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Lighter than air 1991 Year End Report Autonomous Planetary Rover This is a technical report (CMU-RI-TR-92-02) prepared by E. Krotkov, R. Simmons and W.L. Whittaker of Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University in February, 1992. The report describes research on an autonomous robot for planetary exploration performed during 1991 in the Robotics Institute. The report summarizes the achievements during the calendar year 1991 and lists personnel and publications. In addition it includes several papers resulting from the research. Research in 1991 focused on the unique capabilities of the Ambler mechanism and on autonomous walking in rough, natural terrain. The full text of the report is available as PDF document. A Basic Flight Simulation Tool for Rigid Airships This technical report (NLR-TP-2000-443) was published by NLR (the National Aerospace Laboratory of the Netherlands) in 2000 and was written by A.J.J. Lemmers and A.P.L.A. Marsman. The National Aerospace Laboratory NLR is developing a basic flight simulation tool of a rigid airship. This tool will allow simulation of a generic large rigid airship and it will support the fundamentals of Flight Mechanics and Stability and Control. The tool will run in a PC-based environment using MATLAB/Simulink. The basic simulation will support six degrees of freedom and will cover the complete flight envelope. A modular approach is used for the design, which gives the possibility for an easy upgrade when new or modified data is available. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available as a PDF file. Advanced Hybrid Aircraft : Airships, Hovercraft and Blimps Essentially this is a commercial site containing company and contact information. However, detailed product information is provided. Technical specifications are outlined and design principles are discussed for the ten products in the Advanced Hybrid Aircraft range, covering airships, blimps and hovercraft. There is also an image gallery. Air Operators Certificates : Operation of Balloons This provides access to a UK Civil Aviation Authority Publication Civil Aviation Paper CAP 611, 3rd edition, August 2006. CAP 611 describes the administrative procedure for the issue, variation and renewal of Air Operators Certificates (Balloons) [AOC(B)] and indicates the requirements to be met by applicants and certificate holders in respect of equipment, organisation, staffing, training and other matters affecting the operation of public transport balloons. The text is available in PDF format (1.3 mb) from the CAA's publications web site. Airship and Blimp Resources It provides a brief introduction to airships in a series of questions and answers. The site also contains a list of airship companies and a directory, which attempts to inventory every airship currently flying in the world. It also hosts the home page of the Experimental Balloon and Airship Association - a loose congregation of aeronauts who have built, fly or own any sort of experimental, ultralight or homebuilt lighter-than-air craft. This is a personal site produced by Roland Escher. Airship Association The Airship Association is based in the United Kingdom, and its objectives are to promote the science, practice and consideration of all matters relating to airships, to circulate information, publish books and papers and to promote research and experimental work on airships. The site includes an airship FAQ, details of the association's publications and a page of links to related resources on the Internet. There is also information pertaining to the Airship Convention 2000. Airship Heritage Trust Airshipsonline houses the online archive of the Airship Heritage Trust, a voluntary, charitable organisation based in the UK. There is an extensive history of British Airships from 1900 to the present day. They own and are responsible for the national heritage airship archive and a large collection of airship artifact's and photographs relating to the British Airship Programme, from it's early days at the turn of the century to the Skyships of the 1980s. Archive footage of airship flights, photographs, information on airships, their bases can be found along with an online reference library, membership information and further links to related websites. Association of Balloon and Airship Constructors This association is based in the United States and its mission is to further the development of Lighter-Than-Air (LTA) flight by providing a forum for discussion of the history and technology of LTA and a resource for LTA researchers, designers and builders. Its emphasis is on engineering and technology. The site includes a 'Library List' of some 1600 items from the ABAC technical library and it is possible to browse a summary version online, or download the full database in ASCII export form. Aviation Safety Review 1990 - 1999 The site provides access to a Civil Aviation Authority Paper, CAP 701, prepared by the CAA Safety Regulation Group, October 2000. The paper presents a review of UK aviation safety over the last 10 years. The document is divided into a number of sections covering aeroplanes and helicopters, public transport and non-public transport operations, police, ambulance and rescue services, foreign aircraft in UK airspace, and gliders, microlights, gyroplanes, balloons and airships. The first section provides an international context, and examines accident and fatality trends worldwide. The text of the document is available in PDF format. Balloon Technology Database The site provides access to a NASA Wallops Flight Facility database of items contained in a special collection of materials related to the construction of scientific balloons. The database includes over 2000 entries. The database contains mainly bibliographic references, although some full text (PDF) items are also included. It is possible to browse a list of all the items held in the database. There is also a full text search interface which will only search a subset of the Balloon Technology documents that have been converted to electronic format. Converting these documents to an electronic format is an ongoing project. BCAR Section Q : Non Rigid Airships This provides access to a UK Civil Aviation Authority Publication Civil Aviation Paper CAP 471, Issue 2, February 2001. This document comprises the minimum requirements applicable to non?rigid airships equipped with two or more piston engines and manually operated control systems, the maximum inflated envelope volume of which is not greater than 42 450m3. The text is available in PDF format (2.6 mb) from the CAA's publications web site. BCAR-31 Manned Free Balloons This provides access to a UK Civil Aviation Authority Publication Civil Aviation Paper CAP 494, prepared by the Safety Regulation Group, Issue 2, 12 May 2003. British Civil Airworthiness Requirements comprise minimum requirements and constitute the basis for the CAA to issue Certificates of Airworthiness or Type Certificates, as required. BCAR 31 for Manned Free Balloons has been developed by the British Balloon and Airship Club (BBAC) in conjunction with the CAA Design and Production Standards Division. The document prescribes the Airworthiness Standards for the issue of type certificates and certificates of airworthiness and changes to those certificates for manned free balloons and hot air airships. The text is available in PDF format (136 kb) from the CAA's publications web. British Airships, Past, Present and Future Written by George Whale this electronic text reprint is Project Gutenberg Release #762 and was published in December 1996. This Project Gutenberg "etext" is distributed by Professor Michael S. Hart through the Project Gutenberg Association at Benedictine University. The etext is available to browse online in Text format and as a dowloadable zip file. The text can be accessed for a number of specified server sites. British Association Of Balloon Operators BABO is the trade organisation representing holders of UK hot air balloon Air Operator Certificates (AOCs) as granted by the Civil Aviation Authority. The site includes a guide for locating or identifying BABO members operating throughout the UK. There is also an alphabetical listing of BABO members, as well as a page of links to other balloon sites. Cameron Balloons Cameron Balloons is a manufacturer of hot air balloons, hot-air airships, helium airships, Roziere (heated helium) balloons, helium advertising blimps and spheres plus cold-air inflatables for promotional use. The resources contained in this site include extensive product and dealer information, answers to frequently asked questions concerning hot air ballooning, news stories, and access to the Breitling In Flight magazine. Capanina : Stratospheric Broadband This EU-funded research programme aims to develop broadband capability from aerial platforms and high altitude platforms (HAPs)(airships) powered by solar power in order to meet the ever growing demand for higher data rate communications. This site provides details of the project partners, an FAQ, a project summary and explanations of why the technology is being developed. The news section provides links to articles on other web sites about the project. Parts of this site were still under construction in May 2004. Delphion Patent Search Form This site allows you to search for United States patents, European patents and patent applications, Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) application data from the World Intellectual Property Office, the Patent Abstracts of Japan and INPADOC data. The service can be searched in several different ways, including patent number, US classification and Boolean keyword search. It is possible to view to the bibliographic information of granted US patents free of charge, all other services are payable. You will need to register to use this service, which is free of charge. Design of Day/Night Lunar Rover This is a technical report (CMU-RI-TR-95-24) prepared by P.Berkelman and others of Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University in June, 1995. The pair of lunar rovers discussed in this report are designed to return video and state data to variour ventures, including theme park and marketing concerns, science agencies, and educational institutions. The greatest challenge accepted by the design team was to enable operations throughout the extremely cold and dark lunar night, unprecedented goal in planetary exploration. This was achieved through the use of Alkali Metal Thermal to Electric Converters (AMTEC), provided with heat from an innovative beta-decay heat source, Krypton-85 gas. Although previous space missions have returned still images, this design would convey panoramic video from a ring of cameras around the rover. A six-wheel rocker bogie mechanism is implemented to propel the rover. The full text of the report is available as PDF document. Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) Founded in 1905, the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI), is the world's air sports federation. It has a number of functions including: the establishment of rules for the control and certification of world aeronautical and astronautical records; devising regulations for air sporting events; and the promotion of skill, proficiency and safety in aeronautics. The web site brings together a range of information sources including news, events, mailing lists and discussion forums. Within the framework of FAI, each air sport has an International Commission which is responsible for making the rules for competitions and which generally oversees the activies of their particular air sport. Each of the Commissions have their own sections of the web site, and these cover: ballooning (and airships); general aviation; gliding; hang gliding; aeromodeling; parachuting; aerobatics; astronautic records; human powered flight; microlight; paragliding; and rotorcraft. There are also a series of technical commissions including: aviation and space education; amateur built and experimental aircraft; air sports medicine (Comission Internationale Medico-Physiologique - CIMP); and the environment. There is a documents area which contains copies of key policy documents including the FAI's Anti-Doping Rules and Procedures, the Strategic Plan, and Code of Ethics. The site also provides access to the FAI's journal, Air Sports International. High-Altitude Airships for the Future Force Army This technical report (TR-234-A) was published by The RAND Corporation in 2005 and was written by Lewis Jamison, Geoffrey Sommer and Isaac R. Porche. Across the services, there is an increasing demand for overhead communications capacity. New, lighter-than-air (LTA) vehicles that operate at very high altitudes have an obvious attraction; the ability to see to a more distant horizon results in greatly expanded surveillance volumes. This report informs the U.S. Army about the usefulness and limitations of high-altitude airships (HAA) in the role of platforms for communications and surveillance suites in theater battlespace. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it. High-Altitude, Long-Endurance Airships for Coastal Surveillance This is NASA technical report NASA/TM—2005-213427, prepared by Anthony Colozza and James L. Dolce, published February 2005. This work was sponsored by the Low Emissions Alternative Power Project of the Vehicle Systems Program at the NASA Glenn Research Center. The report summarises the capabilities for existing high-altitude vehicles; identifies electric power system technology needs for a high-altitude, renewable energy airship; and identifies issues in deploying a system of airships for coastal surveillance. The text of the document is available in PDF format from the NASA Glenn Research Center Technical Reports Server. Influence of Structural Flexibility on Flapping Wing Propulsion This is the full text of a thesis written by Aaron McClung which was presented to the Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, in June 2009. The influence of structural deformations on the aerodynamic response of a flapping wing configuration was examined using Navier-Stokes based simulation. Two deformation modes, torsion and bending, were considered for an elastic axis along the leading edge of the wing. Both deformation modes influence the velocity and acceleration profile of the wing surface, altering the unsteady aerodynamic phenomena produced by the dynamic wing motion. The spanwise feathering rotation, or torsional response, alters the motion of the wing near the wing root. This variation in the acceleration profile influences the non-circulatory aerodynamic response and the local wake structures produced near the wing root during pronation and supination. Increased lifting forces and enhanced aerodynamic efficiencies were observed for a moderate increase in torsional exibility. Peak bending deformations near the wing tip also occur during pronation and supination, altering the velocity and acceleration profiles of the wing as the circulatory aerodynamic phenomena undergo a transition as the wing changes direction of motion. Because of the timing of the bending deformations, small tip deformations may have a significant influence on overall aerodynamic performance. [Taken from Abstract]. This is in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software is required in order to read it. Internet Airship Links Maintained by the Airship Heritage Trust at Airshipsonline here are some useful links to historical sites, museums, associations, manufacturers and other interesting web sites on lighter than air airships. Julian Nott's Home Page : nott.com Julian Nott is a key member of the modern ballooning movement, and has broken many ballooning records. This web site describes his career and his favourite ballooning flights from history. It also details some of his record setting flights, including designing and building the world's first pressurised cabin for a hot air balloon and his flight over Nazca to prove the theory that manned smoke balloons may have been used to ancient condor designs in South America. Kite Balloons to Airships : the Navy's Lighter-than-Air Experience This online monograph is available from the web site of the US Naval Historical Center. The publication includes a cover, table of contents, introduction and a number of full text chapters covering the US Navy's lighter-than-air history from the the early days, through two world wars, to more recent developments. The text is presented as a series of PDF files. Lawrence Hargrave : Australian Aviation Pioneer The site is intended to highlight the work and legacy of a number of Australian aviation pioneers including Lawrence Hargrave, John and Reginald Duigan, and Keith Meggs. It is the work of two academics from Monash University. The site contains biograhical notes, an extensive bibliography, a gallery of images, timelines, and a listing of Hargrave's papers, some of which are available online. A number of technologies of current interest are also highlighted including tailless aircraft (flying wings) and Micro Air Vehicles. The MAV pages in particular provide a very extensive set of links to related web resources. These cover the following topics: Bird and Insect Flight Ornithopters; Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs) and related projects; Blimps and Other Flying Objects; Miniature Engines; and Minature Robotics. The site also provides an anthology of aviation pioneers. Lindstrand Balloons This is the home page of Lindstrand Balloons, a company specialising in the design and manufacture of balloons. The site provides company news and press releases, general information about balloons and ballooning, product information about balloons produced by the company, research projects, for example, high altitude long endurance (HALE), the manufacture of both hot air and gas balloons and information about purchase and sponsorship. Modern Inertial and Satellite Navigation Systems This is a technical report (CMU-RI-TR-94-15) prepared by A. Kelly of Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University in May, 1994. Inertial and satellite navigation are the most sophisticated forms of navigation systems available and they complement each other very well. Applications requiring indications of highly dynamic 3D motion, excellent relative accuracy and high update rates benefit from inertial systems. Applications requiring bounded absolute accuracy for extended excursions or position estimates relative to the earth itself benefit from satellite navigation. This report is a detailed tutorial which explains the principles, practice, and issues of using these new technologies. The full text of the report is available as PDF document. Parachuting This provides access to a UK Civil Aviation Authority Publication Civil Aviation Paper CAP 660, 3rd edition, March 2003. The purpose of CAP 660 is to set out minimum standards which the Civil Aviation Authority will require to be satisfied prior to the grant or renewal of parachuting Permissions and any related exemptions; and to indicate the CAA 's requirements for the conduct of parachuting operations. The text is available in PDF format (365 kb) from the CAA's publications web site. Performance Capability of a Damaged Lighter-Than-Air Vehicle Operating in the Near Space Regime This is the full text of a Master's thesis by Major Charles W. Vogt, Jr, USAF, AFIT/GSS/ENY/06-M13, which was presented to the Faculty Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics of Air University's Air Force Institute of Technology, in March 2006. This study investigates the ability of a high-altitude airship to maintain lift following the compromise of its lifting gas envelope. Accepted engineering principles are applied to develop a model that provides comparative analyses for airship depressurization alternatives following hull compromise. Specifically, maintaining lifting gas envelope overpressure to provide controllability in wind currents while sacrificing some buoyancy is compared with allowing envelope depressurization to occur with the goal of maintaining greater buoyancy as long as possible. The model provides insights to alternatives for recovering a damaged vehicle and its payload. In particular, the analysis demonstrates that maintaining the ability to navigate while forfeiting buoyancy can provide additional down-range maneuver capability. In some cases preserving the airship's hull overpressure for some period of time following compromise, vice allowing a slow depressurization to atmospheric equilibrium, extends the distance a damaged airship can sustain controlled navigation as much as eighty percent. However, the airship will forfeit nearly twenty percent of the altitude it would otherwise preserve by not forcing a constant hull overpressure. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format on the Scientific and Technical Information Network (STINET) which is provided by the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC). Science Tracer Bullets Online Produced by the Library of Congress the Science Tracer Bullet series contains research guides that help you locate information on science and technology subjects. The include brief introductions to the topics, lists of resources and strategies for finding more. There is an A-Z listing available. Those of particular interest include aerodynamics (mechanics of flight), aircraft, astronomy and astrophysics, balloons and airships, chemical and biological warfare, remote sensing, and space science projects. Scientific Balloons : Balloon Program Office The Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia launches an average of 25 scientific balloons each year. Balloons are launched routinely from the National Scientific Balloon Facility in Palestine, Texas and the Scientific Balloon Flight Facility in Ft. Sumner, New Mexico and some temporary sites. It manages the NASA Balloon Program, which offers capabilities and benefits for scientific research that cannot be duplicated by other methods and can carry a payload weighing as much as 8,000 pounds (3,630 kilograms). NASA flies three classes of balloons : Conventional, Long Duration Balloon (LDB) and Ultra Long Duration Balloon (ULDB). These classes include balloons with different designs. The site highlights these areas alongwith balloon operations and missions; current technologies and links to images gallery and related internet sources. Skyship Cruise Ltd. The purpose of Skyship Cruise Ltd is to operate the first Zeppelin based on state-of-the-art technology for commercial civil aviation in Switzerland and in Europe. The site includes very brief technical specifications as well as a sequence of images in the photo gallery which show aspects of the construction of the Zeppelin airship. There are links to manufacturing databases and associations. Technical Feasibility of Loitering Lighter-Than-Air Near-Space Maneuvering Vehicles This is the full text of a Master's thesis by Captain Eric R. Moomey, USAF, AFIT/GSS/ENY/05-M03, which was presented to the Faculty Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics of Air University's Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT), in March 2005. The near-space region of earth's atmosphere above 20 kilometers altitude is greatly underutilized. Lighter-than-air maneuvering vehicles, or airships, using the principle of buoyancy can take advantage of this region to become potential platforms for precision navigation, environmental monitoring, communication relays, missile warning, surveillance, and weapon delivery. These vehicles purportedly provide persistent coverage over large areas of the earth's surface at substantially lower costs than orbiting satellites. This study investigated the technical requirements to loiter an operational payload within this high altitude region using a lighter-than-air maneuvering platform. A parametric analysis was conducted to identify the critical technologies needed to achieve operational payload, power, altitude, and stationkeeping requirements. The research concluded feasibility of stationkeeping a 1000 kg payload in lower near-space (20-25 km) using current airship technologies. Solar powered electric propellers provided the best overall near-space loiter capability for missions beyond 30 days. Additional loiter capability can be attained for shorter missions using fuel cell technologies. Technology improvements in the airship's drag coefficient, envelope fabric density, and payload mass and power requirements are required to attain altitudes beyond 25 km. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format on the Scientific and Technical Information Network (STINET) which is provided by the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC). Testing in the Space Environment This article is written by Jeffrey D. Guthrie, Clifford Cerbus, Elizabeth S. Berman and Laura Rea and was published in Amptiac MaterialEase in 2004. It is second of the two articles that explore the technical aspects and challenges of accessing, surviving and succeeding in space. The first article introduces the basic concepts of space and space technology. It is available as PDF document. This article explores some of the conditions of space enviroments that the systems are designed to operate in; and how their materials and components are tested, both at earthbound facilities and in space. References are provided in the end. The full text of the article can be accessed as a PDF document. The Air Cargo System This report was produced by the U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment in January 1982. It was published as part of a long term study of the economic, environmental, energy, societal, and safety impacts of advances in the technology of transport aircraft. Part 2 deals with the air cargo system, and focuses on the principal factors that could influence the future evolution of air cargo transport. The report is made available as part of the OTA Online Archive. The full text is accessible online in PDF format (923K). Alternatively, the front matter, table of contents and individual chapters are available as separate PDF files. Transport Canada : Canadian Aviation Regulation Advisory Council This web site brings together information relating to the Canadian Aviation Regulation Advisory Council (CARAC). CARAC's prime objective is to assess and recommend potential regulatory changes through cooperative rulemaking activities. The site provides access to the full text of Canadian Aviation regulations (CARs), to Canada Gazette and Notice of Proposed Amendment (NPA) Information, and details of CARAC and Technical Committee Meetings. United States Department of Transportation : Office of the Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs The Office has a broad range of responsibilities covering domestic and international aviation, international trade, and a range of other international cooperation and facilitation issues. The web site provides access to a range of information resources including policy and programmes relating to domestic and international aviation. The site contains an alphabetic listing of aviation and air tranport programmes, and each entry includes a brief descriptions and embedded links to further information. The site also provides access to a number of reports, studies and other publications. These include domestic and international agreements, rules, plans, procedures, and guidelines, statistics and fares reports, as well as specialist studies, reports and statements. Wireless Networks This web site, which brings together a number of information resources relating to High Altitute Platforms (HAPs) and wireless systems, has been produced by the Communications Research Group of the Department of Electronics at the University of York. The site provides access to a collection of information resources including presentations and articles. It also describes previous and current funded research projects involving the University of York team. These include the EU funded CAPANINA Project, and HeliNet, which ran between January 2000 - May 2003 and was funded by the European Union Framework 5 Programme. World Air Games 2001 This is the official web site of the World Air Games 2001 (WAG 2001), which were held in Southern Spain, between June 23rd and July 1, 2001. Information is presented on each of the 10 sports represented at the games (ballooning, general aviation, gliding, hang gliding, paragliding, glider aerobatics, microlights, parachuting, helicopters and powered aerobatics). A final medal table is also included. There are also sections of the site for results, news, events calender, and online shopping. World Aviation and Space Records This pages are part of the web site of the FĂ©dĂ©ration AĂ©ronautique Internationale (FAI), which certifies and register aeronautical records. The lists of world records are presented in the following categories: Class A - Free Balloons; Class B - Airships; Class C - Aeroplanes; Class D - Gliders and Motor Gliders; Class E - Rotocraft; Class F - Aeromodeling; Class G - Parachuting; Class H - Vertical Take-off and Landing Aeroplanes; Class I - Human Powered Aircraft; Class K - Spacecraft; Class M - Tilt-Wing/Tilt Engine Aircraft; Class N - Short-Takeoff and Landing (STOL) Aeroplanes; Class O - Hang Gliding and Paragliding; Class P - Aerospacecraft; Class R - Microlight; Class S - Space Models; and Class U - Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. The site also provides a check list for setting an aviation world record and a standard preliminary claim form for downloading. World Wide Web Balloon Pages This is a personal web page comprising a large list of links to hot air balloon related sites. The sites relate to all aspects of ballooning, including design, development, technical specifications, history, conferences, associations, products and regattas/races. The resources are listed alphabetically although there is also a good search facility, by which you can specify keywords and the country of origin of a site. Worldwide Aeros Corporation This is one of the world's leading lighter-than-air (LTA) airship manufacturers. Company operations include the designing, development and manufacture of rigid transportation airships, non-rigid airships, and advanced unmanned tethered aerostat systems. The company manufactures a family of commercial airships designed to meet a broad spectrum of commercial and military applications including travel, cargo, advertising, and surveillance. The site describes the company and its products. The company is also producing the Aeroscraft, a partially bouyant "transport category aircraft". The Aeroscraft is described and basic specifications provided. The site also provides access to news and careers information and a gallery of images, and has a secure area for more confidential or sensitive information. Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH was founded in 1993 for the development and production of new technology airships, and is currently building a new multimission airship NO7 for which there is a downloadable video. The site includes company information, brief technical descriptions of individual products and the design as a concept, a gallery of images, and a FAQ. |
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