Flight test experience and controlled impact of a large, four-engine, remotely piloted airplane

A controlled impact demonstration (CID) program using a large, four engine, remotely piloted transport airplane was conducted. Closed loop primary flight control was performed from a ground based cockpit and digital computer in conjunction with an up/down telemetry link. Uplink commands were received aboard the airplane and transferred through uplink interface systems to a highly modified Bendix PB-20D autopilot. Both proportional and discrete commands were generated by the ground pilot. Prior to flight tests, extensive simulation was conducted during the development of ground based digital control laws. The control laws included primary control, secondary control, and racetrack and final approach guidance. Extensive ground checks were performed on all remotely piloted systems. However, manned flight tests were the primary method of verification and validation of control law concepts developed from simulation. The design, development, and flight testing of control laws and the systems required to accomplish the remotely piloted mission are discussed

The Governor\u27s Constituency For Children: Concerned Adults Unite in Lobbying Efforts

In the political lexicon of the 1980s, a constituency has come to mean a special interest group coalesced around a single issue. These single-issue constituencies, or special interest lobbies, range from right wing to left wing, from neighborhood associations to well-organized political action committees, from environmental causes to tax-slashing referenda

Flight control systems development and flight test experience with the HiMAT research vehicles

Two highly maneuverable aircraft technology (HiMAT) remotely piloted vehicles were flown a total of 26 flights. These subscale vehicles were of advanced aerodynamic configuration with advanced technology concepts such as composite and metallic structures, digital integrated propulsion control, and ground (primary) and airborne (backup) relaxed static stability, digital fly-by-wire control systems. Extensive systems development, checkout, and flight qualification were required to conduct the flight test program. The design maneuver goal was to achieve a sustained 8-g turn at Mach 0.9 at an altitude of 25,000 feet. This goal was achieved, along with the acquisition of high-quality flight data at subsonic and supersonic Mach numbers. Control systems were modified in a variety of ways using the flight-determined aerodynamic characteristics. The HiMAT program was successfully completed with approximately 11 hours of total flight time

A collection of edge-based elements

Edge-based elements have proved useful in solving electromagnetic problems since they are nondivergent. Previous authors have presented several two and three dimensional elements. Herein, we present four types of elements which are suitable for modeling several types of three dimensional geometries. Distorted brick and triangular prism elements are given in cartesian coordinates as well as the specialized cylindrical shell and pie-shaped prism elements which are suitable for problems best described in polar cylindrical coordinates

Understanding the J/psi Production Mechanism at PHENIX

The large mass of the charm quark, along with the abundance of J/psi mesons observed from proton-proton collisions at PHENIX, allow for new measurements which are sensitive to basic properties of QCD. Two measurements are presented in this document: a transverse single-spin asymmetry (SSA) of J/psi production and the angular distribution for decay leptons in various reference frames. The decay distribution is directly sensitive to the J/psi production mechanism, while the transverse SSA is also sensitive to the distribution of gluons in a transversely polarized proton. Taken together, the two measurements provide a wealth of information about the formation of a J/psi meson.Comment: 139 pages, 66 figures, Ph.D. thesis submitted to Iowa State University Sep 2010, DAI-B 72/0

The personality and mental health of physical and social scientists.

The decision to pursue a career as a scientist and the likelihood of becoming successful is dependent upon a variety of factors, including a unique blend of personality characteristics and mental health. Being either thing- or people-oriented may also be related to whether or not an individual chooses to travel down either the Science-Technology-Engineering-Math (STEM) or Social Science path. In order to examine these relationships, 214 academic scientists throughout the United States were assessed on a battery of personality and mental health measures. As was expected, social scientists scored higher than STEM scientists in general on a measure of extraversion. However, STEM scientists in general scored higher than social scientists on an overall measure of autistic characteristics and on specific autistic characteristics\u27 scales. STEM scientists also scored higher than social scientists on the schizotypal trait, cognitive disorganization. Further evidence of the relationships between personality, mental health, and fields of science as well as interpretations and implications of these findings are presented

The F-18 High Alpha Research Vehicle: A High-Angle-of-Attack Testbed Aircraft

The F-18 High Alpha Research Vehicle is the first thrust-vectoring testbed aircraft used to study the aerodynamics and maneuvering available in the poststall flight regime and to provide the data for validating ground prediction techniques. The aircraft includes a flexible research flight control system and full research instrumentation. The capability to control the vehicle at angles of attack up to 70 degrees is also included. This aircraft was modified by adding a pitch and yaw thrust-vectoring system. No significant problems occurred during the envelope expansion phase of the program. This aircraft has demonstrated excellent control in the wing rock region and increased rolling performance at high angles of attack. Initial pilot reports indicate that the increased capability is desirable although some difficulty in judging the size and timing of control inputs was observed. The aircraft, preflight ground testing and envelope expansion flight tests are described

Decoupling control synthesis for an oblique-wing aircraft

Interest in oblique-wing aircraft has surfaced periodically since the 1940's. This concept offers some substantial aerodynamic performance advantages but also has significant aerodynamic and inertial cross-coupling between the aircraft longitudinal and lateral-directional axes. This paper presents a technique for synthesizing a decoupling controller while providing the desired stability augmentation. The proposed synthesis procedure uses the concept of a real model-following control system. Feedforward gains are selected on the assumption that perfect model-following conditions are satisfied. The feedback gains are obtained by using eigensystem assignment, and the aircraft is stabilized by using partial state feedback. The effectiveness of the control laws developed in achieving the desired decoupling is illustrated by application to linearized equations of motion of an oblique-wing aircraft for a given flight condition

Wavelets and electromagnetics

Wavelets are an exciting new topic in applied mathematics and signal processing. This paper will provide a brief review of wavelets which are also known as families of functions with an emphasis on interpretation rather than rigor. We will derive an indirect use of wavelets for the solution of integral equations based techniques adapted from image processing. Examples for resistive strips will be given illustrating the effect of these techniques as well as their promise in reducing dramatically the requirement in order to solve an integral equation for large bodies. We also will present a direct implementation of wavelets to solve an integral equation. Both methods suggest future research topics and may hold promise for a variety of uses in computational electromagnetics

Life History: Janet Salzwedel, OTR/L

Objective. This life history is one of 29 life history interviews which are a part of a larger project, Life Histories of Individuals Who Have Been Influential in Developing Occupational Therapy (OT) in North Dakota and Wyoming. The purpose of this project is to gather information about the history and evolution of occupational therapy (OT) practice in North Dakota and Wyoming through life histories of individuals who have been influential in developing OT in these two states. Method. An in-depth interview was conducted with Janet Salzwedel in the comfort of her home. Categories and themes were synthesized from the interview to identify key turning points and trends that influenced her practice. Results. The predominant categories that represented Janet\u27s experience as an occupational therapist that were gathered through the interview were challenges, changes, clinical practice, and a good career. The findings indicate that Janet is a hard-working occupational therapist and has been able to overcome challenges within the profession to better serve clients. By collaborating with other health disciplines and using her therapeutic use of self, she has been able to help her clients recover and gain a greater quality of life. Conclusion. Janet is a compassionate and enthusiastic occupational therapist that uses her positive personality traits, leadership skills, and drive to build rapport with clients. These characteristics have helped her to achieve the accomplishments she has made throughout her life. Janet has had a significant impact on the field of occupational therapy and serves as a model for others in the profession who must also balance multiple demands, and work as a collaborative team member to assist clients in achieving independence.https://commons.und.edu/ot-oral-histories-posters/1013/thumbnail.jp