Comments on the problem of turbulence in aviation

The problem of turbulence since the beginning of aviation is traced. The problem was not cured by high altitude flight and was acerbated by the downbursts associated with thunderstorms. The accidents that occurred during the period 1982 to 1984 are listed. From this is extracted the weather related accidents. Turbulence accounts for 24% of the accidents involving large commercial carriers and 54% of the weather related accidents. In spite of all the efforts to improve the forecasting and detection of turbulence, the problem is still a large one

AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF LOUISIANA SMALL FARMERS' INVOLVEMENT IN THE CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM

The study examines Louisiana small farmers' reasons for not participating in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), their awareness of the program, and their willingness to participate in the program. The results suggest that: farmers do not participate in the CRP if revenues from cropland are an important source of income, or if they are tenants; awareness is significantly related to education, income, race, and average return per acre; willingness is positively influenced by payment per acre, age, and farm status. Participation depends on whether payments per acre are comparable to the opportunity costs of removing cropland from production.Binomial and multinomial logit models, Conservation Reserve Program, Nonparticipation, Small farmers, Socioeconomic characteristics, Land Economics/Use,

Exploring the Roles of Adult Education and Human Resource Development before and after Retirement of Faculty and Practitioners in the Fields

Given the large numbers of baby boomers who are at an age where retirement is an active consideration, it is critical for HRD and AE scholars and practitioners to consider seriously their roles in preparing such professionals for making appropriate decisions; making their retirement healthy, productive, and rewarding; and assisting such professionals in achieving their visions once that decision is made. There is a void in the literature addressing these roles. In this symposium, we will explore with attendees what these roles might be, expanding our understanding about what retirement means, and how to expand the research in these areas

Calibration and alignment of metrology system for the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array mission

A metrology system to measure the on-orbit movement of a ten meter mast has been built for the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) x-ray observatory. In this paper, the metrology system is described, and the performance is measured. The laser beam stability is discussed in detail. Pre-launch alignment and calibration are also described. The invisible infrared laser beams must be aligned to their corresponding detectors without deploying the telescope in Earth’s gravity. Finally, a possible method for in-flight calibration of the metrology system is described

Supersonic aircraft Patent

Design of supersonic aircraft with novel fixed, swept wing planfor

Fuel conservative guidance concept for shipboard landing of powered-life aircraft

A simulation study was undertaken to investigate the application of energy conservative guidance (ECG) software, developed at NASA Ames Research Center, to improve the time and fuel efficiency of powered lift airplanes operating from aircraft carriers at sea. When a flightpath is indicated by a set of initial conditions for the aircraft and a set of positional waypoints with associated airspeeds, the ECG software synthesizes the necessary guidance commands to optimize fuel and time along the specified path. A major feature of the ECG system is the ability to synthesize a trajectory that will allow the aircraft to capture the specified path at any waypoint with the desired heading and airspeed from an arbitrary set of initial conditions. Five paths were identified and studied. These paths demonstrate the ECG system's ability to save flight time and fuel by more efficiently managing the aircraft's capabilities. Results of this simulation study show that when restrictions on the approach flightpath imposed for manual operation are removed completely, fuel consumption during the approach was reduced by as much as 49% (610 lb fuel) and the time required to fly the flightpath was reduced by as much as 41% (5 min). Savings due to ECG were produced by: (1) shortening the total flight time; (2) keeping the airspeed high as long as possible to minimize time spent flying in a regime in which more engine thrust is required for lift to aid the aerodynamic lift; (3) minimizing time spent flying at constant altitude at slow airspeeds; and (4) synthesizing a path from any location for a direct approach to landing without entering a holding pattern or other fixed approach path

Observations of Low Frequency Solar Radio Bursts from the Rosse Solar-Terrestrial Observatory

The Rosse Solar-Terrestrial Observatory (RSTO; www.rosseobservatory.ie) was established at Birr Castle, Co. Offaly, Ireland (53 05'38.9", 7 55'12.7") in 2010 to study solar radio bursts and the response of the Earth's ionosphere and geomagnetic field. To date, three Compound Astronomical Low-cost Low-frequency Instrument for Spectroscopy and Transportable Observatory (CALLISTO) spectrometers have been installed, with the capability of observing in the frequency range 10-870 MHz. The receivers are fed simultaneously by biconical and log-periodic antennas. Nominally, frequency spectra in the range 10-400 MHz are obtained with 4 sweeps per second over 600 channels. Here, we describe the RSTO solar radio spectrometer set-up, and present dynamic spectra of a sample of Type II, III and IV radio bursts. In particular, we describe fine-scale structure observed in Type II bursts, including band splitting and rapidly varying herringbone features

A theoretical and empirical investigation of nutritional label use

Due in part to increasing diet-related health problems caused, among others, by obesity, nutritional labelling has been considered important, mainly because it can provide consumers with information that can be used to make informed and healthier food choices. Several studies have focused on the empirical perspective of nutritional label use. None of these studies, however, have focused on developing a theoretical economic model that would adequately describe nutritional label use based on a utility theoretic framework. We attempt to fill this void by developing a simple theoretical model of nutritional label use, incorporating the time a consumer spends reading labels as part of the food choice process. The demand equations of the model are then empirically tested. Results suggest the significant role of several variables that flow directly from the model which, to our knowledge, have not been used in any previous empirical work

An extragalactic supernebula confined by gravity

Little is known about the origins of the giant star clusters known as globular clusters. How can hundreds of thousands of stars form simultaneously in a volume only a few light years across the distance of the sun to its nearest neighbor? Radiation pressure and winds from luminous young stars should disperse the star-forming gas and disrupt the formation of the cluster. Globular clusters in our Galaxy cannot provide answers; they are billions of years old. Here we report the measurement of infrared hydrogen recombination lines from a young, forming super star cluster in the dwarf galaxy, NGC 5253. The lines arise in gas heated by a cluster of an estimated million stars, so young that it is still enshrouded in gas and dust, hidden from optical view. We verify that the cluster contains 4000-6000 massive, hot "O" stars. Our discovery that the gases within the cluster are bound by gravity may explain why these windy and luminous O stars have not yet blown away the gases to allow the cluster to emerge from its birth cocoon. Young clusters in "starbursting" galaxies in the local and distant universe may be similarly gravitationally confined and cloaked from view.Comment: Letter to Natur