September 2, 2021 - No. 68 In This Issue : Technology is Available That Could Lower Aircraft Emissions Today, Not Ten Years from Now : Drone-powered Logistics Provider Swoop Aero Partners with Iris Automation : Safer Training Through High-Tech Reality Replication : oneworld outlines path to net zero emissions by 2050 : A guide to the the ever-expanding field of fatigue testing : As ECSU’s Enrollment Continues to Climb, Aviation Science’s Popularity Soars : Purdue to Hold Symposium to Address Pilot, Technician Shortages : Istanbul Airport Selected as 'Most Efficient Airport in Europe with more than 40 million passengers per year : NASA's 'quiet' X-59 supersonic plane is coming together as space agency chases faster flight : Understanding aviation’s real environmental cost : Inspiration4 astronauts to conduct health research on private SpaceX mission Technology is Available That Could Lower Aircraft Emissions Today, Not Ten Years from Now Airlines and aircraft makers have all committed to zero emissions pledges that pump funding and research into cleaner technologies like electric and hydrogen-powered aircraft and sustainable aviation fuels. The problem is that none of these solutions can be implemented on a wide scale today. While this means that some of the emission reduction estimates tied to these technologies are still decades away, there are technologies available right now that can contribute to emissions reductions. “For an airline, who's maybe made carbon neutrality goals or objectives, made those public announcements, this is an important element of getting there because this is available relatively short order, we're not waiting for SAF to be available, we're not waiting for hybrid electric technologies, it's available, really, in short order to help meet those objectives,” Jacob Klinginsmith, president of Tamarack Aerospace Group, told Aviation Today. Tamarack makes what it calls “active” winglets—opposed to passive or traditional winglets. Klinginsmith said this technology can be used today to provide added efficiency to aircraft and reduce emissions and it can be used in conjunction with future clean energy technology. Tamarack’s active winglets are different than traditional winglets because they include an extension and winglet providing greater wingspan increase. To be able to add the extension and winglet to the wing, Tamarack uses a load alleviation system that reinforces the wing. Klinginsmith said this system can provide efficiency improvements up to 33 percent versus about 5 percent with passive winglets. “Companies have looked at doing struts on the wings and things like that to make the wings longer and more slender, but we're doing it with this load alleviation system, which allows us to kind of get all the benefits of doing a longer thinner wing, without some of those structural penalties that typically come with it,” Klinginsmith said. “Even traditional winglet modifications typically require structural reinforcements for the wing, which takes time and it cost money and then you lose some useful load at the end of the day. With our technology, you know, we kind of get to have the aerodynamic performance without those structural penalties, in fact, we increase the payload in the ones that we have out right now. Our product right now is increasing the payload for operators.” The winglet technology essentially provides the plane with the characteristics of a glider, Klinginsmith said. “At a high level, the secret to what we're doing is we're turning the airplane into something that performs closer to how a glider would, right,” Klinginsmith said. “We all can understand that a glider is very efficient, it has to have low drag to stay aloft. The scientific term is aspect ratio, which is just basically how long and thin the wings are because of the less induced drag. And so we're modifying the aircraft wing to make it more long and slender, which has a less induced drag and that's what everybody's looking for now in terms of efficiency.” Changes to the aircraft are not the only way to reduce emissions. On the ground at airports, some companies like Aircraft Towing System World Wide (ATS) are creating technology to reduce fuel consumption, carbon emissions, and noise generation. ATS has a system to taxi aircraft from the runway to the gates and back without using the aircraft’s engines. The system uses an underground channel to tow aircraft from one location to the other. “After landing an aircraft, the pilot will taxi to the appropriate taxiway and drive the aircraft nose wheel onto the ATS ‘tow dolly’ where it is secured in place. Pilots can then shut off the aircraft’s main engines,” ATS Vice President/CEO Vince Howie said in a January statement on the company’s website. ATS claims that the fuel traditionally used to taxi aircraft can all be saved by using its system. For example, at Heathrow airport, the company estimates that over 15 million liters of fuel can be saved. “The average taxi time at Heathrow is 22 minutes and the average fuel consumption during taxi is 9 gallons or 35 Liters (L) per minute of taxi time,” a representative for ATS told Aviation Today. “There were over 475,000 movements or taxis in 2019. So, 22 minutes x 35 liters x 475,000 movements = 15,995,000 liters of fuel burned during taxi or saved if ATS were installed. If fuel was 1.70 euros per liter that is 27,191,500 euros in savings per year at Heathrow.” The company claims that the fuel savings presented in this example could also be used to generate carbon credits. “Taking the fuel savings example one step further, depending on the engines installed on commercial aircraft, the emission output averages 265 kilograms of CO2 per taxi,” the representative for ATS said. “Since emission credits are presently selling for approximately $7.60 per ton in carbon credit auctions in the U.S., this equates to .0055 Euros per liter of carbon credit for fuel burned during taxi. 35 Liters of fuel per minute of taxi x 22 minutes = 770 Liters of carbon x .021 Euros carbon credit per liter = 4.24 Euros per taxi x 475,000 movements. Based on this formula the airport should be able to generate 2M Euros per year in potential carbon credit revenue when sold on carbon credit markets.” ATS is currently installing a prototype of this system at the Ardmore Industrial Airpark in Ardmore, Oklahoma. Air traffic management (ATM) modernization has been cited by companies like Boeing and Airbus as a way to make operations more efficient. The European Commission is also working on a new framework for more efficient airway management, the Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) project. “Modernising Europe’s air traffic management (ATM) is central to meeting our Green Deal objectives and ensuring the long-term resilience of the aviation sector,” European Union Commissioner for Transport Adina Vălean said in a statement on the EU’s website. “By speeding up the implementation of the innovative technological solutions, the Common Project One (CP1) will ensure more direct, and therefore, more fuel-efficient flight paths, and allow modern aircraft to fully exploit the benefits of greener and quieter technologies.” The SESAR project aims to develop and deploy technology to increase ATM performance and build Europe’s intelligent air transport system. One of the aspects it is addressing is inefficiencies in air traffic management. Optimizing these inefficiencies will help save fuel. A 2016 report from the International Civil Aviation Organization said this could result in a 10 percent reduction of CO2 emissions per flight. Airbus has claimed similar statistics. “Direct routings can result in approximately 10 percent less fuel consumption in aircraft, as well as significantly reduced CO2 and noise emissions,” Airbus’ website states. “This is why we develop modern air traffic management systems in collaboration with our subsidiary Airbus NavBlue and work closely with a range of partners to further optimise in-flight operational efficiency.” While some of these solutions aren’t at the forefront of much of the discussion on sustainability solutions like electric aircraft and sustainable aviation fuels, they could provide a pathway for airlines and operators to meet interim sustainability goals because they are available now. “A lot of airlines and operators are looking at sustainability probably closer than they've ever looked and with more intent, than they've ever had to make changes and so there's a huge opportunity there with our technology,” Klinginsmith said. However, these solutions do not have to replace future technologies but instead can be used together once they are developed. “Our technology works well with those other technologies, whether we're talking about upgraded engines, SAF, reducing the drag on the airframe, and that is sort of synergistic with some of these other modifications that, frankly, are a ways out,” Klinginsmith said. “Especially SAF that has a lot of attention right now, we're looking forward to that, we're looking forward to saving a lot of people gallons of SAF, but that's a ways out and our technologies are available right now.” https://www.aviationtoday.com/2021/09/02/technology-available-lower-aircraft-emissions-today-not-ten-years-now/ Drone-powered Logistics Provider Swoop Aero Partners with Iris Automation Australian drone-powered logistics company, Swoop Aero, and commercial drone safety innovator, Iris Automation, have entered into a partnership to offer Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone solutions to global clients seeking to safely unlock the skies above cities and solve logistics challenges in remote and rural areas. Swoop Aero has extensive experience providing drone logistics services to customers requiring safe, sustainable transportation in areas where ground or traditional air access is inaccessible, too slow, or not economical. Its mission is to transform the way the world moves by making access to the skies seamless. The partnership enhances Swoop Aero’s ability to expand across global markets and support a broader range of customer missions by enabling the company to obtain complex operational approvals and certifications. Swoop Aero recently announced medical supply delivery operations with EBOS Healthcare in Australia and joined New Zealand’s Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) airspace integration trial program. Both operations incorporate Iris Automation’s Casia detect-and-avoid technology to improve air safety. The announcement of the partnership follows Swoop Aero’s recent unveiling of its new announced aircraft, Kite™, which has been designed with precision for urban flight and high-impact rural and remote operations. Swoop Aero considers Kite™ will be the most advanced aircraft in its category to progress through the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification program in the USA. Kite™ is the centerpiece of Swoop Aero’s full technology stack, including hardware, software, and supporting infrastructure. Kite™ will likewise support the integration of Iris Automation’s Casia detect-and-avoid technology as part of its suite of safety features available to meet operational and customer requirements. Swoop Aero deploys its proprietary drone logistics platform into networks capable of delivering essential supplies to urban, rural and remote areas globally. Building on its experience in some of the hardest places to reach in the world, the organisation has enabled the integration of Iris Automation’s detect-and-avoid (DAA) technology, Casia, into the Swoop Aero drone logistics infrastructure to enable the safe integration of manned and unmanned aviation into global supply chains in various settings and regions. The Iris Automation Casia system detects other aircraft and makes intelligent decisions about the threat they may pose to the drone. It then works seamlessly with the Swoop Aero system to trigger automated maneuvers to avoid collisions, as well as alerting the pilot in command of the mission. Iris also partners with Swoop on airspace integration regulatory resources. “With two leading drone innovators coming together we can drive the safe integration of autonomous aircraft into even more critical areas. A DAA solution is the last great challenge preventing complex operational approvals and certification in countries like Australia and the United States. This partnership showcases the innovation inherent in our platform, and our commitment to safety.” Quote from Jon Damush, CEO of Iris Automation “Swoop Aero is a great example of how commercial drone services are evolving, meeting numerous critical use cases around the world. We are seeing the leading players in the space make investments in safety, and Swoop is one of the firms leading the charge to ensure the safe and efficient integration of uncrewed aircraft into existing national airspaces around the world. Demand for these use cases is highest in regions with stringent air safety standards, and avoiding mid-air collisions is the most important aspect of reducing air-risk. An innovator like Swoop Aero is doing the right things to safely introduce aerial services to deliver essential supplies to previously inaccessible areas and we are excited to partner with them on this mission.” About Swoop Aero Swoop Aero is an Australian drone-powered logistics company founded in 2017 to transform how the world moves by making access to the skies seamless. We integrate drone logistics into the first and last mile of the health supply chain to transform its strength and agility. Where we don’t deliver that service ourselves, we provide our technology platform selectively to organisations across the globe to further the reach of our impact. Our goal is to provide a service accessible by 1 billion people in 2030, delivering impact across industries including health, transport, disaster management, and Search and Rescue. Since its founding in 2017, Swoop Aero has worked with some of the largest organisations in global health across three continents, including UNICEF, the Gates Foundation, UK Aid, USAID and Gavi the Vaccine Alliance. Swoop Aero’s forward-thinking approach to health and successful operations in three continents has led them to be recognised globally as a leading player in the med-tech industry. Find out more at www.swoop.aero About Iris Automation Iris Automation is a safety avionics technology company pioneering on- and off-board perception systems and aviation policy services that enable customers to build scalable operations for crewed and uncrewed aircraft; unlocking the potential of countless industries. Iris’ Casia system runs either onboard the aircraft or in a ground-based configuration. We work closely with civil aviation authorities globally as they implement regulatory frameworks ensuring BVLOS is conducted safely, partnering on multiple FAA ASSURE and BEYOND UAS Integration Programs and Transport Canada’s BVLOS Technology Demonstration Program. Visit www.irisonboard.com https://www.suasnews.com/2021/09/drone-powered-logistics-provider-swoop-aero-partners-with-iris-automation/ Safer Training Through High-Tech Reality Replication Loss of control in-flight is frequently cited as a major cause of aircraft accidents, with pilot error, including failure to maintain adequate airspeed, as the leading contributor to loss of control. But typically, the loss of control or failure to maintain airspeed is precipitated by another issue: perhaps a runaway trim on takeoff or an attempt to climb above weather leading to high-altitude stall. In the quest for making training “real,” several accidents have occurred when instructors modified the aircraft systems by pulling circuit breakers or intentionally shutting down one engine, ultimately turning simulated emergencies into real emergencies. Safely preparing a crew for whatever anomalies the aircraft or nature may bring is best done in a full flight simulator – the more realistic, the better. Through continuous improvement and technology innovation, FlightSafety continues to provide the most realistic simulator training available for the business and private aviation market. REALITY STARTS WITH GROUND SCHOOL To be prepared for anomalies and emergencies, crews need to know the aircraft systems, avionics, flying characteristics, and emergency procedures before they jump into the simulator. During ground school, FlightSafety brings as much realism into the classroom as possible using desktop simulators, graphical flight-deck simulators and avionics procedure trainers. Always on the cutting edge of technology, FlightSafety is deploying the use of VR walkarounds across its course offerings and is also using VR in various maintenance courses for both familiarization and procedure training. FlightSafety’s LiveLearning and eLearning deliver online training options for those clients who need a flexible schedule. REALISTIC SIMULATOR TRAINING MAKES THE DIFFERENCE With more than 70 years in the simulator training business, FlightSafety has championed the safety and key learning aspects of providing realistic training on the ground. We do that by working with aircraft manufacturers to make both the tactile feel and aerodynamic response of the simulator as real as possible, and partnering with the FAA, EASA and other government authorities to certify the training received as credit toward requirements and ratings. One of the areas the FAA reviews when certifying a simulator for flight credit is the fidelity of the flight experience. FlightSafety uses industry-leading technology to design and manufacture its FS1000 FAA-certified Level D full-flight simulators with electric six-degrees-of-freedom motion bases, ultra-high-resolution glass visuals, and flight decks that perfectly replicate the look and feel of the aircraft. Continuously improving its simulators in Learning Centers around the world, FlightSafety introduced its VITAL 1150 visual system in 2019. An upgrade from the VITAL 1100 system released in 2013, the VITAL 1150 projects ultra-high 4K resolution graphics onto an integrated CrewView wrap-around glass display for stunningly crisp visuals and greater image fidelity. With fields of view up to 360 x 135 degrees and high 120 Hz frame rate, we provide realistic imagery for all flight maneuvers including comprehensive airport lighting systems, dynamic and enhanced shadowing for detailed topography and ocean effects, time of day modes including dawn and dusk, and five levels of precipitation intensity. A MultiVis Weather Sim generates up to 64,000 atmospheric layers and uses a physics-based weather model, including atmospheric scattering, to provide realistic wind, turbulence and precipitation effects. The FS1000 includes an advanced instructor station equipped with an intuitive interface, scalable graphics and large displays with touchscreen controls. This is where it gets real as the instructor can throw everything except the kitchen sink at you during your simulated flight: weather, systems failures, inoperable instruments, ATC requests and even animals on the runway. While aircraft system knowledge and operational procedures are important, the scenarios are also designed to help crews with aeronautical decision making and crew resource management. For example, very high-altitude operation training, such as taking a jet to its maximum altitude for the first time, is best done in the simulator. Several fatal accidents have occurred in business jets and even airliners by otherwise proficient crews taking aircraft to their extremes only to stall the aircraft, flame out the engines and mishandle the restarts. Besides being able to replicate these conditions in the simulator, FlightSafety also offers upset prevention and recovery training (UPRT), being the first simulator training provider to receive FAA qualification for UPRT aerodynamic modeling. In addition, a partnership with Mojave, California-based Flight Research, Inc., provides expanded in-aircraft UPRT to further increase preparedness with unusual attitude and flight conditions. TAKING CONTROL OF YOUR TRAINING Pilots can become more prepared for anomalies by taking an active role in their own training. While being sent to simulator training every year (in the case of most Part 91 pilots, and every six months for Part 121 and 135 pilots) can seem repetitive, FlightSafety encourages pilots to ask for modifications and customization of courses to better prepare them for challenges ahead. FlightSafety also works with corporate flight departments on training initiatives for their crews. Companies that collect and use flight operational quality assurance (FOQA) data can share this data with FlightSafety anonymously (individual pilots deidentified) to identify specific areas or procedures that need closer attention across all crews. FlightSafety has also begun to use aggregated industry FOQA data to identify areas of focus called Spotlights. These Spotlights do not add or detract from training time but are incorporated as part of the curriculum to enhance a level of safety. Taking advantage of the more than 600 worldwide airports in the FlightSafety database, pilots can also ask to practice specific approaches or departures, or fly certain city pairs. Even if visuals for the requested airport haven’t been generated in the FlightSafety database, the instructor can still set up the airport for use in training. With enough need and notice, though, customers can request FlightSafety build visuals for often-used airports. Through high-tech solutions in reality replication, FlightSafety has invested in pilots’ advancement, providing the most comprehensive training environment available. https://www.ainonline.com/sponsored-content/business-aviation/2021-09-01/safer-training-through-high-tech-reality-replication oneworld outlines path to net zero emissions by 2050 oneworld has outlined its path to achieving net zero emissions by 2050, reiterating its commitment to sustainability across the alliance’s 14 member airlines. The initial oneworld carbon roadmap illustrates how the alliance will meet its net zero emissions target that was first announced in September 2020, establishing oneworld as the first global airline alliance to commit to a common carbon neutrality goal. oneworld member airlines will reach the target through various initiatives, including fleet modernisation, improvements in operation efficiencies, advancing the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) certified by ICAO-approved schemes, and carbon offsets and removals. oneworld is also calling on government and industry stakeholders for their support and partnership in decarbonising aviation. As aircraft technology evolves and the availability of SAF continues to develop, the roadmap will be updated to reflect the alliance’s approach towards reaching its net zero emissions target by 2050. oneworld Alliance Chairman and Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Officer H.E. Mr. Akbar Al Baker commented: “It’s an honour to reaffirm our commitment and leadership to tackle climate change. Even as we continue to navigate through the complexities of the pandemic, outlining our ‘path to net zero emissions by 2050’, demonstrates that we remain steadfast with our responsibility to care for the environment and promote a sustainable air transport. Today, oneworld establishes another milestone and call to all the industry stakeholders and governments to play their role and collaborate with airlines; we need a strong commitment to improve airspace inefficiency, incentivise the commercial use of recognised sustainable aviation fuels and accelerate the development of new propulsion and airframe technologies. Now is the time for industry and governments to work together towards our shared climate goals.” oneworld CEO Rob Gurney added: “The carbon roadmap that we have released today demonstrates our alliance’s commitment to environmental sustainability. Despite the uncertainty faced by the industry, we remain focused on playing our part in reducing emissions. We are thankful to our member airlines for their support and to IAG for their leadership in this important collaboration and look forward to our continuing partnership in advancing sustainability.” oneworld member airlines are actively collaborating on several environment and sustainability initiatives, through the oneworld Environment and Sustainability Board chaired by Jonathon Counsell, Group Head of Sustainability at IAG (the parent of oneworld member airlines British Airways and Iberia). Details on these initiatives will be announced in due course. A number of member airlines have expressed their commitment to prioritising environmental sustainability initiatives. Examples include: Alaska Airlines, which joined oneworld as its newest member in March 2021, has announced a commitment to net zero emissions by 2040. American Airlines has committed to set an intermediate, science-based target for reducing emissions by 2035. IAG (parent of British Airways and Iberia) plans to power 10% of its flights with SAF by 2030 and has extended its net zero emissions target to its supply chain. Cathay Pacific has pledged to cut their ground emissions by 32% from their 2018 baseline before the end of 2030, through enhancing energy-saving measures and exploring renewable energy options in its premises and ground operations as part of its net-zero carbon emissions commitment. Finnair is committed to carbon neutrality by 2045 and to halving its net emissions by 2025 from 2019 levels. Japan Airlines committed to use SAF at 10% of its total fuel consumption, reducing total emissions in 2030 by 10% compared to 2019. Malaysia Airlines and sister companies under the Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) launched the MAG Sustainability Blueprint in April 2021, with the aim to promote socio-economic development and achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. MAG has also set a goal for 50% of the materials used for inflight operations to be biodegradable by 2025. The Qantas Group has committed to reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and investing A$50 million in developing a sustainable aviation fuel industry. Qatar Airways has further enhanced environmental sustainability education for its employees, including engaging with IATA on additional sustainability training. S7 Airlines recently launched its Green Steps edutainment programme. It includes short lessons in the S7 Airlines mobile app on how to make travel more environmentally friendly and users could earn S7 Priority miles when they pass tests after lessons. S7 Airlines uses blankets on board which are made from recycled plastic bottles and has reduced the packaging for business-class travel kits. SriLankan Airlines is continuing its sustainability commitments through its aviation fuel efficiency enhancement programme, conservation through education programme and a waste upcycling project. https://www.futuretravelexperience.com/2021/09/oneworld-outlines-path-to-net-zero-emissions-by-2050/ A guide to the the ever-expanding field of fatigue testing Aircraft fatigue is older than aviation itself. The Wright Brothers’ first powered flight was delayed by a fatigue crack in a hollow propeller-shaft, while engineers first identified fatigue in train-axles in the early 1800s. brought to you by Element Aerospace Fatigue is when microscopic cracks in metal grow over time to a critical size, then propagate rapidly and cause structural failure. This understanding of fatigue stems from the de Havilland Comet failures in the 1950s and informs several aspects of modern aircraft design. “As the first jet airliner the Comet introduced many concepts,” says Dr Andrew Halfpenny, director of fatigue analysis company nCode. “But behind revolutionary changes lurked problems.” Stress-concentration at square, incorrectly riveted window-corners caused the Comet airliner Yoke Peter’s 1954 explosive decompression. The first aircraft fatigue test confirmed this by cyclically pressuring an identical Comet’s fuselage for five months in a water-bath. “Today’s metal thicknesses, rivet-spacing and bonding were all learned from the Comet,” says Halfpenny. “What was learned was shared.” Tensile failure is when load exceeds ultimate material strength and is comparatively predictable. But fatigue failures are a result of fluctuating load-cycles. “Over time, materials seem to tire, breaking at loads well below their tensile strength,” says Halfpenny. “The other problem is scatter – across 100 production-line components, there’s at least a factor of two between the first and final failure.” Limiting failure In the 1850s, German engineer August Wöhler conducted the first fatigue tests, applying loads to railway axles. “Wöhler created a fatigue strength, below which axles seemed to last forever,” Halfpenny says. “If loads exceeded it, they would break – not immediately, but in time.” Wöhler Curves plot failures on axes of stress amplitude against the number of cycles: if stresses remain in a safe region below the curve, a material never fails. But aircraft capable of flight must be designed within a finite region of widely-distributed failures. Embryonic cracks form at riveted joints when persistent slip bands in micron-sized metallic grains slide inwards. They grow at 45° to loading, crossing perhaps five grain-boundaries. “Then they change direction and grow perpendicular to applied load,” says Halfpenny. “The crack-tip has created a stress-concentration, which then takes over and drives out fatigue to the point of failure.” This microscopic behavior explains the unpredictable scatter of failures in identical specimens. Halfpenny says, “Millions of tiny sliding cracks may never have the energy to cross a grain-boundary. It just takes an extra yank at the right time.” Crack growth-rates vary between materials. Undercarriage structures are prone to sudden, brittle failure. “Steel offers strength but can’t absorb plasticity,” says Halfpenny “When cracks appear, they quickly grow to failure. “But soft, ductile fuselage materials like titanium absorb plastic loads. Stress flows around cracks and finds an alternate load-path. “Cracks grow steadily and the titanium fuselage is still fine.” Growth-rates inform different design-life philosophies. Fuselages are designed to be as damage-tolerant as possible. “We design undercarriages for safe life periods then retire and replace them. We accept that cracks exist and live with them, otherwise we would change fuselages every year,” Halfpenny says. Coupons to full-scale Fatigue testing focuses on showing how cracks grow over time, so inspection intervals can be planned and cracks spotted and repaired before they result in failure. Perhaps counter intuitively, cracks are often repaired by drilling holes to disperse crack-tip stress-concentrations. During development, data from single-axis coupon tests establishes material strengths and is used to parameterize models. Traditionally, an aircraft’s qualification culminates in full-scale airframe testing, where engineers apply deliberate damage to see how quickly cracks become detectable then grow. “Complex tests use many hydraulic actuators to mimic an expected lifetime of load-cycles,” says Marcel Bos of the Royal Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR) and general secretary of ICAF (International Committee on Aeronautical Fatigue and Structural Integrity). “Fatigue isn’t calendar-related, so it’s feasible to mimic many years in months.” “An aircraft’s structure is designed to be damage-tolerant and you will solve problems during the test. Developing suitable repairs is essential preparation for the aircraft’s operational service. “The beauty of fatigue is it often appears as striations on crack surfaces,” continues Bos. “An innovation is the use of marker-loads in test spectra. After a test, we break cracks open to find indications of growth under an electron microscope.” Like rings in a tree, striations chronicle repeated load-cycles. Applying an unusual pattern of loads every so-many cycles during a fatigue test creates a pronounced striation. Engineers use this to provide a temporal marker in post-test investigation. Advanced software and controllers facilitate complicated multi-axis tests. “Old-fashioned coupon testing involved handwork – stopping the machine and measuring cracks,” says NLR test house director, Paul Arendsen. Today, crack-growth is inferred from increases in a specimen’s electrical resistance. “Tests run 24/7 with automated measurements and photography,” says Arendsen. “Not just elastic testing: it’s kinematically-controlled system-testing with many movements and angles of elevation.” Virtual testing Increasingly, designs are tested virtually in simulations using finite element models. Physical tests parameterize, refine and validate the models. “I’m a hardware guy and I’m not afraid for my job,” says Arendsen. “Confirming models means plenty of physical testing has to be done.” Design models can furnish digital twins with data, which enable prognostic monitoring of aircraft in service. NCode’s DesignLife software optimizes fatigue life through simulation. “We take lots from flight-profiles, Wöhler Curves from coupon tests and geometries from finite element models,” Halfpenny says. “We run a simulation with the loads, materials and aircraft geometry, find the stresses and predict the life. Designers can tune that life by changing the geometry.” Building and testing a prototype then validates the analysis used for design. “We can’t model down to the granular structure, so we treat that statistically. Our maths works brilliantly for metal airplanes,” Halfpenny says. “But the use of composites returns us to the days of the Comet, before computers. Carbon fiber is strong in tension but buckles under compression, so we reinforce it with a matrix.” In carbon fiber, failure modes interact. Cracks first spread through the matrix, which delaminates from the main fibers, which themselves then begin to fracture. “We’re having to start over with simulations and with treating composites statistically,” says Halfpenny. “Metal has uniform properties in every direction. But every square centimeter of a composite aircraft can have different mechanical properties.” Innovation Engineers are working hard to solve the fatigue challenges posed by composites. One such solution has been developed by the Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) at Australia’s Department of Defence, which has developed a novel means to obtain full-field stress imagery in fatigue tests. “We use the observed physical behavior of airframes to validate structural models,” says the DSTG’s group leader for material state awareness, Dr Nik Rajic. “Our primary instrument is the electrical resistance strain-gauge, which provides isolated point-measurements of strain.” Thermoelastic stress analysis is used to measure changes in a material’s temperature under tensile or compressive loads. Capturing temperature fluctuations indicative of stress demands 1mK-level sensitivity. Traditionally this has been achieved with photonic cameras directly detecting photons emitted by an object. Photon detectors are highly sensitive but unfortunately require extreme cooling and are cumbersome and expensive. In contrast, microbolometers are temperature-dependent resistors that respond to incoming infrared energy. Microbolometer cameras don’t require cooling, making them smaller, cheaper and more rugged. However they are markedly inferior to photonic cameras in terms of raw image quality. “But a quirk of noise morphology makes our image-processing particularly effective in eliminating noise from microbolometers,” says Rajic. “We process the image-sequence synchronously with an actuator, transducer or accelerometer signal which describes the structural loading. We find components of the temperature response which relate closely with that load-signal.” This process drops the noise-floor of microbolometer imagery to 1mK, well below a photonic camera’s ~15mK noise floor. Rajic’s team have proven the technology in the industrial environment of the F-35 structural test program. “Our technology provided unvarnished truth about stress distributions in complex airframe structures, allowing models to be tuned to physical reality,” says Rajic. “We quickly obtained information simply unavailable with other sensors.” Real-life effects Certification assumes expected aircraft usage, but fatigue stems from actual use. The Aloha Airlines 737 flight that failed catastrophically in 1988 was certified for 75,000 ground-air-ground cycles. But it had done 89,000 because of the nature of its island-hopping journeys. Usage is influenced by airspace. Such variations in real-life usage make in-service inspection vital. “Aircraft undergo visual inspection about every 600 hours, or three to six months,” says senior lecturer in aviation technology at Australia’s University of New South Wales, Dr Graham Wild. “It’s mostly done by eye, but micrometer-sized cracking underneath paint is difficult to see.” Structural health monitoring (SHM) aims to eliminate human error with automated on-board diagnostics using various techniques and sensors. Wild says, “SHM tracks cracks, corrosion, pressure, temperature and in space, micrometeorites and radiation impact.” SHM systems can use piezoresistive strain-gauges to monitor bending-loads on wings, probes to monitor corrosion in engine bays, sensors to detect pressure changes where cracks admit air and acoustic sensors. FBG (fiber Bragg grating) sensors are also being used in aircraft to detect changes in sound, vibration and temperature within aircraft and their components. Machine learning pinpoints microscopic cracking amid a flight’s prevailing din. Wild says, “We listen to micro-cracks with microphones that use the same laser interferometry as gravity-wave detectors, the most sensitive instruments available. “Operational noise is omnidirectional, but damage starts in one place,” says Wild. “We use a microphone array to detect signals from a specific direction.” Much was learnt quickly about metal fatigue from the de Havilland Comet’s failure. A similar need to expand knowledge about fatigue behavior in composites exists today. But some question if progress is hindered by today’s culture of IP protection and litigation. Halfpenny says, “Back then, it was command-and-control. The Comet’s chief designer was notoriously bad-tempered about news he didn’t want to hear. But, success is a function of both engineering and corporate culture. Today there’s better internal communication – engineers can talk to their boss.” https://www.aerospacetestinginternational.com/features/exploring-the-ever-expanding-field-of-fatigue-testing.html As ECSU’s Enrollment Continues to Climb, Aviation Science’s Popularity Soars Elizabeth City State University enrollment has climbed for the fifth straight year and along with it, Aviation Science is one of the top choices for majors by incoming freshmen. Aviation Science is soaring in popularity on campus not only because of an increased demand in the career field, or the affordable cost of obtaining the only four-year aviation degree in North Carolina, but also because it is gaining national prominence, says the dean of the School of Science, Aviation, Health and Technology, Dr. Kuldeep Rawat. According to Dr. Rawat, the program currently has 153 students, of which 111 are enrolled in flight education. Last fall, the total number of students was 127, making this fall’s climb a 20.47 percent increase, he said. “We also have 14 new transfer students and that can be attributed to our articulation agreements we have done with community colleges,” said Dr. Rawat. In 2019, ECSU signed agreements with Guilford Technical Community College, Lenoir Community College, and Sandhill Community College to bring their aviation students to the university. The transfer students complete their first two years at their respective community colleges before completing their degree at ECSU. But transfer students are only one part of the equation. Dr. Rawat credits a year-round outreach strategy, a strong social media presence – many future students are responding to social media outreach, he says – and the fact that ECSU is offering a competitive, quality aviation program at a very affordable price. The program is a Federal Aviation Administration approved PART 141 flight school and authorized for Restricted Airline Transport Pilot (R-ATP). That means ECSU’s program offers a more structured environment for future pilots, and students will have a shorter flight-training period. “The 141 designation reduces the flight training degree requirement from 250 hours to 190 hours,” said Dr. Rawat. “This will save students 60 hours of flight time and reduce their flight training cost significantly.” In addition, he said, graduates from ECSU’s Aviation degree program need only a total of 1000 hours of flight time compared to the previously required 1,500 hours. Aviation students are able to earn their private, commercial pilot, and flight instructor licenses. ECSU has 12 planes in its aviation stable, and 10 flight instructors. “Students do flight training twice a week at a minimum to keep them on track for their FAA certification,” says Dr. Rawat. Aviation education costs can be high, but ECSU is considered one of the most affordable programs in the country, allowing future military and commercial pilots the opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree while preparing for the next step in their aviation careers. Last month, ECSU entered into an exclusive partnership with United Airlines Aviate pilot training program. United Airlines is committed to recruiting 5,000 new pilots, half of which will be women and people of color, according to airline officials, to address a growing shortage of pilots in the industry. Thanks to this partnership, aviation students now have a direct career pipeline to a major commercial airline after graduation from ECSU. For aviation students with a desire to be military pilots, the university also works with the Coast Guard’s College Student Pre-Commissioning Initiative, or CSPI, to prepare future officers, many of which go on to become helicopter or C-130 pilots. The aviation industry as a whole is a growing career path for many students, and not all students are driven to become pilots. Some will focus on aviation management, while others may enter the field of avionics. And some aviation science students will either pursue a specific degree in unmanned aerial systems, or drones, or make it a concentration within aviation science. Dr. Rawat says that the drone program is approved as part of the FAA Collegiate Training Initiative, or CTI, program. https://newsroom.ecsu.edu/as-ecsus-enrollment-continues-to-climb-aviation-sciences-popularity-soars/ Purdue to Hold Symposium to Address Pilot, Technician Shortages Purdue University’s School of Aviation and Transportation Technology has announced the creation of the Purdue University National Aviation Symposium: Emerging Critical Shortages of Pilots and Maintenance Technicians. This three-day symposium, scheduled for April 6 to 8, 2022, will unite the aviation community— including airlines, manufacturers, industry associations, labor unions, government agencies, and academic institutions—to identify and mitigate challenges tied to increasing the workforce of qualified pilots and technicians. Aging and retiring pilots, combined with fewer numbers of pilots and technicians entering the workforce, have created a concerning shortage of workers. One report by consulting firm Oliver Wyman predicts that the worldwide aviation industry could need as many as 50,000 more pilots than are available by 2025. According to the Aviation Technician Education Council, some progress has been made to increase the availability of aviation maintenance technicians, but technicians are still retiring faster than they can be replaced. Steve Dickson, the FAA administrator, will address symposium attendees. Dickson has been an advocate for safety, global leadership, operational excellence, and the health, welfare and evolution of the FAA’s workforce since taking his position in 2019. Before going to the FAA, Dickson spent nearly three decades at Delta Air Lines, retiring as the senior vice president of flight operations. Objectives of the symposium include: Reviewing the baseline projected levels of demand and supply of pilots and maintenance technicians. Identifying challenges and roadblocks that impede the creation of candidate pools. Proposing a unified position and voice on policy changes and actions required for industry, government, and academia. “As air travel returns to pre-pandemic levels, the shortage of qualified pilots and maintenance technicians is only going to get worse unless we do something about it,” Thomas Frooninckx, head of the School of Aviation and Transportation Technology at Purdue University, said in a statement. “By combining our expertise and resources across all facets of the aviation industry, we hope to identify and act upon the best ways to attract, train and retain a reliable, robust pipeline of aviation professionals.” To participate in Purdue’s National Aviation Symposium, click here. https://www.flyingmag.com/story/careers/purdue-national-aviation-symposium-2021/ Istanbul Airport Selected as 'Most Efficient Airport in Europe with more than 40 million passengers per year Istanbul Airport has been deemed "The Most Efficient Airport in Europe with more than 40 million passengers per year" by the Aviation Researchers at Air Transport Research Society (ATRS). As the world's largest airport constructed from scratch within a record time of 42 months and with a capacity to handle 90 million annual passengers, Istanbul Airport continues to receive awards from the aviation industry. Operating under the World Conference on Transport Research (WCTRS), the ATRS selected Istanbul Airport as "The Most Efficient Airport in Europe with more than 40 million passengers per year." Istanbul Airport received full marks for airport operations and performance measurements such as management strategies, efficiency, capacity, operational efficiency, unit costs and cost competitiveness. ATRS hosted the Annual Global Airport Performance Benchmarking Project at Embry-Riddle Aviation University in Florida, under the guidance of 16 people including leading academics from the Asia Pacific, Europe and North America. The airports to be awarded within the scope of the project were determined according to their competency rank in their regions and classes of size, as measured by the residual Variable Factor Productivity (R-VFP) Index. The award-winning airports were announced at the 24th ATRS World Conference held online between Aug. 26-29, along with the ATRS airport benchmarking report, which summarizes the efficiency of airports around the world. There was a wide participation from all segments of the aviation industry, including airline companies, airports, managers from the air traffic control and aerospace fields, bureaucrats, consultants and academics. Commenting on Istanbul Airport being deemed worthy of the "The Most Efficient Airport in Europe" award, Fırat Emsen, the chief technical officer, said, “Each award we win is very valuable as it shows that our achievements are followed with admiration in the international arena. World’s leading aviation researchers have appreciated the smooth operation, our efficiency policies, during a year of 2019 where we moved from Istanbul Ataturk Airport to Istanbul Airport within 33 hours and had a smooth opening of our facilities without disruptions for our airlines. Thanks to our trained teams, we have been implementing our efficiency policies, which we started during the construction stage of Istanbul Airport and continued during the operation phase at every stage of our business. At Istanbul Airport, where world class customer experience, innovation, technology, digitalization, system and operation integrations, and rapid decision-making processes are at the forefront, we have created a system that works flawlessly with the efficiency we provide. As Istanbul Airport – Gateway to The World gateway to the world, Istanbul Airport will continue to carry out successful and award-winning projects." https://www.aviationpros.com/airports/press-release/21236650/iga-istanbul-airport-selected-as-most-efficient-airport-in-europe-with-more-than-40-million-passengers-per-year NASA's 'quiet' X-59 supersonic plane is coming together as space agency chases faster flight Supersonic planes are notoriously noisy, but NASA engineers think they can reduce the thunderous boom these planes produce into a barely audible thump by cleverly shaping the aircraft to minimize how it reflects sound waves. The raw structure of a prototype of such a plane, the X-59, has just been assembled at the facilities of NASA contractor Lockheed Martin in Palmdale, California. The 99-foot-long (30 meters), 24,000-pound (10,000 kilograms) one seater might take to the sky as early as the end of 2022, paving the way for a new era of supersonic aviation. There is no way of not noticing a supersonic fighter jet zooming over your head; the sonic booms are not only loud, but they create vibrations that you can feel. As the plane bursts through the air, it creates soundwaves. But because the plane travels faster than the speed of sound, it surges ahead leaving the waves in its wake crashing into each other. The boom the waves produce, akin to a gunshot, can rattle furniture and even shatter glass. For example, the supersonic boom produced by the iconic Concorde, the so far only supersonic passenger aircraft in history (retired in 2003), reached 105 decibels, about as loud as a nearby thunderstrike. The X-59, in comparison, should make no more noise than a car door slamming 20 feet (6 meters) away, according to NASA. "The amplitude of [the sound wave generated by our] airplane is probably five to eight times lower than that generated by the Concorde," David Richwine, NASA's deputy project manager for technology for the Low Boom Flight Demonstrator project, told Space.com. The plane's NASA designation is the X-59 Quesst experimental plane, with Quesst short for Quiet SuperSonic Technology. "We're trying to generate a much more mild, much lower amplitude shock wave and also create a longer rise time to that shock wave on the airplane so that the sound waves don't come together and create the loud boom as they do on existing supersonic planes," Richwine said. This noise reduction might in the future persuade regulators to allow supersonic planes to fly over inhabited areas. So far, because of the disruption caused by the supersonic boom, supersonic air travel is only permitted over the oceans. But how can this noise reduction be achieved? Richwine explained it took a lot of careful computer modelling to engineer the entire shape of the plane in a way that minimizes the shock waves created as the plane bursts through the air. "The most obvious thing is that our plane has a longer nose than, for example, the Concorde," Richwine said. This long nose, however, created other technical challenges the engineers had to solve. The smooth and gradual shape of the nose prevents the cockpit of the X-59 from having a direct view of what's in the front. Instead, the pilot looks at high-definition screens that are fed video input from an external vision system. "The Concorde had a droop nose that allowed the pilots to see the land so that they could actually see where they were landing," said Richwine. "Thanks to the technical progress that had been achieved since the time that the Concorde had been developed, we could make use of the high-definition cameras and TV screens that we have today. That enabled us to develop a 'see the land' capability that is much lighter and simpler." Richwine said that most people would probably not even notice if the X-59 flew over a busy city. In a quiet rural area, they might notice what Richwine described as a "quiet thump." "It wouldn't be startling or bothering you," he said. NASA hopes the X-59 could pave the way for a new era of supersonic travel that could see people zoom across continents in half the time it currently takes. After the plane takes to the sky for the first time probably at the end of next year, the space agency will run an extensive test campaign that will see X-59 fly over selected communities in the U.S. After each flight, local residents will be asked to answer questions about how much they had noticed the re-engineered supersonic sound. Aircraft manufacturers could then use the technologies developed as part of the X-59 project to develop larger commercial planes that could carry up to 120 passengers. https://www.space.com/nasa-quiet-supersonic-plane-x-59-assembly-video Understanding aviation’s real environmental cost A new project called the Aviation Impact Accelerator (AIA) aims to quantify the climate damage caused by the industry by designing an interactive evidence-based simulator to explore different scenarios. It seeks to cover the whole sector, including the sources of renewable electricity and raw materials, the creation and transport of fuel, and the impact of new technology. The mission is led by the Whittle Laboratory and the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL). Professor Rob Miller, a director at the former, observed, “Achieving an aviation sector with no climate impact is one of society’s biggest challenges. Solving it will require a complex combination of technology, business, human behaviour and policy. We have assembled a world-class team of academics and industry experts to take on this challenge.” Other team members include the Air Transportation Systems Lab at University College London and the Melbourne Energy Institute at the University of Melbourne. The AIA partnered with HRH The Prince of Wales’s Sustainable Markets Initiative, The World Economic Forum, Cambridge Zero, MathWorks and SATAVIA, and is supported by industry players Rolls-Royce, Boeing, BP, Heathrow and Siemens Energy. The simulator will model future scenarios to 2050 and calculate the resource requirements, including renewable electricity and land use, the climate impact, both CO2 and non-CO2, and the cost of flying. John Holland-Kaye, CEO of Heathrow Airport noted, “The Aviation Impact Accelerator will play a vital role in highlighting the action required to achieve net zero aviation and support Heathrow to ensure 2019 is our year of ‘peak carbon’. The first priority is accelerated use of sustainable aviation fuel. Government can act to unlock SAF through a mandate stimulating supply, plus incentives to drive demand. The prize is a new British growth industry and UK leadership in the race to net zero.” Its official launch will be at the COP26 hosted in Scotland in November. https://www.engineerlive.com/content/understanding-aviation-s-real-environmental-cost Inspiration4 astronauts to conduct health research on private SpaceX mission The private astronauts of Inspiration4 will be helping to expand our understanding of how space affects the human body on their mission around Earth. On Sept. 15, a crew of four will launch to space as part of Inspiration4, a private orbital mission on SpaceX's Crew Dragon that will benefit the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. It will be the first all-civilian space mission to orbit our planet. Aside from raising funds for St. Jude, the mission will also serve to investigate the effects of spaceflight on human health and performance in collaboration with SpaceX, the Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH) at Baylor College of Medicine and investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine. "The crew of Inspiration4 is eager to use our mission to help make a better future for those who will launch in the years and decades to come," Jared Isaacman, a billionaire tech entrepreneur who will command the mission and who chartered the flight aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon for the mission, said in a statement. "In all of human history, fewer than 600 humans have reached space. We are proud that our flight will help influence all those who will travel after us and look forward to seeing how this mission will help shape the beginning of a new era for space exploration," he added. As part of this research, the Inspiration4 crew, which includes Isaacman, St. Jude physician's assistant Hayley Arcenaux, data engineer Chris Sembroski and geoscientist, science communicator and space artist Sian Proctor, will perform a number of experiments once in orbit around Earth. Additionally, the teams from SpaceX, TRISH, Baylor and Cornell will collect environmental and biomedical data as well as biological samples like blood from the crew before, during and after the mission (during the mission, the crew will only collect and test blood droplets), which will launch no sooner than Sept. 15 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The four-person crew onboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft will orbit our planet for three days before returning to Earth via splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean. Specifically, data will be collected on the crew members' ECG activity, movement, sleep, heart rate and rhythm, blood oxygen levels as well as the light and sound levels within the Crew Dragon cabin, according to the statement. The research will also monitor both behavioral and cognitive performance using an app called Cognition, organ systems using an artificial intelligence-powered ultrasound device designed for use by non-experts, and TK to assess the crew's balance and perception before and after the flight. SpaceX is also working with the researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine to study the crew's genomes, microbiomes, telomeres (a DNA-protein structure found at the end of a chromosome) and more. Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine, where researchers led the "NASA Twins Study," will be working to replicate many of the same protocols and experiments that were innovated for that landmark study on NASA astronaut brothers Scott Kelly and Mark Kelly. The samples collected from the mission will be cryogenically-frozen for further analysis. https://www.space.com/inspiration4-spacex-mission-research-human-health-mission Curt Lewis