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Aircraft manufacturing, production and maintenance - civilian aircraft

8th European Conference on Non-Destructive Testing : Proceedings Online

The web site provides access to the proceedings of the 8th European Conference on Nondestructive Testing (ECNDT'02), Barcelona (Spain), June 17-21, 2002, organized by the Spanish Society for NDT . The site includes search and browse access to paper titles and a selection of online abstracts and full text papers from the conference. The aerospace session contains some 16 papers in full text. The site is one of the resources available via NDT.net, the e-Journal of Nondestructive Testing & Ultrasonics

A Benefit Analysis for Nitrogen Inerting of Aircraft Fuel Tanks Against Ground Fire Explosion : Final Report

This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report, DOT/FAA/AR-99/73, by Ray Cherry and Kevin Warren, dated December 1999. The report describes an analysis of the potential benefits, in terms of reducing fatalities and injuries, resulting from three methods of aircraft fuel tank inerting. The full text of the report is available in PDF format from the online catalogue of the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center Library.

A Description and Analysis of the FAA Onboard Oxygen Analysis System

This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report, DOT/FAA AR-TN 03/52, by Michael Burns and William Cavage, dated July 2003. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is planning a series of ground and flight tests with Airbus to prove the concept of a simplified fuel tank inerting system, which has been developed by the FAA. The FAA has also developed an onboard oxygen analysis system to measure the oxygen concentration in the aircraft fuel tank during the testing. To help ensure smooth integration and the safety of the testing, the FAA has documented the system description, interfaces, operation, and has performed a failure mode effects criticality analysis. This analysis attempts to identify the failure modes of each system component and assess the effects of these failures on the component, system, and aircraft. The analysis also applies a hazard category to each hazard as well as some hazard probability when it was deemed necessary by the author. Hazard controls are also listed. All relevant system information has been summarized to allow for the system to be properly integrated into the proposed flight test aircraft. The results of the analysis indicated that most failure modes had no effect on the aircraft or other secondary systems. The few hazards with potential aircraft effects have significant controls in place to reduce the likelihood of the hazard and mitigate any potential hazard exposure. The full text of the report is available in PDF format, from the online catalogue of the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center Library.

A New Direction for China’s Defense Industry

This technical report (MG-334-AF) was published by The RAND Corporation in 2005 and was written by Evan S. Medeiros, Roger Cliff, Keith Crane and James C. Mulvenon. Since the early 1980s, a prominent and consistent conclusion drawn from research on China’s defense-industrial complex has been that China’s defense-production capabilities are rife with weaknesses and limitations. This study argues for an alternative approach: From the vantage point of 2005, it is time to shift the focus of current research to the gradual improvements in and the future potential of China’s defense-industrial complex. The study found that China’s defense sectors are designing and producing a wide range of increasingly advanced weapons that, in the short term, are relevant to a possible conflict over Taiwan but also to China’s long-term military presence in Asia. Part of a larger RAND Project AIR FORCE study on Chinese military modernization, this study examines the current and future capabilities of China’s defense industry. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

A Potential Solution for De/Anti-Icing of Commuter Aircraft

This is a Transport Canada, Transportation Development Centre (TDC) report, TP 14152E, prepared on behalf of the TDC by Michael Chaput, APS Aviation Inc, published November 2003. In 2002-03, APS examined potential solutions to address the holdover time restrictions of Type I fluid. One potential solution examined was the spraying of heated Type IV fluids through Type I spray equipment to produce a lower viscosity fluid. The idea was based on the assumption that production samples of heated Type IV fluid would retain sufficient viscosity following a spray through a Type I delivery system to provide a minimum of 15 minutes of holdover time in snow. Testing was conducted at three American Eagle Airlines stations in 2003: Dubuque, Quebec City, and Dallas/Fort Worth. Viscosity and endurance time tests were performed with the Type IV samples collected at the three sites. Even when the Type IV fluid was severely sheared by the Type I spray equipment, the endurance time results with these samples were very long. The positive test results led to the belief that a severely sheared anti-icing fluid could be certified to AMS 1428 as a Type III fluid. Transport Canada produces a Type III generic holdover time table annually even though no Type III fluids currently exist. In 2002-03, APS produced three simulated Type III fluids by mechanically shearing certified Type II products to low viscosity levels. Tests were performed in natural snow and simulated precipitation using standard endurance time testing procedures. The endurance time tests produced very encouraging results. One product had endurance times that were all above the values in the current Transport Canada Type III holdover time guidelines. A summary of the report is available in HTML and the full text can be downloaded or viewed online in PDF (4,368 Kb) format from the TDC web site.

A Service Life Analysis of U.S. Coast Guard C-130 Aircraft

This is the full text of a thesis by Jonathan B. Duff which was presented to the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) in 2003. The U. S. Coast Guard, much like the rest of the Armed Services, is facing a dramatic transformation of its forces to meet current and future service requirements. The Coast Guard has responded to this transformation by initiating the Deepwater System, a complete review of the offshore mission requirements and the modernization of its infrastructure. In particular, Deepwater will review and modernize the Coast Guard's aviation assets, improving aircraft systems, airborne sensors, and communications and information management systems. However, these capability advancements will take time and money to implement, and will require careful management of the current resources to ensure a smooth transition. One of the oldest and most versatile Coast Guard aircraft is the C-130, which the Coast Guard uses for Long Range Surveillance missions (LRS), as well as for logistics transport. Service life decisions regarding the C-130 are complicated by aging aircraft issues, and the forced introduction of a new generation C-130. It will be difficult for Coast Guard decision makers to select how program funding should be executed within the C-130 fleet. This study examines how long the current airframes can safely remain in service, how much the remaining service life will cost, and what level of availability can be realized for the rest of the service life. Once these questions can be reasonably answered, it will then be possible to perform an insightful and justifiable analysis of alternatives for modernizing, sustaining, and if necessary retiring the C-130s. [Taken from abstract]. The full text of the thesis is availabel in PDF format and is provided by the Air University ResearchWeb site.

A Simulation-Based Analysis of the Impact of In-Sourcing a Major Process Element on the Coast Guard HH-60J Depot Maintenance Process

This is the full text of a thesis by Steven E. Vigus which was presented to the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) in 2003. Leaders at the United States Coast Guard’s Aircraft Repair and Service Center (ARSC) in Elizabeth City, North Carolina recently formalized their planning and analysis functions by adding a dedicated branch to their command structure. The Planning and Analysis Branch intends to apply computer modeling and simulation to study the impact of process changes to the various Programmed Depot Maintenance (PDM) lines. This research considers the applicability of this type of modeling and simulation, using ARENA to study the current HH-60J PDM process. The contribution of this research is a methodology specific to ARSC needs, an analysis of methodology based on a discrete event simulation model of PDM lines, and a specific case study demonstrating the methodologies. The response variable of interest is average PDM process time as a function of either in-sourcing or out-sourcing labor for a major process step. The research includes development and evaluation of a macro-level process model using ARENA 5.0. [Taken from abstract]. The full text of the thesis is available in PDF format and is provided by the Air Univeristy ResearchWeb site.

A Study into the Response of Aircraft Fuel Tanks to Rapid Decelerations

The site provides access to UK Civil Aviation Authority CAA Paper 2002/7, prepared by the Structures and Materials Department of the CAA's Safety Regulation Group (SRG), issued November 2002. The report presents the results of a study of the dynamics of rapidly decelerating fuel tanks. The objective of the research was to determine the conservatism or otherwise of the existing fuel tank emergency landing requirements based upon hydrostatic pressure criteria. The text of the document is available online in PDF format (17.1 mb) from the CAA's web site.

A Study of the Flammability of Commercial Transport Airplane Wing Fuel Tanks

This technical report (DOT/FAA/AR-08/8) was published by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Office of Aviation Research and Development in February 2008 and was written by William M. Cavage and Steven Summer. The Fire Safety Team of the Airport and Aircraft Safety Research and Development Division performed tests at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) William J. Hughes Technical Center using the environmental chamber and the air induction facility (wind tunnel) to examine individual effects that contribute to commercial transport wing fuel tank flammability. Additionally, previously acquired wing tank flammability measurements taken during flight tests were compared with the results from the FAA Fuel Air Ratio Calculator in an effort to see if the calculations agreed with existing flight test data. The results of the scale fuel tank testing in the environmental chamber showed that (1) fuel height in the tank had little or no effect on the flammability, (2) increasing the amount of heat on the top surface and a higher ambient temperature caused increased flammability, and (3) lower fuel flash point increased flammability greatly. Wind tunnel tests conducted with a section of a Boeing 727 wing tank showed that, under dynamic airflow conditions, change in ullage temperature was the primary mechanism affecting ullage flammability, not fuel temperature, as observed in environmental chamber tests. Other wind tunnel tests showed that the angle of attack of the fuel tank played little role in reducing fuel tank flammability, but that a cross-venting condition of the fuel tank would lead to a very rapid decrease in hydrocarbon concentration. An input temperature algorithm could be used with the FAA Fuel Air Ratio Calculator to significantly improve predictions of wing tank ullage flammability, based on tests that showed in-flight changes of ullage flammability in a wing tank are driven largely by the ullage temperature. This is very different from what had been shown with a center wing fuel tank, in which fuel temperature continues to be the main driver of flammability even during flight. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

A study of the Impact of E-Business on the UK Aerospace Sector

This web site provides access to the full text of the UK Department of Trade and Industry Report, URN 00/1309, prepared by PA Consulting, and published 11 October 2000. The objectives of the study were to investigate the e-business issues facing the UK aerospace manufacturing industry; to identify challenges and opportunities, and to inform the development of a programme of future action. The report recommends that the aerospace industry in the UK takes urgent collective and individual action to develop e-business strategies, in order to counter the threat of market consolidation and domination by overseas competitors. The text of the report is available in PDF format.

Aero Magazine

This is an in-house journal produced by The Boeing Company, which contains articles and features on Boeing and Douglas aircraft and their operation. These are full reprints of items that appear in the printed version of the magazine. The web site provides search and browse options, and an archive of past issues. Aero Magazine was produced quarterly, and the contents can be accessed online in both HTML and PDF formats. Please note that publication of Aero Magazine was suspended with the July 2003 edition. It is possible to access the archive of past issues.

AeroSite

This is a personal interest web site concerned with civil aviation. The site contains sections covering airline logos, models, discussion forums, and links to other sites. There is a section on airline information which includes listings of airline codes, airports codes, and civil registration prefix codes. The aircraft section contains three view images and brief specification details.

Aerospace 2020 - Vol 1

This is Research and Technology Organization (RTO) AGARD Advisory Report, AGARD-AR-360-01, dated April 1997. Volume 1, the summary volume, of the report of the NATO Advisory Group for Aerospace Research and Development (AGARD) study: 'Aerospace 2020'. This study explores the most advanced technologies, relevant to aerospace, being researched and developed in laboratories today. The study focuses on the most promising current technologies and the organizational and tactical consequences they will have at the field and system levels, over the course of the next 25 years. Topics include: a discussion of the impact of proliferation, human-machine interaction, synthetic environments, directed-energy weapons, information technologies, unmanned tactical aircraft, suborbital launchers, hypersonic missiles, and a discussion of affordability issues. Technologies are assessed from the viewpoints of both potential capabilities and threats. Observations and recommendations are presented. Bibliographic details and an abstract are available in HTML format and the full text (3 Mb)is available in PDF format from the RTO's web site.

Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) : Aerospace Facts and Figures

The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) is a trade organisation which represents the US aerospace industry. These statistics are published annually and the complete text of the current edition is available to order online. Earlier editions are free of charge and available in pdf format. Figures relevant to the US aerospace industry are available, including aircraft production, missile and space programs, air transportation, research and development, foreign trade, employment and finance.

Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) : Year-End Review and Forecast

The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) is a trade organisation which represents the US aerospace industry. The text of the AIA president's speech and a statistical analysis of the state of the US aerospace industry are available. It is also possible to download statistical tables in Excel or PDF format or to view them as HTML pages. The statistics include sales figures, backlogs, imports, exports, employment and profitability.

Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) Issues by Subject

The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) is a trade organisation which represents the US aerospace industry. The AIA identifies what it considers to be the most important current issues facing the industry and produces a policy statement for each detailing the major points. They are available in .PDF format, and cover topics such as acquisition reform, aerospace employment, air traffic capacity and delay, environmental issues, safety, economy, space and supply chain.

Aging Aircraft Fleets : Structural and Other Subsystem Aspects

This web site provides access to a Research and Technology Organization (RTO) Educational Note, RTO-EN-015, dated March 2001. The document was produced by the RTO's Applied Vehicle Technology Panel (AVT) and the Consultant and Exchange Programme of RTO in support of a Lecture Series presented on 13-16 November 2000 in Sofia, Bulgaria. The lecture series covered a range of topics including: aging systems and sustainment technology; aircraft loads; airframe repair options; risk assessments; airframe corrosion; human factors in aircraft maintenance; engine life extension; equipment health monitoring; corrosion prevention and control; repair software; inspection technologies; and inspection, reliability and human factors. Bibliographic and abstract details are available in HTML format. A table of contents, and the full text of the document (20.8 Mbytes) can be accessed online in PDF format. The document is contained in the RTO's Full Text Publication Library.

Air Team Images

This is an online aviation image library. The emphasis is on delivering the very best images from the world’s finest photographers. All images on the site are available for online purchase as prints, posters or gifts for worldwide delivery or instant file download direct from the server. You can browse or use the comprehensive search engine where you can search by keywords, manufacturer, industry sector, location, theme (eg aircraft type, aircraft show or airport life etc.

Airbus Industrie

This is the web site of Airbus Industrie, a company that designs and manufactures civil airliners. The site provides background information about the company, including its history and details about its product line, in addition to selected specifications and aircraft production. Details of the company's market are available through a clickable world map. The full text of FAST (Flight, Airworthiness, Support and Technology) Technical Magazine, which is published annually is downloadable using Adobe Acrobat. These are available back to December 1996. There is a photograph library, a selection of downloadable vectorial images and video clips. The video clips require RealPlayer.

Aircraft Anti-icing Flight Endurance, Holdover and Failure Times Under Winter Precipitation Conditions : A Glossary of Terms

This document (TP 13832) was prepared by Barry B. Myres in November, 2001 for Transportation Development Center, Transport Canada. The effectiveness of anti-icing fluid in protecting aircraft surfaces from the hazardous effects of contamination by frost, snow, or freezing precipitation is a complex and poorly understood topic. Over the years much terminology has been used without firm definitions, leading to many misconceptions. The same terms have been used to describe features of fluid testing on flat plates and fluid functioning on an aircraft surface, when there may be major differences in their significance. This document is intended to help resolve this situation and provide some clarity by defining terms that describe the hazards of winter precipitation, by proposing firmer and distinct meanings for some terms, and by identifying those that are simply variations on others. Descriptions using a variety of terms are also given for the tests used to evaluate anti-icing fluids, the means of using fluids, and the methods of estimating when the fluids cease to protect the aircraft. The abstract is available in HTML format and the full text can be downloaded as PDF (710KB).

Aircraft Disinsection: A Guide for Military & Civilian Air Carriers

This is Research and Technology Organization (RTO) AGARDograph, RTO-AG-340, dated April, 1996. It is authored by R.A. Ellis and sponsored by the Advisory Group for Aerospace Research and Development. It explains; Aircraft disinsection is an important tool in preventing the introduction of unwanted pests into a country when an aircraft is returning to its home base. To prevent risks to air crew health, aircraft safety, and industry, Canada's Department of National Defence (DND) has reviewed the importance of aircraft disinsection and the potential problems associated with execution. Over the past two decades, various directives for air crew maintenance personnel, and preventive medicine technicians have been developed and updated periodically. This aircraft disinsection review is part of the latest effort to revise DND's administrative orders on aircraft disinsection. Existing Canadian and foreign legislation, regulations, and recommendations dealing with aircraft disinsection were reviewed. This review also summarises the information that was gathered from various officials involved in the regulation of introduced pests, pesticide registration, and safe pesticide use. Aircraft disinsection technology has evolved over the years since its inception. Practical, up-to-date information on current technologies was gathered, through numerous meetings and correspondence, from researchers, private companies involved in aircraft disinsection, air force personnel, and representatives of civilian air carriers who are active worldwide. The end-result was the development of a current, standard operating procedure for disinsection of Canadian Air Force aircraft in the form of an Air Command Administrative Order. It may serve as a model for the Air Forces and air carriers of other NATO countries. Bibliographic details and an abstract are available in HTML format. The full text can be accessed online in PDF format (5.3 Mb) from the RTO's web site.

Aircraft Evacuation Tests – An Initial Assessment of the Influence of Various Aisle Configurations and Lighting Conditions under Different Evacuation Scenarios

This report (TP12832E) was prepared by Professor Helen Muir and Ann Cobbett of Cranfield University for Transportation Development Center, Transport Canada in October, 1996. The report details an experimental programme of research investigating the influence of changes to the aisle configuration and interior/exterior lighting on the rate at which passengers could evacuate the aircraft. The configurations evaluated involved a conventional single, straight aisle and an aisle with a “jog” or “kink”. In order to reproduce the urgency that can occur in an emergency, incentive payments were used to motivate the participants. The two protocols that were used involved competitive and co-operative evacuations. The evacuations were documented using video cameras that had internal time bases. These provided information on the time taken for each individual to evacuate and the order in which the participants disembarked. This information together with questionnaire data will be available for the development and validation of emergency egress models. Test results indicated that in both of the evacuation scenarios used for the tests, an optimum condition for the rapid evacuation of passengers involves a straight aisle and good internal and external lighting conditions. The executive summary in available in HTML and the full text can be accessed in PDF (656KB).

Aircraft Fire Detection : Requirements, Qualification, and Certification Aspects

This is a conference paper by K.Schmoetzer of EADS Airbus GmbH, Bremen, Germany. It was presented at the 12th International Conference on Automatic Fire Detection "AUBE '01", held at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, March 25-28, 2001. The paper focuses on fire detection aspects applicable to pressurized areas of transport aircraft where passengers and cargo are located. The text of the paper is available in PDF format from the Building and Fire Research Laboratory (BFRL) publications online collection.

Aircraft Hardening Research Programme Final Overview Report

The is the PDF version of UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Paper 2001/9, compiled by the Structures and Materials Department, Design and Production Standards Division of the CAA's Safety Regulation Group, published December 2001. The paper presents the results of research undertaken by the CAA and the Department of Transport, into means of mitigating the effects of explosions on civil transport aircraft. The research was carried out under a CAA contract by the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency, now QinetiQ. The mitigation measures studied include extrinsic means such as the use of hardened baggage containers and protective liners for the fuselage skin or spacing materials for the cargo hold. Means to restrict baggage momentum or to distribute baggage are also discussed. Measures to improve the aircraft structure itself including local reinforcement of skin and frames, improved attachment of fuselage stringers and selective placement of systems equipment are also reviewed.

Aircraft Maintenance Incident Analysis : Final Report

This provides access to a UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Paper 2007/04 dated December 2007. The objective of this study was to analyse a selection of maintenance related events on jet aircraft above 5,700kg MTOW, captured and stored under the requirements of the CAA’s Mandatory Occurrence Reporting (MOR) scheme to identify trends, themes and common causes or factors. A pilot study was conducted in 2005 with a subset of the data in order to facilitate the development of a taxonomy with which to classify these maintenance events. Three first level maintenance error types were established and the data further classified in terms of second level descriptors. This report covers the main study where the taxonomy was applied to the 3,535 maintenance related MORs for the period January 1996 to December 2005. In the results, just under half of the occurrences analysed were attributed to incorrect maintenance actions, and under a quarter each to ineffective maintenance control and to incomplete maintenance. ATA Chapters were allocated to the data and the frequency of the top three Chapters concurred with an earlier CAA review and with the pilot study with the exclusion of Chapter 79 (Oil). The data showed that the vast majority of MORs were related to Chapter 25 (Equipment and Furnishings), escape slides in particular. The study concludes that the number of maintenance related MORs as a percentage of the total number of MORs submitted to the CAA appears to decrease steadily from 2000 to 2005. This reduction may, in part, be attributable to the extensive efforts of the CAA to promote human factors awareness training, guidance and policy within the industry. Recommendations based upon the findings have been made and include improving theconsistency and comprehensiveness of data captured to facilitate future trend analysis, and identification of the underlying causes of maintenance error. [Taken from abstract]. The full text of the paper is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software is required in order to read it.

Aircraft Performance Summary Tables for the Base Aircraft Data (BADA) - Revision 3.5

This technical note (number 9) was publsihed by the Eurocontrol Experimental Centre in July 2003 and was written by A. Nuic. A set of aircraft performance summary tables are presented for the 87 aircraft types modelled by the Base of Aircraft Data (BADA) Revision 3.5. For each aircraft type, the performance tables specify the true air speed, rate of climb/descent and fuel flow for conditions of climb, cruise and descent at various flight levels. The performance figures contained within the tables are calculated based on a total-energy model and BADA 3.5 performance coefficients. [Taken from abstract]. This is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Aircraft Retrofit Action to Comply to the 8.33 kHz Vertical Expansion Programme (above FL195)

This technical report number 2005/001 was published by the Eurocontrol Experimental Centre in March 2005 and was written by Frank Jelinek, Sandrine Carlier, Jean-Claude Hustache and James Smith. The study addresses environmental and economic aspects of the 8.33kHz Vertical Expansion programme. It covers the following dimensions: An analysis of the meteorological situation evaluates the consequences of flying at lower altitudes on the exposure to bad weather conditions. An overall conflicts count gives an indication of potential impacts on traffic complexity and subsequent controller workload. An environmental analysis estimates the possible consequences on the main aviation emissions (CO2, H2O, SOx, NOx, CO, HC, VOC and TOG). Finally, a business case assessment estimates the profitability for aircraft operators to invest in 8.33kHz equipment. [Taken from abstract]. This is in PDF format so will require Adobe Acrobat software in order to read it.

Airliners.net

This source is primarily dedicated to aviation photographs, with an archive of 65,000 images of individual aircraft and aerial photographs of airports. A search engine enables the location of specified photographs by aircraft type, airline, category, country/airport and keywords. The site also includes a small number of aviation-related discussion forums, covering general aviation, aviation interests as a hobby, aviation photography and photograph requests. It also features up-to-the-minute industry news, provided by PRNewswire, and an online shop, supplying a wide range of aviation-related books, videos and general goods. There is also a section dedicated to aircraft data and history that covers about 400 aircraft types and includes data like powerplants, production, performance etc. There is also a facility available for booking online air tickets and reserving hotel rooms.

Alliant Techsystems (ATK)

Alliant Techsystems is a leading designer, developer, and manufacturer of space and strategic propulsion systems, spacecraft and aircraft structures, munitions propellants, tactical missile propulsion systems and warheads. The ATK web site provides corporate information, including financial and shareholder details, a searchable index of recent press releases and a description of the Company's main business activities.

An Analysis of Factors Effecting Cargo Bay Fire Suppression Using a Fuel Tank Inerting System

This technical report (DOT/FAA/AR-07/28) was produced by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Office of Aviation Research and Development in June 2007 and was written by William M. Cavage. Adding the capability of inert gas generation for fuel tank inerting to a commercial transport airplane has the potential to improve fire safety and reduce the weight and complexity of existing cargo bay fire suppression systems. To determine the effectiveness of a potential fuel tank inerting system for use as a cargo bay fire suppression metered system, a single air separation module (ASM) was tested to obtain specific performance points relevant to cargo bay fire suppression. These performance points were then used to calculate the time required to inert a single cargo bay with that inerting system and also to calculate how much time the cargo bay would not be inert using the Onboard Inert Gas Generation System (OBIGGS) with a discharge of halon. The acquired ASM performance data illustrated that an ASM based OBIGGS used for fuel tank inerting would be consistent with the requirements for a cargo bay fire suppression metered agent system. The nitrogen-enriched air (NEA) flow was very sensitive to ASM feed pressure (bleed air pressure) and the NEA flow from the ASM decreases as the static permeate pressure increases (aircraft altitude decreases). As expected, it is easier to inert the cargo bay as pressure altitude increases due to the decrease of gas mass in the compartment. The results of modeling the oxygen concentration with a halon discharge and representative air leakage into the bay to determine time not inert for given conditions illustrated the same date trends. This means that the same parameters that decreased the calculated times to inert also reduced or eliminated the calculated times not inert. When observing the sensitivity of the time not inert, results to decreasing the air leakage rate and increasing the size of the halon shot both decreased calculated time not inert values, although both values are also very sensitive to the ASM feed pressure. The time not inert values calculated were not that sensitive to cargo bay size with the same size OBIGGS provided that the leakage rate was the same and the cargo bay had the same relative size halon discharge. Increasing cargo bay density (fullness) decreased large positive time not inert results. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software is required in order to read it.

Assessment of In-cabin Information Technologies for Passengers with Sensory and Cognitive Impairments

This report (TP13152) was prepared by Uwe Rutenberg from Rutenberg Design Inc. and Anne Kristina Arnold and Ulrika Wallersteiner from Ergo Systems Canada Inc. in March, 1999. The report was prepared for Transportation Development Center, Transport Canada. To ensure safety all passengers must be able to receive and comprehend messages and follow instructions during a flight. However, information and communication requirements for passengers with cognitive and sensory impairments and elderly travellers are not always met in an aircraft cabin; consequently they are not always aware of safety, in-flight and emergency information and entertainment. The objective of this study is to collect data regarding on-board information and communication systems, review on-board constraints, develop assessment criteria, demonstrate and evaluate information technologies in aircraft, and develop recommendations based on analysis of the results. Different technologies are addressed for different disabilities like: infrared transmission system for people with hearing impairment, descriptive audio tape for people who are sight impaired or blind, open captioning on video monitors for passengers who are deaf or cognitively impaired, and text to speech laptop computer for those who are speech impaired. The study demonstrated the value of selected technologies by testing them with different user groups performing specific tasks in a realistic environment. The executive summary of the report is available in HTML. The full text can be accessed in PDF (746KB).

ATR

ATR is a joint venture between Aerospatiale of France and Italy's Alenia Aerospazio, and is a leading manufacturer of regional turboprops. The site provides background information about the company, including a company profile and details of its management team. Information about ATR aircraft is also included, specifically for weights and performance for the ATR 42-500 and 72-500. The media centre provides the full text of all press releases produced by the company since 1996, gives details of current orders and sales and there is also a photo and video library. The download centre provides downloadable product documentation and feature stories.

Aviation International News

This is a monthly news magazine aimed at the business, commercial and regional aviation communities. This site highlights the online version of the publication. Although the full content of the magazine is only available via payment of a subscription fee, the site provides free access to top news stories, letters to the editor and regular updates on hangar flying, avionics, and rotorcraft. Forthcoming events can be found via the Servises ->'Calendar' link.

Aviation Maintenance Human Factors (EASA Part-145)

This is the full text UK Civil Aviation Authority Civil Aviation Paper CAP 716, prepared by Human Factors, Operating Standards Division, of the CAA's Safety Regulation Group, Issue 2, 18 December 2003. The document provides guidance material in support of the human factors requirements in EASA Part 145 (previously amendment 5 to JAR 145). It is divided into three parts: (i) human factors organisational requirements in Part-145 (in particular, those introduced in amendment 5 to JAR145 - see Table 1) and how to meet them, (ii) guidance material on the maintenance human factors training requirements in Part 145.A.30(e), and (iii) appendices containing further guidance, background and reference information on human factors in maintenance, should this be required. The text of the document is available online in PDF format (1.5 mb).

Aviation Safety and Security Association

The Aviation Safety and Security Association (ASSA) is a subsidiary of the Diversified Training Company (DTC), and is formed in a partnership with pilots and flight attendants. The ASSA offers multiple aviation safety and security courses including subject areas like: flight crew security training, behavioural assessment of threat, use of force, phases of awareness, terrorism, crew management skills, human interface with automation and many more. The association also provides assistance in evaluation of flight operations security and providing flight crew training. The training is provided by experienced staff who are either active or retired commercial airline pilots. Links are also available to publications and websites dealing with human factors.

BAE Systems

BAE Systems comprises British Aerospace and Marconi Electronic Systems. The site gives an overview of the company and its activities, in particular, a 'virtual news room' provides details including breaking news. The investor relations area of the site gives a range of financial indicators including share prices and a five year summary. Overview information on current programmes including the Eurofighter, Hawk, Gripen, Nimrod and Future Offensive Air Systems (FOAS) is provided. Information on the complete range of products is available, as are press releases, recruitement, an image library and movie clips.

Bird-aircraft Strike Hazards : An Overview of the Risks, Costs and Management

This report (13272E) was prepared by Douglas N. Meeking of Agra Earth and Environmental Limited for Transportation Development Center, Transport Canada in July 1998. The report presents the results of research of available information on the nature of the bird strike hazard to aircraft. Most of that information is derived from United States and Canadian sources but published information from Europe and the United Kingdom is also incorporated. The scope of reference is civilian commercial aviation because that represents the greatest potential risk to the travelling public and is, coincidentally, the source of most systematically collected data. However, to the limited extent of the data available, military and general civilian aviation are also addressed. The bird strike hazard is described in terms of those bird species and types of aircraft most commonly involved, as well as the operational, temporal, spatial and regulatory aspects of incidents recorded. A mean annual strike rate is estimated, as is the rate of damage to aircraft. Costs related to aircraft-bird strikes are estimated on the basis of defined categories that include direct, indirect, ancillary, catastrophic and total. Aspects of risk management are discussed in the context of the Canadian airport operational and regulatory environments. Recommendations for future management direction and emphases in research and development are provided.The executive summary is available in HTML and the full text in PDF (357KB).

Boeing Current Market Outlook

This report is the most recent of a series of annual publications which Boeing produces in order to estimate the demand for world commercial aircraft. An executive overview is available and the report is organised into several main sections - 'Air travel demand', 'Airplane demand', and 'Regional summaries'. Appendices are also provided. The report is in HTML format.

Boeing-727.com

This is a personal interest web site concerned with the tri-jet transport. Although not an official Boeing site, it does focus on technical information. This is arranged under the following headings: Airframe, Engine, Avionics, Aircraft Systems, Checklists, Fluids and Fuel, and "727 Odds" (items that do not fit into the other sections). There is also a set of revision questions relating to the technical information.

Boeing

The Boeing Company is the largest aerospace company in the world. It manufactures commercial aeroplanes and military aircraft. This large site contains the full text of all press releases and statements since 1997, and from Boeing and McDonnell Douglas since before the merger in 1997. A lot of detailed financial information is available, including financial reports and the Investor Relations Newsletter. Product, news and market information are also available for commercial and military aeroplanes, business jets, rotorcraft, space systems, and electronics and information systems.

Bombardier Aerospace

Bombardier is the third largest airframe manufacturer in the world, and is based in Canada. The company manufactures regional, business and amphibious aircraft, and the site contains images and specifications of these products. The site also provides information about Bombardier's defence services - fleet management and aviation training management. Several full text newsletters are accessible from the site. These are 'Regional Update', back to January/February 1997 in PDF format, 'Bombardier Aerospace World' back to Spring 1998 in HTML format, and 'Initial Attack' back to Autumn 1993 also in HTML format. There is also an investor relations area containing share prices, financial information and company news.

Boundary Layer Evaluation of Anti-icing Fluids for Commuter Aircraft

This report (TP11811E) was prepared by P.R.Louchez, J.L.Laforte and G.Bouchard for Transportation Development Center, Transport Canada in December, 1994. The use of anti-icing fluid to prevent ice formation on aircraft requires adequate demonstration that fluid residues do not perturb the take-off operation. For large aircraft, a standard testing method is already in place. This report documents the evaluation procedure for commuter aircraft. The testing method, similar to that for large aircraft, determines the boundary layer displacement thickness (BLDT) induced by a film of anti-icing fluid, applied on a flat horizontal plate and subjected to a linear acceleration of 2.1 m/s˛, during 17 s, up to 35 m/s. The method is shown to be repeatable and accurate. The maximum acceptable BLDT value, for aircraft with a rotation velocity between 55 KT and 100 KT, was found to be 10.6 mm, according to a correlation with a 2D model study performed at NASA Lewis Research Center by Boeing Canada de Havilland Division. One existing fluid was found to be acceptable down to about -25°C. Other fluids are acceptable in a limited temperature range. In this study, no Type II was found acceptable. The writing of a corresponding SAE document is recommended. The executive summary of the report is available in HTML and the full text in PDF (529KB).

CAP 455: Airworthiness Notices - cancellation and tranfer to CAP 747

This provides access to a UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) publication dated September 2009. Cancellation of CAP 455. All Airworthiness Notices (ANs), previously published in CAP 455, cancelled or transferred to CAP 747 (Mandatory Requirements for CAP 562 (Civil Aircraft Airworthiness Information and Procedures). therefore, now been withdrawn.A List of Cancelled and Relocated ANs has been published to clarify transferred ANs. This should be retained for future reference. [Taken from abstract]. The full text of this CAP is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software is required in order to read it.

CAP 549 : Master Minimum Equipment Lists (MMEL) and Minimum Equipment Lists (MEL)

This provides access to a UK Civil Aviation Authority Publication Civil Aviation Paper CAP 549, 5th edition, December 2008. The purpose of this publication is to define and explain the policy of the CAA in regard to MELs and MMELs. It provides guidelines for aircraft manufacturers on the preparation of an MMEL and specifies the means for an operator to produce procedures and MELs, so that an aircraft with unserviceable equipment may be dispatched in accordance with Article 16 or JAR-OPS 1.030/3.030. The text is available in PDF format (155 kb) from the CAA's publications web site.

CAP 562 : Civil Aircraft Airworthiness Information and Procedures (CAAIP)

This provides access to a UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) document, Civil Aviation Paper CAP 562, Issue 2 incorporating amendment (8) dated 11th September 2009, which gives general information on a variety of matters concerned with civil aircraft during manufacture, overhaul, repair, maintenance, operation and procedures. The text of CAP 562 is available in PDF format (7.9 mb), from the CAA's web site.

CAP 697 : Civil Aviation Authority JAR-FCL Examinations: Flight Planning Manual

This provides access to a UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)publication CAP 697 dated September 2006. CAP 697 is produced to support training and examinations for JAR-FCL Subject 033 - Flight Planning and Monitoring for Aeroplanes. It contains specimen data for three generic aeroplanes. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software is required in order to read it.

CAP 698 : Civil Aviation Authority JAR-FCL Examinations: Aeroplane Performance Manual

This provides access to a UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) publication CAP 698 dated September 2006. CAP 698 is produced to support training and examinations for JAR-FCL Subject 032 - Performance for Aeroplanes. It contains specimen data for three generic aeroplanes. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

CAP 747 : Mandatory Requirements for Airworthiness

This provides access to a UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) document, Civil Aviation Paper CAP 747 Issue 3 including amendments Febraury 2010. CAP 747 now provides a single source of mandatory information for continuing airworthiness as issued by the CAA. Airworthiness Directives for Annex II aircraft published in CAP 476 are now included, those Airworthiness Directives issued by EASA have been removed and are available on the EASA website. Paper copies of the entire document are available for purchase. In addition the amendment file can be purchased separately. [Taken from abstract]. The full text of the document is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software is required in order to read it.

Cargo Fire Monitoring System (CFMS) for the Visualisation of Fire Events in Aircraft Cargo Holds

This is a conference paper by T. Wittkopp, C. Hecker, and D. Opitz, VIDAIR-AG, Monchengladbach, Germany. It was presented at the 12th International Conference on Automatic Fire Detection "AUBE '01", held at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, March 25-28, 2001. The text of the paper is available in PDF format (399 K) from the Building and Fire Research Laboratory (BFRL) publications online collection.

CarterCopters Inc

CarterCopters is a small company which is developing an advanced gyroplane design. The site provides a range of information sources related to the project, including; illustrations, 3-view drawing, history of gyroplane development, current project status, general project overview, business plan, lists of technical articles and patents pending, and technical response to series of questions raised following the publication of an article in the journal Machine Design.

Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) Explosion Analysis Technique : Development and Evaluation

This report was edited by Wayne Jackson and prepared by Steve Hall, Frank Slingerland et. al., for Transportation Development Center, Transport Canada in May, 2002. Investigation agencies believe that a detector that can discriminate between structural failures and explosions as the cause of in-flight break-ups would result in substantial improvements in the quality and efficiency of the investigation of such events. This project continued the development and evaluation of the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) Explosion Analysis (CVREA) technique, which is based on the analysis of spectrograms from CVRs. Activities included the automation of the technique, the collection and analysis of data from a ground test, and an evaluation that included reviewing the development history and theoretical basis, conducting a training course and blind test, and soliciting the opinion of other experts. While the evaluation identified a number of areas of agreement among the experts, it was concluded that the CVREA technique is not suitable for use by investigation agencies. It is recommended that research focussed only on the CVREA technique no longer be supported unless convincing evidence on the validity of the technique is presented. After a review of all available information on the structural response of aircraft to explosions and rapid decompressions, consideration should be given to several suggestions for continuing research toward finding methods of determining the cause of in-flight break-ups. The executive summary of the report is available in HTML and the full text can be accessed in PDF (386KB).

Commercial Aircraft Design Characteristics : Trends and Growth Projections

This is the fifth revision of a document produced by the International Industry Working Group (IIWG), dated December 2003, and is sponsored by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and others. It is intended to provide information on the trends in conventional takeoff and landing aircraft (CTOL) design characteristics that may influence general long-term airport planning and design. Aircraft size, weight, and other characteristics reflect the potential trends through the year 2010. This version of the document is hosted by the Boeing Airport Technology Group, and is available in PDF format (1.63 Mb)

Competitive Assessment of the U.S. Large Civil Aircraft Aerostructures Industry

On April 14, 2000, at the request of the House Committee on Ways and Means, the United States International Trade Commission instituted investigation No. 332-414, Competitive Assessment of the U.S. Large Civil Aircraft Aerostructures Industry, under section 332(g) of the Tariff Act of 1930, for the purpose of exploring recent developments in the global large civil aircraft (LCA1) aerostructures industry. The Commission’s report (2001) includes a description of the composition of the LCA aerostructures industry and recent trends; a description of the process of new aerostructures development; a review of the means and trends in government support for research and development needs; and an evaluation of the relative strengths and weaknesses of the aerostructures industries in the United States, Europe, Canada, and Asia. This site provides the full text of this investigation in PDF format.

Concept To Reality : Contributions of the NASA Langley Research Center to U.S. Civil Aircraft of the 1990s

This is a NASA special publication, NASA SP-2003-4529, by Joseph R. Chambers, dated 2002. It highlights significant Langley contributions to safety, cruise performance, takeoff and landing capabilities, structural integrity, crashworthiness, flight deck technologies, pilot-vehicle interfaces, flight characteristics, stall and spin behaviour, computational design methods, and other challenging technical areas for civil aviation. The contents of this volume include descriptions of some of the more important applications of Langley research to current civil fixed-wing aircraft (rotary-wing aircraft are not included), including commercial airliners, business aircraft, and small personal-owner aircraft. In addition to discussions of specific aircraft applications, the document also covers contributions of Langley research to the operation of civil aircraft, which includes operating problems. This document is organized according to disciplinary technologies, for example, aerodynamics, structures, materials, and flight systems. Within each discussion, examples are cited where industry applied Langley technologies to specific aircraft that were in operational service during the 1990s and the early years of the new millennium. This document is intended to serve as a key reference for national policy makers, internal NASA policy makers, Congressional committees, the media, and the general public. Therefore, it has been written for a broad general audience and does not presume any significant technical expertise. An extensive bibliography is provided for technical specialists and others who desire a more in-depth discussion of the contributions. The full text of the document is available in HTML format.

Continuing Analysis and Surveillance System (CASS) Description and Models.

This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report DOT/FAA/AR-03/70 by Fred Leonelli dated October 2003. Since 1964, all air carriers have been required by regulation to conduct continuous evaluations of their maintenance programs. Specifically, Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Parts 121.373 and 135.431 require air carriers to establish a Continuing Analysis and Surveillance System (CASS) to evaluate, analyze, and correct deficiencies in the performance and effectiveness of their inspection and maintenance programs. While the regulation governing CASS is short, its sparse language nonetheless requires a complex system. Each CASS must set high goals, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is empowered by the regulations to require changes to an air carrier’s maintenance program if it shows signs of weakness. To assist industry maintenance personnel and FAA inspectors to understand and comply with CASS requirement, this report proposes three models that illustrate how the structure of CASS can be established based on an air carrier’s size and complexity. Each model represents a complete system that should meet, or exceed, the regulatory requirements, and on which new entrant air carriers can base their CASS. Existing air carriers can also use the models as a comparison to their existing CASS and determine its effectiveness. The results in this report are based on the information gathered through research and on-site interviews with industry, FAA, and trade association representatives. Interviews of eighteen 14 CFR Part 121 air carriers, five 14 CFR Part 135 air carriers, four aviation industry associations, and a representative of the Joint Aviation Authorities of Europe were conducted over a 6-month period. Interviews of personnel at the FAA Flight Standards District Office, Certificate Management Office, and Headquarters were also conducted to gain input from the regulatory perspective. [Taken from abstract]. The full text of the report is available in PDF format from the online catalogue of the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center Library.

Corrosion and Fatigue Assessment of Aircraft Pressure Cabin Longitudinal Lap Splices

This technical report (NLR-TP-1999-408) was published by NLR (the National Aerospace Laboratory of the Netherlands) in 1999 and was written by R. J. H. Wanhill. Because aircraft structures are susceptible to corrosion and fatigue damage, which concentrate at joints, there is a possibility of interactions between corrosion and fatigue, especially as aircraft become older. Of particular concern are the longitudinal lap splices of transport aircraft pressure cabins. This paper reports on the disassembly and investigation of lap splices from several types of transport aircraft. Broadly speaking, the investigation showed that pressure cabin longitudinal lap splices have a corrosion problem or a fatigue problem: severe corrosion does not result in Multiple Site Damage (MSD) fatigue cracking, and MSD is not initiated by corrosion. However, there is evidence of a mild environmental effect on MSD fatigue crack growth. The results are discussed with respect to MSD fatigue modelling and simulation and lap splice fatigue analysis methods. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software is required in order to read it.

Deicing with Mobile Infrared System

At the request of the Transportation Development Centre of Transport Canada, APS Aviation Inc. undertook this research program to further advance aircraft ground deicing/anti-icing technology and to enhance safety. This report was prepared by Elio Ruggi and Cassia Pole in December, 1998. The project’s primary objective was to explore the effectiveness of a mobile infrared deicing system for the removal of different types of frozen contamination from wing surfaces. The effectiveness of the ICE CAT mobile infrared deicing system was evaluated on two consecutive nights. Wet snow occurred on the first night of trials. On the second night, simulated freezing rain was applied to the wing surface. The ICE CAT heater panel was positioned over the contaminated wings, and the time intervals required to achieve a dry wing surface were measured. Fokker F28 and Boeing 737 aircraft from Canadian Airlines International were provided for the trials. The time required to deice an entire wing of wet snow or frozen precipitation using the prototype ICE CAT infrared deicing system, as tested, needs to be reduced. The executive summary of the report is available in HTML format and the full text can be downloaded as PDF (1,064KB).

Demonstration and Validation of the Excited Dielectric Test™ Method to Detect and Locate Defects in Aircraft Wiring Systems

This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report DOT/FAA AR-04/43 by Rollin van Alstine and Gregory Allan dated January 2005. Abstract This report describes the development of an advanced test technique for assessing the condition of installed aircraft wiring. The Excited Dielectric Test™ (EDT) method is an electrical test that exploits a basic property of polar insulation materials, that is, some small amount of current will flow through the insulation material when the wire is exposed to an alternating electric field. The magnitude of this current varies with the frequency of the applied field and, in polar insulation materials, there is a specific frequency at which a maximum current occurs. This current is often expressed in terms of the phase angle, ä, between the applied voltage and the resultant current. The tangent of ä is known as the dissipation factor (DF). The other aspect of the EDT method is the time domain reflectometry (TDR). Aircraft wiring can be modeled as a classical transmission line (i.e., a continuous structure of resistors, inductors, and capacitors). Applying this model, the electrical characteristics of the wire (e.g., impedance, capacitance, DF, resistance) can be analyzed as distributed elements represented by a voltage waveform. TDR has been shown to be extremely effective in measuring the distributed characteristics of wiring. The EDT method applies established principles of both DF and TDR measurement theory. An alternating electric field, known as a forcing function, is applied to the wire under test at a frequency designed to induce the maximum value of DF. A TDR signature is acquired and stored under this excitation. The frequency of the forcing function is then changed, and a second TDR signature is acquired and stored. The two signatures are then compared. Points where the signatures do not overlay are indicative of localized areas where the insulation material is in the poorest condition. Polyimide and cross-linked ETFE were the insulation materials studied under this research effort. [Taken from abstract]. The full text of the report is availabel in PDF format from the online catalogue of the FAA William J Hughes Technical Center Library.

Detection Reliability for Small Cracks Beneath Rivet Heads Using Eddy-Current Nondestructive Inspection Techniques : Final Report

This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report, DOT/FAA/AR-97/73, by Floyd W. Spencer, dated December 1998. The report provides an assessment of the potential of advanced eddy-current inspection technology on representative aircraft applications. The full text of the report is available in PDF format, from the online catalogue of the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center Library.

Development and Validation of a Microenergy High-Voltage Technology for Aircraft Wiring

This technical report (DOT/FAA/AR-05/49) was published by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in October 2005 and was written by Michael Ballas, Steve Eisenhart and Annette Garrison. This report will introduce the reader to a suite of proactive diagnostic tools for commercial use, employing microenergy high-voltage (MEHV) technology for assessing the integrity of wire insulation. The MEHV specifically identifies those insulation breaches that are likely to or have already degraded to the point of failure, resulting in potential arcing between conductors or between a conductor and the aircraft frame or other low impedance paths to ground. The system has the unique ability to provide distance-to-fault determination, when arcing has not occurred under normal aircraft operating loads. The target application is in testing new and aged vehicle aircraft wire bundles for insulation breaches. MEHV is used to identify and locate compromised or damaged insulation. The MEHV technology was evaluated as a diagnostic concept for detection of defects by conducting validation tests, including safety and performance evaluation. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Development of a Crashworthy Composite Fuselage Concept for a Commuter Aircraft

This technical report (NLR-TP-2001-108) was published by NLR (the National Aerospace Laboratory of the Netherlands) in 2001 and was written by J. F. M. Wiggenraad, D. Santoro, F. Lepage, C. Kindervater and H. Climent Manez. Within the framework of Brite-Euram programme CRASURV "Commercial Aircraft - Design for Crash Survivability", technology was developed for the design of composite air frames with respect to crashworthiness. The ultimate goal of the project was to develop computer codes for the simulation of the crash behaviour of composite fuselage structures. A significant part of the project consisted of the design, fabrication and droptesting of two representative composite fuselage sections, to generate the experimental data needed for the validation of the new code developments. The present paper gives an overview of the development, test and numerical analysis of one of the fuselage sections, a one-bay section representative of a commuter aircraft like the ATR-42/72. The fuselage section consists of the sub-floor structure, which is the major area that will be crushed during a potentially survivable crash. The structure failed in a mode which was not predicted. The deficiencies of the model were repaired and a post-test analysis gave satisfactory results. The project has resulted in improved simulation capabilities. However, it cannot be concluded that the state-of-the-art is such, that the behaviour of new composite structures can be predicted accurately in the near future. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Development of Supplemental Inspection Report for the Fairchild Metro SA226 and SA227 Airplane : Final Report

This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report, DOT/FAA/AR-00/18, by W.Dwyer, dated April 2000. The report describes the development of a supplemental inspection document (SID) for all variants of the SA226 and SA227 aircraft based on damage tolerance analysis techniques. The full text of the report is available in PDF format, from the online catalogue of the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center Library.

Effect of Airfoil Geometry on Performance with Simulated Ice Accretions Volume 1 : Experimental Investigation

This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report, DOT/FAA AR-03/64, by Andy Broeren, dated August 2003. This report presents the key findings of a 3-year experimental investigation into the effects of ice shape and airfoil geometry on airfoil performance. The overall objective of this report was to improve the understanding of the relationship between airfoil geometry, ice shape geometry, and the resulting degradation in aerodynamic performance. Three airfoils were tested with three different types of simulated ice accretions. The types of ice shapes were (1) supercooled, large droplet (SLD) ridge-type ice, (2) intercycle ice, and (3) glaze horn type ice. The NACA 23012, NLF 0414, and NACA 3415 airfoils were chosen to provide a broad range of aerodynamic characteristics. The full parametric variation of ice shape simulations and airfoil geometry testing was carried out at the University of Illinois. The full text of the report is available in PDF format, from the online catalogue of the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center Library.

Eurocopter Group

The Eurocopter Group comprises two parent companies - Aerospatiale and Daimler Chrysler Aerospace. The company is a manufacturer of civil and military helicopters. The site gives background information about the company, including its history and key figures such as orders and turnover by sector and market segment. Product information for all its products is provided - this includes specifications, drawings and photographs. Press releases, company news and the full text of Rotor Journal, the company's quarterly news publication, is available free of charge back to Issue 28. Articles are viewed using Adobe Acrobat.

European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) : Certification Specifications

On 28 September 2003, the Agency took over responsibility for the airworthiness and environmental certification of all aeronautical products, parts, and appliances designed, manufactured, maintained or used by persons under the regulatory oversight of EU Member States. The Agency is currently consulting interested parties on the contents of Certification Specifications. The consultation process is being carried out in co-operation with the Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA). For details of which texts are open to consultation and an indicative timetable, please refer to the JAA website. Completed texts shall be posted on the EASA site as and when they are ready for publication. Certification Standards currently available include CS-25 (Large Aeroplanes), CS-34 (Aircraft Engine Emissions and Fuel Venting), CS-36 (Aircraft Noise), CS-APU (Auxiliary Power Units), CS-AWO (All Weather Operations), CS-P (Propellers), CS-E (Engines), CS-ETSO (European Technical Standard Orders), CS-Definitions (Definitions & abbreviations), AMC-20 (General acceptable means of compliance for airworthiness of products, parts and appliances), CS-22 (sailplanes & powered sailplanes), CS-23 (normal, utility, aerobatic & commuter aeroplanes), CS-27 (small rotorcraft), CS-29 (Large rotorcraft), CS-VLR (Very Light Rotorcraft), and CS-VLA (Very Light Aeroplanes). The site contains the Executive Director's Decision, Explanatory Notes, and Comment Response Documents (pdf formats).

Evaluation of Fuel Tank Flammability and the FAA Inerting System on the NASA 747 SCA

This technical report (DOT/FAA/AR-04/41) was produced by the Fire Safety Branch of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in December 2004 and was written by Michael Burns, William M. Cavage, Robert Morrison and Steven Summer. Extensive development and analysis has illustrated that fuel tank inerting could, potentially, be cost-effective if air separation modules, based on hollow-fiber membrane technology, could be packaged and used in an efficient way. To illustrate this, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has developed a prototype onboard inert gas generation system that uses aircraft bleed air to generate nitrogen-enriched air (NEA) at varying flows and purities during a commercial airplane flight cycle. A series of ground and flight tests were performed, in conjunction with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) aircraft operations personnel, designed to evaluate the FAA inerting system used in conjunction with a compartmentalized center wing tank (CWT). Additionally, the flammability of both the CWT and one inboard wing fuel tank was measured. The system was mounted on a Boeing 747, operated by NASA, and used to inert the aircraft CWT during testing. The inerting system, CWT, and the number 2 main wing tanks were instrumented to analyze the system performance, fuel tank inerting, and flammability. The results of the testing indicated that the FAA prototype inerting system operated as expected. Using a variable-flow methodology allowed a greater amount of NEA to be generated on descent when compared to the simple dual-flow methodology, but it had no measurable effect on the resulting average ullage oxygen concentration after each test, while improving inert gas distribution by decreasing the worst bay oxygen concentration when three similar tests were compared. The highest average ullage oxygen concentration observed on any flight test correlates directly with the worst bay oxygen concentration, illustrating the importance of maintaining a low average ullage oxygen concentration in good inert gas distribution. Oxygen diffusion between the bays of the tank was relatively rapid, and overnight dispersion of the ullage oxygen concentration was measured to be very small. Flammability measurements showed trends very similar to what was expected based on both experimental and computer model data. The equilibrium data agreed favorably with data from both the Fuel Air Ratio Calculator and the Condensation Model, while transient data trends matched closely with the Condensation Model with some discrepancies in total hydrocarbon concentration magnitude at altitude. [Taken from abstract.] This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Evaluation of Warm Fuel as an Alternative Approach to Deicing

At the request of the Transportation Development Centre (TDC) of Transport Canada, APS Aviation undertook a research program to examine the feasibility of using pre-warmed fuel as a means of facilitating ground deicing of aircraft. This report (TP 13482E) was prepared by Peter Dawson and Medhat Hanna of APS Aviation in October, 1999. The objective of this project was to examine the feasibility of using warmed fuel as a means of facilitating ground deicing of aircraft. A field trial was conducted at Ottawa International Airport using two Bombardier Canadair Challenger aircraft belonging to the Department of National Defence. Warmed fuel was boarded on one aircraft and unheated fuel on the other. Wing skin temperatures were recorded while the aircraft were parked on the ramp overnight. The influence of the warmed fuel on wing skin temperatures is discussed. Patterns and locations of frost deposition are reported and discussed relative to wing skin temperatures and ambient weather conditions. The conclusions drawn from the tests are summarised in the report. The executive summary is available in HTML format and the full text can be downloaded as PDF (2,844KB).

Experimental and Numerical Studies of the Effects of Upper Surface Roughness on Aileron Performance

This is a Transport Canada report (TP 14180E), prepared for Transport Development Centre of Canada, by P.J.Penna, J.C.Su and G.F.Syms, of Aerodynamics Laboratory, Canada in November, 2003. The report addresses the experimental and numerical studies that were conducted to quantify the aerodynamic penalties resulting from the presence of failed anti-icing fluids on the upper surface of aircraft wings. The experimental study consisted of a wind tunnel test of a reflection-plane wing with a rectangular plan form and an aspect ratio of 5.3 when reflected. The wing was un-twisted and had an NACA 4415 airfoil section with a 30 percent of chord aileron. The test Reynolds number and Mach number were 3 x 106 and 0.3, respectively. Three sizes of distributed roughness, with elemental height-to-chord ratios of 0.0003, 0.0005 and 0.0006, were sequentially applied to the upper surface of the wing and all roughness applications commenced at the leading edge of the wing, upstream of the aileron only. The roughness therefore covered only part of the wing span and extended from the leading edge to either 2, 15 or 30 percent of chord. The roughness characteristics and coverage were chosen to represent a local region of failed anti-icing fluid that had resulted from exposure to freezing precipitation prior to takeoff. The experimental wind tunnel study of the NACA 4415 wing with an aileron showed that the presence of roughness always produced a reduction in maximum lift coefficient and stall angle of attack. The magnitudes of these penalties were influenced by: roughness height; extent of roughness coverage of the wing; and non-dimensional spacing of roughness elements. Where appropriate, experimental results for the NACA 4415 wing and the NASA LS(1)-0417 airfoil were compared to those from the two and three-dimensional numerical calculations. Both experimental and numerical studies showed that roughness on an aircraft’s wing at takeoff could have a negative impact on controllability. The exeutive summary is available in HTML, and the full text of the report in PDF (1.19MB) is also available.

FAA-NASA Symposium on the Continued Airworthiness of Aircraft Structures : Vol. 2

Compiled by Catherine A. Bigelow, these proceedings (DOT/FAA/AR-97/2) were published in July 1997 by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This collection of papers on airworthiness of aircraft structures discusses airframe life extension through quantitative rework inspections, analysis of a composite repair, analytical fatigue life estimation of full-scale fuselage panels, and application of acoustic emissions (AE) to health monitoring of helicopter mechanical systems. This is a PDF file so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Feasibility of Use of Ice Detection Sensors for End-of-Runway Wing Checks

At the request of the Transportation Development Centre (TDC) of Transport Canada, APS Aviation undertook a research program to examine the application of a ground-based (or remote) ice detection sensor (GIDS) to provide information on the condition of aircraft wings just prior to departure. This report (TP 13481E) was prepared by Peter Dawson and Antoni Peters of APS Aviation in October, 1999. The objective of the study was to examine the feasibility of using remote ground ice detection sensors to provide information to pilots on the condition of aircraft wings following de/anti-icing and just prior to the take-off decision. Feasibility was examined by determining the test locations and developing tentative test procedures in cooperation with airport authorities; obtaining an appropriate vehicle for camera installation; and performing scanning trials on aircraft preparing for take off after deicing operations. The suitability of selected scanning locations near departure runways, and the height requirements and limitations for remote ground detection sensor applications are discussed in the report. Observations on the performance of an ice detection sensor system in this application are also presented. A number of issues have been documented regarding the performance of the remote GIDS which, when addressed, will result in a system suitable for use at end of runway. The executive summary of the report is available in HTML format and the full text can be downloaded in PDF (10MB).

Financing and Program Alternatives for Advanced High-Speed Aircraft

This background paper was produced by the U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment in August 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 high-speed aircraft, commuter aircraft, and air cargo. Part 4 examines the potential financial and managerial barriers to a future high-speed, long-range commercial air transport. It is specifically intended to supplement the Part 1 report: Advanced High-Speed Aircraft. The report is made available as part of the OTA Online Archive. The full text is accessible online in PDF format (520K). Alternatively, the front matter, table of contents and individual chapters are available as separate PDF files.

Fire Detection for Aircraft Cargo Compartments, Reduction of False Alarms

This is a conference paper by Philippe Mangon, Cerberus S.A., France. It was presented at the 12th International Conference on Automatic Fire Detection "AUBE '01", held at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, March 25-28, 2001. The paper presents an analysis of actual fire and false alarm events, in order to try to provide a better understanding of the high false alarm ratio. The text of the paper is available in PDF format from the Building and Fire Research Laboratory (BFRL) publications online collection.

Flight Load Validation

This is a European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Notice of Proposed Amendment (NPA) No 02/2005 consultation document. The deadline for comments on this document was 15 March 2005. It sets forth an acceptable means, but not the only means, of demonstrating compliance with the provisions of CS-25 related to the validation, by flight load measurements, of the methods used for determination of flight load intensities and distributions, for large aeroplanes. This NPA is made up of four different parts: Explanatory Note - descibes the development process and explains the contents of the proposal; Proposals - the actual proposed amendments; the original Joint Airworthiness Authorities Original JAA NPA 25C-343 proposals justification; and the JAA NPA 25C-343 Comment-Response Document Comment-Response Document which summarises the comments made on the original JAA NPA and the responses to those comments. The text of the document is available in PDF format from the EASA web site.

Friction Fundamentals, Concepts and Methodology

This is a Transport Canada report (TP 13837E) prepared by A.Anderson and J.C.Wambold, for Transportation Development Centre, Canada in October, 1999. This report summarizes tire-surface friction knowledge as it applies to runway friction measurement. The report is in the form of a thesis and includes topics of tire-surface friction engineering with emphasis on comparison and harmonization of friction measurement devices. An overview of recent developments in tire-surface friction modelling and standard measures (Unit of friction measurement) of friction is presented, including the International Friction Index and the International Runway Friction Index. Suggestions for new friction measurement techniques are outlined. The executive summary of the report is available in HTML and the full text is available in PDF (2.98MB).

Full-Scale Tests of Lightweight Fragment Barriers on Commercial Aircraft : Final Report

This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report, DOT/FAA/AR-99/71, by Donald A. Shockey, David C. Elrich, and Jeffrey W. Simmons, dated November 1999. The report is part of an investigation of the ballistic effectiveness of fabric structures. It describes a series of tests to determine the effects of polymer material, number of plies, location of the fabric within the fuselage wall, and gripping arrangements. The results confirmed that high-strength polymer fabrics offer an extremely effective, low-weight solution for mitigating the effects of uncontained turbine engine fragments on commercial aircraft. The full text of the report is available in PDF format from the online catalogue of the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center Library.

Future fuels for aviation

This is Research and Technology Organization (RTO) AGARD-AR-93 , dated January 1976. The fuel supply outlook within the NATO nations is considered. Hydrocarbon fuels, alternate fuels as well as specification changes for fuels and changes in aircraft design and operation are discussed. Recommendations for future programs are included. Bibliographic and abstract details are available in HTML format. A table of contents, and the full text (7.10MB) of the document can be accessed online in PDF format. The document is contained in the RTO's Full Text Publication Library.

General Dynamics

Supplier of sophisticated defence systems and a provider of advanced business aircraft to corporate, government and individual owners. The company has four business sectors: Aerospace, who design and manufacture business aircraft; Combat Systems who supply land and amphibious combat machines; Information Systems and Technology which deals with optical and signal processing systems, surveillance and telecommunications; Marine Systems who design and build submarines, surface combatants, auxiliary ships and commercial vessels. The site provides company and product information, news, employment details and investor relations information.

Groen Brothers Aviation

Groen Brothers Aviation (GBA) design and build advanced gyroplanes. This site provides a range of information resources relating to the company and its products, including a company profile, financial information, technical specifications, a series of short related technology articles and news releases.

Ground and Flight Testing of a Boeing 737 Center Wing Fuel Tank Inerted With Nitrogen-Enriched Air

This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report, DOT/FAA/AR-01/63, by Michael Burns and William M. Cavage, dated August 2001. The report describes the results of a series of flight and ground tests to evaluate the effectiveness of ground-based inerting (GBI) as a means of reducing the flammability of fuel tanks in the commercial transport fleet. The full text of the report is available in PDF format from the online catalogue of the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center Library.

Guidelines to Minimize Manufacturing Induced Anomolies in Critical Rotating Parts

This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report DOT/FAA AR-06/3 dated February 2006. This report was developed by a partnership of the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) Rotor Manufacturing Project Team (RoMan) and the Federal Aviation Administration in response to accidents and incidents caused by manufacturing induced anomalies in critical rotating parts. According to a 1997 summary from the AIA Rotor Integrity Sub-Committee, about 25% of recent rotor cracks/events have been caused by post-forging manufacturing induced anomalies. The guidelines contained herein represent an industry consensus on the currently available best practices to minimize manufacturing induced anomalies in critical rotating parts consistent with the AIA RoMan team charter and vision. Recommendations for nominal rotor manufacturing process development and control, including process validation, quality assurance, disposition of suspect parts, process monitoring, human factors and training, and non-destructive evaluation, are included to provide an overall framework for a highly reliable manufacturing process. Because critical rotating part reliability has demonstrated particular sensitivity to hole machining practices, specific recommendations for hole making are included. In addition, a section containing industry lessons learned is included to provide guidance on issues common in the industry. The term lessons learned generally refers to useful pieces of practical wisdom acquired by experience or study. Appendices are attached which include the team charter and vision and detailed information concerning process monitoring of holes and non-destructive evaluation. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format from the online catalogue of the FAA William J. Hughes Center Library.

Gulf Aircraft Partnership

This website showcases the Kestral JP 100, a high speed, single engine turboprop aircraft. The site includes sections describing the planes performance, comfort and specification. There is also a small image gallery.

Homeland Security : Protecting Airliners from Terrorist Missiles

This is a U.S. Congressioanl Research Service (CRS) Report No.RL31741 prepared by Christofer Bolkcom and dated February 2006. Recent events have focused attention on the threat that terrorists with shoulder fired surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) pose to commercial airliners. Most believe that no single solution exists to effectively mitigate this threat. Instead, a menu of options may be considered, including installing infrared (IR) countermeasures on aircraft; modifying flight operations and air traffic control procedures; improving airport and regional security; and strengthening missile non-proliferation efforts. Equipping aircraft with missile countermeasure systems can protect the aircraft even when operating in areas where ground-based security measures are unavailable or infeasible to implement. However, this option has a relatively high cost, between $1 million and $3 million per aircraft, and the time needed for implementation does not allow for immediate response to the existing terrorist threat. Procedural improvements such as specific flight crew training, altering air traffic procedures to minimize exposure to the threat, and improved security near airports may be less costly than countermeasures and could more immediately help deter domestic terrorist attacks. However, these techniques by themselves cannot completely mitigate the risk of domestic attacks and would not protect U.S. airliners flying to and from foreign airports. Legislation introduced in the 108th Congress (H.R. 580,S. 311) calls for the installation of missile defense systems in all turbojet aircraft used in scheduled air carrier service. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) appropriations for Fiscal Year 2004 (P.L. 108-90) designated $60 million dollars for development and testing of a prototype missile countermeasure system for commercial aircraft. DHS anticipates a two year program totaling about $100 million to develop, test, and certify a suitable system. This report will be updated as needed. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Human Factors in Aircraft Maintenance and Inspection

This provides access to a UK Civil Aviation Authority Publication Civil Aviation Paper CAP 718, 1st edition, 24 January 2002. This document is a reprint of the 1995 ICAO Human Factors Digest No. 12, and concerns human factors in aircraft maintenance and inspection. It has been republished by the CAA with permission from ICAO. (Note: The original ICAO HF Digests have now been merged into the ICAO Human Factors Training Manual published by ICAO in 1998). The text is available in PDF format (495 kb) from the CAA's publications web site.

Impact of the Termination of NASA’s High Speed Research Program and The Redirection of NASA’s Advanced Subsonic Technology

This provides access to the text of a report to Congress prepared by the United States Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), December 2000. The purpose of the review was to assess the impact of the termination of NASA's High Speed Research (HSR) program and the redirection of the Advanced Subsonic Technology (AST) program on aviation safety, NASA Centre core competencies, and on the US aviation industry. The text of the report is available in PDF format.

Inerting a Boeing 747SP Center Wing Tank Scale Model With Nitrogen-Enriched Air : Final Report

This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report, DOT/FAA/AR-02/51, by William M. Cavage and Ole Kils, dated May 2002. Tests were performed in a 0.24 scale model of a Boeing 747SP center wing tank to validate the existing assumptions for inerting complex geometric spaces, which were developed from previous experiments, and to facilitate design of an efficient, cost-effective inerting gas deposit system for full-scale, ground-based inerting testing. The model was equipped with a variable nitrogen-enriched air distribution system, thermocouples, and oxygen analyzers that were monitored and recorded continuously by a data acquisition system during each test. The model was inerted in different configurations with different flow rates and bay distributions. The collected data was nondimensionalized in terms flow rate and tank size to allow for comparisons between tests. Experiments in the tank verified that the volumetric tank exchange established from research with a simple box-style tank can be achieved in a more complex compartmentalized tank. It also indicated that the same volumetric tank exchange could be obtained with less gas distribution (less complex distribution system) and that modification of the venting configuration to eliminate cross-venting would improve the efficiency of the inerting process. Tests showed that the most efficient method of inerting the tank was to deposit all the nitrogen-enriched air in a single location, allowing for a lightweight, easily installed deposit system for an operational aircraft. Data from full-scale testing compared well with scale tank data illustrating that low cost, small-scale test articles can be an effective tool for developing inert gas distribution systems. The full text of the report is available in PDF format, from the online catalogue of the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center Library.

Initial Development of Improved Aircraft Cargo Compartment Fire Detection Certification Criteria

This is a conference paper by David Blake and others. It was presented at the 12th International Conference on Automatic Fire Detection "AUBE '01", held at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, March 25-28, 2001. The text of the paper is available in PDF format (312 K) from the Building and Fire Research Laboratory (BFRL) publications online collection

Integrated vehicle management systems

This is Research and Technology Organization (RTO) AGARD Advisory Report, AGARD-AR-343, dated April 1996. It was sponsored by the Advisory Group for Aerospace Research and Development. Major trends in technology, weapon system performance goals and affordability for aerospace systems are occurring simultaneously. For avionic systems this performance and affordability can be achieved by functional and physical integration. 'Functionally' integrated subsystems to achieve higher performance has been greatly aided by advances in computer technology. The desire to minimize costs for these systems has been accomplished through a 'physical' integration concept based upon common modules tied through a high speed backplane. The concept, called integrated avionics, has been used on new aircraft such as the US Air Force F-22 fighter and the Boeing 777 commercial transport. Vehicle management systems provide the management of crucial flight functions and systems for advanced aerospace vehicles. These systems must have high integrity, safety, and overall fault tolerance. Low cost modular avionics are unproven for such fault tolerant systems. This becomes a key issue for investigation. This report deals with the key problems in fault tolerance for modular computer based systems. New techniques, only recently applied, provide exciting possibilities to reduce avionics costs and maintain high integrity and safety. These techniques and more are discussed in this report sponsored by the Mission Systems Panel of the AGARD. Bibliographic details and an abstract are available in HTML format and the full text (21.3 Mb) is available in PDF format from the RTO's web site.

Integration of Global Positioning System (GPS) Information into an Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT)

This report (TP 13737E) was prepared by W.Street of Northern Airborne Technology Ltd. in February, 2001 for Transportation Development Center, Transport Canada. The integration of location information into a 406 MHz Cospas-Sarsat beacon would combine position data and an instantaneous distress alert to be transmitted via geostationary satellites that were incorporated into the Cospas-Sarsat satellite system in 1999. This enhancement would reduce the overall time required to complete a rescue operation and increase the accuracy of the distress location. This report discusses two design approaches to integrating GPS technology and 406 MHz ELT technology, and presents the final design concept. Because GPS systems are already installed on most aircraft, the advantages of downloading the aircraft's navigation data into the ELT outweigh those of integrating a GPS receiver into the ELT. These advantages include the ability to transmit position data on the first 406 MHz burst, the inherent lower installed cost, and the reduced risk of potential interference from VHF transmitters. Although navigation interface equipment is commercially available, these units are large and bulky. The navigation interface circuits must be miniaturized to fit inside the ELT. Modifications were made to the prototype ELT electronics and mechanics to allow aircraft navigation data to be continuously downloaded via integrated navigation interface circuits in the ELT while the aircraft is in operation. This new ELT with GPS interface capabilities was submitted to the test laboratory in Toulouse, France and issued Cospas-Sarsat Type Approval Certificate #120. The executive summary of the report is available in HTML format and the full text can be downloaded as PDF (4.5MB).

Introduction to the Safety Health of Maintenance Engineering (SHoMe) Tool

This is UK Civil Aviation Authority CAA Paper 2003/12, prepared by the Safety Regulation Group of the UK Civil Aviation Authority, issued 12 September 2003. The report contains a short user guide and description of the Safety Health of Maintenance Engineering (SHoMe) software tool, developed for the CAA by Health and Safety Engineering Consultants (HSEC) Ltd. This tool may be used to measure the strengths and weaknesses of a maintenance company's safety culture. The software is available free of charge from the CAA. The text of the document is available online in PDF format (181 kb) from the CAA's web site

Investigation of Limit Design Lateral Ground Maneuver Load Conditions

This technical report (DOT/FAA/AR-07/38) was produced by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Office of Aviation Research and Development in June 2007 and was written by E. Finn, R. Gleich, K. Green, R. Saccarelli and M. Szor. The objective of this project was to instrument a Boeing 747SP aircraft and then develop and compile acceleration, force, and landing gear loads data (as well as aircraft system data) into a database for a variety of ground maneuvers. This information was analyzed to provide landing gear reaction loads during each aircraft maneuver. Relationships describing low- and high-speed exits, S-turns, circle turns, and turns with loss of friction on the inside (main and wing) gear, as well as differential loads between the landing gear, were examined. These relationships provide directly measured information on lateral loads not previously available. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Investigation of Type II and Type IV Aircraft Ground Anti-Icing Fluid Aerodynamic Certification Standards

This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report, DOT/FAA AR-03/55, by Arlene Beisswenger, Guy Fortin, and Jean-Louis Laforte, dated July 2003. The certification process for aircraft ground anti-icing fluids involves flat-plate wind tunnel aerodynamic flow-off tests. This test method was developed in 1990 from flight and wind tunnel test results of full-scale and model airfoils and flat plates. The resulting lift losses were then correlated to the Boundary Layer Displacement Thickness (BLDT) on a flat plate. This correlation was made for Type II fluids existing at the time. Since the introduction of Type IV fluids in 1994, with significantly longer anti-icing endurance times, the same test procedure was applied. However, Type IV fluids are generally more viscous than Type II fluids of the same concentration. At the Federal Aviation Administration’s request, a study was undertaken to determine if aerodynamic certification testing should be different for Type IV fluids compared to Type II. The full text of the report is available in PDF format, from the online catalogue of the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center Library.

Laboratory Testing of Tire Friction Under Winter Conditions

This report (TP 13392E) was prepared by G. Comfort and Y. Gong of Fleet Technology Ltd. for the Transportation Development Center, Transport Canada in May, 1998. The project was undertaken to obtain more data to define the friction coefficient of typical surfaces found on airport runways during winter. An extensive test program was conducted to investigate: braking friction under winter conditions; sand friction; and the performance of de-icing chemicals in freezing rain. The braking friction tests included an investigation of the effects of load and pressure. The tests showed that friction is strongly related to the load and should be further investigated. The sand friction tests compared the performance of local sands with a sand meeting the Transport Canada specification. Although the differences in friction among the sands were small, relatively large differences in application rate were required for the various sands to provide the same friction. This is because large increases in application rate produce only small friction factor increases. Parametric tests were also conducted in which the sand’s area coverage, grain size, and angularity were varied independently. A sand friction equation was developed and provides a reasonable data fit. The freezing rain tests compared the performance of five de-icing chemicals at several application rates. For all chemicals, slush was formed at high to intermediate rates, while ice formed rapidly at low application rates. The protection times of the various chemicals were also compared. The laboratory test results should be verified against field data. The executive summary of the report is available in HTML format and the full text can be downloaded as PDF document (1.8MB).

Leeham Company LLC : Airbus and Boeing

This site focusses on the world’s two major aviation manufacturers – Airbus and Boeing. Its aim is to provide easy access to key white papers, opinion pieces, aviation trade articles, news stories, commentaries, and studies relating to the two companies. The 'archives' area of the site provides many full text resources, including: commentaries by Scott Hamilton, an aviation journalist and publisher, archives of commercial aviation reports (CARs), new articles and reports and studies.

Light Aircraft Maintenance

This provides access to a UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) publication, Civil Aviation Paper, CAP 520, prepared by the Safety Regulation Group, 4th Edition Corrected, 24 February 2003. It provides general guidance on implementation of the light aircraft scheme (LAMS) for aircraft not exceeding 2730 kg MTWA, with a Certificate of Airworthiness in the Transport, Aerial Work or Private Category. The text of CAP 520 is available in PDF format (315 kb), from the CAA's web site.

Longitudinal Acceleration Test of Overhead Luggage Bins and Auxiliary Fuel Tank in a Transport Airplane Airframe Section, Part II : Final Report

This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report, DOT/FAA/AR-99/4,II by Robert McGuire, dated October 2000. The report describes the testing of overhead stowage bin calibrations and longitudinal impact testing of a 10-foot transport airframe section. The purpose of the tests was to measure the structural response and interaction between the fuselage, overhead stowage bins, and the auxiliary fuel tank under simulated, potentially survivable, crash conditions. The full text of the report is available in PDF format from the online catalogue of the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center Library.

Mechanical Systems Characterization of Boeing 747 Aging Systems Test Bed Aircraft

This technical report (DOT/FAA/AR-TN02/119) was produced by the Aviation Research office of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in December 2002 and was written by Total Aircraft Services, Inc. As part of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Aging Aircraft Program, the FAA purchased a Boeing 747 to be used as a test bed aircraft for investigating aging mechanical and electrical systems. When retired, the airplane was decommissioned in a way to preserve the functionality of the mechanical and electrical systems. Total Aircraft Services, Inc., under contract to the FAA Airwortiness Assurance Nondestructive Validation Center located at Sandia National Laboratories, was charged with assessing the status of the aircraft's systems. The purpose of the assessment was to determine the condition of the mechanical systems on the airplane and to determine what would be required to make any nonworking systems functional. This report documents the results of this assessment. This assessment determined that most of the mechnanical systems that are significant to the Aging Mechanical Systems Project are operational or are capable of easily being made operational. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Medical Surveillance Programs for Aircraft Maintenance Personnel Performing Nondestructive Inspection and Testing

This technical report (DOT/FAA/AM-5/21) which was published by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Office of Aerospace Medicine in November 2005 and was written by V. B. Nakagawra, R. W. Montgomery and G. W. Good. The Visual inspection and nondestructive inspection and testing (NDI/NDT) are performed routinely to ensure that aircraft are maintained in safe operating condition. Inspectors must make critical judgments about the condition of aircraft and aircraft components using their eyes, basic visual aids (magnifiers, mirrors, and flashlights), and complicated NDI/NDT techniques to detect anomalies. Failure to detect observable defects has been implicated in several aviation accidents. This study examines the medical surveillance programs employed by aircraft maintenance facilities in the United States, including specific vision standards and tests used for inspection personnel. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

NASA : Improving Flight

This site is part of the larger 'Life on Earth' NASA site which aims to show how NASA is contributing to research to understand and protect the planet. The improving flight part of the site provides more information on work being undertaken to advance military and civilian aircraft.

New Approaches to Aircraft Fire Protection

This is a conference paper by A. Freiling of EADS Airbus GmbH, Bremen, Germany. It was presented at the 12th International Conference on Automatic Fire Detection "AUBE '01", held at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, March 25-28, 2001. The paper provides an overview of currently fire protected areas in Airbus aircraft. It also discusses the potential of new fire detection technologies, and highlights the need to have modified integration tests for use with these technologies. The text of the paper is available in PDF format (399 K) from the Building and Fire Research Laboratory (BFRL) publications online collection.

Numerical Prediction of Aerodynamic Performance of a Complete Aircraft with Contaminated Wings and Flaps

This is a Transport Canada report (TP 14021E, prepared for Transportation Development Centre by R.B.Crabbe and J.Su of National Research Council, Canada in June 1998. The report addresses the numerical analyses that have been carried out on the aerodynamics of a complete aircraft with contaminated wings and flaps. The numerical method is based on an interactive boundary layer approach that involves interaction between the inviscid potential and viscous boundary layer solutions. The potential flow is obtained by using a low-order panel method while the boundary layer solution is obtained by solving the three dimensional integral boundary layer equations in a stream line coordinate systems. The rough surface skin friction relations of Dvorak (1969), which incorporate both surface roughness height and density, are used to deal with contamination effects. A computer code, PMAL3D, has been developed for carrying out the numerical calculations. Computational results and discussion are further given for the influence of a contamination of the total lift of a configuration. The executive summary of the report is available in HTML. The full text is available in PDF (793KB).

Proceedings of the FAA-NASA Symposium on the Continued Airworthiness of Aircraft Structures : Vol. 1

Compiled by Catherine A. Bigelow, these proceedings (DOT/FAA/AR-97/2) were published in July 1997 by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This collection of papers on airworthiness of aircraft structures discusses airframe life extension through quantitative rework inspections, analysis of a composite repair, analytical fatigue life estimation of full-scale fuselage panels, and application of acoustic emissions (AE) to health monitoring of helicopter mechanical systems. This is a PDF file so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Progress Through Partnership : 12 - Defence and Aerospace

This web site provides access to one of a series of reports published as part of the first UK Technology Foresight programme, in March 1995. The Defence and Aerospace Panel report describes the strategic issues and priorities which emerged from an extensive programme of analysis and consultation. The report presents a series of furture market scenarios, along with a set of key technical priorities and recommendations. The sectors covered in the report include: defence, civil aerospace, and space. The full text is available in HTML format.

Redirecting R&D in the Commercial Aircraft Supply Chain

This provides access to RAND issues paper IP-212-OSTP, prepared by Lance Sherry and Liam Sarsfield, dated 2002. The paper describes changes in the commercial aircraft industry that have lead to an increased role of the supply chain in the R&D of aircraft components. It evaluates the allocation of federal R&D funding to the supply chain relative to the increased role of the supply chain in performing R&D. It also examines the roles that federal R&D agencies can play in overcoming inefficiencies in R&D that are inherent to a distributed supply chain. A description of the paper is available in HTML, while the full text of the document is available for browsing online and downloading in PDF format.

Regional Jets and Their Emerging Role

The web site provides access to a full text report titled: Regional Jets and Their Emerging Role; Office of the Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs, U.S. Department of Transportation, June 1998. The report is divided into three sections: the US domestic market, manufacturers and operators. The report forecasts that growth in this sector of the US domestic airline industry will continue for the next ten years and regional enplanements are expected to double from current levels. The full text of the report is available online in PDF format.

Reliability of Progress Curves in Airframe Production

This technical report (RM-260-1) was published by The RAND Corporation in 1950 and was written by Armen Albert Alchian. This report presents a statistical study of the reliability of a given function for certain types of estimates in the aircraft industry and Air Force. It is indisputable that lower direct labor costs occur as the number of items produced increases. Questions can be raised, however, about the specifics of planning, estimating, and forecasting using this function. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Reliability of the Gas Supply in the Air Force Emergency Passenger Oxygen System

This technical paper (DOT/FAA/AM-05/18) was produced by the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Office of Aerospace Medicine in October 2005 and was written by R.P. Garner and J.G Mandella Jr. The protective breathing equipment (PBE) procured by the U.S. Air Force as Emergency Passenger Oxygen System (EPOS; Fig. 1) was alleged to have significant numbers of inadequate oxygen cylinders. In theory, this could prevent the PBE from providing the required time of protection for the user. The Civil Aerospace Medical Institute was requested to participate in the testing for the possibility of inadequate oxygen cylinders through the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software is required in order to read it.

Repair Assessment Procedure and Integrated Design (RAPID) Version 2.1 : Analysis Methods Document

Produced in May 1998, this document describes technical details of the analysis methodology used in the static and damage tolerance analysis modules of the Repair Assessment Procedure and Integrated Design (RAPID) Version 2.1 program. In this document, the static strength analysis method for repaired fuselage skin is first described. Next, a description of the damage tolerance analysis method is provided which includes the prediction of crack growth and residual strength and the calculation of inspection threshold and interval. This document also includes descriptions of the methods developed for the damage tolerance analysis of common repairs including a repair near another repair, repairs at stiffeners, and repairs over splice joints. Flow charts of static and damage tolerance analysis methods are provided [taken from the document introduction]. This is a PDF file [200 pages, 1.93Mb] so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Repair Assessment Procedure and Integrated Design (RAPID) Version 2.1 : User's Manual

Dated June 1998, this document provides installation and usage instructions for the Repair Assessment Procedure and Integrated Design (RAPID) program. RAPID is a tool for the design and analysis of aircraft structural repairs. This version assists the user in designing mechanically fastened fuselage skin repairs with up to three doublers. RAPID performs both static and damage tolerance analyses of the repair. The static analysis determines if the doublers and fasteners are statically adequate, while the damage tolerance analysis yields inspection intervals and residual strength [extracted from FAA abstract]. This is a PDF file [151 pages, 1.38Mb] so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Revision Summary Docuemnt for the Base of Aircraft Data (BADA)- Revision 3.5

This technical note (number 10) was publsihed by the eurocontrol Experimental Centre in July 2003 and was written by A. Nuic. This Revision Summary Document (RSD) describes all changes made to BADA files in Revision 3.5 since the previous release, Revision 3.4. Configuration management procedures for BADA trace all changes through Configuration Change Orders (CCOs). The RSD thus presents a list of all 16 CCOs implemented for BADA 3.5 along with a description for each CCO. [Taken from abstract]. This is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Saab Group

The Saab Group is an international company specialising in aviation, space and defence. The site describes the companies business units, and provides investor information, key financial statistics, details of job opportunities. A searchable database of all products produced by the Saab Group is available. This includes the Gripen fighter, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), and the Saab 340 and 2000 family of commercial aircraft. There is also a publications database which provides access to the annual report, brochures and the in-house magazine. Documents are available in PDF format. In addition, there is a history of the Saab company, contact details, information on the press releases, as well as an image and a movie bank.

Safety Health of Aviation Maintenance Engineering (SHoMe) Tool: User Guide CAA

This provides access to a UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Paper 2003/11 dated November 2003. This report describes a ‘safety health’ measurement tool that was developed for the CAA to establish the current level of key safety indicators within the aircraft maintenance industry. One outcome of this work is a computer based questionnaire measurement tool that can be used by aircraft maintenance organisations to obtain an objective measure of key safety indicators that could affect the quality, reliability and safety of their maintenance operations. The tool can either be used as a ‘one-off’ or repeated at intervals to monitor the effects of any safety initiatives or other changes.This report describes the measurement tool and provides information to help those maintenance organisations wishing to run the tool. The full text of the guide is available in PDF format from the CAA's web site.

Safety Health of Aviation Maintenance Engineering: Project Description

This provides access to a UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Paper 2003/10 dated November 2003. This report explains how the Safety Health of Maintenance Engineering (SHoMe) tool was developed and validated, and describes the tool in general terms. The full text of this paper is available in PDF format from the CAA's web site.

Safety Issues and Concerns of Forced Air Deicing Systems

This a report (TP 13664E) about the research program undertaken to advance aircraft ground de/anticing technology for Transportation Development Centre (TDC) of Transport Canada by Peter Dawson, APS Aviation Inc, in November, 2000. The report addresses issues like: noise intensity generated by the forced air equipment; effect on visibility when removing snow and ice; capacity of the forced air deicing system to dislodge chunks of snow or ice and to fling them some distance and height; pressure exerted by the air stream on the skin of the aircraft; effect on aircraft skin temperature; elapsed time following deicing before refreezing occurred; residue in quiet areas; and viscosity of the Type IV fluid applied with the air stream. The objectives were satisfied by conducting a series of tests under controlled conditions at the National Research Council Canada Climatic Engineering Facility (CEF) in Ottawa. The report presents the results of these tests and further recommendations. The executive summary is available in HTML. The full text of the report is available in PDF (3,661Kb) from the TDC website.

Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation

Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation, is involved in the design and manufacture of advanced helicopters for commercial, industrial and military uses. The web site includes background information about the company and a brief history, which provides a link to the Igor Sikorsky Historical Archives. The product range of helicopters is described. The publications section of the site contains a selection of product brochures which contain summaries of perfomance specifications. These include for example the S-70A International Black Hawk, the S-70B International Seahawk, and the S-92. The publications section also contains details of the company's Interactive Electronic Technical Manuals, online technical directives (access restricted to owners and operators), and online Safety Advisories. There is also a news section which contains press releases and an inhouse journal, Sikorsky Lifeline. The site also contains information on the Company's community activities, aircraft sales, job opportunities, and an image gallery.

Software Service History Handbook : Final Report

This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report, DOT/FAA/AR-01/116, by Uma D. Ferrell and Thomas K. Ferrell, dated January 2002. This handbook is intended to aid industry and the Federal Aviation Administration in the formulation and evaluation of product service history data for certification credit. It provides a discussion of the major issues associated with product service history and provides an approach for methodically evaluating service history data. The full text of the report is available in PDF format, from the online catalogue of the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center Library.

Software Service History Report : Final Report

This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report, DOT/FAA/AR-01/125, by Uma D. Ferrell and Thomas K. Ferrell, dated January 2002. This report represents the results of research for use by the Federal Aviation Administration in formulating new guidance and prioritizing future research work in the area of product service history. The full text of the report is available in PDF format, from the online catalogue of the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center Library.

Statistical Data for the Boeing 747-400 Aircraft in Commercial Operations

This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report DOT/FAA/AR-04/44 by Todd Jones ...[et al] dated January 2005. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), supported by the University of Dayton, conducts research on the structural integrity requirements for the U.S. commercial transport airplane fleet. The primary objective of this research is to support the FAA airborne data monitoring systems research program by developing new and improved methods and criteria for processing and presenting large commercial transport airplane flight and ground loads usage data. The scope of activities performed involved (1) defining the service-related factors that affect the operational life of commercial aircraft; (2) designing an efficient software system to reduce, store, and process large quantities of optical quick-access recorder data; and (3) providing processed data in formats that will enable the FAA to reassess existing certification criteria. Equally important, these new data will also enable the FAA, the aircraft manufacturers, and the airlines to better understand and control those factors that influence the structural integrity of commercial transport aircraft. Presented herein are analyses and statistical summaries of the data collected from 11,066 flights representing 95,883 flight hours from Boeing 747-400 aircraft during operational usage recorded by a single airline. The flight loads data include statistical information on accelerations, speeds, altitudes, flight duration and distance, gross weights, speed brake cycles, thrust reverser usage, and gust velocities encountered. In addition, specialized aircraft usage data that the FAA can use to support development of ground loads certification criteria are included. These new data formats show aircraft usage as it relates to aircraft speed, attitude, and rate data at touchdown by airport. Statistical data were also developed to provide the FAA with information that it can use to establish the initial design requirements for an onboard nitrogen-generating system to be used for fuel tank inerting. These statistical formats were developed from 1984 flights to show how the B-747-400 descent rates vary during the descent phase of the flight as a function of altitude, gross weight, engine rotor speed, and computed airspeed for operations into capacity-limited and non-capacity-limited airports. [Taken from abstract]. The fukll text of the report is available in PDF format from the online catalogue of the FAA William J Hughes Technical Center Library.

Statistical Data for the Boeing 747-400 Aircraft in Commercial Operations

This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report DOT/FAA AR-04/44 by Todd Jones ...[et al] dated January 2005. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), supported by the University of Dayton, conducts research on the structural integrity requirements for the U.S. commercial transport airplane fleet. The primary objective of this research is to support the FAA airborne data monitoring systems research program by developing new and improved methods and criteria for processing and presenting large commercial transport airplane flight and ground loads usage data. The scope of activities performed involved (1) defining the service-related factors that affect the operational life of commercial aircraft; (2) designing an efficient software system to reduce, store, and process large quantities of optical quick-access recorder data; and (3) providing processed data in formats that will enable the FAA to reassess existing certification criteria. Equally important, these new data will also enable the FAA, the aircraft manufacturers, and the airlines to better understand and control those factors that influence the structural integrity of commercial transport aircraft. Presented herein are analyses and statistical summaries of the data collected from 11,066 flights representing 95,883 flight hours from Boeing 747-400 aircraft during operational usage recorded by a single airline. The flight loads data include statistical information on accelerations, speeds, altitudes, flight duration and distance, gross weights, speed brake cycles, thrust reverser usage, and gust velocities encountered. In addition, specialized aircraft usage data that the FAA can use to support development of ground loads certification criteria are included. These new data formats show aircraft usage as it relates to aircraft speed, attitude, and rate data at touchdown by airport. Statistical data were also developed to provide the FAA with information that it can use to establish the initial design requirements for an onboard nitrogen-generating system to be used for fuel tank inerting. These statistical formats were developed from 1984 flights to show how the B-747-400 descent rates vary during the descent phase of the flight as a function of altitude, gross weight, engine rotor speed, and computed airspeed for operations into capacity-limited and non-capacity-limited airports. [Taken from abstract]. The full text of the report is available in PDF format from the online catalogue of the William J. Hughes Technical Center Library.

Statistical Loads Data for B-767-200ER Aircraft in Commercial Operations : Final Report

This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report, DOT/FAA/AR-00/10, by Daniel O. Tipps, John W. Rustenburg, and Donald A. Skinn, dated March 2000. The report presents data on accelerations, speeds, altitudes, flight durations and distance, gross weights, speed brake/spoiler cycles, thrust reverser usage, and gust velocities encountered during test flights. The full text of the report is available in PDF format, from the online catalogue of the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center Library.

Statistical Loads Data for BE-1900D Aircraft in Commuter Operations : Final Report

This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report, DOT/FAA/AR-00/11, by Daniel O. Tipps and others, dated April 2000. The report presents statistical summaries of aircraft usage data, ground loads data, flight loads data, and systems operational data. The full text of the report is available in PDF format, from the online catalogue of the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center Library.

Statistical Loads Data for Boeing 737-400 Aircraft in Commercial Operations

A final report (DOT/FAA/AR-98/28) produced by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in August 1998 and written by John Rustenburg et al. The University of Dayton is supporting Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) research on the structural integrity requirements for the US commercial transport airplane fleet. The primary objective of this research is to support the FAA Airborne Data Monitoring Systems Research Program by developing new and improved methods and criteria for processing and presenting large commercial transport airplane flight and ground loads usage data. The statistical data presented include the initial recorded data previously reported in FAA report DOT/FAA/AR-95/21. The data include statistical information on accelerations, speeds, altitudes, flight duration and distance, gross weights, speed brake/spoiler cycles, thrust reverser usage, and gust velocities encountered [extracted from FAA abstract]. This is a PDF file [86 pages, 562Kb] so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Statistical Loads Data For Bombardier CRJ100 Aircraft In Commercial Operations

This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report, DOT/FAA AR-03/44, by John Rustenburg, Donald A. Skinn, and Daniel O. Tipps, dated June 2003. The University of Dayton is supporting Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) research on the structural integrity requirements for the U.S. commercial transport airplane fleet. The primary objective of this research is to develop new and improved methods and criteria for processing and presenting commercial transport airplane flight and ground loads usage data. Presented herein are Bombardier CRJ100 aircraft operational usage data collected from 467 flights, representing 607.2 flight hours, as recorded by a single airline operator. Statistical data are presented on the aircraft’s usage, flight and ground loads data, and systems operational data. The data presented in this report will provide the user with information about the accelerations, speeds, altitudes, flight duration and distance, thrust reverser usage, and gust velocities encountered by the Bombardier CRJ100 during actual operational usage. The full text of the report is available in PDF format, from the online catalogue of the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center Library.

Statistical Loads Data for Cessna 172 Aircraft using the Aircraft Cumulative Fatigue System (ACFS) : Final Report

This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report, DOT/FAA/AR-01/44, by John A. Cicero, Frank L. Feiter and Jamshid Mohammadi, dated August 2001. The report describes the development and testing of a low-cost Airframe Cumulative Fatigue System (ACFS). It includes the analysis and statistical summaries of the data collected from 1000 test flights on a Cessna 172. The full text of the report is available in PDF format.

Statistical Loads Data for MD-82/83 Aircraft in Commercial Operations : Final Report

This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report, DOT/FAA/AR-98/65, by Donald Skinn, Daniel O. Tipps and John Rustenburg, dated February 1999. The report presents statistical information on accelerations, speeds, altitudes, flight duration and distance, gross weights, speed brake / spoiler cycles, thrust reverser usage, and gust velocities encountered during 3987 flights. The full text of the report is available in PDF format from the online catalogue of the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center Library.

Statistical Loads Data for the Boeing 777-200ER Aircraft in Commercial Operations

This technical report (DOT/FAA/AR-06/11) was produced by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Office of Aviation Research in November 2006 and was written by Daniel O. Tipps, Donald A. Skinn, John W. Rustenburg, Todd Jones and David A. Harris. The University of Dayton Research Institute supports the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) by conducting research on the structural integrity requirements for the U.S. commercial transport airplane fleet. The primary objective of this task was tosupport the FAA’s Airborne Data Monitoring Systems Research by developing new and improved methods and criteria for processing and presenting large commercial transport airplane flight and ground loads usage data. The scope of activities included: (1) defining the service-related factors that affect the operational life of commercial aircraft; (2) designing an efficient software system to reduce, store, and process large quantities of optical quick access recorder data; and (3) reducing, analyzing, and providing processed data in statistical formats for the FAA to reassess existing certification criteria. Equally important, these new data also will enable the FAA, the aircraft manufacturers, and the airlines to better understand and control those factors that influence the structural integrity of commercial transport aircraft. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Statistical Loads Data for the Embraer-145XR Aircraft in Commercial Operations

This technical report (DOT/FAA/AR-07/61) was published by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Office of Aviation Research and Development in November 2007 and was written by Todd Jones, John W. Rustenburg, Donald A. Skinn and Daniel O. Tipps. The University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI) supports the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in conducting research on the structural integrity requirements for the U.S. commercial transport airplane fleet. The primary objective of this task was to support the FAA Operational Loads Measurement Program by developing new and improved methods and criteria for processing and presenting commercial transport aircraft flight and ground loads usage data. The scope of activities included: (1) defining the service-related factors that affect the operational life of commercial aircraft; (2) designing an efficient software system to reduce, store, and process large quantities of optical quick access recorder data; and (3) reducing, analyzing, and providing processed data in statistical formats for the FAA to reassess existing certification criteria. Equally important, these new data will also enable the FAA, the aircraft manufacturers, and the airlines to better understand and control those factors that influence the structural integrity of commercial transport aircraft. Presented herein are Embraer-145XR aircraft operational usage data collected from 47,273 flights, representing 88,305 flight hours, recorded by a single U.S. operator. These data will provide the user with statistical information on aircraft usage, ground and flight loads occurrences, and systems operational usage based on routine ERJ-145XR commercial service. The aircraft usage data include statistics on aircraft weights, flight distances, altitudes, speeds, and flight attitudes. Flight loads data include statistical information on gust and maneuver load factors, derived gust velocities, and ground-air-ground cycles. Ground loads data include statistics on lateral, longitudinal, and vertical load factors during different ground operational phases. Systems operational data include statistics on flap usage, speed brake/spoiler cycles, thrust reverser usage, and engine fan speed. This report is the result of a collaborative effort among the FAA, the airline partner, the flight recorder organization, the aircraft manufacturer, and UDRI. Together, they worked to obtain, compile, and present statistical loads data from a representative aircraft operatedin the regional jet market. Regional jets make up over 30 percent of all daily U.S. departures. Therefore, it is important for the FAA, the airlines, and the manufacturers who regulate, operate, and design these types of aircraft to have operational usage data available to them, which are representative of how these airplanes are being flown. This report represents the most comprehensive summary of usage data for a regional jet aircraft presently available in the public domain. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Study of Side Load Factor During Aircraft Ground Operations

This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report DOT/FAA AR-05/7 by Todd Jones ...[et al] dated May 2005. The primary objective of this study was to support the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Operational Loads Monitoring Research Program by developing new and improved methods and criteria for processing and presenting commercial transport airplane ground loads usage data. The scope of activities performed involved (1) defining the service-related factors that affect the operational life of commercial aircraft; (2) designing an efficient software system to reduce, store, and process large quantities of optical quick access recorder data; and (3) reducing, analyzing, and providing processed data in statistical formats that will enable the FAA to reassess existing certification criteria. Equally important, these new data will also enable the FAA, the aircraft manufacturers, and the airlines to better understand and control those factors that influence the structural integrity of commercial transport aircraft. The data presented in this report will provide the user with information comparing the side load factors encountered during ground maneuvers for airplane models B-747-400, B-767-200, B-737-400, CRJ100, and A320 in actual operational usage. The University of Dayton Research Institute database used for this report consisted of 95,862 flight hours for the B-747-400; 44,990 flight hours for the B-767-200; 89,269 flight hours for the B-737-400; 463 flight hours for the CRJ100; and 30,817 flight hours for the A320. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format from the online catalogue of the William J. Hughes Technical Center Library.

Survey of Aviation Maintenance Technical Manuals Phase 3 Report : Final Report and Recommendations

This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report, DOT/FAA/AR-02/123, by Alex Chaparro and Loren S. Groff, dated December 2002. This report contains the results from the final phase of a three-phase research effort. Phase 1 of this research effort surveyed the procedures used by five aircraft manufacturers to develop maintenance documentation. In Phase 2, a written survey was used to solicit information about user perception of errors in current manuals, manual usage rates, and general manual quality. In this report, a series of recommendations are outlined to address problem areas identified in Phases 1 and 2. The full text of the report is available in PDF format, from the online catalogue of the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center Library.

Survey of Aviation Technical Manuals Phase 2 Report: User Evaluation of Maintenance Documents : Interim Report

This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report, DOT/FAA/AR-02/34, by Alex Chaparro, Loren S. Groff, Barbara S. Chaparro, and Deborah Scarlett, dated May 2002. This report contains the results from Phase 2 of a 3-phase research effort. Phase 1 (Human Factors Survey of Aviation Technical Manuals Phase 1 Report: Manual Development Procedures) of this research effort surveyed the procedures used by five manufacturers to develop maintenance documentation. Several potential human factors issues were identified in the development processes employed by these manufacturers. They included the reactive rather than proactive use of user evaluations, the limited use of user input and procedure validation, no systematic attempts to track error, and the lack of standards for measuring document quality. In Phase 2, a written survey was used to solicit information about user perception of errors in current manuals, manual usage rates, and general manual quality. On-site interviews of technicians were also conducted to gather feedback about the types of problems encountered with manuals, the associated impact, and suggestions for improving manuals. Feedback was obtained from technicians responsible for maintenance on a wide variety of Federal Aviation Regulations, Part 25 aircraft. Survey results revealed that, although user evaluations of the accuracy and quality of technical manuals are generally good, they rate manuals as having poor usability. Comparing the results of Phase 1 to the Phase 2 results supports the need for a higher level of user involvement during the document development process. The full text of the report is available in PDF format, from the online catalogue of the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center Library.

Tactile Inspection for Detection of Ice on Aircraft Surfaces : Notes on Current Practice, Update Spring 2004

This report (TP 13858E) was prepared by F.W.Eyre for Transportation Development Centre, Transport Canada in April, 2004. The report proposes remote sensors as an alternative to tactile inspection of aircraft critical surfaces immediately following deicing. Remote sensors are potentially more effective in determining whether there is frozen contamination present following deicing than can be achieved by human tactile inspection. The notes document pertinent aviation regulations, available anecdotal information on the conduct of tactile inspection to determine whether there is frozen contamination present on aircraft surfaces following deicing under winter operating conditions, and experience to date with remote sensors in this application. The focus is on inspections conducted in the context of Canadian operations and regulations. The difficulties associated with quantifying human tactile behaviour in a winter aircraft ground operating environment and developing a test program to compare sensor detection with tactile performance are considered. It is concluded that a recorded history of field experience with remote sensors, supported by theoretical characterization of residual ice, needs to be generated. The executive summary of the report is available in HTML and the full text in PDF (525KB).

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.

The Boeing 737 Technical Site

This is a personal interest web site created by Chris Brady. It is written by and for 737 pilots and engineers. The site includes: a contents and what's new listing, a site map, news stories, orders and deliveries, questions and answers, accidents and incidents, and related links. A section of the site covers the aircraft systems in detail. There are also sections containing pilot notes, technical photographs, FAA AD's, NTSB press releases, and stories and articles written by other 737 pilots.

The Costs of Aging Aircraft. Insights from Commercial Aviation

This technical report (RGSD-194) was published by The RAND Corporation in 2005 and was written by Matthew C. Dixon. Aging aircraft are a primary concern to the Air Force. Understanding the impact of aircraft age on maintenance costs is critical to “repair versus replace” decisions. This dissertation uses annual commercial aircraft fleet data, combined with age information from the Boeing Company, to provide a unique view of the cost to maintain commercial fleets. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software is required in order to read it.

The Detection of Frozen Contamination on Aircraft Surfaces

This report (TP13946E) was prepared by F.W.Eyre for Transportation Development Center, Transport Canada in September, 2002. In June, 1996 the Transport Canada Standing Committee on Operations Under Icing Conditions appointed a Working Group to study the problem of using representative surfaces to determine whether critical aircraft surfaces are contaminated. Field tests conducted during the winters of 1994-95 and 1995-96 revealed apparent improper location of representative surfaces. These surfaces, typically found at in-board wing locations, were intended to assist pilots with recognition of the onset of failure of anti-icing fluids, which are used to provide protection during winter precipitation. As a result the Transport Canada Standing Committee on Operations Under Icing Conditions appointed a Working Group in June 1996 to study the problem and to make appropriate recommendations. The Working Group addressed the issues related to the origin and purposes of representative surfaces and reviewed available data on anti-icing fluid distribution on wings and on anti-icing fluid failure. Positive and negative operational experience with the use of representative surfaces was also evaluated. As a result, representatives of regulatory agencies and the airline industry recommended development and implementation of appropriate theoretical, laboratory, and field test programs. The output of these programs showed that the representative surfaces in use were not appropriate and concluded that “pre-take-off inspection should be concentrated on the leading edge in conjunction with the trailing edge. The trailing edge control surfaces and/or spoilers usually provide an early indication of imminent fluid failure on the leading edge.” The executive summary of the report is available in HTML and the full text in PDF (530KB).

The Effect of Fuel on an Inert Ullage in a Commercial Transport Airplane Fuel Tank

This technical report (DOT/FAA/AR-05/25) was produced by the Fire Safety Branch of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in July 2005 and was written by William M. Cavage. Recent Federal Aviation Administration research has illustrated that fuel tank inerting could be practical in the commercial fleet for the protection of center wing or body style tanks. The effect of pressure differences on the release of dissolved oxygen in a fuel load on an inert fuel tank ullage was studied. A test article was constructed and experiments were conducted to quantify the potential increase in oxygen concentration in an adjacent inert ullage as a result of gases in fuel during sea level stimulation, as well as at reduced atmospheric pressure. Different methods of stimulating the release of gases from the fuel were examined during laboratory experiments in an attempt to quantify the increase in oxygen concentration in an inert aircraft fuel tank ullage. This data was compared with flight test data in an attempt to gage the ability of laboratory tests and simple calculations to predict the resulting change in oxygen concentration of an inert commercial airplane fuel tank during a flight cycle. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

The Maintenance Costs of Aging Aircraft. Insights from Commercial Aviation

This technical report (MG-486-AF) was published by The RAND Corporation in 2006 and was written by Matthew C. Dixon. The U.S. Air Force is grappling with the challenge of aging fleets and when it might be optimal to replace those fleets. This monograph examines commercial aviation data with the goal of drawing inferences and lessons about aging aircraft that may be relevant to the Air Force. It focuses on “aging effects” — i.e., how commercial aircraft maintenance costs change as aircraft grow older. Although commercial aircraft clearly differ from military aircraft, commercial aviation aging-effect estimates might help the Air Force to project how its maintenance costs will change over time and how those costs might evolve for new commercially analogous aircraft not yet in its inventory. This study found that commercial-airline inflation-adjusted total aircraft maintenance costs, per flight hour, rise substantially as aircraft come off the manufacturer’s warranty after a few years of operation, and then rise at about a 3.5 percent annual rate for aircraft six to 12 years old, but are nearly unchanged for aircraft 12 to 25 years old. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

The Status of Lean Thinking in UK Lean Aerospace Initiative (UK-LAI) Supply Chains : a Survey

This study was carried out as part of the UK Lean Aerospace Initative (UK-LAI) programme by Alan Harrison, Jane Pavitt and Jennifer Alexander of Cranfield University's School of Management, in January 2002. It presents some of the results of a survey, undertaken in the summer of 2001, to ascertain the types of supply chain practices and behaviours in the UK aerospace industry, while at the same time identifying the link between supply chain strategy and corporate strategy of individual organisations. It also aims to identify where the UK aerospace industry sits in terms of development of lean supply chains. The text is available in PDF format.

The True Cost of Subcontracting Work to Low Cost Economies

This study was prepared by Bravura Consulting on behalf of the Farnborough Aerospace Consortium Ltd (FAC) with the assistance of a grant from the South East of England Development Agency (SEEDA), and published in March 2004. It investigates the true costs related to sourcing aerospace products and services from the Low Cost Sources (LCS) or New Procurement Markets. It has six major objectives: Establish the current situation with regard to Low Cost Sources; Identify the major factors influencing the transfer of work to low cost sources; Determine buyer intentions regarding further transfer of work to Low Cost Sources; Determine additional factors and costs affecting sourcing decisions; Identify the implications of continued subcontracting to Low Cost Sources; and Develop a sourcing model which allows a true cost of acquisition to be estimated. The report demonstrates the outcome of each of these objectives to show the true cost and implications of subcontracting to low cost countries. The full report and an executive summary are available for downloading in PDF format from the FAC web site.

The U.S. Jet Transport Industry : Competition, Regulation, and Global Market Factors Affecting U.S. Producers

This report to Congress was prepared by the U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, in March 2005. The report presents a study of the airline and jet transport aircraft manufacturing industries and the impact of U.S. and European government policies and regulations on the global competitive position of U.S. aerospace manufacturers. Specifically, the report offers a detailed look at aerospace-related trade agreements; government support; aircraft certification and regulations; and policies related to aircraft operations, business operations and security. These policies are viewed in the context of airline and manufacturing industries currently undergoing fundamental structural change. Based on a detailed comparison of U.S. and European Union government policies and regulations, the report offers several conclusions as to which policies are likely to have the most significant future impact on open and fair trade in the civil aircraft manufacturing sector. The full text of this report is available on the International Trade Administration’s Internet site in PDF format.

The Wing Company

The Wing Company (WingCo) specialises in the manufacture of composite wings for the homebuilt aircraft kit sector. It is currently developing the Atlantica Blended Wing Body (BWB) design for the General Aviation market. The web site provides an overview of the company and its expertise. There are detailed descriptions of the Atlantica including specifications, performance, construction and cost information. The site also provides further information on some of the Atlantica's underlying design concepts such as blended wings. The site also has a downloadable trial version of a software programme called X-Plane, a developent tool used on the Atlantica design.

Three Large LCD Cockpit Concept for Retrofit Applications

This technical report (NLR-TP-2005-065) was published by NLR (the Natonal Aerospace Laboratory of the Netherlands) in 2005 and was written by A. J. C. de Reus, N. de Gelder and L. Lacoste. Nowadays glass cockpits for commercial aircraft usually feature six display units. When one or two units are lost due to failures, continued safe flight is guaranteed using the remaining units. In this paper a cockpit concept is proposed with only three display units, and at least the same safety level. This Three Large LCD Cockpit can reduce costs for the airlines, while at the same time it provides built-in growth potential for emerging functions. Innovative display technology based upon the "fail safe concept" and a reconfigurable interface between pilots and the avionics system allow these seemingly incompatible goals. The paper describes an example application of the new cockpit concept for retrofit applications in Airbus single aisle aircraft. The system architecture is explained, both on the cockpit level and on the level of the individual display units. Handling of detected and undetected display unit failures was the key issue in the human-machine interface development. The display reconfiguration principles are presented and the integration of back-up displays and new functions is explained. Both the reconfigurations and the new functions benefit from the availability of cursor-control devices. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 145 Approved Training Program—Research and Recommendations

This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report DOT/FAA/AR-04/36 by Richard Berg, Stefan Keller, Thomas Burke, Paul Cassella, and Fred J. Leonelli dated October 2004. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has significantly changed Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 145, which governs foreign and domestic air agencies that perform maintenance and alterations on U.S.-registered aircraft, engines, propellers, and appliances. In particular, there is a new provision—14 CFR 145.163—that requires each repair station to submit a training program to the FAA for approval no later than April 6, 2005. To assist industry and FAA inspectors in complying with this requirement, the FAA Flight Standards Aircraft Maintenance Division (AFS-300) requested the Risk Analysis Branch (ATO-P) to research the current state of training and to provide guidance and recommendations for establishing training programs at repair stations. The research team reviewed the FAA’s and other aviation authorities’ requirements on repair station training and conducted interviews with FAA and industry personnel. The general consensus among those interviewed was that the FAA should specify hourly requirements as well as acceptable content and format for the training programs. Due to the diversity of the maintenance segment of the aviation industry, the challenge for the FAA is to create a reasonable compromise between an acceptable minimum of formalized training at smaller, less complex repair stations without reducing the training offered by the larger repair stations. Based on the 14 CFR 145.163 regulatory requirement, the current state of training at repair stations, and the interview results with FAA and industry personnel, this report offers guidance and recommendations on establishing training programs at repair stations. The report discusses the elements and functions that constitute an effective training program and the recommended number of hours and topics for training repair station mechanics, managers, supervisors, and inspectors. [Taken from abstract]. The full text of the report is available in PDF format from the online catalogue of the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Library.

Transport Canada : Air Transport

Transport Canada is responsible for the development of transport policy in Canada, and for the regulation of air, marine, rail and road transport. The information on the air transport site is aimed at a number of target groups including passengers, pilots, flight instructors and maintenance technicians. The information presented describes Transport Canada's role in relation to commercial airlines, security, and, the transport of dangerous goods. There are a selection of quick links to news releases, backgrounders (programmes and initiatives), acts and regulations, policy, Civil Aviation Publications, Research and Development, and statistics and forecasts. The site provides provides access to a wide range of resources including: Canadian Aviation Regulations (CARs), Aviation Safety Publications and Videos, Airworthiness Notices, Airworthiness Directives, Guidance and Advisory Materials, Service Difficulty Advisories, and Service Difficulty Alerts. The commercial airlines section includes information on aircraft certification, airline restructuring, cabin safety standards, and Aviation Occupational Health and Safety. The site also provides links to the Civil Aviation Headquarters Directorate, Transport Canada's online publications storefront for civil aviation publications, Transport Canada's Research and Development organisation, the Transportation Development Centre (TDC), and the T-FACTS Information System for statistics and forecasts.

Transport Canada : Aircraft Maintenance and Manufacturing

This branch of Transport Canada is responsible for ensuring that all aircraft built or operated in Canada meet the required national or international airworthiness standards. The site includes information on the various Branch sections and groups including AME Licensing and Training; Policy Development; Aircraft Evaluation; Standards and Procedures; Technical and National Programs Division; and, the Recreational Aircraft Division. The site also provides access to a range of supporting databases and publications. These include: Canadian Aviation Regulations (CARs); CARs Standards; Approved Organization Database; Airworthiness Directives; Type Certificates; and the Canadian Civil Aircraft Register.

Transport Canada : Civil Aviation Directorate

The Civil Aviation headquarters directorate determines program contents, policy and standards, while the regions deliver the Civil Aviation Program. The site links to information on the Directorate's various areas of responsibility including aerodrome safety, aircraft certification, aircraft maintenance and manufacturing, air navigation services and airspace, aviation learning services, commercial and business aviation, civil aviation medicine, General Aviation, international aviation and technical programmes, quality assurance, regulatory services, strategic issues and communication, and system safey. Specific resources of note include databases of air operators, airworthiness directives applicable in Canada, approved maintenance, manufacturing and distributor organisations, the Canadian Civil Aircraft Register, Master Minimum Equipment Lists, and an index of Canadian Type Certificates. Other related full text documents include: Flight 2010 which is a safety planning framework for the future.

UK Aerospace Industry Survey 1999

This document primarily contains 1998 data derived from the UK aerospace industry survey undertaken by the Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC) in 1999. Data has been collected not only from SBAC member companies but also other aerospace companies (eg consortia, joint ventures, nonmembers and airline maintenance companies) both in the UK and the rest of the world. The document is available from the SBAC site in PDF format (415.7 Kb). Please note, some content and pages, including this document are for SBAC website members only and require registration and login to access them. An online registration facility is available.

UK Aerospace Industry Survey 2002

This document primarily contains 2001 data derived from the UK aerospace industry survey undertaken by the Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC) in 2002. Data has been collected not only from SBAC member companies but also other aerospace companies (eg consortia, joint ventures, nonmembers and airline maintenance companies) both in the UK and the rest of the world. The document is available from the SBAC site in PDF format (2 Mb). Please note, some content and pages within, including this document are for SBAC website members only and require registration and login to access them. An online registration facility is available

UK Lean Aerospace Initiative

The UK Lean Aerospace Initiative (UKLAI) is a collaborative programme between the Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC), representing the UK aerospace industry, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and a consortium of four universities. It was established in April 1998 to support member companies in meeting their improvement objectives and to establish an expertise and resource for the UK Aerospace industry. This site is part of the SBAC's Best Practice Centre. It contains background information on the UK-LAI programme, descriptions of products and services, member listsings, details of publications and a link to the UK-LAI Newsletter. Please note in order to access these resources you will need to search via the Best Practice Centre web page. Please note, access to some content and pages is limited to SBAC website members only.

UK Regulatory Requirements to Foreign Registered Aircraft

This is a United Kingdom Department for Transport (DfT) consultation document, published 4 August 2005. A significant proportion of private aircraft based in the UK by UK residents and companies are registered in other states. The majority of these aircraft appear to be operated mainly or exclusively for flights within the UK. This consultation seeks to establish whether steps should be taken to ensure, so far as possible, that private aircraft based in the UK are subject to UK and any relevant European regulatory requirements and supervision by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Annex A contains the background information, and a presentation of the issue and proposals. Annex B contains the Code of Practice and Annex C the consultation list. The text of the document is available in HTML. The closing date for responses was 28 October 2005.

Uniaxial and Biaxial Tests on Riveted Fuselage Lap Joint Specimens

This final report (DOT/FAA/AR-98/33) was published by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in October 1998, and was written by H. Vlieger and H.H. Ottens. As a part of a collaboration program between the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA, USA) and the Department of Civil Aviation (RLD, the Netherlands), the Dutch National Aerospace Laboratory (NLR) has carried out fatigue tests on riveted lap joint specimens. The specimens are representative of the longitudinal lap joints of a commercial aircraft in which multiple-site damage (MSD) was found in service. Two different rivet configurations, dimpled and countersunk riveted joints, were investigated [Extracted from FAA abstract]. This is a PDF file [56 pages, 2.07Mb] so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

User Manual for the Base of Aircraft Data (BADA) - Revision 3.5

This technical note (number 11) was published by the Eurocontrol Experimental Centre in July 2003 and was written by A. Nuic. The Base of Aircraft Data (BADA) provides a set of ASCII files containing performance and operating procedure coefficients for 267 different aircraft types. The coefficients include those used to calculate thrust, drag and fuel flow and those used to specify nominal cruise, climb and descent speeds. User Manual for Revision 3.5 of BADA provides definitions of each of the coefficients and then explains the file formats. Instructions for remotely accessing the files via Internet are also given. [Taken from abstract]. This is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Validation for CFD Predication of Mass Transport in an Aircraft Passenger Cabin

This technical report (DOT/FAA/AM-06/27) was published by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Office of Aerospace Medicine in November 2006 and was written by A. J. Baker, S. C. Ericson, J. A. Orzechowski, K. L. Wong and R. P. Garner. A joint project was established to validate computational fluid dynamics (CFD) as a quantitative methodology for prediction of the distribution of pathogens released into the environmental control system (ECS)-generated ventilation flowfield of an aircraft passenger cabin. Acquisition of the requisite experimental databases for three-dimensional velocity and contaminant distributions was accomplished in the FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute’s (CAMI’s) Aircraft Environmental Research Facility (AERF). The associated CFD simulations were conducted by the University of Tennessee CFD Laboratory staff, on the resident Beowulf PC cluster and/or the University of Tennessee Innovative Computing Laboratory SiNRG Cluster, using both commercial and proprietary CFD computer codes. The results of this CFD validation project are reported herein. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Vertical Drop Test of a Shorts 3-30 Airplane : Final Report

This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report, DOT/FAA/AR-99/87, by Allan Abramowitz, Philip A. Ingraham, and Robert McGuire, dated November 1999. The objective of the test was to determine the impact response of the fuselage, seat tracks, seats, and anthropomorphic test dummies on a high-wing commuter type airplane. The full text of the report is available in PDF format from the online catalogue of the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center Library.

Wake Vortex Prediction : An Overview

This report (TP 13629E) was edited by Wayne Jackson in March, 2001 for Transportation Development Center, Transport Canada. The objectives of the Transport Canada Wake Vortex Prediction Project, which was conducted during the years 1993 to 2000, were to increase the capacity of major airports, while maintaining or improving existing levels of safety, and to continue the evaluation and development of the Vortex Forecast System (VFS). The Transport Canada Wake Vortex Project Team (WVPT) included representatives from Transport Canada, Environment Canada, Oracle Telecomputing Inc. (OTI), Carleton University, UniversitĂŠ Catholique de Louvain in Belgium, and SABIGO Ltd. of Moscow. Aviation authorities have long recognized that reducing wake vortex separations during instrument meteorological conditions could permit the capacity at major airports to be increased by up to 15 percent, and delays on arrival and departure to be significantly reduced. This improved efficiency would be worth billions of dollars in savings worldwide. VFS is now one of the most capable real-time wake vortex prediction systems in the world. The report summarises the key findings of the project and further recommendations. The executive summary of the report is available in HTML format and the full text can be downloaded as PDF (2.3MB).

Work Hours of Aircraft Maintenance Personnel

The site provides access to UK Civil Aviation Authority CAA Paper 2002/06, prepared by Simon Folkard, on behalf of the Safety Regulation Group, issued March 2003. This Paper presents the results of a study of the working hours and schedules of aircraft maintenance engineers. It presents a series of recommendations for good practice to ensure safety is not compromised because of excess fatigue. The text of the document is available online in PDF format (469 kb) from the CAA's web site

Working Group on the Training of Aircraft Maintenance Engineers

This is the report of an inter-departmental working group on the training of aircraft maintenance engineers which was established by the United Kingdom Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR), (now Department for Transport), in August 1999. The report examines the structure of the workforce and the training arrangements and assesses the steps being taken to address present and future shortages of maintenance engineers. The report was finalised in March 2003, and the text is available from the DfT's Aviation web site in PDF format (187 Kb).

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