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At least 487 records · Page 27
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1980

Flight performance of the TCV B-737 airplane at Montreal/Dorval International Airport, Montreal, Canada, using TRSB/MLS guidance

The NASA terminal configured vehicle B-737 was flown in support of the world wide FAA demonstration of the time reference scanning beam microwave landing system. A summary of the flight performance of the TCV airplane during demonstration automatic approaches and landings while utilizing TRSB/MLS guidance is presented. The TRSB/MLS provided the terminal area guidance necessary for automatically flying curved, noise abatement type approaches and landings with short finals.

White, W. F.↗
NASA NTRS1980

A simulator study for the development and evaluation of operating procedures on a supersonic cruise research transport to minimize airport-community noise

Piloted-simulator studies were conducted to determine takeoff and landing operating procedures for a supersonic cruise research transport concept that result in predicted noise levels which meet current Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification standards. With the use of standard FAA noise certification test procedures, the subject simulated aircraft did not meet the FAA traded-noise-level standards during takeoff and landing. However, with the use of advanced procedures, this aircraft meets the traded-noise-level standards for flight crews with average skills. The advanced takeoff procedures developed involved violating some of the current Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR), but it was not necessary to violate any FAR noise-test conditions during landing approach. Noise contours were also determined for some of the simulated takeoffs and landings in order to indicate the noise-reduction advantages of using operational procedures other than standard.

Grantham, W. D.↗
NASA NTRS1981

An airport wind shear detection and warning system using Doppler radar: A feasibility study

A feasibility study was conducted to determine whether ground based Doppler radar could measure the wind along the path of an approaching aircraft with sufficient accuracy to predict aircraft performance. Forty-three PAR approaches were conducted, with 16 examined in detail. In each, Doppler derived longitudinal winds were compared to aircraft measured winds; in approximately 75 percent of the cases, the Doppler and aircraft winds were in acceptable agreement. In the remaining cases, errors may have been due to a lack of Doppler resolution, a lack of co-location of the two sampling volumes, the presence of eddy or vortex like disturbances within the pulse volume, or the presence of point targets in antenna side lobes. It was further concluded that shrouding techniques would have reduced the side lobe problem. A ground based Doppler radar operating in the optically clear air, provides the appropriate longitudinal winds along an aircraft's intended flight path.

Mccarthy, J.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Characteristics of future aircraft impacting aircraft and airport compatibility

Results are reported of an opinion survey of selected individuals at the decision-making level within the five major manufacturers of transport aircraft in the United States and Europe. Opinions were obtained concerning both possible and probable existence of over 50 compatibility-related characteristics of transport aircraft in use in the years 1990, 2000, and 2010. The maximum size of aircraft is expected to increase, at a roughly uniform rate, to the year 2010 by 85 percent in passengers, 55 percent in airfreighter payload, and 35 percent in gross weight weight. Companion to the expected growth in payloads and gross weight was the identification of probable increases in aircraft geometrical dimensions and component capability, and use of fully double-decked passenger compartments. Wing span will increase considerably more than normally expected to provide wings of higher aspect ratio. New aircraft features coming into probable use include large turboprops, synthetic jet-A fuel, winglets, wake-vortex-reducing devices and laminar flow control. New operational concepts considered probable include steep approaches, high-speed turnoffs, and taxiway towing for the aircraft, plus passenger bypass of the terminal building, expedited handling of belly cargo and an intermodal cargo container for the payloads.

Conner, D. W.↗
NASA NTRS1980

An airport wind shear detection and warning system using Doppler radar

Two numerical models of aircraft performance are developed to relate atmospheric wind signals in wind-shear situations to aircraft response. Both models produce time histories of pitch angle, airspeed, height above the ground, and other parameters for simulating aircraft making precision approaches along a 3-deg glide slope to the runway. Simulations conducted using thunderstorm environment wind data indicate that the horizontal wind component is at least as important as the vertical component in determining aircraft response to wind shear. Obtaining quantitative measurements of aircraft approach or departure quality is found to depend on several factors, including the knowledge of winds along the expected flight track, clear-air detection in a quasi-horizontal path, and a near continuous estimate of approach deterioration due to shear conditions.

Mccarthy, J.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Simulation of a cockpit display concept for increased airport capacity

A research effort has been undertaken to determine the feasibility of employing a forward-looking cockpit display to provide information that would enable aircraft to utilize reduced separation, and hence increased runway capacity, through the application of multiple-glide-path approach techniques. The current study was an initial exploration into this concept in which traffic information was added to a HUD format to allow the pilot to monitor the traffic situation and to self space on a lead aircraft during a simulated single glide-path approach. The results of this study indicate that this display concept can provide sufficient information to the pilot for traffic monitoring and self separation. Additionally, the pilots noted that an increase in situational awareness, relative to conventional instrument flight, was provided by the traffic information on the display.

Abbott, T. S.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Characteristics of a dry, pulsating microburst at Denver Stapleton Airport

This study examines the influence of ambient vertical wind shear on microburst intensity, asymmetry, and translation. Results show that microburst asymmetry is influenced by the magnitude of the low-level ambient vertical shear. The microburst outflow elongates in the direction of the shear vector (which is not necessarily in the direction of translation), and generates the greatest hazard (for commercial jet transports) along paths orthogonal to the shear vector. The model results also show that the asymmetry increases with increasing shear magnitude. One implication of these results concerns the detection of a microburst by a ground-based doppler systems. These systems may underestimate the hazard for landing and departing aircraft that are on trajectories orthogonal to both the sensor beam and shear vector, especially if the magnitude of the shear is large. Another implication is that microburst are more likely to be asymmetrical in regions (seasons) where there is climatologically a significant low-level shear. The model results also show that the rotor microbursts and severe wind damage can be a product of the microburst interaction with strong ambient wind shear.

Proctor, Fred H.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Airport ramp safety and crew performance issues

This study examined 182 ramp operations incident reports from the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) database, to determine which factors influence ramp operation incidents. It was found that incidents occurred more often during aircraft arrival operations than during departure operations; incidents occurred most often at the gate stop area, less so at the gate entry/exit areas, and least on the ramp fringe areas; and reporters cited fewer incidents when more ground crew were present. The authors offer suggestions for both airline management and flight crews to reduce the rate of ramp incidents.

Chamberlin, Roy↗
NASA NTRS1994

Navigating the airport surface: Electronic vs. paper maps

Recent advances in the Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) and ground/aircraft data-links provide a basis for the generation of an accurate cockpit navigational map display including data-linked ATC-cleared ground routes. Such an electronic map may have the potential to improve pilots' situation awareness and taxi performance and thereby lessen runway incursions. The objective of this simulator study was to assess the potential improvements in these areas when using an advanced electronic map (compared to using today's paper map) under two outside scene visibility levels. Results showed average taxi speed increased under both good and poor visibilities, by as much as 24 percent, due in part to eliminating the time used for orientation with the paper map. Pilots made only one-third as many errors as well and commented that they believed that the electronic map gave them better awareness.

Batson, Vernon M.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Averting Denver Airports on a Chip

As a result of recent advances in software engineering capabilities, we are now in a more stable environment. De-facto hardware and software standards are emerging. Work on software architecture and design patterns signals a consensus on the importance of early system-level design decisions, and agreements on the uses of certain paradigmatic software structures. We now routinely build systems that would have been risky or infeasible a few years ago. Unfortunately, technological developments threaten to destabilize software design again. Systems designed around novel computing and peripheral devices will spark ambitious new projects that will stress current software design and engineering capabilities. Micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) and related technologies provide the physical basis for new systems with the potential to produce this kind of destabilizing effect. One important response to anticipated software engineering and design difficulties is carefully directed engineering-scientific research. Two specific problems meriting substantial research attention are: A lack of sufficient means to build software systems by generating, extending, specializing, and integrating large-scale reusable components; and a lack of adequate computational and analytic tools to extend and aid engineers in maintaining intellectual control over complex software designs.

Sullivan, Kevin J.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Generic Equations for Constructing Smooth Paths Along Circles and Tangent Lines With Application to Airport Ground Paths

The primary purpose of this publication is to develop a mathematical model to describe smooth paths along any combination of circles and tangent lines. Two consecutive circles in a path are either tangent (externally or internally) or they appear on the same (lateral) or opposite (transverse) sides of a connecting tangent line. A path may start or end on either a segment or circle. The approach is to use mathematics common to robotics to design the path as a multilink manipulator. This approach allows a hierarchical view of the problem and keeps the notation manageable. A user simply specifies a few parameters to configure a path. Necessary and sufficient conditions automatically ensure the consistency of the inputs for a smooth path. Two example runway exit paths are given, and an angle to go assists in knowing when to switch from one path element to the next.

Barker, L. Keith↗
NASA NTRS2000

Atmospheric Boundary Layer Wind Data During the Period January 1, 1998 Through January 21, 1999 at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport: Data and Processing - Volume 2

The NASA Langley Research Center's Aircraft Vortex Spacing System (AVOSS) requires accurate winds and turbulence to determine aircraft wake vortex behavior near the ground. Volume 1 described the wind input and quality analysis process. This volume documents the data available during the period January 1998 through January 1999 and the partitioning and concatenation of files for time of day, turbulence, non duplication, cross wind profile quality and ceiling and visibility. It provides the resultant filtered files for the first three partitions as well as identification of ceiling/visibility conditions when they were below 5000 feet and 5 miles respectively. It also includes the wind profile quality flags to permit automatic selection of files for AVOSS application using selected ceiling/visibility and wind profile quality values and flags (or no flags).

Zak, J. Allen↗
NASA NTRS2001

Secure Large-Scale Airport Simulations Using Distributed Computational Resources

To fully conduct research that will support the far-term concepts, technologies and methods required to improve the safety of Air Transportation a simulation environment of the requisite degree of fidelity must first be in place. The Virtual National Airspace Simulation (VNAS) will provide the underlying infrastructure necessary for such a simulation system. Aerospace-specific knowledge management services such as intelligent data-integration middleware will support the management of information associated with this complex and critically important operational environment. This simulation environment, in conjunction with a distributed network of supercomputers, and high-speed network connections to aircraft, and to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), airline and other data-sources will provide the capability to continuously monitor and measure operational performance against expected performance. The VNAS will also provide the tools to use this performance baseline to obtain a perspective of what is happening today and of the potential impact of proposed changes before they are introduced into the system.

McDermott, William J.↗