Accident investigation: Analysis of aircraft motions from ATC radar recordings

A technique was developed for deriving time histories of an aircraft's motion from air traffic control (ATC) radar records. This technique uses the radar range and azimuth data, along with the downlinked altitude data (from an onboard Mode-C transponder), to derive an expanded set of data which includes airspeed, lift, thrust-drag, attitude angles (pitch, roll, and heading), etc. This method of analyzing aircraft motions was evaluated through flight experiments which used the CV-990 research aircraft and recordings from both the enroute and terminal ATC radar systems. The results indicate that the values derived from the ATC radar records are for the most part in good agreement with the corresponding values obtained from airborne measurements. In an actual accident, this analysis of ATC radar records can complement the flight-data recorders, now onboard airliners, and provide a source of recorded information for other types of aircraft that are equipped with Mode-C transponders but not with onboard recorders

Parameter estimation of powered-lift STOL aircraft characteristics including turbulence and ground effects

The estimation of longitudinal aerodynamic coefficients from data recorded during flight tests of a powered-lift STOL aircraft is considered. First, a comparison is made between the coefficient values determined by the regression and quasilinearization identification techniques from records taken during elevator pulse maneuvers. The results show that for these tests the regression method provides less scatter in coefficient estimates and provides better correlation with the predicted values. Special techniques are then developed which allow identification of the coefficients from records taken during landing maneuvers in which the aircraft encounters turbulence while flying in ground effect. Flight test results are presented to illustrate the effects of air turbulence and ground proximity on the estimated coefficient values

Book review: America and Britain: was there ever a special relationship? by Guy Arnold

Britain’s political and military elite has for decades nurtured the idea that enduring ties bind the interests of London and Washington, in good times and bad. Irrespective of the end of the Cold War, the 9/11 attacks and the economic rise of the East, these links are allegedly impregnable. But how accurate a picture is this? Arnold’s book is a thought-provoking account which stimulates much reflection on the Anglo-American relations, writes Paul Wingrove

Book review: Frontline Ukraine: crisis in the borderlands by Richard Sakwa

In Frontline Ukraine: Crisis in the Borderlands, Richard Sakwa examines the contemporary crisis in Ukraine centred on the disputed territory of Crimea and the eastern regions. Sakwa traces the origins, developments and significance of the conflict from the Euromaidan protests up until the parliamentary elections of October 2014. While Paul Wingrove advises that readers exercise caution and their own judgment when navigating texts on this highly debated political terrain, he praises Sakwa’s masterful account as a fine-grained, well-sourced analysis

Book review: Ukraine crisis: what it means for the West by Andrew Wilson

Andrew Wilson has produced a remarkably good book on the contemporary crisis in Ukraine, finds Paul Wingrove. Although – of necessity – he roams some way beyond what has happened in Kiev, this is as reliable a guide to events in that country, and their global and regional implications, as can be found at present

Book review: the limits of partnership: US-Russian relations in the twenty-first century

The Limits of Partnership calls for a fundamental reassessment of the principles and practices that drive U.S.-Russian relations, and offers a path forward to meet the urgent challenges facing both countries. Paul Wingrove appreciated the depth, perception and nuances in this book

Equations for determining aircraft motions for accident data

Procedures for determining a comprehensive accident scenario from a limited data set are reported. The analysis techniques accept and process data from either an Air Traffic Control radar tracking system or a foil flight data recorder. Local meteorological information at the time of the accident and aircraft performance data are also utilized. Equations for the desired aircraft motions and forces are given in terms of elements of the measurement set and certain of their time derivatives. The principal assumption made is that aircraft side force and side-slip angle are negligible. An estimation procedure is outlined for use with each data source. For the foil case, a discussion of exploiting measurement redundancy is given. Since either formulation requires estimates of measurement time derivatives, an algorithm for least squares smoothing is provided

The Role of Retinoic Acid in the Formation and Modulation of Invertebrate Electrical Synapses

Communication between cells in the nervous system is dependent upon structures known as synapses. Synapses are broadly characterized as either chemical or electrical in nature, owing to the type of signals that are transmitted across them. Factors that can affect chemical synapses have been extensively studied. However, the factors that can influence the formation and modulation of electrical synapses are poorly understood. Retinoic acid, a vitamin A metabolite, is a known regulator of chemical synapses, yet its capacity to regulate electrical synapses is not as well established. Preliminary evidence from the central neurons of both invertebrates and vertebrates suggests that it is also capable of regulating the strength of electrical synapses. In this study, I provide further insights into how retinoic acid can act as a neuromodulator of electrical synapses. My findings suggest that retinoic acid is capable of rapidly altering the strength of electrical synapses in a dose- and isomer-dependent manner. Further, I provide evidence that this acute effect might be independent of either the retinoid receptors or a protein kinase. In addition, I provide novel findings to suggest retinoic acid is also capable of regulating the formation of electrical synapses. Long term exposure to two isomers of retinoic acid, all-trans-retinoic acid and 9-cis-retinoic acid, reduces both the proportion of cell pairs, and the average synaptic strength between cells that form electrical synapses. In summary, these investigations provide novel insights into the role that retinoids play in the both the formation and modulation of electrical synapses in the CNS

(Un)Dressing Decadence: Masquerade and Murder in Mascara

It opens on a blue vista of sea. A white villa looks out over the waves and glows in the evening light. A woman comes out, encased in a tight-fitting white trouser suit. She climbs into a car and drives off. The sea remains, its waves stretching out to the horizon as in a painting by René Magritte. Night falls. We see the woman driving in close-up, her face lit pale yellow by passing cars. We may recognize her as Charlotte Rampling, the cinema’s perverse glamour icon par excellence. Yet her image here is altered, her hair cropped short so she resembles an androgynous boy. Her throat rises from the up-curving collar of her white suit, which encases her like the sculpted calyx of a lily. One earring dangles from one ear. Its white geometrical swirls suggest a sculpture by Constantin Brâncuşi

Some Considerations in Interviewing the Old, Old

Drawing upon personal experiences, the author makes a number of suggestions to follow when interviewing those in their late seventies and above. He deals with such topics as pitfalls in obtaining interviews, dress, rapport, length of interview, allaying respondents' fears, and coping with communication problems caused by interviewees' visual and hearing losses