specific antibody were consistent with EBV reactivation before, during, and after space flight.

Nocturnal insects use optic flow for flight control.

PubMed

Baird, Emily; Kreiss, Eva; Wcislo, William; Warrant, Eric; Dacke, Marie

2011-08-23

To avoid collisions when navigating through cluttered environments, flying insects must control their flight so that their sensory systems have time to detect obstacles and avoid them. To do this, day-active insects rely primarily on the pattern of apparent motion generated on the retina during flight (optic flow). However, many flying insects are active at night, when obtaining reliable visual information for flight control presents much more of a challenge. To assess whether nocturnal flying insects also rely on optic flow cues to control flight in dim light, we recorded flights of the nocturnal neotropical sweat bee, Megalopta genalis, flying along an experimental tunnel when: (i) the visual texture on each wall generated strong horizontal (front-to-back) optic flow cues, (ii) the texture on only one wall generated these cues, and (iii) horizontal optic flow cues were removed from both walls. We find that Megalopta increase their groundspeed when horizontal motion cues in the tunnel are reduced (conditions (ii) and (iii)). However, differences in the amount of horizontal optic flow on each wall of the tunnel (condition (ii)) do not affect the centred position of the bee within the flight tunnel. To better understand the behavioural response of Megalopta, we repeated the experiments on day-active bumble-bees (Bombus terrestris). Overall, our findings demonstrate that despite the limitations imposed by dim light, Megalopta-like their day-active relatives-rely heavily on vision to control flight, but that they use visual cues in a different manner from diurnal insects. This journal is © 2011 The Royal Society