Small unmanned airborne systems to support oil and gas pipeline monitoring and mapping

Acknowledgments We thank Johan Havelaar, Aeryon Labs Inc., AeronVironment Inc. and Aeronautics Inc. for kindly permitting the use of materials in Fig. 1.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

A system safety model for developmental aircraft programs

Basic tenets of safety as applied to developmental aircraft programs are presented. The integration of safety into the project management aspects of planning, organizing, directing and controlling is illustrated by examples. The basis for project management use of safety and the relationship of these management functions to 'real-world' situations is presented. The rationale which led to the safety-related project decision and the lessons learned as they may apply to future projects are presented

Loran-C performance assurance assessment program

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has accepted the Loran-C navigation system as a supplemental navigation aid for enroute use. Extension of Loran-C utilization to instrument approaches requires establishment of a process by which the current level of performance of the system is always known by the pilot. This system 'integrity' translates into confidence that, if the system is made available to the pilot, the guidance will be correct. Early in the consideration of Loran-C for instrument approaches, the Loran-C Planning Work-Group (LPW) was formed with membership from the FAA, the US Coast Guard, various state governments, aviation users, equipment manufacturers and technical experts. The group was hosted and co-chaired by the National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO). This forum was ideal for identification of system integrity issues and for finding the correct process for their resolution. Additionally, the Wild Goose Association (WGA), which is the international Loran-C technical and user forum, regularly brings together members of the FAA, Coast Guard, and the scientific community. Papers and discussions from WGA meetings have been helpful. Given here is a collection of the issues in which Ohio University became involved. Issues definition and resolution are included along with the recommendations in those areas where resolution is not yet complete

Aviation Organization Strategy Development in National Airspace Modernization

The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine how small sub-directorates within larger organizations develop strategy to accomplish expansive legacy infrastructure re-engineering. There is significant, historical academic inquiry on Technological Transitions (TT)s with respect to infrastructure modernization; the conversion of the National Airspace System from ground-based to space-based navigation is an example of a TT. There are also studies on how to re-engineer legacy software systems to continue supporting organizational needs. This study is intended to explore a case of re-engineering the expansive legacy ground-based navigation system in the United States by efficiently reducing the size of the network and expanding then verifying signal coverage on over 4.5 million square miles. It is not a pure TT, nor a pure software re-engineering, but rather a large-scale re-engineering of a pre-existing hardware and software infrastructure. It constitutes a nationwide effort to re-design and expand the legacy ground-based navigation system developed over 70 years. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) advised the public in 2011 that it intended to re-engineer and reduce the Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range (VOR) network from 896 stations down to 593 stations - to be defined as the Minimum Operational Network (MON). This reduction was based on the premise that two-thirds of the legacy VORs would be retained but their coverage expanded to cover twice the airspace within the US than the previous network. The FAA Flight Program Operations (FPO) is a small sub-directorate within the larger organization that is now responsible to validate signal coverage on several million square miles of additional airspace. Understanding how the FPO develops strategy and leverages technology to support this endeavor can provide a repeatable template for future, expansive, legacy infrastructure re-engineering efforts. This study discovered that the FPO developed and iteratively evolved strategy to accomplish the VOR MON using tribal knowledge, subject matter expertise and accepted business re-engineering practices. The template can be applied to other legacy infrastructure re-engineering efforts to support forthcoming TTs

Managing Environmental, Health, and Safety Risks: A Comparative Assessment of the Minerals Management Service and Other Agencies

This study compares and contrasts regulatory and related practices—in particular, regulatory decisionmaking, risk assessment and planning processes, inspection and compliance, and organization structure, budgets, and training—of the Minerals Management Service (MMS, now the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement, or BOEMRE) with those of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Comparing MMS practices with those of other federal agencies that also manage low-probability but high-consequence environmental risks provides a basis for identifying opportunities for enhancing regulatory capacity and safety performance in managing deepwater energy exploration and production. Our research finds important differences in processes for setting standards; peer review contribution to the rulemaking process; establishment of tolerable risk thresholds; and training of key staff. The paper concludes with several recommendations for how various EPA and FAA practices might be modified and used at BOEMRE to strengthen its regulatory and risk management processes.Minerals Management Service, Federal Aviation Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, risk management

Zero/zero rotorcraft certification issues. Volume 1: Executive summary

This report analyzes the Zero/Zero Rotorcraft Certification Issues from the perspectives of manufacturers, operators, researchers and the FAA. The basic premise behind this analysis is the zero/zero, or at least extremely low visibility, rotorcraft operations are feasible today from both a technological and an operational standpoint. The questions and issues that need to be resolved are: What certification requirements do we need to ensure safety. Can we develop procedures which capitalize on the performance and maneuvering capabilities unique to rotorcraft. Will exptremely low visibility operations be economically feasible. This is Volume 1 of three. It provides an overview of the Certification Issues Forum held in Phoenix, Arizona in August of 1987. It presents a consensus of 48 experts from government, manufacturer, and research communities on 50 specific Certification Issues. The topics of Operational Requirements, Procedures, Airworthiness, and Engineering Capabilities are discussed

Study of space shuttle environmental control and life support problems

Four problem areas were treated: (1) cargo module environmental control and life support systems; (2) space shuttle/space station interfaces; (3) thermal control considerations for payloads; and (4) feasibility of improving system reusability